Why Cloud Strife is The Definitive Final Fantasy Protagonist

With Final Fantasy VII Remake making waves on PS4s everywhere, the character Cloud Strife is enjoying a whole new lease of life as he is introduced to a new generation of gamers. But even before this, despite being the protagonist of the seventh mainline game, Cloud has become the poster child of the series as a whole.

We posit that Cloud’s unique backstory, motivations, and role in his game is what makes him a standout Final Fantasy protagonist, even after the series reached its 15th game. But before we go through all that, let’s examine the ingredients that make a Final Fantasy protagonist.

Spoilers for all Final Fantasy games below!

What Makes a Final Fantasy Protagonist?

The series may have started out as an effort by Squaresoft to create their own RPG game to match the popularity of their rival Enix’s Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy has grown beyond its fantastical roots The merger between Squaresoft and Enix allowed the two franchises to be seen as sister franchises these days.

A Final Fantasy is defined by its cohesive storyline, a rich and engaging new world to explore in each game, a cast of memorable party members, a major antagonist who is usually overshadowed by an even bigger bad guy, and a new take on the RPG battle systems that made the series a hit in the first place.

And leading the charge on all these fronts is the protagonist, the central character who acts as the player’s avatar throughout the 40 hours-plus adventure. The exceptions are the first Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy XI, and Final Fantasy XIV where the protagonists are blank slates. The player is able to customize the characters to their liking. Typically though, Final Fantasy protagonists stand out from other RPG franchises in their design and role in their stories.

Good Final Fantasy protagonists, like most good protagonists in media, typically adhere to Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey template, as well as utilising a narrative tool known as The Lie. The Lie is a belief that the central character holds, like Luke Skywalker believing that Darth Vader is an irredeemable evil. Most stories will shatter the character’s Lie, altering their perception of the world around them and making them a better person.i Case in point, Luke finds out that Darth Vader is his father and seeks to save him.

And with that, like all things, there are good and bad protagonists in the Final Fantasy franchise. So, let’s look at them before we examine the subject of today, Cloud Strife.

What Makes a Bad Final Fantasy Protagonist?

Firion was the first named protagonist in the franchise, as Final Fantasy II was the first game to have a narrative-driven storyline and characters with default names, instead of players having to name them. As a main character, Firion set the mold, though he himself isn’t fleshed out. All we know is that he is heroic and seems to have a weakness for women. It didn’t help that his initial sprite was the exact same as Final Fantasy I’s Fighter class.

By no means the worst protagonist the series has ever had, Firion was just basic, mainly limited due to the fact that his game was released in 1988. Thankfully, spin-off games like Dissidia have fleshed him out, making him much cooler than he has any right to be.

Vaan from Final Fantasy XII on the other hand, was given the shorter end of the protagonist stick. Some say this is because during development, the team over at Square Enix couldn’t decide on whether Princess Ashe or Basch should be the hero of FFXII, with them deciding on Vaan after finding out that female players prefer a younger, male protagonist.

While they may have made him the leading man, they didn’t change his involvement in the story from being minimal and resolved half-way through. If anything, Ashe, Basch, and Balthier have more personal stakes in the story and are more fitting to be the main characters. The equivalent is Luke Skywalker joining the Rebels but never became a Jedi or if Darth Vader wasn’t his father. That’s what Vaan ended up being.

Lightning, on the other hand, was made as an effort to recapture the people’s perception of Cloud Strife, but with a new female character instead as the main character for Final Fantasy XIII. Those efforts soon fell apart as Lightning herself was subjugated to numerous sequels that barely gave her character development and elevated her to some sort of prophet of God.

Evidently, Square Enix couldn’t make lightning strike twice: besides being an ex-soldier and a vague backstory, Lightning’s similarities to Cloud ended there. If anything, she was more like Squall from FFVIII as she also wields a gunblade and her character growth basically also results in her learning to trust people and have friends.

The series’ latest protagonist, Noctis from Final Fantasy XV, fares slightly better but also falls as the game reaches the end. He and his three travel companions are definitely fun characters to interact with, but it's a slow burn before anything really happens and Noctis’ impact in the world he inhabits basically amounts to nothing.

It also doesn’t help that Noctis was placed in a coma for ten years, wakes up to fight the main bad guy, and just dies at the end. The thing about Noctis is the build-up of his story was engaging, but no emotional trade-off was made, especially when the two people he cares about the most, his father and fiancè, are only told to players that they are important, with ancillary media tie-ins like movies and anime actually providing us with glimpses of their relationship.

What Makes a Good Final Fantasy Protagonist

While Firion provided the mold, Final Fantasy IV’s Cecil Harvey broke it and set the standard for later heroes. As Commander of the Red Wings, early on, Cecil learns that the kingdom he serves had been committing atrocities and his allegiance to the king may be compromised due to his compassion.

Starting out as a Dark Knight, Cecil is the only protagonist whose character development was reflected through a gameplay mechanic, with him switching to the Paladin class as he decides to save the world instead of destroying it. Cecil was also the first protagonist who is not fully human, as he later finds out that he is part of the Lunarian race of moon people.

The easy-going protagonist of Final Fantasy V, Bartz Klauser, may not be your typical stoic and brave hero, which even he himself admits. He would much rather explore the world and not be the one saving it. This is due to the fact that his parents died early on, affecting him as he wanders the world alone.

As destiny has it, Bartz was meant to be a Warrior of Light, protector of the realm and a role his father also held in his youth. Bartz initially rejects his calling, though soon accepts the fact that the world he knows and love will be destroyed if he doesn’t step up to the plate. A character like Bartz shows that anyone can be a hero, and that even ordinary people can do extraordinary things in life.

