Boomstick: And Cloud Strife, sword-swinging, spiky-haired Sephiroth slayer.
Wiz: Each are powerful warriors in their own right, but in a fight to the death, which one will win?
The eighth fight of season eight features the return of two of the most famous swordsmen in video gaming history - their rivalry being a key one of The Fifth Generation of Console Video Games. Not only is this their return to the battlefield, but it is also their second bout against one another, as they last clashed all the way back in season one. Much like a similar rematch three seasons ago, Princess Zelda's chosen hero of legend and the ex-SOLDIER operative-turned-guardian of the Lifestream will be facing each other anew under the current ruleset, with somewhat different conditions from their last clash, in order to find out who will truly win a Death Battle.
Appropriately enough, the episode's analysis begins with the older warrior... older in spirit, at least. Long ago, before the kingdom of Hyrule - before even the land of Skyloft - a single brave warrior was chosen to defend the beautiful land of Hylia on behalf of the goddess. Giving his life to defend the people, this selfless knight was chosen to be reincarnated across the ages and the eras; his successors would come to save Hyrule and other worlds time and again, and allow countless people to witness the world through their eyes. His name: Link.
For the purposes of this battle, the participating Link is regarded as a conglomerate of Links from across Hyrule's history, as the numerous incarnations are capable of much the same feats as one another. It is doubtless due to this shared Spirit of the Hero that so many Links are capable of using any number of tools that they come across throughout their journeys, but their most natural mastery is that of shield and sword - namely, the indestructible Hylian Shield, and the divine Master Sword. The Blade of Evil's Bane, the Master Sword possesses the power to repel evil, letting it destroy malevolence in any form - a curse, a defense, or a dark beast. Furthermore, it has granted multiple Links the power to fire a Sword Beam, striking foes from long range, and can even be infused with lightning that means to strike Link if he raises the sword to meet the bolt.
Just because the Knightly Sword and Shield is his most recognizable choice of combat does not mean that it's his only option. Link's wide selection of weapons includes hammers, clubs, polearms, boomerangs, and bows with numerous choices of arrow - Fire, Ice, and Shock arrows give him elemental options, the Light Arrows possess a certain sanctity on par with the Master Sword, and Ancient Arrows consign their victims to oblivion. Nor is the Master Sword his only offensive option, as some incarnations of Link have carried the sacred Four Sword, which splits the wielder into multiples of himself. And every Link has had his fair share of use for these weapons, facing off with foes such as the Demon King Ganondorf, the Wind Mage Vaati, and the hellish spirit within Majora's Mask.
Link himself is rather physically capable; he has endured travelling through shallow pools of lava and evaded lasers at a respectable fraction of light speed, and with a slight boost, he can lift massive stone monuments estimated to weigh in excess of ten thousand tons. He also carries a vast number of tools for non-combat purposes - which isn't to say they serve no purpose in combat. Among his more multi-purposed tools are the Ocarina of Time, whose Magic Music can summon storms and transport him through space and time, and the Sheikah Slate, whose Runes allow him to summon remote-activated explosives, magnetically lift things, halt victims in time, and invoke the Master Cycle Zero. More unitasked equipment includes the Sailcloth and Paraglider, which allow him to catch updrafts and slow his descent for aerial transport; the Hookshot and Clawshots allow him to maneuver areas by pulling him towards suitable targets; and the Magic Cape turns its wearer invisible and intangible.
Most significant of all, however, Link is the chosen bearer of the Triforce of Courage. This sacred artifact grants Link mystic power, and offers a degree of protection from malicious transformations, ensuring he is never left in a helpless state. Certain incarnations of Link have learned focused magic spells in their own right, serving purposes such as protection, restoration, and benevolent transformations for utility; others have inherited magical abilities from others, such as the Champions of Hyrule in the Era of the Wilds. Magic tends to come in limited supply under normal circumstances, and without it, his wounds won't simply go away on their own; but a good meal makes everything better, and washing that meal down with some hearty Chateau Romani will give Link a unlimited supply of magic power for three days solid.
