Cloud Strife

In Final Fantasy VII

Cloud is introduced as a mercenary employed by AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group opposed to the Shinra Company. Beginning the game with the placeholder name "Ex-SOLDIER" (元ソルジャー, Moto Sorujā), Cloud assists AVALANCHE's leader, Barret Wallace, in bombing a Mako reactor, power plants which drain the planet's "Lifestream". Cloud claims to be formerly of SOLDIER 1st Class, an elite Shinra fighting unit. Cloud takes pride in his past and boasts of the abilities of its members. However, his background produces misgivings as to his allegiances and trustworthiness, and Cloud's blasé attitude towards the goals of AVALANCHE creates further tension. Despite appearing detached, Cloud demonstrates moments of camaraderie, and players can choose to interact in a friendlier manner with AVALANCHE's members. When approached by his childhood friend and AVALANCHE member, Tifa Lockhart, about accepting another job, Cloud at first refuses. However, when confronted with his boyhood promise to protect her were he to become a famous hero, Cloud agrees to continue helping AVALANCHE, despite neither having become famous nor a hero.

While working for AVALANCHE, Cloud encounters Aerith Gainsborough, a resident of Midgar's slums. Agreeing to serve as her bodyguard in exchange for a date, Cloud helps Aerith evade Shinra, who pursue her because she is the sole survivor of a race known as the Cetra. Aerith notes that Cloud reminds her of an old boyfriend of hers, who is implied to be Zack Fair. During the course of their travels, a love triangle develops between Cloud, Tifa and Aerith, often exploited to humorous effect. Dialogue choices impact the strength of Cloud's relationship with Tifa and Aerith, as well as with Barret and Yuffie Kisaragi. These interactions determine who accompanies Cloud through the Gold Saucer, an amusement park. If Aerith joins Cloud, she reflects on how strongly Cloud's physical appearance and mannerisms resemble Zack's, and struggles to put into words how she is still "searching for [Cloud]". Irrespective of who accompanies Cloud at the Gold Saucer, how the player interacts with Tifa may also result in a more sexually suggestive scene playing out during the night she spends with Cloud before the game's conclusion. Tifa worries instead that the party saw, rather than overheard, the two the morning after.

Following the player's departure from Midgar, Cloud is appointed group leader by the other members of the party, upsetting Barret. Shortly thereafter, Cloud narrates his history with Sephiroth, a legendary member of SOLDIER and the game's primary antagonist, and the events that led to Sephiroth's disappearance five years prior. According to Cloud, the two were "war buddies". Joining SOLDIER to emulate Sephiroth, Cloud explains that he would sign up for a "big mission" whenever they became available, as the conclusion of Shinra's war with the people of Wutai ended his chances for military fame. Cloud explains that Sephiroth started questioning his humanity after accompanying him on a job to Cloud's hometown of Nibelheim, which suffered from a malfunctioning Mako reactor responsible for producing monsters. Discovering documents concerning Jenova, an extraterrestrial lifeform and Sephiroth's "mother", Sephiroth mistakes himself for a Cetra and blames their downfall on humans. Razing Nibelheim, Sephiroth leaves for the Mt. Nibel Mako reactor, and Cloud gives chase. There, Cloud finds Tifa gravely wounded by Sephiroth outside the chamber where Jenova is stored. Cloud says that he then confronted Sephiroth, but that he is unable to remember or explain how he survived the encounter given Sephiroth's strength.

However, numerous clues suggest the unreliability of Cloud's memory. Various visual and audio cues, such as the screen flashing white or red and the sound of static, play when Cloud attempts to recall details about his identity. Cloud will spontaneously remember words or scenes from his past, sometimes collapsing to the ground while cradling his head. An unidentified voice questions Cloud in his sleep about why he and Tifa never met alone during his mission to Nibelheim despite their history. Additionally, Tifa makes various remarks suggesting that Cloud's version of events troubles her, and she feigns ignorance of who Zack is. Cloud's behavior grows increasingly erratic after searching the Temple of the Ancients for the Black Materia, an item capable of casting the destructive magic Meteor. After its retrieval, Cloud loses control of himself, handing over the Black Materia to Sephiroth and attacking Aerith. Alarmed that Sephiroth can manipulate him, Cloud realizes that he is "afraid to find out the truth" and becomes fearful of himself. Later, Sephiroth takes advantage of Cloud's insecurities, telling him that his past is merely a fiction and that Shinra created Cloud in an attempt to clone Sephiroth. Although Cloud is initially dismissive, when Tifa is unable to corroborate Cloud's account of the Nibelheim incident, Cloud realizes he cannot remember things like how or when he joined SOLDIER. Cloud, resigning himself as a "failed experiment", goes missing after Sephiroth summons Meteor. The party later discovers a comatose Cloud suffering from Mako poisoning, and Tifa helps Cloud reconstruct his past after the two fall into the Lifestream.

