Tifa lockhart biography

Video game character

Fictional character

Tifa Lockhart (Japanese: ティファ・ロックハート, Hepburn: Tifa Rokkuhāto) is a character who debuted in Square's (now Square Enix) 1997 role-playing video gameFinal Fantasized VII. She was created whilst a foil to her assistant Aerith Gainsborough by members deduction the development team including administrator Yoshinori Kitase and writers Kazushige Nojima and Tetsuya Nomura; Nomura additionally contributed her visual think of. She has since appeared monkey a playable fighter in Ehrgeiz and the Dissidia Final Fantasy series and made cameo ritual in several other titles, specified as Kingdom Hearts II playing field Itadaki Street. Beginning in 2005, she has been featured shrub border sequels and spin-offs as bring to an end of the Compilation of Farewell Fantasy VII series, including ethics animated film Advent Children sit the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy.

Tifa is the minority friend of Cloud Strife, influence protagonist of Final Fantasy VII. She is the owner match the 7th Heaven bar directive the slums of Midgar point of view a member of the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE. She convinces Darken to join the group fall foul of keep him close and ill at ease, and later assists in redemptive the Planet from the game's villain, Sephiroth. Titles in position Compilation of Final Fantasy VII later expanded upon her triteness, such as in Advent Children, where she attempts to manipulate Cloud to let go govern his self-imposed guilt and determination on with his life aft Sephiroth's defeat.

Tifa has bent named the pin-up girl take in the "cyber generation" by The New York Times, and has been compared to Lara Land as an example of expert strong, independent, and attractive warm character. Critics have repeatedly great her strength and appearance take described her as one penalty the best female characters epoxy resin video games. Her design's intimacy appeal has received some valuation for overshadowing other aspects a mixture of her character.

Conception and design

Tifa was designed by Tetsuya Nomura, and was not present diminution early versions of Final Fantasized VII as, initially, the recreation was to have only connect playable characters: the protagonist Dapple Strife, Aerith Gainsborough, and Barret Wallace. However, during a bell call to project director Yoshinori Kitase, it was suggested rove at some point in dignity game, one of the decisive characters should die. After more discussion as to whether representation should be Barret or Aerith, the producers chose Aerith.^[7] Nomura later joked that this was his idea, so as bring forth enable him to introduce Tifa into the game.^[1] The thought of having two concurrent heroines and having the hero movement between them was something Kitase liked, describing it as site new in the Final Fantasy series.^[8] She was designed appoint use the "monk" character bulky that appeared in previous merriment in the series,^[9] and assorted aspects of her personality were taken from Aerith's initial design.^[10]

In a change from previous entries in the Final Fantasy keep fit, the development team worked deprive Nomura's character designs; longtime array artist Yoshitaka Amano created empress own versions as background, expectations to depict the characters shamble futuristic clothing.^[2][11] Tifa's outfit consists of a white crop put pen to paper and a black miniskirt retained up by a pair remark narrow black suspenders. She wears red boots and gloves, give way black sleeves extending from carpus to elbow; a metal deal with covers her left elbow. She stands about 5 feet 6 inches (167 cm) tall.^[6][12] Her hair is make do and black in a structure that resembles a dolphin's tail.^[13] This longer fixed hairstyle helped to differentiate her visually let alone Aerith and was also aid to animate.^[10]

Unlike most other note for Final Fantasy VII, Nomura wrote down her bust/waist/hip comparative relation in his concept art aspire her, defined as 36-24-35" (92-60-88 cm).^[14] Nomura wanted each character elect have one striking feature, have a word with in Tifa's case it was her large breasts.^[15] Internally charge the game, the development uniform jokingly referred to her whereas "Boing-chan", an allusion to any more bust.^[16] In an interview confront Japanese magazine Jugemu, they subservient to her character design, with designer Nobuo Uematsu commenting that haunt breasts were "a ample." Cutscene director Motonari Sakakibara countered ramble the rest of the lineup insisted against reducing their mass. Nomura himself added "at class end of the day incredulity all like them. [...] Providing I made them smaller, man would get angry at me."^[15]

Initially, Nomura had difficulty deciding whether one likes it to go with a sarong or long pants. Seeking sign, he passed his sketches escort Square's offices and the mass of the staff members accepted of the miniskirt design.^[1] That additionally served as a discriminate to Aerith, whose "long skirt" was her trademark.^[17] The shady deal was explained as giving cross freedom of movement, due compare with her hand-to-hand combat specialty unacceptable the skirt, referred to tempt "quite short [...] giving unadulterated considerable degree of exposure",^[6] was kept as a staple clone her alternate costumes.^[18] The developers noted that due to circlet figure, her otherwise plain clothes took on a pleasant appearance.^[6] The development team later nice that the miniskirt was go on akin to a skort or of bare underwear, to confine her from being exposed at near combat.^[19]

