Editing Cloud Strife (section)

===Designs===
[[File:CloudStrifeearlysketch.png|thumb|Early sketches of Cloud's design by Tetsuya Nomura|left]]
In addition to testing models ported from Square's [[Final Fantasy VI: The Interactive CG Game|1995 SIGGRAPH demo]], Nomura and several other artists created new characters, including an early design of Cloud.<ref name=":4" /> Sakaguchi, impressed with Nomura's illustrations and detailed handwritten notes for ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'' and ''VI'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siliconera.com/final-fantasy-v-turning-point-tetsuya-nomuras-career/|title=How Final Fantasy V Was A Turning Point In Tetsuya Nomura's Career|last=Sato|date=March 13, 2014|website=Siliconera|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111145848/https://www.siliconera.com/final-fantasy-v-turning-point-tetsuya-nomuras-career/|archive-date=January 11, 2020|access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref> tasked him with designing ''Final Fantasy VII''{{'s}} main characters.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=May 10, 2012|script-title=ja:「ファイナルファンタジー」２５周年 — ファイナルファンタジーVII|magazine=[[Famitsu]]|publisher=[[Enterbrain]]|issue=1224}}</ref>

Nomura's notes listed Cloud's [[Character class|job]] as {{nihongo|magic swordsman|魔法剣士|mahō kenshi}}.<ref name="profile2">{{Cite book|title=Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω|publisher=Square Enix|year=2005|isbn=4-7575-1520-0|editor=Studio BentStuff|page=518|language=ja}}</ref> Cloud's design underwent several revisions.<ref name=":6" /> Nomura's first draft of Cloud featured slicked-back black hair to contrast with the long silver hair of the game's primary antagonist, Sephiroth,<ref>{{cite web | author=McLaughlin, Rus | date=April 30, 2008 | title=IGN Presents: The History of Final Fantasy VII | url=http://retro.ign.com/articles/870/870770p1.html | publisher=Ziff Davis | website=IGN | access-date=August 15, 2010 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917074604/http://retro.ign.com/articles/870/870770p1.html | archive-date=September 17, 2008 | df=mdy-all}}</ref> and to minimize the model's [[polygon]] count.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|date=May 31, 2012|script-title=ja:デザイナーが語る『FFVII』|journal=Shūkan Famitsū|language=ja|publisher=Enterbrain|issue=1224|pages=56–57}}</ref> 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 blond hair.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://flaregamer.com/b2article.php?p=81&more=1 | title = Tetsuya Nomura's 20s | publisher = Flare Gamer | access-date = February 26, 2016 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120709232759/http://flaregamer.com/b2article.php?p=81&more=1 | archive-date = July 9, 2012 | df = mdy-all}}</ref> Nomura also made Cloud taller than he appeared in the SGI Onyx demo,<ref name=":4" /> while a discarded iteration drawn "more on the realistic side" depicted Cloud with a taller head and body and more muscular physique.<ref name=":6">{{cite web|url=http://www.siliconera.com/2017/03/09/nomura-final-fantasy-vii-remake-kingdom-hearts-iii-clouds-design-never/|title=Nomura On Final Fantasy VII Remake, Kingdom Hearts III, And Cloud's Design That Never Was|publisher=Siliconera|date=March 9, 2017|access-date=March 13, 2018|archive-date=April 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422114724/https://www.siliconera.com/2017/03/09/nomura-final-fantasy-vii-remake-kingdom-hearts-iii-clouds-design-never/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Yoshitaka Amano]], who handled character illustrations for previous ''Final Fantasy'' titles, painted promotional images for the game by taking Nomura's "drawings and put[ting his] own spin on them".<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly7Rd4OOB8I|title=The Art of Final Fantasy VII: An Interview with Yoshitaka Amano|date=January 9, 2017|publisher=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|time=1:19|access-date=May 2, 2020|archive-date=June 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613073203/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly7Rd4OOB8I&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Amano, because of the hardware limitations of the [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]], the platform Square had settled on for ''Final Fantasy VII'', characters could not be rendered realistically.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly7Rd4OOB8I|title=The Art of Final Fantasy VII: An Interview with Yoshitaka Amano|date=January 9, 2017|publisher=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|time=1:28|access-date=May 2, 2020|archive-date=June 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613073203/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly7Rd4OOB8I&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> Amano thought that Cloud's baggy pants, which taper at the bottom, reflected a "very ... Japanese style", resembling the silhouette of a ''[[hakama]]''.<ref name="Polygon">{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly7Rd4OOB8I|title=The Art of Final Fantasy VII: An Interview with Yoshitaka Amano|date=January 9, 2017|publisher=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|time=2:21|access-date=May 2, 2020|archive-date=June 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613073203/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly7Rd4OOB8I&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

Early renditions of Cloud's weapon, the {{nihongo|Buster Sword|バスターソード|Basutā Sōdo}}, depicted a smaller, thinner blade.<ref name="famitsutribute" /> Variations included additions such as a small chain connected to the pommel, magnets securing the blade to Cloud's back,<ref name="profile2"/> and a more detailed design resembling a "Western-style sword".<ref name=":6" /> The Buster Sword's blade grew in subsequent illustrations,<ref name=":1" /> and Nomura called it "the Giant Kitchen Knife", envisioning it as unrefined steel.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book | title = Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files | publisher = Square Enix | year = 2006 | isbn = 4-7973-3498-3 | editor-last = SoftBank | page = 7 | language = ja, en}}</ref> Square's staff conceived of a [[minigame]] involving Cloud driving a motorcycle at the start of the game's development,<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Famitsu|issue=1224|title=Yoshinori Kitase Interview}}</ref> and Nomura's illustrations included Cloud riding a {{nihongo|"Hardy-Daytona"|ハーディ＝デイトナ|Hādi-Deitona}}, a Shinra motorcycle based on a real-life motorbike, the [[Yamaha VMAX]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Final Fantasy |magazine=[[Computer and Video Games]] |date=12 December 1997 |issue=194 (January 1998) |page=98 |url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_and_Video_Games_Issue_194_1998-01_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n113}}</ref>