Cloud

Cloud (クラウド, Cloud) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. All Stars. He was officially announced during the August 23rd, 2018 Nintendo Direct, and made available on August 25th, 2018. Cloud is the fifth third-party character to be introduced in the game, joining Capcom's Mega Man and Ryu, Sega's Sonic and Bayonetta, and Bandai Namco's Pac-Man.

Similarly to Marth and Roy, Cloud in all regions of Super Smash Bros. 4 is voiced only in Japanese by Takahiro Sakurai, his recurring Japanese voice actor from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children onward, in spite of having Steve Burton as his English voice actor as of Advent Children.

Cloud is currently ranked 3rd out of 58 on the tier list, placing him in the S tier, which is the top end of the top tier. This makes him the second-highest ranking downloadable character, newcomer, and third-party character. Cloud possesses one of the longest overall disjointed ranges in the game, along with Shulk and Ike. When combined with his impressive movement speed, high jumps, the ability to wall jump (making him and Toon Link the only sword-wielding characters capable of doing so), and surprisingly fast frame data relative to his range and overall power, Cloud is one of the most effective characters at spacing and zoning. His aerials, combined with his air mobility, also grant him a particularly dangerous air game, as most of them are relatively safe on shield with proper spacing; back aerial possesses tremendous reach and decent damage output, and up aerial and down aerial are noteworthy for having large initial hitboxes, long-lasting lingering hitboxes, and very generous autocancel windows. Overall, these perks give Cloud an excellent neutral game.

Cloud also possesses a unique Limit Break mechanic, which, when fully charged either manually or by dealing and/or receiving damage, bolsters Cloud's maneuverability further and gives him more powerful, single-use versions of his special moves, making him one of the most dangerous characters in the game once he has reached Limit Break.

However, Cloud does have notable drawbacks. His Limit Break mechanic makes his playstyle fluctuate constantly, as the gauge takes some time to charge. His recovery is notoriously weak without a full Limit Gauge despite his high second jump and decent air speed, due to Climhazzard's below average height gain, its inability to edge sweetspot like most up special moves and the fact he will get efficiently gimped if he gets hit by a powerful single hit blow at the apex of the move. Cloud's moveset is also inconsistent at KOing without the Limit Break specials or edgeguarding, with his more powerful attacks being risky to use due to their ending lag and his aerials requiring good positioning to KO effectively, especially off-stage, as he might not be able to get back if he goes too far off the stage.

Cloud's grab game is also poor: his grabs have very short ranges and his forward, back and up throws grant little reward due to their ending lag preventing them from being used as combo starters and their knockback scaling being unfavorable for KOing. He additionally suffers from a linear approach due to his ground attacks lacking the utility of his aerials while being unsafe on shield, forcing him to take to the air often. This renders him unable to effectively pressure shielding opponents while also leaving him fewer options to escape shield pressure himself. Finally, his above average weight and falling speed are both a blessing and a curse, as his decent survivability is offset by a glaring susceptibility to combos and juggles, which can be exacerbated due to his tall frame and lack of escape options (especially since majority of his aerials start from behind him).

Regardless, Cloud's potent Limit Break specials and fundamentally sound attributes outweigh his cons and have resulted in him being regarded highly on the tier list due to his popularity as a pocket character and perceived ease of use. While Cloud has been somewhat nerfed since the first tier list was created, several characters perceived as top-tier have undergone more severe nerfs, which positively affects his matchups against said characters. As such, many professionals believe him to be one of the best characters in the game and deserving of his current placing on the tier list. Although it is uncommon for Cloud to achieve top 16 placings at super national tournaments, his overall results are nonetheless very strong in both singles and doubles play, as shown with Komorikiri and Tweek placing 3rd and 13th, respectively, at The Big House 6.