If I were a SOLDIER...
Cloud Strife. I'll admit, I try to keep my Cloud bashing down, but I really don't care for Cloud's character. I think after I finished Crisis Core, I found Cloud to be slightly more bearable.
What's in your head?. Crisis Core gives us the real Cloud Strife, something we really don't get to see in the other FFVII series. He is young, unsure of himself, lacks confidence in his abilities. I'd even dare to say he was a bit of a klutz. He is knocked aside by Hollander and easiy defeated by monsters. A lot of the enemy encounters end with Cloud being knocked out or injured. He wants to be someone people (and Tifa) will notice and like. Resulting from years of being an outcast as a kid, and longing for the other kids to let you be apart of the group. His Dad has either died or not in his life, so he lives alone with his Mother. He was constantly getting into fights. I'm sure Dr Phil would call all of that a cry for attention. So he runs off to join SOLDIER, determined to prove to everyone that he's not a nobody. In fact he admits the reason why he wanted to join SOLDIER as: "I was devastated. ......I wanted to be noticed. I thought if I got stronger I could get someone to notice...", that someone being Tifa. Now as a teenager he finds himself struggling to make that dream come true. To the point that when he goes to the Nibelheim mission, he refuses to remove his helmet, too ashamed to have the villagers, Tifa, and his Mother discover that he hasn't accomplished this dream yet.
Changing Tide. To become a hero, you must have a dream. I think Cloud wanted to be a SOLDIER for all the wrong reasons, which is why he failed. When Sephiroth destroyed his hometown, killed his Mother and critically wounded Tifa, I think Cloud found a reason. He lost everything he loved, and I think that's where he found the pure willpower to defeat Sephiroth. "Mom...Tifa...my hometown...give it back".
Zombie, Zombie. Due to Hojo's experimentation, the Jenova cells within Cloud merged his memories of Zack with Tifa's memories of Cloud, so that Cloud develops this angsty arrogant 'I don't care unless I'm getting money out of it' attitude. That's rather obnoxious. He believes that he was a Soldier Class 1st. His limit break OmniSlash is one of Zack's limit breaks. When Cloud, with Tifa's help, finally manages to piece together his memories, he's devastated. He never was the hero. The hero died to save him. And Sephiroth had used him in the worst way. It seems like this will be the end, but Cloud manages to pick himself back up and carry on, not for himself or to prove anything to anyone, but for the friends he's lost along the way. And more importantly for Aeris- the prayer Aeris had sent through the Planet via Holy is being blocked by Sephiroth, and to do nothign would mean Aeris' death was in vain.
Teach me the meaning of life. Advent Children finds us with Cloud again, this time taciturn. Morose. Angsty. With the events of FFVII, he really didn't have time to reflect on all that had happened. He didn't have time to mourn properly. The Planet had been in urgent need. Now that things have slowed down somewhat, and the full impact of everything has hit Cloud, he's undoubtedly in a slump. He feels himself a failure, two people he cared deeply about died to help him, and he did nothing to save them. But the world is threatened again, and Cloud must rise to the occassion, with help from metaphysical visits from Aeris, urging him to move on and forgive himself. After all, neither she nor Zack blame Cloud for their deaths. During his fight, Zack finally appears, the same way Aeris does, to Cloud. Like Aeris Zack is behnd Cloud, so Cloud never sees Zack's face. Sephiroth has sliced and diced Cloud up and he's injured, and probably doubted whether he has the strength to go on. Zack tells Cloud,You weren't A SOLDIER, but it's a matter of heart. You defeated him once, second time should be cake. Joking aside, Zack asks Cloud seriously, Do you need my help. Cloud shakes his head. Zack goes on to tell Cloud 'Never let go of your pride and to Never forget. At those words Cloud stands and continues I am the evidence you lived. With that Zack vanishes and Cloud finishes Sephiroth off. In the end, Cloud lets go of his guilt, surrounding him are his dearest friends and the children, people who all believe in him. And he looks up to see Aeris and Zack bidding him a final farewell. "See, you're alright now", and Cloud feels the truth in Aeris' word, the corners of his lips turning up, a barely perceptable ghost of a smile.