Cloud (Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U)


 * This article is about Cloud's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. For other uses, see Cloud Strife.

Cloud (クラウド, Kuraudo) is the main character from Square-Enix's Final Fantasy VII. He is the fifth downloadable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and is the sixth non-Nintendo character to appear in the series, following Solid Snake, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, Pac-Man and Ryu. He was announced right before the end of the Nintendo Direct of November 12th; and much like Ryu, a pack will be released featuring his themed stage, Midgar.

Cloud was released in a bundle with Midgar after the Direct on December 15th, 2015. The bundle costs $5.99 for one version of the game and $6.99 for both.

Strengths

 * Fast movement speed for a heavy character, on both ground and air.
 * Can Wall Jump.
 * Fourth highest jump and double jump after Falco, Greninja and Mewtwo.
 * Many of his attacks have hitboxes that are long in duration.
 * Except for the first two hits of his Neutral Attack and his Down Tilt, all of his attacks have disjointed hitboxes as he fights with a sword.
 * Fast and powerful Smash Attacks and Special Attacks that can score earlier KOs if used at the right time.
 * His Buster Sword grants him a large range for most attacks.
 * Has three  Meteor Smashes, Forward Aerial, Down Aerial and the third hit of Climhazzard (the descending hitbox).
 * Has a projectile, his Neutral Special, Blade Beam.
 * Blade Beam has low startup and travels quite fast.
 * When powered up, it gains multi-hit properties and deals much more damage and knockback.
 * His Forward Special, Cross Slash, can trap opponents between hits.
 * When powered up, it gains super armor and deals much more damage and knockback.
 * His Up Special, Climhazzard, is quite fast and launches Cloud upwards much like Marth and Lucina's Dolphin Slash.
 * When powered up, it sends Cloud extremely high.
 * Similarly to Shulk's Up Special, pressing the Special button again while preforming this move will cause Cloud to quickly plummet downward with his sword extended.
 * His Down Special, Limit Charge, when fully charged slightly increases all his stats, and powers up his Special Moves in terms of damage, launch power, and in some cases distance covered or even adds multi-hit attributes.
 * Much like other charging attacks, the player can cancel the charge with side dodge or shield. It is also possible to cancel it into normal attacks.
 * He can use Finishing Touch as his Down Special once using Limit Break, which can deal massive knockback to nearby enemies.
 * The Limit bar also fills up when Cloud takes or delivers damage.
 * His Final Smash, Omnislash, functions similar to the ones of Ike and Robin, but in addition blasts the ground with a large explosion when finished.

Weaknesses

 * Low grab range and weak throws in terms of knockback, none being able to reliably KO.
 * Throw Combos stop being guaranteed after mid percentages.
 * Neutral Attack has considerable lag even when shield-cancelled.
 * None of his Tilts except of Forward Tilt have KO potential, meaning only his Smash Attacks and Special Attacks are reliable for ground kills.
 * Blade Beam has considerable ending lag that leaves Cloud vulnerable. It is also weaker in the air and dosen't go as far.
 * Cross Slash can be easily blocked, leaving Cloud vulnerable during it's execution. In addition, he can only deliver all attacks once it connects with the opponent.
 * Climhazzard has poor recovery potential and lacks horizontal range (except when powered up), and misuse can cause players to suicide if the B button is pressed again when used for recovery.
 * The Limit bar resets if Cloud is KO'ed.
 * Once a Special Attack is used under the Limit effect, Cloud must charge it again in order to benefit from it.
 * Finishing Touch can only be used once Limit Break is charged. Additionally, it is only effective against opponents with high damage percentage.

Summary
Cloud is an agile, yet strong combatant, a bruiser-type of character. His gameplay is focused on the unique Limit Break system, which enhances his Special Attacks with power enough to KO opponents at earlier percentages. Filling the Limit Gauge also gives Cloud a small boost to all his stats, which further increases his performance in battle. For that reason, to fully make the best of Cloud, his neutral game relies deeply on filling the Limit Break, which can be done with his Down B or by taking and/or dealing damage.

Some of the main advantages of Cloud are his high mobility in both ground and air; his fast dashing speed and his high jumping height gives him one of the best approaches in the game. In addition, his Buster Sword gives him tremendous range, boasting from large disjointed hitboxes. This also makes Cloud's edgeguard very effective, allowing him to maintain safe distance between his opponent and intercept recoveries with his wide swings, as he possesses three powerful Meteor Smashes and fast aerial attacks with little to no landing lag.

