Cloud Strife

Name: Cloud Strife
Age: 21 years old
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Hair Colour: Blonde
Eye Colour: Blue (Light green mako glow).
Weapon: Broadswords

Cloud Strife is a major protagonist in the Final Fantasy VII series. He is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. He also appears in numerous entries of the Final Fantasy VII series as a supporting character, including Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- and Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII.

Cloud is a young man with a lean and toned build, and spiky blond hair. Cloud has blue eyes, which glow due to him having being exposed to mako. Because "mako eyes" are iconic to members of SOLDIER, Cloud is often assumed to be one. Cloud carries a large broadsword as his weapon of choice, with his three trademark weapons being the Buster Sword (a massive sword over five feet long), a set of Fusion Swords (six individual interconnecting swords that form one similar to the Buster Sword), and the Hardedge (another large broadsword with a different shape). He also has a silver earring in his left ear.

Cloud's typical outfit is a variation standard uniform for a SOLDIER, seen first in Final Fantasy VII and most commonly throughout his appearances (with slight variations). This uniform comprises indigo pants with a sleeveless shirt and a belt. Cloud also wears brown boots, gauntlets with a pauldron over his left shoulder and a SOLDIER band in his right wrist. Unlike the default uniform, his is customized to exclude the right shoulder pauldron, likely to make it easier to draw his sword from behind him, while his left pauldron remains, albeit with protruding screws and bolts due to makeshift repairs. He also wears a gear-like armlet on his left forearm.

On the surface, Cloud Strife presents himself as a hardened warrior, cocky and headstrong, coldhearted and disinterested in anything beyond completing the hired job at hand. He tells others, often dismissively and with snark, that he has no interest in larger causes, such as the plight of the planet,[20][36] and appears unshaken by the devastation the bombings he helped carry out cause.[71] He is cool-headed, and mostly carries himself as an expert and professional.[note 3] Beneath the surface, Cloud is socially awkward, being well-intentioned but unsure how to carry himself in conversations, having difficulties to express himself. Many who are close to him begin to see through the cracks in his hardened persona, recognizing he is softer deep down.[note 4] Through it all, Cloud is steadfastly loyal to his friends, harboring guilt if he feels he has let them down, and strives to be a hero. He is willing to go through any lengths, from fighting off powerful enemies alone, to crossdressing despite the discomfort to don a disguise, to keep them safe. This, too, does not fool some of his friends, who in turn look out for him when they believe he is out of his depth.[note 5]

Though most traits core to Cloud — battle-hardened attitude, awkwardness, loyalty to his friends, and striving for heroism — do not change, Cloud's surface-level presentation and warmth shifts drastically throughout his life, based on his own yearning for a true identity. Many of these traits began to form as a child (depicted in Final Fantasy VII flashbacks), as seclusion from the others children and guilt at being unable to help Tifa at Mt. Nibel motivated him to better himself and become a hero, inspired by Sephiroth.[note 6] While serving in Shinra's military (as depicted in Crisis Core), Cloud had a shy but happy-go-lucky attitude, eager to prove himself, and often got excited when Zack, who became a mentor to him, noticed him.