Of all the party players can control in Final Fantasy VII storyline is Tifa Lockhart, a childhood friend of Cloud who fights ShinRa as a member of Team Avalanche - the small band of rebels who aim to expose the mega-corporation's exploitation of the Planet's life-sustaining supply of Mako energy.
Tifa’s tragic backstory, caring personality, and connections to other characters like Cloud and Aerith have helped make her a popular character among Final Fantasy VII fans, and one of her most beloved qualities is her unique fighting style. While the rest of Final Fantasy VII’s heroes prefer to battle the forces of ShinRa with oversized Buster Swords or mechanical arms that double as guns, Tifa takes down her foes using a wide array of punches, kicks, and wrestling move-like Limit Breaks. This more hands-on approach to combat helps Tifa stand out among the cast of Final Fantasy VII and even lends itself well to fan-based crossovers with other games - as modders often insert Tifa into fighting titles like Tekken 7. Naturally, Tifa would bring her trademark martial arts skills to Final Fantasy VII Remake, where she specializes in damaging staggered foes with rapid strikes.
As it turns out, Tifa's barehanded combat move set was the hardest to figure out while developing 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake, at least according to battle director Teruki Endo. The official Tifa’s attacks in Final Fantasy VII Remake, as they are vastly different than the ones employed by Cloud, Barret, and Aerith. “We had to think extremely hard about what defining characteristics we should give Tifa,” Endo explained, noting that his team was eventually able to add depth to her battle mechanics by tying her abilities to Final Fantasy VII Remake’s burst system.
Tifa will have plenty more chances to unleash her special attacks on enemies soon, as the second chapter of Final Fantasy VII Remake is set to launch sometime next year under the title Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Since the first installment of this multi-part retelling ended on a dramatic twist that may have radically altered the Final Fantasy VII timeline, many fans have speculated that Tifa’s story could likewise go in a different (and darker) direction in Rebirth, especially in regards to the famous love triangle between her, Cloud, and Aerith that has prompted countless online discussions over the years.
However Tifa’s story in Final Fantasy VII Remake ends, players have enjoyed unleashing her rapid martial arts-based combos on enemies - something that was a challenge for the creative team behind the 2020 PlayStation 4 hit to implement. Now that the core mechanics of Tifa’s signature fighting style have been ironed out, fans can look forward to seeing how Final Fantasy VII Rebirth builds upon the first game’s combat when it launches in 2023.
Source: Square Enix (via The Gamer)
