Board 8 > ~*~ The 50 most influential users in Board 8 History ~*~ (part 2)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Hope that clears it up, although I'm sure there'll be more Lopens with "dur hur dat isnt inflewanz" posts before the list is out.

haha

dude you haven't even been here for the last couple years

just accept the criticism

Hello. I don't know why I have this and I don't know why I even bother, but I feel like it is of the utmost importance to indulge our life and memory in this beauty every once in a while:


(MAJOR FF7 AND ADVENT CHILDREN SPOILERS)




#1 – Cloud Strife
Company: Squaresoft
Game: Final Fantasy VII
Artwork:





After a long, long run I’m finally coming to a close on my “Top 10 Favorite Characters List.” I hadn’t planned on this taking that long, but things started coming up one after another here toward the end. These were also taking a long while to write; I wanted to keep the same quality, so I didn’t just throw something out there just to have it there. Anyway, I’m sure that this number one surprised basically no one. I have had Cloud as the number one character since June—although I think it is rather clear that he’s been there for much longer, truly. It remains highly unlikely that this’ll ever change too. Recently, I seem to not be all crazy about changing my list(s) and having new favorite characters or brand-new preferences out of nowhere.

Cloud Strife is a character who I have liked since 1997 when I first played and bought Final Fantasy VII. There is something about his overall character that remains appealing, perhaps because of how I can relate to many of the problems he encounters—maybe not so much now, but a while back at least. I feel that many people are not fully aware of Cloud’s complexity as a character, and often times do not know what in the world they’re talking about. Square created what I would consider to be the most well developed and most complex character that videogames have ever seen. This comment is probably already starting to ruffle some of your feathers, but after reading this write-up, I ask you to tell me if you feel the same way about him that you did before. I plan to bring to clear any confusion about Cloud Strife in this write-up and try to create a work that’s worth reading, no matter the length. Even people such as Semi or HeroicGammaRay should be able to say that there’s a little less hatred toward him—or that’s my goal, at least.

I feel it is very necessary to start not from where the game starts, but from Cloud’s childhood and forward. The game presents this information through a variety of flashbacks and other such sequences. To present this information in a sequential order should allow one to become more understanding of Cloud.

Cloud grew up in the town of Nibelheim with his mother. As it turns out, Tifa Lockheart also lived in the city—although she often times would ignore Cloud, which is revealed in the game itself. Cloud was a normal child; there was anything “different” about him physically or mentally. One person who stood out to him more than any other was Tifa. He always noticed how she was surrounded by her group of friends and wanted to be apart of that group so badly, but they never seemed to give him the time of day. Even Tifa often times would ignore Cloud as a child. This caused Cloud to develop an attitude that was more “different” from the rest of the kids his age. His thoughts during that time clearly begin to reflect this…

Kid Cloud: Tifa always used to be with this three-some.

(I admit, I was totally apart of this threesome. Tifa was amazing back then, as she is now. Still wears me out to this day.)

Tifa: ...That's right.

Kid Cloud: I used to think... they were all stupid.

Tifa: What!?

Kid Cloud: You were all childish, laughing at every little stupid thing.

Tifa: But we were children, back then.

Kid Cloud: ...I know. I'm the one that was stupid. I really wanted to play with everyone, but I was never allowed into the group. Then later... I began to think I was different... That I was different from those immature kids. That then... maybe..

Cloud goes on to say that he was “prejudiced” back then. In reality, he wanted to be apart of this group, but Tifa was always so concerned with the things going on with her life and her group of friends that he felt neglected. He wanted to be noticed so he decided that in order to do that he needed to become stronger. This is when he got the idea that he would leave Nibelheim and join SOLDIER to become like the great Sephiroth—a famous war hero of the time, known for his brilliance and unmatched strength. Shortly after that moment, Cloud invited Tifa out to the well in the middle of town during the night. He told her about his plans to leave town and join SOLDIER, much like all the other boys were doing at the time. He assured her that he would become a great SOLDIER like Sephiroth and that one day, in her time of need, he would be the one who save her… her hero.

Sometime during this general timeframe, Tifa and her friends decide to traverse Mt. Nibel—this is around the time that Tifa’s mother dies—and only a few of her group of friends end up going. However, Cloud is still there following a short distance behind them. Eventually, all that was left was Tifa and Cloud going up the mountain. Both of them miss a step and fall from the cliff; while Cloud isn’t nearly as hurt, Tifa is unconscious for nearly seven days.

Man 1: “Cloud! Why’d you bring Tifa to a place like this!”

Man 2: “What the hell’s the matter with you!?”

Man 1: “What if she dies!?”

Kid Cloud: Tifa was in a coma for seven days. We all thought she wouldn't make it. If only I could've saved her... I was so angry... Angry at myself for my weakness. Ever since then, I felt Tifa blamed me... I got out of control... I'd get into fights not even caring who it was. That was the first time I heard about Sephiroth. If I got strong like Sephiroth, then everyone might...

After this, Cloud leaves Nibelheim in hopes of joining SOLDIER, to get his strength… the strength that would allow Tifa to recognize him. This is where things become quite ridiculous in ridiculing Cloud’s character. I have seen this brought up thousands of times in arguments and each time I see it, I can’t help but wonder where people came up with it. Let me clarify right now, Cloud did not get rejected from SOLDIER. He never even attempted to try out for SOLDIER. Now, you may be wondering why he would do that. The answer is obvious: fear of failure. Cloud’s largest fear is being a failure. Above all else, he does not want to fail, whether it is to himself or to his companions around him. Throughout the entire game this reinforced by his reluctance to go through with many tasks when they are first set in front of him. His friends usually put him into the position of completing tasks; he does want to let them down and he does want to let himself. If he does not bother trying, he cannot fail at completing whatever objective is put in front of him. This very same thing applies here and the situation with SOLDIER. He did not even apply because he was afraid that he might fail—which would have let down both Tifa and himself. Instead, he joins Shinra as a simple foot soldier.

Cloud: “I was excited about it. Because that was my first mission after becoming First Class in SOLDIER. ...SOLDIER, First Class? ...SOLDIER? When did I enter SOLDIER? How did I join SOLDIER? Why... why can’t I remember? I’m... I’m...That's right... I didn't have to worry about it, because I was...”

There was nothing required to join Shinra’s military as a lowly Shinra MP; therefore, Cloud never had to worry about rejection. But at the same time, he was completely ashamed of himself. He had said he was leaving his hometown to become a member of SOLDIER like the Great Sephiroth, yet he ended up as a measly Shinra foot soldier.

After some time had passed, Cloud was going to be able to return to Nibelheim for the first time since his departure. When he, Zack, Sephiroth, and another Shinra MP enter into the town of Nibelheim, Cloud quickly notices Tifa. In order to hide the fact that he didn’t join SOLDIER, Cloud goes to put his helmet back on. The group is here on a mission to take care of the monster outbreak near the Nibelheim Reactor up on top of Mt. Nibel. Sephiroth allows everyone to go visit the town before they head up to the reactor. Cloud, of course, goes home to his mother for a visit. However, he does not look for Tifa; he would prefer to not show himself to her, in fear that she would consider him a failure—after all, he had already considered his own self a failure for not making SOLDIER. The next day, Sephiroth, Zack, and their guide to the reactor—this is Tifa, by the way—along with two Shinra MP’s head up the large mountain. Along the way, the bridge to the reactor breaks while the party crosses and one of the MPs is killed by the fall—this is not Cloud, but the other random MP who decided to come with them.

