Cloud Strife's Contest History

Who is Cloud?
He is Cloud Strife, former SOLDIER First Class, and the main character of the site that made GameFAQs famous: Final Fantasy 7. Cloud believes that he knows what his true past is, but he is constantly plagues by flashbacks and always has voices inside of his head calling him, taunting him, torturing him, and at certain times, the voices even guide him. Cloud soon begins to question the very reality that he has come to known as "truth", and soon wonders if everything he has believed is his true life, or merely an illusion placed there by an unknown force.

As Final Fantasy 7 progresses, Cloud listens to one mission, and one mission only: find Sephiroth, and get his revenge against him for the torture that Sephiroth has caused Cloud for what is seemingly the entire span of his own existence. But as Cloud progresses on his quest, is Cloud truly accomplishing anything, or is his very goal of finding the real Sephiroth playing right into Sephiroth's desires as well? All members of SOLDIER are infused with Jenova cells, as was Sephiroth. Are Cloud's desires his own free will, or is it his destiny? Is Cloud no different from the other soulless dregs whose soul purpose is to find Sephiroth and transmutate their power unto his own?

But that is no matter. Cloud is a proud man, a former SOLDIER, and be it fate or free will, he will see through his role to the end no matter the cost.

''"Sephiroth... I... I have to settle the score..." -Cloud Strife''

Contest History
Win-Loss Record: 23-5

Summer 2002 Contest: North Division - 2 seed


 * Northern Round 1 --- Defeated (15) Fox McCloud, 54643 [74.61%] - 18599 [25.39%]
 * Northern Quarterfinal --- Defeated (7) Pikachu, 59926 [79.51%] - 15445 [20.49%]
 * Northern Semifinal --- Defeated (6) Alucard, 51787 [69.64%] - 22578 [30.36%]
 * Northern Final --- Lost to (1) Mario, 64713 [49.89%] - 64990 [50.11%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 8th Place [37.39%]

Summer 2003 Contest: East Division - 1 seed


 * Eastern Round 1 --- Defeated (16) CATS, 94086 [86.91%] - 14168 [13.09%]
 * Eastern Quarterfinal --- Defeated (8) Auron, 81716 [72.2%] - 31470 [27.8%]
 * Eastern Semifinal --- Defeated (5) Bowser, 77991 [70.03%] - 33381 [29.97%]
 * Eastern Final --- Defeated (2) Sonic the Hedgehog, 71651 [66.21%] - 36571 [33.79%]
 * Final Four --- Defeated (1) Link, 76199 [51.61%] - 71438 [48.39%]
 * Finals --- Defeated (2) Sephiroth, 64578 [51.89%] - 59865 [48.11%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 1st Place [50.00%]

Summer 2004 Contest: Midgar Division - 1 seed


 * Midgar Round 1 --- Defeated (16) Duke Nukem, 71329 [80.19%] - 17624 [19.81%]
 * Midgar Quarterfinal --- Defeated (8) Vyse, 74199 [81.41%] - 16947 [18.59%]
 * Midgar Semifinal --- Defeated (4) Squall, 68050 [76.21%] - 21240 [23.79%]
 * Midgar Final --- Defeated (2) Sephiroth, 51179 [56.00%] - 40211 [44.00%]
 * Final Four --- Defeated (2) Samus Aran, 59867 [59.01%] - 41584 [40.99%]
 * Finals --- Lost to (1) Link, 59910 [48.18%] - 64443 [51.82%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 2nd Place [48.18%]

With the sole exception of Cloud's slip-up against Mario in 2002, Cloud has been one of the two biggest forces in the entire contest setting. And even in that contest, the argument can be made that Cloud would have won the match had there not been three major factors going against him. One, Super Mario Sunshine was released on the day of the match. Two, Cloud was up by 1000 votes when www.planetgamecube.com posted a link to the poll. And finally, there was a mysterious 500 vote jump in Mario's vote total that was never looked into despite photo evidence that someone may have done something fishy in Mario's favor. The 2002 stats are misleading in that Cloud surely would have finished at least second in the Xsts had he won that match.

With the sole exception of that one match in that one contest, only Link could possibly be considered more dominant than Cloud. Link is the only character to have beaten Cloud in the past two contests, and has a better win-loss record at 16-1. But with that said, it is a marvel to look at Cloud's numbers. In the three Summer Contests, Cloud has managed to score at least 80% three times, at least 70% eight times, and at least 60% ten times. He is not only the only character to ever beat Link, but he is the only character aside from Sephiroth to even break 40% on Link. He is the only character to have ever held Sonic the Hedgehog under 40%, and he is the only character aside from Link to have ever held Sephiroth under 45%.

