Cloud's story or Vincent's story? *spoilers*

[havok]

Is Final Fantasy really Cloud's story? I mean, sure the game revolves around him and what has happened in his past but is it really his story? If Hojo and Lucrecia hadn't clash after Vincent and Hojo's fight for her, then Sephiroth wouldn't had been in the game, and Aeris would be alive. And if Aeris was alive then Cloud wouldn't spend most of the game getting his revenge on Sephiroth. I almost think it's Vincent's story because if he didn't love Lucrecia and Hojo got her then the story would be Vincent's because he regrets letting her go to Hojo. But then it could be Cloud's story as well because he loved Aeris and then Sephiroth kills her and then Cloud's left to seek revenge on him. But the turning piont of the whole thing in my opinion is if Vincent and Lucrecia had been together, then Cloud wouldn't be seeking revenge on Sephiroth and then who knows what Final Fantasy 7 would have been like.

What's your thoughts on who's story it is?

[Muhamo Alru]

i think that both drive the other. cloud did have his reasons to join soldier and avalanche, and vincent did have an involvement with lucrecia and sephiroth.
its an interesting topic and i'm not really sure how to answer it. if cloud hadn't woken vincent up then it would be mainly cloud's story. however, it could also be vincents especially with the connections of hojo and sephiroth.
maybe its really sephiroth's story? who knows, because the thing with long stories like this is the induvidual substories of the characters that help to make up the game.
in a way, its no one person's story. its their collective journey that this game is all about.

[havok]

Originally Posted by Muhamo Alru

in a way, its no one person's story. its their collective journey that this game is all about.

Good point there but who do you think had the greatest impact on the story, Cloud or Vincent? Well, I guess it could be a mix of both.

[Jolts_D]

Although the game was mainly about the group defending the safety of the planet, the story did tend to focus mostly on Cloud and how he came to be.
Vincent has his own story, and he's got his own game for that (although, I've never beaten it, so I don't know how it goes exactly). True, if Vincent past hadn't panned out that way, things may have been different, but they did occur that way, and his background only helps explain how Sephiroth came to be and why Cloud is out to get him.
Even Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is based mostly around Cloud, so I guess it's mostly for him.

That's just my theory.

[So Vunkuddah Sasuno]

Originally Posted by Muhamo Alru

maybe its really sephiroth's story? who knows, because the thing with long stories like this is the induvidual substories of the characters that help to make up the game.
in a way, its no one person's story. its their collective journey that this game is all about.

I completely agree with ya sis. The game is everyones journey.

[Three Headed Prince]

i feel your point about hojo and vincent to be right, maybe it isn't clouds story i mean hes actually being zack and living zacks life kind of so its more of vincents who is living for himself.

[VincentValentine]

You can't say it's Vincents because of the Hojo and Lucrecia business, every character had an effect on the game that would change the storyline miraculously (except maybe Yuffie), all in all it is Cloud's story

[vincent_91]

the story mostly follows as he is the main character that we follow throughout the game, however all the characters have their own links and stories which impact on the main storline. the story is mostly based around the planet and how a group of people have formed together to save the planet and take on shinra, you could aruge that the game does involve the story of the different characters and some more than others as they have links in the past. in my opinion final fantasy 7 is based around clouds story and how he forms a group with people who he meets on his journey to defeat septhiroth and save the planet. i dont think the game has more to do with vincents story as he is only an optional character in the game and his story is mostly played out in his own game. vincent does have links before the game as a member of the turks and then when he became hojo's experiment but other charaters also have links with the story in the past and all the characters revolve around cloud in many ways in the past and durning the game.

[-x-DarkHeart-x-]

its probably cloud's story cause...Dirge of Cerberus will be Vincent Valentine's story...

[Dark Squall]

I'll go with Zack's story. Cloud's story is so ****ing complicated, and Vincent's story was too simple!

[*Yesha*]

If.. Vincent doesn't waste many years just to hide his seLf in some coffin he may have.. taken CLoud's story..

[MC Benny]

Hmm, that's a good question. In my opinion i think it is a mixture of every main character's story, but predominately focuses on Cloud due to the fact that FFVII needs a main protagonist and that Cloud is in a lot of ways exactly like Zack Fair in Crisis Core.

However, Vincent likewise has a major role to play in FFVII's story, with Lucrecia and Hojo and the birth of Sephiroth. So i guess u could argue that FFVII centres around both Cloud and Vincent, however Cloud remains the main protagonist throughout the story predominately for gameplay reasons.

[Tiger Lily]

Well, if you're asking who drives the story more, I have to say Cloud as, to my knowledge, Vincent is optional. Not that I've actually tried to complete the game without acquiring him, but it seemed that as he was in a coffin behind a locked door, the key to which you could only get by opening a safe, defeating a monster and finding the damn place... But I s'pose there could be a saftey blanket which forces you to get him. As I said, I don't know. ^^;

As much as I'd love to say Vincent, I have to stick with Cloud. He is intergral to the storyline, to an extent much greater than Vincent. *shrug* I mean, it's all well and good that Vincent's backstory has him involved with Sephiroth's surrogate, but really, so what? Cloud's the one that wants to kill the son of a gun and takes action (so spurring the storyline), but if he'd not interfered, Vincent would still have been... sleeping.

Woo, action-packed stuff. =P