Eventually, they reach the reactor and Sephiroth, along with Zack, enter into the building while Cloud stays outside to make sure that Tifa doesn’t enter and is kept safe. Inside, however, things are getting quite intense. Sephiroth is realizing that he was an experiment, that he was different from everyone else. He storms out of there and locks himself in the Shinra Mansion for a long while—the light in the basement is said to never go out. Zack enters into the Mansion, but to find that Sephiroth has changed completely. He begins ranting about Jenova, claiming her as his mother, and says that humans are traitors. In all his hatred, he burns Nibelheim and kills many of the people of its townspeople. Shinra MP, Cloud Strife, is seen passed out near his house and Zangan is seen helping the live victims. Zack also comes out of the Mansion to see the fire; he quickly rushes over to Zangan to see what has happened. He tells him that Sephiroth went to the reactor, with Tifa chasing after him—he quickly makes his way there to confront the enraged Sephiroth.

Cloud eventually awakens from his dazed state and also quickly rushes toward the reactor. By the time he arrives, Zack has been badly wounded and Tifa is lying in the middle of the floor after trying to attack Sephiroth herself. He moves her out of the way and comforts her. She tells him that he came during her time of need; the hero she had always wanted to rescue her when she needed it, Cloud was the one who fulfilled his promise. Despite thinking he was a failure and that Tifa would be ashamed of him, he still fulfilled the promise he made to her many years ago. Angrier than ever, Cloud takes his friend—Zack—Buster Sword and heads into the room where Sephiroth entered. Cloud not wasting any time runs toward Sephiroth and stabs him directly in the back—piercing all the way through him. He then gives a few choice words, reinforcing his statements to Tifa as a child: He had admired Sephiroth.

Sephiroth: “Aaarrrgh… who… who are you?”

Cloud: “Mom… Tifa… my town… give it back… I had so much respect for you… admired you…”

Sephiroth, still alive, manages to take Jenova’s Head and exits the room on his way out of the reactor. However, Cloud chases after him, when he gets within the range of Sephiroth’s Masamune, the silver-haired warrior turns and stabs Cloud right through the chest. Cloud, using all of his remaining strength pulls the sword through himself more, gets a solid grip—his hands bleeding from the swords sharp edge—and thrusts Sephiroth over the edge into the Mako below, along with Jenova’s Head. Cloud… the same Cloud who had so long wanted to be strong, so long wanted to have confidence in himself and for the one he so deeply cared for to pay attention to him, had defeated the greatest soldier to ever live.

Cloud had killed Sephiroth. Due to the excessive amount of blood loss, Cloud passes out right then and there. The three (Zack, Cloud, and Tifa) are all badly injured from encountering Sephiroth, but they all managed to live.

At this point, Shinra is quickly onto the scene so as to cover up this news getting out to the common people—Shinra is not allowed to show a vulnerability or loss of control in a situation at any time. The Turks, along with Professor Hojo, are all over the scene to cleanup the mess. Hojo takes both Zack—First Class SOLDIER—and Cloud—Shinra MP—back to the Shinra Mansion, where he begins to conduct vicious experiments on the both of them. What is the purpose behind this? With Sephiroth’s apparent death, Hojo was looking for two specimens to perform his experiment of creating a super soldier on par with Sephiroth. For what I estimate to be four years, Cloud and Zack are both kept in stasis within the tubes in the Shinra Mansion. Hojo’s experiments consisted of a total of three phases: Phase 1 was to give Mako Radiation Therapy and a slight injection of Jenova Cells; Phase 2 was to give the subjects a larger injection of Jenova Cells—the very cells that made up Sephiroth’s molecular structure; and Phase 3 was to fully inject a stable amount of Jenova Cells into the subject’s body, allowing for a complete and successful replication of “Sephiroth.” We know from the notes left in the basement that Zack was unaffected by both the Mako Radiation Therapy and the Jenova Cell injection. He showed no signs and no promise for Hojo’s experiment. In order for to continue to Phase II, the subject in question would need to show a reaction to the Jenova injection, as it is the mandatory part of the experiment.

“C project
Specimen (B) code c
"A scratch left by a fingernail inside the beaker.
'Lets get out of here'.”

“C project
Specimen (A) code z
“A scratch left by a fingernail inside the beaker.
'Feeding time', that's our chance!”

“Escape report no. 2
Description at the time of capture.
A - Former member of SOLDIER/Number ( )
No effect could be detected from either Mako Radiation Therapy or Jenova on him
B - Regular/Number ( )
Reaction to Jenova detected.”

The key there is that Subject B—Cloud—showed a reaction to the Jenova Cells injected into his body. Zack is more or less useless for this particular experiment, as he had no noticeable reaction to the cells injected into his body. Cloud, on the other hand, shows a serious promise toward being Hojo’s first successful “clone.” Before their escape, Hojo begins Phase II of the experiment on Cloud by injecting an even greater amount of Jenova Cells into Cloud’s body. However, Zack and Cloud escape shortly after—or before Hojo can get to Phase III of the experiment—and Cloud is left in a very, very critical state. He isn’t projected to live very long at all.

Zack gets a plan together that when the tube is opened for their food, the two of them would bust out and escape. Sure enough, the plan goes through. Unfortunately, due to the incomplete experiment, Cloud is left in an unstable condition. He goes in and out of consciousness on a dime and stumbles around—clearly not capable of taking care of himself. The two are seen riding a yellow truck heading toward Midgar. It is here that we can see Zack exchanging a great deal of information about what happened before and what their plans would be once they reached Midgar. In all likelihood, this is where Cloud gathered all the information about the Nibelheim incident.

Zack: “Oh, here!! Put on this. It smells a little though; don’t complain. You look pretty good with that. Well…”
Zack: “Yo! Old guy! We at Midgar yet?”

Driver: “Shaddup! You’re lucky I even gave you a ride!”

Zack: “What’re you gonna do when we get to Midgar?”

Cloud: “…”

Zack: “I got a place I can crash for a while. No wait, the mother lives there to... Guess that’s out…”

Cloud: “…”

Zack: “Yep…gotta change my plans! Hmm… No matter what I do, I need some money first… hey, wanna start a business? But what could we do? Hey, Cloud. Think there's anything I'd be good at?”

Zack: “Hey, old guy. What do you think I’d be good at?”

Driver: “What’re you yappin’ about? You're still young ain’t ya? Young folks should try everything! You gotta pay your debts while you’re still young. Go out and look for what you really want.”

Zack: “Try everything...That’s easy for him to say... HEY! Of course! I got a lotta brains, a skill that other guys don’t. That settles it! I’m gonna become a mercenary! Yeah! Thanks, Pops!”

Driver: “Hey… didn't you even hear a word I said?”

Zack: “Listen, I’m gonna become a mercenary and that’s that. Boring stuff, dangerous stuff, anything for money. I’m gonna be rich! So Cloud. What are you gonna do?”

Driver: “No, wait…you got it all wrong.”

Cloud: “Uuhhh…”

Zack: “Just kidding... I won’t leave you hanging like that. We’re friends right? Mercenaries Cloud, that’s what you an’ me are gonna be. Understand Cloud?”

We can see here that Cloud got the idea to become a mercenary from Zack, but he’s clearly still suffering from the increased exposure to Jenova Cells—he’s incomplete in a sense, he’s got his own cells and then he has the Jenova Cells, which is not mixing well, the fact that he’s alive this long is an accomplishment in itself. When they finally arrive at Midgar, they are found on top of a hill overlooking the huge city. Zack quickly notices that Shinra has caught up to them and decides to lay Cloud down on the ground. He grabs his Buster Sword and takes on wave and wave of Shinra MP’s. While going back to make sure Cloud is safe he is shot in the back. From there, he is shot multiple times from point blank and dies there, beside his friend Cloud. The Shinra soldiers see that Cloud is not a threat due to him going in and out of consciousness—the expectation is that he would die soon enough anyway—and decides to leave him there.

