There is no doubt that Cloud is one of the most iconic heroes in gaming. After all, Final Fantasy 7, the game Cloud is originally from, changed role-playing games to come.
It is also one of the most popular if not the most popular Final Fantasy game. Even until today, many old and new players still dive into the pixelated realm of Final Fantasy 7 to explore or revisit the world.
What is Cloud’s sword called?
Just as iconic as Cloud, his weapon, the Buster Sword has also become very popular. Both the hero and his weapon have become an inspiration to many characters and weapon designs. Some might even be familiar to you.
Because of their popularity and influence, Cloud and his signature weapon has appeared in numerous games, series and even a movie. In this article, we shall talk about the weapon of the hero that has influenced a lot of people, including us.
We’ll be getting to know more about Cloud’s buster sword, its history, what the sword means to him, and everything in between. We’ll be pulling no punches as we share with you everything we know about Cloud’s iconic buster sword. If you want own the Buster Sword yourself, you can get it here on Amazon.
Cloud and His Buster Sword in Final Fantasy 7
In the game, the first scene with Cloud is him with his buster sword. It won’t be until further in the game until much about the weapon is told. Although, when you’re really playing the game, your attention really won’t be focused on the sword now would it?
So, initially, we just accept it that the unnecessarily huge sword the protagonist is carrying is just part of the character’s design and nothing more. But of course, the sword has a deeper story. More than just to make Cloud look even cooler and stronger than he already is, his buster sword is a cherished treasure not only by him but also by its previous owners.
You won’t learn about the complete history of the buster sword in Final Fantasy 7 alone. There are other games such as Crisis Core that sheds some light to the origin of the gigantic broadsword.
In Final Fantasy VII, the buster sword is Cloud’s default weapon and though not much about the sword is mentioned initially, you can easily get an idea of its importance, since you can’t sell the sword nor throw it away.
Although the game lets you equip a different weapon, you won’t be able to completely take away the buster sword from Cloud. Even when you play a minigame or during cutscenes, Cloud will be seen using the buster sword.
You can even say that in actuality, throughout the duration of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud would have only used his buster sword. But of course, to have a better gaming experience, you’ll be able to find other swords suitable for Cloud that he can always equip.
What Does the Buster Sword Look Like?
How big is Cloud’s Sword?
The Buster Sword is a gargantuan broadsword that is around 5 to 6 ft in length. It is a single edged blade that has two holes near its guard and is about a foot wide. Over time, the buster sword gained different designs.
Regardless, all of them are reminiscent of the classic look. The blade of the sword has a metallic silver color. The rest is dark gray. It has a rectangular golden guard and has a long maroon-ish colored handle.
Only three people were able to use the buster sword. All of them were first class or at least had the strength and capabilities of a first-class SOLDIER. With its size and weight, it is incredibly challenging to use.
But so far, all of those who became the owner of the buster sword didn’t seem to have any trouble with using the sword at all. In fact, they were all very capable of using the insanely large weapon.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Crisis Core
With Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII, the buster sword appeared to have more details. Etchings were more defined, the golden guard had complex carvings, the two holes near the guard were raised and was given a gold frame, the handle is seemingly covered with leather… the overall design of the sword has simply just been greatly improved.
With the remake of Final Fantasy VII, the design of the buster sword isn’t similar to that of Crisis Core and Advent Children. The design is like a combination of the classic buster sword and the newer design.
The most noticeable difference perhaps is the design of the guard and the lack of the gold color. Instead of having carvings on the guard, this design seems to have rounded bolts with dome heads over it instead.
The color is much darker and more monochromatic with the handle still being covered by leather. This is not a bad design as it helps make the sword look more rigid and genuine.
What are the Abilities of the Buster Sword?
Not much is known about the materials used in creating the buster sword. However, since it survived and remained in one piece since it has been with its original owner to its last, it’s safe to say that the sword is made of very strong materials.
Although, the first two owners did everything they could to keep the sword in pristine condition. They would only even use the blunt side of the sword. Regardless, the sword has been through a lot of tough battles even being against countless fights with first-class soldiers.
