Cloud Strife Gets a Tribute from Famitsu [1/22]

[Fusionist]

Well, I like Cloud and all, but I don't really care about a tribute. I mean, what prompted it in the first place? FFXIII?

But you know, I understand why it's Cloud getting attention out of all the other FF characters. First off, he's the hero of the game. Heros always get tributes. Second, he's the hero from FFVII. FFVII being special for the fact that it has so many games and thus there is the actual ability to have a decent coverage on it. And from what I understand, even if it's just a lil' cameo, Cloud has been in every FFVII installment.

Sure, I'd love to see Squall get some coverage, but there's only so much you can cover in the span of FFVIII and Dissidia, and Kingdom Hearts non canon cameos don't count for much either *shrugs*

 

[JuBaggins]

I'm happy for you, Cloud
Cloud's definitely one of my favorite characters in anything ever. He may get a fame of being emo nowadays due to AC, but whatever, that not detracts him from his original greatness. Can't wait for translations!

 

[DeadFantasy]

It seems out of the blue.

^^ That's what I thought too-- Like why now?? All of a sudden?? I know cloud has been in several games and whatnot but cloud? Wouldn't it seem more logical if it was over the newest FF?? like idunno, maybe XIII? Just a thought I have nothing against cloud it's just out of nowhere and makes no sense at all to me xD. But, it was bound to happen since he's been in many games so, I guess good for him

 

[HighwindPilot]

Also, we would appreciate if you would stop attacking our opinion.

Attacking? I initally didn't even quote your post to suggest that I was speaking of the idea generally. I hadn't even touched your subjective take on the quality of Cloud's character either, although that was frankly because it wasn't worth a rebuttal.

All of your "logic" is doing nothing more than making me think that he doesn't deserve the tribute even more than we did previously.

I didn't know we were doing that. In that case, none of your "logic" effectively illustrates why Cloud, of any FF character, shouldn't be given the tribute.

Something like "he's emo" isn't really giving anything other than a shallow take on the character's personality, same with the "cool" Cecil bit.

Some of those fans haven't even touched another FF game, and a lot of those fans refuse to believe that there is a better FF.

But many more of them differ from this scenario. Many members of this board are a fractional example of that.

FF could do without them.

A ridiculous notion.

They could have given another character from any series, from any brand, that spot and it would make more sense. Megaman, Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Chrono, ect... The list could go on for days.

I agree, but we aren't staff members of the magazine. I'm sure there's something promotional about this.

The only reason why FFVII even sold big in the first place is because it was the first game on a next-gen console (for its time) and featured shiny graphics.

Great, now explain why it received so many positive reviews after said purchases and before all of the continuation installments.

If Cloud's character evolved, at all, we probably wouldn't be complaining.

Cloud evolved a deal throughout VII.

Look at his "don't give a damn", loner attitude in the beginning in comparison to how he was later, upon Aeris' passing, or even (off the top of my head) saving Cid in the rocket.

Not to mention the much more obvious example to draw from: His decline revolving around his "puppet" plotline and reassembly following the Lifestream arc.

And those're just in regards to his persoanlity. There's a lot more that contributes to the substance of his character (SOLDIER, experimentation, etc...)

I don't even like him in AC, but even his attitude then is understandable. Not to mention that it improves by Dirge, which again shows his ability to progress.
--

Anyway, you have your opinion, I have mine, and I'm not really looking to change yours, so I'm out. Cheers.

 

[moogling]

Translations!

---

Did you know that Final Fantasy VII hero Cloud Strife was born in 1986? He met Final Fantasy VII heroine Tifa in 1995 and headed out on his fateful mission with Final Fantasy VII villain Sephiroth seven years after that. Five years later, he helped Tifa and a jive-talking Baret destroy a reactor in Midgar. This was the beginning of the original PlayStation FFVII.

(Incidentally, the 1986 and 1995 above are in Final Fantasy VII's calendar system. In this system, years post 1999 are written as 0000, 0001, 0002, etc.)

Did you also know that Final Fantasy VII other heroine Aerith dies midway through the game? If you didn't, don't blame me for spoiling it! Aerith's death and the circumstances behind it are detailed in this week's Famitsu -- in large lettering, too. This can probably be taken to mean that Square Enix approves of everyone knowing about it. I think we can officially declare this little story development no longer a spoiler.

