Eh. Fanbrats will be fanbrats, but in a game like Smash Bros., it's better to have a big roster. Ike clone? UnlIkely. (Hee.) Just look at how he moves. He is probably a heavy character, but his attacks come out waaaaay faster than Ike's.
I do wish his Final Smash wasn't identical to Ike's, and Robin's, and Greninja's, and the Mii Brawler's, though. I mean, Cloud does have access to magic spells; I know it's not what Cloud himself is famous for, but considering this is probably Final Fantasy's only representation in SSB, it would have been nice to see more represented. Cloud's Final Smash could have been casting Mini on everyone (Poison Mushroom effect), using Demi3 to reduce jumping ability of opponents (though maybe only when over the ground, so recovery doesn't become impossible), Confu to reverse directional controls, or Berserk to remove jumping, dodging, and shielding for a set time. Or, to be dull, just cast Comet or Ultima! He could also have used a summon—not the ones on the Midgar stage, obviously, but there are plenty of others in FF7. Shiva, Titan and Typhon all would have looked super-cool, and Choco/Mog would have been just fantastic! But the absolute best would have been Knights of Round. That would look amazing, if they all attacked the stage in different ways, one after another. (Also, watching that again, I'm disappointed Omnislash doesn't make a little "9999" damage count appear above the targets' heads! At least it has the original title box show up.)
Ultimately, though, I'm happy to see yet another canon represented in SSB. The more variety, the better! And now I can Smash Run to a couple of FF songs! I have the 3DS version, so I'll only be getting two. :( Probably that remix of "Opening - Bombing Mission" from the trailer, and either the original "Let the Battles Begin!" or "Fight On!", both also in the trailer. I'd be happy with either of those, so long as I don't get "One-Winged Angel." That song is so over-hyped, though I'm sure it will be on the Wii U in some fashion. I do hope music from FFs other than VII are there, too; I know Cloud + Midgar pretty much hints at all FF7 representation, but like I said, this may be the only time we get Final Fantasy in SSB, and it would be nice to see some music from other titles appear. The actual "Final Fantasy" theme deserves a gorgeous remix, since it's shown up in most of the series' games, and they could easily have something from Dissidia Final Fantasy as well, since Cloud appeared in that.
Speaking of Dissidia, the two costumes shown in Cloud's trailer (standard and Advent Children outfits) were also in DFF, so I'm hoping his third costume from that game, the Kingdom Hearts gear, is in SSB too. I'd also like Cloud to get a pink color change of Lightning's outfit from Final Fantasy XIII, since Lightning was modeled after Cloud. And because pink Cloud. :3
And also speaking (two paragraphs ago) of over-hyped, yes, Cloud is way too popular, and shows up everywhere, and I definitely would have preferred a lesser known character getting the spotlight, like the Onion Knight from FF3, who I love using in Dissida, or Garland, the villain from the first Final Fantasy. But again, I'm just glad the series is getting representation in Smash at all, and I suspect Cloud is the winner of the write-in ballot, even though they didn't say so, and that's just kind of how popularity contests work.
Anyway, the rumor is there's still room for two more characters, and two more stages (and therefore more music!). Who/where/what songs are you hoping to get?
((—doctorlit turns out to a massive, rampaging fanboy. He isn't sorry.))