Finally, the masks of Termina can give Link unique abilities or transform him. With the Fierce Deity's Mask said to possess the merits of every other Mask that Link has possessed; the Fierce Deity was able to easily dispose of Majora, who brought the Moon down upon the earth with enough force to devastate the continent. With all these tools at its hero's disposal, Hyrule can rest easy; no matter what evil arises, in any age, a hero clad in green will appear, and ensure its peoples' safety.
From Hyrule, our hosts turn their attention to Gaia, a Planet ruled by the Shinra Electric Power Company. A certain spiky-headed young man dreamed of joining Shinra's SOLDIER program, in the hopes of becoming like his hero Sephiroth - Cloud Strife. And the SOLDIERs had tools worth wanting; the Materia that they are equipped with is harnessed from The Lifestream of the Planet, granting them magical abilities both offensive and protective, enhancing their physical abilities for use in combat, or even allowing them to invoke powerful Summoned Beasts (in other worlds, such beasts have received monikers like 'Eidolon' or 'Esper', but they go unnamed in Cloud's); the most powerful of those beasts was Bahamut FURY, who possessed moon-destroying power.
But alas, though Cloud would indeed come to wield Materia (which can be used with or without equipping it in a weapon) and even stand equal or better to Sephiroth... he never did truly join the ranks of SOLDIER. Rather, his best friend Zack Fair was the one who joined SOLDIER, reached First Class, and achieved a great many of the feats that Cloud thought were his own. That wasn't to say that Cloud wasn't present on any of Zack's adventures - far from it - but one of those journeys ended with the two of them captured and experimented on, experiments not unlike those applied to genuine SOLDIERs. Zack rescued Cloud from that fate, and numerous other unpleasant fates that followed... until his dreadful Last Stand on the cliffs overlooking the city of Midgar.
Between the trauma of losing Zack and the effects of the experiments he was subjected to, Cloud's psyche was broken, and he came to believe Zack's history was his own. That's not to say that Cloud has achieved no worthwhile feats of his own; he has struck down Bahamut SIN, a corrupted, empowered version of Bahamut FURY that Zack once faced off with, which possesses not only moon-destroying power, but can fly between planets in the span of seconds. Cloud himself is capable of remaining airborne for unreasonable amounts of time, cutting through reinforced concrete, and reacting to bullets and lasers with swings of his massive swords, and can use spirit energy to break his limits and unleash powerful attacks.
For the vast majority of his time, Cloud has worn a Ribbon in memory of Aerith Gainsborough; this seemingly fragile length of cloth provides Cloud immunity to status ailments, though he remains vulnerable to time manipulation. Cloud also possesses a sizeable stock of Materia, and has wielded both the heavy Buster Sword and his own personal six-piece Fusion Swords. And though he does not lay claim to Zack's feats, that does not mean he cannot be scaled to them, as both Cloud and Zack have managed to overcome Sephiroth, who fell from grace and became an enemy of the Planet. In time, Cloud came to terms with who he was, and resolved to defend the Planet from whatever would threaten it - past or future.
The history and resumes of the most famous swordsmen in gaming history have been thoroughly analyzed, and now they are ready for their fated rematch. One advertisement for Bluechew later, it's time for a Death Battle!
An engine roars in the tunnel between the cities of Edge and Midgar; the motorcycle Fenrir, with the Buster Sword sitting on the back of the man at the handlebars. Dressed in his "ex-SOLDIER" fatigues and sporting his iconic chocobo haircut, Cloud Strife seeks nothing more than to revisit the ruins of the city - but a very different roar sounds behind him, drawing his attention. A Divine Beast is gaining on Fenrir, and Link, the Hylian Champion who pilots it, seems to be eager for a fight - much to Cloud's exasperation.
FIGHT!