It is revealed that Cloud never qualified for SOLDIER, and instead enlisted as an infantryman in Shinra's army. During the mission to Nibelheim, Cloud served under Sephiroth and Zack, a SOLDIER 1st Class, hiding his identity from the townspeople out of embarrassment. Following Sephiroth's defeat of Zack at the Mt. Nibel Mako reactor, Cloud took up Zack's sword, catching Sephiroth off guard and stabbing him. Zack urges Cloud to kill Sephiroth after Sephiroth emerges alive, but when Cloud pursues him, he is run through by Sephiroth's sword. Cloud, to Sephiroth's shock, summons the strength to grab hold of the blade and lift Sephiroth off the ground, tossing him into a Mako vat below. Cloud and Zack are then imprisoned by Shinra's lead scientist, Hojo, for experimentation. Zack later escapes with Cloud, bringing him to the outskirts of Midgar before Shinra soldiers gun Zack down. Due to exposure to Mako radiation and the injection of Jenova's cells, in addition to the shame stemming from his personal failures, Cloud's mind fabricated a story blending together his own memories with accounts of Zack's heroics, creating a false personality. After piecing back together his identity, Cloud resumes his role as leader. At the game's conclusion, Sephiroth reappears in Cloud's mind a final time, but he is defeated in a one-on-one fight.

In Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

Cloud appears in a minor role in the cellphone game Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, a prequel set six years before Final Fantasy VII. The player, a member of the Shinra covert operatives group, the Turks, encounters Cloud during his time as a Shinra infantryman working to join SOLDIER. The game portrays Cloud's natural talent for swordsmanship, and recounts his role during Nibelheim's destruction.

In the computer-animated film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, set two years following the conclusion of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud lives with Tifa in the city of Edge, along with Marlene, Barret's adopted daughter, and Denzel, an orphan afflicted with a rampant and deadly disease called Geostigma. Having given up his life as a mercenary, Cloud works as a courier for the "Strife Delivery Service" that Tifa set up in her new bar. Confronted by Tifa following the disappearance of Denzel and Marlene, it is revealed that he also suffers from the effects of Geostigma, and he responds that he is unfit to protect his friends and new family. However, when urged by Tifa to let go of the past, Cloud sets out for the Forgotten City in search of the children. There, Cloud confronts Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo, genetic remnants of Sephiroth left behind before he diffused into the Lifestream completely. Cloud's battle with Kadaj later takes them back to Aerith's church, where Cloud recovers from his Geostigma with Aerith's help. Kadaj, merging with the remains of Jenova, resurrects Sephiroth. Cloud, having overcome his doubts, defeats Sephiroth once more, leaving a dying Kadaj in his place. At the film's conclusion, Cloud, seeing Aerith and Zack, assures the two that he will be fine and reunites with his friends.

Cloud appears in On the Way to a Smile, a series of short stories set between Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children. "Case of Tifa" serves as an epilogue to VII, and portrays Cloud's life alongside Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel. "Case of Denzel" relates how Cloud first met Denzel, and was later adapted as a short original video animation for the release of Advent Children Complete, On the Way to a Smile - Episode: Denzel.

Cloud acts in a supporting role in the PlayStation 2 game Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. A year after the events of Advent Children, Cloud, working alongside Barret and Tifa, lends his support to the ground forces of the World Regenesis Organization and Vincent Valentine in their siege of Midgar and counterattack against the rogue Shinra military unit, Deepground.

In the PlayStation Portable game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Cloud is presented as a young Shinra infantryman who befriends Zack. During the game's conclusion, a dying Zack gives Cloud his Buster Sword, telling him that he is his legacy. The game ends with Cloud heading to Midgar, reprising the start of Final Fantasy VII.

