Kuraudo Sutoraifu (Cloud Strife)
This is dedicate to those who're unfamiliar with Final Fantasy VII & it's protagonist, Cloud Strife.
Where to begin. All right, first off, this Final Fantasy in particular is the seventh installment of the series. It was released back in '97 for Playstation & Microsoft Windows. And after selling millions of copies worldwide (more than 9.5 million copies), Final Fantasy VII became Square Enix's (formerly Squaresoft) most accomplished title. This was over a course of several years after it's debut, chaining a "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII" from it's success (Before Crisis, Crisis Core, Last Order, Advent Children, and Dirge of Cerberus).
Now for the storyline.
It's a pretty long story but I'll try to shorten it (which is not possible -.-). The story is about a mega company called Shin-Ra; a corporation that sucks the planet's (which is called Gaia) life energy. This source of power is known as "mako", which is siphoned through reactors that're stationed in five areas. Nibelheim, Fort Condor, Gongaga Village, Mt. Corel, and the dark metropolis, Midgar. And with these giant structures havesting such rich energy, they support an ideal style of living.
Under Shin-Ra's wing is an elite military until called "SOLDIER"; warriors who're stronger than any mere human. Their bodies are infused with mako in order to make the perfect soldier. Far greater than those--the low rank Shin-Ra guards-- who're exposed to small quanties of mako. And amongst those in SOLDIER is the great Sephiroth, dubbed as a hero after the Wutai war. But all of his fame came to a halt on one dreadful day.
When Sephiroth and three other Shin-Ra cooperatives left for Nibelheim, the world he knew began to crumble. After discovering the fiendish secrets of Shin-Ra (finding out that he's a product of an experiment), Sephiroth became overwhelmed with grief. Once he found out about his true origin, he waged a war with anyone who stood in his path. This in turn caused Sephiroth to slaughter the natives of Nibelheim. And coindentally, this happens to be Cloud's hometown, and he was one of the three men that accompanied Sephiroth.
Cloud signed-up for SOLDIER but failed, so he ended up as a Shin-Ra guard. Some time after being knocked unconcious, Cloud awoke to a burning Nibelheim. Many perished under Sephiroth's wrath which devastated Cloud. To put a stop to Sephiroth's rampage, Cloud and his bestfriend Zack Fair (who's a first-class SOLDIER), journey through Mt. Nibel. Upon confronting Sephiroth in the reactor, Zack--who fought valiantly--was severely outmatched.
Prior to Zack's assault, Tifa (Cloud's childhood friend & the reason why he applied for SOLDIER) attempted to avenge her father's death by stopping Sephiroth. But she was easily defeated and left upon a flight of stairs for dead. Cloud witness such terrible deeds drawn upon his friends. In spite of Sephiroth, Cloud attacks him within Jenova's chamber (which is the being that Sephiroth believes to be his biological mother). He impales Sephiroth through the back with the prodigous Buster Sword (a weapon previously owned by Angeal Hewley, and later passed on to Zack).
Later, Cloud returns to Tifa's aide for a short while. And bursting through Jenova's chamber is a stumbling Sephiroth, carrying its head. Both Cloud & Sephiroth had another scuffle, ending the fight with Sephiroth being thrown into a pool of mako energy. Shin-Ra Inc. and the chief of Biological Studies, Professor Hojo, arrives at the scene sometime after. He pressumed that Sephiroth had died, and focused his attentions on a new subject. This is where both Cloud & Zack were subjected to the Jenova Project (which is the experiment that produced Sephiroth).
Five years have passed since the Nibel incident, and finally gaining consciousness, Zack escapes from the Shin-Ra Mansion with a catatonic Cloud on his back. His goal is to begin a new life in Midgar with his girlfriend Aeris. And with his buddy Cloud, they'll become mercenaries for hire in order to make a living. Before this dream is realized, the Shin-Ra brigade pervades Zack & usher his demise. Sometime after, Cloud regains consciousness, slowly making his way towards Zack.
On the outskirts of Midgar, Cloud grieves for his bestfriend and vows to keep his promise. That such a heroic fellow existed and Cloud is his proof (it was then Cloud adopted a lot of Zack's personality traits). With the Buster in his hand, and suffering from the side effects of the experiment, he journeys to Midgar alone. It was there--after five years--Cloud meets Tifa once again. Taken in by a rebel group called "AVALANCHE" (which was begotten by an unnamed person who died, but it was later led by Elfe sometime before the Wutai war), Cloud began his life anew as a mercenary.
AVALANCHE's full purpose is to dismantle Shin-Ra Inc, and preserve the planet's future. The second generation of AVALANCHE is led by a coal miner named Barret Wallace. He, and three other members, Jesse, Biggs and Wedge, keep the legacy alive. With Cloud's help, they destroy the mako reactor located in Sector 3 (Midgar is composed of eight sectors). After to have completed their mission, the group heads back to 7th Heaven (Tifa's bar, located in Sector 7, and AVALANCHE's hideout).