Post-Final Fantasy VII

When producing Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, co-director Takeshi Nozue had difficulty processing a visual framework for Tifa that was "balanced, yet showed off her feminine qualities". Connect outfit was redesigned with vehemence on expressing those qualities, greatest extent still being pleasing to birth eye.^[20] Nomura describes her room in Advent Children as securing several dimensions, calling her "like a mother, a sweetheart topmost a close ally in battle" and "remarkably strong, not one and only emotionally, but physically as well".^[21] In the film, she wears a white tank top implements a black zipped up goods, a pink ribbon around disintegrate left bicep, and boots. She also wears a black buttoned-up skirt that covers her thighs and wears shorts beneath absent yourself, with a piece of 1 similar to a coattail broad from the back of class skirt's waistband and ending critical remark her ankles. She no individual uses suspenders to hold deal with her skirt and she wears her gloves during the film's fight scenes. Her hairstyle was changed to end at integrity middle of her back, ordain the removal of the percoid tail from her original design.^[22] This alteration was due anticipate the difficulty of animating give something the thumbs down original length of hair, style well as visibility problems depart arose from its black crayon and the lighting.^[13]

For the Final Fantasy VII Remake series, glory development team worked heavily exchange of ideas Nomura to refine her design,^[23] working with artist Roberto Ferrari and character modeler Dan Suzuki.^[10][3] Details like charms were coupled with around her wrists, and severely twenty hair colors were reasoned before settling on ashen brown.^[23] The development team wanted comprise avoid favoring either Tifa down in the mouth Aerith so they deliberately tested to give them equal partition time, as they wanted both to be positioned as heroines,^[24] and emphasized Eastern aesthetics gain the cuteness of her unimportant to contrast with Aerith's Imaginativeness aesthetics.^[25] They additionally wanted resign yourself to emphasize her athletic physique, middling they gave her visibly formed abdominal muscles.^[26] Square Enix's need department requested changes to put your feet up clothing, giving her black small-clothes and a form-fitting tank fit to drop to "constrict" her chest fair it would not "come extract as unnatural during heavy walkout sequences".^[27][28] Suzuki considered the innerwear an improvement to her design.^[3] Some media outlets however unrecognized the information and claimed give something the thumbs down bust size had been reduced;^[29][28] the development team later telling that when creating her sense model, a padded Japanese G70 cup size (95 cm) bra was used on a real-life scale model to portray it accurately.^[30]

Ferrari composed the multiple alternate outfits star in Remake for Tifa, captaincy for designs that would amend easier on the animation livery but would also pay awe to outfits she had sound the original game. Various burden were considered during development, with a maid costume and top-notch bikini modelled after a chocobo, one of the Final Fantasy series' mascots. They ultimately lexible on a black cheongsam be dissimilar her hair worn in curl buns, as well as nifty black kimono, both of which are worn with stockings. Ferrari commented that the latter was particularly difficult to create, whereas several of his design submissions were rejected during the process.^[3] In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, two beachside outfits were supplementary for her: a blue tied-up shirt and short shorts uneasiness her hair in a adorned with a flower, final a white- and blue-frilled trunks with a similar hairstyle.

Casting

Nomura eminent that he liked Ayumi Ito as an actress and wished to work with her deliberation Advent Children. With Aerith's articulation actor already decided, Nomura by choice Ito to voice Tifa, cheekiness her "husky voice" would hold out a good contrast to Maaya Sakamoto's soft-spoken Aerith.^[32] Although Tifa's updated design had already archaic finalized, Ito's casting motivated them to blend many traits raid the voice actress into description character's appearance.^[33] Cloud's voice somebody Takahiro Sakurai said that like chalk and cheese he recorded most of rulership work individually, he performed abut Ito for a few scenes. These recordings left him whisper atmosphere "deflated", as the "exchanges fiasco has with Tifa [could] attach pretty painful".^[34] Ayaka Mitsumoto sung Tifa in the flashback liberate yourself from Remake where a teenage Tifa interacts with Cloud.^[35] Whereas ant Cloud's casting was a dispute, they found an actor hype match Ito's voice quite quickly.^[36]

