Versus Series | Zack Fair Vs. Cloud Strife

For my first Verses Series Match Up for 2015. I will pitting the best friends of Cloud Strife & Zack Fair from Final Fantasy 7 against each other to see who would win in a fight.
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[@heroicdefender9747]

I have to say... Your assessment on Cloud's battle tactics/fighting style was by far the best one that I have ever heard. You explained it far better then Death Battle when he fought Link...

[@3TopicsReviewer]

+Strider Hiryu Thank You Strider I have alot of fun working on these match up and do the best I can to put as much detail into my assessment to to back it up as best I can.

[@heroicdefender9747]

3TopicsReviewer Cheers my friend I always love it when someone puts depth into their research. It makes it intriguing learn.

[@Da1337Man]

+Strider Hiryu fuck those clowns

[@andrejoan4283]

The VII remake kinda made Cloud overpowered,, he literally killed fate. Sephiroth is also stronger than his Advent Children version due to lifestream, dimension and timeline fuckery.

[@alanpoe4837]

Remake Sephiroth is grossly overpowered. the dude can cut through space/time and open dimensional portals.

[@xtrazalewis2550]

Sephiroth is too OP.

[@cornyhole]

Honestly I'd be mad if Sephiroth was anything but overpowered

[@blackwolf249]

I hope they remake Advent Children, or make it into a video game.

[@mattstaab6399]

It's not the same cloud as the original game.

[@jetgrey3905]

One correction: J.E.N.O.V.A. cells are not of the Cetra, the Ancients. It's an alien to the planet, a calamity that wiped the ancients out.

[@xrosesc]

Cetra is another name of the Ancients tho

[@RenoReborn]

Actually Humans killed the Ancients, the Ancients were ALMOST wiped out by Jenova before they were able to seal her away in the northern crater but the Cetra lived well beyond that point, long enough to have pure blooded descendants still around thousands of years later. But what Seph read in Ghast's research Journals was accurate, at least in regards to human/cetra conflict

[@averysexypotato630]

Cloud- badass soldier who defeated sephiroth at least twice, and also held a child's hand while taking her home not long before.

[@SnowVilliersHero]

Cloud really is a beast though. He tanked a mega flare from bahamut sin, still went on to fight the 2 brothers, then defeat Kadaj, then defeat sephiroth, then took a bullet to the chest and got hit with an explosion (not to mention the octaslash and such during his sephiroth fight) PLUS Sephiroth has power beyond anyone in the ff7 universe, and not even he could keep up with Omnislashv.6 speed. Cloud a beast. Plus id Dirge he is a year older, and who knows how much stronger, He's not sad anymore. I mean Vincent in Chaos mode was getting pushed back from Omegas wind spread, But Cloud just jumped through easily and cut his shield to stop it. I Mean he's a fucking beast for real

[@xeech9463]

SnowVilliersHero Nothing else needs to be said about Cloud and his standing in FF7

[@SnowVilliersHero]

I know right, he overpowered in some ways.

[@xeech9463]

SnowVilliersHero Good catch on the DoC feat. A lot of people missed that one. Without Cloud, Vincent would have been powerless ot stop Omega.

[@SnowVilliersHero]

Yeah I caught on, I was like "Oh shit Vincent can't move" then outta no where Cloud is jumping toward it effortlessly and I was like "damnnnnn uh oh, the man who solod sephiroth is here" XD Cloud was also calmly watching Vincent defeat Omega with no doubt it would end well. He really is a fking superhero with superhero powers, In the remake he may not be as strong cause Nomura wants to use "realism" effects and such, BUT if another movie release or anything in the future taking place after DoC, I am sure Cloud will have reached god like powers. remember when Kadaj first turned to sephiroth? and the metal building below him just went 5 feet in cause he blocked Clouds attack? damn that power, If Cloud were to swing, he gonna cut somebody straight in half.

[@xeech9463]

SnowVilliersHero Yeah, Cloud didn't give a fuck. The game is Vincent's spotlight, so Cloud couldn't interfere. But when Rosso tried Cloud, she ran for her life. I think Cloud will be pretty OP in the remake as well, he was during the original game. I think they meant it will be more realistic in the sense of style and how the characters would look and act. Yeah, and Sephiroth's body didn't even bend a bit. That was part of the Midgar plate that bent which withstood the power of Meteor, so pretty good too. Let's not forget when he slammed Bahamut Shin to the ground while it was taking flight, negating the tons of force that beast must produce every time it flaps it's wings.

[@MeisterBehr]

As an avid fan of the FF7 series, I give this match-up my stamp of approval.

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Why thank you this match is my personal favorite.

[@samuelm7798]

I'm glad you actually compared them instead of just choosing which one you like better like certain other channels. Excellent video!

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Thank You for watching. I had alot of fun making this match up.

[@malibutaa]

You are spot on who would win between the two. There is a common misconception that Cloud inherited Zack's fighting ability or technique this started with Maiden that Travels the Planet, in where Zack jokingly implies he taught Cloud the Omnislash. What really happened is Cloud's failure caused a merge in personalities between Zack's and his own and Tifa, you could say, was the catalyst. He didn't get Zack's memories nor his fighting ability. Cloud was already somewhat skilled as a swordsman before he received Buster Sword, as seen in Before Crisis.

[@AJ-kq3pm]

I agree,also Cloud's desire to become a Soldier implies he has been training with a sword so he could become Soldier one day.And which is why Cloud seems to know how to use a sword when he fought Sephiroth after Zacks defeat at the reactor

[@SoysauceML]

@@AJ-kq3pm Actually I believe Cloud only picked the sword for the first time in BC. The FF7 Ultimania talked about him being a sword prodigy and is the reason why he could wield the Buster sword proficiently.

[@Zeddddy]

Lmfao you are wrong af

[@malibutaa]

@@Zeddddy Lol, the game literally explains this after Cloud regains consciousness but ok.

[@cinnamonbagel1230]

I love both characters but I do believe that Cloud is more powerful. I think that Cloud would've used magic in Advent children but his materia was stolen.

[@therealAkito]

Zack took from everyone's Magic and style LOL.....I mean he is someone who uses Octoslash , and apocalypse which is both used by Sephiroth AND Genesis...basically Zack learned from all three of the big 3 SOLDIER 1st classes....That itself is an achievement

[@jacobsanchez5073]

Clouds Omnislash trumps any of Zacks attacks. Octoslash doesn't compare. Hell, between that and Vincent's very own Chaos, I'd say it is the strongest limit break in the Final Fantasy games. Especially when both characters are paired with their strongest weapons.

[@NoNameJustWords]

+Jacob Sanchez Have you not played FFX? Both Tidus and Wakka could beat Cloud's Omnislash in terms of damage, not to mention Anima's Oblivion

[@V-Jes]

+Jacob Sanchez need i remind you that only weapons zack uses are basic sword and the very weak buster sword while cloud also needs help from other party members to take down foes while zack also can deal with them alone

[@NoNameJustWords]

mywlan2 I should imagine when Zack uses the sword (when it was kept free of wear and tear lol) it would have been a lot more powerful. I should also mention I personally have done a single player game with just Cloud, so saying he "needs" 2 other people is rubbish.

[@Popotecipote]

+NoNameJustWords in movies, cloud needs other's help while zack in crisis core could deal with every enemy he found alone by himself, even with invocations

[@Popotecipote]

+NoNameJustWords also as someone said, zack was able to defeat the goddess of materia whose power turns out to be superior to sephiroth

[@jinkin5529]

you forgot about zack defeating genesis which is the boss of crisis core, and for genesis at the time being more stronger than sephiroth after their last battle and for zack fighting genesis twice and won

[@jinkin5529]

but i liked it by the way

[@03fazfai]

+Jin Kin yeah and your forgetting that sephrioth in ff7 is more stronger than genesis and advent children sephrioth is stated to be the strongest ff7 character and who beats him oh yeah cloud.

[@jinkin5529]

+super bat he fought against the three 1st class soldier and won on two of those battles, and the reason why he lost to sephiroth is because sephiroth was his friend and had to hold back......also no zack no cloud...by the way did you see genesis' final form....monstrous..

[@03fazfai]

+Jin Kin sephiroth wasn't really trying either you know he is miles more stronger than zack since he was made to be the greatest solider.

[@03fazfai]

Jessikessy i know sephiroth was toying with cloud but he still won the fight. sephrioth underestimated him and he beat fully power sephrioth in ff7. At the end of ff7 cloud has surpassed zack.

