Smashpedia
Register
Advertisement


Blade Beam (破晄撃, Hakōgeki, literally "Blasting Clear Strike") is Cloud's Neutral Special Move. Cloud swings upwards and launches a green beam of energy forward.

Overview[]

Blade Beam can be used on the ground and in the air, but deals more damage and covers more distance if used on a surface. When Blade Beam is used on the ground, the beam slides, moving surprisingly fast for a projectile, also with low startup and ending lag.

When Cloud has Limit Break active, the Blade Beam travels farther on both ground and air and deals multiple damage if it hits the opponent successfully, causing higher knockback by the last hit; its color also changes to blue. Additionally, it gains transcendent priority, meaning that in most cases, the attack will not collide with other attacks and will instead pass-through most of them. Cases where this doesn't occur are against physical projectiles such as Link's Bombs.

Blade Beam is a powerful zoning tool and very useful for edge-guarding; when under Limit Break, it deals high damage and decent knockback in multi-hits; however, it deals the least damage (besides Finishing Touch) and kills the latest out of all of his Limit Breaks. Unless the situation calls for a projectile attack, Limit Break Blade Beam should not be used very often. It can however punish rolls and techs which can make it an effective option on an opponent after throwing them.

Origin[]

Blade Beam was one of Cloud's Limit Break moves in Final Fantasy VII. The shockwave would split, hitting multiple targets. This is reflected in Smash Bros. in the form of its Limit Break version, which deals multiple as smaller shockwaves.

It also appeared in Final Fantasy Tactics as one of Cloud's skills, and in Dissidia Final Fantasy as one of Cloud's Bravery attacks.

Trivia[]

  • In Advent Children and Dissidia, Cloud's Blade Beam is blue, which is referenced in Smash Bros. as the stronger version of it.
  • The animation of Blade Beam greatly differs from the original Final Fantasy VII and Dissidia versions; in Smash Bros. Cloud swings upwards launching the projectile, instead of slamming downward on the ground and causing the shockwave.
    • The reason for this change is most likely as an alternative to make the attack look the same when used airborne.

Cloud's Special Moves
3DS/Wii U Ultimate
Standard Special Blade Beam
Side Special Cross Slash
Up Special Climhazzard
Down Special Limit Charge/Finishing Touch
Final Smash Omnislash
Advertisement