Zack vs. Cloud: Who's Stronger?

Nikkolas

Nikkolas

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Well, it's like the Vincent/Cloud thread except more interesting in my view because of Zack's and Cloud's relationship.

I'd say Cloud did surpass Zack at some point but which point, I'm unsure. Perhaps in AC or near the end of FFVII.
 
Cloud surpassed Zack before Final Fantasy VII even began.

In the Nieblhiem reactor Sephiroth easily defeated. Soon after, Cloud owned Sephiroth by stabbing and then throwning him into the Mako reactor.
 
It depends on when you look at it really.

Spoiler alert.. maybe... i dunno lol


Supposedly Cloud's sword skills were lacking very bad in the Crisis Core storyline, Hence him being a MP/trooper/guard ( whatever you want to call them). But in his desperation he was able to stab Sephiroth ( or maybe Sephiroth was just talking too much to "mother" that he wasnt paying attention). That scene in the reactor shows that Cloud has the potential to be great.

Zack and Aeris' death were his motivation to be stronger, fight harder and protect what he has left.

But to answer the question... as much as I love Zack... Cloud is stronger. For me its I dunno if he surpasses Zack in Crisis Core or FFVII. By the time of AC... i think we all know he's much stronger then Zack.
 
Android 18 said:
Cloud surpassed Zack before Final Fantasy VII even began.

In the Nieblhiem reactor Sephiroth easily defeated. Soon after, Cloud owned Sephiroth by stabbing and then throwning him into the Mako reactor.
Click to expand...

So what you're saying is because Zack took on a psychopathic supersoldier head-on and lost, it means he's weaker than the grunt who got in a sneak attack on the psycho supersoldier?

I don't see how that works.

Admittedly Cloud's surviving being run through and then chucking Seph to his supposed doom was impressive but it's not anything I'd say means he's stronger than Zack or would beat Zack in a fight...unless Zack will stab Cloud, lift him in the air and be standing on a bridge.
 
Zack is as close to equal ( more so then Cloud) to Sephiroth since ALL SOLDIERs have Jenova cells in them plus mako. The most equal would be Angeal but his lost his fight to live a while ago. Since both Angeal and Sephiroth were given Jenova cells in the fetus state.
Given that Cloud was able to lift and toss ( using the sword that is still impaled in his chest) Sephiroth into the reactor or a wall ( depending if you go by the game of the Last Order OVA) is a huge feat, since Cloud has no Jenova cells or mako in him at this time. And surviving that... I'll just give credit to Hojo. -shrugs-
 
Cloud was in a much worse state than zack after Hojo played with them. But I Don't know if that's because Zack was already a SOLDIER.

Zack was obviously initialy much stronger than Cloud as he was aloud into SOLDIER and Cloud wasn't.

However Cloud does show his worth by Omnislashing Sephy at the end.
 
I think Zack surpasses Cloud on some levels of strength, Cloud surpasses Zack on others. Zack is much stronger than Cloud on a phsychological level, and in circumstances where Cloud would crack, Zack stands strong. As for physical strength, I'd say it is pretty close. We know that Cloud has always had a gift with large swords, and that when he has one in his hand you better look out. He is a total badass and is by no means the weakling Sephiroth and the others wrote him off to be. Zack is by no means weak either though. He takes out 96 soldiers by himself without any help at all, and if the story did not have to go the way it does he might have beaten them all. The stronger one though would have to be Cloud, and the only thing that makes me believe that Cloud is stronger than Zack is how he defeats Sephie in Advent Children. It was set up to were he was going to lose the battle, case closed, but he looked inside himself and found a strength inside to win. He did the same thing in Nilbenheim, when Sephiroth stabbed him, and he found a way to persevere. That is the strength that makes him far stronger than anyone else. The only problem is, he has to believe in himself, which Zack never had a problem with.
 
I think before Zack died, he was stronger than Cloud. But with him dead, and Cloud having time to train and such, he surpassed Zack.
 
This is kinda hard to explain, especially since I haven't never played Crisis Core. As far as I've always believed, Cloud is the strongest one in terms of physical strength.

I'm sure Zack's a few steps behind him, but as the main hero of Final Fantasy VII, I think it would only be natural for Cloud to be the stronger one.

As for Crisis Core, again, I cannot speak about the matter since I haven't seen Zack's skills or his sole characterization.
 
jam said:
Cloud was in a much worse state than zack after Hojo played with them. But I Don't know if that's because Zack was already a SOLDIER.