In other media

The OVA Last Order: Final Fantasy VII serves as an alternate retelling of Nibelheim's destruction and Zack and Cloud's escape from Shinra imprisonment. Animated and produced by Madhouse, based on a script by Kazuhiko Inukai, several scenes diverge from Final Fantasy VII's depiction of events, such as reinterpreting Cloud's rescue of Tifa by having her view his face. Although it is associated with and makes references to the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Last Order is considered an outside work.

Cloud's character has also appeared in various games outside of the Final Fantasy VII continuity. He is a playable character in the PlayStation version of Ehrgeiz, but like the other Final Fantasy VII characters present in the game, he has no storyline. Cloud and Tifa are the only Final Fantasy VII characters with a third costume or a story mode title: Cloud's third alternate appearance depicts him in his Shinra infantryman attire, and his title is "Guardian". In Chocobo Racing, Cloud is a hidden character that rides a motorcycle. Cloud is one of several playable Final Fantasy VII characters in Itadaki Street Special for the PlayStation 2 and Itadaki Street Portable for the PlayStation Portable. LittleBigPlanet 2 features Cloud as a downloadable character model. Cloud is a playable character representing Final Fantasy VII in the rhythm game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. Players in Final Fantasy Explorers can briefly transform into Cloud, enabling use of his Omnislash Limit Break from Final Fantasy VII. Cloud is the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII G-Bike, a mobile game for which Nomura designed a new costume for him.

Cloud appears as a playable guest character in the 2014 Nintendo crossover fighting games Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, sporting his character designs from both Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children. He was revealed in the November 2015 Nintendo Direct broadcast and was made available as in-game downloadable content alongside a stage based on Midgar and a Mii Fighter hat based on a Chocobo on December 15, 2015.

In the PlayStation game Final Fantasy Tactics and its PlayStation Portable update, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, Cloud is accidentally pulled into the world of Ivalice by an ancient machine called "the Celestial Globe", which was activated by Ramza Beoulve. Cloud is disoriented after arriving in Ramza's world, and after a short exchange with Ramza and the others, he leaves. He wanders into Zarghidas Trade City, where he encounters a flower girl named Aerith. As Cloud is leaving the area, Aerith is accosted by a man demanding payment. Cloud returns to help Aerith escape, and Ramza and his party catch up to him. After the battle, he joins Ramza's party as a playable character, although he cannot perform any of his signature attacks until the player tracks down his sword. Cloud also appears as an enemy unit in the "Brave Story" series of battles as part of Rendezvous, the unlockable cooperative multiplayer mode in The War of the Lions.

In Kingdom Hearts, Cloud appears in the Olympus Coliseum world. Hired by Hades to kill Hercules, Cloud must fight Sora as a prerequisite. After the fight, Hades sends Cerberus to attack Cloud and Sora, who are then saved by Hercules. Cloud meets with Sora afterward and explains that he is searching for someone. In Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix there is an additional scene where he battles Sephiroth. During the credit roll at the end of the game, Cloud is shown reuniting residents of Hollow Bastion. A memory-based version of Cloud appears in the Game Boy Advance sequel Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as a boss in the Olympus Coliseum and later as a summon card for Sora. Cloud features again in Kingdom Hearts II, depicted in his Advent Children attire. He is searching for Sephiroth, and is himself being sought out by Tifa. Cloud fights alongside Leon's team during the Heartless invasion of Hollow Bastion. Should the player choose to engage Sephiroth and win the battle, Cloud returns and fights Sephiroth, which ends with both of them disappearing in a flash of light after Tifa gives Cloud her support. Sora concludes that Cloud is still fighting with Sephiroth, and will not stop until he is defeated. A digital replica of Cloud also appears in Kingdom Hearts coded in the Olympus Coliseum, helping Sora and Hercules to battle Hades.

Cloud serves as the representative Final Fantasy VII character in Dissidia Final Fantasy, a fighting game featuring characters from the Final Fantasy series. He is depicted in his Final Fantasy VII outfit, while his Advent Children appearance is also available. His fight against Sephiroth in this game is based on their battles from Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children. Along with the entire cast, Cloud reappears in the prequel Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as a Warrior of Chaos. Concerned for Tifa, who is on the opposing side, Cloud tries to defeat Chaos alone but is nearly killed. He is later saved by the goddess Cosmos and becomes one of her warriors. Cloud's main outfit is based on Yoshitaka Amano's original artwork concept, while his Kingdom Hearts outfit is offered as downloadable content.

