I was wrong Cloud thread

[S_B]

I honestly don't see how Cloud's moves are that unique. Most of them are just generic sword slashes, or just not anything notable for smash. The only thing interesting about him is the fact that he has a projectile (Robin), and the limit break (and even that doesn't look like anything to special).

I think we'll have to wait and see.

I said the same thing at first, but the reality is that a LOT of moves in SSB are duplicates of the moves of other characters.

It'll ultimately be up to not how many of Cloud's moves are similar to others, but how do you play Cloud successfully? Is he a spacing character that uses his sword and range to keep people out, or a rushdown character that works to get in, or is his goal to build his limit break meter for the KO like LM while doing a mix of both? Those kinds of things.

And really, SSB4 has been the best in the series so far at making each character's flavor very unique (except clones, but even they have different ways they want to KO enemies), so I'm sure Cloud will be fine.

 

[Gimmick]

I think we'll have to wait and see.

I said the same thing at first, but the reality is that a LOT of moves in SSB are duplicates of the moves of other characters.

It'll ultimately be up to not how many of Cloud's moves are similar to others, but how do you play Cloud successfully? Is he a spacing character that uses his sword and range to keep people out, or a rushdown character that works to get in, or is his goal to build his limit break meter for the KO like LM while doing a mix of both? Those kinds of things.

And really, SSB4 has been the best in the series so far at making each character's flavor very unique (except clones, but even they have different ways they want to KO enemies), so I'm sure Cloud will be fine.

I was talking more from a unique game play perspective. Look at Snake. His was move set completely unique to smash and really brought something different to the game. Cloud's move set just look bland. Most of his aerials are just generic sword swings. The only one that looks relatively unique is his u-air. Same for his jab, tilts, and smashes. His d-smash looks like a super forced attempt at being unique. Up-spec? Generic sword slice into the air that you can come down with. Forward-spec? Generic sword slices with symbols.

He'll definitely play differently from the rest of the cast, but for who could care less about FF... He just seem worth the cash. The only reason I'm even getting Cloud is for the stage as well as the fact that my dad likes him.

 

[S_B]

I was talking more from a unique game play perspective. Look at Snake. His was move set completely unique to smash and really brought something different to the game. Cloud's move set just look bland. Most of his aerials are just generic sword swings. The only one that looks relatively unique is his u-air. Same for his jab, tilts, and smashes. His d-smash looks like a super forced attempt at being unique. Up-spec? Generic sword slice into the air that you can come down with. Forward-spec? Generic sword slices with symbols.

He'll definitely play differently from the rest of the cast, but for who could care less about FF... He just seem worth the cash. The only reason I'm even getting Cloud is for the stage as well as the fact that my dad likes him.

Well, to each their own. Again, we'll have to see how he plays overall.

I'm a bit more concerned about confusing him with Shulk if my teammate is Cloud and there's a Shulk on the opposing team. They both have a VERY similar profile, hairstyle and sword size...

 

[pupNapoleon]

Stuff social justice warrior stuff

You are welcome to your opinion. As I said, your posts read to me as one trying to find a hole in Clouds inclusion, and find it illogical. Obviously it is not, according to the Smash team.

I was talking more from a unique game play perspective. Look at Snake. His was move set completely unique to smash and really brought something different to the game. Cloud's move set just look bland. Most of his aerials are just generic sword swings. The only one that looks relatively unique is his u-air. Same for his jab, tilts, and smashes. His d-smash looks like a super forced attempt at being unique. Up-spec? Generic sword slice into the air that you can come down with. Forward-spec? Generic sword slices with symbols.

He'll definitely play differently from the rest of the cast, but for who could care less about FF... He just seem worth the cash. The only reason I'm even getting Cloud is for the stage as well as the fact that my dad likes him.