“Escapee report no.3
Concerning their disposal.
A - Shot for resisting.
B - Escaped during A's resistance.”

“Escapee report no.4
Other.
B's whereabouts is currently unknown. But, we submit there is no need to pursue him, due to his diminishing consciousness. Awaiting further instructions.”

You can see from the continued logging in the Shinra Basement that they had eliminated Subject A (Zack) while leaving Subject B (Cloud) there due to his “diminishing consciousness.” After this incident, we are at the very beginning of Final Fantasy VII. But, first there is a serious criticism that needs to be addressed here. Often times, a major “flaw” people point out is that Cloud stole Zack’s personality in order to make himself look better, but that is not the truth at all. Cloud never stole Zack’s personality, at least not intentionally. When we see Cloud finally regain the ability to move on his own and something of consciousness, he gathers Zack’s Buster Sword and begins to head toward the city of Midgar. Due to his incapacitated state, he cannot accurately recall everything that had happened. It’s obvious that he recalls the incident during Nibelheim, escaping with Zack, and then hearing Zack’s stories of becoming a mercenary—he’s even wearing the uniform of a SOLDIER, the very same that Zack wore.

When he tries to fully piece everything back together, things become jumbled up and mixed. He thinks he is Zack, but purposely. It only makes logical sense that Cloud would assume he was a SOLDIER First Class. He has the mako infused eyes, he recalls the incident in Nibelheim, he recalls setting out to become a SOLDIER, and he’s wearing the uniform of SOLDIER. Everything pieces together for someone in Cloud’s state thinking it was all him. It’s clear that he doesn’t start to fully regain awareness until he’s already in Midgar. There’s no way for him to remember Zack the person, as he wasn’t aware of his death.

When Cloud arrives in Midgar, he is hired for a job by AVALANCHE—an eco-terrorist organization out to stop Midgar from “killing” the Planet. Due to Cloud’s complete indifference toward both sides, he joins up with AVALANCHE in order to gather his pay. At the beginning, Cloud is quite cold, saying that he’s only in this for the money and he couldn’t care less about what happens to the Planet. This matches up quite nicely with his childhood, with Tifa and her friends. And the criticism that this is where Cloud matches up with Zack is quite unfounded. Zack’s personality was nearly the complete opposite of this—a lighthearted, kind, caring, talkative fellow. After completing the mission, the group, along with Cloud, head back to Sector 7 to visit Tifa back at her Seventh Heaven bar. It is here that Cloud finally gets to meet back up with Tifa, who had not seen since the Nibelheim incident five years ago. The two share some memories of Cloud promising to always be her hero in her time of peril and even though Cloud was only signed on for one mission, Tifa persuades him to stay for at least one more.

Tifa: Whenever I’m in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once.

Cloud: What?

Tifa: Come on—!! Promise me—!

Cloud: All right...... I promise.

After destroying the Sector 5 Reactor, Cloud met up with a young woman by the name of Aerith Gainsborough in a church. He had landed on her flowers, which broke his fall, but she greeted him as if nothing had happened. From the get go, there was something about Aerith that Cloud was just mesmerized by. The more they spent together, the more Cloud became attached, but that would not last, unfortunately. Their time together, going through this quest, was brought to an abrupt end when Aerith decided to run away and save the Planet on her own by summoning Holy. She ran to the City of the Ancients, but in a dream-like sequence, Cloud had seen her heading toward there. He also saw Sephiroth, who said that Aerith was becoming a problem that needed to be dealt with. When Cloud had awoken, he was actually reluctant to save her. Why? Because he had given up the Black Materia to Sephiroth before, he was losing the ability to control his body whenever he got near Sephiroth. Many people like to blame this on Cloud’s weak mind, but that is most certainly not the case at all. As we know, Cloud was injected with an abundance of Jenova Cells, but the experiment was NEVER completed.

He reached Phase II and while he had the cells coursing throughout his body, they were still incomplete at best. This allowed for Sephiroth to easily manipulate and control Cloud—focusing on the problems of his past and cause him to lose control due to the incomplete cells in his body. In most circumstances, Sephiroth will have complete control over Cloud if he wishes. Only when Cloud is pushed up against a wall with nowhere to go can he actually exert his own will and control his body. Despite what many people wish to believe, this is NOT the product of a weak-minded individual. It, in fact, requires someone of serious mental ability to not break under the pressure like this. He is not like anyone else. While Hojo often refers to him as a “failed experiment” he is anything BUT that. Cloud exceeded every single one of Hojo’s expectations and therefore he is regarded as a failure. Hojo set out to create a SOLDIER that would emulate Sephiroth, but Cloud had clearly gone beyond that level the moment he had managed to live through with incomplete Jenova Cells in his body. Some of serious physical and mental endurance would have to be capable of doing such a thing… someone like Cloud Strife. Further, Hojo says himself that Cloud should NOT be able to exercise anything close to “free will.” The incomplete Jenova Cells in his body should allow for complete and utter control by the host—Sephiroth, or Jenova, if you prefer. Neither should have the slightest bit of trouble with them, but they do.

Hojo: “He's a Sephiroth clone I created after the real Sephiroth died five years ago. Jenova cells and Mako, with my knowledge and skills, have been combined with science and nature to bring him to life. ...I'm not wild about the failure part, but the Jenova Reunion Theory has now been proven. You see, even if Jenova's body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. That's what is meant by Jenova's Reunion to start. Five years have passed, and now the Clones have begun to return. I thought the Clones would begin to gather at Midgar where Jenova is stored. But my predictions were not entirely correct. Jenova itself began to move away from the Shinra Building. But being a genius that I am, I soon figured it out. You see it was all Sephiroth's doing. Sephiroth is not just content to diffuse his will into the Lifestream; he wants to manipulate the Clones itself.”

Back to the subject at hand, after he had awoken from the dream of Aerith, he was quite frightened. She had left, but he did not want to pursue her. He was afraid of what might happen when he found her, he was afraid that he couldn’t control his body again, and he was afraid that it would all lead to him failing… failing his friends. Cloud constantly showed signs of fear throughout the game and this, I feel, is what made Cloud far more human than people give credit for. He was an extremely realistic character because of this. He was not the unwavering hero who stood for justice; in fact, many times he preferred not to pursue anything. These are all very human emotions. Cloud was not always willing to put his life on the line and he certainly didn’t want to do something that would mean him putting his friends in danger—in this case, they all traveling together. Things such as these are what really bring me to liking him and considering him so much better than every other videogame character out there. His realism is undeniable for scenes such as these.

Cloud: No… I'm afraid. If this keeps up, I may go crazy! I'm afraid…”

Eventually, his friends convince him that they’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything that would harm anyone and they go looking for Aerith. When they arrive at the Forgotten Capital, they find her praying—she’s summoning Holy to stop the Meteor from crashing down into the Planet. But, when Cloud begins to approach her he loses control of his body once again, he nearly slices Aerith, but his friends call out to him and snap him out of it—another example of him exerting a free will that he apparently shouldn’t have. When this happens he sees Sephiroth, the very evil in the world, come down from above and stab Aerith right in the back. This created one, if not the, most touching moment from me in a videogame. All of a sudden, I shared Cloud’s hatred of Sephiroth. I was hit hard with Aerith’s death, as was Cloud, and things suddenly began to change.