Concept and creation

Conceptualized as one of only three playable characters in early planning stages for the game, Cloud was one of the first two characters designed for Final Fantasy VII by Tetsuya Nomura. Nomura worked to strike an orthodox balance of varied designs for the game. Because he only started receiving character profiles prior to composing their appearances during later game productions, Nomura thought of the characters' stories first before tackling their designs. Nomura's first draft of Cloud featured slicked-back, black hair. The depiction served both as a contrast to the long silver hair of the game's chief antagonist, Sephiroth, and to minimize the model's polygon count. However, to make Cloud stand out more and emphasize his role as the game's lead protagonist, Nomura altered Cloud's design to give him spiky, bright blond hair. Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojirō served as bases for Cloud and Sephiroth's appearances, respectively, and in particular influenced the look of their swords. Early renditions of Cloud's weapon, the Buster Sword, depicted a smaller blade. Its size grew over the course of several revisions, and Nomura called it "the Giant Kitchen Knife", envisioning it as unrefined steel. The sword at one point featured a small chain connected to the pommel, while magnets would secure the blade to Cloud's back. More deeply involved with Cloud's creation than with other characters' from previous Final Fantasy projects, Nomura also provided supervision over Cloud's personality traits.

Yoshinori Kitase and Kazushige Nojima developed Cloud's backstory and his relationship to Sephiroth. The idea for Cloud's false persona arose after Nojima saw event planner Motomu Toriyama's standing animation depicting "Cloud showing off", which impressed him and inspired the basis for the scenario. Nojima created the character of Zack so as to expand upon the mysteries in Cloud's backstory. Kitase remained unaware of the addition's significance until playtesting, as Nojima left the unfolding of events concerning Cloud's identity unwritten. In emphasizing Cloud's individuality, the staff made repeated use of elements that they believed made the character interesting, such as Cloud's phrase "not interested" and Toriyama's standing animation. Kitase felt Cloud's character was fresh in reviewing Nojima's scenario, observing that he possessed an atypical personality for a hero by being neither single-minded nor righteous. The love triangle between Cloud, Tifa and Aerith was also viewed as novel for the series, and Nojima likened Cloud's relationship to Tifa as one of childhood friends since nursery school, whereas Aerith was akin to a transfer student arriving mid-term.

In early drafts, Cloud would act as an alter ego for Sephiroth, influenced to believe he was a creation of Sephiroth's will. As in the finished game, Cloud would later realize that he is the real Cloud, and that the reason Sephiroth could control his mind and body was because of his weakened will and Shinra's experiments. Additionally, Cloud would have scarred Tifa prior to the game's events, although the reasons for as to why were unknown. Early materials listed Cloud's job as magic swordsman (魔法剣士, mahō kenshi) and berserker (バーサーカー, bāsākā). Masato Kato, one of the event planners, proposed a scene involving Cloud walking out of the Highwind's Chocobo stable followed by Tifa the morning before the final battle. Kitase rejected it as too extreme, but maintained a scene written by Kato depicting the night before, in which a risqué line is spoken by Tifa followed by a fade to black. In an interview, Nojima stated that none of the staff thought it would become an important issue at the time.

Nojima has explained that the relationship between the player and the main character in a Final Fantasy title is a dynamic he has always been concerned about. With VII, Cloud's subdued nature led him to write scenes with the character in such a way that the players would be placed in the position of deciding for themselves what the character was thinking. Cloud's foggy memories served both to help players "become" the character, and to introduce them to a world which other inhabitants would otherwise share common knowledge of. Nomura believes that the reason Cloud has become so popular with audiences is due to the impact his personality made in Nojima's scenario.

Further development

Nomura redesigned Cloud for his appearance in Kingdom Hearts. He is depicted with a claw and a crimson cape, and the blade of his sword is wrapped in bandages. Stating that Cloud's left arm was inspired by Vincent Valentine, Nomura explained that he wanted to give the character a more demon-like appearance due to his ties to the dark side in the game. Nomura stated that he wanted to leave the question of whether Cloud was searching for Aerith open to the player's interpretation. Teruaki Sugawara, the game's voice director, recommended Takahiro Sakurai, Cloud's Japanese voice actor, to Nomura for the role. Nomura had originally asked Sakurai to play the protagonist of The Bouncer, Sion Barzahd, but found that his voice best suited Cloud after hearing him speak. Sakurai received the script without any accompanying visuals, and first arrived for recording under the impression that he would be voicing a different character than the one featured in Final Fantasy VII.