Cloud draws his late friend's weapon and moves to engage, Fenrir turning and spinning as he meets swings of the Master Sword with his own. After a brief lock of weapons, Cloud drives his bike up the side of the tunnel, striking at Link as he rides atop the roof, but too soon has the the Midgar side of the tunnel come up on them. The allleged ex-SOLDIER brings Fenrir back down to the surface and invokes a blast of Thunder magic on Link ahead of him, knocking him from the seat of the Master Cycle Zero.
Link draws his Sheikah Slate and aims it at Cloud; a trail of Magnesis seizes Fenrir from beneath him, but Cloud dashes through the air in an effort to chase the vehicle. Link only holds the bike long enough to give it momentum before lowering his slate and drawing his bow, firing an Ancient Arrow to consign the bike - and nearly Cloud as well - to oblivion. The blast does not consume Cloud, but it does deprive him of his Buster Sword, and throws him painfully down the cliff to boot.
He lands semi-safely in the ruins of the Sector 5 Church, where his united Fusion Swords have been left in the Buster Sword's usual place. Link descends in the church on his Paraglider... and takes note of the numerous decorative jars scattered about, which he quickly makes to destroy in order to reap their bounty. Cloud takes much offense to the desecration of the church that his friend once held dear; he charges forward with Fusion Sword in hand, and when Link hurls the last jar at him, he carefully delivers it to the floor as he strikes at the Hero of Hyrule.
His weapon is met on the Hylian Shield as Link makes to retaliate; after a brief clash of blows, he manages to land a back attack on the Planet's defender, throwing him into the air long enough for a ferocious Spin Attack to send him flying. Cloud retaliates, only for Link to leap over the blow and try to impale the Master Sword into him; the cloudy wolf manages to evade, and he and Link both turn to face one another, Materia and Sheikah Slate focused on one another.
Chains of Stasis bind Cloud in place, Stop magic takes hold on Link, and stillness briefly falls on the Sector 5 Church.
When it subsides, it all subsides at once; Stop and Stasis wear off simultaneously, and Cloud is the one who recovers faster, knocking the Master Sword from Link's grip. As he presses the offensive, the Hylian tries to retaliate with his shield alone, but is sent flying backwards, in frustration, he draws a different sword, meeting one of Cloud's blows and prompting the "ex-SOLDIER" to raise his Fusion Swords to meet the Four Sword.
And the Four Sword, and the Four Sword, and the Four Sword. Four Links lift their weapons from Cloud's and make to strike him in tandem, prompting Cloud to leap away; deciding that a single weapon won't suffice, he detaches the side blades from the unity of his Fusion Swords, uniting them at the pommels to serve as his off-hand weapon. The four Hylians charge at him, but Cloud doesn't make it easy on them, evading their blows and then unleashing a Finishing Touch to send them all flying back.
The Link in the purple tunic casts magic of his own, transforming into a fairy - small, nimble, and vocal, allowing him to evade Cloud's strikes even from the closest of range. As the spiky-headed fighter becomes frustrated, a set of Remote Bombs are laid in wait around the church before the blue-tunic Link moves in to strike. Cloud meets these blows much more successfully, but that Link soon moves aside as the green-tunic Link unleashes an Ice Arrow to freeze Cloud and his weapon.
It only lasts a moment before the ribbon around Cloud's arm counteracts the frost, but that moment is enough for the blue-tunic to send him flying with a strike of his shield. Cloud lands amidst the bombs as they are detonated by the red-tunic Link, and the three full-bodied Links gather in seeming celebration as the fourth warns them to be aware. From the dust emerges a dark blast of magic, and Cloud rises up to instigate a black hole, into which the heroes are drawn. Purple, red, and green-clad Links are consumed by the rift; the one in blue manages to hold his ground long enough to fire his Clawshot into the ceiling, letting the rift consume the Four Sword.
Link's ascent has Cloud leaping after him, but a second Clawshot pulls the Hylian on a different trajectory, and he wraps his Magic Cape around himself, vanishing into the air. The Master Sword is drawn from where it had lain beside the flower bed as notes are played on an ocarina, calling a storm to rain on the place where flowers grow. In the church window, Link casts off his cape and raises his sword, and a bolt of lightning strikes it from above; Cloud leaps towards Link, and the Hero of Hyrule hurls a voltaic strike towards Cloud.
