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Cloud Strife
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===In ''Final Fantasy VII''=== {{main|Final Fantasy VII|Final Fantasy VII Remake|Final Fantasy VII Rebirth}} Cloud is introduced as a mercenary employed by AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group opposed to the Shinra Company, and who claims to be formerly of SOLDIER 1st Class, an elite Shinra fighting unit.<ref>Square (September 7, 1997). ''Final Fantasy VII''. PlayStation. Sony Computer Entertainment America. "'''Barret''': Yo. Cloud! There's somethin' I wanna ask ya. Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today? / '''Cloud''': None. I'm positive. / '''Barret''': You sound pretty sure. / '''Cloud''': If there was anyone from SOLDIER you wouldn't be standing here now. / '''Barret''': Don't go thinkin' you so bad jes cuz you was in SOLDIER."</ref> Beginning the game with the [[placeholder name]] {{nihongo|"Ex-SOLDIER"|ε γ½γ«γΈγ£γΌ|Moto SorujΔ}}, Cloud assists AVALANCHE's leader, [[Barret Wallace]], in bombing a Mako reactor, power plants which drain the planet's "Lifestream". Despite appearing detached and more interested in the pay of his work, Cloud demonstrates moments of [[Comrade|camaraderie]], such as prioritizing Jessie's security over his escape during the Mako Reactor 1's explosion.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Final Fantasy VII|developer=Square|publisher=Sony Computer Entertainment America|date=September 7, 1997|platform=PlayStation|quote='''Cloud:''' I don't care what your names are. Once this job's over... I'm outta here.}}</ref><ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Cloud:''' Wedge!! You all right!? / '''Wedge:''' .......Cloud...... You remembered..... my name. Barret's up top. ...help him....... An' Cloud.... Sorry, I wasn't any help. / '''Cloud:''' I'm going up! Aeris, you look after Wedge.}}</ref> Players can choose to interact in a friendlier manner with AVALANCHE's members.<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Biggs:''' What!? you tellin' me you're too good to drink with me? Don't act big-headed jus' because you were in SOLDIER! / Yeah, why not?/ '''Biggs:''' Oh!! That's more like it! Even if you were with SOLDIER, you're still a rookie here.}}</ref> After being approached by his childhood friend and AVALANCHE member, [[Tifa Lockhart]],<ref name="motivation2">{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Cloud:''' But I'm different from all of them. I'm not just going to find a job. I want to join SOLDIER. I'm going to be the best there is, just like Sephiroth. / ... / '''Tifa:''' Hey, why don't we make a promise? Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind... You came save me, all right? / '''Cloud:''' What? / '''Tifa:''' Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once. / '''Cloud:''' What? / '''Tifa:''' Come on--! Promise me----! / '''Cloud:''' All right... I promise.}}</ref> Cloud agrees to continue helping AVALANCHE.<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Cloud:''' I'm not a hero and I'm not famous. I can't keep... the promise.}}</ref><ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Cloud''': This is my pay? Don't make me laugh. \ '''Tifa''': What? Then you'll...!! / '''Cloud''': You got the next mission lined up? I'll do it for 3000. / '''Tifa''': Thanks, Cloud.}}</ref> Cloud encounters [[Aerith Gainsborough]], a resident of [[Midgar]]'s slums, and agrees to serve as her bodyguard in exchange for a date.<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Aerith:''' Then, get me out of here. Take me home. / '''Cloud:''' OK, I'll do it... but it'll cost you. / '''Aerith:''' Well then, let's see...... How about if I go out with you once? / [Cloud makes an affirmative nod.]}}</ref> He helps her evade Shinra, who are pursuing her because she is the sole survivor of a race known as the Cetra. During the course of their travels, a [[love triangle]] develops between Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith.<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Aeris:''' I knew that Cloud would come for me. / '''Cloud:''' Hey, I'm your bodyguard, right? / '''Aeris:''' The deal was for one date, right? / '''Tifa:''' ............oh, I get it. / '''Aeris:''' ...!? Tifa! Tifa, you're there too! / '''Tifa:''' EXCUSE me.}}</ref><ref name="8-132">{{cite book |title = Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania|year = 2009|isbn = 978-4-7575-2560-3|language = ja|publisher = Square Enix|pages = 8β13|edition = Revised}}</ref> Following the player's departure from Midgar, Cloud narrates his history with Sephiroth, a legendary member of SOLDIER and the game's primary antagonist, and the events that led to his disappearance five years prior. Cloud joined SOLDIER to emulate Sephiroth, and 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.<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Cloud:''' I joined SOLDIER so I could be like you. But by the time I made First Class, the war was already over. My big hopes of becoming a hero like you ended with the war. That's why I always sign up whenever there's a big mission. Kind of a way to prove myself.}}</ref> Sephiroth started questioning his humanity after accompanying him on a job to Cloud's hometown of Nibelheim and discovering documents concerning [[Characters of the Final Fantasy VII series|Jenova]], an [[extraterrestrial life]]form and Sephiroth's "mother".