Cloud: “...Shut up. The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing. Aerith is gone. Aerith will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry... or get angry... What about us... what are WE supposed to do? What about my pain? My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!”

Someone who had deeply cared for was suddenly taken away by the person he despised most. From this point on, Cloud would be very different. He would soon stop doubting himself, stop any control from Sephiroth/Jenova, and put an end to all this mess by defeating Sephiroth himself.

A little later on, Cloud eventually falls into the Lifestream and suffers a severe case of Mako Poisoning, as noted by the Doctor of Mideel. But there’s a very specific key here, the Doctor clearly states that no normal person could have dreamed of surviving this much Mako exposure. Cloud, however, is not a normal human being. He had been exposed to Mako once before and had been injected with Jenova Cells. But this trip through the Lifestream did something… different. It completed Phase III of the experiment conducted by Hojo. Cloud was exposed to an extreme amount of Mako, which is what the third Phase consists of, and because of such Cloud is able to have his incomplete cells become complete. From here, neither Jenova nor Sephiroth is capable of exerting a controlling force over Cloud. The control they could once exert over him is gone, vanished. The explanation as to why is right there.

Doctor: “Mako poisoning...... Quite an advanced case...... It appears this young man's been exposed to a high level of Mako energy for a protracted period of time. He probably has no idea who or where he is now... Poor fellow, his voice doesn't even work. He is literally miles away from us. Some place far away where no one's ever been... All alone...

I'll say it again; he's got Mako poisoning. I've never seen a case this bad. An immerse amount of Mako-drenched knowledge was put into his brain all at once...... No normal human could survive it... It's a miracle he did!”

Within this same timeframe, Cloud, with the help of Tifa, also begins to piece back his past and attempt to overcome his inner demons. They go through many steps, many of which I covered, that describe the problems Cloud had as a child and what happened on that fateful day five years ago. This along with the exposure to Mako would allow Cloud to become the strongest, both mentally and physically, that he’s ever been. Sephiroth’s mind games would no longer affect him and Jenova attempting to exert a control over his body had also ceased.

That's not a character write-up that's text torture.

--
"intention doesn't matter? clearly your cashier degree did not require a law course." - ND to Joyrock on the legality of drinking a soda before paying

Before the final battle, Cloud gave—what is to me, the greatest “speech” given by a character—an amazing talk to his comrades…

Cloud: What are we all fighting for? I want us all to understand that. Save the planet... for the future of the planet... Sure, that's all fine. But really, is that really how it is? For me, this is a personal feud. I want to beat Sephiroth. And settle my past. Saving the planet just happens to be part of that. I've been thinking. I think we all are fighting for ourselves. For ourselves... and that someone... something... what ever it is, that's important to us. That's what we're fighting for. That's why we keep up this battle for the planet.

I know why I'm fighting. I'm fighting to save the planet, and that's that. But besides that, There's something personal too... A very personal memory that I have. What about you all? I want all of you to find that something within yourselves. If you don't find it, then that's okay too. You can't fight without a reason, right? So, I won't hold it against you if you don't come back.

......Aerith. She was smiling to the end. We have to do something, or that smile will just freeze like that. Let's go all together. Memories of Aerith... ...Although she should've returned to the planet by now, something stopped her and now she's stuck...... We've got to let go of Aerith's memory.”

I was really touched by these statements from Cloud. He had made such an amazing progression from having no confidence, a constant feeling of fear, to someone who was ready to take on Sephiroth and bring peace to the world. He once never cared for the Planet, but now he was the hero who was fighting to save it. Throughout the course of Final Fantasy VII there was no character that could come close to touching Cloud’s development and complexity; this very statement still holds true today, perhaps even moreso. From here, Cloud would go on to face Sephiroth, along with his friends, in one final battle for the Planet. He knew what he was fighting more and he knew the goal he had to complete. Despite the high probability of failure, Cloud was unwavering in his confidence to overcome this task. He had optimism and strength that he had lacked before. This very strength that would propel him to defeat Sephiroth and set things straight in the world. This… this was Cloud Strife.

[Two Years Later…]

Lifestream… The flow that governs the life of the worlds. It is the source of all the worlds and all life on those planets. The Shinra Company found a way to take the Lifestream and use it as a resource. Because of that, we were able to lead rich and plentiful lives. But that wore away at the life of the Planet. There were a lot of people who thought Shinra tried to use force against those who stood in opposition.

Shinra had as special force called “SOLDIER.” They were the ones, who long ago, took the falling calamity from the sky to destroy the world—Jenova—and buried her. There was one among them named Sephiroth, who was an excellent SOLDIER. But when he found out he had been born in a horrifying experiment he came to hate Shinra… and then he finally came to hate everything—Shinra and those who stood against them. Sephiroth, whose hate for the world was so great that he tried to destroy the world and those who tried to stop him.

There were many battles. There was sadness in the sheer number of battles—one who I loved also became apart of the Lifestream. And then one day…a fated day… the world’s power itself stopped all of the battles. The world used the Lifestream as a weapon. The Lifestream, gushing out all over the world, took battles, ambition, and sadness… it took everything and swallowed it up. In exchange, everything stopped. These things… they happened two years ago… but the world seems to have been much, much angrier than anyone believed. The Geostigma…

In the two years that have passed, Cloud Strife—the former savior of the Planet—has gone into solitude. He stopped contact with his friends and eventually stopped visiting them, even Tifa, all together. One might wonder why it is that Cloud decided to separate himself from everyone else. But over the course of those two years, Cloud had lost his strength… that feeling he had in the last battle against Sephiroth had vanished. He felt that he could not save anyone—the lingering thoughts of Aerith still troubling his mind—and that he would become a failure if had attempted to do anything. In order to prevent his largest fear, he stopped communication with everyone. Not only does he live with his “sin” but he has also contracted the fatal, and incurable, Geostigma virus that is currently infesting the Planet. Cloud Strife, the man who had overcome all the odds just two years ago, was in one of the worst positions of his life… he was dying.

As Advent Children begins, we can see that Cloud has received a call from Tifa, but he did not answer the phone. Instead, he only hears it through the voice mail of his cellphone. Tifa had told him that Reno had wanted to talk to him in the Healin Lodge for an unknown reason. Cloud decides to head toward the Lodge to see what it is that Reno wants, but three silver-haired men who are unknown to him—Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo—managed to encounter him. Taking on both Yazoo and Loz at the same time, a motorcycle chase rages across the barren land near Midgar. Cloud, despite the Geostigma bringing him down and his unwillingness to fight, manages to hold both of them off long enough for Kadaj to call off the attack, but not before taking a fair beating himself. Being rather shocked by these recent actions, Cloud heads toward the Healin Lodge.

Upon his arrival, he is met by Reno, who tries to attack him but ends up locked outside, along with Rude, who also tries to attack him. Cloud, however, points his sword directly at the throat of Rude forcing him to back down. Suddenly, a man in a white cloak and wheelchair comes into the room. Cloud realizes immediately who it is… Rufus Shinra. Rufus talks about him looking into the aftereffects of Sephiroth’s influence and also give a brief description of Kadaj’s crew. The main reason that Cloud had been summoned here was to be asked to assist them in rebuilding the world and preventing Kadaj’s group from reaching their goal. However, Cloud has no interest in such things and leaves quickly.

From there, he heads back to a very familiar place, back to the gravesite of his old friend Zack. He picks up Zack’s old Buster Sword that had been knocked over and slams it back into the ground.