For Advent Children, Nomura agreed to direct the project largely because of his attachment to the character of Cloud. Although Nomura stated that Cloud was a more positive character in Final Fantasy VII than in Advent Children, he did not believe that such an "'upbeat' image of him is what stuck in the minds of the fans", and the script was written to explain why Cloud returned to a state of mind "consistent with the fans' view of him." Nomura describes Cloud's life as peaceful but, hurt by the losses he experienced during the original game, one which he grew scared of losing. Blaming himself for things outside of his control, Cloud, Nomura elaborated, needed to overcome himself. In contrast to other heroes, who, in Nomura's view, typically possess character defects amounting only to quirks, Nomura believed Cloud's weakness to be humanizing. Nojima viewed the theme of the story as one of forgiveness, which he believed required hardship. Cloud, by taking up his sword and fighting, struggles to achieve it. Nojima sought to establish Cloud's withdrawn personality by depicting him with a cell phone, but never answering any calls. He originally intended for Aerith's name to be the last of those displayed while the backlog of ignored messages appears as Cloud's cell phone sinks into the water, but Nojima altered the scene because it "sounded too creepy". The wolf which Cloud imagines "represents the deepest part of Cloud's psyche" and "appears in response to some burden that Cloud is carrying deep in his heart", vanishing at the film's end. Nomura cites one of the film's final scenes, in which Cloud smiles, as his favorite, highlighting the lack of dialogue and Cloud's embarrassment. The scene influenced composer Nobuo Uematsu's score, who grew excited after coming across it in his review of the script, commenting on the difficulty players who had finished Final Fantasy VII would have had imagining Cloud's smile.

Nomura sought to make Cloud's design "distinctly different from the other characters." About thirty different designs were made for Cloud's face, and his hair was altered both to give it a more realistic look and to illustrate that two years had passed since the game's conclusion. The staff attempted rendering Cloud based on the game's original illustrations, but concluded that doing so left his eyes unrealistically big, which "looked gross." Further revisions were made to Cloud's face after completion of the pilot film, which featured a more realistic style. In contrast to his hair, Cloud's clothes were difficult to make in the film. Deciding to give Cloud a simple costume consistent with the concept of "clothes designed for action", the staff began with the idea of a black robe, eventually parring it down to a "long apron" shifted to one side. Cloud's weaponry was based on the joking observation that because his sword in the original game was already enormously tall, in the sequel, he should use sheer numbers. Referred to as "the fusion swords" during the film's development, early storyboard concepts included Cloud carrying six swords on his back, although the idea was later modified to six interlocking swords. While the idea wasn't "logically thought out" and the staff didn't think that they could "make it work physically", it was believed to provide "an interesting accent to the story." Cloud's new motorcycle, Fenrir (フェンリル), was designed by Takayuki Takeya, who was asked by the staff to design an upgraded version of Cloud's "Hardy-Daytona" motorcycle from Final Fantasy VII. As development continued, the bike got bigger, with Takeya feeling its heaviness provided an impact that worked well within the film.

For Advent Children, Nomura wanted to contrast Cloud and Vincent's voices given their similar personalities. As a sequel to the highly popular Final Fantasy VII, Sakurai felt greater pressure performing the role than he did when he voiced Cloud for Kingdom Hearts. Sakurai received comments from colleagues revealing their love of the game, some of them jokingly threatening that they would not forgive Sakurai if he did not meet their expectations. During recording, Sakurai was told that "[n]o matter what kind of odds are stacked against him, Cloud won't be shaken." Sakurai says that while he recorded most of his work individually, he performed alongside Ayumi Ito, who voiced Tifa, for a few scenes. These recordings left him feeling "deflated", as the "exchanges he has with Tifa can be pretty painful", Sakurai commenting that Cloud—whom he empathized with as his voice actor—has a hard time dealing with straight talk. Sakurai says that there were scenes that took over a year to complete, with very precise directions being given requiring multiple takes. According to Sakurai, Cloud's silence conveys more about the character than when he speaks. While possessing heroic characteristics, Sakurai describes Cloud's outlook as negative, and says that he is delicate in some respects. A fan of VII, Sakurai had believed Cloud to be a colder character based on his original impression of him, but later came to view him as more sentimental. After the final product was released, Sakurai was anxious to hear the fans' response, whether positive or negative, and says that most of the feedback he received praised him. While recording Crisis Core, Sakurai felt that Cloud, though still introverted, acted more like a normal teenager, and modified his approach accordingly. Cloud's scream over Zack's death left a major impression on Sakurai, who says that he worked hard to convey the emotional tone of the ending. Sakurai has come to regard Cloud as an important role, commenting that Cloud reminds him of his own past, and that, as a Final Fantasy VII fan himself, he is happy to contribute.

