Cloud (SSB4)

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Cloud in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Final Fantasy
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Omnislash

“	Cloud Storms Into Battle!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Cloud (クラウド, Cloud) is a playable character and newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4 as the fifth downloadable character. He was announced during the November 12th, 2015 Nintendo Direct, and released on December 15th, 2015. Cloud is the fifth third-party character to be introduced in the game, following Capcom's Mega Man and Ryu, SEGA's Sonic, and Bandai Namco's Pac-Man, and succeeded by Bayonetta.

In Super Smash Bros. 4, he is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai.

Attributes

Cloud is a jack-of-all-trades type of character in terms of general combat. His combo setups and approach game are decent and extendable to a large amount, but can struggle in finishing the combo setups from the nature of most of his attacks' hitboxes. His Buster Sword provides him some great reach to space opponents out, which is further evident in his powerful aerials, serving as some of his most reliable spacing tools and KOing options, but they are all held back from extensive starting and ending lag, warranting proper usage to remain unpunished. Cloud possesses a long-range projectile that suffers little from damage fall-off, as well as a Limit Break mechanic that works similarly to Little Mac's Power Meter, but also has the advantage of being able to manually charge it through his down special. Once his Limit Break reaches full capacity, all of his specials gain large boosts in utility, through increases in damage and knockback, improved recovery, higher priority, and better KO ability. However, only one special move can be executed under Limit Break's influence, restricting Cloud to a single particular focus and forcing him to play mindgames with his opponents if he is to make any effective use of it. Furthermore, without Limit Break, Cloud has several issues that can occur if he uses his specials carelessly; specifically, if he is to overuse any of them, they lose utility and priority quite rapidly, allowing opponents easier opportunities to read and punish. This is most evident in his recovery-while his gravity is above average, his air speed is below average, his Climhazzard up special is lackluster in terms of horizontal movement, and its' follow-up descending attack is also unsafe to use near the edge, as he cannot grab the ledge should he be facing away from the stage, providing limited practical use of it offstage. Despite having a moderately high wall jump, Cloud can be particularly easy to gimp and/or edgeguard in most situations, given his Limit Break hasn't capped.

Overall, Cloud has access to incredible offensive options that can overwhelm the opposition fairly easily, but only if his movements don't get punished and are performed in a precise manner.

Moveset

This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki by expanding or finishing it. The editor who added this tag elaborates: Proper moveset table

Cloud's special moves

Neutral special	Blade Beam
Side special	Cross Slash
Up special	Climhazzard
Down special	Limit Charge / Finishing Touch
Final Smash	Omnislash	Omnislash / Omnislash Ver. 5

On-screen appearance

Falls out of the sky and catches his Buster Sword.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Twirls his Buster Sword and places it on his back, referencing his victory animation from Final Fantasy VII.
• Side taunt: Places his Buster Sword on his back, places his hands together, and mimics the casting animation from Final Fantasy VII, complete with the sound effect and the glow.
• Down taunt: Stands his Buster Sword on its tip and poses in a casual manner while scoffing.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Cloud! Cloud! Cloud!
Pitch	Group chant

Victory poses

• Twirls the Buster Sword on his back and then looks at the screen.
• Twirls the Buster Sword with one hand and places it on his back.
• Slashes the Buster Sword twice and gets in his battle stance.

Reveal trailer

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Cloud's reveal trailer references moments and characters from the Final Fantasy series, primarily Final Fantasy VII:

