Cloud, Then and Now

[Mitsuki]

Kylie found this photo for us, so I figured we can have an actual discussion about it here instead of spam.

Obviously this is something that's meant to be pretty funny. With the direction of character style and design these days, that's obviously to be expected. But let's get past that for just a sec. I personally liked the Cloud then, (not taking the character design into account), but mostly due to the fact that it's how I came to like Cloud originally. I didn't mind the shift of attitude and stance (Advent Children to name one) too much though, as I concluded that by the end of FF7, Cloud did grow as a character especially after all the mysteries regarding his past, and Aerith's death. This picture can relate to Cloud's past and present, which signifies the 'changes' he went through.

Anyway, thoughts?

 

[kratoscar2008]

Im replaying ff7 right now and i now remember why he is awesome, he is sarcastic, make some jokes and he is cool in battle, when aeris died he still maintained his character while sometimes you can tell he is suffering. Why he is so depresed later is strange and more when he has Tifa at his side, What the hell happened to you Cloud?

 

[Omegadruid]

I guess they changed him from a "badass" to a "depressed figure" because its the image of the depressed cloud that really translates his struggle to find his personality. His pose in the original picture is not his own.. It is zack's. Of course they made the new cloud like that because when someone looks at that new picture a lot of memories will come to our minds... Yet we mustnt forget that in the end he put his shit together and became a better man with a personality of his own.
Anyway.. must be more of a marketing thing than anything unintended to have changed his appearance.
Just my 2 cents

 

[kuranza]

Well he lost the love of his life to his worse enemy in front of his eyes, and he found out most of his past was fabricated from his own memories and was really his dead friend's past. He emotionally tortures himself constantly and refuses to ever sleep with Tifa. I would be all broken too lol.

 

[D00MTRAIN]

I didn't like how Square Enix changed him to "Emo" for Advent Children. I think he's just begging Square Enix to STOP MAKING crappy FF7 spin offs lol. Maybe he'll become happy if they do a TRUE faithful FF7 remake on the next gen consoles.

 

[L]

I'm not sure what to say

I honestly feel like the newer version of his clothing looks more realistic. Cloud has always kind of been a dull and emotionally inhibited character though, but I still don't feel like the mega broody approach was the way to go.

Maybe, since Lightning was based off of Cloud they didn't really want them to seem the same.

 

[Master Cat]

I remember seeing this image a few weeks ago! xD It's kinda sad how accurate it is. I fell in love with the Cloud from the original FFVII game, but @Omegadruid raises a good point, the image from "then" is really Zack's when you think about it.

However, I still dislike how much Square Enix has transformed Cloud into a brooding emo boy. Sure, he's been through a lot - Aeris' death, identity crisis, etc. - but towards the end of the original game, he still remained hopeful && courageous enough to save the world. What happened since then? Y'know, I've always considered that Cloud could possibly be diagnosed with a personality disorder...

 

[Richard B Riddick]

Demographics targeting 101.

0. People want to play games with characters they can relate to.

1. The 12-24 age bracket which buys the most games is composed pre-dominantly of depressed & angsty individuals.

2. Square made Cloud a confident and bright character until they realized most people couldn't identify with those traits and changed Cloud's character to a depressed and angsty individual to suit those he was intended to appeal to.

.

I like the old Cloud & the old Square moreso than the newer stuff.

 

[NeoTesseract]

I can recall in great detail the feeling I got from looking at the FFVII cover for the first time.

Cloud, looking up bravely at the Shinra Building, confident as hell, looked like he could take on the world!

Never more....

All we have left of that Cloud, is this:

 

[PhoenyxAngel]

Everyone's always going to love the original Cloud they fell in love with from FF7. But the change from "badass" to "emo" makes sense story wise. The Cloud of FF7 wasn't really Cloud for one. Not going to go into details on that but if you played the game you know what I mean. And after what happened in FF7, it's not hard to imagine why Cloud would become depressed. He blamed himself for what happened.

 

[Saints&Storms]

I liked his lost all hope loose palms and fists xD And his "On the verge of tears" eyes, I really do see the difference from now and then especially since Dissidia Cloud is after FFVII; that really shows the worlds difference between them.