Cloud: ”I’ll live for you as well… that’s what I decided.”

Cloud experiences a quick flashback with the different scenes containing Zack all the way up until his death on the outskirts of Midgar. It was around this area that a wolf was seen moving around—the wolf in the movie has been claimed to serve two purposes, one is that it is the spirit of Zack watching over Cloud and the other is that it is to symbolize Cloud’s loneliness and the problems he’s currently going through. Shortly after Cloud remembers these things, he receives another jolt to his arm; the pain of Geostigma brings him down to his knees. After regaining his bearings, he decides to head back to his “home,” which is the church where Aerith cared for the flowers in Final Fantasy VII. When he arrives, he finds that the church has been badly damaged from a fight between Tifa and Loz that occurred not too long ago. He also finds Tifa passed out in the middle of the flowers. Cloud quickly rushes over to her, holding her in his arms. She incoherently says a few words and passes back out and says “Marlene…” Before Cloud can do anything at all, he has another attack from his Geostigma and passes out on the field of flowers lying next to Tifa.

It is here that we see someone looking down upon the both of them—as well as seeing the wolf in the corner of the screen. The bright light gives it away completely… it is Aerith still looking over Cloud. We next see Cloud awaken in a bed in Seventh Heaven, next to Tifa. He looks over to see Tifa still not awake from the encounter with Loz. He stays there until she finally wakes up later that night and the two engage in a rather serious conversation about himself…

Cloud: “Reno and them are searching…”

Tifa: “It’s Geostigma… isn’t it? ‘It’s alright if I die,’ is that what you’re thinking?”

Tifa: “As I thought…”

Cloud: “There’s no cure.”

Tifa: “But Denzel was trying his best, wasn’t he? Why don’t you fight with us instead of running away? We could all help each other and try our best! Can’t do because we’re not a real family, huh?”

Cloud: “I can’t… I can’t save anyone, I don’t think. Neither family nor friends… no one.”

We can clearly see here that Cloud is experiencing some real troubles with the events two years before with Aerith’s death. He feels that it was his fault that she died, that it was his weakness and failure to protect her that allowed Sephiroth to kill her. More than anything right now Cloud wanted to be forgiven for his “sin.” He felt that Aerith was putting the blame on him for her death and that he had somehow let her down. The Geostigma just further adds to his suffering, making him once again doubt what he can do. That lingering fear of failure has caught up to Cloud… again. He had once overcome it in Final Fantasy VII, but with two years to reflect on his past, it is apparent that the strength he once had was gone. He no longer wanted to do anything, no longer wanted to be relied on, he just wanted to be alone by himself. The Turks enter into the room and tell Cloud where the kidnapped kids have been taken—the Forgotten Capital. Cloud yet again does not want to even try to save them and instead tells Reno to do because he’s going to go speak with Rufus. Reno, however, tells Cloud to go to the city himself.

It is here that we see Cloud racing through the forest on Fenrir, his motorcycle, heading toward the kidnapped children, when a bright light surrounds him. Yet again, it’s Aerith…

Aerith: “So you showed up, eh? Even though you’re falling apart, I’m sure this will be a good thing. Question! Why exactly did you come here?”

Cloud: “I… wish to be forgiven. Yes, I want to be forgiven.”

Aerith: “By who?”

This is the first part where we really see that Cloud feels guilty for Aerith’s death. He seems to place all the blame on himself for not being able to save her two years ago. He also feels as though Aerith somehow thinks it was also a fault of Cloud’s that she died. As one can see, Aerith asks “By whom?” to signify that she’s unaware of why he wants to be forgiven; Cloud has lived with the burden for far too long. He never needed to place the blame on himself and feel that it was his weakness that caused her death. But before Cloud can turn around to see her, he is thrust back into reality and is also being shot at by Loz and Yazoo! He quickly pulls out two of his six swords found within Fenrir in order to block the bullets and continues to drive toward them. However, Kadaj calls out to the now possessed children—from drinking the black water during Kadaj’s speech. They form a barrier of sorts in front of Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo causing Cloud to have to move the motorcycle and leap off. He ends up being surrounded by the children and Kadaj, who calls him a “traitor” during the talk. But right before Kadaj tries to cut Cloud, Marlene cries out diverting Kadaj’s attention only for a second. Using this time, Cloud quickly grabs his sword lying beside him and attempts to take on all three of them—suddenly he’s slowly beginning to change. He has the ability to keep up with them for quite a while. The strength he once had is starting to come back to him… that feeling of being a “hero” is suddenly starting to hit him. Cloud shows some amazing sword skills by handling both Yazoo and Loz at the same time; unleashing attacks of his own, blocking their attacks, etc. But eventually, the two begin to gain the upper hand, along with Kadaj joining in on the battle. Fortunately, there his friend from years past, Vincent Valentine, like a pool of blood moving through the air, grabs him and deflects all of the attacks back toward Kadaj’s crew.

Now in a safe location, Vincent begins to describe the current situation at hand. He tells Cloud that Kadaj is after Jenova’s Head in order for another Reunion to happen, as well as the effects of Geostigma—the Jenova Cells, or “Sephiroth Element,” entering into the Lifestream. The most disturbing news of all is that Kadaj’s crew could even remake Sephiroth, according to Vincent. The two hear rustling in the bushes only to see that Marlene has escaped from Kadaj’s grip; she comes rushing toward Cloud, giving him a hug. With a worried look on her face, she asks about Denzel and Tifa. Cloud then tries to get his cellphone—it has fallen out during the attack and into the water—but finds that it is gone. Vincent doesn’t appear to have it either—this creates a rather humorous scene, I must say. Heh. Cloud then tells Vincent to take Marlene back to the store and that he was going to go talk to Rufus about the matter. But at this point, Marlene is fed up with Cloud always running away…

Marlene: “I don’t care about you anymore, Cloud! Why don’t you listen to what we’re saying?!”

This feeling isn’t just with Marlene either. Tifa shows feelings of being fed up with Cloud not listening to them either. He has shut off everyone for so long that they cannot take it anymore. But this is where we begin to see that Cloud is starting to have a breakthrough in his character. He tells Marlene to wait just a little longer, that the fight will be beginning soon. Vincent then questions Cloud, asking him whether or not it is about the fight. Cloud begins to think back to just a few hours back when he had the conversation with Tifa.

Tifa: “Don’t run! I know you are! Even if you find the children, you might not be able to do anything. They might be somewhere that we can’t them back. You’re scared of that, aren’t you? But you have to react now, to more of this! A burden? Well, there’s no helping that, it’s a heavy burden! Unless you want to live all alone, you have to deal with that! You don’t want to be alone, do you? Even though you never answer, you always have your phone with you.”

I felt that was one of the best lines in the entire movie. Tifa really brought up everything that had been going on. She knew Cloud, what he was thinking and how he was feeling. But she couldn’t just stand by and let him act this way, she knew that he really didn’t feel this way truthfully and that deep down he wanted to help the children, he wanted to help everyone, but he was afraid of failing them. His constant fears of failure lead him to not want to try anything. Tifa, I feel, is one of the biggest characters in bringing forth Cloud’s character. She’s always there for him, caring for him and reassuring him—even when he doesn’t ask for it—that he must at least try to accomplish these things, because she’s knows he is capable of completing them. After this scene, we see Cloud back with Aerith in what would appear to be the Promised Land, or an environment of heavenly nature.

Cloud: “But… we just let her die.”

Aerith: “Really, always drifting… Hey, why don’t you forgive yourself?”

