25 Greatest Video Game Heroes Of All Time

9. Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII)

Cloud begins Final Fantasy VII as your typical male fantasy hero. Armed with his comically large Buster Sword, he is confident, arrogant, and aloof. While aiding AVALANCHE, he makes it clear he is in it for himself; merely a mercenary for hire.

It is eventually revealed however that Cloud's persona is a fabrication of a deeper issue inside himself. When forced to confront this truth, he could have easily collapsed into a helpless victim of circumstance. But as a true hero does, Cloud overcame his self-doubt, accepted his true self, and went on to save the world with his friends.

This is ultimately what makes Cloud such an iconic hero. It's not just that he looks cool; by the end of Final Fantasy VII he is a different person from who he was at the beginning. His journey is as much internal as it is external, making for an especially layered and sympathetic hero that anyone can relate to.