Cloud Strife

Cloud Strife (Japanese: クラウド・ストライフ, Hepburn: Kuraudo Sutoraifu) is a character and the protagonist of the 1997 role-playing video game Final Fantasy VII by Square (now Square Enix). He is also the protagonist of its remakes Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024), as well as its animated film sequel Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005), with appearances in several other installments in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and the wider Final Fantasy series. He has also appeared in other media, including the Kingdom Hearts series by Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and the Super Smash Bros. series by Nintendo. Throughout Final Fantasy VII and its compilation that expands its universe, Cloud Strife is portrayed as a revolutionary working for the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE in their efforts against the Shinra Electric Power Company, a mega corporation who plans to drain the world of its lifestream. Cloud experiences internal struggles in confronting his own traumatic past, including his history with former colleague Sephiroth. Cloud was designed by Tetsuya Nomura, a character artist for the Final Fantasy series, whose role expanded to include supervision over Cloud's personality. Yoshinori Kitase, director of VII, and Kazushige Nojima, an events planner, developed the story and wanted to create a mysterious character who acted atypically for a hero. Nomura redesigned Cloud for Advent Children, giving him a more realistic appearance, along with new weaponry and a new outfit. For Remake, the team aimed to adapt his classic design for a more realistic art style. Cloud has garnered generally positive reception from critics and is considered to be one of the most iconic video game protagonists. He has also been cited favorably as an example of complex character writing in video games, as one of video gaming's first unreliable narrators, and...