In terms of the FFVII Compilation or the whole FF franchise, Cloud stands out. We get to look into and explore his psychology in a way we have never done with anyone else. This is masterfully done by giving us an incomplete Cloud for all of Disk 1. We know something is wrong with him but we don't know what. The Cloud we see isn't a total fake but he's not the genuine article either. It sets up a mystery that we long to know the answer to. Just what is Cloud's deal?

We get our answer next disk. Cloud, in an unprecedented fashion throughout the series, gets mentally and emotionally torn down. We see the mask covering his being is ripped away and he's reduced to a pitiful shell, begging Hojo for a number because even being an object of some note is preferable to being nothing at all. Cloud is, quite frankly, destroyed and if the thing he became after Sephiroth's mind games was bad enough, finding him in Mideal is even worse. One of the most memorable moments in any FF game ever is seeing our proud hero as a drooling vegetable, struggling to even raise his head or breath. That cocky ex-SOLDIER who we were first introduced to is now utterly helpless.

But as cruel as it was, it was necessary. With all the lies and illusions dispelled, we could finally meet the 100% real Cloud. Who was he? Just a guy like you or me. Not an elite supersoldier badass. He was just a little dork who wanted to belong, who wanted the cute neighbor girl to notice him. She always did like him of course but we al know how that is. Two shy people just keep glancing passed each other because neither can admit their feelings and they're scared of rejection. It's a sad irony of life that the other person might have loved you all along but you were so afraid they didn't that you never could muster up the nerve to find out one way or another.

But even if he hadn't become the hero he wanted to be, Cloud was still awesome. He still defeated the greatest supersoldier ever. He still went on to lead AVALANCHE because he wanted to save the world. No longer consumed by vengeance, he merely wished to protect the innocent and those precious to him.

Cloud grows so much more than any other main character in the series, even Ashe. No one else has been built, destroyed and then rebuilt. It was masterfully done and subverted so many expectations.