Something about this reads as contrary to me... if he plays differently than he plays differently, no more or less than Snake. Unless you want to claim he is of the same similarity as Lucas/Ness or Falco/Fox, then I'm not sure at what angle you are getting. I'm not sure how you can want Cloud to stay true to his character, but then claim his moves all look generic swordly... but then say that it isnt about animation.

Well, to each their own. Again, we'll have to see how he plays overall.

I'm a bit more concerned about confusing him with Shulk if my teammate is Cloud and there's a Shulk on the opposing team. They both have a VERY similar profile, hairstyle and sword size...

Just give them different colorings. No characters look more Similar than Peach and her daughter- they actually have the same face.
Of course, we also have things like running animations, etc, to help differentiate.

 

[S_B]

You are welcome to your opinion. As I said, your posts read to me as one trying to find a hole in Clouds inclusion, and find it illogical. Obviously it is not.

Oh, I don't mean to imply that it's illogical. Sakurai could add his own nose to the game as a playable character and it's entirely his choice and it makes sense to him and that's all that matters.

And Cloud DOES make a LOT of sense, for many reasons.

But clearly, it WAS a surprise to most people, and I'm more concerned about what this could mean for future inclusions. As
@SuperSceptile15 said, if you were hoping for a character whose focus hasn't been a Nintendo platform but is still popular, your chances just got a WHOLE lot better!

 

[pupNapoleon]

Oh, I don't mean to imply that it's illogical. Sakurai could add his own nose to the game as a playable character and it's entirely his choice.

But clearly, it WAS a surprise to most people, and I'm more concerned about what this could mean for future inclusions.

Sakurai cannot add his own nose... these are the types of leaps of logic which I find it irresponsible to propagate. There may not be rules, but he does clearly have his own barriers as to what qualifies, and to hell with it if any one of us understands (in short, we cannot claim to understand... yet if we try to put ourselves in his shoes, none of it seems strange).

As far as a surprise... so what? Wii Fit Trainer surprised many people, but it doesn't mean her inclusion is unjust, or even, something that is out of place.
(To be fair, I did predict Wii Fit Coach, and I did not much consider Cloud specifically).

 

[S_B]

Sakurai cannot add his own nose...

Well, there's nothing TECHNICALLY stopping him, but his focus is now on adding popular characters to the game.

Just so I'm crystal clear, I have no expectation of Sakurai doing something like this. I'm just pointing out that he is ultimately the decision maker here.

As far as a surprise... so what? Wii Fit Trainer surprised many people, but it doesn't mean her inclusion is unjust, or even, something that is out of place.

When a character is added to Smash, the very first thing pretty much everyone asks is "why".

I come from spending a LOOOONG time on the leaks and rumors board, in which we spent copious amounts of time trying to determine the feasibility of certain rumors and whatnot.

Had a rumor that Cloud was being added to the game popped up, most people would've probably shot it down for the various reasons that have been discussed in this thread already. Now that Cloud has been added, the landscape for what's feasible has changed.

Again, NONE of this calls into question Cloud's "worthiness", only his likelihood of being added based upon the patterns of how Sakurai chooses characters. For example, if Sakurai DID add his nose, adding his foot would seem like less of a stretch.

Up until now, the addition of characters that starred in games on Nintendo hardware felt like a pattern to many people, but Cloud's addition means it's no longer a pattern. Ergo, characters who we commonly associate with other consoles but are popular are more likely than we thought.

And I almost said "Popular in Japan", but even THAT is a perceived pattern which may get broken at some point with the addition of a 3rd party character that's primarily popular in the US.

Maybe the perceived "rule" about having to appear on Nintendo hardware is also out the window and we don't know it yet. Yeah, Cloud was a surprise, but his arrival opens up a lot of characters people had previously considered impossible.

 

[JesseMcCloud]

When Ryu was revealed, he had tons of supporters here. How many people here are actually genuinely excited about Cloud? I've not seen many, which confirms my suspicions: Cloud wasn't added to the game for US...