To put it in simple terms, Cloud is one of two characters that has grown to be so dominant in these contests that there has been talk of retiring any and all contest winners. It isn't a matter of whether or not Cloud will win his matches anymore, but by how much. Mark my words, Cloud would have finished #2 in the Xsts in 2002 had he managed to take down Mario. Crono wouldn't have taken him down, and he would have beaten the percentage that Sephiroth managed to score on Link. And it is no coincidence that Mario and Cloud have gone in opposite directions since their fabled match in 2002. When there is talk of retiring you from all future contests, it speaks volumes about how damned good you are in polls. Cloud is so powerful that despite Board 8 and even the Final Fantasy 7 board itself not liking him at all, Cloud still manages to overcome any and all odds every single year. If that doesn't prove how good he is, then I don't know what does. No matter who Cloud faces in a match, they are virtually guaranteed to get the early lead simply because of how much Cloud is hated by two separate boards. I find that to be a compliment more than anything, because only those who have success wind up being hated in any competitve setting.

If your name isn't Link, then you will not beat Cloud. Period. This is why every character not named Link is hoping that winners are retired from future contests, because it means that they will not be fated to get their asses handed to them by the likes of Link or Cloud no matter how well they manage to do. But this is more of a compliment than a hate factor. Cloud has been so damned good in these contests that people want to see him gone. And that, I believe, is the biggest compliment that can be given to any character that has appeared in the contests.

Summer 2005 Contest: Tournament of Champions - 2 Seed


 * Tournament of Champions Semifinal --- Lost to (1) Link, 56724 [47.56%] - 62541 [52.44%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 2nd Place [47.56%]

Cloud has historically been one of those characters too dominant for the main bracket, and as such he was one of the characters taken out of the main bracket and put into the Tournament of Champions. This was a good idea, though Cloud was stuck facing Link in the first match in a year in which Nintendo had boosted all over the place. Cloud made a fight out of it, but was rolled over once the morning vote hit.

One could assume that Cloud would have gotten beaten down far worse than he did if Advent Children wasn't released during the Summer 2005 Contest. Link almost breaking 52.5% in a Link/Cloud match could be considered a blowout, but one could only imagine how strong Link would have been in this match without Cloud's AC support. It's a shame that Cloud is on a two match losing streak at the moment, and the bad news could continue for him is his destiny is to simply face Link in special matches every year. Cloud and Sephiroth really should have been switched around in the TOC bracket.

Summer 2006 Contest: Battle Royal


 * Battle Royale Day 1 --- Outlasted Samus, 37779 [23.71%] - 12335 [7.74%]
 * Battle Royale Day 2 --- Outlasted Mario, 34454 [24.27%] - 15878 [11.18%]
 * Battle Royale Day 3 --- Outlasted Sephiroth, 32131 [23.70%] - 22754 [16.79%]
 * Battle Royale Day 4 --- Outlasted Solid Snake, 54057 [35.71%] - 29733 [19.64%]
 * Battle Royale Final --- Lost to Link, 70195 [46.07%] - 82165 [53.93%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- N/A

Unless Cloud and fellow beats get thrown back into the main bracket, get used to this being his only setting --- that is, beating everyone other than Link in some post-main bracket gimmick.

Summer 2007 Contest: Division 2 - Second Group


 * Division 2 Round 1 --- 1st place, 87496 [61.24%] - Revolver Ocelot, 25256 [17.68%] - Jill Valentine, 22248 [15.57%] - Midgar Zolom, 7874 [5.51%]
 * Division 2 Round 2 --- 1st place, 81956 [56.10%] - Marcus Fenix, 22782 [15.59%] - Revolver Ocelot, 22006 [15.06%] - Kefka, 19348 [13.24%]
 * Division 2 Finals --- 1st place, 71041 [49.59%] - Ryu, 29007 [20.25%] - Auron, 26021 [18.16%] - Marcus Fenix, 17188 [12.00%]
 * Contest Quarterfinals --- 1st place, 59587 [41.23%] - Samus Aran, 41623 [28.80%] - Mega Man, 26641 [18.43%] - Ryu, 16682 [11.54%]
 * Contest Semifinals --- 2nd place, 40836 [28.46%] - Link, 55996 [39.02%] - Samus Aran, 24078 [16.78%] - Sephiroth, 22582 [15.74%]
 * Contest Finals --- 3rd place, 47834 [24.49%] - L-Block, 65462 [33.51%] - Link, 58100 [29.74%] - Solid Snake, 23964 [12.27%]

For the first time in three years, Cloud was inserted into the main bracket apart from Link, and he took full advantage of it. He was so dominant in his first four matches that people thought he might have a shot at Link himself, though he still fell short when the time came. The reason why we were so impressed with his dominance is that we've forgotten just how strong he is because this is the first time since 2004 that he's been involved in a match without Link in it. He may not still (or ever again) be up to par with the Legend of Zelda hero, but he proved that he's still untouched as this site's second strongest character.

...In a one-on-one format, that is. The L-Block is another story altogether.