On the ground, Cloud has a very solid moveset, with good spacing tools such as his Neutral Combo and Down Tilt that can get opponents offguard. His Up Tilt is notable for covering almost his entire body and can combo into itself at low percentages. His Smash Attacks are all powerful in terms of knockback, capable of scoring KOs against opponents below 100% if properly used.

In the air, Cloud can approach with his Neutral Aerial, which, much like Shulk's covers a wide area all around him. His Up Aerial, on the other hand, is a very useful juggling tool, allowing to trap opponents with air dodge baits. Forward and Down Aerials are powerful Meteor Smashes when sweetspotted, almost as powerful as Ganondorf's Down Aerial.

As for his Special Attacks, Cloud has a lot of versatility. Blade Beam is a powerful zoning tool, which deals more damage on ground, but is as effective in the air, specially for edgeguard; when under Limit Break, it deals massive damage and knockback in multi-hits. Cross Slash is great for quick damage racking as well putting some shield pressure; when powered up it deals massive knockback and grants Cloud super armor. Climhazzard is also an effective damage racker tool, also capable of Meteor Smashing opponents during the descending hit; when powered up it propels Cloud extremely high, great improving his recovery. Limit Charge allows him to manually fill his Limit Gauge, which can be cancelled into shield, dodge and even attack; when powered up, Cloud's Down B becomes Finishing Touch, which deals 1% damage but has his very high knockback scaling, capable of KO'ing opponents instantly at mid-high percentages.

However, Cloud's flaws lies in his poor recovery, which is predictable in the form of Climhazzard. Unless under Limit Break, this move covers low vertical height and little horizontal reach, as well not sweetspotting the ledge until Cloud starts descending. Another problem is Cloud's being very dependent on his Limit Breaks, which can be difficult as he needs to sustain 100% damage and/or deal 250% damage in order to naturally fill the gauge. Filling it manually with Limit Charge takes 6 seconds (assuming it is empty), which can be difficulty when facing fast characters that can pressure him (such as Sheik and Fox). In addition, since he has only one charge of his Limit Break, players must be very careful and use the Special Attacks at the right time.

A good Cloud player must be patient and be quick to read and learn the opponent's patterns, as Cloud has an overwhelming number of punishing tools. The player also must learn to conserve his Limit Breaks rather than using it randomly.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack: Does two kicks alternating his legs, and swings the Buster Sword with a slash. Looks similar to Shulk's Neutral Combo. Quite fast and covers good range, with each kick moving Cloud forward. Strangely, the sword attack has less reach than the kicks. (2%, 2%, 3%)


 * Side Tilt: Does a forward swing in an arc. Possibly based on his normal attack in Final Fantasy VII. Fast startup, but considerable ending lag, however with long duration of hitboxes. Can link from his Down Throw at low percentages. Cloud 's strongest Tilt in terms of knockback, capable of KO'ing opponents around 140% to 150%. (11%)


 * Up Tilt: Does a fast overhead swing. Covers a good range all around him, much like Bowser and Donkey Kong's Up Tilts. The starting hitbox hits behind him. Can combo into itself at low percentages, linking into aerials at later percentages. However, lacks KO potential. (8%)


 * Down Tilt: Slides with his leg outstreched, covering a good range in front of him and surprisingly large hitboxes. Functions similar to Mega Man's Down Tilt. Quite fast when used as a surprise attack, however can be easily punished. Useful for tech chases and quick punishes. (6% clean, 7% late)


 * Dash Attack: Slides along the ground to a halt and slams with the broad part of his Buster Sword in front of him. Fast but easy to punish. Can link from his Down Throw at low to mid percentages. Quite fast and powerful, capable of KO'ing at high percentages. (11% clean, 8% late)

Smash Attacks

 * Side Smash: A very fast triple slash attack, with the first two hits trapping opponents and the third hit having more range and dealing strong knockback. In a similar fashion to Pit and Dark Pit's Forward Smashes. Can link from his Down Throw at low percentages. Extremely powerful, being able to KO opponents at less than 100% uncharged. (3%, 4%, 13%)


 * Up Smash: Does a strong swing upwards. Quite fast with good range, and has long hitboxes in terms of duration, as well being an efficient anti-air move. (13% clean, 12% late, 8% end)