Then you're in the wrong thread, my friend.
As for me, I've always wanted Cloud in Smash; I just never thought it would actually happen.
I've never been more glad to be wrong.

 

[Ryu Myuutsu]

I was talking more from a unique game play perspective. Look at Snake. His was move set completely unique to smash and really brought something different to the game. Cloud's move set just look bland. Most of his aerials are just generic sword swings. The only one that looks relatively unique is his u-air. Same for his jab, tilts, and smashes. His d-smash looks like a super forced attempt at being unique. Up-spec? Generic sword slice into the air that you can come down with. Forward-spec? Generic sword slices with symbols.

He'll definitely play differently from the rest of the cast, but for who could care less about FF... He just seem worth the cash. The only reason I'm even getting Cloud is for the stage as well as the fact that my dad likes him.

Eh, watch Cloud fight in Dissidia or any other game of the FFVII compilation and you will see that that his moveset in Smash is a faithful representation. It's almost as if somehow you expected a guy with a huge sword to not slash with it . Besides, there remains very little to do already with a two-handed sword and 8 directions in a 2.5D fighting game since most of the moves are already taken; most characters with swords already have stabs, thrusts, downwards slashes, horizontal slices, overhead slash, upwards stab, aerial full moon slashes, downwards thrusts, etc. It's the same for brawler types. Besides, most characters share some kind of move that behaves in a similar manner like Mario's and Falcon's Uair, and Fox, Falco, Sonic and Jiggly having a similar Down Smash. The least they can do is try to give his moves his own personality but you can't really blame them for giving him sword swings.
What's supposed to set him apart are his mechanics in the form of Limit Breaks that seem to change his moves in some way, it's similar how Shulk and Robin separate themselves from the rest. Those specials you mentioned come straight from his games: his Up Special is Climhazard and his Side B is called Cross Slash which seems to have changing properties depending on his Limit Break. Honestly, calling it just "generic sword slices with symbols" just gives away how little you know about this character.

 

[FooltheFlames]

I think they SHOULD do this, and I'm not sure why they haven't in this and other cases...

For example, when Nintendo was rereleasing GC games on the Wii, it seems silly to have not rereleased MGS: Twin Snakes. Hell, the game was already made, and updating it for the Wii wouldn't have been all that hard.

Same with not adding a Nintendo character as DLC to Street Fighter 4 after Ryu's release (Cpt Falcon would fit in PERFECTLY...).

And they're missing a golden opportunity if they don't release the FFVII remake to Wii U.

I'm left scratching my head over this. After all, look what SSBM was able to do for Fire Emblem, a series that had zero visibility in the US until Melee taught everyone who Marth and Roy are!

I think Cloud in SSB4 would definitely help drive sales of a FFVII remake on the Wii U or 3DS...

I'd love for the FF7 remake to come to the Wii U but it feels like something that will be a PS4 only thing...

 

[S_B]

Eh, watch Cloud fight in Dissidia or any other game of the FFVII compilation and you will see that that his moveset in Smash is a faithful representation. It's almost as if somehow you expected a guy with a huge sword to not slash with it . Besides, there remains very little to do already with a two-handed sword and 8 directions in a 2.5D fighting game since most of the moves are already taken; most characters with swords already have stabs, thrusts, downwards slashes, horizontal slices, overhead slash, upwards stab, aerial full moon slashes, downwards thrusts, etc. It's the same for brawler types. Besides, most characters share some kind of move that behaves in a similar manner like Mario's and Falcon's Uair, and Fox, Falco, Sonic and Jiggly having a similar Down Smash. The least they can do is try to give his moves his own personality but you can't really blame them for giving him sword swings.
What's supposed to set him apart are his mechanics in the form of Limit Breaks that seem to change his moves in some way, it's similar how Shulk and Robin separate themselves from the rest. Those specials you mentioned come straight from his games: his Up Special is Climhazard and his Side B is called Cross Slash which seems to have changing properties depending on his Limit Break. Honestly, calling it just "generic sword slices with symbols" just gives away how little you know about this character.

