Dissidia

In all honesty I don't know if I'm in any position to judge anything in Dissidia as I've never played it. So take everything I say with a grain of salt. Also this page does contain unmarked Dissidia spoilers. If you haven't played and don't wish to see spoilers, don't view this page.

Exhibit #1: This is part of the script:

Cecil: "Cloud... Did Firion give you his answer?"
Cloud: "Yeah. He says he has a dream. And that he'll keep fighting until he can make it come true."
Cecil: "Sounds like Firion, sure enough."
Cloud: "He told you?"
Cecil: "Yes, although he was embarrassed at first. He says he wants to create a world where wild roses grow in perpetual peace."
Cloud: "Sounds so...childlike."
Cecil: "Honest men have honest dreams."
Cloud: "Maybe he wished it on a star. What about you, Cecil?"
The Cloti side:

This is an obvious reference to the promise Cloud made to Tifa under the stars in Nibelheim.		 The Clerith side:

It's not a reference to Cloud's promise at all; however, Clerith can be represented by stars as Cait Sith's prediction stated that Cloud's star and Aerith's star were perfect for one another.
Thoughts: I never would have considered this a reference to Cloud's promise unless it was pointed out to me. I would think if they were trying to reference the promise, it would have been clearer and not so vague. Something more along the lines of, "Maybe he made a promise under the stars." would have worked better. So, I don't feel the line was referencing that at all. On the other end of the spectrum, Cait Sith's prediction was said by the creators to be total BS, so I don't see Cloud and Aerith ever being represented by stars.

Conclusion: The statement is neither Clerith or Cloti.

Exhibit #2: This part of the script:

Sephiroth: "Yet my shadow is burned into your heart. We'll meet again, Cloud. I'll keep coming back-as long as you are who you are." *Sephiroth disappears*
Cloud: "No thanks. The one I really want to meet is..."
The Cloti side:

  • Since Cloud never finishes his sentense, we don't know who he would have said. He might want to meet Zack or even go back to meet Tifa
  • It's Aerith he wants to meet, but it's only for forgiveness.
    		•  The Clerith side:

    Cloud wants to meet Aerith out of love and wants to be with her.
    Thoughts: I don't doubt that Aerith is the one Cloud's talking about. As for why he wants to meet Aerith, that would depend upon when exactly Dissidia takes place. If you believe it takes place after FFVII: ACC, then Cloud wanting to meet Aerith could certainly indicate that he wishes to be with her. If you believe it takes place before ACC, Cloud would want to meet Aerith to be forgiven. In order to properly access what is meant by this statement, we have to figure out when the story takes place.

    There's information in the Dissidia Ultimania about ACC which at first would make one believe it takes place after, but the information about ACC is very general such as fight quotes. In fact as Mako Eyes pointed out, "After their final confrontation it's heavily implied Sephiroth intends to see Cloud again and exact his revenge. He tells Cloud that as long as his darkness is burned into his heart, he'll come back and they'll meet again. Hmm...doesn't that sounds suspiciously like a certain homoerotic third person novella that came out recently?" Cloud also mentions a few times in Dissidia that he wishes for forgiveness. Cloud was all ready forgiven in ACC, so it would seem odd that he would suddenly backtrack. He also starts out in his SOLDIER uniform from FFVII and can switch to his ACC outfit later on. I believe this provides solid evidence that the events in Dissidia take place before the events of ACC. Because of this, I don't believe Cloud wishes to meet Aerith out of love since there is not a single quote from Square Enix that ever stated that Cloud wished to see Aerith again out of anything more than guilt. In fact when he finally met her again in ACC, he said he wanted to be forgiven.

    Conclusion: Cloud wishes to meet Aerith so he can be forgiven, not out of romance.

    Exhibit #3: This part of the script:

    Terra: "He's an earnest man, isn't he? And you, Cloud... What's your dream?"
    Cloud: "I've lost mine."
    The Cloti side:

    The dream he's talking about was the dream where he wanted to become a SOLDIER and be like the great Sephiroth. He never made SOLDIER and the man he admired (Sephiroth) ended up being not so admirable.    		 The Clerith side:

    Cloud's dream was to be with Aerith but when she died, he lost that dream.
    Thoughts: Well you can't base this one on just Dissidia alone. You have to look at a lot of quotes by Square Enix and the Ultimanias. Once again there is not a single quote by them that says that Cloud wishes to meet Aerith out of love or that that it is his dream to be with her, so the Clerith argument here doesn't hold much ground; however, there were quite a few times when Cloud talks about how he never made SOLDIER and that was a goal of his in FFVII. Even in FFVII AC he says he's only First Class Soldier in his head.