[@nfmaster4851]

Zack fought against not only a large number of infantry man, but actually all of Shinra's. And he defeated all of them except for 3

[@EricScottPhung]

Cloud took down Sephiroth...cloud wins

[@lewisdavis1491]

So did zack.

[@teon7881]

@@lewisdavis1491 where?

[@Romar-io]

@@teon7881 well he beat Genesis who was as strong as Sephiroth.

[@cosmiccomet_2705]

Cloud beat Sephiroth WITH JENOVA CELLS. When Zack battled him, all he had was mako, when Cloud fought him, he had Jenova cells and mako. If Zack had rematched Sephiroth he probably could've won (beating Angeal and Genesis and all)

[@jjpancake8093]

@@Romar-io Genesis is not even close to as strong as seproth

[@xtremexvlad6985]

I can imagine how the versus are gonna be like now. Cloud and the crew will get new feats that make them look far better than their Advent Children Selves. Sephiroth will use a bunch of magical spells in addition to his amazing swordplay. Cloud Strife >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Zack Fail

[@pyon3699]

You didn't mention that Zack also used multiply weapon such as the Beach Umbrella, a Shinra Sniper Rife, his Ultimate Fist of Fury Punch, and to even throwing his Gils (money) at the enemy if he had to!

[@SoloAbsoluteZero]

+Pyon~ That Beach Umbrella too OP.

[@kirara2516]

+Pyon~ Wait, he threw money at his enemies? I must have missed that. xD

[@tek512]

Total mismatch. Cloud stomps.

[@SilverSisu]

Hah in your dreams. Zack defeated Minerva. Cloud constantly gets beat up by Sephiroth. He has never defeated Sephiroth without help. Even in Advent Children Sephiroth killed Cloud and Aerith had to use the lifestream to revive Cloud and Zack had to step up and encourage Cloud. Zack defeated Minerva, Genesis twice and almost demolished the entire Shinra army even though Hojos's experiments made him weaker. Can't see Cloud doing the same. Zack is the real soldier first class, Cloud is just a soldier wannabe.

[@tek512]

@@SilverSisu You uh... might want to read the ultimanias and check out some of Tetsuya Nomura's own statements on social media and in interviews. It is stated quite explicitly that Sephiroth is the most powerful being in the setting. Yes, that includes being above Minerva. Not just Minerva, but all of the WEAPONs and even the will of Gaia itself. It is also explicitly stated that Cloud was in fact stronger than Zack. He did not begin that way, but by the half way point through FF7 he'd reached that point. By the end of the game he was *way* stronger. As much as I would like to say I feel Zack would've had a higher ceiling than Cloud if he'd survived, I don't think that's the case. Zack was a normal, albeit unusually gifted, S-Type SOLDIER. He underwent the same augmentation procedure as all the other S-Type SOLDIERs. As a result of this, Hojo's experiments in Nibelheim were unable to induce the desired changes. They just made him sick for a bit, but he regained his full strength shortly after he and Cloud escaped. Cloud, on the other hand, was enhanced far more significantly. This was not immediately apparent because of Cloud's mind being all messed up and his body having not yet adapted to its new circumstances. Notably, Cloud met all the physical requirements to join SOLDIER. He was rejected from the program because his mind was weak. In fact, he was abnormally physically gifted even before Hojo's experiments. Also, Zack fighting Minerva wasn't canon. That was a random superboss they tossed in for the lulz, which they do confirm. Minerva did exist, but she and Zack never met. On the other hand, Sephiroth did meet Minerva. ...And he killed her with little to no effort. He didn't just defeat her, he *destroyed* her. Whatever he did made it so Gaia could never again manifest Minerva. Incidentally, with Minerva having been an extension of Gaia's own consciousness, her complete destruction caused permanent damage to the soul of the planet.

[@SilverSisu]

@@tek512 even so. Cloud gets constantly beat up by Sephiroth in 1vs1. Cloud was literally killed by Sephiroth in AC. If it wasn't Aerith reviving him and Zack encouraging him to not giving up Sephiroth would have won. Cloud has never defeated Sephiroth without somekind of outside help.

[@tek512]

@@SilverSisu Considering how powerful Sephiroth is, why would you expect him to be able to? According to Nomura, Sephiroth is above anything else in the entire setting. Like, way above it. As in the only reason he even loses at all his is own arrogance. At any rate, Cloud didn't die, and Aerith didn't use the lifestream to revive him. That scene is oft misinterpreted as being this, but it's not. Both of them just gave Cloud some encouragement. Frankly, this makes *less* sense than Cloud dying considering he got stabbed in every major organ.

[@hephup1768]

@@tek512cloud stomps. I agree pal. No yokel from Gongaga can top my bipolar boy.

[@Ninchennase]

You're mistaken when you say that Zack got off better from Hojo's experiments because he was just in better shape. He didn't have mako poisoning because of the SOLDIER treatment, which involves mako treatment. So Zack was immunized. Cloud as a simple infantryman wasn't and so of course had major poisoning.

[@MrSergeta]

This is late, but I really enjoyed the video and versus match. The only thing I feel compelled to mention is that I do not believe that Zack receive a additional boost of strength of Jenova's cells from Hojo's experiment. My belief is because of two reasons. 1. If you go to Nibelhiem's Mansion in FF7 after recovering Cloud from his coma, you find notes in the tube room where Zack and Cloud were held in. The notes inform us that out of the two test subjects, only one was receiving positive signs of reacting to the Jenova's cells, while the other was negative. I think Cloud was the only one reacting to the Jenova's cells considering how he was able to mimic Zack's moves afterwards and how Sephiroth was able to manipulate him during FF7. 2. In Crisis Core, Zack's stats didn't improve at all after the incident in Nibelhiem.

[@xtremexvlad6985]

+MrSergeta Yes, you are exactly correct.

[@RoxasxNamine1]

So the person who reacted posotive was put into a vegetative state while the negative was fine and physical appearance clearly grew? I don't think that the game would implement a stat change over that considering post jenova cells you are put on the run and eventually put into a scripted fight where you aren't supposed to win.

[@ledah1363]

this is hella late but yeah, Cloud's body accepted the cells where as Zack, due to already being SOLDIER, rejected the cells. It should also be noted that Zack indeed changed after the incident, as he himself stated, his body was having trouble dealing with regular infantry soldiers on their way out of Nibelhiem. guess thats one flaw in this video. Zack was weakened at the end of crisis core, still doesn't change that Cloud is the winner but thats something [:

[@malibutaa]

+Beta Cat Absolutely true. I feel like there is some inconsistencies though. Zack was weakened by the S cells, had trouble with regular infantrymen but at the same time defeated an empowered Genesis followed by restored Genesis. Meaning this is the strongest version of Zack we had seen, but he was hindered to an extent by the new cells. Or, it could be that the all the time he spent running with Cloud finally caught up with him in a physically degrading way.

[@anhdinhlamduc5700]

+malibutaa may be he get power up by the lifestream in that cave to and genesis is weaker after his gene got unstable

[@conected]

A little correction there Cloud didnt take Zacks personality or memories, Cloud, using his own memories, "superimposed" himself in Zacks place, fabricating a fake past,and his personality isnt zacks either, his fake personality is comprised of clouds original personality, clouds ideal SOLDIER badass self, and tifas own expectations for him, which was created when tifa found cloud at the train station, shortly before the beginning of the game, not when Zack died

[@emeniel1854]

There is a reason, why I hate Zach fans and CC so much.

[@JunKurosu]

Cause its boring and they're irritating

[@jackjacques7495]

While I don't hate Zack (I like his personality), it is indeed annoying that some people apparently need to translate popularity to power. Zack is a cool character, but he never was nor "would have been" as strong as Cloud is.

[@HirokDaralki]

actually it's stated in, though it's been awhile since I've played crisis core, one of the research papers about both cloud and zack with jenova cells that zack's physiology didn't change that much, believed to be because he had already went through the changes from SOLDIER. However, I haven't played the game in awhile, so I can't remember it exactly.

[@zackfair8407]

Actually zack because of the mako "poison" at 23 years old was extremely weaker than his 19 years old counterpart ( the one who fought sephiroth ) . Cloud even at the end of the game never reach zack's level ; he needs his entire team to take on sephiroth ; even in advent children with a ng+ equipment needs the help of his entire team to kill the bahamut while zack at 16 years old with a regular soldier 2nd class equipment solo the bahamut and after the bahamut fury ( which is bahamut's strongest version of ff7) .