Yeah.

Now if you want to complain about too many sword users in general, that may be a valid one, though they at least mostly vary in moveset styles (except for Maroycina, I suppose).

Hopefully we won't see too many more sword users after this. Huge axes, clubs and glaives only from now on.

 

[TTTTTsd]

Remember back in Brawl days where we laughed and mocked people who said Cloud should be in Smash?

We all have egg on our face now.

I was def one of those guys. Tastes like crow.

Let's be real, who would've thought when this game first came out after the Mewtwo DLC was announced that we'd be getting RYU and then CLOUD? Damn, man.

 

[Gimmick]

Eh, watch Cloud fight in Dissidia or any other game of the FFVII compilation and you will see that that his moveset in Smash is a faithful representation. It's almost as if somehow you expected a guy with a huge sword to not slash with it . Besides, there remains very little to do already with a two-handed sword and 8 directions in a 2.5D fighting game since most of the moves are already taken; most characters with swords already have stabs, thrusts, downwards slashes, horizontal slices, overhead slash, upwards stab, aerial full moon slashes, downwards thrusts, etc. It's the same for brawler types. Besides, most characters share some kind of move that behaves in a similar manner like Mario's and Falcon's Uair, and Fox, Falco, Sonic and Jiggly having a similar Down Smash. The least they can do is try to give his moves his own personality but you can't really blame them for giving him sword swings.
What's supposed to set him apart are his mechanics in the form of Limit Breaks that seem to change his moves in some way, it's similar how Shulk and Robin separate themselves from the rest. Those specials you mentioned come straight from his games: his Up Special is Climhazard and his Side B is called Cross Slash which seems to have changing properties depending on his Limit Break. Honestly, calling it just "generic sword slices with symbols" just gives away how little you know about this character.

I never said it wasn't faithful. I just said it was overall pretty bland. There are plenty of things they could have used. He has an assortment of different magic attacks, summons, his motorcycle, etc (this is just based on a quick wiki look up). Instead he just seems like another swordsman with a mechanic that doesn't look all that special.

And did me and you watch the same trailer? Other than the tornado one-shot thing Cloud's moves with limit break just seemed to be enhanced versions of his current moves. Up-b just goes higher, side-b seems to hit harder, and neutral b seems to hit multiple times now. Also, you're right. I don't know much about FF, but I'm pretty that anyone who sees this and didn't know anything about FF would just think its a series of generic sword slashes with symbols. The only thing unique about it is that you seem to float in the air while doing it.

 

[Ryu Myuutsu]

I never said it wasn't faithful. I just said it was overall pretty bland. There are plenty of things they could have used. He has an assortment of different magic attacks, summons, his motorcycle, etc (this is just based on a quick wiki look up). Instead he just seems like another swordsman with a mechanic that doesn't look all that special.

And did me and you watch the same trailer? Other than the tornado one-shot thing Cloud's moves with limit break just seemed to be enhanced versions of his current moves. Up-b just goes higher, side-b seems to hit harder, and neutral b seems to hit multiple times now. Also, you're right. I don't know much about FF, but I'm pretty that anyone who sees this and didn't know anything about FF would just think its a series of generic sword slashes with symbols. The only thing unique about it is that you seem to float in the air while doing it.

So you would expect him that when he does a Fair he would summon a motorcycle instead? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Like I said, there remains very little room on what you can do with swords in a 8 direction environment.

It's true that he has magic and the summons (but those are already part of the stage's hazards), but his fighting style consists mainly on swordplay. That becomes painfully obvious in the Final Fantasy fighting game Dissidia and the movie Advent Children, so why deviate from that? He rarely uses magic attacks and incorporate instead a series of limits from his home series, most of them which seem to appear in Smash. His Side Smash is based off his 4x Cut animation, at least do your research before dismissing him as generic.
Note: more on this after I come back from work.