Perhaps only Cloud was the only one to really make full use of the weapon. Still, the sword survived throughout the entirety of the Final Fantasy VII game.
Aside from the sword being extremely huge, heavy and strong, there’s nothing else much about it except for that it has 2 slots for materias. It would then be up to the wielder’s skill and strength to make the buster sword an extremely powerful weapon.
How heavy is Cloud’s buster sword?
Who is the Original Owner of the Buster Sword?
Long before the buster sword, two people worked on an experiment called Project Gillian. The goal of the experiment was to successfully create a Cetra-human hybrid. Cetras are powerful beings that can make use of the planet’s spiritual energy to cultivate life.
Cetras are also known as Ancients and have been long extinct. That’s a very brief and incomplete definition of the cetras but we are here for the buster sword, so you can do your own research about the Cetras.
In Final Fantasy 7, magic exists but can only be used with a materia. It is said that Cetras can cast magic even without any materia. With Project Gillian, Dr. Hollander and Gillian Hewley (the mother of the original owner of the buster sword), thought that what they found sealed up was a Cetra.
What they found actually was Jenova, a shape-shifting extraterrestrial responsible for the near total annihilation of the Cetras. They proceeded with injecting Gillian with Jenova cells while also injecting another subject with Gillian cells. The subject injected with her cells was Genesis.
Angeal and the buster sword
Angeal, being Gillian’s son, naturally acquired the Jenova cells. This lead him to have some issues in the future. His case was better than Genesis though as Genesis experienced genetic degradation because of an unsuccessful fusion with the Jenova cells. This was because the cells injected to Genesis wasn’t directly from Jenova but only from Gillian.
Angeal, unbeknownst to him, was the success of Project Gillian. While Angeal was growing up, he loved swords and playing with them. Because of this, his stepfather had a sword forged for him when he joined SOLDIER. This was the buster sword.
Having the sword made required a lot of money though so their family resorted to borrowing the money they needed to afford the weapon. This lead to them being in debt and his father soon died because of an illness.
Because of the death of his father, Angeal treated the buster sword more than just a weapon. To him, it was a memento of his stepfather. To preserve the sword, he rarely used it in combat. Although he always carried it around, he tried not to use it as much as he could.
If he did end up using the buster sword, he only used the back side of it. Instead of using the buster sword as his main weapon, he used a different sword, too. The other sword that he used was just a standard sword.
Angeal ended up becoming a first-class soldier. He befriended Genesis and Sephiroth, two other first-class soldiers. The first class soldiers are the strongest among its military might. They are so rare that there have only been five confirmed first-class soldiers.
All three of them were heroes. They are extremely powerful and incredibly skillful warriors. They are so strong that each one of them can wipe out an army single-handedly. At one point during their training, Genesis got a bit carried away and got injured.
Everything would have just been fine but then the wound Genesis acquired would not heal. The wound was what triggered his genetic degradation. This drove him mad. Knowing the truth about Genesis, Hollander believed he could cure him.
Also, with his own personal grudge against Hojo and Shinra, he ordered Genesis to fight against Shinra. This was a big deal because Genesis was loyal to Shinra. Shinra, after all, is responsible for the military power that is SOLDIER.
If he went against Shinra, he would be bound to go against Angeal and Sephiroth. Not long after, Genesis went missing during his mission in Wutai. Because of this, Zack was ordered to investigate the whereabouts of Genesis.
Zach and the buster sword
Zack will become a very important character as after Angeal, he then became the next wielder of the buster sword. He was chosen for the mission as he was recommended by Angeal to become a 1st class SOLDIER.
Angeal and Zack had a special relationship. Angeal was a mentor to Zack; Zack looked up to him. Much of the values such as honor and dignity was instilled in Zack, thanks to Angeal.
Going back to the mission, Angeal accompanied Zack. It was during that time when Angeal explained to him why he never really used the buster sword, though his explanation was quite vague.
Zack told Angeal how it would be a waste not to use the sword. Angeal then replied, “use brings about wear, tear, and rust… and that’s a real waste”. During the mission, however, Angeal used the buster sword to save Zack.