Cloud meets it on his sword, the metal surface absorbing the electricity, and he makes to strike at Link, with enough force to cause a massive explosion. Cloud ends up kneeling in the flaming church, but some well-timed Cure magic pulls him back from the brink; alas, so too does Mipha's Grace restore his opponent, and the rubble upon Link is flung aside as he dons the Fierce Deity's Mask. A massive warrior stands before Cloud, brandishing a threatening dual-helix blade; the two trade blows in the devastated church, but swords alone are not enough for Cloud to gain the advantage.
With a ferocious glow, Cloud hurls one last cast of magic, and the Flare detonates before the Fierce Deity, throwing him into the air. The Fusion Swords' unity comes apart, and the five auxiliary blades circle Link; Cloud voices his contempt before leaping after him, hurling the First Tsurugi to alight above his opponent. Switching swords between every strike, Cloud lands as many blows as he has the patience for before ascending towards the moon for the final strike; in desperation, Link raises his hand, and the Triforce of Courage projects before him in a desperate, vain defense.
Cloud cuts straight through the hero and his relic both, and the auxiliary blades of his weapon descend around him as his opponent is rent in two, Link's legend coming to a permanent end at the hands of the ethereal mercenary.
KO!
Boomstick immediately regrets the pun he tries to make in the wake of the battle as Wiz dives into the reason for its outcome. Link's versatile arsenal gave him many options to try and overwhelm his opponent, but so too did Cloud's Materia give him as many ways to meet them; in effect, most of Link and Cloud's esoteric options were counteracted by one another's defenses, namely the curse-breaking Master Sword and the status-defying Ribbon, and the select few options that weren't so negated - like time-stopping and healing - were available to both combatants. Ultimately, the fight would come down to sheer physical capabilities, and Cloud had the overwhelming advantage in each area that counted. Link's top reaction time is 1/10th of light speed via dodging lasers, whereas Cloud can keep up with Bahamut-class summoned beasts, which can exceed light speed by 1200 times; Link had greater experience and has fought faster foes before, but nothing on that scale that would prevent Cloud from literally running circles around him. Link could match up with Majora, who was able to impose a force equivalent to 67 exatons of TNT via destroying the continent of Termina with the Moon falling, but Cloud has survived far worse attacks and even repaid the users of said attacks with godlike damage of his own. Such was the case with Sephiroth's Supernova, which could destroy an isolated dimensional space equivalent to an entire solar system; though Cloud doesn't come out of the blow unscathed, he can endure it, which is well beyond Link's damage output. While Link can possibly scale to similar dimension-destroying potential compared to the Triforce, Demise, and Majora throughout the Zelda timeline, these are much more dubious compared to Supernova's explicit destructive potential, and others more blatant feats from the world of Final Fantasy VII, such as the Knights of the Round's Ultimate End. Quite simply, the Hylian hero may had the initial edge several years ago and still boasted his own share advantages heading into this rematch, but his limits this time around were no match for his sky-faring rival, for whom limits are meant to be broken.
Wiz: The winner is Cloud Strife.
Link vs. Cloud 2021 contains examples of:
- Art Evolution: The original "Link VS Cloud" was Death Battle's first fight using 3D models, and it showed, as the animation looked very clunky and had several glaring flaws. Nearly nine years later, this rematch has much, MUCH smoother fight choreography and higher-fidelity graphics.
- Badass Biker: The fight starts with Link riding the Master Cycle Zero and Cloud riding his Fenrir.
- Call-Back:
- There are a few references to the first "Link VS Cloud" episode:
- Cloud gets hit by Link's ice arrow, freezing his arm, only for his Ribbon to immediately thaw him out. In the original, he got fully encased in ice, but his Ribbon had a similar effect.