 

[Gimmick]

So you would expect him that when he does a Fair he would summon a motorcycle instead? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Like I said, there remains very little room on what you can do with swords in a 8 direction environment.

It's true that he has magic and the summons (but those are already part of the stage's hazards), but his fighting style consists mainly on swordplay. That becomes painfully obvious in the Final Fantasy fighting game Dissidia and the movie Advent Children, so why deviate from that? He rarely uses magic attacks and incorporate instead a series of limits from his home series, most of them which seem to appear in Smash. His Side Smash is based off his 4x Cut animation, at least do your research before dismissing him as generic.
Note: more on this after I come back from work.

"So you would expect him that when he does a Fair he would summon a motorcycle instead? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" Really man? Is that your argument? I never even said that he'd use his bike for something like that. I just mentioned that he could've used that in his move set. Never did I once assign it to an aerial. He could use some form of magic for a forward aerial though.

There's plenty of other magics and summons that Cloud could use in his move set. I also hope you realize that Cloud excels the most in strength and magic. And sure, he mainly fights with a sword, but that doesn't mean he can't have a bit more versatility. He's suppose to represent the entirety of the FF series.

"His Side Smash is based off his 4x Cut animation, at least do your research before dismissing him as generic." Read my post. I never said that Cloud wasn't faithful to his actual game counter part. That doesn't mean that those slashes are generic.

 

[pupNapoleon]

"So you would expect him that when he does a Fair he would summon a motorcycle instead? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" Really man? Is that your argument? I never even said that he'd use his bike for something like that. I just mentioned that he could've used that in his move set. Never did I once assign it to an aerial. He could use some form of magic for a forward aerial though.

There's plenty of other magics and summons that Cloud could use in his move set. I also hope you realize that Cloud excels the most in strength and magic. And sure, he mainly fights with a sword, but that doesn't mean he can't have a bit more versatility. He's suppose to represent the entirety of the FF series.

"His Side Smash is based off his 4x Cut animation, at least do your research before dismissing him as generic." Read my post. I never said that Cloud wasn't faithful to his actual game counter part. That doesn't mean that those slashes are generic.

He represents his entire Square Enix, all of Final Fantasy, and Himself, in reverse order. And within that, he also represents THE RPG.

Would you be happier to see Ryu use kick moves of Chun-li monster thighs, or electricity ala Blanka? No...
Let's wait on how special Cloud is going to be in this game. Limit Break, while his iconic tribute, seems to be a very famous RPG trope as well. Unless you want him to do things he cannot do in his game, then I say, hush.

 

[Gimmick]

He represents his entire Square Enix, all of Final Fantasy, and Himself, in reverse order. And within that, he also represents THE RPG.

Would you be happier to see Ryu use kick moves of Chun-li monster thighs, or electricity ala Blanka? No...
Let's wait on how special Cloud is going to be in this game. Limit Break, while his iconic tribute, seems to be a very famous RPG trope as well. Unless you want him to do things he cannot do in his game, then I say, hush.

Those are two completely different situations. Cloud can actually use summons and magic in his game. Ryu can't do anything you just said. When did I say limit break was a bad thing? I just said that it didn't look special. Even FF fans have pointed how Cloud's moves significantly changed after activating his limit break. Here they're just variations on his current moves.

 

[RBreadsticks]

Not a Final Fantasy fan. Hype regardless. Never thought he would be in these games. Now it means Goku and John Cena as well as Shrek are automatically confirmed as swerve characters.

 

[S_B]

I hope one of his taunts momentarily summons dancing moogles, though, ala Pac-Man's taunts which reference other Namco games.

 

[JesseMcCloud]

I hope one of his taunts momentarily summons dancing moogles, though, ala Pac-Man's taunts which reference other Namco games.

Sadly this won't be a thing.

 

[Kuraudo]

Sadly this won't be a thing.

Wait for it...

 

[JesseMcCloud]

Wait for it...

