Article: Cloud Strife will be in Smash Bros...why? I have no idea. This just happened.

I can pretty much guarantee you that ONLY Cloud and the opening FFVII scene with the stars and the recognisable music would have elicited the internet reactions we got. To go with anyone else would be like I dunno, Kingdom Hearts choosing to ignore Darth Vader if they need a Star Wars representation, and using I dunno, General Grievous or worse, Nute Gunray instead.

And it ultimately doesn't matter who should or should not represent be Smash (I personally don't give two ounces about Smash Bros). Nintendo became a big talking point and they drummed up some left-of-field hype. A win for them.
 
How many people would know who the Warrior of Light is vs Cloud?

Cloud is essentially synonymous with the franchise and is the iconic one for anyone who barely even knows anything about the franchise.
Exactly. He's more recognizable than Chocobos or Moogles to some people.

For whatever reason, Cloud became the most recognizable character in the franchise. There might be better characters in FF than him, but Cloud is world wide known. He's got Mario or Pikachu status.

That's why he's representing FF.
 
I wouldn't even call it that....here's an example: if people saw a white mage, red mage, black mage, thief, warrior or even monk from FF1-3. people would instantly recognize it as final fantasy.

Leon as well alongside Tidus, and recently Lightning
 
I wouldn't even call it that....here's an example: if people saw a white mage, red mage, black mage, thief, warrior or even monk from FF1-3. people would instantly recognize it as final fantasy.

Leon as well alongside Tidus, and recently Lightning

Lightning comes close, I'll give you that. But the mages and theifs... no. I've played those games, immersed in the fandom, and sometimes I even forget who they freaking are.

All I know is, any time someone I know overhears me talking about Final Fantasy the first thing they assume I'm talking about is Cloud, just because I say the name final fantasy. People won't even know much about the games, never played it, and they know about Cloud.

I've got a 30+ old friend that knew who Cloud was and she doesn't even play video games. But she knew his look and his name. (I was seriously surprised by this when it happened).


If someone says Pokemon, you'll most certainly get a response of Pikachu.

That's the same thing if you say Final Fantasy around a group of people.

No other character comes even close to being as recognizable as Cloud.

And I know that if you're among die-hard fans they'll say lots of characters and shit, but if you're speaking with people that never played an FF, it's always Cloud.

There certainly would not have been any type of media reaction for any other character besides Cloud, and Nintendo knows that.
 
I've been to several anime conventions/video game conventions and 1 out of 4 people will still ask who their cosplaying as even though it's Cloud. And although cloud is recognized by name. I doubt instantly seeing him brings the same attention.


8-bit versions of white, black, red mage and warrior are instantly recognized. Maybe not by name or by what series but people know about them.

Also it's unfair to give comparison to like pikachu and Pokemon. Gamefreak intentionally makes pikachu as the mascot
 
No, I am really not convinced that anywhere near as many people on the internet would instantly recognise the classic Warrior/Black/White Mages designs compared with Cloud. The latter and the game he was in essentially was and symbolises the explosion of popularity for the Japanese RPG for millions of western gamers. It's a major reason why the mainstream audience today will continue to associate JRPGs with Final Fantasy. Why else would FFVII be that one game with the loudest clamouring for a remake that SE have recently acquiesced to?

Square has never needed to actively push Cloud as the face of the franchise, because owing to circumstances, Cloud's clout largely organically came to be. They have tried to manufacture the same effect with Lightning, but even she is eclipsed and is too saddled with negative baggage because of the game(s) she is in. And beyond Cloud, there's the combination of his sword, the distinctly recognisable background of Midgar with the Shinra building and the iconic FFVII battle theme - you can present anecdotal discussions of conventions, but I don't believe it can be disputed that FFVII is the most recognisable of the whole series.

I realise we're essentially repeating ourselves now, so there's nothing really else to say.
 
The reason why ff7 was clamoured for a remake was because Se hinted at them multiple times the ps3 tech demonshowing off crystal tools and we also have crisis core's suspicious ending.

I do however want to point out that ff8 was the gateway to 3D RPGs despite others existing before. For Westerners, ff7 may have been their first taste of it and personal favorite, but it's going too far to sat ff7 represents RPG in general.


Final fantasy? Meh...lightning is still roaming around. But regardless I know theyl reaction would still be positive and pretty darn close of it was Sora from Kingdom Hearts.

