A recent Nintendo Direct announced that Cloud from Final Fantasy VII will be a new playable character in Super Smash Bros. It came as a surprise to a lot of Western fans, and almost immediately I started receiving questions about what Japanese fans think about Cloud’s announcement.
I actually haven’t paid too much attention to how any fans anywhere have been reacting – my own reaction was basically just, “Okay.” With that said, here’s a look at the Japanese reveal video, just in the unlikely case that it’s different from the English video:
As for Japanese reactions, here are some translated from a variety of gaming sites, 2ch, and Twitter. As always, keep in mind that these are just random comments I’ve chosen and that there are so few listed here that they shouldn’t be considered representative of all Japanese gamers. That would be silly. This is only meant to satisfy readers’ curiosity!
Cloud doesn’t match Nintendo, shoulda gone with Bartz, though I doubt he’d be popular
If they’re gonna put Cloud in there, I think they should really put in popular characters from Famicom and Super Famicom games that were pillars of those systems.
Someone like Goemon, or Goemon, or Goemon…
Or maybe no kids these days know who Goemon is?
I’m SO happy the Advent Children outfit is in there
Should’ve waited to put him in the next game
Can’t wait for the FF7 remake!
At this point they’ll throw anything into Smash
Oh yeah, I NEED his amiibo
They should just make Smash like LoL where it’s free to play and you can pay to get more characters
Snake!
that’s all
His up-smash seemed really weird
Is this a hint that the FF7 remake’s gonna be on the Wii U too?
Honestly, all I can think is, “So?” In the end, they’re just trying to extend the life of the game by adding characters afterward.
Regardless of sales totals, if this is what we can expect from our games now, then the 3DS is done for.
Is there something wrong with extending the life of a game? I don’t see the problem in trying to let a game sell for a long time alongside new games that come and go.
Cloud dressed up like a girl would be adorable…
So what?
Sony fanboys gonna go crazy!!!
Please, Square-Enix! Put Geno in too!
Go back to PlayStation!
Cloud’s been on Nintendo systems before:
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (GBA)
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (DS)
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (3DS)
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (3DS)
Final Fantasy Explorers (3DS)
Cecil would’ve been better
Looks like Link
Why now?
I loved FF7 so I’m glad that Cloud’s going to be in the game. But I guess nobody else here feels that way…
If Cloud’s in, Tifa can’t be far behind. Am I the only one who thinks that?
I’ve honestly never played a single Final Fantasy game
Way too many male characters. We need more female characters, it’s getting way too unbalanced!
Snake, Sonic, and Rockman were all on Nintendo systems at some point, so they make sense. But Cloud…?
Nintendo has finally broken its limit
I suspected that they were going crazy with these new characters… and yep, I was right!
It’s not THAT surprising – he was in two 3DS Theatrhythm games after all
I’m amazed this didn’t get leaked first
Between Pac-Man, Rockman, Sonic, Ryu, and Cloud, the game’s really gained an incredible “All-Stars” aspect
If they’re gonna add new characters, someone like Jibanyan or a squid would’ve been a more exciting choice, I think. But FF7 is REALLY popular with foreigners, so it’s probably an attempt to appeal to them.
Square-Enix must be hurting financially
I think there are plenty of Wii U and 3DS gamers who’ve played FF7 before.
As a fan, I also love that the Advent Children outfit is an option. They really get it.
Smash’s popularity aside, I’m sure there are people who will be glad that Cloud’s going to be in it.
As always, the Internet filth of Japan gives a coldhearted response.
You should at least accept that Cloud’s in the game mostly for foreign gamers. The fact he’s in the game shows that your opinions mean almost nothing anyway.
I wish they’d put FF7 and Saga Frontier on the Virtual Console… but I guess that’s never gonna happen
He represents their betrayal of Nintendo though
I opened the article, hoping to just take a quick peek… but man, nothing beats FF7’s music!
The music and the sample footage got me pumped up! I can’t wait to buy it now!
Is Sephiroth in the works?
I won’t play him if his controls are bad
People still care about Cloud that much? He’s old news to me.
Nico Nico comments are a little funny too:
 |  |
Sakurai!
I’m buying this
A lot of people seem to be asking for Sora
I hope Cloud has a girl outfit too
So cool!
Guess I better buy Smash Bros. now
Come on, Vivi!
Put him in PS All-Stars too
Screw this crap! Put Snake in!
I’m gonna use Ness!
Seriously?
He defeated Nintendo! And Sega! And Capcom! And Namco!
Why?!
Don’t want, put Ice Climbers back in
Who?
He was in that DS Kingdom Hearts game too
Take that, Sony fanboys
I’m so happy that I’m tearing up
What? He’s basically Ike
So there you go! Overall, the comments I came across seemed positive and filled with excitement. There were some comments saying that it seemed like a weird choice, and sometimes comments would devolve into fanboy arguments. But those seemed to be in the minority.
During my research I also stumbled upon this video on a Japanese site. I think our reaction videos might be the highlights for a lot of Japanese gamers these days!