We are now back at the Forgotten Capital, where Cloud questions whether or not a sin can be forgiven. Vincent tells him that he’s never tried. At this point, Cloud has clearly changed in his attitude. He’s different from before, he’s willing to try, and he’s willing to put himself out on the line again to try to help people. He tells Marlene that they’re going home and also says to Vincent that he’ll try it and get back to him with the answer. This next scene just furthers to reinforce the change in Cloud. We see his cellphone that had fallen out of his pocket earlier slowly falling in water. We hear all sorts of different unanswered messages from Reeve, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Tifa, Reno, etc. All of his friends had tried to contact him, but he never answered. He preferred to live in by himself… alone. But now anymore, Cloud had changed. To signify this we see Cloud’s phone hit the bottom of the lake and die—the death of his “lonely” attitude and the beginning of the Cloud that was going to move on, going to move past his fear of failure and overcome his “sin.” There are also some very useful words from Aerith…

Aerith: “I’ve never thought badly of you. You came for me, didn’t you? That’s plenty right there.”

Here, we’re back in the city of Edge, where Yazoo and Loz are trying to bring down the monument in the middle of town—the meteor constructed by Rufus as a symbol of the survival of the people in Midgar. Tifa also finds out that Denzel is not his normal self—still under the influence of Kadaj—and tries to shake him out of it. Further, we learn that Kadaj is on the roof of a building with Rufus and has summoned a hideous monster to attack the city… Bahamut-Sin. The people begin desperately running around trying to avoid being killed by the beast. Tifa is still trying to get Denzel to get his consciousness back while Reno and Rude seem to be confronting Loz and Yazoo. It’s a most chaotic time but Cloud is nowhere to be found, it seems. Bahamut-Sin then flies into the air and shoots down a huge blast that destroys the Meteor monument and knocks out/kills many people in the process. Denzel is finally back to his normal self after waking up from Bahamut’s attack. Angered that Tifa was injured in the process, Denzel tries to attack Bahamut himself, but out of nowhere, Barret comes to quickly knock him out of the way and attack the beast. Red XIII and Yuffie also come flying down with a parachute to help out Barret. While they’re distracted, four creatures attempt to attack the defenseless Tifa and Denzel. But now Cid comes jumping down from his new ship—the Sierra. Vincent also passes by the two casually as he prepares to take on the monster as well—the entire group is back and ready to defend the city from Bahamut-Sin. Now enters the newly changed Cloud riding up on his motorcycle beside Tifa and Denzel. He gives a very meaningful quote too…

Cloud: “It feels lighter. Maybe I wore it down by dragging it along so much.”

From this comment, we can see Tifa looking at Cloud and starts to smile. She can already tell that he’s no longer the same Cloud who had shut himself off from everyone these past few years. He now had that strength… that same strength that he had two years ago. Cloud was back.

Here we can see that the entire party is going at it against Bahamut-Sin, all at the same time, but they don’t appear to be very effective at all; in fact, none of their attacks appear to be doing any damage at all to the beast. Fortunately, Cloud quickly arrives onto the scene by saving Barret from a blast. It’s now that the entire group pulls back and lets Cloud handle the situation and he does so with ease. This is where we truly begin to see that Cloud has suddenly taken a jump in strength. For all the party’s attacks, Cloud manages to do more damage and faster. He goes head-to-head with Bahamut-Sin, eventually knocking him straight into the ground. Bahamut, sensing that he is not in an advantageous position, goes flying up far above the city and starts to create a blast that would be enough to destroy everything for miles. However, Cloud isn’t about to let that happen. He jumps up to chase after Bahamut, but he cannot get there by himself. The other party members serve to send him higher and higher into the sky, but even with all their power, it still is not enough. The last person needed is Aerith. As seen in Final Fantasy VII, Aerith extends her hand to Cloud and gives him the remaining boost or energy needed to reach the flying monster. Bahamut launches his attack directly at Cloud—it’s huge, FAR, FAR larger than Cloud himself—but luckily he manages to pierce right through its center unscratched! He then jabs the sword into Bahamut’s head and goes running down its spine. Cloud had done it; he had defeated the beast and saved the city of Edge. More than anything, he had proven that his strength was back, that HE was back. He was moving on, overcoming his “sin” and most importantly, being to show his caring toward everyone.

Not even one minute after defeating Bahamut-Sin, Cloud sees that Kadaj is attacking Rufus atop of a building overlooking the city. He immediately gets to Fenrir and begins to head toward their location—his job still isn’t finished yet. We see that Rufus has had Jenova’s Head the entire time and that he had thrown it over the edge and shot a hole in it with his trademark Shotgun. As soon as Kadaj catches the box, he looks up to see Cloud coming toward them at an insane speed. The three silver-haired men quickly hop onto their motorcycles and begin to take their exit as quickly as possible. Here, Cloud takes on both Yazoo and Loz again in a huge motorcycle chase on a highway. But, unlike the previous encounter at the beginning of the movie, Cloud was different. He had more strength this time around than before and was able to handle the two much easier. We see him dodging and even fitting his own attacks in there, eventually leaving both of them weaponless and limited to sharing a motorcycle.

After dealing with those two, Cloud immediately continues the chase after Kadaj, who isn’t too far ahead of him right now. He flies by Reno and Rude, who leave a bomb for Loz and Yazoo, and then goes into yet another battle with Kadaj across the highway. The two lock swords and stare at each other with a familiar hatred. However, Kadaj manages to get the upper hand and knocks Cloud’s balance off—along with stabbing his right shoulder sleeve—and is able to make an escape yet again. But it is here that Cloud decides to rip off the sleeve, finally revealing the effects of Geostigma running down his arm. Even with the fatal disease bringing him down, Cloud is now in a state of mind that is far beyond his previous self. He has let go of his “sin”… he realizes Aerith didn’t blame him and finally manages to forgive the most important person in all of the mess… himself. Without a moment’s hesitation, Cloud quickly rides Fenrir to the church that Aerith had always visited while she was alive. It is there that Kadaj sits screaming “Mother!” Cloud comes smashing through the door on Fenrir, but Kadaj noticed him prior and sends a magic attack at one of the huge pillars holding the church up. He uses it to escape once again, but this time something very different happens. The area where there had been flowers was replaced by a spring like fountain of water. This water began to rise in the church, creating a pool, as well as rain down on both Cloud and Kadaj. Strangely enough, it appeared to hurt the remnant of Sephiroth, so much so that he had to leave. But for Cloud, this water was healing his Geostigma. The last thing in line that was holding Cloud back from being at his top potential was being cured miraculously. It was clear whom this rain had come from….

Aerith: “Let’s go, Cloud.”

With everything coming to a close, Cloud finally catches up with Kadaj, who is no longer running at this point. He says that he has met his mother and that she will decide what happens from here. He also realizes that he was a puppet and due to the anger of this, he launches an attack from the Materia in his arm at Cloud. The fight between the two breaks out, but Cloud is in complete control from the beginning. The gap in strength between Cloud and Kadaj is insane, even though he was below this level earlier in the movie. When the other members arrive in Cid’s new Sierra, Barret immediately says to move in so that they can get out. But, both Vincent and Tifa know that they cannot interfere in this particular fight. Out of every fight they had been in together, this one was Cloud’s. He had to handle it and there was no doubt in Tifa’s mind that he would. She knew that he had changed, he was so much different from before; Vincent was also capable of noticing this rather quickly.

Tifa: ”Two years ago… That strong feeling that he definitely had in the final battle… though it was just two years ago, somewhere along the way, he lost that feeling; I think he’s gathering that feeling again, and it’s bringing him back to us.”