Once Cloud & the gang reached 7th Heaven, a meeting was called to the lower quaters of the bar. Having a moment alone, Tifa & Cloud had a brief conversation. She worried about his health, being that Tifa found him one day at the train station, sprawled over the steps. At the time, he was still suffering from the effects of the experiment. Being a good friend that she is, Tifa takes Cloud back to a place of refuge: 7th Heaven (this is also where Cloud got introduced to AVALANCHE).
After having an altercation with Barret (his trust wanes with Cloud because he had affiliations with Shin-Ra), Cloud decides to take his assistance elsewhere. But before he could walk out the door, Tifa stops him. She brought Cloud to reminisce the promise that he made. A vow that he'd help Tifa whenever she's in a bind. This alone was enough to convince Cloud to accompany AVALANCHE in their next mission.
This time around, AVALANCHE splits into two groups, and journeys through the train tunnel. Upon achieving what they set out to do (setting a bomb to destroy the reactor), Cloud, Tifa, and Barret found themselves cornered. The founder of Shin-Ra Inc., President Shinra, and a number of his troops prevented the trio from escaping (the were headed to a nearby exit from the bridge to the train station). It was the destruction of the mako reactors that aroused President Shinra's attention. After bantering with the three, he summons Air Buster, a highly advance robot to eliminate Cloud and the gang.
With the quick departure of President Shinra, the three cell team battles & defeats Air Buster. But their victory was short lived, the robot self-destructs & damage a section of the bridge. With all the confusion the explosion caused, Barret & Tifa discovers Cloud hanging from a metal rod. Somehow he was thrown into the gap by the explosion. Barret tries to save him, but Cloud ensures he'll be okay, and to get Tifa to somewhere safe.
Afterwards, the bomb they've planted within the reactor detonates, which cued the group to split. As for Cloud, he descends from the bridge and lands in an abandon church. Lying on a bed of flowers, Cloud hears a voice, speaking of events that happened five years ago. The voice seem familiar but he couldn't muster up a name. Before long, he is awaken by a voice of a young woman, the flower girl--Aeris Gainsborough.
The two introduce themselves and began conversating, but the meet was cut short. Like uninvited guests, three individuals crept through the doors ajar. It was Reno of the Turks (a group that perform covert operations on Shin-Ra's behalf) and two other Shin-Ra guards that impeded their fun. Cloud attempted to confront the trio, but he was stopped by Aerith. She asks him to be her bodyguard, and see her to safety.
Though she was low on funds, her payment is to go on one date with him. Cloud was hesitant, but being that "odd jobs" are apart of his job description, he accepts. After exchanging a few words with Reno, the two fled the scene through an exit. Reno noticed that Cloud possesses "the mark of SOLDIER", and commence pursuing Cloud and Aeris. There, in the rear section of the church, Cloud and his new friend make their way upstairs.
Not a long after, they come to a portion of the floor that was missing. It was preventing them from reaching the second flight of stairs. Cloud leaps over the opening easily, but Aeris couldn't match Cloud's athleticism. And at that moment, Reno and his crew enters the room. Upon their entry, Reno locates Aeris and command the guards to capture her.
Rounds of gunfire were let off, which causes Aeris to panic and fall through the opening. Now finding herself being approached by the guards, she calls out for Cloud. But he is unable to ward off the danger personally, so Cloud searches for an alternative. What he finds are lonely barrels located at the roof of the church. He makes his way up to the wooden beams, and reaches the first barrel.
He pushes the empty cask off the beam, and smashes on one of the guards. With one foe defeated, Aeris heads upstairs once again. But she was still being tailed, as the last guard follows her lead. Noticing an adjacent barrel, Clouds hurries over and drops the second cask. It rolled downstairs and took the remaining guard along for the ride.
Aeris finally catches up with Cloud, and together, they exit the church through a large roof hole. After the whole ordeal, Aeris tells Cloud that she was being chased by "those guys" for months. He gives her a briefing about the Turks with some witticism. They both laugh and journey through the slums of Sector 5. Once they've reached Aeris's house, Cloud comes to a decision.
Though Aeris offer to chaperone Cloud to Sector 7, he thought it was in her best interest to stay behind. But she insisted and alerted her mother, Elmyra, of her departure. Elmyra thought it'd be wise for them to head out early tomorrow morning. With the proceedings, she gives Cloud a room to bunk. While resting, Cloud has a flashback to when he visited his mother during the Nibelheim mission.
It's a memory revisited while lying on the bed; something that's deeply cherished. But Cloud soon realize that he must've dosed off, and left Aeris' house without her knowing. But little did he know, Aeris was waiting for him in Sector 5 slums.
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