Cloud Strife/Infinite's version

While this version of the mercenary may use the same sprites as YAMAKICHI's version, albeit with a different palette, his gameplay is completely different, sporting Infinite's signature custom gameplay style which is a mix of Capcom vs. SNK 2 and Marvel vs. Capcom, along with many gameplay features such as the Custom Combo, EX Specials and MAX Hypers, and he also has a decent custom A.I.

Gameplay


Cloud is a six-button character, using the, and  buttons for punches (though technically the medium and heavy punches are sword slashes instead of literal punches) and the ,  and  button for kicks, and he has light, medium and heavy attacks along with light, medium, heavy and EX versions of his Specials; he also has two grabs, activated by pressing either  or  in conjunction with  or  while near the opponent. Cloud has two versions of four of his Hypers, a level 1 and level 2 version, with the level 2 versions, referred to as "MAX Supers", being activated by pressing two punch or kick buttons at once and being more powerful, sometimes behaving differently from the level 1 versions, and the remaining two Hypers are both level 3 Hypers. Not unlike Infinite's other characters, Cloud has a custom gameplay style which is simliar to PotS' gameplay style based on Capcom vs. SNK 2, but also has traits from the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Cloud has many traits and features from both series, such as a Super Jump, Parrying, an Alpha Counter, a Power Charge and the Custom Combo which, at the cost of 1000 Power, grants Cloud the ability to freely cancel and juggle any Normal or Special for a total of 3 seconds, but it disables certain actions such as blocking as well as Power gain while active, only allows EX Specials and Hypers to be used 2 seconds after activation and ends prematurely when Cloud is hit, parries an attack or uses an EX Special or Hyper, though unlike PotS' characters, Cloud is able to parry while the Custom Combo is active.

Most of Cloud's Specials and Hypers are based on Cloud's Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VII, though some behave slightly differently; for example, Meteor Rain (named Meteorain in Final Fantasy VII) has Cloud summon the meteors from the sky instead of jumping in the air and firing them at the ground. Cloud also has two Specials that seem to be custom as they do not bear resemblance to any of Cloud's Limit Breaks, and even though Cloud's portrait is taken from official artwork from Dissidia Final Fantasy, there are no noticable traces of his moves from the Dissidia games in his moveset. Many of Cloud's animations are similar to those of YAMAKICHI's version of Cloud due to using the sprites from said version, but with different hitboxes. Cloud makes use of a custom combo system that allows Normals to be cancelled into Specials, all Specials except for Braver to be cancelled into Hypers and level 1 Hypers to be cancelled into level 2 Hypers, though Cross Slash can only be cancelled before the third hit and cancelling moves into Hypers resets the juggle points but reduces the damage of the Hyper, and the damage of a level 1 Hyper cancelled into a level 2 Hyper combined is lower than that of a single level 3 Hyper. Cloud also has Chain Comboing, but this feature, along with air combos, is dependent on a config file and is disabled by default; when enabled, Cloud is able to chain light Normals into medium Normals into heavy Normals, and if air combos are also enabled, Cloud is also able to do this while airborne, and when disabled, Cloud cannot cancel any Normals into other Normals, having to rely on Specials and Hypers and the Custom Combo for comboing, though the damage output of his Normals is increased to compensate. Cloud does have a damage dampener, however, which lowers the damage of moves if another move is cancelled into them.

Cloud has two different crouching attacks, and if Cloud is close enough to the opponent,  activates a Launcher instead of his normal crouching  attack, which can be followed up into a Super Jump to perform Aerial Raves. Cloud has many long-ranged attacks, with especially the sword attacks having a long range, and most of them also have a high priority. Cloud has a rather small amount of projectiles in his moveset, with Blade Beam being his only Special projectile, which travels along the ground and can be jumped over, though the blade slash used to create the projectile has a hitbox, so the attack acts as both a melee and projectile attack and can hit twice when close enough. The rest of his Specials are melee attacks, and many of them are quick moves that cover a lot of distance, especially Sonic Rave, which also has a followup attack, and Cloud has an anti-air move in the form of Climhazard [sic] and a move that can be used to counter certain attacks such as slow-moving projectiles in the form of Braver. Cloud's Mad Shift has a slow startup time but has Cloud leap backwards, during which he is invincible, before attacking, followed up by a multi-hit attack that has a long range and can deal a decent amount of damage. As for Cloud's Hypers, they often deal below average damage for their Power cost but do have a decent amount of range to compensate, though incorporating them in combos reduces their damage by a fair amount.

Cloud has a custom A.I. which is fairly challenging and attacks very actively, often attacking at the right time to interrupt the opponent's attacks or preventing them from getting close enough to Cloud to attack, and he also occasionally blocks or parries attacks, though he sometimes jumps around or stands still for no apparent reason, leaving him open to attacks. He makes good use of the Power he accumulates and frequently uses EX Specials and Hypers whenever he has enough Power, often canceling moves into Hypers. If Chain Comboing is enabled, the A.I. makes use of this accordingly and frequently performs combos by chaining light Normals into medium Normals into heavy Normals, often followed by Specials or Hypers.