During this quote we see Cloud and Kadaj continuing to go at it, but the real difference here is that Cloud is shown giving a really quick smirk in the middle of the fight. It really just reinforces everything that has happened as of late. Tifa and Vincent were able to recognize that Cloud was different and chose not to interfere for that very reason. In one last desperation attack, Kadaj leaps into the air and tries to slash Cloud, but a very strong Buster Sword meets him. At this point, Kadaj is barely hanging onto an edge; he has no weapon and is clearly beaten. But, using the contents of the box in his hand he leaps into the air and proclaims that he’ll show Cloud his “reunion.” Cloud jumps after him, but when he reaches him something is different. Kadaj now has long, flowing silver hair… a long Masamune… and in the most malicious of voices says, “It’s been a while, Cloud.” The One Winged Angel himself is back… Sephiroth was here to confront Cloud. Despite the efforts, the “reunion” of Sephiroth’s remnants was complete.


”It's been a while, Cloud.

You lost your Geostigma? How unfortunate.” — Sephiroth

”Just what are you hoping for?” — Cloud

”The spirits of the deceased who carried the Geostigma... That, with the Lifestream, guides the flow of the worlds. Eventually, it infringes on the Planet...

What I hope for, Cloud, is to use this world as a ship to sail the darkness of space. As Mother did before me, you see.

One day, we will discover a new world. We will create our shining future on that ground.” -- Sephiroth

”What will happen to this Planet?” — Cloud

”Who knows… that depends on you.” — Sephiroth

”Ooh, what made you stronger?” — Sephiroth

”I don't want to tell you.” — Cloud

”I thought of what to give you as a gift… Shall I give you despair?

Kneel, and show me your figure, begging for forgiveness.

What is most important to you, Cloud? Would you give me the happiness of stealing it from you?” — Sephiroth

”I pity you who understand nothing. There is nothing that isn't important!

Stay there for me, trapped in my memories.” — Cloud

”I… I won't become a memory.”

I feel that more than anything, the dialogue between this two in the fight does this more justice than anything else. We can see that these two still hate each other with a passion and we can see that Sephiroth is still trying to use Cloud’s supposed mental weakness—which I have more than discredited at this point—by telling him to beg for “forgiveness” and that he wants to take away that, that is more precious to Cloud. However, Cloud is beyond the point of being manipulated or told by someone else that he’s doing something that’s not right or might result in failure. Cloud knows that he cannot give up for himself and most importantly, every one else around him. He cares about his friends and those close to him more than anything. Despite not answering their calls over the past two years, he still listened to their messages and still kept his phone on him. Cloud had to sort out his own problems, overcome his “sin,” and when he finally did, Sephiroth never stood a chance. Before this fight even began, there was no way that Cloud was going to be taken down, especially by measly talk from Sephiroth. This fight, more than any other, allowed Cloud to come to terms completely with all the events in his life. He was putting Sephiroth back into his “memories” to stay there… forever.

this is the worst

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ONLY FIVE CAN LADDER.
Sushi, kamikaze, fujiyama, nippon-ichi...

After Sephiroth’s defeat, Kadaj reappears and is badly injured. He rests in Cloud’s arms only speaking the word “Brother…” to him before it begins to rain again, that familiar rain that had healed Cloud’s Geostigma. It was Aerith once again being there to help out, like she had done so many times before. She told Kadaj that it was over now and that he could let go of everything. We see him reaching into the sky and slowly turning back into a substance very similar to the Lifestream—he was, after all, merely a spirit of Sephiroth. We see the group cheering for Cloud back in the Sierra for his victory, but the sound of a bullet shot is heard and seen piercing straight through Cloud’s back and out his chest. Yazoo, with the help of Loz, had delivered one final shot to try to take Cloud down with them. This next scene easily ranks up there with my favorites in the movie, as we see Cloud floating in the air, surrounded by a bright white light. Aerith’s Theme begins to play and we see her hand placed on top of Cloud’s head. Both she and Zack say that Cloud’s place is simply not here—he belongs alive after everything he has gone through and after so much he has done for the Planet—and they heal his wounds in the process. We also see the final scene with the wolf, as he walks up beside Cloud and disappears.

Cloud wakes up in the pool of water in the Aerith’s church completely surrounded by the children who previously had Geostigma. The party is overjoyed to see that Cloud is all right, as are the children. Red XIII comes forth to say that some of the kids still have the fatal virus. Tifa encourages Denzel to go into the water with Cloud, as it will heal him. Cloud gathers up some water and pours it over Denzel’s head, curing him of the disease. Everyone begins to jump up and down with excitement and the remaining children hop into the water as well. As Cloud looks around, he notices Aerith and Zack near the church entrance. Aerith begins to get up and walk away, but before leaving she turns around telling Cloud “You’re all right now, aren’t you?” After that, she begins to walk into the white light along with Zack who gives one last wave goodbye before disappearing with her. Cloud, with a smile on his face, says it all…

Cloud: “Yeah. I’m… I’m not alone.”

Whew! I really wrote a lot here, didn’t I? I once stated, although I don’t know if many of you remember, that I could write endlessly about Cloud. Even here, I cut some things short to get directly to the point—even though that does not seem like the case at all. Here I am, in Microsoft Word, with 11,000+ words written and over 24 pages of text. After completing this monumental task, I feel completely justified in liking the character known as Cloud Strife. He goes beyond my favorite videogame character, but my favorite character to ever exist in any type of entertainment medium. While he may not be the absolute best, he is MY favorite and that will not be changing anytime soon. I can relate to Cloud more than any other character, I fully understand Cloud more than any other character, and I like Cloud more than any other character. Many people here may criticize me for the choice, but I simply do not care. These same people may jokingly say that my favorite character will change in the future, but I hope this write-up has put away these claims.

In conclusion, I feel that Cloud is one of the most complex and most well developed characters ever. This most definitely holds true for videogames. Speak of Solid Snake or Luca Blight or whomever else people bring up, but I honestly don’t believe any of them hold a candle to Cloud’s greatness. Not only is he complex and well developed, but also he has an appeal that always got to me. I loved his design—admittedly, I began busting out gel and spiking my hair shortly after playing Final Fantasy VII back in the day. There is a connection I have to this “fictional character” that is, I feel, something amazing. I feel justified in this and I hope you all have a better understanding of why I like Cloud so much and perhaps… maybe even you have learned something new about him, something that would make you dislike him less. Anyway, thanks for reading, people. It’s been good.

~Courtesy of Heroic Mario circa 2005

holy **** what

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Heroic Mario.

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add the c and back away
iphonesience

That's something.

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Behold the majesty that is Doom. Feast upon his greatness, and know you will never measure up.
http://img.imgcake.com/Punny/scenemaybecompletepngre.png

are we sure that isn't LMS with a time machine

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http://www.freewebs.com/guessmyusername/CD1_joohee0924.gif

I have been influenced to hate anyone who would write twelve posts of text about Cloud F***ing Strife.

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Congrats to SuperNiceDog for winning the Guru for a Super Bad Contest!

I think I need a new scroll wheel, this one wasn't prepared for such an industrious level of use.

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"CROSSFIYAAAAAAH!" counter: More times than you've had hot meals and been laid, combined

too much

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I do because I can.....and because I'm bored.

From: GuessMyUserName | #125
are we sure that isn't LMS with a time machine

LMS doesn't write walls of text.

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From: LeonhartFour | #129
LMS doesn't write walls of text.

He copies and pastes them from various video game magazines.