Anyway, hopefully that answers the question about what Japanese gamers have been saying about Cloud’s announcement! I actually went to buy Super Smash Bros. for Wii U today just because I haven’t bought it yet, and was confused when it was sold out everywhere. I’m guessing this was probably why!
Reactions here seem pretty similar to those in the West. Also, it’s amusing that some of these are complaining that Smash is mostly catering to foreigners when over here people tend to complain that it’s mostly catering to Japanese players.
There were similar comments about Greninja. Catering to foreign players seems to be a common write-off over there.
So glad that some people still remember Goemon! ^_^
I KNOW!! THT WAS MY GAME! i wish him or his crew were assist trophies..but attacking with a metal pipe and his final smash with his team? :3
I LOVE GOEMON!! Would be AWESOME if Ebisumaru, Sasuke and Yae showed up for the final smash, and maybe IMPACT as an assist trophy shooting nose bullets or something!
On a side note, I’d love to see Intergalactic Cybot-G Marina Liteyears from Mischief Makers (Yuke Yuke Troublemakers) in a Smash game as well, get a little Treasure representation. Her knife-kick will punish you!!
I know right? I’m amazed they haven’t considered him. His series was so full of zaniness, he would fit right in with Smash’s antics.
The franchise hasn’t had a new real game since 2005, with Konami killing it off for good by making it pachinko based in ’09.
No surprise there tho. Possible omen of what was to come?
I know, but no reason they still can’t use him in Smash. I’ve seen that HD pachinko game, by the way. Great visuals, music and voices, but it’s a shame that’s the fate that befalls many series that really have nowhere to go.
Wow, both the Bartz and Goemon reactions perfectly mirror mine. Uncanny.
(Although I’d prefer some Bravely Default representation over pretty much any Final Fantasy character…)
Me too; I think Lord Lester DeRosso would be an excellent candidate for the role. Either him, or Sage Yulyana (DeRosso because he’s a Vampire, and thus can use other BD enemies’ attacks as his specials; Yulyana because he can use the powers from the asterisks as his specials).
I’m just annoyed at how almost everyone apparently disregarded the better options in the poll, and instead went with Bayonetta; isn’t that rated Mature due to sexual themes and like? In other words, completely different from Super Smash Bros.? Sigh…
Quite a few of these pretty closely mirror my opinion, but one in particular almost perfectly matches the first thought that went through my mind when this was announced: “Sony fanboys gonna go crazy!!!”
http://forums.chozosanctuary.com/topic/8432-cloud-storms-into-battle/?p=16518084
Also, I really don’t get the appeal of Reaction Videos. They gotta be one of the dumbest things on youtube.
Cloud’s inclusion makes a certain sort of sense to me, even if he’s not the most “Nintendoy” character (though if the FF7 remake ended up on the Wii U, I’d probably buy it… It’s a game I’ve been meaning to play for the sake of becoming culturally educated for a while). Final Fantasy is a HUGE franchise, and for better or for worse, Cloud is THE most iconic character in that franchise. Even if a character from an earlier game would be more “Nintendoey,” none of them are as iconic. Honestly, the only thing that really surprises me is that we got a FF representative before we got a Dragon Quest representative, but Dragon Quest doesn’t necessarily have any iconic characters the same way. I mean, aside from Slime, but I’m not sure how one would make Slime a Smash combatant.
…Though to be honest, I’d love to see them try…
I think that Psaro the Manslayer would be a good Dragon Quest character for Smash.
“Cloud doesn’t match Nintendo, shoulda gone with Bartz, though I doubt he’d be popular”
I’m pretty sure my first comment after the reveal was “I’d have totally gone with GILGAMESH!” Glad to see I’m not the only one on the FF5 page.
“Cloud dressed up like a girl would be adorable…”
If Girl Cloud isn’t an alt costume, I’m gonna be pretty disappointed.
“I’d have totally gone with GILGAMESH!”
Too big. 😉
Goemon is on the top of my list, too.
Alongside Terry Bogard. Come on, we got Ryu, give us his main rival as well.
Goemon would be pretty great, but what would put him over the top would be having Ebisumaru as an alternate costume.
My top choice would be Miles Edgeworth, on account of he’s just generally the best.
Miles Edgeworth would make me play this game non-stop.
You think Terry is more of a rival than Kyo?
Terry is definitely a bigger icon of SNK. Sadly, his chances for Smash have to be close to zero.
Four years later…
Also, I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s been wanting Terry. He was my most-wanted character.
The one difference I saw in the two was that in the Japanese at 2:47, they insert the word 最後 (final), whereas there’s no indication of any finality in the English version.
[スマブラ最後の特別番組放送決定２０１５．１２]
vs
“Super Smash Bros. Special Broadcast Coming December 2015.”
My fondness for Final Fantasy 7 is pretty severely limited, so my reaction was mainly “huh.” I suppose, if anything, I was surprised that they went with Cloud over Cecil, whose game actually came out on Nintendo hardware.