[@misteranonymous5616]

@@zackfair8407 Zack defeated Genesis with God materia(where was on par with Sephiroth if not Strong) ALONE Ppl seems to underestimate zack

[@zackfair8407]

@@misteranonymous5616 exactly. Genesis at that point held the power of the planet itself by absorbing the lifestream; and the scary thing is that zack defeated him ALONE and WITH EASE. In fact the only way to kill him was to bring against him the entire shinra's army , and even with that , zack died only because he lost too much blood. If zack was in perfect form in that battle he will have won without too much difficulties.

[@misteranonymous5616]

@@zackfair8407 Ofc, if I remember than we had to fight like 1000 soldiers in simulation right ? I don't remember the exact number but it was 700+

[@zackfair8407]

@@misteranonymous5616 i dont remember it either 😅

[@SorenDoesStuff]

tbh i like cloud more than zack and yes zack is a lovable character but in ff7 advent children he becomes a badass and he doesn't use matieria in advent children...i think

[@SloMo7]

i think one thing that wasn't really touched on was the fact that Cloud was only in infantry unit because his body rejected the Jenova cells (or so it seemed) the first time he was injected..but they were still in his body. they would eventually awaken enabling him to throw Sepheroth into the mako reactor..which means that he was already more powerful than Zack before he was killed ..and even before his second exposure

[@MistaCloudStrife]

I think by the end of VII, Cloud surpassed Zack in every category. Crisis Core kind of messed with the original FFVII's continuity. The remake should fix that. I believe Cloud's one real weakness is his mental instability. That's basically the one thing Zack had that Cloud probably never will(or at least not consistently), and that could be just enough for Zack to win against him. If I remember correctly, the power of Jenova allowed it to copy another's form and even memories. Cloud (injected with J-cells) absorbed Zack's memories, which gave him the exact same abilities as Zack. It wasn't until the end of the game that Cloud made the distinction between his own memories and Zack's, which was when he finally broke through the wall that was Zack's abilities and was able to create his own. Or at the very least, modify Zack's abilities to make them his own. This is where Omnislash comes into play. Zack apparently invented this ability, but as the Octaslash, which is showcased in CC and talked about in MotP. But Cloud(with the resolve to actually fight) was able to take that "memory" and take it to the next level.(And even further it more in AC)

[@SoysauceML]

I don't think anywhere it's stated that Cloud got memories from Zack. Cloud simply imitated some of Zack's moves, the Soldier thing is simply because he was delusional after the influence of Mako poisoning. It's also why he tried to imitate a 1st class Soldier based on his image of a cool hero but came out as an aloof snob and nothing like Zack. As to why Cloud was able to fight so well... He's a sword prodigy. This is stated in both BC and ff7 material book. In BC he was able to down several rebels by imitating soldier moves, even though it's his first time with a greatsword (which even impressed the Turks). Even in CC, you could see Cloud using Buster Sword very well even before the S cell experiment. The Book even comfirms that Cloud was able to use the Buster Sword proficiently then precisely because of his talent.

[@CDodger24]

Mentality is why cloud won against sephiroth too. Sephiroth thinks extremely low of humans and are worthless bugs in his eyes. His overconfidence cost him every battle he fought vs cloud.

[@leandrocastellanos9420]

Did zack have a chance agaist sephiroth nope... cloud bead Seph even in seph strongest enhanced form...

[@SilverSisu]

Cloud has never defeated Sephiroth without help. Actually Sephiroth always gives Cloud a beating if it is 1vs1. Sephiroth will *always* be stronger than Cloud. Sephiroth even killed Cloud in AC and Aerith had to revive him and Zack had to encourage him and told him not to give up even if everything seemed hopeless. Has Cloud defeated Minerva? No but Zack has and Minerva > Sephiroth.

[@KeithJones82]

Cloud W-Summons Knights of the Round. Battle is over before second summon. The next few minutes is spent watching Zack's body be brutally mutilated by angry spectral knights. Cloud makes popcorn, and grabs a beer. The end.

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Yeah that probably would happen. Sadly summons are not allowed in my matches.

[@KeithJones82]

3TopicsReviewer I liked your version better anyway. XD

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Thank You.

[@NateIsCorrupt]

Keith Jones Then rides home on gold chocobo

[@agibufuziogaruhamamudo5951]

Keith Jones 8 counter & mime materias + omnislash = 1000000 Damage

[@stormynightpictures]

Cloud also has the perfect "S cells" inside of him, something Hojo couldn't give Zack because he had already been enhanced previously. Making Cloud the only original human injected with Sephiroth's cells. This is the only way I give Cloud the edge over Zack in physicality.

[@fighterck6241]

30:35 The student has become the master.

[@cassherndupree161]

Cloud was actually able to over power sephiroth BEFORE being injected with jenova cells. That's why people were confused because he seemed physically stronger than the rest.

[@valera_animation]

I thought Zack was stronger because he is taller and bigger.

[@SilverSisu]

​@@valera_animationZack is stronger. He defeated Minerva who is leagues above Sephiroth.

[@paullucas6275]

I saw how long this video was and I was like "30 mins I ain't watching this whole thing!" but I actually did. Good job man you were very informative

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Thank you Paul

[@paullucas6275]

3TopicsReviewer You're welcome. I'm definitely going to check out more of your videos

[@Gamegod02]

I understand both combatants pretty well. But saying How the battle would go with limited ability use sounds wrong. Seeing as Zack has a huge arsenal of materia, including many that weren't mentioned I feel the magic aspect of fight works be more than in Zack's favor. Not to mention the many many limit breaks that he has as well. Also as for the speed strikes, I feel Zack may not be the best at countering them but he isn't completely defenseless against them. After all, he stood up to Angeal, Sephiroth, and Genesis only defeating two of them. They all at once point gave him a hard time but he lived through each encounter. I can agree to why Cloud would win but noticed some off details, great video.

[@theamazingchannel6762]

ya Cloud!

[@456ashar]

What about a match-up of Dante vs someone??? Iam curious to see the details of Dante . Would be exciting.

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Someone actually recently sent me a really go match Idea for Dante I may end up doing it eventually.

[@livt2690]

To OP dante belong in the Shonen Jump category

[@videogameguitar-matt]

zack got owned by sephiroth. Cloud owned sephiroth four times.........end.

[@InfiniteTril]

Bro did you actually play the prequel? Zach's a fucking legend, and the reason cloud is who he is.

[@videogameguitar-matt]

FrOsTyBlUe102 Bro you play the original? Zachs a plot device to push along the story. Cloud will always be the main character, Zach was ok but no comparison to the only guy to crush sephiroth.

[@schpoopl]

+VideogameGuitarist dude, you fight sephi twice before he goes crazy and takes Jenova's head, after fighting cloud. So they both beat sephi in reality.

[@InfiniteTril]

+VideogameGuitarist facts man, and cloud looked up to Zach so much that he took on his identity, Zach is the reason cloud is alive bro.

[@videogameguitar-matt]

FrOsTyBlUe102 Yes facts, like the ones i stated :D Or did zack beat sephiroth? Did he stop meteor? Did he crush shinra? No, he died, cloud is the real hero. Zack is cool but cloud is the hero of final fantasy 7

[@marsjake8]

One little thing you missed is Clouds PTSD and emotional levels tended to interfere with him and throw him off guard during battles at times, where as Zack was very grounded and maintained a precise focus during a confrontation.

[@hunterx335]

as much as i love zack i think as many people have said you did a great analysis of this matchup and i agree.

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Thank You, this recently became my most watched Vs match up I've ever made and its my personal favorite.

[@shane7051]

To everyone saying this isn't fair because it's maxed Cloud vs a learning Zack. Zack has trained for years and years in the Soldier program. Cloud was just a natural. Imagine if Cloud had received the same training? He'd be stronger than Zack without a doubt.

[@jayarcher3331]

I don't think Cloud would be half as good as he is if he wasn't experimented on and enhanced.the strength and skill wasn't earned it was just giving. It's by Advent children Cloud really starts to come into his own, because he's not completely copying Zach technique.

[@mutebanshee]

Zack is a natural actually, he got into Shinra Security really young, around 14 if I recall correctly. Made SOLDIER 3rd at 16 and 1st class at 18 or 19. Natural ability or affinity doesn't mean you can magically use techniques just that you're more apt at acquiring and implementing them. Cloud by comparison was an infantryman and he felt a failure due to not making it into SOLDIER. He does have natural ability for certain, which was locked away behind debilitating self esteem issues, but he didn't get powerful until after he was dumped into a Mako vat, got S/J-cells and assimilated Zack into his persona.

