Summary
Many of the characters inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthhave an immense amount of room to grow as the shifting narrative prepares to establish a new canon from the original. Among the main cast, there is almost no better example of a character that could get some stellar development than Tifa Lockhart, especially as she faces the troubles inher and Cloud’s past.
Between the many changes coming to the canon events ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthfrom the original, as well as the extra time being given to develop the world and characters, there is a lot of room to get a better idea of what makes Tifa tick. Even more important might be the canonization of characters who had previously been optional that could add more depth to the party as a whole.
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An Actualized Tifa Confronting Her Past
While fans have an idea of who Tifa is that has developed over time since the originalFinal Fantasy 7launched, most of that personality is either inferred from limited context or all revealed through one of two massive lore dumps. As has already been seen inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, however, the extended playtime and added story beats gives for a much more complete version of these characters. The same has certainly already been the case for Tifa, who is already prepared to have acentral point inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake’s narrative.
These extended segments have already gone a step deeper to showcase whyTifa is invested in AVALANCHE, as well as grounding her place in Midgar’s Sector Seven as a pillar of the community. So, now that Tifa is out of Midgar and traveling with Cloud, her place in the wider world is going to be much less stable and give her a lot more chances to grow outside of her previous role in the city. Combine this with the new characters joining, and Tifa might be taking her previous role as a stable pillar to a much higher level.
Tifa as the Adult in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Party
Given the bond that had been formed between Tifa and Aerith inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, one that hadn’t really been present to such a degree in the original, the addition of the youngest party member could also see new growth. Essentially, havingYuffie join the partyas a mandatory member baked directly into the narrative could give Tifa the chance to make another connection similar to her fast friendship with Aerith. However, in the case of Tifa and Yuffie, the age gap could lead to a different dynamic between the two, with one taking on a mentoring role for the other.
Between the three main female cast members, it is already likely that Aerith will take on a sort of “big sister” role with Yuffie, similar to how she was viewed by the children at the orphanage in Midgar. Tifa, on the other hand, being much more mature and essentially forced to constantly set herself as the source of stability for the group, could go one of two ways. WithAerith’s role inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthlikely being that of a big sister, Tifa could then be the group mom, although that might have her butting heads with Cloud, rather than deepening their bond as has been alluded to by those working on the game.
As a competent fighter but brash actor, Yuffie could give Tifa the chance to take her own experience in learning martial arts and impart that onto the next generation. So, instead of becoming the group mom, Tifa could instead draw from her previous relationship with Rashard Zangan, her martial arts mentor. This could also give us a chance to go beyond justslipping Easter Eggs intoFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but also giving a new perspective on characters like Zangan and their influences on the part, especially Tifa in this case.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthis set to release on July 07, 2025, for PS5.
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