No, I don't want his mopey ass in my party!

[Wolf Kanno]

Cloud always has to be in your party except for one brief sequence in Disc 2 but unlike say Chrono Trigger where Crono is always in your party, but once he returns, you have the option to continue playing without him in your party, Cloud returns to default main hero mode despite most of his story being resolved. So the question is, had VII followed CT's mechanic and you could boot Cloud out of your party, who would your new three man team be?

I'd probably do Cid, Tifa, and Barret. Cid and Barret cause they have powerful limit breaks and are likable characters, and Tifa simply because she's useful in battle despite being a whiny stupid wench.

[CimminyCricket]

Vincent, Red XIII and, well, Cloud. They all have limit breaks that do multiple hits (Red's actually isn't his final limit break) and I find that useful. xD

[Sephex]

Cid, Vincent, and Tifa. No real reason.

[Tigmafuzz]

Cid, Vincent, Nanaki.

[Wolf Kanno]

Vincent, Red XIII and, well, Cloud. They all have limit breaks that do multiple hits (Red's actually isn't his final limit break) and I find that useful. xD

The point of the thread is to make a party without Cloud.

[Flying Arrow]

For me, probably Tifa, Barrett, and either Red or Vincent. Every time I've played the game it's usually been two of these four + Cloud for the final battle. I've never really done much with Yuffie, Cait Sith, or Cid outside of their mandatory sections.

[CimminyCricket]

Vincent, Red XIII and, well, Cloud. They all have limit breaks that do multiple hits (Red's actually isn't his final limit break) and I find that useful. xD

The point of the thread is to make a party without Cloud.

I couldn't do it.

[Psychotic]

I wouldn't want to boot Cloud out of my party. He's not mopey; he is just a complete and utter asshole and it's hilarious. It's a shame KH, AC and other later versions of Cloud portrayed him as a self-pitying tool, but the original FFVII Cloud was a dick. Barret and Cid would complete the comedy trio.

[VeloZer0]

He's not mopey; he is just a complete and utter asshole and it's hilarious. It's a shame KH, AC and other later versions of Cloud portrayed him as a self-pitying tool, but the original FFVII Cloud was a dick.

Quoted and bolded.

I would go with Cid, Red XIII & Yuffie. Cid because he is awesome and goes in every party. The rest is really a process of elimination, I don't like Cait, Vincent or Barret and I don't think Tifa is a particularly useful character. So I am left with Red and WK's favorite character.

[DMKA]

Cloud has Omni-Slash, and aside of the limit breaks and weapon types, all the characters are clones. Why on earth would I want to replace Cloud, Cid or Barret with one of those other characters with a useless one-hit ultimate limit break?

I guess I'd use Yuffie, Barret and Cid, but I'd have to keep Yuffie set on Level 3 for Doom of the Living.

[Hollycat]

Yuffie, Cid Vincent.

Yuffie and Vincent are long ranged, and have the two best ultimate weapons, and cid is just pretty awesome.
I might exchange Cid and Cloud every now and then.

[Jiro]

Yuffie, Cid Vincent.

Yuffie and Vincent are long ranged, and have the two best ultimate weapons, and cid is just pretty awesome.
I might exchange Cid and Cloud every now and then.

If you through the Long Range materia on Cid then you suddenly have a backrow party capable of smashing the trout outta folks. Plus they're some of my favourite characters, so wins all around.

[Jinx]

Yuffie, Tifa, Red.

I think I'm in the minority that I like Yuffie. Tifa is BA, and who doesn't love Nanaki?

[Skyblade]

I wouldn't want to boot Cloud out of my party. He's not mopey; he is just a complete and utter asshole and it's hilarious. It's a shame KH, AC and other later versions of Cloud portrayed him as a self-pitying tool, but the original FFVII Cloud was a dick. Barret and Cid would complete the comedy trio.

The most memorable bit of character development Cloud gets is the shattering of his persona. His betrayal, descent into madness, and salvation (at the hands of Tifa) are probably one of the single most memorable bits of development for an individual character in gaming.

So, when the developers look back at Cloud and try to work from his personality, that's what they think of. Which is a shame, because while that was very important and very well executed, it really is not at all what Cloud's personality as a whole is about.

I have to admit, though, I do think they have realized their mistake. Lightning from XIII was based on Cloud, and they did seem to capture his dickishness really well.

If you through the Long Range materia on Cid then you suddenly have a backrow party capable of smashing the tit outta folks. Plus they're some of my favourite characters, so wins all around.

I thought if your whole party was in the back rank, you lost the benefits. That it was only while they were behind the rest of the team that it worked. Been too long since I've looked at that mechanic to be sure though.




As for my party, it would be hard to leave Cloud, as he gets one of the only two weapons in the game with Triple Materia growth. But I'd probably pick Tifa (because Tifa is awesome), Cid, and Yuffie. Tifa for sheer awesomeness. Cid for the Scimitar. And Yuffie for the Conformer.

[VeloZer0]

I don't know why people think the Scimitar is so good weapon for AP growth.
2 slots x 3 = 6 slots worth of AP
The Dragoon lance has 8 slots, so even at x1 you are still getting 33% more AP.
And if you take something like the Javelin:
5 slots x 2 = 10 slots worth of AP