• The starry sky in the opening is a reenactment of the original opening to Final Fantasy VII, which even includes the original accompanying music, "Opening - Bombing Mission".
• The trailer contains a "blurring" screen transition to the battle phase in which Cloud faces off against Kirby, Samus, and Charizard, with Cloud situated opposite of the other three combatants. These instances reference Random Encounters, battle sequences that are often seen in the Final Fantasy series. The screen transition itself is one that is observed during gameplay of Final Fantasy VII along with the accompanying battle theme "Let the Battles Begin!".
• Zelda lying on her knees near Cloud laying on his back is a reference to a scene in Final Fantasy VII, where Cloud falls from the Sector 5 Reactor down into the church and is found by Aerith the Flower Girl, with Pikmin representing flowers in the church. The Lip's Stick that Zelda is holding resembles the flowers that Aerith sells.
• Cloud grabbing Wario and throwing him off his bike before making off with it himself references the segment when Cloud commandeers the Hardy Daytona motorcycle to escape from Shinra Headquarters. In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Cloud himself has the motorcycle Fenrir, to fit with his "Lone Wolf" motif.
• Cloud being dizzy on The King of Red Lions is a reference to motion sickness Cloud suffers in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.
• The Sablé Prince turning into a frog next to Cloud is a reference to the recurring Toad spell, which transforms its targets into harmless frogs.
• Odin's appearance after Cloud uses his casting animation is a reference to the ability to summon monsters in Final Fantasy VII.
• Cloud fighting Ike towards the end is a reference to the final battle in Cloud's mind between him and Sephiroth.
• The segment in which Chocobos appeared references Chocobo Woods, a location in Final Fantasy III where Chocobos and the Fat Chocobo can be found, and Smells Like Chocobos is a recurring quote in the series which references the fact that Fat Chocobo can only be summoned in places that "Smell like Chocobos" in Chocobo Woods.
  • The fact that the Chocobos are on Gaur Plain may be a reference to the Chocobo Farm from Final Fantasy VII, which is located in the grasslands outside Midgar.

Trophies

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.

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  Omnislash

Alternate costumes

Cloud's default outfit is based on his appearance in Final Fantasy VII. He has an alternate costume based off of his appearance in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (known as "Cloudy Wolf" in Dissidia Final Fantasy). Said alternate costume has two minor variants; one with a pink ribbon covering his Geostigma-infected left arm, and one revealing said arm.

• Cloud1.jpg
• 

Gallery

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  Cloud's poster used on the official website.

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  Cloud's promotional trailer splash art.

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  Cloud with Mario and Samus.

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  Cloud attacking Charizard with Blade Beam.

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  Cloud on Final Destination.

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  Cloud landing on Midgar.

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  Cloud with Wii Fit Trainer and Lucario all around the summon materia.

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  Cloud attacking Ganondorf.

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  Cloud appearing with Link.

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  Cloud on Skyloft.

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  Cloud with some Mii Fighters who are wearing Chocobo hats.

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  Cloud in a dizzied state on a boat with Ness and Wii Fit Trainer behind him, referencing a scene in Final Fantasy VII where he gets motion sickness.

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  Charging up his Limit Break with his down special, Limit Charge.

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  Using Cross Slash.

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  Cloud with a Mii Fighter wearing the Chocobo hat.

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  Attacking Link using Blade Beam.

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  Standing on Midgar with Bahamut ZERO behind him.

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  Attacking Luigi with Cross Slash in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Cloud with Villager.

Trivia

• Cloud is the first character in the Super Smash Bros. series to not have a canonical appearance from his respective mainline series on a Nintendo console.
  • Squaresoft originally planned to make Final Fantasy VII for the SNES and eventually the Nintendo 64, before moving the project to the Sony Playstation.
  • Cloud made appearances in several Final Fantasy spin-off titles for Nintendo consoles, such as the Theatrhythm Final Fantasy games for the Nintendo 3DS.
• Cloud is the first newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4 to have debuted in the 1990s, with Final Fantasy VII releasing in 1997.
• Cloud is the first DLC character to have an alternate costume that modifies his model as opposed to simply the textures, and he is the first character that changes his weapon in more than color - in this case, from the Buster Sword to the Fusion Swords from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
• Cloud's pose in his official artwork matches his pose from his official artwork from Final Fantasy VII, with the more slouched variation for his Advent Children costume resembling his Dissidia artwork. This pose is also used as one of his taunts.
• Cloud is the second DLC character from a universe that has been newly added to SSB4, preceded by Ryu, and succeeded by Bayonetta.
• Despite having an official English voice actor in his home series, Steve Burton, Cloud is the only non-Fire Emblem character to still speak Japanese in all versions of the game.
  • This is potentially because Burton is a union-based actor, compared to the rest of the cast who are non-union based.
• Cloud is the only character to have a victory theme that plays continuously.