Description[]
Two iconic swordsmen from their respective franchises take on one another in the field of battle.
Interlude[]
Whiz: The Tales of games.
Boomstick: And Final Fantasy.
Whiz: Two long-running video games sagas- each with more than 20 games relevant to their series.
Boomstick: And both have one iconic fighter that leads the charge for them whenever they're mentioned.
Whiz: Cloud Strife and Cress Albane.
Boomstick: He's Whiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle.
Cress Albane[]
Whiz: Cress grew up as a moderately normal child, training under his father in the Albane school of swordplay and hunting through the forest with his friend Chester.
Boomstick: But that all changed when Mars attacked. (martian picture displays on screen) Not that Mars dammit!
Whiz: Cress's home was burned to the ground by the maniacal knight Mars, who was looking for two halves of a pendant that sealed away Dhaos; the Demon King.
Boomstick: Mars succeeded in his attempts and broke the seal on Dhaos- and then shit went down.
Whiz: Dhaos immediately killed Mars and his soldiers in a single blast before preparing to kill Cress.
Boomstick: And then time travel!
Whiz: Cress was sent back in time to find people who could use magic, the only thing that could defeat Dhaos. His adventures enabled Cress to further develop his sword techniques.
Boomstick: Cress uses his feat and hands to punch and kick right alongside his swordplay- letting him pump a bunch of attacks into a short time. He can cut a monster in half with a single swing of his sword.
Whiz: He has a bit of magic with him as well, namely the ability to heal himself and project flames and small energy blasts from his sword.
Boomstick: And what a sword it is- the Eternal Blade is a magical weapon that grants its user control over space and time.
Whiz: Cress can time travel with it, and teleport freely about the battlefield to strike at his opponents.
Boomstick: It is one badass weapon for a badass dude- I mean would you look at that headband!
Whiz: Cress is not without weaknesses though. He is not as durable as one would think- he frequently requires healing either from Mint or from the gels he typically carries around in combat.
Boomstick: He's also really used to fighting with a party, a big part of the game is just him vs the world while all the wimpy mages stand behind him.
Whiz: Cress specializes in keeping his opponents where he wants them- he's extremely effective at keeping his opponents back with a barrage of blows followed by some special attacks to finish them off.
Boomstick: With control over time and space- he's a threat to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Cloud Strife[]
Boomstick: Wait- didn't we have this guy on here before?
Whiz: Cloud Strife is a returning Deathbattle contestant; although we've done a bit more research to help flesh him out more.
Boomstick: He's still got that giant Buster Blade right? I love that sword.
Whiz: Actually no, this time around we're using Cloud with the fan-named, Fusion Swords. It's a set of swords that Cloud can combine as needed, each one making his weapon heavier and stronger than the last. The entire ensemble actually surpasses the Buster Blade in size.
Boomstick: Wait wait wait- are you telling me Cloud decided the Buster Blade wasn't big enough? Geez, the compensation jokes write themselves!
Whiz: Unlike the Buster Blade, the Fusion Sword does not have materia slots. That was a design choice so they could hint that Cloud would lose his materia in Advent Children- though he has since recovered it.
Boomstick: Just the shockwaves of the weapon passing have split straight through concrete and steel- what an arm!
Whiz: To generate such shockwaves, Cloud would have to swing with phenomenal levels of strength and speed.
Boomstick: So how fast is our spikey-haired kid?
Whiz: While we knew Cloud was easily capable of stopping bullets, we didn't expect him to be faster than the bullets themselves. Cloud is able to move his entire body faster than a bullet can travel, meaning he can move short distances at supersonic speeds.
Boomstick: So you said the Fusion Sword doesn't have materia slots- does that mean Cloud won't have his legendary materia? It's not like he uses them much anyways.
Whiz: Not exactly, Cloud has actually stated that in regard to the entire party- he is the one with the most experience in using dangerous materia.
Boomstick: A bold claim for a bold man, but he doesn't have much in the ranged fighting, aside from a few limit breaks and spells, he's a melee fighter through and through.
Whiz: A magical swordsman vs a magical swordsman- there's only one way to find out which would win.
Boomstick: It's time for a Deathbattle!
Death Battle[]
I've been doing small sprite animations just to keep myself occupied over the Summer- this was an early one so please don't insult me without reason.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5AQuhqKAoY
Written recap:
Cloud is riding through the woods on Fenrir.
A pulse of energy hurtles in from the side, striking Fenrir and flipping it.
Screen pans over to a crouching Cloud as Cress teleports in front of him.
FIGHT
The two immediately leap into the air and attack one another, both taking damage and recovering after a short slide backwards.
Cloud lunges towards Cress, only for Cress to teleport away.
Cress reappears behind Cloud, striking at him.
Cloud blocks the surprise blow.
Cress presses his advantage, unleashing multiple blows against Cloud in rapid succession.
Cloud blocks all of the attacks and throws Cress backwards with a single swing.
Cress and Cloud both fire shockwaves at one another, the explosion obscures the screen.
Cut to a tall tree overlooking the forest, in the distance the remains of the explosion can be seen.
Cress appears on a tree branch, hurt.
Cress heals himself before the tree suddenly shudders.
At the trunk of the tree, Cloud is quickly slicing away at the structure.
The tree tips and starts to fall.
Cress leaps off of the branch into the air as Cloud leaps up to meet him.
The two whirl around midair in a frenzy of swordplay, flashes of energy being given off with every blow.
Cloud comes out the better as he slams Cress downwards into the earth.
Cloud dives towards Cress and is almost to him before Cress disappears.
Cress reappears in front of Cloud, along with 3 other versions of himself.
Cloud immediately turns and leaps away at top speed.
Flashes of energy pursue Cloud, each one exploding near him and forcing him to dodge.
A Cress leaps at Cloud, who parries the blow.
Cloud begins to unleash his magic, transforming the Cress into a frog.
Cloud hurriedly turns and petrifies another incoming Cress before batting the statue away.
Two Cress(es) appear and simultaneously attack Cloud after freezing him in time, causing an explosion of space/time energy.
The blast fades away to reveal no body, confusing the Cress(es).
Cloud suddenly flashes inwards in a blur of yellow light, slicing both of the Cress with Omnislash Version 5.
K.O.
Results[]
Boomstick: Looks like size really matters.
Whiz: Cloud's superior strength and speed allowed him to deal with the endless series of blows Cress can rain- and then some.
Boomstick: But Cress can control space and time- how could Cloud compete with that?
Whiz: While Cress can move through time, freezing Cloud in it is another animal altogether. Since the Fusion Sword doesn't have materia slots, most of Cloud's materia would likely be defense-based; such as the combination that makes him immune to being frozen in time.
Boomstick: Cloud could make himself immune to whatever trick Cress tried to pull on him, while Cress has always pretty much been at the mercy of magic when he fights mages. Cress would have an uphill battle defending against any offensive materia Cloud might use.
Whiz: The winner is, Cloud Strife!