But I don't think Cloud looks like a starved teenager, I think he just has baggy pants is all, better then skin tight leather, imo.

 

[King Sean]

I like cloud now more than then because now he shows vulnerability and is just easier to relate to personally. I may have fallen I to the mold that recent games have made regarding heroes being depressed and u kind of like them that way as opposed to being so full of confidence and slight arrogance.

 

[Razberry Knight]

Just to clear any misconceptions....the reason why cloud is the way he is, is because of the geostigma. A desease that people believed came from the planet to punish the people. Cloud believed that he was being punished.

And for the record. Cloud did have a sarcastic tone in advent children.

 

[Starships]

I like both the Cloud before and the Cloud now because it shows character and it makes him seem a little bit more real. Cloud has realized his true past and we has wittnessed the deaths of Zack of Aerith and Dissidia is heading in the era or rather stage of Advent Childern which is Cloud's full on depressional state. You could say that this was when Cloud left Tifa's house after Case of Tifa and got sucked into the Dissidia world.

The Cloud before really shows FFVII Cloud really well. It shows somebody who truly believes that he was a ex- solider. Tough, cold and prideful. While the Cloud now shows somebody who is leaking into the stages of sorrow and early depression. Both of the pictures show the changes between the Cloud that believed that he was once Zack and the Cloud who is beginning to believe that he's a failure and cannot help anybody.

I don't feel like the Dissidia Cloud piccy has ruined or destoryed Cloud in anyways because it's showing his future development. If there was a Final Fantasy VII game that took place a few years after Doc and Advent Childern Cloud would be a completely different person all together and would have a completely different artwork that would show his new and happier spirit.

 

[Razberry Knight]

Also cloud always has a shift in personality. From CC to ff7 to AC. He doesnt stay the same way through the entire game/movie.

 

[Morrigan]

I perceive the rest of the ff7 spin-offs as some sort of fanfiction.
The original was pretty complete as it was and should have been left at that.Cloud WENT through the depression and all during the ORIGINAL game.It was unnecessary to go through it in Advent Children as well,because it's like that the ending of the game is "undone".Like Cloud made a step forward and then back.Chronologically his emotional condition simply isn't right.By the end of the FFVII game Cloud had found his determination again,the movie just...ignores it.
As for the picture,I mainly think it focuses on Cloud's suffering just like his KH role.I prefer the strong and determined Cloud,cause hey in the end he managed to make those traits HIS.But his identity crisis and the fabricated truth he experienced are directly related to him as a character all along the game.I think his "emo" side is overdone a bit lately since I cannot remember Cloud ever fighting half-hearted in the game(as opposed to the movie).
As for the rest of the spin-offs,I don't take them all that seriously cause they ruin FFVII's real main plot by adding new characters which are supposed to be playing an important role(ex.Genesis) but only create holes to the main storyline.(after all it has been implied that Genesis is still alive and waiting patiently for a chance to appear in the screen,which has yet to be given to him)

 

[Bleak]

I'm really glad I'm not the only person that feels this way. It really grinds my gears when someone's like "lol but cloud is emo" when I tell them FFVII is my favorite game. There really has been a shift in his character since then and this perfectly details that.

 

[Coco]

In my head, Advent Children isn't canon. Well, I know it is, but I just am not happy with the direction SE took Cloud. I played the game when I was 11 and the Cloud in AC is not the hero I grew to love.

The images really capture the change. He had his weak moments in FFVII, but even after discovering that he was living a lie, he got over it and pressed on. For me, it was clear he had resolved his issues in the end, which is why I don't understand Advent Children. I prefer remembering Cloud as he was in the game: the cocky, strong and brave leader. Not this sad, angsty wimp.

My childhood Cloud was badass.

 

[Razberry Knight]

Like i said, Cloud was always difficult to read. Yes he was strong, but was that the side he just wanted everyone to see? In this case, Advent Children shows a different situation from what cloud had. He is now focused on his own sins and apparently to him, saving the planet from sephiroth wasn't good enough because he thought he was being punished by the planet infecting him with geostigma. And he still felt guilty for Aerith's death and on a lighter note, Zack's death. One could say the geostigma made him look back on all the mistakes he's made. And guesss what? he changed again, at the end of advent children, or revert back to his original personality in ff7.