Cloud’s Subconscious
The inner workings of Cloud have become an incredibly polarizing aspect of Final Fantasy VII—many fans seem to either completely love or flat-out hate it.
Final Fantasy VII is riddled with moments where its protagonist has introspective episodes.
During these times, which often take place on an empty screen, Cloud will ask himself questions and think aloud in a way that can seem incoherent and confusing to first-time players.
To some, it helps build the story of a deeply disturbed hero. To others, it’s just more text boxes to mash through.
Cloud experiences multiple flashbacks throughout the game, too. He goes through a rather notable one in Kalm, and there’s also the infamous Nibelheim Incident. However, neither scene holds a candle to when Cloud and Tifa fall into the Lifestream in Mideel.
Following this event is one of the longest periods of dialogue in the entire game, one that can take up to 30 minutes depending on your in-game text speed and reading ability.
This is a point of the game where, with the help of Tifa, Cloud searches for himself and recalls several key moments of his life. There are no cutscenes, and it’s arguably the most important point in Cloud’s story development.
The remake of Final Fantasy VII has a huge opportunity to capitalize on this part of the game to tell the story better than the PlayStation original ever could.
Through voice acting and eighth-generation visuals, Square Enix has a chance to make the hairs on the back of our necks stand up.
