At this point up until Part 2, does he actually remember killing Sephiroth??? I think once he tells the story the party will start to question the obvious like where he went afterward and what he did for the next 5 years.
Answer:
1. No, he doesn't remember in the original.
Cloud:
“…and that's the end of my story.” |
[....]
[....]
“In terms of skill, |
I couldn't have killed him.”
[....]
“…I want to know the truth. | I want to know what happened.” | “I challenged Sephiroth and lived. | Why didn't he kill me?” |
|
So, it's been retconned, or Sephiroth is triggering it.
He doesn't know that anything is actually wrong (just that information is missing) until he realizes that he never made a date for him to enter into SOLDIER, meaning that he fabricated being a SOLDIER (since he never had a date when he joined SOLDIER).
Cloud:
“…SOLDIER, First Class?” |
{Cloud} |
“…SOLDIER? |
When did I enter SOLDIER?” |
The party does question him when they get to Nibelheim as well:
{Tifa} |
“What!?” |
{Tifa} |
“This was all burnt down, wasn't it?” |
{Cloud} |
“…I thought so.” |
{Tifa} |
“Then why… |
My house is still here too…” |
Does Cloud remember physically killing Sephiroth throughout part 1? (By your interpretation.) Maybe he doesn’t in this version.
Sub questions- What does he remember doing immediately afterward?.. does Jenova fill the gaps in his 5 year intubation with false memories?
Or does he remember being awoken and drug to Midgar, just vaguely and in a way that blocks out Zacks identity.
I am Eager to find out!
Cloud is put into Mako stasis before Zack manages to bust him out. The state of his mind is defined by the clues that one can look at in the Nibelheim mansion's basement-
And yes, there is a scene (added in the NA release) where Cloud "uses" his cells during his comatose state to (after all the cells DO artificially enhance the strength of the user, so they DO have a purpose, just not for the weak-willed) scan Tifa's memories of him and utilizes them on the surface- aka a hero's version/a confident version of Cloud to Tifa.
{Tifa} |
“{Cloud}…” |
“{Cloud}…” |
{Tifa} |
“I didn't know what to do. |
I was always like that…” |
“What's the matter?” |
{Cloud} |
“ohhh…” |
“…poor kid.” |
{Cloud} |
“Ooouugh…” |
{Cloud} |
“oo…uh…agh” |
{Tifa} |
“Are you all right?” |
{Cloud} |
“Uh…uh…{Tifa}?” |
{Cloud} |
“{Tifa}?” |
{Cloud} |
“{Tifa}!” |
{Tifa} |
“…?” |
{Tifa} |
“Oh, {Cloud}!” |
{Cloud} |
“That's right. |
I'm {Cloud}.” |
{Tifa} |
“Is it really you, {Cloud}? |
I never thought I'd find you here!” |
{Cloud} |
“Yeah, it's been a while.” |
{Tifa} |
“What happened to you? |
You don't look well.” |
{Cloud} |
“Yeah? |
It's nothing. I'm okay.” |
{Tifa} |
“How long has it been?” |
{Cloud} |
“Five years.” |
{Tifa} |
“…” |
{Cloud} |
“What is it?” |
{Tifa} |
“…it's really been a long time.” |
{Tifa} |
“Actually, it's been seven years.” |
“You joined SOLDIER but quit after |
the Sephiroth incident, and now |
you're a mercenary…”
{Tifa} | “You told me a lot about what happened | after you left Nibelheim… ” | {Tifa} | “But…” | {Tifa} | “…Something was wrong. | I felt there was something strange | about the things you talked about.” | “All the things you didn't know that you should, | And other things | you shouldn't know that you did.” | {Tifa} | “I wanted to make sure…” | “But then I heard…you were going far away…” |
|
So, it's Tifa's memories of Cloud, plus Cloud remembering Zack's stories of what happened in Nibelheim, and plus Cloud's adoration of Sephiroth that are mixed into a blender. Most of Cloud's original memories are blotted out due to shame/the comatose state.