In fact people have been asking for Sora in Super Smash brow since Melee.
 
I think this is just proof of where the amiibo concept is going in general. Nintendo wasn't the first to do it but what they're bringing to the table is doing it as a toy line, not a videogame accessory. It's like Figma or PlayArts but on a smaller scale. Licensed third-party characters fit with the amiibo model, and Smash Bros is just the amiibo showcase.
 
No, I am really not convinced that anywhere near as many people on the internet would instantly recognise the classic Warrior/Black/White Mages designs compared with Cloud. The latter and the game he was in essentially was and symbolises the explosion of popularity for the Japanese RPG for millions of western gamers. It's a major reason why the mainstream audience today will continue to associate JRPGs with Final Fantasy. Why else would FFVII be that one game with the loudest clamouring for a remake that SE have recently acquiesced to?

Square has never needed to actively push Cloud as the face of the franchise, because owing to circumstances, Cloud's clout largely organically came to be. They have tried to manufacture the same effect with Lightning, but even she is eclipsed and is too saddled with negative baggage because of the game(s) she is in. And beyond Cloud, there's the combination of his sword, the distinctly recognisable background of Midgar with the Shinra building and the iconic FFVII battle theme - you can present anecdotal discussions of conventions, but I don't believe it can be disputed that FFVII is the most recognisable of the whole series.

I realise we're essentially repeating ourselves now, so there's nothing really else to say.

Well said.
raz, do you know what Square Enix's highest grossing game is?

Top 10
  1. Final Fantasy VII (10 million, includes Final Fantasy VII International)
  2. Final Fantasy X (8.05 million - up to much more)
  3. Final Fantasy VIII (6 million - 8.15 milion till march 2003)
  4. Final Fantasy XIII (6.71 million, Includes ps3&360 versions)
  5. Final Fantasy XII (5.6 million approximately: 2.4 million in Japan, 1.7 million in US, 1.1 million in Europe; 5.2 million shipped)
  6. Final Fantasy X-2 (5.30 million: 2.11 million units in Japan, 1.92 million units in the United States, 1.08 million units in Europe and more than 100,000 units in the United Kingdom and 0.17m shipped worldwide)
  7. Kingdom Hearts (4.68 million approximately: 3.45 million in US, 1.23 million in Japan; 5.9 million shipped)
  8. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (4.44 million approximately: 3.6 million in Japan, 410,000 in Europe, 430,000 in North America; 4.7 million shipped)
  9. Dragon Warrior VII (4.12 million)
  10. Kingdom Hearts II (3.89 million approximately: 2.03 million in US, 1.16 million in Japan, 700,000 in Europe; 4 million shipped)

FFVII and Cloud are the mascots for the company. That's why it's 10 million strong and that's why it's getting a remake and other companies (like nintendo) realize that.
 
There is a real reason why people asked for a remake. Its not 10 million strong. Are we all that forgetful?
 
sorry, i don't get what you're sayin?

Lets not bring up the remake people just talk out of their butt when it comes to why we wanted a remake. The remake was something asked by fans based on the nature of the game and series. Any on going game with a series old enough will ask for a remake.

Here are legitimate reasons why a remake was being pushed by fans:

#1) compilation of ff7. This alone allows us to follow the universe of ff7 with updated graphics but we never played the game and see the story with the newer graphics.

#2) crystal tools tech demo. Primarily Ff7 on ps3. Square enix finally showed us what it can potentially look like.

#3) crisis core's ending definitely made it seem like they we're planning on ff7 remake as well.

#4) square enix on and off debate on whether they wanted to remake it. Eventually said no, but led to this surprise.
 
Lets not bring up the remake people just talk out of their butt when it comes to why we wanted a remake. The remake was something asked by fans based on the nature of the game and series. Any on going game with a series old enough will ask for a remake.

Here are legitimate reasons why a remake was being pushed by fans:

#1) compilation of ff7. This alone allows us to follow the universe of ff7 with updated graphics but we never played the game and see the story with the newer graphics.

#2) crystal tools tech demo. Primarily Ff7 on ps3. Square enix finally showed us what it can potentially look like.

#3) crisis core's ending definitely made it seem like they we're planning on ff7 remake as well.

#4) square enix on and off debate on whether they wanted to remake it. Eventually said no, but led to this surprise.

Okay, I'm confused about what point you're trying to make here?