The first female protagonist of the franchise is none other than Terra Branford of Final Fantasy VI. Experimented on at an early age due to her lineage as a half-human and half-Esper, Terra was mind-controlled to be the perfect soldier by the Gestahlian Empire. This all changed when a fateful battle with a rogue Esper led her to join the Returners, an anti-empire resistance group.

Throughout the game, Terra is haunted by trauma, with the experiments conducted on her giving her amnesia. As her Esper powers emerge, she fears that she is no longer human and flees from her friends. Eventually, she makes peace with her lot and accepts her lineage, using her powers to bring peace to the world. Terra’s story shows that we are all in charge of our destiny, no matter how tough things might be starting out.

Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII is not just another pretty face; he’s aloof, cool, and not interested in having a normal teenage life. But behind this façade, he is a boy with abandonment issues and a fear of getting close to anyone ever again. This all changes when he meets Rinoa Heartily, the foil to his cold demeanor and love interest throughout the game. He soon learns what it means to trust people, be a good friend and leader, and how to love again.

Squall is the most introspective of all the protagonists, as his inner monologues play a major part of the game’s narrative structure. Confusing time-traveling shenanigans aside, Squall’s character development is steady and his change in demeanor comes gradually and naturally throughout the game.

In stark contrast to Squall, we have the cheery and energetic Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX. This plucky young thief was involved in a plot to kidnap Princess Garnet, only to find that the princess actually wants to escape her life of luxury. Zidane has a penchant for flirting with women, and his charming persona allows him to gain many allies, including former foes.

Only much later in the game do we learn that Zidane is actually a Genome, a lab-grown harbinger of death. With the help of his friends, he stays true to his virtues and defeats his creator, saving the world and all of its inhabitants. Zidane proves that despite the path laid out to you by someone else, you alone are able to carve your own path in life.

Lastly, we have Tidus from Final Fantasy X, the jock with deep-seated daddy issues who eventually defies the prevailing religion of the country and ends a cycle of death and destruction that said religion actively promotes. He also learns that he was never a person to begin with, and merely a ghost of sorts, kind of like Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense.

While some might argue that Tidus is whiny, he’s probably one of the most relatable Final Fantasy characters, with his dreams and personal issues comparable to that of a high-schooler. He soon learns how to handle responsibility and relationships through the trials and tribulations he faces with his friends. He is also the first Final Fantasy protagonist to be voice-acted, which gave so much life to the character.

Why Cloud Strife is The Definitive Final Fantasy Protagonist

Now that we’ve looked through all the protagonists of the franchise, let’s look at the man of the hour, Cloud Strife. We are introduced to the blonde spiky-haired mercenary as he leaps off a train with his trusty Buster Sword on his back. He is aiding the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE in destroying a giant Mako reactor, all while remaining aloof and not getting too attached to his comrades.

We soon learn that Cloud was a First-Class SOLDIER, a sort of super trooper in the world of Final Fantasy VII. This explains his great skill and his bond with former SOLDIER turned villain Sephiroth, though all this comes into question with conflicting info from Aerith and Tifa. More of the truth comes to light as the party chases after Sephiroth around the world, during which they stop by Cloud's and Tifa’s hometown and learning more about the origin of SOLDIER and Jenova.

Cloud soon learns that he was never a SOLDIER and was just a simple infantryman, and that his friend Zack, who is also Aerith’s boyfriend, was a First-Class SOLDIER. This whole time, Cloud has been pretending to be Zack due to his psychological trauma of seeing Zack die in his arms. Cloud also learns that he may be a Sephiroth clone after the villain was able to mind control him at opportune moments.

This all leads to the death of Aerith in Sephiroth’s hands, causing Cloud to suffer a mental breakdown as he blames himself for her death. It is up to Tifa, his childhood friend and the reason he wanted to be a SOLDIER in the first place, to enter his mind and piece together his being once again.

Once Cloud reclaims his identity, he rejoins the party, though with some hesitation from his friends. He realises that he does not need to be a famous SOLDIER to be a hero, as his own persona is enough to save the world. He also owes it to Tifa, Zack, and Aerith, who always saw him for who he is, to bring the end of Sephiroth and save the world.

Compared to the rest of the franchise’s protagonists, Cloud’s story is truly a rollercoaster. Cloud’s essence as a character is actually a lot like his predecessor Terra, though Terra embraces her faults much earlier than Cloud. In fact, what makes Cloud’s transformation so much different is how far it’s drawn out between the original Final Fantasy VII’s three discs.

And unlike the one Lie that the other protagonists believe, Cloud goes through several. First believing himself to be a SOLDIER, then learning that he might be a clone of Sephiroth, then believing himself to be worthless and powerless, all before he pulls himself together and redefines himself as the hero the world needs.

Cloud also follows Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, albeit with more psychological breakdowns along the way. And Cloud’s story doesn’t end with the game - it only completely comes full-circle in the sequel movie, Advent Children. While it may not be a great standalone film, as a supplementary story to the original game, it does its job and resolves Cloud’s guilt over Zack and Aerith’s death.

With all that said, these are the reasons why Cloud has become the poster child for the series. From his tragic backstory, resolution of said story, iconic design, and weapon, it’s no wonder why he has resonated with fans for all these years. It’s also why he is the series' representative in the Super Smash Bros franchise, arguably the ultimate celebration of all things gaming.

It is truly a wonder how Square Enix is going to pull off retelling this story in the Remake, though they have been doing a good job so far with the first part. Hopefully, this retelling will do a great job of conveying the definitive story of Cloud Strife to a new generation of gamers, especially when things start to kick in from Discs 2 and 3 of the original game.