[@envynoson]

Long story short, Zack could've been one of the strongest Final Fantasy characters if he wouldn't have die.

[@nslater1388]

Thanks for all the hard work you put into these videos!

[@geniusfishbro]

Flashback to FF VII: Crsis core: where zack defeated his enemies with a freaking parasol. Yeah cloud is a beast alright, but zack would be 3x stronger. He just died early ;_;

[@3TopicsReviewer]

geniusfishbro I absolutely agree with that. If Zack had lived and then fought AC Cloud this match would be alot harder to call.

[@Fliksy]

geniusfishbro trueeeee

[@j.c.9302]

Maybe, but Zach was also killed by (albeit a shit ton) Shinra soldiers whereas Cloud overpowered Sephiroth (who's supposed to be the baddest MFer ever) twice, the first being when he was a supposed weak foot soldier at the mako reactor and then again slays him in the end when he's become a god. Actually three times if you include AC. Zach had the earlier start, but Cloud had the higher ceiling lol.

[@geniusfishbro]

GeneMon well, it's just isn't fair to compare whatever cloud achieved after zack's death. Zack had been through too much, slayed many beast and also defeated Genesis when he turned into a monster. If we were to compare both of them through Sephiroth, then think about it. Before the events of AC, all first class soldiers of shinra, Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth, might had been at equal levels. Even if Genesis wasn't as strong as Sephy, even if he ranked second, it just mean that he could've been just as strong if he were to train harder. And this is the same case for Zack. With more experience, more time and more LIFE! Zack would undoubtly continue to improve upon his skills and weaknesses and while also, bestowing all that he knows to cloud. WHICH ALSO MEANS, if Zack is still alive till the events of AC, Cloud could've been stronger than ever. So all we could say is that, Cloud could only carry on Zack's and Angeal's legacy. Parts of this was also mentioned in the video.

[@malibutaa]

+geniusfishbro There are two very important things that determine overall power in FF7 and that is Jenova cells and willpower. Sephiroth has the highest willpower in the verse, thus he was and always will be the strongest. Cloud comes second because his willpower can rise to a level that surpasses or challenges Sephiroth's, allowing him to defeat him. Genesis could never have defeated Sephiroth because he had inferior Jenova cells and his will was just not there. Same goes for Zack, inferior J cells and willpower. Cloud most likely surpassed Zack sometime during the game, before the ending.

[@Exist64]

The intro for the magical powers was so perfect. THat FFX soundtrack plus Luna and Noctis...just flawless. I wasnt even done watching when I commended. That ending was even better!

[@nsng-lg7yl]

I can't choose between zack and cloud I love them both

[@shishiomakoto783]

You know the ONLY reason why he knows ANYTHING is because of Zack, right?

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Lol yeah that's very true, without Zack, Cloud would've stay a regular infantry soldier in the Shinra army.

[@shishiomakoto783]

+Nick Northcutt Yeah. Sure cloud can...in his head. 8 |

[@Haaland-Eddie]

+Shishio Makoto You do know Cloud saved Zack's life prior to Zack saving Cloud's life, right? Zack was moaning, sulking, incapacitated and on death's door when Cloud came and wooped Sephiroth. Zack's record against Sephiroth 0-1, Cloud's record 3-0. Cloud >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Gary Stu

[@Powerman77775]

Zack's never beaten Sephiroth and Cloud's done it twice by himself which wasn't in his head.

[@Haaland-Eddie]

***Cloud's final battle*** (Page 204) Ultimania Omega "After fighting Bizarro Sephiroth and Safer Sephiroth, Cloud has a final 1-on-1 battle with Sephiroth in the spiritual realm. Although the ego of this Sephiroth Clone was stricken with an inferiority complex in the past, Cloud fights on and achieves victory in the end." "in his head" lol.. just wait for the remake.

[@belmontzar]

I agree with most of this except for a lot of the magic. In FF7 Cloud is shown to be very effective with the materia and still owned quite a few if his base at Aeriths church is anything to go by. Cloud didn't use materia in Ac, because he never got back to it, not because he abandoned it. In fact, a lot of clouds jobs were simply deliveries so the Materia was left at home because it wasn't needed.

[@saif0316]

That was probably the best explanation of Zack and Cloud in the intro I have seen on the internet.

[@DelPiero10x1991]

Zack is best character but Cloud is more powerfull.

[@julientiago2611]

We can't know this because zack became + powerfull after jenova expérience (mako x 10 like sephiroth and cloud)

[@captain_dsz6049]

+julien tiago i actually believe every SOLDIER is injected with jenova cells and infused with Mako, however when they were experimented on that was taken another step forward, but due to prior subjection to it zach had an immunity whereas cloud did not hence the mako posioning

[@Idkwhattoput-p2s]

And wasn't Cloud given more?

[@jackjacques7495]

+Kaboom When Hojo experimented on both (post-Nibelheim), aside from showering them with massive amounts of Mako, he also injected the true pure S-Cells (the ones Sephiroth himself has) on them as well. Normally, members of SOLDIER are injected with J-Cells (the basic, not pure ones), and since Zack already had them (because was already a SOLDIER) they corrupted the S-Cells and turned them into regular J-Cells. That's why he wasn't left comatose and messed up afterwards, and also why they were useless for Genesis and wouldn't help stop his degradation. But Cloud however, was still a "normal" human when this happened, so the S-Cells remained pure and he was the only one of Hojo's subjects who managed to successfully fuse with them. This together with the massive amount of Mako are the reason he was left on that stated afterwards, and Zack had to carry him around. But its ALSO the reason why he had the potential to be much more powerful than Zack.

[@AJ-kq3pm]

julien tiago -Cloud is stronger. -Sephiroth easily defeated Zack. Zack is a Solider 1st Class & has been training for years. Plus all Soldiers are infused with mako already.Stated by Zack when he tells Aerith why his eyes are glowing. -Cloud an INFANTRYMAN tanked being impaled by Sephiroth's Katana and slammed him to the wall. This shows Cloud is very strong & has a lot of potential as someone that was NOT part of Soldier.

[@1WBo55]

Great Analysis sir, I commend you. I had not thought of nor considered that Zack was holding his own against Sephiroth Prior to injection of JENOVA cells. That's a great point man.

[@amandalortz6436]

Cloud is love. Cloud is life.♥

[@millyrock935]

Zack is love. Zack is life.

[@midnight3320]

cloud would be dead without zack... Join Zack

[@carrots7216]

Angeal is grandpa, Zack is dad, Cloud is son.

[@fighterck6241]

The father (Sephiroth/Zack) The son (Cloud) and the Holy (Angeal) Spirit (Genesis).

[@myluckycharmgaming1052]

your opinion was dead on man LOVED IT..as someone who has played every inch on the FF7 game even down to finding the elusive underwater materia..i think you took the story to a good level even if it was just a (combative fight) training simulation..the way you described and depicted every scene an flaw of a character.. (STANDING OVATION) You did the game an movie justice.. I WOULD HAVE TO SAY ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. .(clap clap clap)

[@MOOREPAR]

This video Is absolutely amazing bro! well made.

[@3TopicsReviewer]

GizmooreTech Thanks man. It took me a while to get all the research done but in the end I feel it was well worth it.

[@DefinitelyNotFort]

clouds hair looks like gokus when goku is a super saien

[@TigerW0lf]

Looks more like Gohan's before he fought Cell

[@feiwnakausvkaxbdkebkswowbq8331]

Hear me out future trunks

[@KittyCate105]

Zack's cooler

[@3TopicsReviewer]

***** Humm I would say there are some qualities about Zack that I like more than Cloud. Zack is much more positive and outgoing while Cloud has always seemed very depressing at times.

[@KittyCate105]

3TopicsReviewer That's exactly what I think. Always loved Zack's cheerful disposition. If he had lived longer he might would have had a chance to catch up on Cloud's fighting qualities

[@3TopicsReviewer]

***** I have no doubt about that.

[@Ninchennase]

+3TopicsReviewer Cloud has quite a few reasons to be depressed - having had Mako poisoning, muddled memories, losing Zack and Aeris... Zack got off easier I think, no wonder he remained more at ease. Less guilt and less mindfuck.

[@bluebeasthdleagueoflegends1317]

+3TopicsReviewer OF COURSE WHO WOUNDT BE ACT LIKE A EMO IF YOU LOSE A IMPORTANT FRIEND AND INFACT CLOUD AND ZACK WERE LIFE BROTHERS

[@jaythebassnerd6037]

cool vid, however Zack had jenova cells before he was captured by Hojo, all members of SOLDIER were injected with them.