His taunts are the victory pose, the magic-casting, and the hand on hip smirk. Calling it now.

 

[Kuraudo]

His taunts are the victory pose, the magic-casting, and the hand on hip smirk. Calling it now.

I know. That sounds about right too. Just a friendly little poke at the whole fact that Cloud being in Smash sounded just as unlikely.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

This sounds too accurate. I remember Cloud was the "Goku" character back when Brawl was announced.

It makes me wonder, though. With no support on this board for Cloud at all, and him apparently being popular enough to become the first announced character from the Ballot, it makes me wonder how much of an influence the Smash Community really had on the ballot...

There's NO way Cloud is a ballot character.

Midgar alone must've taken MONTHS to make and test...

 

[MrGame&Rock]

Yeah I was wrong. I remember the gambit of emotions I felt very, very clearly.

"Super Smash Bros" Yes yes yes!
"x" okay, third party...
"Final Fantasy..." YES! THIS COULD BE AMAZING!
"...7" ...what.

I spent that whole thing just confused. To be honest, my brain's still not fully wrapped around it and I fully confess I might sound butthurt in the coming days/weeks leading up to his release. Reminds me of the Robin trailer when I wanted Chrom. It's a simple coping mechanism, I'll be over it when I can actually play as him. But for now, it's a bit of a shock. When I saw Final Fantasy, I was expecting maybe Black Mage, hoping for Cecil or Edge from FFIV. Not Cloud. Like, a part of me is very against his inclusion because not only do I have no history with him, (and I don't associate him with Final Fantast at all; that honor goes to Cecil and Luneth from FFIII) but as a Wii U, 3DS, and Mac owner I have no way to get Final Fantasy 7 to get to know him. And that was going to be my go-to coping mechanism. So unless the remake comes to Wii U (which at this point I really really hope it does and am even kinda hype for) I won't be able to experience Cloud outside of Smash on a Nintendo system. That bothers me a lot. But again, I'll be able to get past it, either through software that lets my mac run a PC game or on my iPad (as soon as I can fix a charge issue) or iPhone. Or the remake.

On the other hand, while his sword-based gameplay isn't Snake or Ryu-level revolutionary, Cloud has just enough unique gameplay to get me kind of excited. He has a projectile, but more importantly, Limit Break is a cool mechanic. It reminds me of Lucas from PM with offense up. That opens up some cool gameplay possibilities. Plus, I kind of can't complain when it comes to a new character, even if I would have wanted another one instead. ...am I making any sense in this rambling?

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

My reaction now;

• Even though it didn't show the Smash logo like other trailers, I knew it was Smash because Reggie said there was "a new trailer approaching" which is an obvious nod to the Challenger Approaching screen.
• The stars left me confused, but I didn't say a thing. I had seen FF7 footage before (but never played the game), so I forgot that Sakurai was reenacting the game's intro.
• Seeing "Super Smash Bros." made me glad; I knew it'd be a Smash trailer.
• My mind was blown when I started seeing the FF logo and was shattered when I saw the "VII"
• After that, nothing but screaming, laughing, crying, heavy breathing, hyperventilation, goosebumps, constant moving and other things like that for the next 2 hours.

I still think it's impossible...

 

[JesterJaded]

I'll be honest, I always thought Sora would be in this game before Cloud. But I'm still hyped.

If we're going by the theory that characters represent their series and not themselves / their games, then Cloud does have connections to Nintendo since the series was birthed on a Nintendo console, in addition to other installments - and Cloud is FF's maskot.

As far as actually playing him goes... Don't get me wrong, swordsmen with projectiles are always hype in my book (provided they don't steal Link's iron boots by mistake (I'm looking at you, Robin)), and the limit break mechanic looks unique enough to compensate, but something about Cloud's movements and pacing seem very reminiscent to Shulk and Ike. I'm worried that there won't be any legitimate reasons to play him over the other two swordsmen on a gameplay level. Of course, we just have to wait and see.

