Overnight Thoughts - Blog Posts
I want to express just a quick and superficial thought about the impact of Zack on SOLDIER-Cloud's personality since I've recently had a discussion about it.
Some months ago I stated that in this scene (not only here btw)...
... Cloud is mimicking Zack's attitude.
The person I was discussing with mentioned the quote from the Ultimania according to which "Cloud puts up a cool facade with Aerith and shows his real self when he's with Tifa", so what I had written had to be nothing but a great nonsense. Probably they thought I was trying to invalidate any romance between Cloud and Tifa in favour of Aerith, even if it would be a total contradiction since the fiercest CA fans spent more than two decades trying to loosen the connection between Zack and SOLDIER-Cloud... But I wouldn't be surprised to hear these kind of theories since the upcoming Ultimania Plus is seemingly going to show the same concept...
ANYWAY, no time for digressions.
I'd like to add a comparison with one of Cloud's DMW sequences from Crisis Core
I think it's hard not to notice the similarity with Tifa's resolution and the scene in Cloud's room in Chapter 4
But let it be clear, this doesn't mean - and I've never meant to say it - that Cloud is acting through Zack's intentions. As long as the devs don't provide further info, all we know is that Cloud didn't inherit Zack's memories, let alone his feelings. If so probably he would be much more devoted to Aerith.
Zack knew Cloud liked Tifa, he would have never flirted with her. Never.
Cloud's always been socially awkward, insecure, uncapable to approach Tifa in any way. Now I don't want to go too much into SOLDIER-Cloud's convoluted personality but he acts through his own intentions - confused intentions at this point of the story, but still his own. Only the way he expresses himself mimics Zack's.
That quote from the developers says that "when he talks to Tifa his real self briefly emerges". BRIEFLY. Stating that Cloud with Tifa is always his real self goes totally against this story and the dynamics behind the creation of his alter ego. His feelings for her are sealed deep into his subconscious, Cloud himself says "I don't know how to explain" when he's asked about what Tifa means for him.
That line has to be contextualized to make sense. I think this concept just shows something that was already in the OG: the player could choose to be rude with Aerith, even during her date (probably to show his conflicted feelings), but never with Tifa, he's always been istinctively soft with her. He gets jealous, he lets her into his personal space, he touches her and lets her touch him, and when they're in dangerous situations he's istinctively protective.
And not because Tifa is better than Aerith but because real-Cloud's character arc revolves around Tifa, like it or not. There's no need to twist a simple line from the devs nor to diminish the impact of Zack on SOLDIER-Cloud to prove it.