Hey come back! This is one of my favorite KZfaq videos lol.

Great video! I was old enough to be able to play this game when it first came out but, "Final Fantasy was the DEVIL!" I finally played last year at the age of 42. I really felt for Cloud because, in my life, joining the military was the only thing they didn't frown upon and it was right after 9/11. I had the unfortunate experience of working alongside people who shared the same "qualities" of the antagonists in this game who were supposed to be on my side. The trauma and PTSD I worked through after getting out are also themes for Cloud and very close to my heart with his character. I've made efforts to repair some of the damage and I was very happy to come across your video as I share very similar feelings in this gaming experience!

This was a really good video thank you for this seriously

Im also someone who didn't play ff7 until almost 10 years after its release. I definitely agreed the whole mako memory sequence was far more impactful to me then aeriths death

Wow such a shame this channel has been dormant just found it after finishing FF7 Rebirth and I really loved the video!!!

great vid im literally cloud strife

My Sisters were the ones who introduced me to FF7, at that age I never really paid any attention to details or stories in these games, I just saw the design and thought he was so cool so I wanted to be like Cloud. It doesn't really have any meaning, it's not like I could see the future but the turn my life would take in the years after made it so that I was not too far off from Cloud. That's just in terms of mental health though, not personality. How many times have I had an identity crisis? I don't even know the exact number, at least 6 times. I can't talk too much because it's stuff I don't want to go into detail about but there were events that caused me to develop trauma, which may genuinely be PTSD but I haven't had a proper diagnosis, from there I had abandonment and trust issues, developed anxiety and depression. Just recently I was talking to a friend online and something about the conversation must have reminded me of the past, I had a panic attack, never before have I felt so out of control, I was scared to the point that I couldn't trust myself afterwards. Due to my experience with my mental health I did have some control over the panic attack, I didn't let myself say my every thought and while I thought I had ruined another friendship, I looked back and noticed I managed to stop myself from saying anything horrible. It might have been a bit scary for her but my friend stuck with me after, it's changed the atmosphere of these conversations but I'm trying my best to get it back to normal and stop overthinking. I've proven to myself that things can be different from the past, that I can overcome mental turmoil when it counts, hopefully now it should never happen again.

Speaking from experience, I thought the depiction of Cloud's depression in AC was very "realistic" and respectfully done. It's still a cinematic portrayal of depression I relate to most.

If you want someone with a mental illness then FEI from Xenogears (which Cloud says in that mako state in tent small clinic, Xenogais). FEI had multiple personalities. Maybe you can do a video on that one if you need another one.

This is great! Your construction of analyzing the story shows so much confidence in your storytelling, and reflects your true feelings. Brilliant!

Great analysis! Made me rethink some things about his character.

Whats the name of the song at 9:07? I legit had a "what is that melody" moment

Car Salesman: *slaps Cloud on the shoulder* "This bad boy can fit so much f--king trauma in it." But it should be noted that Clouds personality after he regains his sense of identity isn't who he was as a child or before the Nibelheim massacre. Nor is he who he was at the start of FF7. He's an entirely new person, a synthesis of his identities. He's still kind of a hardass but he's more sensitive and he more earnestly cares about other people. In fact the person he cares the least about it arguably himself, and his own life is the last one he learns to cherish.

FF7 was incredibly mold breaking for the time, in any other game, hell in any other story, Zack would be the protagonist, he would be the wide eyed idealist who slowly sees Shrina's corruption and eventually takes the entire company down and saves the planet, it would've been the easy way to go. It was a massive gutsy move to make the hero of FF7 someone who's been broken by both Shrina and the world and hide that fact from the player for most of the game.

hes literaly me

Yeah Advent Children Cloud gets a lot of flack but the truth is is that it shows Cloud as a human. Cloud always struggled with feeling like he wasnt strong enough, not strong enough to protect Tifa, his mom, Nibelheim, his best friend Zack, Aerith, etc. Cloud a lot of times had to be saved before he became "1st Class Soldier Cloud". So he felt in his mind that so many people he cared about died for him because he wasnt strong enough and that can eat away at someone, even if those people were to reassure Cloud that that wasnt true, that thought would linger in his mind like a cancer. Add the fact that he also had Geostigma so now he is weakened due to its effects on the body, he's just barely able to stay functioning, so his fear of not being able to protect the people he cares about spikes and his trauma begins creep back in and causes him to sink into a depressed state of mind. During his first couple of fights with Kadaj and his gang, Cloud either got lucky that they left or he got saved by someone else cause the Geostigma was heavily impacting his ability to fight. He doesnt want anyone else he cares about to get involved in his fight because he was afraid that if one of them dies because he wasnt strong enough to save them, he wouldnt be able to handle the guilt of losing a loved one again because of his own weakness. Once Cloud was cured of Geostigma, he was easily able to handle Kadaj and Sephiroth (with a bit of a pep talk from Zack) but it allowed Cloud to realize and prove to himself that he is strong enough to protect what he cherishes and helped him overcome his survivors guilt and that the sacrifices his friends made werent in vain and that he did right by them.