In English adaptations, Cloud is voiced by Steve Burton. Burton's work as Cloud in Advent Children served as his first feature length role, an experience he enjoyed. Calling the character a rare opportunity for him as an actor, Burton describes Cloud as having a "heaviness about him". Burton says he is surprised when fans recognize him for his work as Cloud, whom he has referred to as "[one of the] coolest characters there is," and he too considers himself lucky for having voiced him.

Merchandise

Cloud has been merchandised extensively, in many different forms, including figurines and jewelry. In commemoration of the franchise's 20th anniversary, Square released figurines of him alongside other Final Fantasy protagonists. Square Enix's manager of merchandise, Kanji Tashiro, said at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con International that Cloud's likeness has produced some of the company's best-selling items, and that fans could look forward to further adaptations of the character in the future. Popular models at the time included Cloud's Advent Children figurine and Final Fantasy VII Hardy-Daytona bike set, both of which sold particularly well in European and North American markets. Square has also released two promotional books primarily focusing on Cloud's character: Cloud vol.1, which was released in 2007, and Cloud message, in 2008. In 2013, a replica of the Buster Sword was created by blacksmith Tony Swatton for the webseries Man at Arms.

Reception

Cloud has been mostly well received by critics. In 2005, Electronic Gaming Monthly placed Cloud seventh in their list of top video game characters. He was named best character of all time in Dengeki PlayStation's 2007 "Den-Play Awards". IGN in 2008 ranked him third in both their lists of top Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy series characters. GameSpot published a video titled "Greatest Game Hero: Cloud Strife" for his inclusion in their 2009 "All Time Greatest Game Hero" poll, showcasing scenes of Cloud as he appears in Advent Children. UGO placed him first in their 2010 list of top Japanese RPG characters, stating "Cloud is the cloth from whom the great majority of JRPG characters were cut." That same year, GamesRadar listed Cloud as the second best Final Fantasy hero of all the time, describing him as "one of the most well-rounded and thought-out characters in the series." He was also ranked as the second best Final Fantasy character in a 2010 list by VideoGamer.com, who called him a "poster boy for the entire JRPG genre". In 2011, Empire ranked Cloud as the 13th greatest video game character, stating: "He is, and always will be, the definitive FF poster child – an enduring axiom of character desgn [sic]." GameZone ranked Cloud second in their 2012 list of top Final Fantasy characters, attributing the success of Final Fantasy VII largely to his character. In 2013, Complex named him the greatest Final Fantasy character of all time, citing his "killer backstory, iconic weaponry, and a great game to the boot."

In his review of the 1998 PC release of Final Fantasy VII, Ron Dulin of GameSpot commented that "a simple understatement will have to suffice: Cloud is easily the most interesting and complex character ever presented in a game." RPGamer's Abadi Aujang called Cloud "one of the most complex characters Square has created", as well as "the first truly complicated main character". Unicorn Lynx of MobyGames described him as "one of the most complex characters ever seen in a game", citing the struggle Cloud faces in assuming responsibility as a leader while confronting "his own deep psychological problems" and "the truth about his very existence". Kurt Kalata of Gamasutra stated that he is "neither hero nor anti-hero", but rather "somewhat of a weakling" suffering from grandiose delusions and other psychological issues. He also called Cloud one of the first unreliable narrators in a role-playing video game. Chi Kong Lui, writing for GameCritics, stated that while Final Fantasy VII features "some of the most complex characters ever created, by video game standards", their personalities are "paper-thin". He criticized Cloud's "childish motivations", stating that Final Fantasy VII could not "match the depth of screenplay in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane or the complexities of characters exhibited in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver".

