Companion

Tifa’s role in aiding the romantic sub-plot in the game is lengthy (at best) and difficult (at worst) to write—or even think—about. This contentious story point surrounding Cloud has become a topic of heated discussion starting from the original installment’s release (and has been beaten to death on the internet since), partially due to perceived ambiguity, the game’s dating mechanics, and unconventional relationship patterns. No thanks to idealized romantic fairytales and bad fanfiction, plenty of the debates ignore the validity of the notion that it is in fact possible to be able to love more than one person in a lifetime (cue gasp). While Cloud was intended to sway in his decision between the two heroines, it is ultimately left to the player to decide for whom Cloud should shed his affections for during the course of the game. Social interactions in the game influences outcomes ranging from your date at Golden Saucer, to the full reciprocation of Tifa’s feelings during the night under the Highwind. Nevertheless, Cloud’s romantic aspirations are not self-contained within the original installment and still receive plenty attention in his cameos for other Square-Enix games, such as Kingdom Hearts and Dissidia Final Fantasy.

Growing up in Nibelhiem, Tifa’s social status as the belle of the town makes it understandable how Cloud, or anyone, would find themselves attracted to her—she’s pretty, kind, friendly, and popular. He has always somewhat admired her, albeit from afar. What is not as commonly discussed, however, is why Tifa is attracted to Cloud, and how that affects the portrayal of her character.

The first glimpse of Tifa and Cloud’s past that Final Fantasy VII gives the player is a completely and utterly fairytale-like scenario: Beneath a starry sky, Cloud promises to come save Tifa whenever she ends up in a “pinch”. Coupled with an animation of a shooting star, Cloud sets himself up to be the knight in shining armor who Tifa long for. The scene is shown very early on in the game from the perspective of Tifa, signifying from the get-go that she harbors romantic feelings for Cloud.

One other possible appeal of their relationship is that they are from the same town and have know one another since childhood. In Japan, the origin culture of the the game, the length of how long you have known someone is an important factor in determining the depth of a relationship. Tifa might have initially clung to this romantic notion, despite eventually discovering that as children they were, in fact, not very close at all. We are mislead to believe that Cloud and Tifa are osananajimi (幼なじみ), or “[precious] childhood friends”, as she calls themselves. In a deleted scene after Cloud’s first interaction with Tifa, she chases him after he leaves the bar, and they have a discussion on the streets about their shared past as she tries to convince him to stay with AVALANCE. This trope of the osananajimi has been repeatedly used in various romantic fiction from Japan, so it’s no surprise why the writers decided to perhaps play this card (and later overturn).

Taking a look at it from a perspective outside the vacuum of the story, what is it exactly that is supposed to make her an appealing love interest to the players of the game? It is not coincidence that Tifa is presented as a true representation of yamato nedeshiko, or the ideal Japanese woman. Beautiful with long, dark hair, she is reserved, yet kind and resilient. From a cultural-specific point of view, at the very least, what makes her the ideal romantic partner late-game is her complete dedication to the hero, as shown when the party finally locates a catatonic Cloud in Mideel. Upon discovering the state of his condition, Tifa relinquishes her de facto leadership role in order to remain beside him. Considering the severity of their mission with Meteor literally looming, her decision would be considered relatively poor by many standards; the fate of an entire planet should absolutely be placed above personal interest.

Yet, she stays devotedly beside Cloud, his mind suspended from reality, as the remainder of your party goes off to fight the bad guys on a different continent. This is a very unexpected behavior for her in that, despite constant display of selflessness and sensitivity to to every party member thus far, she still chooses Cloud above all else, even if they might not live anyway. Even Barrett comments on Tifa’s inability to cope with Cloud’s absence, noting that she is much stronger than who she makes herself out to be. She stubbornly refuses, however, and ultimately parts with the team until helps Cloud regain consciousness. While this could be deemed as a serious and undesirable flaw to the progressive Western woman, this imperfection is wholly embraced by the male-dominated, sexist gaming industry in Japan (see: every shounen manga ever), and was meant to be interpreted as an act of true love and devotion. Is it problematic? Absolutely. But let’s not kid ourselves: so is virtually every Final Fantasy female character to-date, if you really think about it.

So we get it: Tifa really loves Cloud—that’s not even up for debate. What is more interesting, however, is trying to dissect for what reasons she loves him so much. And honestly? It’s very hard to say. One the one hand, we root for the girl who has loved someone for so long and nearly gives up her life to be beside the person dearest to her. On the other hand, we need to ask ourselves: Is he really worth all that heartbreak? I mean, we all know he’s the protagonist of the story, but c’mon girlfriend. We may never really know the real reasons, but that’s sort of the punchline: Tifa’s heart is so locked up that we as the players may never even be privy to the truth behind her emotions.

That aside, it doesn’t make whatever they have between them less appealing. While Cloud and Tifa’s personalities are situated on opposites sides of the compassionate-to-stoic spectrum, the both of them share the unfortunate quality of being unable to express their deepest emotions. They are so very alike in their self-expression that it makes it frustrating to watch their stalemate relationship for the better of two acts of the game. Regardless of this awkward situation, it does make the buildup all more rewarding then they finally confront their feelings, bringing out their more human sides in the midst of the apocalypse.

If you play the game right and score the High Affection scene under the Highwind (as I like to say), Cloud and Tifa share a tender moment alone together, followed by a fade out scene to heavily imply—well, you know. The final scene of the game shows Tifa resting her head against Cloud’s chest as he heroically pull themselves out of the Northern Crater to narrowly escape death, a last-ditch attempted message about the definitiveness of their once-ambiguous relationship.

"Cloud has reverted to his normal self with the help of Tifa. Before their final battle against Sephiroth, Cloud and Tifa affirm their mutual feelings for one another, feelings that could not have been conveyed with words."

    —Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania, pg. 329

Tifa is Cloud’s pillar of strength, in trying times or not. However, what adds to to relationship to make it a bit more compelling are the conflicts they bump into, love triangle aside. Before the end of the first disc, Cait Sith performs his last “fortune telling” at the Temple of the Ancients and reveals Cloud and Aerith’s perfect compatibility, but not before silently considering Tifa’s feelings for Cloud (which are apparent to everyone else in the party at that point—except Cloud) and how his reading may damage romantic potential between the two (spoiler alert: he does it anyway). And…it gets better! Prior to the events of Advent Children and right after On the Way to A Smile: Case of Tifa, Cloud leaves Tifa and the children, whom he has been living with the past year, to battle his sickness alone. This dick-ish move worries Tifa to no end, diminishing her confidence in their relationship. Come midway through Advent Children, Tifa spends a sizable amount of time lecturing Cloud on his avoidance and abandoning the kids, and oh boy, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. By the end of the film, however, matters between the two have settled, Cloud gets over himself and moves back home, and they all live happily ever after (or something like that).

Cloud and Tifa’s awkward and strained relationship makes it peculiar and endearing, in between all the conversational evasion and quiet moments. They go through ups and downs, twists and turns, and has the audience screaming, just kiss already, damnit because you never know who’s going to finally make The Move™. Yet, they still manage to bring to life the story’s subdued romance in small, minute actions that are filled with such intensity and tenderness, despite them being a cluster of pixels on the screen. Against all odds they face, it really does make you want to root for them.