    Conclusion: The dream Cloud's most likely referring to, is his dream of making SOLDIER.

    Exhibit #4: Cloud's crystal that is given to him is a rather large materia.
    The Cloti side:

    It's just materia and when Sephiroth gave it to him he said it was what Cloud dispised most.    		 The Clerith side:

    It's Aerith's holy materia. Several of the other characters receive crystals significant to their true love, such as Squall recieving a feather from Riona, and this is showing Aerith is Cloud's true love.
    Thoughts: Well first of all, isn't holy supposed to be white? Second of all, Sephiroth states that taking the crystal will result in further meaningless battles which means more torment for Cloud. It is because of this, it's stated to be what Cloud despises the most. I believe, however, that the most obvious scenario in this case, is that Sephiroth is trying to make Cloud waver. I don't believe that Sephiroth said this because his crystal truly was something he despised but rather he's just messing with him. Third of all, Squall's crystal isn't the feather, it's a silver crystal that looks rather spiky. The feather is simply something he plucked from the air.

    Conclusion: It's materia tied to the FFVII world, and not connected to anyone he loves.

    Exhibit #5: The flower field Cloud walks through in the end of the game.
    The Cloti side:

  • The flowers represent peace for Cloud, not Aerith.
  • In a conversation he had with Terra, she mentions a world where they can all live together, and his favorite flower would be there along with hers. The flowers Cloud walks through are also an allusion to that statement.
  • The flowers can't prove Clerith because Squall was also standing in the flower field.
    		•  The Clerith side:

    Aerith has always been represented by flowers and the flower field Cloud stands proves he wishes to be with her. It's also stated that at the end they go "back to where they belong" so Cloud belongs with Aerith.
    Thoughts: Well you'd be going against the creators to say that Aerith did not = flowers. Nomura has stated this:
    "In Aerith's case, she continually has the "flower" image all through-out the series." ~Nomura interview; Dengeki Mao magazine, Oct. 2007

    Notice he says "series" and not just "Compilation." We all ready know that Dissidia is part of the Final Fantasy series so it's safe to assume whenever FFVII and flowers are involved, Aerith is most likely involved as well; however, I don't feel that the "back to where they belong" means that Cloud belongs with Aerith. It meant they went back to their home worlds and Cloud went back to Gaia, which is where he belongs.

    On the "flowers = peace" argument, in the end of Advent Children Cloud was seen driving by a flower field, and later flowers were shown on his desk. Now, this is after he's free of his guilt and finally happy, so there is some truth to the Cloti statement, but I wouldn't go so far to say that's the ONLY thing the flowers represent.

    If the statement that Terra said was true about a world where they all live together with their favorite flowers was true, other people would have been surrounded by flowers as well, not just Cloud and Squall. However as the flowers are around Cloud and are very similar to the ones from ACC (if not exact), it's a pretty safe assumption that they are an outside reference to Aerith. As for Squall, well, he could be standing there as a connection to the flower field in FFVIII where he made his promise to Riona. So basically it helps both players and that's why they're both there.

    Now I am a Cloti, but I'm not someone that thinks that every bit of Clerith evidence has to be debunked or refuted. Having said that, I don't mind giving the Cleriths this one. The flowers are a blatient reference to Aerith and I always kind of saw it as her guiding Cloud back to his home. She is after all, always with him in spirit.

    Conclusion: The flowers are a definite reference to Aerith. Whether or not it has to do with romance or true love would depend on your view of the Compilation.

    Exhibit #6: Cloud's "profile" mentions Aerith.
    The Cloti side:

    That's not Cloud's profile, it's a recap of FFVII. Rosa is not mentioned in Cecil's profile. Princesses Sara, Hilda, and Lenne are mentioned in the profiles of heroes who they have no romance with.    		 The Clerith side:

    Aerith is mentioned in Cloud's Dissidia profile in the same way that Squall's Dissidia profile mentions Rinoa, Zidane's Dissidia profile mentions Garnet, and Tidus's Dissidia profile mentions Yuna.
    Thoughts: I don't think this really requires a whole lot of thought. In actuality, Aerith is NOT in Cloud's profile, but if you click on the FFVII logo above his head, a brief description of Cloud's journey is given, and yes it does mention Aerith. The reason this isn't that special is because the same exact thing is on Sephiroth's page. (see right) Obviously, Sephiroth and Aerith aren't a couple. Plus as pointed out above, not all profiles have a mention of a significant other. Rosa is not mentioned in Ceceil's profile and other profiles list people who were not love interests.

    Conclusion: First off, it's not Cloud's profile that Aerith is listed in. Second of all, with all the evidence above, there's no real way to conclude that Aerith having a mention in the FFVII blurb has anything to do with her being Cloud's true love.