[@shaheryarmozaffer2125]

There's no need for arguing here, so I'll just add my vote for Zack. Man...imagine Zack as president...The anthem for his country: "Embrace your dreams. If you want a good life you need to have dreams...and honor." Everyone has their own sword that they hug too...Amazing...

[@shayneschannel92]

Jenova cells didnt take to zack because of the mako put in him from soilder. Basiclly the earth mako rejected the alien jenova inside his body

[@kristiandeda9508]

Of course Cloud strife is the best.

[@AspieMediaBobby]

@Kristian Deda I like Zack but Cloud`s the living legacy for a reason.

[@jds4696]

Im impressed with your detailed and very informative versus matchup between Cloud and Zack.

[@Jgator1995]

I would love to see a Squall vs Seifer video along with Bizzaro Sephiroth vs Griver Ultimecia!

[@hybridhelix88]

You forget some things - that SOLDIER members get frequently injected with Mako - as well as Zack Fair and Cloud Strife. By the time people asked Cloud Strife if he was a SOLDIER member they told him that they knew the glow of the eyes somewhere (first one was the Shinra president, who was stabbed by Sephiroth at the Shinra HQ). He recognizes him as being a former SOLDIER by the glow in his eyes but doesn't remember him. Also that SOLDIER members have to get Mako showers. By the time Zack encountered Sephiroth he had already been exposed to Mako and wasn't his match which resulted in Zack being severely injured by Sephiroth. Joining SOLDIER requires a high tolerance for Mako. When Cloud gets severly wounded by Sephiroth his body started to react with Mako. However, in FFVII:AC Sephiroth acknowledge that Cloud has gotten stronger than in their last encounter. Maybe this has something to do with the Jenova cells. As well as Jenova's cells making anyone who carries them a puppet to her will. Maybe Hojo did inject more Jenova cells into Cloud as he acknowledged Cloud as a special specimen for his experiments in FFVII: Last Order. After falling into the Lifestream with Tifa during the events in FFVII Cloud could've broken free from Jenova's influence over his mind but kept Jenova's cells which continue to mutate inside his body which lead Cloud to obtain strength and master magic more effectively and quicker than anyone else in his group. However I think that there is a great possibility that Cloud could loose a fight against Zack because it seems like Cloud only finds something that pushes him to fight when he encounters his arch nemesis Sephiroth, the one who took everything away from him and who resembles Cloud's dark side. Also this was stated in the Highwind on FFVII AC when Tifa, Cid, etc came to support Cloud and aid him with his materia. After all he lost several fights against the three Sephiroth clones in FFVII:AC and won only when he saw that they obtained the dark materia. Also he was only able to defeat the leader of the three Sephiroth clones when he got healed from his Geostigma injury

[@altorres7863]

i thought cloud said that once you join shinra you get injected? and thats how you become first class depending on how the soldier reacts?

[@JunKurosu]

He did its a retcon

[@4RaccoonsIncognito]

but if Zack's busta sword is so weak (first weapon you get in ff7) then isn't Zack being a bad ass with an aweful weapon

[@ThePokeMinerStudios]

Luc d'Eca probably

[@ChipotleKanetsu]

Luc d'Eca He barely even used that thing. It's all about the honor and dreams with that sword.

[@ThePokeMinerStudios]

it was once said, its now depends on the wielder of the weapon not the actual power of the weapon

[@NateRiversforRever]

I don't agree with the magic part because I have to cite that Cloud's materia was stolen from him by Kadaj and his gang. I also would like to point out that while Cloud assimilated Zack's memories as his own, that doesn't mean that Zack's training was also brought into it. Cloud never made it to SOLDIER, although he was capable of making it physically (it was the mako treatment that would do Cloud in, which is why he wasn't able to make it in SOLDIER.), he did not get the training as the other SOLDIERS had. I would assume that SOLDIER training would prepare the operative for almost any battle scenario possible, including the battling of Sephiroth (simulators). I feel that Zack would win due to the training and physical ability, along with the Jenova cells he acquired before death. It wouldn't take long for a 1st Class SOLDIER to get accustomed to the enhancements. Add his other abilities and you have yourself a deadly killing machine. With that said, if we were to make the physical abilities an edge for Zack and magic a tie, the victor by your evidence would still be Cloud. I would have to say that Cloud's sword provides him with a decent edge, multiple swords are better than just one sword. How would you divide the categories in percentage by their importance? That would help out in deciding who would win in this battle. I did enjoy the video though, it was thought of very well.

[@3TopicsReviewer]

ARegularPanda Well you have to remember Clouds Materia wasn't really stolen. He left it in the church for safe keeping. If he was smarter he would have keep some of the materia stones with him. And thank you for the awesome comment. Debating in the comments section is always my favorite part of my versus match ups.

[@NateRiversforRever]

3TopicsReviewer It really was stolen. Cloud had went to see Rufus, returning to find Tifa unconscious and his materia stolen. Although, you might be onto something about him "abandoning" the use of that kind of magic and focusing on his inner magical abilities. AC seems to show what you say.

[@LemuelLopez347]

ARegularPanda i agree he also forgot that Zack killed that divine genesis (Genesis Avatar or watever,the one blessed by the goddess)he was stronger than sephiroth

[@LemuelLopez347]

3TopicsReviewer hey man forgot to mention zack defeating Genesis Avatar (the one blessed by the goddess of the planet, Minerva) and that opponent was stronger than sephiroth...

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Lemuel Lopez Ok Lemuel I've been hit by this a number of times from a few others so I will go into detail. The reason I did not mention Zack's victory over genesis is because I feel that The final battle against Genesis would not really aid him in a fight against cloud because it is a completely different kind of fight. Zack fighting against Sephiroth is a much different than fighting Genesis. Sephiroth was more of a dedicated sword fighter, but genesis at time was more of a raw power spell caster. And if you look at Zacks fight with Genesis all Zack is doing is attacking Genesis's and fighting off 3 summoned monsters. Genesis in my opinion would've been better off fighting in his regular form. Genesis entire approach in that fight was to sit in one spot place his sword in the ground (so Zack could attack it) and summon 3 monsters as decoys so that he could charge up his magical spells. Genesis's entire battle tactic was based on patterns which for someone like Zack could easily recognize and know exactly what to do and what attacks are coming next. Although Genesis at that point was stronger than Sephiroth in terms of raw power, Sephiroth is a much harder opponent to engage because his combative approach is much more flexible and offensive. Fighting against a spell caster like Genesis would not aid him in a fight against sword fighter like Cloud. So although Zack beating such a powerful opponent like Genesis is great achievement it would not prepare him for a match like this. One much look at how someone wins a fight over who the opponent was.

[@profoundknawledge4569]

I think this is very biased cuz cloud was able to plan and strategize and get stronger WITH the cells for years after getting the cells while Zack was never able too, he got that strong without them. So saying this if both of them still live zack would be MILES away from cloud.( also zack was able to defeat a army after carrying cloud for days so he prob only had like 1/3 his strength)

[@OneLife2Live93]

This is easily the best done Zack vs Cloud battle. My only thing is Zack is underrated because he beat goddess powered Genesis alone, who is stated to be above Sephiroth. Even though Zack is my favorite character and I prefer he won, Cloud was supposed to be stronger than Zack by Advent Childern.

[@SloMo7]

One Life 2 Live yea i think Zack might have won with experience alone, but as far as the Jenova cells, Cloud was vastly stronger in that regard, he defeated Sephiroth while being impaled while his Jenova cells had barely awoken within him, ..then Hojo juiced him up even more

[@malibutaa]

No one is above Sephiroth in the world of FF7. Only Cloud surpasses him in bursts.

[@OneLife2Live93]

***** You must mean AC Sephiroth. He was considerably weaker in CC.

[@malibutaa]

One Life 2 Live AC Sephiroth was obviously much stronger. but even during CC Sephiroth was the strongest, no one could match him. but yes AC Sephiroth is the strongest version and the strongest character in ff7.

[@NefariousGuyZero]

+malibutaa seriously? Genesis was more powerful if not powerful equal in power to sephiroth, genesis wanted to share banora juice/apple with the hero of the time sephiroth at about the end of game CC genesis says angeal dream came true when zack eats the apple so zack was the strongest at that time not Sephiroth zack couldnt defeat sephiroth because he was done fighting his friends and sephiroth was atleast tired after battle with zack and then cloud pierced him with buster sword(have you seen the width of that thing?) sephiroth was too weak at that time thats how cloud defeated sephiroth... other time in ff7 he needed all of his friends to defeat sephiroth. while zack defeated minverva (the goddess) genesis, angeal , genesis avatar etc etc etc...