Edit: LMS better be on this list. He's completely changed the way people view contest stats. Who needs x-stats when we have rankings from Edge?

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Congrats to SuperNiceDog for winning the Guru for a Super Bad Contest!

oh my god

Haha, that wall of text went from awful to amazing.

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http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/3492/eponaharr.jpg
Nominate SuperNiceDog's Guru-choice, then Epona.

From: Lopen | #086
If I was on the list I'd actually argue I shouldn't be on it either! That being said I'm about as influential as half the people on this list so far because they're not either. I know what you're claiming you're trying to do with this list, but your entrants and more importantly your write-ups don't really back that. You say "creating trends laying foundations blah blah" so how did SDR, omegaman, and the jp start trends? I don't recall any trends or foundations they set up, and you didn't in your write-ups either.

Best I can think of is people blasting jp made it okay to blast people more often? But #1 that's a stretch and #2 that wasn't the rationale for your write-up-- wasn't even mentioned. You said he's the "set the standard for fat users on b8"... apparently there's a big fat guy userbase hovering around out there that I'm unaware of and it's all thanks to the jp. Color me surprised! You can say "at the time" some people made a fool of themselves roasting the guy but then jp left and no one really thought about it again. That's not what I really call influence, that's what I call reaction to an event. The case for SDR and omegaman is even weaker.

The case for the guys you mention is that they're amongst the most remarkable, unique and bizarre people the board has seen. That kind of person causes many of the most memorable moments on the board. Memorable moments cause talking points, identifies people and most importantly those kind of people and those kind of moments are a trademark of board 8. Guys of that mold contribute a decent bit to the reputation of board 8 and that unique aspect you don't get elsewhere, even though their impact on the community is low. I'm not sure if your issue is that you don't consider impact on reputation and draw to the board as a valid ranking criteria or if you're misunderstanding the potential difference between "Most influential users on board 8" and "Most influential users to board 8".

I say a decent bit because also keeping in mind none of those guys are even in the top 30 so if you think their case isn't of godlike conviction, I'd agree with you. If it was they wouldn't be so low. But its better than the alternatives that I've looked at.

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http://mypsn.eu.playstation.com/psn/profile/smurfsdabomb.png

you can't use "wait until we get to the good ones" when you already put Heroic Mario on the list

next to omegaman

He was a forgettable person who was only relevant as an insane comic relief fanboy for a couple of seasons. Lets be fair here and not pedestal the guy.

For one thing he picked and chose the areas of the board he posted in. He made lists, frequented the stats topic and threads involving a select handful of his friends and that was about it. Difficult fo me to regard someone who stuck to his own circle more than maybe anyone else ever did as significant to the board as a whole.

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(\__/) Meet Ziggy,the Evil Bunny who wants to take over the world and eat the flesh of the weak.
(='.'=] Put Ziggy in your sig to support his cause.

__Smurf__ posted...
He was a forgettable person who was only relevant as an insane comic relief fanboy for a couple of seasons. Lets be fair here and not pedestal the guy.

For one thing he picked and chose the areas of the board he posted in. He made lists, frequented the stats topic and threads involving a select handful of his friends and that was about it. Difficult fo me to regard someone who stuck to his own circle more than maybe anyone else ever did as significant to the board as a whole.

Almost everyone on the list so far has or had their own 'circle'.

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From his looks Magus is Macho Man Randy Savage as an anime zombie. The black wind howls, and one of you will snap into a Slim Jim ooh yeeeah! -sonicblastpunch

From: __Smurf__ | #135
He was a forgettable person who was only relevant as an insane comic relief fanboy for a couple of seasons.

Literally everyone still knows ZFS as Heroic Mario despite the fact that Heroic Mario has been dead for over 5 years now, including people who weren't here when "Heroic Mario" still existed.

If Heroic Mario was as "cultish" as you imply, then we wouldn't have seen a million "Heroic" accounts on Board 8 over the years.

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http://i.imgur.com/CbfFb.jpg

But regardless, your selective memory is as impressive as ever, I must say.

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"But you have been given freedom. Freedom to be...outside."
"I am lightning...the rain transformed."

Villainous Smurf

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Congrats to SuperNiceDog for winning the Guru for a Super Bad Contest!

Not_Wylvane posted...
From: LeonhartFour | #129
LMS doesn't write walls of text.
He copies and pastes them from various video game magazines.

Edit: LMS better be on this list. He's completely changed the way people view contest stats. Who needs x-stats when we have rankings from Edge?

And who needs to play games when you can just judge them anyway?

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http://img.imgcake.com/fitgirljpgta.jpg

Don't forget, every time you talk about a video game you gotta compare it to Other M!

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Miyamoto: [cats] are kind of like girls. If they come and talk to you it's great. But if you try to talk to them it doesn't always go so well

yeah MYC spent hours introducing me to Frank Zappa and a few other guitarists like him

Who were the other guitarists?

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Full rap metal jacket ~ Method Man

You're blue ballsing me here Smurf. I'm jonesing for an update.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Sorry, been slacking on the list lately.

--
(\__/) Meet Ziggy,the Evil Bunny who wants to take over the world and eat the flesh of the weak.
(='.'=] Put Ziggy in your sig to support his cause.

From: LeonhartFour | #138
But regardless, your selective memory is as impressive as ever, I must say.

It's ludicrous to think I could have a complete memory or experience of every person on the board. As I said HM was never somebody who stood out to me and was never someone I paid much attention to. That Cloud writeup is my first time seeing it, I just never read his lists at all. His spammed nonsense during the contest season generally put me off wanting to read more of his "work", which means my memory and knowledge of him is limited rather than selective.

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Smurf , The Cream of Knuckles Fanboyism

I don't understand why everyone is giving you so much crap about the list. If they disagree they should make their own crappy list that won't draw 1/5th of the interest.

Heroic Mario really never was that big of a deal people just overhype him a bit! Best thing he ever did was be my ETERNAL RIVAL.

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http://img.imgcake.com/Chris2pngas.png
SuperNiceDog is a fine Guru Champion!

~*~ 32. maplejet ~*~

**** YOU DOROBOU...I HOPE TO SEE YOU IN ****ING HELL - A typical maplejet interaction with a board associate.

Every community has that guy who hates everyone but for whatever sticks with the place. If board 8 was a recess cartoon maplejet was randall.
He hated the community with such a passion he was largely considered as the widest marker of posts and topics in the early days of the boards, with a particular nuance for marking a post and teasing the user on its deletion. This action was later dubbed as "TEJELPAMMED": Maples strange anger management problems, vocal dislike of everyone and everything and hatred for fads made him the first real "outsider" of board 8. A guy everyone was happy to group up and stand against. His status was amazingly maintained throughout the years, even in the modern board when maplejet makes a list its still met with his own personal criticism of its outcome and general complaints throughout the process.

Points of Impact

-> TEJELPAMMED
-> Left the board several times, always returned.
-> Target of the "*throws at*" fad.
-> One of the main introducers and users of ytmnd to the board 8 community.

The Poor Mans Maplejet? - Tai

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http://mypsn.eu.playstation.com/psn/profile/smurfsdabomb.png

Tai'd up and TEJELPAM'D

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Dynamic sig good.
SuperNiceDog better.

I'll pick a middle ground between both sides of the HM argument. Yes, he used to be popular, but to me popularity =! influence - AT was the most popular user here at one point, and most regulars now probably don't even know who he is. And I think Ulti was the first user to do huge list topics and stuff. HM was the first one to regularly post gaming news, though, and of course he's the reason for all the Heroic alts.

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Full rap metal jacket ~ Method Man