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Ahh, Cloud Strife... The first time I made him (as seen on the last image in the photo gallery), I used the Dissidia/Smash Brothers design as my inspiration. When I wanted to remake him (the sword and armor had been damaged beyond repair), the first trailer for the Remake had come out, so I based the costume's second iteration off of the meager screenshots from the trailer by re-using most of the existing costume and making new versions of the belts, armor and sword.

Cloud's outfit is composed of a turtleneck tank top made using a commercial pattern, a belt system made out of pleather, pants bought at a military surplus store, my dad's old work boots, and a heavily styled wig from Arda Wigs. The pauldron was made out of EVA Foam both times, and held on with magnets to the suspenders. The bracer was made in the same way. The first sword was all EVA Foam with a wood dowel core; due to the core, I put some Materias I made with Fimo Clay in the slots since I wouldn't be able to drill holes into it. The second Buster Sword was assembled for the most part by my dad with cedar wood, drilled and cut and sanded with power tools and a bandsaw. I added the detailing with thin EVA Foam and painted the whole thing.

Both times I brought Cloud to a convention, I felt badass. It was, at the time, the costume that people had paid the most attention to me in, and I think part of it, outside of Cloud Strife being a beloved icon, is because the Buster Sword was an impressive prop at the time. As of 2025, large, complex props are a lot more feasible now, with 3D Print, specialized EVA Foam and prop patterns being a lot more widespread. But at the time, EVA Foam was just picking up steam and most large items you'd see (like the sword, or Pyramid Head's helmet) were usually achieved with cardboard.

But I also have some mixed feelings about these builds. The first time I made this costume, the Buster Sword was one my first EVA Foam prop and I thought it looked ugly. (Looking at it now, I was way too hard on myself.) The second time I made it, the Buster Sword was so heavy it barely got through Weapon Check and I was knocked on my ass for a week after carrying it all day. (My dad helped me with this one, insisting it'd be light enough and not taking no for an answer. It caused such a rift it was the last time I accepted help from family on a project.) I had to re-do the arm bracer the first time around because the foam I picked as a base stained my arm purple, and I lost the pauldron at the con the second time around. At the prospect of remaking the armor and sword a third time, I retired the costume and just displayed the sword on my wall. For all the grief it has caused, it is a REALLY COOL wall decoration.

There are a lot of Cloud Strife cosplays online nowadays, and they look leagues better than this, in my opinion... But everytime I see this Cloud cosplay, it oozes old-age cosplay charm to me; an era where we did our best with developping materials and basic wig styling techniques.

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