- Link's Master Sword gets knocked out of his hands. In the original, he used the Hookshot to grab it, while here, he keeps fighting with the Four Sword before using his Magic Cape to turn invisible and grab it while unseen.
- On two separate occasions, Link attempts to end the fight by performing his trademark downwards stab and setting off a pile of bomb runes - the exact same tactics he used to defeat Cloud originally. Neither work; Cloud is able to avoid Link's swing comfortably, and while he does get caught by the bombs, he's simply too durable to have any lasting damage.
- Cloud tries to use Omnislash to finish off the fight. This time, however, he succeeds thanks to being calculated as over a thousand times faster and stronger, meaning Link no longer has the reflexes and durability to block his assault.
- Like in Ganondorf vs. Dracula, the Zelda representative brandishes their Triforce against their opponent's ultimate attack, only to have it negated.
- Speaking of their respective villains, Cloud kills Link by slicing him in half; while not exactly the same, this matches Ganondorf's death at the hands of Dracula, and Sephiroth's way of killing Vergil in those respective episodes.note
- The visual UI of FFVII returns again when the Final Fantasy representative uses their Limit Break, having been a staple for the series' representatives since Link and Cloud's first match back in 2012. Cloud performing Omnislash Ver. 5 here is even accompanied by the battle menus manually targeting Link and performing the move proper, similar to how Sephiroth performed Supernova on Vergil back in Season 4.
- There are a few references to the first "Link VS Cloud" episode:
- Composite Character: Played straight by Link, whose reincarnative nature means that most Links are capable of anything that the others can do (although the Link seen here primarily is influenced by Breath of the Wild), but subverted regarding the crossover spin-offs; Hyrule Warriors and Dissidia Final Fantasy are excluded from the analysis. This contrasts the original fight from Season 1, as Dissidia was considered a valid source for Cloud in that fight - albeit as far as determining what equipment he could bring into the battle, not necessarily for feats.
- Criss-Cross Attack: Cloud finishes the fight with Omnislash Version 5, where his Fusion Sword breaks apart into several smaller blades which surround Link in mid-air, followed by Cloud Flash Stepping from one to another while striking Link with each pass, assailing him with rapid slashes from all directions.
- David Versus Goliath:
- Not the combatants themselves, but their weapons; Link's Master Sword is respectably sized on its own, but it looks absolutely paltry next to Cloud's Buster Sword.
- The last portion of the fight becomes this when Link dons the Fierce Deity's Mask with the resulting transformation making him tower over Cloud. Much like the biblical story, Cloud defeats his larger opponent.
- Face Death with Dignity: Green Link takes his imminent death to Cloud's Remove in remarkable stride, even giving a respectful salute as he is sucked in.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: During the Fierce Deity battle, a keen enough eye could sight Cloud throwing the components of the Fusion Blade into the air in the middle of his clash with Link, a sign of him preparing the Omnislash V5 for the finisher.
- Magic Versus Science: Played With. While both combatants have magic in their arsenals, Link also has several magic-enchanted objects and augments to boost his attacks, while Cloud relies more on technological feats such as genetic engineering and advanced swords. However, Link also wields technology like a hookshot, bow and arrow, and bombs in combat, and his Sheikah Slate heavily leans into that aspect as well, while Cloud relies firmly on sword and magic. Moreso than other mixed-influence fighters throughout the series, neither Link nor Cloud can be said to be singularly representing magic or science.
- Mythology Gag:
- Link and Cloud's rematch begins with a motorcycle-based swordfight inside one of Midgar's Corkscrew Tunnels, calling to mind the first boss fight against Roche in the Final Fantasy VII Remake. It later transitions to Aerith's church from Sector 5; Cloud is even sent falling through the same hole and lands on her flower patch as he did when reuniting with Aerith.
- During the period where Link uses the Four Sword, the purple-clothed Link turns into a fairy to keep Cloud busy, leaving just the blue, red, and green Links to fight. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes began as a Four Swords title, but ran into problems with its Totem system, causing it to be reduced to a three-Link title.