All you did was just list reasons why an FFVII remake was always planned, you didn't actually explain why Square Enix would waste so much time, effort, and money on this game if not for it being so high in demand from the gaming world.

You essentially just proved my point, Square Enix chose Cloud for Ninendo and chose to remake VII because fans in the gaming world want it (like how people want Half-Life 3 already).

This game is Square Enix's highest grossing game...ever. It's the highest grossing game because the gaming world loves it and cherishes it, and that's why they're remaking it.

Because it's in high demand from gamers.

And with the remake coming out, VII's popularity is just going to increase and its sales--combined with the original game's sales--are going to make it damn near impossible for Square Enix to ever out-do.

Maybe I'm too tired but... can you tell me what point you're making exactly? First you said Cloud isn't most recognizable and now you're saying that VII was chosen to be remade for some reason other than it being in high demand from gamers, but you're not saying what it is?
 
Demand for a remake is based on SE's choices. They didnt exactly planned it all the way through. The demand for a remake would be obvious based on the nature of the series, not the success. People have been wanting a crash bandicoot remake constantly. This happens especially when next Gen consoles hold sequels that are dependent. Kh3 is being made for ps4 but that doesn't change that the other games had to be compiled/enhanced for ps3.
 
Demand for a remake is based on SE's choices. They didnt exactly planned it all the way through. The demand for a remake would be obvious based on the nature of the series, not the success.

But, you yourself just admitted that the remake was pushed by fans...

Lets not bring up the remake people just talk out of their butt when it comes to why we wanted a remake. The remake was something asked by fans based on the nature of the game and series. Any on going game with a series old enough will ask for a remake.

Here are legitimate reasons why a remake was being pushed by fans:

#1) compilation of ff7. This alone allows us to follow the universe of ff7 with updated graphics but we never played the game and see the story with the newer graphics.

#2) crystal tools tech demo. Primarily Ff7 on ps3. Square enix finally showed us what it can potentially look like.

#3) crisis core's ending definitely made it seem like they we're planning on ff7 remake as well.

#4) square enix on and off debate on whether they wanted to remake it. Eventually said no, but led to this surprise.

Proving that majority of fans did want it.

People have been wanting a crash bandicoot remake constantly. This happens especially when next Gen consoles hold sequels that are dependent. Kh3 is being made for ps4 but that doesn't change that the other games had to be compiled/enhanced for ps3.


Square Enix did not want to remake this game. That's why they constantly said the only way they'd remake it is if they surpassed it in success.

They didn't.

They realized that their entire fanbase of gamers wanted this remake so they did it because they needed cash.

VII brings for-sure cash.

Hence a remake.
 
I feel like you get my point up until thevery end fans wanted it because the possibility of a remake was very real.

An entire fan base want it now more than ever since it's announced. But before then it was just a possibility. Again, fans want it....but fans wouldve wanted it anyways based on how ff7 series is designed.
 
I feel like you get my point up until thevery end fans wanted it because the possibility of a remake was very real.

An entire fan base want it now more than ever since it's announced. But before then it was just a possibility. Again, fans want it....but fans wouldve wanted it anyways based on how ff7 series is designed.
You're saying fans only wanted it because the compilation led up to it (which I agree) but you're still agreeing that fans want the remake. That's all me and Lin were saying. Square chose this game, not because they favor it, but because they know the fanbase is large and wants it. Square's doing this to remain relative in the gaming world and they're doing it to earn quick easy cash... which a 7 remake will surely bring them.



Come to think of it... Square probably google searched 'ff7 remake' in a few languages and if they saw multiple forums/websites with results like this;

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they realized that it was a good cash cow.
 
I'm saying the majority of ff7 fans are actually ff7 series fans. And others want a remake just to see what the buzz is about
 
Hm, I was under the impression that the Compilation of FFVII was a result of so many fans wanting a remake. I kinda saw the Compilation as more something to whet their appetites.

Cloud in Smash Bros seems pretty cool though! I might just get this DLC. Having said that though, I think a Moogle or a Chocobo character would have been pretty neat. :hmmm:
 
Hm, I was under the impression that the Compilation of FFVII was a result of so many fans wanting a remake. I kinda saw the Compilation as more something to whet their appetites.

Cloud in Smash Bros seems pretty cool though! I might just get this DLC. Having said that though, I think a Moogle or a Chocobo character would have been pretty neat. :hmmm:

The compilation apart from the original aren't that far off.
 
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