 * Down Smash: Cloud crouches and hits first with the hilt of his sword, which pulls the opponent into the second hit, stabbing with the blade. Functions like Ganondorf's and Toon Link's Down Smashes. Looks similar to Wolf's and Little Mac's Down Smashes. It is Cloud's fastest Smash Attack, being a very reliable punish against side-dodges. (4%, 12%)

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial: Swings the Buster Sword around himself in a wide arc. Looks similar to Shulk 's Neutral Aerial, with high range and great combo potential. Weak in terms of knockback, but it is very fast and covers a large range while protecting Cloud. Has little to no landing lag when shield cancelled or fast fall cancelled. Auto-cancels from short hops. (8%)
 * Forward Aerial: Braver, also known as Brave Slash, from Final Fantasy VII; it is Cloud's first Limit Break in the game. He does an overhead swing and slashes forward in a downwards arc. Looks similar to  Ike 's Forward Aerial. Has considerable startup lag and moderate ending lag, but has large range. It is a very potent Meteor Smash (almost strong as Ganondorf's Down Aerial) if the attack hits in the middle of the blade near the hilt after completing the swing; otherwise it'll cause horizontal knockback. Auto-cancels in a full hop. (14% sweetspot, 13% clean, 11% late)


 * Back Aerial: Faces his back and does a single swiping swing. Looks similar to Ike's Back Aerial Aerial. Quite fast, being useful for edge-guarding. (13%)
 * Up Aerial: Pushes his sword upwards, with one hand holding the base and the other holding the blade. Very fast and with long hitboxes in terms of duration, being useful for juggles after a Down Tilt to frame trap opponents. Has little to no landing lag when shield cancelled or fast fall cancelled. Auto-cancels in short hops. (13% clean, 9% late)


 * Down Aerial: Stabs downward, which Meteor Smash if it hits at the initial hitboxes; otherwise causes horizontal knockback. Looks similar to Shulk's Down Aerial, and has long hitboxes like Link's Down Aerial. (15% sweetspot, 13% clean, 8% late)

Grabs and Throws

 * Pummel: Knees the opponent with his right leg. Moderate speed. (3%)
 * Forward Throw: Does a flip kick. Low knockback, being useful for tech chases at low percentages. (4%, 3%)
 * Back Throw: Turns his upper body around and does a backward kick. Low knockback. (3%, 3%)
 * Up Throw: Hurls opponent into the air and attacks them with helicopter kicks. Good for setting Up Aerials. (2%, 4%)
 * Down Throw: Slams the opponent forcefully into the ground. Cloud's main throw for combos, being able to lead into most of his tilts, his Forward Smash and even Cross Slash until mid percentages. (7%)

Taunts

 * Down Taunt: Stands nonchalantly, with his Buster Sword pointing to the ground and a hand on his hip.
 * Up Taunt: A modified version of his signature Victory Animation in Final Fantasy VII; he twirls his sword twice and then places it on his shoulder, while saying 興味ないね, ("Not interested"), which is a sentence he repeats through the start of the game.
 * Side Taunt: Cloud places the Buster Sword on his back and pumps his fists forward, close together, as yellowish-green light glows on the ground around him. This comes from his spell-casting animation from Final Fantasy VII.

Costume Gallery
Cloud's default look is based off his official artwork for Final Fantasy VII, however borrowing some details from his appearance in Dissidia Final Fantasy. He has an alternate costume based off his appearance in the animated film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (also known as "Cloudy Wolf" in Dissidia Final Fantasy). This alternate costume also changes Cloud's hairstyle to the one from the movie, and swaps out his Buster Sword with the Fusion Sword; this doesn't affect his attacks.

Cloud

 * The protagonist of FINAL FANTASY VII, Cloud wields the enormous Buster Sword, a memento from his comrad Zack. Once a SOLDIER of Shinra, he now fights as a mercenary against the corporation he originally served. His decision to join AVALANCHE's insurgence, however, will transform his destiny.


 * FINAL FANTASY VII (11/1997)

Cloud (Alt.)

 * Filling the Limit Gauge allows Cloud to perform a Limit Break, supercharging his next special move. His down special becomes Finishing Touch. With a huge swing of his sword, Cloud summons a whirlwind that inflicts only 1% damage, but boasts brutal launch power. Go for a KO while foes' damage is still low!


 * FINAL FANTASY VII (11/1997)

Omnislash

 * Cloud sets out to prevent Sephiroth from sending Meteor crashing into the planet. The fate of the world on his shoulders, Cloud confronts his enemy one on one. He unleashes a flurry of swift slashes before delivering the finishing blow. In Smash Bros., the final strike creates an explosion, launching nearby fighters.