Sora, on the other hand, I think would have a lot of potential as an acrobatic swordsman / Magic user / kombo kid. Que the salt.

 

[liets]

I was soooooo wrong
I thought square enix would be too stingy to EVER give a character
But this is AWESOME!!!
I will definitely be getting the Cloud+Midgar+FF mii outfits bundle

 

[MrGame&Rock]

I'll be honest, I always thought Sora would be in this game before Cloud. But I'm still hyped.

If we're going by the theory that characters represent their series and not themselves / their games, then Cloud does have connections to Nintendo since the series was birthed on a Nintendo console, in addition to other installments - and Cloud is FF's maskot.

As far as actually playing him goes... Don't get me wrong, swordsmen with projectiles are always hype in my book (provided they don't steal Link's iron boots by mistake (I'm looking at you, Robin)), and the limit break mechanic looks unique enough to compensate, but something about Cloud's movements and pacing seem very reminiscent to Shulk and Ike. I'm worried that there won't be any legitimate reasons to play him over the other two swordsmen on a gameplay level. Of course, we just have to wait and see.

Sora, on the other hand, I think would have a lot of potential as an acrobatic swordsman / Magic user / kombo kid. Que the salt.

Maybe Cloud's similarities to Shulk and Ike were selling points. Maybe, of all the FF characters, Cloud was the one who struck the perfect balance between "able to bring new things to the table" (blade beam, limit break) and "allows us to reuse animations from other characters to save time and money that we can spend on the ballot winners." (Climbhazzard, a lot of his normals, Midgar's battlefield-esque stage layout) To go through some others from Squeenix: Cecil doesn't have a natural projectile, Edea has too much going for her to make with repeated assets, and Luneth isn't well known enough/doesn't have a new game coming out/doesn't have a huge sword for the Ike moves/doesn't work quiiite as well as Cloud.

 

[Erotic&Heretic]

Cloud may share similarities with Ike and Shulk, he doesn't feel to be "copy and paste".

For example, Ike and Cloud Fair may be the same kind of attack, but the animation is different (the legs especially).

I think that the "problem" with Cloud is that, by his kinda retro moveset, he have struggles bringing new things to the table among the swordmens. I think that a character is defined mostly by his B-moves. And while cool, his projectile and combo attack doesn't bring that much novelty to the game.

But it's a similar case to Shulk: Backslash (despite the "attack on the back" effect) and the vision doesn't bring much novelty to the game. But the monado arts? You suddenly get a unique and cool character.
It's the same for Cloud: while the B moveset isn't that flashy (well, his cross thing is flashy, in fact), his limit break is THE thing that will define him and make him a unique character.

There's no need to have everything unique, especially if such an iconic character have iconic moves, as long as the character have a thing that makes him different. About his sword, he won't attack only with the hilt just to be different for example. (yet he does attack with the hilt during is down smash )

 

[magiciandude]

I always wanted a FF character in Smash Bros, so that we can get music from most of the FF games including FFVII. I always thought the most likely character would be Warrior of Light or Black Mage, but I'm quite happy with Cloud's inclusion.

 

[Solfiner]

I was 100% wrong about him never being in Smash and I am absolutely stoked about his inclusion.

 

[JayTheBrainMann]

First off, I was quite surprised, but I'm glad because this opens doors that previously weren't opened. Geno, anyone?

I'm a bit more concerned about confusing him with Shulk if my teammate is Cloud and there's a Shulk on the opposing team.

I've got two easy ways to tell 'em apart: first, they don't look anything alike. Second, one of then has a GIANT SILVER SWORD. Unless you somehow confuse a small red sword on the back of a scruffy haired guy who usually wears red with a giant silver sword on the back of a spiky haired guy who usually wears dark blue (or black), then I don't see the problem.

