Cloud has stood proudly as one of the most recognizable faces in JRPGs for over 20 years now and has made his eloquent return in the long-anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake. Debuting on the original PlayStation in 1997, Cloud served as an evolution of RPG protagonists before him by offering dialogue choices to flesh out his character and overall felt much more important and realized than a lot of protagonists before and alongside him.
Now that Cloud Strife is seen tearing through Shinra in the modern world of gaming on the PlayStation 4, what has changed about him over the years when comparing him to his original self and the compilation of Final Fantasy VII media?
10 DIFFERENT: Appearance
The difference in graphical quality from the first to the fourth PlayStation is absolutely astonishing to look at, as the Final Fantasy VII Remake looks miles better than the movie, Advent Children, and many of us never could have imagined that we would ever have a game put those graphics to shame. In terms of design, not a lot has changed in 23 years, but this is the most detailed that Cloud has ever been.
Even comparing the original 2015 Remake reveal trailer to the final product is pretty drastic, as Cloud's hair, clothing, and facial features are the most realistic we've ever seen. Going back to the original game, it's strange to see Cloud made up of blocks and flat textures.
9 SAME: Attitude
As a character, Cloud fits the description of a "Byronic hero" pretty well. Derivative from the poet Lord Byron, a Byronic hero is characterized by having a cold shoulder, being difficult to get through to, having a dark past, and being generally dismissive.
This has stayed pretty much the exact same since the original game's release, and is one of Cloud's defining and most recognizable features, besides his spikey hair and a comically large sword, of course. Although he may give Barret, Tifa, and Aerith a hard time, he eventually learns to grow past his social downfalls.
8 DIFFERENT: Character Interactions
While his brooding attitude may remain intact, Cloud ends up coming off as less of an ass during the events of the Remake as he gets quite a bit more development to his character than he ever has. He begins his journey the same as ever, but it's made extremely clear that the people around him make quite an impact on him.
This is seen as early as when he arrives in the Sector 7 slums, where he gives Tifa the flower given to him by Aerith and states that "a man can change." Small interactions like this happen quite a bit, and he gets some much-needed bonding time with the main cast of characters that wasn't present beforehand.
7 SAME: Catchphrases
The Final Fantasy VII Remake's first part only includes the events of the Midgar section, which takes the first ten-or-so hours of the original and expands it to a 40+ hour cinematic adventure. As such, there's a ton more dialogue that wasn't present in the original, but Square Enix made sure to keep some of Cloud's most famous lines in check.
One of the most famous of Cloud's phrases is "not interested," which is used in a multitude of situations in the Remake, although sometimes in a slightly different form. Cloud is a man of few words and prefers to keep it that way, even after over two decades.
6 DIFFERENT: Dialogue Options
Following the addition of a boatload of new dialogue comes a plethora of new options for the player to use to speak through Cloud. These were present in the original as well and they were a pretty big deal at the time, but there are quite a few new ones in the Remake.
Most of these have to do with Cloud's new interactions with party members and major characters. Some notable examples would be the new friendship between Cloud and Jessie, and the much-expanded character of Johnny, who was pretty insignificant in the original.
5 SAME: Idle Stances
Tampering with the formula of the beloved PS1 JRPG classic poses some difficult decisions, as changing too much can alienate long-time fans, and not changing enough raises questions about why a remake was even created in the first place. The Remake has done an excellent job of blending old and new, especially with the little things.
One of these small details is the idle stances of each character in battle, as the Remake has made sure to keep them pretty much exactly the same. While it may be a minuscule detail compared to other things, fans will absolutely take notice of these things, and the inclusion of these shows that the developers truly respect Final Fantasy VII.
4 DIFFERENT: Cloud's Visions
Cloud isn't the most mentally stable person around, and this becomes more and more apparent as the screen turns to static and he begins to see the past, future, and everything in-between. In the original game, Cloud occasionally had flashbacks to his childhood or his life before SOLDIER, but they weren't nearly as frequent as in the Remake.
Along with these flashbacks, Cloud now starts to see visions of the future, which were not present whatsoever in the original. This has to do with the story deviations that the Remake fleshes out more towards the end of the game, setting itself apart from the PS1 title as being able to be a standalone game.
3 SAME: Attacks And Abilities
While the battle system of the Remake is pretty functionally and graphically different than the turn-based battles of the original, a lot of Cloud's familiar attacks are still readily available to slash through monsters with.
Most of Cloud's abilities stem from previous Limit Breaks or attack animations, with some new ones sprinkled in there as well. Braver is ripped straight from Cloud's original first Limit Break, Blade Burst is a slightly modified version of the Blade Beam Limit Break, and Cross-Slash retains its infamously badass animation.
2 DIFFERENT: New Attacks And Abilities
Of course, being a brand-new game with a new battle system and all, there had to be some fresh and exciting attacks and abilities added. Cloud has access to seven different abilities throughout the course of the game, and five of them: Focused Thrust, Triple Slash, Infinity's End, Disorder, and Counterstance are brand new additions to Cloud's arsenal.
Each party member in the Remake only has access to two different Limit Breaks, with their optional second one being pretty different. Cloud's second Limit Break is Ascension, which is heavily inspired by Climhazzard but with a new animation and name.
1 SAME: Victory Pose
Finishing most battles in the Remake has Cloud simply sticking his sword on his back and getting on with his day, and the same rings true for the rest of the party as well.
However, completing a match in the all-new Corneo Colosseum gives a huge call-back to the victory pose in the original game, where Cloud effortlessly spins his colossal sword in the air and rests it on his shoulder. They made it look a bit more realistic this time, of course, but it's nice to see it here in its purest form.