[@TokenCast]

lets keep in mind though these are educated guess battles, let be honest after YEARS of fighting shinra he had little to no true sword fights, so who can say at the end of the day, zacks soul did tell him he could take sephy in the movie.

[@xxSpike1989xx]

cloud was able to copy zacks moves and skills and improve on them from only memories of seeing him in combat! and took on sephiroth without mako or jenova cells and threw him into a reactor presumably killing him, zack got decimated by sephiroth with mako and jenova cells and since sephiroth is considered by the creators to be the strongest in the ff7 universe was there any real doubt who would come out of this one? people who think different have only played crisis core or watched ac, and not played the og! btw totally agree with the ending these two would never go all out it would be a heated spar at best!

[@elsanna7112]

xxSpike1989xx In Nibelheim, Zack never got's Jenova's cells, it's after ! When he fought Genesis and the entire Shinra army.

[@moth446]

@@elsanna7112 I think its mentioned that all SOILDER have a small amount of jenova cells along with their mako injections

[@rinassenpai5624]

Like someone below stated you cant used a maxed out cloud vs a learning Zack.

[@cloudstrife5325]

Thank you !!! thank youuuu !!! hahaha finally someone appreciated Clouds in the way it should be....i was getting so freaking tired of those how heat cloud with no reasonable reason !!! i do too love Zack but at the same time i love Cloud... both of them are really cool....Finally Finally someone has fair to Cloud and talk Logic !!

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Makoto Tachibana Im glad you enjoyed this match. Its my personal favorite

[@cloudstrife5325]

you're most welcome ^^ yeah hahaha i did enjoy it very much... i figured that Cloud is your favorite hahaha why he would not be!!

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Makoto Tachibana No Cloud is not my favorite but he is tied with a similar character for the number 2 spot.

[@cloudstrife5325]

oh ! my bad haha i didn't understand you well at the first time @.@

[@josephthomas1067]

Great analysis bu bou forgot an important detail. In Advent childern Sephiroth bother Loz stole Cloud's materia stash after his fight with Tifa. When Cloud saw her her unconscious he immediately turned for he materia but realized that something that could have turned the table in cloud's favor had been stolen. I see this as the directors trying to display more of Cloud's physical attributes rather than he's casting , healing , and shielding spells. With that note you should have made some reference to the amounts of magic he used in the games and how much damage the do.

[@NovaPrime-91]

These two can't fight! That's Cloud hero/big bro / Brother basically! It should be Cloud vs Lloyd irving

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Call it a friendly sparring match.

[@mikehayden9072]

After escaping from the Professor Hojo's experiments, Zack and Cloud were on the run from Shinra for roughly 9 months before Zack was killed, not a few days.

[@paullucas6275]

Cloud is a true badass

[@super-engineer8437]

Definitely!!

[@vonmehlau9284]

Cloud is Zack Zack is Badass

[@andrewrogers6197]

Well said you two.

[@andrewrogers6197]

Leon and Paul.

[@kinimod9813]

Paul Lucas I know right

[@shootits48]

It was one of the shortest BEST summaries of FF VII iv'e ever heard. good job!

[@Haaland-Eddie]

Zack is nowhere near CC Sephiroth' level of power, let alone Cloud, Chaos Vincent or Sephiroth(post nibelheim). Cloud's sword Ultima Weapon or the First Tsurugi is WAY more powerful than the Buster sword and Omnislash is more powerful than any limit break that Zack has. Zack was killed by Shinra grunts, the most generic human enemies you wack around with your sword. They are so weak and expendable they are the first enemies in the game just to teach you the controls.

[@malibutaa]

Eddie Hall A thousand of them though, and there were SOLDIER members in that army as well, probably class 2nd and 3rd. Let's not forget he was exhausted and weakened by the refusal of the S-cells. All that and he did defeat the entire army.

[@Haaland-Eddie]

***** Nope. Only shinra grunts. Zack explicitly needs to use materia to power him to make his stats not terrible, and to be defeated by Sephiroth with minimal effort in around 2 minutes, and this is the weaker form of Sephiroth.

[@malibutaa]

Eddie Hall there were SOLDIER members there too. You can see SOLDIER swords laying about in the battlefield at the end.

[@Haaland-Eddie]

***** No. gfycat.com/RepentantLeafyBlackrhino slow down the speed of the video. By the way, the 2nds and 3rds aren't shown to be as freakishly strong as the 1sts in Crisis Core. By the time FF7 rolls by, you can fight 1sts in the midgar raid on disc 2. Nothing special about them.

[@malibutaa]

Eddie Hall Okay, now check out the video where Cloud crawls to Zack. You will see SOLDIER swords laying about. We did not see everything that happened. 2nd class SOLDIER were already pretty strong, check Zack's 2nd days.

[@TheTsunaru]

A very well thought out and put together video, but I do feel obligated to point out a bit of an error in the Physical Abilities category. It attributes Zack's abilities to leap long and far distances to the Jenova cells, but he was shown off being capable of doing that as early as his days in Soldier Second Class, as shown in the very opening cutscene of Crisis Core which is actually played during the video while it's being mentioned. Cloud, on the other hand, was only shown to be able to do these things after the infusion and time to train with/adapt to them, and even after doing so only really shows off a level that's on par with Zack while he was still only Second Class, while Zack himself never really had an opportunity to show off how much he'd grown with the exception of his increased endurance. It's a fairly minor gripe, due to the explanation in the video that you're purposefully basing their strengths off of post-experimentation Zack and post-AC Cloud (giving Cloud the advantage in training time with the cells), but I still think Zack would have an edge over Cloud due to his preexisting capabilities before the experimentation that match Cloud's after years training, which would only be enhanced further due to the cells.

[@prydom2903]

Finally, someone who actually doesn't let his emotions and fantardiness get in the way showed up. This is one of the best Zack vs Cloud I've ever seen.(probably the best)

[@ozairchishti1264]

Prydom Lol, Cloud is always a winner in any fan battle 99% of the time and is the most overrated FF character there is so not sure how the obvious answer made his verdict unique at all. You say this as if it's quite common for anyone to ever win against the poster boy of the entire series when it comes to fan debates. Cloud will always win due to popularity even if his opponent is logically better and stronger. With that being said Cloud only wins cuz Zack saved him and he was able to live long enough to reach his full potential. Cloud wins by default due to the fact that Zack can't get any stronger after sacrificing himself for Cloud following a few days of lugging his comatose body around in an exhausting man hunt. Zack by the end of AC would've easily been Cloud's superior since he already defeated Angeal and Genesis before FF7 and those guys are the only ones other than AC Cloud to be on Sephiroth's level. We only ever saw 4 first class SOLDIERS throughout all of FF7's timeline and if Zack was considered good enough at such a young age to be put in the same class as beasts like Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth then he would've definitely outclassed Sephiroth some day too and not just because Sephiroth is intentionally going easily on him like he always does with Cloud. Zack's growth throughout CC was tremendous and he would've continued to grow stronger had he not willingly given up his future for the sake of his friend. So full potential Zack > full potential Cloud but as it is right now in canon it's obviously full potential Cloud > early death Zack.

[@SilverSisu]

Zack pre Hojo's experiments would mop the floor with Cloud. Zack died because he was exhausted from fighting Minerva, Genesis and his horde of copies, Shinra mechs, dragging Cloud with him and eventually he had to face the entire Shinra army. He had no rest but he still gave them hell and almost defeated them. Zack would have survived easily if he had been in full strength but Hojo's experiments started taking it's toll during the final fight and Zack started to become exhausted and this lead to his death.

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Zack taking on base form Cloud from ff7 would be a solid win for Zack. But Advent Children Cloud is a completely different beast that improves on every thing that Zack did not live long enough to improve on.

[@SilverSisu]

@@3TopicsReviewer I agree that AC Cloud would win but og FF7 game Cloud would lose against Zack.

[@3TopicsReviewer]

@@SilverSisu Absolutely 👍

[@TripleRp]

Aerith's death was very powerful and sad. Zack was really bad A$$, loyal guy and a true soldier. The story before the events of Final Fantasy VII are really interesting. The personalities between Zack and Cloud are slightly different but more similar I believe. Zack seemed to be more of a courageous go getter but he was also smart in the field. Cloud seems a bit more reserved. I think they could trade some wins. They each have slight advantages in certain areas. I do not think that either one of them would dominate the other, but Cloud's further development overall is a significant advantage over Zack in a fight.