- The UI of Final Fantasy VII is used on several occasions, first showing up when Link triggers the pre-fight transition and the battle interface for Cloud appears. It reappears again when Cloud readies Omnislash Ver. 5, and Link's death is visualized in the same way an enemy is defeated in FFVII: his body turns red and fades away complete with him suffering 9999 damage from the last hit of Omnislash.note
- The way Link tries to stab Cloud from above while both are in the church not only serves as a call-back to the first match, but can bring to mind a well-known scene from the original FFVII.
- No Plot? No Problem!: Link starts attacking Cloud with no explanation. The FFVII-styled UI plays with this by having the fight treated as a random encounter, complete with pre-fight transition.
- Strong and Skilled: Ultimately, what got Cloud his win was his overwhelming advantages in power and speed, considering that his Materia, accessories and Jenova-based enhancements allowed him to match Link's gear handily enough.
- Took a Level in Badass: The changes to Death Battle's rules since Season 1 mean that in this rematch, both fighters are measured as being considerably stronger than before. They're now composites of every canon version of themselves and have access to their full arsenal, as opposed to being limited to what they had in Smash and Dissidia, and their feats have also been re-calculated as much greater than what they used to be.
- Cloud now possesses every type of Materia in Final Fantasy VII as opposed to being limited to Fire and Thunder Materia, and had his feats re-evaluated as well. This not only meant that he could go blow-for-blow with Link's larger arsenal, but the re-evaluation put him as someone capable of hanging with a Summon capable of inter-planetary travel in seconds and surviving an exploding sun, letting him avenge his previous loss. It's actually worth pointing out that barring the Final Fantasy VII Remake, Cloud barely got any new canonical media in the interim between his fights, meaning that he was always this powerful, and this fight retroactively undoing his loss back in Season 1 was largely due to the changes in how Death Battle evaluates both combatants.
- Link was made into a Composite Character of each of his incarnations, allowing him to use equipment that remained specific to one of his particular incarnations. He was also given relativistic Super-Speed and scaling to feats calculated at over 67 exatons of TNT, rather than a "mere" 1000 tons of granite. Notably, this version of Link is based on the most notable mainline incarnation he got since his initial battle several years ago.
- Truer to the Text: Ironically enough, considering this Link is a walking conglomerate of Hylian heroes, his Fierce Deity transformation gets this treatment. In Majora's Mask, the Fierce Deity was massive enough to tower over buildings in Termina, let alone people; it appeared in Hyrule Warriors on par with the standard adult Link of that time, and is often nothing more than a costume-swap otherwise. This Death Battle has the Fierce Deity towering over Cloud, much more accurate to the Terminan depiction.
- Walking Armory: The fact that both Link and Cloud have such a diverse range of gear in their respective possessions not only meant that they had a ton of options to keep the fight going, but ironically enough, their sheer versatility meant that both combatants had enough ways to counter what the other had:
- Both could stop the other in time through Stasis and Stop, and the hosts admit that while Link could theoretically win a few times with this, so would Cloud, thus canceling each other out.
- Both could transform the other into a far weaker creature, but the Master Sword can protect Link just like with his wolf form in Twilight Princess, while Cloud's Ribbon negates all negative status effects, save for time stopping.
- Link could theoretically use the Ocarina of Time to travel back to the beginning of the fight armed with the knowledge of Cloud's moves, but Cloud's Assess Materia would provide a similar appraisal of Link's moves, not to mention that Cloud's experiences fighting the Whispers of Fate meant that he was versed in fighting time-traveling opponents.
- Both had ways to negate elemental damage, like with Daruk's Protection and the Ziedrich, as well as healing abilities like potions and the Cure spells. Link could use potions to keep his magic reserves in check, but Cloud could easily take some for himself through MP Steal.
- Wrecked Weapon: To emphasize the ferocity of the match, both fighters lose their swords in a few points throughout the fight. Cloud loses the Buster Sword after defending against Link blowing up the Fenrir with an Ancient Arrow, but is able to get rid of the Four Sword with his Remove Materia.