Zack then jokingly apologized because he caused some wear, tear, and rust to the sword. Which Angeal then also jokingly replied, “You’re a little more important than my sword… but just a little”.
As they progressed with the mission, Zack was once again saved during his fight with a “summon”. This time, it was Sephiroth that saved him. They soon realized that Angeal, like Genesis, went missing.
Sephiroth concluded that Angeal betrayed them. Zack strongly disagreed. A lot of eventful happenings occurred from that point on but to summarize, Angeal sided with Genesis. This is because Genesis was a long time friend of Angeal. They were been the best of friends since they were kids.
At one point, Angeal left the buster sword at his home with his mother. He would soon take it back and during his return, his mother would commit suicide because of the embarrassment she felt when Angeal knew the truth about them.
Angeal became a completely different man. The reason he went with Genesis was also because of the realization that they were experiments. To Angeal and Genesis, they were monsters. They can pass their genetic materials to others, letting them create clones of themselves.
Angeal can do more and can also imbue his abilities to monsters. He can even take the abilities of the monsters that are imbued with his cells. To them, they have become the very beings they didn’t want to be.
In order for Angeal to be stopped, he forced a situation with Zack, that would have them fight each other. He fused himself with several of his copies and became Angeal Penance. He met his demise when Zack defeated him.
Before he could die, Angeal handed Zack his buster sword. Along with the sword were his last few words, “protect your honor… always”.
Zach’s story with the buster sword
Ever since Zack was a child, he always dreamt of becoming a first class SOLDIER. Before being given his mission of eliminating Genesis and the other rebels, he was promoted to first class. However, he wasn’t as happy, as he thought he would be when his dream became a reality.
After all, Angeal was also to become one of his targets. After his victory against Angeal, he became deeply upset and went to Aerith. Zack has met Aerith long before and they both liked each other.
The two of them had a significant amount of time together after Angeal’s death. Unfortunately, Zack would be dispatched to Nibelheim along with Sephiroth. Before he could leave though, he was able to build a flower cart for Aerith.
This was so she could sell flowers in Midgar as they were a luxury. More than being with Sephiroth, Cloud was also with them during their mission in Nibelheim. At this point, Cloud and Zack already met a couple of times before.
While they made their way to a damaged Mako Reactor with Tifa as their guide, it would then be revealed how Zack cherishes the buster sword. Whenever Zack needed to use the buster sword, he would only use its blunt side remembering Angeal’s words that usage brings about wear, tear and rust.
Zach and Cloud
Later that day, Zack and Cloud had a little talk. Cloud mentioned how he hasn’t seen Zack use the buster sword. Zack told him the buster sword represents his dreams, honor and even more. It reminded him of his late mentor, Angeal.
As they progressed with their mission in Nibelheim, Sephiroth came to a realization that lead him to become mad. From being the greatest hero, he turned into a villain. Out of everyone in Final Fantasy 7, Sephiroth would be the worst opponent.
After all, he is the strongest amongst the strongest of SOLDIER. Becoming an enemy, Zack battled with Sephiroth using his buster sword. Sephiroth easily defeated Zack though. Additionally, Zack also got disarmed as he fell, due to Sephiroth’s last attack.
While Sephiroth was distracted with Jenova, Cloud was able to make his way to the buster sword. This was his very first time of using the buster sword and he managed to successfully stab Sephiroth with it.
Although hurt, Sephiroth, now even more enraged, still managed to move and fought with Cloud. It was a one-sided fight and Cloud nearly died. Perhaps as an act of revenge, Sephiroth stabbed Cloud and lifted him up from the ground as he did.
Miraculously, Cloud was able to take advantage of Sephiroth’s sword being stabbed into him as a way to hurl Sephiroth down into the pit of the Mako reactor. Falling unconscious, they ended up becoming professor Hojo’s experiment, being injected with Jenova cells.
For four years, they were held captive until Zack woke up from his cryogenic sleep. Both were exposed to Mako but since Zack was already a SOLDIER, he was not affected. The Mako poisoning put Cloud into a vegetative state though.