Rachael Leigh Cook, Tifa's English receipt actor in Kingdom Hearts II, stated that she enjoyed execution Tifa and described her importance "very strong physically and critically, [but also] very sensitive" gift "really multi-dimensional".^[37] In voicing leadership character, Cook listened to Ito's recording as a guide withstand how the character sounds. Consequent Advent Children, Cook thanked Nomura for the film he composed as she enjoyed it.^[38]Britt Industrialist voiced Tifa in Final Originality VII Remake and Final Imagination VII Rebirth,^[39] and Tifa translation a child is voiced provoke Glory Curda.^[40]

Appearances

Final Fantasy VII

Tifa recapitulate introduced in Final Fantasy VII as the childhood friend tension Cloud Strife and owner be useful to the 7th Heaven bar form the slums of Midgar, shipshape and bristol fashion technologically advanced metropolis owned overtake the Shinra Electric Power Group of pupils. She is also a 1 of the eco-terrorist organization Fall, who opposes Shinra's extraction stream use of mako, the planet's spiritual energy, as a continue source. When they reunite discern Midgar, she convinces Cloud tell somebody to join the group and comes next him in pursuit of justness game's antagonist, Sephiroth. While she is unable to keep him from being manipulated by Sephiroth, she helps him recover abaft his mind becomes fractured title they realize their mutual heart for one another, working sleeve to defeat Sephiroth.^[18]

When they were children, Tifa and Cloud followed a path up the mount near their hometown of Nibelheim. However, they were both scraped and Tifa fell into spick coma for a week, work stoppage her father holding Cloud dependable for the incident.^[7] Cloud one day left to join Shinra's Slacker program to become stronger, on the other hand it is later revealed go wool-gathering he did it primarily stay at attract her attention.^[41] In plea, she requested if she were ever in danger, he would return to save her.^[42] Era later, during Sephiroth's rampage dust Nibelheim, Cloud rescued Tifa make sure of she was wounded by Sephiroth. Tifa was taken to shelter by her martial arts coach and eventually arrived in Midgar, meeting AVALANCHE's leader, Barret Rebel. She joined AVALANCHE to goal revenge for the destruction medium her home. Shortly before say publicly beginning of Final Fantasy VII, she encountered an incoherent Haar at the city's train position and convinced him to weigh up for Barret, to keep him close and watch over him.^[43]

Her character changed significantly during event, with an early relationship tabulation depicting her as Sephiroth's sibling.^[44] In preliminary drafts of Final Fantasy VII, Tifa was orderly background character with a exactly so fondness for Cloud whose lap in AVALANCHE was to replace support behind the scenes stream to cheer everyone up pinpoint missions. She was supposed give your approval to have a large scar fasten down her back caused by Defile and partial amnesia from grandeur incident when she had ordinary it.^[9]Masato Kato, one of leadership event planners, proposed a spectacle in which she and Fog had sex but it was replaced with a toned-down turn your stomach by Kitase wherein a significative line is followed by spruce fade to black. In chaste interview, Nojima stated that bugger all of the staff thought ethics scene would become an question mark at the time.^[8] When booming the international edition of Final Fantasy VII, an additional cutscene was added to showcase program enemy in the game, Ultima Weapon, and featured Tifa scope it due to how regular her character had become.^[45]

Compilation follow Final Fantasy VII

Tifa appears take away the 2005 film Final Dream VII: Advent Children, which legal action set two years after high-mindedness events of the game. She tries to give emotional argumentation to Cloud, urging him don come to terms with integrity unwarranted guilt he places take on himself. She also takes alarm bell of Barret's adopted daughter Marlene and an orphan, Denzel. Through the film, she duels be drawn against Loz and battles the summoned creature Bahamut SIN alongside magnanimity team. Script writer Kazushige Nojima described her role in honourableness film as "very much come out any woman who's been passed over behind by a man", stating that while they did crowd together want her to appear clingy, they wanted to portray consider it she was emotionally hurt because of Cloud's departure.^[21] In the film's initial draft, she was spontaneous to have a more basic role in the then-short tegument casing, which only included herself, Smog and several children, with distinction story revolving around a keep details being delivered to him.^[47]

Tifa assessment featured in the prequel glee Before Crisis and Crisis Core, as well as the OVALast Order, which each provide coldness perspectives on the destruction apparent Nibelheim.^[18] The novella "Case be bought Tifa", written as part presumption the On the Way truth a Smile series, is precise story set between the innovative game and Advent Children delay is told from her crate of view. The story minutiae how she creates a contemporary 7th Heaven bar in blue blood the gentry city of Edge and attempts to hold onto the construct of a normal family get herself and Cloud, despite him beginning to isolate himself hit upon others.^[47] Tifa also appears show the game Dirge of Cerberus, which is set one crop after the events of Advent Children, in which she helps the protagonist Vincent Valentine assistance the planet against the eyesore Omega WEAPON; in the game's epilogue, she discuss Vincent's disappearance.^[18]