Trivia

 * Cloud is the first newcomer in SSBWU/3DS that is from the 90s, as his game was released in 1997.
 * Cloud's pose in his official artwork in Smash Bros. mimics his pose from his official artwork from Final Fantasy VII. Additionally, in his Advent Children costume, his artwork mimics his pose from his official artwork from Dissidia Final Fantasy, which in turn is a modified version of his original artwork.
 * Cloud is the first character from Square-Enix to appear in the Smash Bros. series.
 * He is notable as Final Fantasy VII never came to any Nintendo systems, although the game was initially planned for the Nintendo 64 before moving to the Playstation.
 * Cloud, however, did appear in the music spinoff, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and its sequel, Curtain Call, for the Nintendo 3DS, as well in Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded for the Nintendo DS. His first appearance on a Nintendo console was in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, for the Game Boy Advance.
 * Cloud's addition to Smash Bros. marks his fourth appearance in a fighting game, the first being Ergheiz: God Bless the Ring, released in 1998 for the Playstation, and the others being the three installments of Dissidia Final Fantasy (the first two being on the Playstation Portable and the third being on arcade machines).
 * Cloud is the first and only character to have his own post-battle results theme that plays after his victory fanfare instead of the usual theme. His victory theme from Final Fantasy VII is followed by the results theme of the original game, which overlaps the default Versus results theme. This will not happen if he wins a Tourney Mode.
 * Cloud's announcement, "Storms Into Battle!", is a joke referencing his name, as some protagonists of the Final Fantasy games bear names that have relation or motif with weather (i.e. Cloud, Squall, Tidus).
 * Cloud's dashing animation is a reference to the gliding movement system seen in Dissidia Final Fantasy and its sequels.
 * It could also reference his dashing animation upon attacking during battles in the original Final Fantasy VII.
 * He is the seventh character in the game that dashes by floating over the ground, after Bowser Jr., Rosalina, Palutena, Meta Knight, Charizard, and Mewtwo.
 * Despite having been voiced in English by Steve Burton in other media, Cloud retains his Japanese voice actor (Takahiro Sakurai) for all regions of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, being the only non-Fire Emblem character that has the same voice in all versions.
 * He is also one of three characters in Smash Bros. to feature a Japanese voice actor in both the Japanese and localized version of the game, the others being Marth and Roy.
 * Despite having a very unique moveset in Dissidia Final Fantasy, none of these attacks are featured or inspired by anything in Smash Bros.
 * Braver is the only Limit Break that is not part of Cloud's Special Attacks, but rather one of his normal attacks.
 * Meteorain is his only Limit Break not featured in any attack.
 * Much like in Dissidia, Cloud's idle stance in Smash Bros. looks similar to Zack Fair's stance in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core.
 * Much like in Dissidia, the design of Cloud's Buster Sword is exactly like the original Final Fantasy VII.
 * In Crisis Core and Advent Children, the sword has a slightly different design with additional ornamental details; the handguard is colored gold and has swirl designs, the part of the blade bearing the two holes is raised slightly and sectioned off from the rest of the blade, and there are etchings engraved on the blade near the handguard.
 * Cloud's trailer makes various allusions to Final Fantasy VII itself:
 * The very beginning of the trailer is a nod to the opening of the original game, showing the small glows of Lifestream flowing through the air, with the Bombing Mission theme playing in the background.
 * At 0:47, the background the splash card for Cloud's announcement has a design that calls back to the posters for Advent Children.
 * At 0:51, the screen twirls and the iconic Battle Theme, Those Who Fight, starts to play, referencing the random encounters present in the game. Also, Charizard, Samus and Kirby appear lined up against Cloud, a nod to the turn-based battle system.
 * At 0:55, Cloud fights Mario, Sonic and Ryu in succession at the Punch Out Arena. This could be a reference to the Battle Arena in Gold Saucer, where Cloud fights by himself against waves of opponents.
 * At 1:06, Cloud is shown lying down in front of Zelda, in her crouching animation, holding a Lip's Stick, with some Pikmin, at the Kalos Pokémon League stage. This is a reference to his first encounter with Aerith, the flower girl, who is one of the main characters in Final Fantasy VII; he meets her after falling from the Sector 5 Reactor, crashjng through a church ceiling and landing on a flower bed that is tended by Aerith. The stage in question also references that very church.
