Everything About the Cloud Strife Sword: From Lore to Replicas

The Final Fantasy series is home to a ton of famous swords in video games, whether they be European broadsword, katana, or saber inspired. With the series collaborating with franchises such as Kingdom Hearts, it’s no surprise that one of its lead characters’ swords, Cloud Strife’s sword, has become so recognizable to RPG fans.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Cloud Strife sword from its in-game lore to how you can get a quality replica for yourself while we wait for the Final Fantasy VII remake to be released.

FAQs About Cloud’s Sword From Final Fantasy

Video game development studio Square Enix has been putting out Final Fantasy games for years now, whether it’s the iconic Final Fantasy 7 (FFVII) or other installments such as Crisis Core. Antagonist Sephiroth may wield the most popular katana in the game, but Cloud takes the cake when it comes to claymore inspired swords.

1. What is the Cloud Strife sword called?

The Buster sword is what Cloud calls his oversized blade in the games. Cloud Strife’s Buster sword is his official sword for in-game cutscenes and minigames as well as official art. This means that no matter what sword you change it to in your inventory, you’re going to see the Buster sword when you actually play through the story quests.

2. What is the best sword for Cloud?

Depending on which Final Fantasy game you’re playing, you’re bound to run into a better sword than the Buster sword such as Squall’s gunblade. That said, the Buster sword typically has the most balanced set of stats to fit Cloud’s base stats and abilities, making it a better choice overall outside of niche situations.

3. Why is Cloud’s Buster sword so big?

The sword is inspired by Guts’ sword in Berserk. The sword’s massive size has inspired other oversized sword designs such as the ones seen on Black Clover. 

4. Does Cloud have other swords?

The Fusion sword appears in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, an anime movie centered featuring other characters such as Aerith, Tifa, and Zack Fair. This sword is said to be stronger in canon than the Buster sword as it is made from a set of six sword modules that assemble into one massive sword. This allows Cloud to adapt in a fight as his weapon can change to adapt with him. That said, he still mostly uses it in its fully assembled form wherein it looks just like the Buster sword, hence the confusion between the two.

How and Where to Find a Buster Sword Replica

Cloud’s Buster sword is so cool, it’s practically begging for a cosplay feature. If you’ve been thinking of getting a replica, there are factors to consider in picking out your copy of the sword such as size, accuracy, material, and price point. This can get overwhelming so here’s how you can streamline your selection process.

1. Figure out what you want it to do.

Replica swords are designed for aesthetics, but that doesn’t mean some of them don’t work better than others for certain purposes. Swords made of foam and plastic are typically good enough for cosplay, but are made of materials that deteriorate faster than wood and metal. While that may sound strange, plastic actually doesn’t hold its color as well as wood which is porous and absorbs paint deeper into itself. 

Of course, stainless steel is the best and longest lasting. Variants of stainless steel will also vary in price depending on their specific alloy blend, but variants like high carbon steel and carbon steel tend to be some of the best of the best.

2. Set a budget.

These material differences also make an impact on a sword’s price point. If you really don’t need the sword for a display/collection, you don’t have to spend close to a hundred to hundreds of dollars on a replica sword. 

3. Know what trusted stores to turn to.

Just like how not all replica swords are made the same, not all stores can be trusted. Amazon and Wish can be quite hit or miss so unless you know what you’re looking for, it’s best to stick to specialty shops such as Otaku Ninja Hero.

Or just pick from one of the links we trust here on our site.

Conclusion

Cloud Strife’s Buster sword has made its name in the gaming scene for its numerous appearances across the Final Fantasy series and other collaboration projects. Getting a replica of it is pretty straightforward provided that you know what you’re looking for – not a hard task with our detailed guide on selecting sword replicas.