With every Final Fantasy game the rumor and speculation patrols are always out in full force. Sometimes their theories are spot on, and occasionally they are downright outlandish. The latest Final Fantasy rumor, circulating around Final Fantasy XIII, falls somewhere in-between of these two extremes.
It is all thanks to the latest Final Fantasy XIII trailers released. During the final seconds of the Final Fantasy XIII trailer a young man, riding a crazy motorcycle, sporting blond hair, and wielding a firearm similar to the enemies makes his entrance before the FFXIII logo flashes onto the screen. Seems some of the FF communities believe this to be the one and only Cloud Strife.
Now being a FF fanatic myself, nothing would make me happier than for this to be Cloud. But in my humble opinion there is no evidence, or any logical reason why we would consider this to be Cloud Strife. Cloud never uses guns, doesn’t wear white, his motorcycle never transformed into Shiva; the list goes on. The more likely explanation is that the blonde haired man is simply a new character who just so happens have a resemblance to Cloud.
The whole world of FFXIII also doesn’t jive with being a continuation of Final Fantasy VII. Final Fantasy VII was the first 3D RPG of the franchise and is considered by many fans the most beloved of the series.
The world of FFVII was dark and gritty giving the game a slight post industrial age vibe, which when coupled with the dark storyline of a mad man trying to take the power of an ancient race of gods, made Final Fantasy VII one of the darker FFs in the franchise. The beacon of light in this dark world was of course Cloud and his group of companions who fought to defend the planet, would also ultimately discover the hidden past of Cloud.
This trailer doesn’t show a single sign of that world. If anything the advanced tech, colorful clothing and fantastic environments come off as a FFVIII and FFIX combo if nothing else.
So while the idea of this being Cloud is tempting, the evidence just isn’t there to support it. Let’s just keep hoping for a remake on the PlayStation 3 for FFVII and let FFXIII be its standalone title.
[Via GamesRadar]