It's quite sad that I just came across this video from over 3 years ago, and it's even sadder that in 2024 Cloud is still constantly misunderstood and mischaracterised! I really hope Rebirth makes crystal clear just what a fantastic character and hero Cloud really is instead of people just calling him emo which he never was!!

Cloud is real and it's why I love his character

This video is so great, thank you truthfully for the whole work you put into this, hopefully the rebirth lunch brings back your content!

That shift from the Northern Crater to footage of Niblehiem one of the biggest mind f**s in the series. I also love how quiet it gets after Weapon emerges. That image of a shattered Cloud at the Midgar train station is burned into my memory.

I really want these games and the systems for it.....maybe next Christmas....

Advent's Children is many things and even though it has its problem,I would never use the words "deeply flawed" :D It caused you to play FF7, right? Such a good movie. Otherwise a very good video ^^

This is a great video, I know it’s been awhile since it’s upload but I would love to see more videos like this one

You have single handedly healed my disappointment in Cloud's character in Advent Children. I felt the same way you did, that there was a... reset to his character arc. You said it perfectly, that we'd seen earnest, quirky Cloud. Who was this, but a reset to his "I'm just a failure" point? And that's it exactly, that in the quiet aftermath, those Bad Thoughts came back. I had a solid Depression period in my late 20s-early 30s (got diagnosed and everything) that comes back to haunt me even now on the eve of my 40s. I won't go into it, but suffice to say, it lends perspective to Cloud's state in Advent Children, especially in AC Complete. I have those quiet moments where the Bad Thoughts come up. I have *loud* moments where the Bad Thoughts come up. Now, this character decision makes sense, and I feel like a movie wasn't nearly enough space to explore. Anyway, thank you. Here's to Rebirth in 2024. Let's see where this train takes us.

"Hours of waiting to watch AMVS of Cloud and Sephiroth fighting set to My Chemical Romance songs" I know you're talking about yourself, but this feels like a personal attack lol

Beautiful video. Thank you for making this.

Thanks for for the spoilers mate I’ve not got to that of the game yet still on disk two😅ps1 my second time playing But the first I didn’t make it for

If he’s weak he’s been thru soo much in his short life losing all his family etc being worked on against his free will and losing his best friend I can keep going 😢 cloud is stronger then anyone could’ve ever known He’s only cocky because of trauma an ptsd mental illness is really real out here whether reality Are not please remember to treat it as such serious matters like so shouldn’t be swept under the rug 😢

please make an analysis of the remake cloud. I love listening to you talk about this

Just completed ff7 for the first time, as a person who struggles with mental health issues cloud has become more of a hero to me now than he ever was 20 something years ago. This video essay was beautifully constructed and I hope the you at your best shines through more than your worst. Thank you for your time and effort making this awesome video.

Bummer you never made any additional videos on FF.

Like Cloud this is my home and cant leave forever to return.

interesting I played this when I was fourteen in 1997 I literally uncontrollably cried when Aerith died.

You do know that Cloud's fractured mind and mental illnesses was all the result of what Hojo did to him for 5 yrs and then the trauma of Zack dying in front of him. That's when Tifa found him that was when Cloud started to act like someone he wasn't.

Cloud is the original spc 😮

He is so hot 🔥 😋

I cried and cried. Thank you

I was a bit sad bcz my "friends" didnt choose me for a group project hopefully this could help me😭😭

He’s still a badass use the sword tho

Advent children Cloud is the most relatable Cloud. Sad and traumatic. Never accepting the love of Tifa and never forgetting the death of Arieth

I wish more authors write protagonist like Cloud because as a kid I identify with him the most. In the game he was cool and mature and detached but from time to time showed his childish side (him doing fistbump, playing arcade games, participating in chocobo races). He is like a child that was forced to grow up fast which I identify with the most. I had dreams and want to do what a child wants to do but my surroundings, and the people in it wanted me to grow into an adult faster. I had to shut away my emotions, and my dreams.

I never played the original, but I did play the demo for the remake and I've seen a playthrough of the remake as well and I really wanna play the game. I never knew Cloud suffered and I'm glad you showed me that he did. Seeing that makes his character so much more complex and I really like that.

Pats Cloud's head: This little guy can hold so much trauma.

You really like Dick, But I don't blame you he's cool but he Ain't me

I played the original FF VII with my cousin it’s my favorite video game story ever the remake story was okay but the original was perfect

This.. this is why we need real heroes like Tony Soprano.

I am cloud

😢

Out of every video game I've ever played i thought cloud was the most relatable. I only played the remake but after watching this is see a very similar parallel to my self and it was nice to see it quantified

He just like me fr