Zack was obviously initialy much stronger than Cloud as he was aloud into SOLDIER and Cloud wasn't.

However Cloud does show his worth by Omnislashing Sephy at the end.
Click to expand...


Its cause Zack has already gone though the whole mako and jenova cells SOLDIER training. Although the experiment was some what similar... it was also different.

Also remember Zack has 4 - 5 years of Shinra training under a SOLDIER 1st Class - Angeal, where as Cloud just came to try to get into SOLDIERs 6 months - 1 year ago.
 
either way Cloud loses points for originality. Zack was using a masive sword long before cloud
 
^Technically Zack does too, because Angeal was using it before everybody else.
 
jam said:
either way Cloud loses points for originality. Zack was using a masive sword long before cloud
Click to expand...


As lighting says.. Angeal Hewley was the very first to have the Buster sword. And it wasnt too long before, well if you dont count those 5 years they were trapped. But for actual usage wasnt too much.

And Cloud is has original as they come. who else has gravity defying hair like him? :lol: Zack's hair looks like Sonic's hair if anyone else notice. XD
 
Couple things here, Cloud didn't 'fail to get in' he never tried to make Soldier. For those of you who play CC...there's a scene where Zack is trudging through the mountains with a couple grunts and the lead turk but only Cloud manages to keep up. Which implies that he's tough enough to have made SOLDIER as Zack kinda recognizes him (I think Zack had made 1rst class by then)

Second, Zack was very freaking tough, tough enough to take down angeal and genesis, even genesis in his prime. He doesn't technically beat sephiroth however, according to the combat manual (that I haven't read so that makes this technically hearsay) Genesis and Sephiroth are of equal power...so Beating Genesis is like beating Sephiroth and theirfore Zack is just as strong as Cloud.

On the other hand, Zack did not respond to Jenova testing or mako testing (because he was already mako'ed) but Cloud DID respond to Mako AND received the last bit of Jenova Cells (although Zack busts him out before he can receive the final peices making Cloud a 'failed experiment'). The cells themselves kinda give him a boost in strength...

Its a toss up but honestly, I think Cloud 'becomes' stronger.
 
Zack is the more experienced and mroe cunning warrior, but in terms of strength, power and ferocity Cloud has his number.

Not to say that Cloud would win, Zack could still outsmart him with flashy moves.
 
Meh, I think the two are equal. Cloud is just the younger (tinier) version of Zack. So when Zack gets the boot, Cloud takes his place. :P

And Cloud got 'stronger' when he realized he has friends and how much he cares about them. Lame, I know, but there ya go. :wacky:
 
I´m agree with Fair_ Game. Cloud becomes stronger along the Final Fantasy history, like a classical hero.
 
I'd think they would be equal, bcoz Cloud has a part of Zack, and Cloud has all Zack move so they probably will know each other next move
 
Best Thread in a while. My two Favourite literary characters ever pitted against each other.

This is a difficult question because the last time you see cloud in action is AC two years after the main game and he was level 99 and pwned everyone, even sephiroth. However if zack was still alive would he be stronger then cloud? Or would it be Vice-Versa?

When Cloud and Zack were still buds their was no questioning it, cloud had virtually no fighting ability. Proof of this is the 3rd ranked soldiers were patheticly pathetic in CC and FFVII and cloud wasn't even strong enough to make it into that. Zack on the other hand was a genius fighter making it all the way to 1st Class all around the age of 16. So Zack's superiority at that time and point was undeniable. As we all know Zack dies and Cloud takes on his identity and becomes the hero in Final Fantasy VII. Im assuming that Cloud did not reach Zack's level until about late 2nd disk. Why so late? Well although Cloud was finally infused with mako, and gained all the enhancements that Zack, Angeal, Genesis, Hojo, and that other guy got, this doesnt mean he reached his level. Since zack is a genius lets say he's a "23", and since cloud is not lets say he's a "9". Now with mako infusion they both get a 75% bonus, so therefore zack is 40 and cloud is only 15, less then half.

So whatever Cloud gets motivation and hard work in, Goes through FFVII and AC and now he's a level 99 behemoth who beats the invincible Sephiroth twice, at this point technically he's stronger than Zack was when he was alive by a long shot, but clearly due to an unfair advantage called mortality. So it's a hard answer because yeah if Zack was alive and had years upon years to get stronger like cloud did, he would embarass Cloud even with his omnislash, However thats like saying "The Knicks" would be good if they didn't suck. So despite my prior ramblings Cloud is a better Specimen because Zack is dead. :)
 
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