<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Cloud:''' Traitor? / '''Sephiroth:''' You ignorant traitor. I'll tell you. This was an itinerant race. They would migrate in, settle the Planet, then move on... At the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness. But, those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving back one whit in return! Those are your ancestors. / '''Cloud:''' Sephiroth... / '''Sephiroth:''' Long ago, disaster struck this planet. Your ancestors escaped... They survived because they hid. The Planet was saved by sacrificing the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued to increase. Now all that's left of the Cetra is in these reports. / '''Cloud:''' What does that have to do with you? / '''Sephiroth:''' Don't you get it? An Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of 2000 years ago. The Jenova Project. The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients......no, the Cetra! ...I am the one that was produced.}}</ref> This ultimately led to Sephiroth burning down Nibelheim, killing Cloud's mother. Cloud confronted Sephiroth at Mt. Nibel's Mako Reactor and was believed to have killed him, but Cloud dismisses this as a lie, as he knows he would be no match for Sephiroth. He is troubled by the fact that although he most likely would have lost the fight, he lived after challenging Sephiroth. However, numerous visual and audio clues suggest the [[Unreliable narrator|unreliability of Cloud's memory]]. Cloud will spontaneously remember words or scenes from his past, sometimes collapsing to the ground while cradling his head,<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote =It was a great place for you two to see each other again. / '''Cloud''': ...You're right. / Why couldn't you see each other alone? / '''Cloud''': ...I don't know. I can't remember clearly... / Why don't you try asking Tifa?"}}</ref> and appears not to remember things that he should, such as the existence of a SOLDIER First Class named Zack.<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote ='''Tifa''': Zack...... / '''Cloud''': Do you know him? / '''Tifa''': N, no, I don't know him! / '''Cloud''': Your face tells me differently. / '''Tifa''': I told you, I don't!}}</ref> As Sephiroth begins manipulating his mind,<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Cloud''': ......I'm afraid to find out the truth...? But...... why?.}}</ref> he takes advantage of his memory by telling him that his past is merely fiction and that Shinra created him in an attempt to clone Sephiroth.<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Sephiroth:''' Five years ago you were... ...constructed by Hojo, piece by piece, right after Nibelheim was burnt. A puppet made up of vibrant Jenova cells, her knowledge, and the power of Mako. An incomplete Sephiroth-clone. Not even given a number. ...That is your reality.}}</ref> Cloud learns he cannot remember things such as how or when he joined SOLDIER and resigns himself as a "failed experiment",<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = "'''Cloud''': Professor Hojo... I don't have a number. You didn't give me one because I was a failed experiment.}}</ref> then goes missing. The party later discovers a comatose Cloud suffering from Mako poisoning. It is revealed that Cloud never qualified for SOLDIER, and instead enlisted as an infantryman in Shinra's army. During the mission to Nibelheim, he served under Sephiroth and Zack and hid his identity from the townspeople out of embarrassment. Following Sephiroth's defeat of Zack at the Mt. Nibel Mako reactor, Cloud managed to ambush him and throw him into the Lifestream, believing him to be dead. Both he and Zack were imprisoned by Shinra's lead scientist, [[Professor Hojo]], for four years of experimentation. Zack later escaped with Cloud to the outskirts of Midgar before Shinra soldiers gunned him down. As a result of exposure to Mako radiation and the injection of Jenova's cells,<ref>{{cite video game|title = Final Fantasy VII|developer = Square|publisher = Sony Computer Entertainment America|date = September 7, 1997|platform = PlayStation|quote = '''Cloud:''' You see, someone in SOLDIER isn't simply exposed to Mako energy. Their bodies are actually injected with Jenova cells...... For better or for worse, only the strong can enter SOLDIER. It has nothing to do with the Jenova Reunion. But weak people...... like me, get lost in the whole thing. The combination of Jenova cells, Sephiroth's strong will, and my own weaknesses are what created me. Everyone knew that. I'm...... Cloud. ......the master of my own illusionary world. But I can't remain trapped in an illusion any more...... I'm going to live my life without pretending.}}</ref> Cloud's mind created a false personality based on Zack's, inadvertently erasing the latter from his memory.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ξ©|year = 2005|isbn = 4-7575-1520-0|pages = 210β215| publisher=γΉγ―γ¦γ§γ’γ»γ¨γγγ―γΉ |editor-last = Studio BentStuff|language = ja}}</ref> After piecing together his identity, Cloud resumes his role as leader and silently expresses his mutual feelings with Tifa the night before the final battle. At the game's conclusion, Sephiroth reappears in Cloud's mind a final time, but is defeated in a one-on-one fight.<ref>''Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania'' ''(Revised Edition)'' (in Japanese). Square Enix. 2009. pp. 76β81. {{ISBN|978-4-7575-2560-3}}.</ref>
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