Talk:Link VS Cloud/@comment-28130171-20160404182310

1. Not only is Jenova not explicitly evil herself, but Cloud is purified of her influence. For this reason, the Master Sword would work about as well as a normal sword against Cloud.

2. Link's ability to withstand strikes from Cloud means nothing next to the fact that unless he completely sacrifices mobility by wearing Iron Boots, Cloud is still going to send him flying with each strike.

3. Building Limit Breaks depend entirely on Cloud's anger (as mentioned in the original explanation of Limits), which means that outside of a typical battle situation, Cloud could potentially use Limit Breaks as often as he wants, so long as his anger is high.

4. Cloud is just as capable of close range and long range as Link is.

5. Cloud retained Zack's memories and skills, which means that not only does he have much more skill in combat, but he has more skill in tactics. Link loses most of his experience with each reincarnation, whereas Cloud has full access to Zack's tactical SOLDIER knowledge that was honed by everyday use for several years.

6. While it was stated Cloud and Link would receive their best gear, Cloud was repeatedly screwed on that front. To say his "signature" materia is only Fire and Thunder would be a gross reach based on what he has used outside of the main FFVII title. In Dissidia, he does use these Materia, but only because they are the starting Materia in FFVII. Outside of FFVII and Dissida, Cloud is not shown to use ANY Materia, meaning he doesn't have signature Materia. So while Link was given a fairly wide arsenal of useful gear and abilities, Cloud was stripped down to his Limits, his WEAKEST SWORD, and two useless Materia. Based on what was looked at, Cloud was stacked against from the get-go. If things were made fair, Cloud would have been given his best gear as well, including First Tsurugi (Advent Children multi-sword), Ultima (Spell), 4x Hit, and E.Skill.

7. The math I wanted to see was how much force it takes to split buildings, which Cloud does in rapid succession WITH NO FOOTHOLDS. Split a building like that perfectly with a sword that wouldn't actually reach all the way through would take thousands of pounds of swinging force, which means each swing from Cloud would absolutely devastate Link, positionally if not with actual damage.

8. If we want to talk about Z-Targeting being a reason why he can block everything, then let's also take into account that, with Cover, Cloud can INSTANTANEOUSLY move into enemy fire. with this level of reaction in mind, Link's reaction speeds become moot because Cloud's are just as fast. Oh, that doesn't count because it's simply a gameplay mechanic? Then the same applies to Z-Targeting.

9. With the proper addition of E.Skill, Cloud's fighting style would become both erratic and dangerous, giving him access to a variety of attacks that Link has little experience dealing with. The addition of First Tsurugi also increases Cloud's range of attack styles to include dual swords and lighter swords.

The fact is this fight was stacked against Cloud from the very beginning. The Desk of Deathbattle entered this situation with the mindset of "How would Link beat Cloud?" rather than "Could Link Beat Cloud?" Not very many Death Battles are rigged like this, but anyone who isn't blinded by Zelda bias would have been able to tell you "No fucking way".