Cloud Strife - The Making of a Hero

Cloud cannot become the hero he was always meant to be until he rediscovers who he truly is.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
02:36 The Selfish Mercenary
07:56 Flashback at Nibelheim
11:25 Shocking Events at the Temple
14:43 Tragedy
17:25 His Identity is Shattered
22:05 Rediscovering His True Identity
27:24 The True Meaning of Strength

[Farron]

I don’t think most people appreciate what a groundbreaking character Cloud was. At first glance he’s the typical hero, strong, confident. To have his whole persona being a fraud and that he was instead, shy, introverted average. The unreliable narrator used to full effect truly elevated this games story.

[Okkotsu]

Cloud Strife is not only one of my favorite FF/video game characters, but one of my favorite characters in fiction. His struggle and journey through pain, tragedy and violence to find peace, a home and somewhere he belongs and becoming a true hero. Is beautiful and inspiration story that I deeply admire and relate to. Cloud Strife is an icon.

[wayroad]

Tifa was the real MVP of Cloud's character arc. She believed in him when absolutely no one else did.

[tonyguava]

cloud is one of the most unique protagonists i’ve encountered, gotta love him

[BatmanCK]

For me, Cloud Strife is as important to my own self-confidence as Batman and the TMNT from my childhood. Having been born in 1984, Cloud becoming a character I cared about during the start adolescence as an introvert and someone who often got bullied terribly helped me TREMENDOUSLY throughout my life in always being myself and having the strength to push through no matter how many hardships I endured. The Nolan Batman movies and FF7 original and the new trilogy are my favorite media - period.... and this is largely driven by strong silent characters who have huge hearts though cannot often show it as others may or do.

I just felt like adding this because I love this game more than any other and your video so much. Thank you!

[rsherrard]

Cloud actually was rejected from soldier due to being mentally weak, which also helps explain why his identity shattered after Hojo's experiments on him.

[AdidaX]

There's nothing wrong with a 2 hour video, in my humble opinion. I'd watch it.

[juanp]

I'm glad to know that Reggie stepped down from Nintendo to pursue more creative aspects of his life

[gaelofariandel]

5:33 "My flowers cushioned your fall!" [coughs blood] "No, they didn't."

[amharbinger]

Cloud's self discovery reminds me a lot of Clay Kaczmarek from Assassin's Creed last words 'What is a man but the sum of his memories? We are the stories we live! The tales we tell ourselves!'

[angel_in-black]

Cloud is the only fictional character I think I connect with on a personal level. No, I was never kidnapped, experimented on, or see my best friend die, but I knew what it was like to grow up an outcast. The constant feeling of you’re not wanted especially by the pretty girl you like. Then all of the sudden, you find something you think can help you become who you want to be, but even they tell you you’re not good enough. So you keep to yourself, hide your face in shame, do whatever you can to hide the fact that you’re so unhappy. But we’re shown through Cloud that all it takes is the power of belief, and having people care about you to bring out your good parts! I may not have unintentionally lied about what I’ve done or things I’ve been through, but I have been placed in situations where people think I’m a trained professional and I’m not, I just happened to make it seem like I’m good at what I do, so I know the feeling of success when you’ve accomplished nothing in reality. I hate that we tear each other down, compare ourselves to others, and expect so much from others, because all anyone really needs is to feel like they are enough, that they’re capable of doing great things, that they can do what they set their minds to. That’s the message of FFVII and Cloud for me even if it’s unintentional, life’s not about being who you think others will like or who they want you to be, it’s about accepting yourself and believing you can do whatever you set your mind to once you get your head in the right place.

[vhamer]

I fucking LOVE how he uses "you can hear the cries of the planet" in the background in all of these FF7 lore videos, it's one of the best pieces of music that came from the game and makes the perfect music to play in the background of lore videos.

[NavyBlueDude]

Cloud got the growth over his journey that his childhood denied him.

[tfalders]

The very first enemy you face in the game is a Shinra Grunt, which is what Cloud was during the Nibelheim incident. A nobody. The very last enemy you face is Sephiroth, considered the most powerful being in the setting. And yet Cloud beat him. The first defeats the last. The weakest defeats the strongest.

[brendanrisney]

Idk, I'd hardly call Cloud's reaction to Aerith's death "inelegant."
It was cathartic, if anything, calling out Sephiroth for the psycho he is.

[marche]

I think Cloud's dialogue with the rest of the team when he sends them away to find their real reason to fight is a fantastic example of his growth as a character. He understands that a shallow motivation or ideal is not enough to give them the strength they need to defeat Sephiroth and passes that personal growth onto the rest of his team and like a true leader gives them all the motivation to accomplish their Goals. Cloud was not a soldier, but time and time again, he proved himself a true hero and much more of a hero than his own inspiration Sephiroth ever was.
It's also interesting that in the final confrontation with Hojo, he admits that Cloud, in spite of initially being deemed as a failure, is the only actually successful attempt in recreating Sephiroth's strength. Cloud in finding his own identity and reconciling with his fractured past became a better Sephiroth than Sephiroth.
There is also some subtext to the fact that Cloud's original aspiration of what a hero is was just a pawn of greedy military ambition and that the true heroism he finds is that of compassion and love for those close to him and a desire to protect the world for their sake. Just one more jab at capitalist driven imperialism.

[jonathondorow]

I think one of the most interesting things about Cloud's story is how the Nibelheim incident was basically just a few weeks ago, in terms of his perception. After the incident, he and zack spent 5 years in tubes, then Zack gets gunned down and Cloud crawls his way to Midgar. He's still essentially just a 16 year old, desperately trying to act like the "adults" he looks up to, with his brain shutting out the most traumatic events of his life. Which would explain his instinctual, gutteral reaction to seeing Sephiroth's sword, as opposed to the looming dread Tifa feels, or the confusion of the other party members. It's still fresh in Cloud's subconscious, so he goes borderline feral about it, that's when he really begins trying to piece together what really happened, given the information he has

[pancakes]

Ever since I dicovered the Remake, I went and checked out the original game and fell in love with Clouds character

[JoeCoolMaveric]

20:26 - 20:55
Man, with how Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth ended...this entire part of the game in Part 3 is gonna so dark and upsetting to watch...

[RavenDreadful]

Okay! A suggestion for a video! Tidus and Jecht’s relationship in Final Fantasy X shows a surprising amount of emotional depth! The relationship between angry and neglected son and a father who recognizes his faults but realizes it is too late to undo them. It’s a fascinating narrative!