 * At 1:23, Cloud is shown riding on King of Red Lions while looking quite dazed, referencing a discussion on motion sickness he has with a travel-sick Yuffie Kisaragi in the original game aboard the ShinRa ship during the invasion of Junon, and also aboard the Highwind airship when the party acquires it. Despite not suffering from motion sickness in these events, Cloud does suffer from it in his flashbacks, more specifically at the back of a ShinRa truck alongside Zack and Sephiroth on a mission to exterminate monsters at Mt. Nibel.
 * At 1:25, Cloud, seen in his Advent Children alternate costume, attacks Wario in his Wario Bike, proceeding to picking it up and walking away with it. This references the motorbike minigame from the original game in which Cloud rode a motorbike, the Hardy Daytona, and protected his friends aboard a pickup truck from a convoy of ShinRa bike troopers. This is also a reference to Cloud's own bike, the Fenrir, in the animated feature Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
 * At 1:39, Cloud is seen performing his signature casting animation from Final Fantasy VII (which is one of his Taunts) near the Prince of Sablé, who proceeds to transform into a frog. This is a reference to the recurring magic spell, Frog, seen in the series. In Final Fantasy VII it is accessible through the Transform Materia. As the name suggests, the magic turns enemies into frogs.
 * At 1:58, the trailer showcases the Midgar Stage, where various Summons appear, among them Odin, Leviathan, Ramuh, Ifrit and Bahamut ZERO.
 * At 2:16, Ike and Cloud are seen standing in front of each other, with close shots of their faces, while Cloud is holding a Smash Ball, and proceeds to unleash his Final Smash, Omnislash. This is a reference to the scripted battle that happens between Cloud and Sephiroth by the end of the game. This also references the fact that Omnislash resembles Great Aether in terms of functionality.
 * At 2:36, Cloud is seen at Gaur Plains, as six Mii Fighters are seen running and jumping around using the Chocobo hat. This is a reference to the Chocobo Farm, a place in the Final Fantasy VII where Cloud can raise and breed Chocobos he captures around the world. A seventh and much larger Mii Fighter is seen using the same hat, sleeping at the right side, which in turn references Chubby Chocobo (also known as Fat Chocobo).
 * In addition, this scene also references the Chocobo Woods, a location in Final Fantasy III where Chocobos and the Chubby Chocobo can be found. Cloud's phrase "Smells Like Chocobos" is a recurring quote in the series which references the fact that Chubby Chocobo can only be summoned in places that "Smell like Chocobos" in Chocobo Woods.
 * Gameplay-wise, Cloud's trailer is the longest of all trailers in the game, and features pretty much his entire moveset except for his Getup Attack, Ledge Attack, Pummel, Forward, Up and Down Throws.
 * Cloud's dizzy animation could be a callback to his painful flashbacks and memories in Final Fantasy VII.
 * Cloud is the first third-party character with an Alternate Costume that changes his character model.
 * Cloud is the first third-party swordsman.
 * Cloud is the fifth swordsman to have a projectile attack, after Link, Toon Link, Robin and the Mii Swordfighter.
 * Cloud is the only character in the game whose weapon changes when his costume swap is applied.
 * This weapon, the Fusion Sword, is from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and is swapped with his Buster Sword. It does not, however, change any of his attacks or the damage delivered with those attacks.
 * Cloud is the second character in the series whose Final Smash is shown by name upon activation, the other being Pokémon Trainer's Triple Finish in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * Cloud is the only character (that doesn't have a gender swap) to have a different portrait displayed on the Boxing Ring stage depending on what costume he is wearing.
 * Cloud's Classic victory picture on the Wii U shows him looking at the Shinra Headquarters in Midgar. This is a reference to Final Fantasy VII's boxart.
 * Cloud's victory theme is the only victory theme that plays the entire time the player is on the results screen.
 * Alongside Link, Pac-Man, Solid Snake, Little Mac, Donkey Kong, Mega Man, Ryu, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Bayonetta, Cloud has appeared in another fighting game outside of Super Smash Bros. He appeared as a guest character for Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring as a guest character with Tifa Lockhart, and the Dissidia Final Fantasy series as a mainstay character.
 * This is the third time a representative from Final Fantasy crossed over with the Mario series, Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix featured special appearances by White Mage, Black Mage, Ninja, Moogle, and Cactuar