 

[Exate]

I only ever entertained the idea of Cloud being in Smash; I never ruled out the possibility, but I really didn't expect it to happen. Each time I considered a potential SE rep. in the past, I thought Cecil or Terra might have had a chance, but I wasn't. For the most part, I gave up on the idea of a SE character ever getting into the game.

And then Cloud happened.
Not only did he not leak, I don't even recall even seeing him on fake leaks throughout the game's entire development cycle. This reveal blew my mind and I'm still in shock about it; I watch the trailer each day in an endeavor to try and get it out of my system. While his inclusion does make sense within the parameters of being iconic, I just can't get over it. It may still be too early to settle over the news, but no previous reveal was even remotely this surreal.

Whether I'm wrong or not, I can't wait for the release date.

 

[S_B]

I've got two easy ways to tell 'em apart: first, they don't look anything alike.

Aside from them both being skinny, caucasian, anime-styled, blonde dudes with spiky hair and large swords, sure.

It's the profiles I'm more worried about, but we'll see how they look while fighting because that will be far more relevant (it can't be any worse than having a Marth on one team and a Lucina on the other, or one of the same character on each team).

First off, I was quite surprised, but I'm glad because this opens doors that previously weren't opened. Geno, anyone?

Never gonna happen, ever since Sakurai said that he wanted to add Takamaru but didn't because he wasn't popular enough and also he won't add a character that has no future. :\

 

[Linkip]

Cloud changed everything IMO. At first i was disappointed since i was hoping for Inking or K rool, then i remembered this is a character people joked about being in smash and now he is.

Now i have hope for Geno, Shadow, Heck even Goku. If Sakurai has the magic for getting cloud in why not? Still expecting fighters people expected like inkling, K rool, Dixie kong. But this has changed my mind about a lot of smash ballot requests i thought were hopeless.

 

[JayTheBrainMann]

Aside from them both being skinny, caucasian, anime-styled, blonde dudes with spiky hair and large swords, sure.

They also don't wear clothes that are in any way similar (unless the person playing Shulk is using the black alt, but even then there's a number of obvious differences).

 

[Deleted member]

Cloud, for me, was a lot more shocking than Snake was. Back in 2006, I didn't really know who he was, so I didn't see why he was shocking (but he did open the way for 3rd parties, like Sonic).

Now, I have some knowledge on the FF series and VII's history, which made it more shocking to me. This is a game that Nintendo really has a bad history with; it was on the SNES, then the N64, and finally the PlayStation because the N64 was cartridge based. The loss was massive for Nintendo since VII was a massive success, so much so that the President at the time dismissed Square.

I know how big VII was, but I didn't think Cloud would get in Smash purely for his history on Sony's platforms and Square not releasing major FF games on Nintendo's consoles. I thought Cloud would get in PSASBR, really. If Square had a character in Smash, I thought it would be Black Mage, Crono, or even Slime (or maybe Terra).

Cue the trailer and I was just screaming in shock with my mouth wide open. I just couldn't believe it. This game with a pretty negative history with Nintendo is now getting represented? What?! Cloud was honestly one of the last characters that I expected to be in Smash. From his trailer, he looked pretty damn cool and I think I might enjoy his play style.

Admittedly, I don't really like Cloud as a character, but I think my hatred for him has simmered over time (I'll hold my judgment when I get around to playing FFVII... eventually). I think I was a bit more receptive towards a Square character after recently playing Chrono Trigger and currently going through Final Fantasy VI.

Though, I am glad that Cloud is in the game. I kinda wanted to see Shulk and Cloud duke it out to be honest and now that can happen.

 

[Prepare_Yourself]

"Two at the time of Brawl's launch, since Kojima and Konami have basically disowned Snake's Revenge. Three total as of now."

You guys are forgetting about MGS 3D.

 

[StormC]

Being wrong has never felt so right.

Admittedly, I don't really like Cloud as a character, but I think my hatred for him has simmered over time (I'll hold my judgment when I get around to playing FFVII... eventually).

You hate Cloud but you haven't even played his game?