Why is Cloud's history taken up in this week's issue of Japan's largest video game magazine when new games like Valkyria Chronicles 2 and Resonance of Fate are seeing release? Famitsu is now in the middle of a multiweek look at popular game characters. Last week's issue featured Mario. This week, Cloud gets an eight page spread, and his Advent Children figure gets the cover spotlight.

In addition to a detailed timeline of Cloud's life and a look at the many games that have featured the character, Famitsu managed to get some commentary from Tetsuya Nomura, the character's creator. Nomura shared some secrets behind the character's creation and also discussed the character's impact and possible future developments.

The original Cloud design, revealed Nomura, had the character's hair combed back, with the front standing. The style was changed because, in that form, the character did not give the impression of being a main character.

Cloud's Buster Sword also underwent some changes. While its shape has always been the same, it was smaller. Nomura noted here that as he redrew Cloud's illustration, the sword naturally got bigger and bigger.

It looks like Cloud really was Nomura's creation. Until FFVI, explained Nomura, FF series father Hironobu Sakaguchi had the final say in character settings. With FFVII, Sakguchi left these decisions to the designers, meaning Nomura was able to have a major say in the FFVII project as a whole. This is why FFVII has great meaning to him.

Nomura believes that the reason Cloud has earned such favor amongst players is because of the strong impact from his personality and from Kazushige Nojima's scenario.

On the always hot topic of future developments for the Cloud character, Nomura said the following: "Fans are looking forward to an oft rumored remake of FFVII, but I don't believe this will happen for the time being. However, it's possible that he will appear in other titles as a guest character."

Source: Andriasang

 

[HighwindPilot]

Thanks!


This actually just answered the debate as to why:

Why is Cloud's history taken up in this week's issue of Japan's largest video game magazine when new games like Valkyria Chronicles 2 and Resonance of Fate are seeing release? Famitsu is now in the middle of a multiweek look at popular game characters. Last week's issue featured Mario. This week, Cloud gets an eight page spread, and his Advent Children figure gets the cover spotlight.

Funny how they directly addressed it.

Also, I think this has something to do with it:

In addition to a detailed timeline of Cloud's life and a look at the many games that have featured the character, Famitsu managed to get some commentary from Tetsuya Nomura, the character's creator. Nomura shared some secrets behind the character's creation and also discussed the character's impact and possible future developments.

This was probably, in part, a Nomura plug.

 

[Talbain]

I like seeing how Cloud's character model has evolved over the years, and how his top has evolved from a ridiculous Yugioh style hairdo to a more human looking (but still silly) Japanese fashion model hair puff. I'd say his clothing has gotten much more comfortable looking now too.

 

[SapphireStar]

Im sick of hearing the word emo. Emo wasnt a term used back in 1997 for Lord sake, so why would SquareSoft use it? Cloud was a complicated character, but it didnt make him an emo.

 

[Abstract Debauchery]

Great, now explain why it received so many positive reviews after said purchases and before all of the continuation installments.

Because people are simple minded fools that don't understand what a good game is anymore. And that, my friend, is an argument that would fill pages and pages. So, if you feel the need, you may want to PM us with rebuttal on that one.

A ridiculous notion.

We beg to differ. Probably because we always seem to have problems with the fanboys and hate the rabid fanboys to no end. However, that's just personal preference on our part.

Something like "he's emo" isn't really giving anything other than a shallow take on the character's personality, same with the "cool" Cecil bit.

We're not going to sit down and and nit pick deep within Cloud's emo psyche from FFVII to AC just to get into an even longer debate about it. He's got tons of problems. Sure, we used a few "shallow" examples. However, in the series as a whole, we think he was nothing but an emo kid, and didn't evolve at all.

We're not going to go through FFVII (a game we didn't like much in the first place) or AC (a movie we didn't like in the first place), and relive every single moment that we believe Cloud was being a little emo kid just to prove a point. The debate, in all honestly, isn't worth it.

Anyway, you have your opinion, I have mine, and I'm not really looking to change yours, so I'm out. Cheers.

Well, as long as we're clear on that. The little debate was fun though.

Why is Cloud's history taken up in this week's issue of Japan's largest video game magazine when new games like Valkyria Chronicles 2 and Resonance of Fate are seeing release? Famitsu is now in the middle of a multiweek look at popular game characters. Last week's issue featured Mario. This week, Cloud gets an eight page spread, and his Advent Children figure gets the cover spotlight.

We're were going under the assumption that Cloud was the only character getting a tribute. However, seeing as he isn't the only one, we don't have that much of a problem with it anymore. Although, we still do believe that his character doesn't deserve it.