General
"My reality...Is mine alone."

"That was a joke!"

"Is that what you had in mind?"

"You're out of luck!"

"Don't mess with me!"

"A win is a win!"

"That was bad!"

"Just get out of here."

"A loss is a loss... Move on."

"I guess that's it then."

"Don't you even care?"

"You just... Lost."

"You're burnt out!"

"This is... The end of the line!"

"You're kidding me!"

"How could this have ended... So quickly?"

"You're too reckless!"

"It ends here! No hard feelings!"

Character-specific
"A strong spirit... Keep fighting!"

- vs. Ryu

"Find me when you awaken. I'll be ready!"

- vs. Ryu

"Be stronger... Believe in your goal!"

- vs. Ken

"Your fire's out... Guess that's it!"

- vs. Ken

"You're powerful... But you lose!"

- vs. Gouken

"Hado... I want to... Understand it!"

- vs. Gouken

"Enough...! It's over!"

- vs. Wolfgang Krauser

"Kaiser...? It just wasn't strong enough!"

- vs. Wolfgang Krauser

"You fight... For the wrong reasons."

- vs. Billy Kane

"That stick... That all you got?"

- vs. Billy Kane

"Treasure...? Not interested!"

- vs. Bonne Jenet

"Riches...? You're on your own!"

- vs. Bonne Jenet

"You don't frighten me!"

- vs. Geese Howard

"Leave this city... While you can!"

- vs. Geese Howard

"A twisted dream... This ends now!"

- vs. M. Bison

"I had doubts. But I've overcome your madness!"

- vs. M. Bison

"I can handle it from here... You faught [sic] well!"

- vs. Tifa Lockhart

"I knew this day would come... I'll help you."

- vs. Tifa Lockhart

"So you're a true warrior... Not bad."

- vs. Squall Leonhart

"Next time, fight with pride."

- vs. Squall Leonhart

"You're strong but... I earned this victory."

- vs. Sagat

"What do you want with me...? Your kingship has ended."

- vs. Sagat

"You're fighting for a purpose... Continue."

- vs. Chun-Li

"For your father... I know why you fight."

- vs. Chun-Li

"So you're a samurai... interesting."

- vs. Haohmaru

"You're wild... Sharpen your skills."

- vs. Kain Blade

"A noble effort... Go... Winwood awaits."

- vs. Millan Flare

"Axe combat... Too reckless."

- vs. Gillius Rockhead

"Slow down strider... You're ahead of yourself."

- vs. Strider Hiryu

"Your fast but... I'm steady. And precise!"

- vs. Strider Hiryu

"You ok Iga...? That's it then."

- vs. Hanzo

"Ninja... You couldn't have defeated me."

- vs. Fuuma

"A mercenary swordsman... You giving up?"

- vs. Yashaou

"Stand your ground... Let's end this!"

- vs. Goat

"A fallen prince... Of what land?"

- vs. Goat

"Nice swordplay but... You've lost!"

- vs. Yoshitora Tokugawa

"Who are you...? One or the other...? No matter... I win!"

- vs. Kaede

"A credit to your master... But this is over!"

- vs. Moriya

"You're extinguished. Guess it's not your day."

- vs. Kyo Kusanagi

"Next time... don't think... just fight"

- vs. Kyo Kusanagi

"I sense darkness in you... I'll end this now."

- vs. Iori Yagami

"That dark flame... Show me it's true power."

- vs. Iori Yagami

"Such darkness... I don't feel sorry for you."

- vs. Akuma

"A dark side of Hado... I'll put an end to this"

- vs. Akuma

"Your sins... Cannot be redeemed."

- vs. Asura

"I'm no hero... But ending you protects all."

- vs. Asura

"Holy knight... You weren't ready for me."

- vs. Ky Kiske

"A policeman...? What a depressing job."

- vs. Ky Kiske

"Frederick... Is that... Really your name."

- vs. Sol Badguy

"That Fuuenken... It's... A really tough weapon."

- vs. Sol Badguy

"Guess there was no getting around this"

- vs. Leo

"You... Were not an ordinary foe"

- vs. Leo

"Another assassin... How dare you"

- vs. Kenji

"Ninja... Understand that I can't lose"

- vs. Kenji

Trivia

 * Cloud has two special intros, one against Tifa Lockhart and one against Sephiroth, as well as a special victory animation that triggers if Cloud K.O.'s the opponent with the version of Cross Slash, though the special intro only works against versions of Tifa whose internal name is Tifa (so not Tifa Lockhart or anything else besides Tifa)