Cloud Strife

Cloud Strife is one of the playable characters in Super Smash Bros Tourney Legends

## Neutral B: Blade Beam

Swings the Buster Sword upward and in front of himself in order to launch a green, crescent-shaped energy beam as a projectile. It comes out and moves rather slowly, but travels a long distance and has a large hitbox. It is stronger if used on the ground and hits early. The aerial version is slower and deals less damage, but gives Cloud a Fall Break effect. Like most projectiles, it disappears on contact with an object or enemy.

The Limit Break variant possesses transcendent priority, moves much faster across the ground, grants Cloud’s entire body intangibility on startup and hits multiple times, with its last hit having great KO potential KOing at 102% near ledge. It is still weaker and slower when performed in midair, however. Upon hitting a wall, the Limit Break variant will not disappear and instead act as if hitting a player, making it an effective stage-spiking tool if performed under the ledge. However, this maneuver is rather risky considering Cloud's poor recovery.

## Up B: Climhazzard

A leaping reverse gripped slash. If the special button is pressed again, it is followed with a descending reverse gripped slash. The first hit deals set knockback that leads into the second hit, which has a sweetspot at the center of the Buster Sword's blade that meteor smashes opponents as Cloud descends. It is Cloud's primary recovery move, though it is notable for being very ineffective due to multiple traits: it grants mediocre distance with low vertical height and almost no horizontal momentum, and the descending slash cannot be canceled and isn't able to sweetspot the edge until Cloud has fallen a certain distance with it, making it unsuitable to use offstage. Its fast startup makes it a good surprise attack when grounded, particularly as an out of shield option.

Its Limit Break variant greatly strengthens the rising (but not falling) hits of the move (allowing it to KO grounded middleweights at 113%), allows it to sweetspot edges throughout, grants Cloud intangibility on startup and much greater vertical and horizontal distance.

## Side B: Cross Slash

Performs a downwards slash. On contact with an enemy, pressing the special button allows this slash to transition into a series of follow-up slashes, spelling the kanji 凶 (きょう) ("bad luck", "misfortune"). The full attack deals high damage and moderate knockback, making it a superb punishing option at close range. It is weak against shields, however, as all stages of the attack are slow and punishable if missed.

Its Limit Break variant results in Cloud unleashing all five strikes with a single input regardless of whether he hits anything. It also noticeably increases both the damage and KO potential of the move, KOing middleweights at 100% from the center of the stage, while reducing the move's ending lag to such an extent that it becomes nearly impossible to punish without being right behind Cloud as he unleashes the move while also granting intangibility to Cloud's body on startup. Additionally, Limit Cross Slash deals a high amount of shield damage, so much so that the final hit can sometimes break a middleweight's shield, making it risky to be near Cloud during Limit Break. When used in the air, it halts all momentum until the move is finished. It is commonly considered Cloud's most effective Limit Break move due to its abundance of positive traits.

## Down B: Limit Charge/Finishing Touch

Holds the Buster Sword horizontally in front of himself and remains still in order to manually charge the Limit Gauge. While the move is being held, a text box labeled "Limit" appears above Cloud, which contains a meter that denotes the current level of Limit and increases as it is charged. The Limit Gauge will reach full charge either by using Limit Charge for 335 frames but can be alternatively filled by dealing 150% or receiving 100% and each of these methods stacks with each other. When the Limit Gauge is fully charged, Cloud will say "限界を越える", which translates to "limits are meant to be broken" or "breaking the limit". The move can be charge-canceled by pressing the shield button, hitting the control stick left or right (which triggers a roll), grabbing, or pressing the special button again (the latter of which has an 8-frame delay). When the Limit Gauge is filled, Cloud is surrounded by a blue, fiery aura, and his mobility receives a noticeable increase. As long as he is in this state, he has access to much more powerful, single use variants of his special attacks, as listed above. Using any of these attacks will empty the Limit Gauge and return Cloud to his normal state, even if the move misses or is interrupted. The charge goes away in 15 seconds if it isn't used at all when fully charged.

The Limit Break variant of Limit Charge itself is an entirely different attack called **Finishing Touch**, in which Cloud performs a spinning, upward arcing slash to generate a large whirlwind. Although the whirlwind deals only 1%, it has tremendous knockback, so much so that it can KO most opponents before 70%. The move hits on frame 14 but has very high ending lag and almost no shieldstun due to its abysmal damage output. The attack is weaker as a whole when performed in the air, however, KOing about 24% later when hit in the front, and 36% later with the back hitbox. The attack's hitbox is deceptively large, and it generates a powerful windbox that extends even further beyond the Buster Sword's range, pushing opponents away.

## Level 1 Final Smash: Fire Slash

Cloud raises the Buster Sword and runs to the opponent. If he hits, he slashes the opponent nine times, then fires three fireballs at the opponent, and knocks him/her away.

## Level 2 Final Smash: Cherry Blossom

Release three successive blasts of varying magical affinities at the target's position after a long charge time.

## Level 3 Final Smash: Omnislash/Omnislash Ver. 5

Rushes forward at high speed and attacks, unleashing a series of slashes that concludes with a powerful, descending slash that triggers an explosion. At the beginning of the move, with a text box appearing above him that displays "Omnislash" as he proceeds to flings any opponents he runs into to the top of the screen. After the series of slashes, Cloud charges up a final slash, in which he descends and slashes the opponent down to the stage and results in a huge explosion that launches the opponent. One of the most powerful Final Smashes in the game when successful, as it can KO as low as 22%. Unlike Marth and Lucina's Critical Hit, Cloud will dash off the edges of platforms if Omnislash is initiated next to one, and he cannot cancel the move. If using his *Advent Children* costume, he will use **Omnislash Ver. 5** instead, though it is mostly an aesthetic change excluding The final hit which always launches bystanders in the same direction as the opponent caught by the move, unlike the default version. These two changes effectively make the move functionally identical against the caught opponent, but potentially slightly different against bystanders.