[@MrRed424]

cloud strife had his friends and people to back him up to fight his battles.Zack went solo til the very end and without zack cloud would have been dead.

[@TheZeroz00]

But Cloud beat Sephiroth by himself

[@MrRed424]

+McNipple Tron that wasn't sepritoh that was his minions

[@MrRed424]

+McNipple Tron plus I don't consider that piece of shit movie part of th ff un iverse

[@Haaland-Eddie]

+Shawn Abraham Do you think barret, tifa, etc. can defeat sephirot?...they are humans beings without power.They need Materia. Sephiroth can kill barret and the others easily in just seconds. The party members are there just to fill the quorum of the gameplay. Cloud beat Sephirot, Bizarro Sephirot and Sepher Sephirot by himself, and then Bahamut, Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo and Sephirot one winged form in advent children. Plus I don't consider that shity crisis core part of the ff universe either.

[@jacquelineperez8334]

cloud beat sephiroth by himself in AC ,if you dont concider that movie canon well i dont concider CC canon since now we can do whatever we want

[@Blade_Corps]

I agree with this outcome because of 2 things, and these 2 things are the ONLY reasons Cloud would win. 1. Better equipment. Cloud's fusion buster is a massively impressive and versatile weapon, which easily outclasses the buster sword. 2. Experience. At the point of AC, Cloud has just as much, if not more experience than Zack. Zack is military trained yes, but Cloud has the lessons and experience he gains from the members of the party you gain in 7. And to be fair, Genesis isn't nearly as big of a threat as Sephiroth. At the time, Sephiroth wasn't a world ending threat, so Zack didn't need to push himself as hard as Cloud did. Cloud saw the end of the world hovering there in the sky, he knew if he didn't stop Sephiroth, everything was going to go bye bye. Zack was simply fighting to save Genesis, or atleast attempt to, because he wanted to honor Angeal's legacy. So, even though Zack in my opinion has more experience, Cloud has the experience that made him grow faster. Also, does anyone else remember when Zack claims he is sluggish after the 4 year nap? That means that the last fight Zack has at his peak is against Sephiroth, and he STILL takes on that army of soldiers. And according to Last Order, is STILL fast enough to dodge multiple assault rifle fire. Now, give them both a standard issue SOLDIER blade, and you have a much different situation.

[@DavidMFBowie]

Cloud is stronger than Zack. But Zack fair is just a better character

[@jackjacques7495]

+hi lol Indeed, Cloud would still be stronger. Zack's personality is cool but some people overhype his power. His body rejected the S-Cells and was stuck with the regular J-Cells all SOLDIER have. Cloud was the only successful product of being infused with the pure and vastly more powerful S-Cells, which put his potential power in a category only he and Sephiroth belong to.

[@xxSpike1989xx]

3 mistakes i noticed 1. training had nothing to do with zack overcoming mako poisoning! i can train for ten years and the first time i inject steroids its gonna fuck me up unlike someone who has had before its called tolerance! zack had a resistance to mako poisoning because he was already exposed to mako energy! all soliders 1st class, 2nd class and 3rd class have been mako exposed to different degrees that's why all soldiers have mako eyes! only reason their so few soldiers is mako energy is extremely dangerous and soldiers need to pass physical and psychological tests to ensure they can survive and not go mad during the procedure! this is me guessing here but i reckon cloud failed the psychological test and could never become a soldier! 2 im pretty sure all when you become a 1st class soldiers you have jenova cells, so that why hojo's experiments had little effect on him the only difference between hojos experiments and the soldier programme is increased exposure to mako and dangerous levels of jenova cells to the extent that they control you and you become a sephiroth clone! zack was more adjusted having been exposed to both jenova cells and mako energy thanks to soldier while it was the first time cloud was exposed to either and at dangerous amounts hence why he was fucked 3. um cloud didn't abandon his materia it was stolen and not returned until after the final battle! when you played final fantasy 7 and when you play as cloud do you keep all materia slots empty, i don't and last i checked he was capable of preforming all magic summons in the game they just keep defaulting him to using fire and ice in dissidia because it would be over kill if he busted out high level magic or knights of the round! im impressed they kept sephiroths black materia even if they nerfed it!

[@hedgehogsonic11]

I'm trying to get over the mispronunciations, but there are so many! Anyway, good video.

[@PANICBLADE]

hedgehogsonic11 TEEFA NEEBLEHYME MOHDAYOHIME ANJEEL MAWKO *Limit breaks *DMW

[@roberts3423]

Whats the point of this comparison? Its not even fair considering Cloud have alot more battle experience vs Jenova/Sephiroth and multiple monsters, robots and other creatures, its obvious Cloud wins.

[@3TopicsReviewer]

Roberts Just to clear it up this is AC CLOUD if this match was FF7 Cloud against Zack i believe Zack would win easily.

[@KNRingabel]

I'm confused, isn't Zack able to do 99999 damage in one hit whereas Cloud can only do 9999?

[@Krupula]

That's because of different battle systems, and has nothing to do with how strong they are

[@chestercornista7954]

Cloud strife was the side kick of Zack in FFVII wasn't he?

[@earltiongson4989]

Zack will lost

[@ayoojesus]

BTW, the whole Zack surviving bullets to the head thing is a fact, he does live after all that, that's how cloud obtained the buster sword

[@vanthursday]

Youre thinking the wrong way here.. You cant let them fight when they have different time period.. Its like you are trying to make a medieval warrior fight a world war soldier... If Zack was still alive in Advent Children he could had more experience than before and he will have more powerful spells and faster speed.. As for weapons.. You forgot that the Buster sword was his second weapon.. Uf he was still alive he will not always rely on his Buster sword and also have multiple ones... You're kinda cheating in this fight..

[@3TopicsReviewer]

vanthursday The Key word is if Zack had survived which he didn't and Cloud from Advent Children and Zack by the time of his death were pretty much the same age. If Zack by the time of his death were to fight Cloud during FF7 then there is no question that Zack would win because during FF7 all cloud did was mimic Zacks fighting style and in that case Zack would've have been far more experience. But in this fight I am taking Cloud and Zack at their very best which for Cloud would be during AC and Zack during the time of his death when he was injected with the Jenova cells. I cant use a version of Zack that never existed. I would say that had he lived all the way to AC then its very possible that the outcome could be different. But I personally stand by my decision that as Good as Zack was by the time of his death Cloud simply took everything that Zack knew and took it to the next level which was something Zack did not live long enough to do.

[@profoundknawledge4569]

+3TopicsReviewer that's the thing tho by the time cloud reached zacks age he has already had the cells and a lot of training with them while zacks never was able to.

[@ShiFeng0099]

? Cloud never even made it to soldier

[@TheZeroz00]

+Assassin K1ll3r but you what you're implying for him to consider Zack if he was alive through FFVII and advent children is too hypothetical and it would make no sense you have to use both characters at their peak and right before Zack died Zack was at his peak you can't judge a fight by a hypothesis of what one character would be like it would make no sense

[@ShiFeng0099]

I mostly just going off the fact that he nearly beat Sephiroth before he got the Jenova cells Madden Zac is far more skilled + inexperienced and in my opinion a true soldier

[@mybloodismadeofteaitreally4080]

Erm cloud spent most of his young life in Shinra using guns......Zack however did not and use the sword, since we are talking about a sword fight....then Zack wins

[@caleba2465]

I thought the Sephiroth cells (cloud and zack had Sephiroths Dna implanted not jenova's thats why cloud was considered a Sephiroth clone) were rejected by zacks body which is why genesis needed clouds dna to stop his own degradation. so zack wouldn't have gained any strength after the experiments that hojo put him through he only had the normal enhancements that all soldier had (the enhancements that makes his eyes glow).

[@caleba2465]

+Nephilim King I thought that the experiment normal SOLDIER went through had nothing to do with Jenova and merely had mako injected into there system. this is why only Angel, Genesis and Sephiroth have wings because they were the only SOLDIER to have Jenova cells other than cloud but cloud never had the original experiment (The mako rejected the Jenova cells meaning Zack didn't gain any strength from the Sephiroth cells).

