Throughout Final Fantasy VII and its compilation that expands its universe, Cloud Strife is portrayed as a revolutionary working for an eco-terrorist group called Avalanche against a mega corporation known as SHINRA, who plans to drain the world of its lifestream.

Yoshinori Kitase, director of VII, and Kazushige Nojima, an events planner, developed the story and wanted to create a mysterious character who acted atypically for a hero.

[18] Yoshitaka Amano, who handled character illustrations for previous Final Fantasy titles, painted promotional images for the game by taking Nomura's "drawings and put[ting his] own spin on them".

[15] Variations included additions such as a small chain connected to the pommel, magnets securing the blade to Cloud's back,[10] and a more detailed design that resembled a "Western-style sword".

He originally intended for Aerith's name to be the last one displayed in the backlog of ignored messages that appear as Cloud's cell phone sinks into the water, but altered the scene because it "sounded too creepy".

[35] The scene influenced composer Nobuo Uematsu's score, who grew excited after coming across it in his review of the script, commenting on the difficulty players who had finished Final Fantasy VII would have had imagining Cloud's smile.

[39] After deciding to give Cloud a simple costume consistent with the concept of "clothes designed for action", the staff began with the idea of a black robe, eventually parring it down to a "long apron" shifted to one side.

[13] Early on in Final Fantasy VII, Cloud crossdresses in order to find Tifa, and Nomura noted this event was popular with the fans and reassured that the remake would keep this part.

[50] Co-director Naoki Hamaguchi noted that since the original game offered the option for the player to decide Cloud's interest in a female character, he wanted the remake to retain this in the form of an intimate conversation when splitting from the main team.

These recordings left him feeling "deflated", as the "exchanges he has with Tifa can be pretty painful", with Sakurai commenting that Cloud—whom he empathized with as his voice actor—has a hard time dealing with straight talk.

[73] Beginning the game with the placeholder name "Ex-SOLDIER" (元ソルジャー, Moto Sorujā), Cloud assists AVALANCHE's leader, Barret Wallace, in bombing a Mako reactor, power plants which drain the planet's "Lifestream".

[81][82] Following the player's departure from Midgar, Cloud narrates his history with Sephiroth, a legendary member of SOLDIER and the game's primary antagonist, and the events that led to his disappearance five years prior.

Cloud joined SOLDIER to emulate Sephiroth, and explains that he would sign up for a "big mission" whenever they became available, as the conclusion of Shinra's war with the people of Wutai ended his chances for military fame.

As a result of exposure to Mako radiation and the injection of Jenova's cells,[90] Cloud's mind created a false personality largely based on Zack's, inadvertently erasing the latter from his memory.

In the 2005 animated film Advent Children, which is set two years after the conclusion of Final Fantasy VII,[94] Cloud lives with Tifa in the city of Edge along with Marlene, Barret's adopted daughter, and Denzel, an orphan affected by a rampant and deadly disease called Geostigma.

A year after the events of Advent Children,[103] Cloud, working alongside Barret and Tifa, lends his support to the ground forces of the World Regenesis Organization and his ally Vincent Valentine in their siege of Midgar and counterattack against the rogue Shinra military unit, Deepground.

Nomura stated that Cloud's left arm was inspired by Vincent Valentine, and explained that he wanted to give the character a more demon-like appearance due to his ties to the dark side in the game.

A memory-based version of Cloud appears in the Game Boy Advance sequel Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as a boss in the Olympus Coliseum[113] and later as a summon card for Sora.

[121] Animated and produced by Madhouse, based on a script by Kazuhiko Inukai, several scenes diverge from Final Fantasy VII's depiction of events, such as reinterpreting Cloud's rescue of Tifa by having her view his face.

[154] Square Enix's manager of merchandise, Kanji Tashiro, said at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con that Cloud's likeness has produced some of the company's best-selling items, and that fans could look forward to further adaptations of the character in the future.

[155] Popular models at the time included Cloud's Advent Children figurine and Final Fantasy VII Hardy-Daytona bike set, both of which sold particularly well in European and North American markets.

In his review of the PC release of Final Fantasy VII, Ron Dulin of GameSpot commented that "a simple understatement will have to suffice: Cloud is easily the most interesting and complex character ever presented in a game".

[162] The book Japanese Culture Through Videogames addresses Cloud as a complex fictional character, comparing him with Metal Gear's Solid Snake, Final Fantasy VI's Terra Branford, and Tekken's Jin Kazama due to his identity issues.

[171][172][173][174] The popularity of both relationships, how they were written and their partial ties to the original game's affinity mechanics have led to multiple instances of fan creations, fandom debates and ship wars, with many debating and arguing topics ranging from Tifa and Aerith's compatibility with Cloud to the canonicity and intent of his feelings towards either heroine through story and character analysis and authorial or supplemental materials (such as the Ultimanias, developer interviews and tie-in novels) across much of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII in the years since the original game's release.

[175][176] RPGamer writer Marie Freed states that she saw Tifa's loyalty and love for Cloud, even in the light of having to relive her own traumas, as admirable, and a welcome contrast to the "destined" romance seen in previous title Final Fantasy IV.

[186] Joystiq's Andrew Yoon opined that the director's cut version of the film provides more depth to Cloud's development, taking advantage of its longer runtime by better "humanizing [him]".

[188] Yoshinori Kitase said that the fight between Cloud and Sephiroth was popular enough to make Japanese gamers do a remake of it in Dissidia Final Fantasy and expected Western fans would also emulate it.

[191] Although The Verge pointed out that the series had featured other third-party characters like Solid Snake, Mega Man, and Sonic the Hedgehog, they nevertheless expressed surprise over Cloud's inclusion because of Final Fantasy VII's lack of release on a Nintendo console.

[212] When the game Nier failed to be a success in North America despite portraying an elder as a protagonist to appeal to Westerns, director Yoko Taro convinced other staff members to use instead a younger type for the English remaster version, using Cloud as an influence.

[213] IGN stated that Cloud set a trend for role-playing video game heroes,[214] describing his "spiky blond hair" and "gigantic Buster Sword" as "instantly identifiable icons, recognized by gamers around the world".