This was probably, in part, a Nomura plug.[/quote[

The plot thickens.

Although, with FFXIII still being new, they were going to pull one sooner or later.

On the always hot topic of future developments for the Cloud character, Nomura said the following: "Fans are looking forward to an oft rumored remake of FFVII, but I don't believe this will happen for the time being. However, it's possible that he will appear in other titles as a guest character."

Ahh, that will shut fanboys up for the time being.

 

[King Sean]

Im sick of hearing the word emo. Emo wasnt a term used back in 1997 for Lord sake, so why would SquareSoft use it? Cloud was a complicated character, but it didnt make him an emo.

My gosh, you don't know how much I hate that word

They call Roxas, Cloud, Squall,and many other of my favorite gaming characters emo. Last I checked, emos cut themselves and what not. I am not sure Nomura would produce characters that cut themselves

Ahh, that will shut fanboys up for the time being.

No it won't. We will continue to talk and be thankful to famitsu for giving the well deserved tribute to Cloud. Didn't you hear? Mario got one,too. The King of Games got one. Want to tell me that wasn't deserved?

Imho, Mario's was more deserved than Cloud's, but Cloud still deserved one all the same.

 

[Abstract Debauchery]

No it won't. We will continue to talk and be thankful to famitsu for giving the well deserved tribute to Cloud. Didn't you hear? Mario got one,too. The King of Games got one. Want to tell me that wasn't deserved?

Imho, Mario's was more deserved than Cloud's, but Cloud still deserved one all the same.

We were speaking of the fanboys shutting up about the remake.

Mario deserved his tribute, it's not our fault that Cloud doesn't deserve his.

(Our opinion of course.)

EDIT: On another note, we just want everyone to know that we're bias as hell because we don't like FFVII. Even if we disagree with your arguments, we can respect them, and we admire your dedication... Even if we hate Cloud and the game he came from.

 

[Dionysos]

I'm not much of a Cloud fan, but I can see why they chose Cloud to do a tribute for.

It's not so much that he's the best character in the world, but he has probably had the most appearances in both canon sequels and spin-off FF games than any other character.

He's been in:
FFVII
FFVII: Advent Children
FFVII: The Last Order
FFVII: Crisis Core
FFVII: Before Crisis
FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus
The FFVII novellas too I think have Cloud in them..
Ehrgiez
Dissidia
Chocobo Racing
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts II
Final Fantasy Tactics

There's more too, but I can't remember what they are called. They're in that article but I can't read the japanese. Some funny dice game with lots of FF characters in it.


He's also referenced in FFIX when his sword is visible, and also in FFXII when Gilgamesh carries a fake Buster Sword.


So I'm guessing the main reason Cloud got this tribute is because there was a heck of lot to write about in terms of number of appearances. Most other FF characters are interesting (many more interesting than Cloud) but don't have many appearances as most characters are limited to their respective game, and so there isn't much to talk about in a 7-8 page article like this.

They could have done a tribute for chocobos though. I'd have loved that a lot more I think.

 

[King Sean]

Final Fantasy Tactics

There's more too, but I can't remember what they are called. They're in that article but I can't read the japanese. Some funny dice game with lots of FF characters in it.

.

Itadaki Street Special. A board game game with FF, Dragon quest and more.

And yeah, he has been featured in many games which has given him much notoriety around the world. Many games have feature him in prominent roles and thus many people can recognize him and like him.

I need to stop fighting for Cloud I am such a fanatic

 

[Tmoo]

cloud got a tribute mostly 'cause he's become a gaming icon. pure and simple. when most people think final fantasy, they think back to him and his spiky hair and giant sword. giant swords in particular took off in anime after the buster sword's debut. so you see, it isn't an issue of whether or not he 'deserves' the tribute, or even how many games he appears in, 'cause when you've got an iconic character, they will be referenced and cameo'd like crazy. the same reason mario got a tribute.

 

[The Witch]

cloud got a tribute mostly 'cause he's become a gaming icon. pure and simple. when most people think final fantasy, they think back to him and his spiky hair and giant sword. giant swords in particular took off in anime after the buster sword's debut. so you see, it isn't an issue of whether or not he 'deserves' the tribute, or even how many games he appears in, 'cause when you've got an iconic character, they will be referenced and cameo'd like crazy. the same reason mario got a tribute.

Well, said! And it's so true too!

I completely believe Cloud deserved this tribute... like you said, he's a gaming icon! It's funny you mention the big swords in anime thing *thinks of Bleach*