Zack carried Cloud until they could escape the facility. Wanting to see Aerith again, Zack planned on going to Midgar. This would be a challenge though as he would have Cloud weighing him down.
They were also fugitive samples being hunted down by Shinra. At one point during their journey, one of the Turks, Cissnei, was able to get to them. But as a friend of Zack, she let them escape and gave Zack a vehicle for him and Cloud to ride on.
Along Zack and Cloud’s journey, there have been a couple of eventful happenings but ultimately, Shinra was able to locate them. In order to stop them from escaping further, Shinra was able to block their path with a battalion of soldiers.
Refusing to give up, Zack resolved to fight everyone. It was him against an entire army. Alone, he was able to nearly eliminate each of his opponents but it did not end well for him.
How Did Cloud Become the New Owner of the Buster Sword?
A recovering Cloud was able to crawl his way to Zack who was critically wounded. Much like Angeal, before he could have his last breath, he was able to offer and give the buster sword to Cloud with his last words, “You’re going to live, you’ll be my living legacy”. However, because Cloud went through a lot of traumatic scenarios including exposure to Mako, this leads him to have his identity issue in Final Fantasy VII.
He adopted the memories of Zack, subconsciously taking Zack’s position. To him, he was a 1st class soldier and he wandered around Midgard to become a mercenary. This was because it was what Zack planned to do.
Upon meeting up with Tifa, she immediately noticed that something was off with Cloud. She convinced him to join her and thus, the events of Final Fantasy VII took place.
What Happened to the Buster Sword After Final Fantasy VII?
After Cloud reclaimed his memory, he decided to go back to the place where Zack died. At the very cliff where Zack made his last breath, Cloud laid the buster sword to the spot where Zack laid dying.
This was to give honor to the sacrifice that Zack did for him. Over time, the buster sword would be covered in grime and rust. It might not have seemed like the best thing to do with the sword as both Angeal and Zack did everything they could not to even use it to avoid it being damaged and getting rusted.
Was Cloud’s Sword in Advent Children the Buster Sword?
No. Much about Cloud’s new sword in Advent Children is unknown. What we do know is that it is definitely not the buster sword. As also shown in Advent Children, he left the buster sword at Zack’s grave.
However, Cloud’s sword in Final Fantasy Advent Children has a very similar design to the buster sword that one can easily be mistaken for the Final Fantasy 7 buster sword.
Where is the Buster Sword Now?
Cloud might not have known it, but Angeal and Zack probably weren’t happy on the other side with what Cloud did with the buster sword despite his intentions. After all, the sword, to them represented honor, dignity, and memories of people they loved.
Angeal would even go as far as becoming “cheap,” preferring not to use the buster sword as much as he could. Even with Zack, both of them would only use the blunt side of the sword if ever they did resort to using it.
Meanwhile, Cloud allowed the sword to be covered with dirt and dust. For some reason, at the end of Advent Children, after the effects of the Geostigma was handled, Cloud relocated the buster sword.
A clean and brand new looking buster sword was shown to be at the Sector 5 Church.
Summary
The Buster Sword aside from being insanely large and heavy is nothing too out of the ordinary. It is made of durable materials and has two slots for materias. It has no special effect and can only be well-used if the wielder is strong and skillful with the sword.
Only three people have ever been able to use the buster sword, Angeal, Zack and Cloud. Angeal was the original owner of the sword being given to him by his father. Sadly, his father would die of illness and from then on, the buster sword also represented the memories of his father.
Because of this, Angeal would try to avoid using the buster sword as much as he could. When Angeal died, he then passed on the sword to Zack. Zack would then give the sword almost the same treatment as Angeal did.
For him, the sword meant honor, dignity and his dream. He would try not to use the sword and also only use the blunt side. Zack would then die trying to fight off an army of Shinra and offer the buster sword to Cloud.
Because of so much trauma that Cloud had been through, he experienced a crisis with his identity. When he recovered his memories, he then embedded the buster sword on Zack’s grave to honor his friend.
By the end of Advent Children, he would then clean up the sword and relocate it to the church. It was then when the buster sword was last seen.
Did you learn anything new about this buster sword in this article? If you did, let us know.