User blog:Riolu-San/Useful Notes: Ike vs Cloud Strife

Ike
“My swordfighting skills were given to me by my father. If I stay true to them, I cannot lose.”

Cloud
"I pity you. You just don't get it at all... there's not a thing I don't cherish!"

Ike
Ike is the son of  Greil, and assumes leadership of the Greil Mercenaries after his father is killed by the  Black Knight. For the most of the game, he is in the service of Princess  Elincia, serving as her personal bodyguard.

Cloud
Cloud was born in the mountain village of Nibelheim, and was neighbors with Tifa Lockhart. His father died when he was young and he was raised by his mother. As a child, Cloud had no close friends and perhaps as a coping mechanism, convinced himself he was superior to the other village children and so didn't care for their company. He had a crush on Tifa, but hated her friends, calling them immature. Although the two consider each other (and are considered by others) to be childhood friends, by Tifa's own account they were not close growing up, despite him having been her neighbor.

When Cloud was nine, Tifa's mother died, and Tifa insisted she could meet her by crossing Mt. Nibel. Cloud followed her and when a bridge collapsed he fell when trying to save her. He escaped unharmed but Tifa's life was in grave danger. The townsfolk believed the expedition up the mountain to have been Cloud's idea, andTifa's father forbade Cloud from approaching her. Cloud blamed himself for failing to save her and developed an anger problem, getting into fights for little to no reason.

At the age of thirteen Cloud learned of Sephiroth and his exploits. Resolving to become a hero like him, Cloud decided to set out and join SOLDIER. He called Tifa out to the water tower to tell her about his departure, hoping to impress her and upon her request promised to save her if she ever found herself in trouble. The following spring, he left for Midgar.

Ike
Ike has little memory of his life in Gallia as a young child, and prior to joining the Greil Mercenaries, expresses an ignorance towards the existence of the Laguz race. This has had a positive effect on Ike's character, as he is portrayed to bear no prejudice against the Laguz race, whereupon he winds up gaining their trust with his actions, one of which include defending Ranulf from being assaulted by a group of Beorc.

Ike is rather naïve when he is introduced, often taking things at face value. He is characterized by a kind and brave personality, and is very protective of his friends and family.

Despite having played a major role in liberating Crimea from Daein, Ike is shown to be rather humble, and seeks no reward for his actions, save for the fees he charges as a mercenary. By the end of the story, he has realized his role as a mercenary in Tellius is over, and leaves for lands unknown.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Ike's confidence is shown through his taunts, saying "prepare yourself" in one of them, folding his arms in the other, and in the final one taunting the enemy by holding up his sword.

Cloud
Cloud is a somber character, tormented by guilt over what he perceives as his past failings to save those he cares about. The final straw was contracting the terminal Geostigma plague, adding to his feelings of helplessness. Distancing from his friends and living alone, Cloud tries to keep his affliction secret. Cloud faces his past both metaphorically and literally, and with the shows of loyalty from the friends he tried to let go he comes to forgive himself and moves on. It is unclear what this ultimately means in terms of his personality and lifestyle.

Ike

 * HP: +4
 * Strength: +2
 * Magic: +4
 * Skill: +2
 * Speed: +2
 * Defense: +2
 * Resistance: +4
 * Con: +0
 * Move: +0
 * A  Rank
 * Aether Skill

Cloud
 Cloud wields a variety of weapons throughout his appearances. His most iconic weapon is the Buster Sword, a massive two-handed broadsword he wields in Final Fantasy VII and most of his spin-off appearances. In Final Fantasy VII Cloud can equip katanas and other greatswords as well, though he continues to wield the Buster Sword in cutscenes.

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:(0,0,0);font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">Cloud's ultimate weapon is the Ultima Weapon, which sports the strongest Base Attack stat in the game, that increases in power the higher Cloud's HP is. Among his arsenal is the Apocalypse, one of only two equipment pieces in the game to give Triple Materia Growth, the other being Cid's Scimitar. Apocalypse is also one of two weapons that does an overall growth of greater than eight, the maximum amount of materia in any weapon or armor. Apocalypse has three triple materia growth, meaning it does the work of nine materia slots. The only other weapon in Final Fantasy VII that offered an overall materia growth of higher than eight is the Javelin, a weapon also belonging to Cid. As such if the player is looking for the most efficient way to develop their materia, a party with Cloud equipped with the Apocalypse and Cid equipped with the Javelin is the most desired set up. His Yoshiyuki increases attack power by the number of dead allies in the active party.

<p style="font-weight:normal;margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:(0,0,0);font-size:14px;line-height:22px;">Cloud has seven Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VII: Braver and Cross-slashare his level 1 limits, Blade Beam and Climhazzard are his level 2 limits,Meteorain and Finishing Touch are his level 3 limits; and his level 4 limit isOmnislash.