Saw “Nico Nico comments are “, thought “probably wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww”
Was not disappointed by the screenshot.
Just FYI.
Hey, what can you say? Those Nico Nico users love to laugh. What a jolly bunch!
One could say they double over with laughter!
If it had been Terra or Celes, or Geno, or maybe one of the FF1 classes, I’d absolutely buy this Smash Brothers. I have no feelings for Cloud one way or another, and all these bloggers saying “OMG Final Fantasy 7 was my childhood!” are making me feel quite old. In my day 3D meant Mode 7, whippersnappers…
BTW, there have been some signs of Youkai Watch eclipsing Pokemon in Japan (e.g. the Toy Fair poster this year had a bunch of huge YW characters front-and-center while a lone little Pikachu was shoved off to the side), so the Jibanyan comment might not be as far-fetched as it seems.
“But FF7 is REALLY popular with foreigners, so it’s probably an attempt to appeal to them.”
I’ve always been a bit bugged by Japan’s tendency to refer to every non-Japanese as a “foreigner”. In the US and other parts of the Western world, foreigner is mostly used to describe someone in a country who is not his own, not every other nationality. We’re taught to recognize people’s nationalities, while most Japanese just put everyone who’s not Japanese in a “foreign” box. I
Is Cloud popular with the Americans? With the British? Australians? Nope, foreigners. Why do they this? To ignore people’s backgrounds and just call them “foreigners” for not having been born in your country seems incredibly rude.
Japan did have that whole sakoku thing where the Dutch became the only representative of western culture allowed to remain in contact and became stand-ins for the entirety of the west as a result. That might explain part of it.
“To ignore people’s backgrounds and just call them “foreigners” for not having been born in your country seems incredibly rude.”
You say that as though that’s unique to Japan.
Personally, I think you’re the rude one for judging another culture you obviously don’t understand through your own narrow cultural lens.
I’m a frequent watcher of Niconico, and yes there’s an entire tag for reactions to Smash trailers that are all from Youtube.
Etika is known as ‘Guile-kun’ thanks to his haircut on Nico. lol
Most English comments I’ve seen have been more positive than this, actually. I think the analysis that FFVII is more popular outside Japan is pretty spot-on.
Funny, I had assumed that Final Fantasy 7 had an equal level of popularity in Japan. It was definitely an influential and ambitious game for its time, and it has had more sequels/spin-offs than any other game in the series.
So if not 7, which game in the Final Fantasy series is the most popular in Japan?
Actually japanese fans would have wanted dragon quest…
Final Fantasy IV. You should be able to tell by the ridiculous number of remakes.
I get the point of Cloud being chosen because he’s from FF7, the most iconic game in the series, but I am sorely disappointed. Most likely it’s because I’m not that big of a fan of FF7. The hype ruined the game for me. Like others, I thought that Cecil would have been picked, but I guess not. Terra also would have been a good choice, and even Bartz would’ve been nice to have.
I hope that guy complaining that Goemon needs to get in is heard by Nintendo (or Konami, if they’d even bother to notice such a thing).
I’ll probably pass on Cloud, but I would have been really really hyped for Terra or Celes, or anything related to FF6.
Oh man, what I wouldn’t give to see Goemon in Smash.
If you ask me, having Cloud certainly means that Nintendo is now willing to put anything and everything to Smash. Pretty soon, we might have Gordon Freeman romping around there…
” the Internet filth of Japan gives a coldhearted response.” This phrase is really weird, any context or further explanation about it?
It was in response to a bunch of people complaining about Cloud being included, nothing much more beyond that. Sort of like kneejerk backlash to kneejerk backlash.
“Way too many male characters. We need more female characters, it’s getting way too unbalanced!”
What a typically predictable thing for a Japanese male gamer to say.
No matter who’s put in Smash Bros… people will always complain. Can’t please everyone, but I know a majority of people will love Cloud and enjoy playing as him even if they’re upset about his inclusion at first.
So… exactly the same as here.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Ugh, that reaction video. He was already fake turning it up so hard that he didn’t have anywhere to go when the actual announcement was made.
And I agree with the guy who says it means that the FF7 reboot will be on WiiU. They didn’t make him look a thing like his old counterpart. It’s Sony advertising for their new game, and getting people used to Cloud’s new look.
Please tell me that at least some of the comments were them making fun of the guy and how excited he was. I really hope they don’t think this is how Americans really act.
Honestly, I’m surprised and a little angered by the reveal that Cloud is in Smash. I don’t have problems with FF reps in Smash, not by a long shot, but Cloud? The hero from the first non-Nintendo FF? Puh-leez. I think that those folks talking about other pre-7 Final Fantasy reps are on the right track. I also think that FFVII is overrated as all get out. -_- It does make some sense that they’d want to put the biggest FF some representation in Smash, but I don’t really care for this decision. (Honestly, I’d personally rather have Isaac from Golden Sun in Smash than Cloud any day. ^_^)