IGN stated that Cloud set a trend for role-playing video game heroes, describing his "spiky blond hair" and "gigantic Buster Sword" as "instantly identifiable icons, recognized by gamers around the world". Edge described Cloud as an example of "excellent design and characterization". Famitsu in 2010 published a seven-page tribute to Cloud, showcasing his many appearances throughout the years.

Cloud has appeared in various other lists. These include IGN's "Worst Videogame Haircuts" (2006) and "Top Videogame Sword Masters" (2008), and ScrewAttack's "Top Ten Coolest Characters" (2007). 1UP.com featured Cloud in their list of top Final Fantasy character types, citing him as an example of "The Sullen Asshole" alongside Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII and Cecil from Final Fantasy IV. GameDaily ranked him fifth on their list of top "gaming hunks", praising his design and weapon. GamesRadar included his name among the 50 "most gloriously stupid" in video game history, and featured him in its "RPG Emo-Off", listing Cloud as the second "most emo character of all JRPGs" behind Genesis Rhapsodos from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. GamesRadar also listed Cloud's Buster Sword as one "the most ludicrously impractical RPG weapons" and included his cross-dressing scene in its list of "[g]aming's most piss poor disguises", commenting that "it makes Cloud look so damn feminine, the escort-loving baddie chooses him over ... Aeries [sic] and Tifa". Cloud and Aerith's relationship ranked third in GamesRadar's 2008 list of top Square Enix couples, who called it "a classic love story", while IGN ranked it ninth in their 2006 list of best video game couples overall. In 2013, Complex ranked Cloud as the eighth greatest soldier in video games.

In an Oricon poll conducted in 2008, Cloud placed second overall for most popular video game character, ranking second among men and third with women. In a 2010 ASCII Media Works poll asking fans which video game or manga character they would like to name their children after, Cloud's name ranked third for male characters. That same year, Famitsu readers voted Cloud as the third best video game character of all time. In one of IGN's 2007 "Hero Showdowns", Cloud was pitted against Link and lost. The character placed similarly in contests by GameFAQs, winning the "Character Battle II" (2003) and finishing second in the "Character Battle III" (2004) and the "Battle Royale" (2006). In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition of 2011, Cloud was voted as the fifth best video game character.

PSXextreme praised Cloud's redesign in Kingdom Hearts as one of the best in the game, describing it is a "hybrid" of his and Vincent Valentine's designs. According to AnimeFringe, Cloud's appearance in Kingdom Hearts was one of the things that excited Final Fantasy VII fans the most. His development in Advent Children was praised by DVD Talk as one of the best parts from the film. James Mielke of 1UP.com commented that Cloud's guilt over Aerith's death was effective enough to move viewers, but regarded such scenes as "manipulative". Michael Beckett, writing for RPGamer, referred to Cloud overcoming Aerith's death as central to the film, and called his fight sequences "the most creative and impressive scenes". Mielke also described the characters as "beautiful; perfect almost", commenting that Cloud possessed "unbreakably perfect hair". Briana Lawerence of Mania Entertainment, however, listed Cloud second in her article "10 Male Headaches of Anime", criticizing his feeling of guilt about Aerith's death. Joystiq's Andrew Yoon opined that the director's cut version of the film provides more depth to Cloud's development, taking advantage of its longer runtime by better "humanizing [him]". A 2010 GamesRadar article showcasing classic game character redesigns contrasted Cloud's appearances in Advent Children and Final Fantasy VII, stating that the move away from low polygon models necessitated the change, and commenting that Square Enix alters the design with each title he features in. In 2014, IGN held a poll for fans to vote for the most favorite Final Fantasy character of all time, as well as individually in each title. Over 2 million votes were cast in. Cloud ranked number one of all the characters. He also took the same place in the Final Fantasy VII title alone as well.

Tasked with creating a "female version of Cloud" for Final Fantasy XIII, Nomura designed Lightning with Cloud's success in mind, stating that he "desired for her to be ... loved for a long time, like Cloud." After Lightning was voted as the most popular female character in the series by Japanese fans, Mollie Patterson of EGMNOW commented: "Some have also brought up that Lightning is kind of the female equivalent to Cloud, which might be why she gets so much love."