[@Haaland-Eddie]

+Caleb Bryant All SOLDIERs had Jenova cells in them. This includes Zack. Zack had Cells before Hojo's Experiment. But Cloud had S-Cells, S-Cells are the most powerfull cells and a specific type of pure Jenova Cell that Hojo tampered with and used in the Sephiroth Clone Project. Also S cells are Jenova cells. Just as the cells used in Jenova project G were called G cells, the cells used in Jenova project S are called S cells. Project G used the cells of Gillian, who had been injected with J cells, project S used pure Jenova cells (S-Cells means Sephiroth's cells). Hojo injected S-cells into all of the Nibelheim survivors he used in his Sephiroth Clone/Copy experiments, including Zack and Cloud, but Zack reject the cells. Zack, also a Sephiroth Clone, was a complete failure: he was not mentally affected by the experiment due to previously being unaffected by the identical SOLDIER procedure. Hojo's report said that one was effect by neither, and one was effected by Jenova cells and no mention of Mako Energy: "Escape report no. 2 Description at the time of capture. A - Former member of SOLDIER/Number ( ) No effect could be detected from either Mako Radiation Therapy or Jenova on him B - Regular/Number ( ) Reaction to Jenova detected."

[@Haaland-Eddie]

+Caleb Bryant The Sephiroth-clones are a group of test subjects from Nibelheim used in the "Project S" portion of the Jenova Project. In the original Japanese script, the clones are known as Sephiroth Copies. "Clone" is a misnomer; subjects were infected with Jenova cells to reproduce a similar effect to that of Sephiroth-who eventually exerts control of the subjects as his puppets-rather than being genetic copies. Those who turned into mindless slaves were engraved with a number somewhere on their body, but those who failed and kept some shred of their ego were left to die. Actually, Sephiroth's control over S-Cells, Sephiroth can take control of Cloud. Only Cloud survives the journey to the North Crater, and thus becomes the only "success" of the Sephiroth Clone experiment; Cloud has his own mind and ego, but Sephiroth can still take control of him at will, although at times Cloud manages to resist Sephiroth's influence. Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo...they are Cloud's brothers in the sense they share the same S-Cells and then later Cloud was called by "The reunion instinct". "Members of SOLDIER are not only infused with Mako; they are also injected with Jenova cells, an experiment as part of the Jenova Project created by Professor Gast, a Shinra scientist. Jenova's cells together with Mako give the members of SOLDIER far greater strength and cognitive ability than ordinary people possess, provided they are mentally strong enough to handle the Mako infusion process without succumbing to Mako poisoning. When this procedure is taken too far the subjects turn into Makonoids." So Cloud had Mako Poisoning and S Cells, and Zack had Mako and Jenova cells. Cloud had sephiroth's own cells injected into his body and Zack had Jenova cells injected.

[@malibutaa]

+Apollo Caleb Correct, as a matter of fact Zack actually mentions he was weakened by the S-cells. Could be the reason he couldn't take down the army.

[@caleba2465]

Sanjiyan.STRM From My understanding, Sephiroth and Angeal were the subjects of two different Jenova cell projects (The S cells (named after Sephiroth) and the G cells (which was named after Angeals mother)) Genesis was to Angeal what cloud was to Sephiroth, As in a clone that had it's own conscience. How ever From my recollection of the games you are correct in stating Zack just had the mako infusions that standard soldier had, this also caused the Sephiroth cells to be rejected from his body (tho allot of people in this comment section think they didn't so on that regard I have no idea). the deep ground agents were clones of Genesis In a similar way to genesis being a clone of Angeal and cloud a clone of Sephiroth.

[@uknowdmal807]

I think you're wrong about one thing. The reason Zack withstood the Mako Energy was because he was already infused with Mako before. All 1st class soldiers are infused with Mako hence the glowing eyes.

[@azlanhussain6116]

Minus the s-cells n the fact that Zack died n Cloud lived n had all those battle to get stronger then Zack would be alot stronger, as a fighter cloud always had his friends to rely on Zack on the other hand mostly fought alone, even if Angeal had his back most of the time he would let him fight alone cause he believed in him n that he could handle it.

[@JunKurosu]

Yeah no each of the party member at the end of 7 was on sephiroths level of strength.Zack couldn't kill sephiroth while cloud did

[@azlanhussain6116]

Dude your comparing the gameplay to the actual story

[@JunKurosu]

Hussain Abdul Rehman I'm not it was actually mentioned in advent children about their strength

[@malibutaa]

+Jun Kurosu It was mentioned that they achieved 'strength' not that they were all as strong as Sephiroth. 90% of the reason their bodies were not torn apart when Sephiroth had them with his TK was due to Cloud's resiliency/spirit energy.

[@JunKurosu]

***** They were really as strong as him not because of cloud but because they were strong

[@Popotecipote]

Okay I'd like to say that, final fantasy 7 came out in 1997 or so, and crisis core was released like 10 years or so later, and the zack's story line was ALREADY written, I've been playing this game a lot, ff7 and crisis core, and there are a lot of things, events and characters that ''confirms'' that Zack isn't dead after all, also reading about aerith, life stream and jenova's cells and watching advent children has led me to believe that Cetra's aren't really dead after all, they were humans that were able to go from one planet to another VIA life stream, which could mean that aerith isn't really dead as well (in final fantasy 7 if you revive her with glitching, she will keep talking as if she was alive, also there was a hidden cave where you can hear aerith's music, meaning that a possible revival was in the game before its release) Also, let's not forget that Zack fair has jenova's cell and thanks to that, he could be resurrected same way sephiroth did in advent children and ff7, I'm not saying that this is true or it's gonna happen, I'm simply saying that from ff7 to crisis core, 10-11 years have passed and the story line was IN the game already, these facts could be telling us that the sequel of final fantasy 7 is already there but they're not gonna release it until god knows when, and now we're getting a FF7 remake with more 'stories' events and so on, it may be possible to find new hints, maybe they'll even surprise us with a continuation of the story, who knows

[@sephirothangelsaz4468]

Sephiroth > Cloud > Chaos Vincent >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Zack

[@1989elandy]

Yes, Chaos Vincent is stronger than Zack.

[@sephirothangelsaz4468]

andy caceres Yep.

[@malibutaa]

+Angel Saz Sephiroth > Cloud > Kadaj > Loz > Yazoo > Zack > Genesis > Chaos Vincent

[@diannatalia4488]

1.Vincent(You forgot he can do everything alone, can fly, have unlimited bullet and can changed into laser, undead, have 6 transformation(beast close,mid,& long attack,the transparant one, chaos) 2. Sepiroth (He can won against 2 Soldier 1st Class) 3. Hojo (With Genesis's cell and his experiments) 4.Genesis& Angeal( they are par) 5. Cloud (He just lucky every fought with sepiroth. He looks cool in AC, so people always forgot that he isn't that strong. In AC, he won against Sepiroth because Sepiroth is in Kadaj's Body, in CC Cloud won with everyone's help)

[@malibutaa]

Dian Natalia Cloud didn't win because Sephiroth was in Kadaj's body, that played no factor at all. Cloud didn't fight Sephiroth with others in CC.

[@Henry-bx1vo]

one fight I would like to see is Squall Leonhart vs. Cloud Strife

[@xenogears7997]

Cloud is stronger. AC shows how Cloud fights without materia, and does it better than Zack ever did. Zack is just a dead loser.

[@Killer_Kris7]

Stfu, just because Zack isn't as strong as Cloud doesn't make Zack a dead loser, the fact you added Dead makes you a fucking asshole. Shut the FUCK UP

[@Killer_Kris7]

At least Zack isn't a fucking RIP off dip shit

[@xenogears7997]

@@Killer_Kris7 Zack is a steaming pile of garbage and a ripoff of Cloud, Sephiroth and Genesis. He took from everyone's style LOL.....He uses Meteorain, Octoslash , and apocalypse which is used by Cloud, Sephiroth AND Genesis.

[@PanginoongCockroach]

@@xenogears7997 Cloud isn't supposed to be the original main character, Zack is. But they made some changes and voila. Oh well...

[@xenogears7997]

@@PanginoongCockroach lmao Zack Fail is dead and irrelevant.

[@ankhsoul]

Was the Sepiroth Cloud fought in Advent Children the real Sepiroth? I felt he was a shadow of his former self, more like a memory, and not as powerful. I thought the most powerful Sepiroth was at the very end of FFVII. And It took Cloud Tifa and Barrett (or another combination) to beat him.

[@jaquan541]

motherfcker jones no AC Seph is the strongest being in ff7 verse

[@zackfair5408]

These kids now a days dont know shit about FFV7... Let me end the story. No Zack? cloud been dead. indeed