A Retrospective Look at Final Fantasy 7's Tifa Lockhart
Of all the strong female leads in the Final Fantasy series, Tifa from Final Fantasy 7 and the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Remake is one of the most beloved, and it's easy to see why. Despite her compassionate and - at times - sensitive demeanor, Tifa is headstrong and courageous, even when faced with preventing the end of the world. If that's not convincing enough, Tifa fights with her bare hands in combat, using her martial arts skills just as effectively as her teammates use their weapons.
But Tifa is more than just a combat companion for Cloud. Her history with him is long and complex, and her friendship is the main catalyst in helping Cloud regain his original memories. As such, she has several important and memorable moments in Final Fantasy 7 that shape what players can expect from Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Be advised: There are SPOILERS ahead for the original game.
Tifa Lockhart grew up next door to Cloud in the small mountain town of Nibelheim. Despite living close by and being only a year apart, she and Cloud rarely spoke, likely due to Cloud's introverted nature. Tifa, on the other hand, was very popular and had many friends, and Cloud would soon develop a crush on Tifa from afar. When Tifa's mother passed when she was only eight years old, she became convinced that her mother was alive and waiting for her on the nearby Mt. Nibel and set out to find her. Seeking to protect her, Cloud followed behind, but was unable to save her when a bridge she was crossing collapsed, sending them both tumbling into a chasm.
Tifa's father found the two children and brought them to safety. With Tifa seriously injured, he falsely blamed Cloud for putting his daughter in danger and forbade him from going near her. As the years passed and the two grew into teenagers, Cloud asked Tifa to meet with him at the town watertower one night and told her that he planned to leave Nibelheim and become a SOLDIER. Proud of her neighbor, Tifa asked Cloud to promise to protect her if she was ever in danger, and he happily obliged.
Years later, Tifa was working as a mountain guide when Cloud returned to Nibelheim accompanying SOLDIERs Sephiroth and Zack Fair, although he himself had only managed to become a lowly guard. Ashamed of his failure, Cloud hid behind his helmet, masking his identity from Tifa even when she was hired to lead his group up the mountain. After Cloud is injured by a monster, Tifa brings him to safety. Things would go further south however when Sephiroth suffered a psychotic breakdown, slaughtering the people of Nibelheim and kidnapping Tifa. Cloud would find Sephiroth, along with an unconscious Tifa and Zack, in the mountain's Mako reactor. Seeking to protect his friend, Cloud fought Sephiroth, throwing him into the reactor before passing out and being abducted by Shinra agents.
Tifa was found by her martial arts instructor, Zangan, who took her to the metropolis of Midgar for medical treatment. Having witnessed the death of her father at the hands of Sephiroth, Tifa declared her hatred for SOLDIER and all of Shinra, deciding to join the anti-Shinra ecoterrorist group AVALANCHE. As a part of AVALANCHE, Tifa runs 7th Heaven, a bar that operates as a front for the group's secret headquarters. One day, Tifa finds Cloud, now working as a mercenary in Midgar. Although she has no idea he was present during the Nibelheim incident, she notices a difference in his personality, as well as the way he remembers certain details. Looking to keep an eye on him, she introduces Cloud to Barret, AVALANCHE's leader, who hires him into the group.
Following a sabotage mission gone awry (one that kicks off the beginning of Final Fantasy 7,) Shinra destroys the AVALANCHE headquarters, killing most of its members. Tifa, Cloud, and Barret launch a counterattack to rescue Cloud's new friend Aerith, but are captured, where they witness Sephiroth assassinating the Shinra president. The group manages to escape from Shinra and Midgar, embarking on a quest to find Sephiroth.
Throughout their journey, Tifa grows more and more concerned with Cloud's mental state, realizing his recollection of their childhood relationship as well as the Nibelheim incident are not true. After Cloud falls into a Lifestream fissure at the hands of Sephiroth, the rest of the party are forced to journey on without him with Tifa as de facto leader. They end up finding Cloud, alive but catatonic, in the small fishing village of Mideel, where Tifa decides to stay with him to help him recover while the rest battle Shinra. When the town is attacked by Ultimate Weapon (a monster, not to be confused with one of FF7's wieldable "ultimate weapons,") both Tifa and the wheelchair-bound Cloud fall into a fissure of Lifestream.
Within the Lifestream, Tifa is able to enter Cloud's subconscious. There, she witnesses his true memories of the Nibelheim incident and learns the truth about what had happened. She also learns about Cloud's childhood crush on her, and Cloud learns that Tifa had saved him after the monster attack despite not knowing it was him. Having restored Cloud's personality, the two reunite with the party and even possibly develop a romance based on their previous interactions. Finally at full strength, the group goes on to save the world by defeating Sephiroth in one of the most epic final boss battles in Final Fantasy history.
Following Sephiroth's defeat, Tifa and Cloud settle down along with Barett and his daughter Marlene in the newly built city of Edge, right outside the ruins of Midgar. They even adopt Denzel, an orphaned child Cloud finds in the Midgar slums. When three shadowy Sephiroth lookalikes appear and start kidnapping children around the city, Tifa tries to stop one of them from taking Marlene and Denzel, but is defeated despite her efforts. She then convinces Cloud to stop his doom and gloom attitude and head to the Forgotten City to save the children, and later helps him and the rest of her friends defeat Bahamut SIN, a massive dragon summoned by the Sephiroth Remnants. Although these events are unlikely to be covered in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it's clear that the characters' looks in the Advent Children film have inspired their designs in the FF7 remake.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake releases on April 10th, 2020, for PS4.
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