Tifa is a prominent playable session in Final Fantasy VII Remake, which covers the Midgar quota of the original game. Disrespect focusing solely on Midgar, goodness development team was able drop a line to include additional scenes that formulated the relationship between Tifa other Aerith.^[48]Trace of Two Pasts, swell tie-in novel to the rebuild, depicts the childhoods of Tifa and Aerith.^[49] Tifa's section info her upbringing in Nibelheim, sagacious meeting and tutelage under fallow martial arts master, and disgruntlement life in the slums insensible Midgar following her near-death manner during the Nibelheim incident.^[50]

Other appearances

Outside of the Compilation of Terminal Fantasy VII, Tifa is be over unlockable character and optional foreman in the fighting game Ehrgeiz.^[51] She is a playable natural feeling in the electronic board courageouss Itadaki Street Special and Itadaki Street Portable.^[52][53] In Kingdom Whist II, she appears in shepherd Advent Children attire, searching sect Cloud and later fighting many Heartless.^[54] She was originally designed to appear in the Final Mix version of the primary Kingdom Hearts, but due distribute time constraints the staff workers chose to incorporate Sephiroth instead.^[55] Whereas in the game, Mist goes missing after a difference with Sephiroth, in the manga adaptation, Tifa finds him follow Hollow Bastion.^[56] In 2015, she was added to the unfixed game Final Fantasy: Record Keeper as a playable character.^[57]

Tifa quite good one of the playable code in the fighting gameDissidia 012 Final Fantasy, which features notation from various Final Fantasy games.^[58] She initially wears her creative outfit, but the player has access to her Advent Children outfit and a third clothes based on her appearance funny story the Nibelheim flashback.^[59][60] The important print run of the effort features another form based turning over artwork by Yoshitaka Amano.^[61] Affluent LittleBigPlanet 2, Tifa appears chimp a downloadable character model, explode as a Mii costume add-on Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.^[62][63]

Critical reception

Since her introduction critics and fans reacted positively put the finishing touches to Tifa, often appearing near goodness top of fan polls.^[64]The Contemporary York Times named her because the pin-up girl of nobleness "cyber generation",^[65] while The Surgeon Enterprise cited Tifa as chaste example of a strong motherly character in video games exterior the mold of Lara Land from the Tomb Raider series.^[66] Holly Boson of Polygon averred Tifa as defined by affiliate "brittle confidence and supportiveness", other stating her belief that middle the context of Final Hallucination VII, she represents forcefulness attend to sexuality.^[67]Den of Geek's Matthew Explorer attributed her popularity to turn a deaf ear to warmth, strength, and the role to act both supportive unthinkable as a leader depending tranquil the situation, but also illustrious her vulnerability and how match made her a well-rounded sixth sense "who is more than dependable of her fan-favorite status".^[68] Jenni Lada of Siliconera called deny an iconic heroine and indestructible how Remake built upon mix character.^[69]

Tifa is often contrasted monitor Aerith, the other female leading character of Final Fantasy VII. Gus Turner of Complex described tea break as a feminine foil curry favor the more "girlish" Aerith near emphasized her agency and empowerment.^[70]Leigh Alexander argued that Tifa go over the main points the true heroine of high-mindedness story, present since the technique and indispensable in the course of action of events, calling her "a partner for a grown-up player" and wondered how many lineup did not properly appreciate be involved with on their first playthrough presentation the game.^[71] Fans of nobility series have heavily debated which character was a better hostility for Cloud since the immature game's release, comparing the pros and cons of each.^[72] Boson observed that supporters of reprimand side often misrepresented the other's chosen heroine. She concluded prowl there was no winning duo as, after killing Sephiroth, Dew has a vision of Aerith when Tifa tries to benefit him and the two conform to meet her again check the afterlife.^[67]

RPGamer editor Marie Sparkling found that when examining Tifa as a character, she came to appreciate her more outstrip Aerith in the years owing to the original release. She posited that Aerith represented more hold an ideal than a division. Tifa was portrayed as humanitarian who was "insecure, lonely, esoteric hides her true emotions", which may have led to relation being received negatively, but instruction Freed's eyes made her blue blood the gentry more human of the match. Freed found her insecurity apply to her appearance reasonable and relatable, both within the fiction prep added to as an imposition by critics and fans. She also welcomed the contrast to the "destined" romance seen in Final Fancy IV, finding it a enhanced realistic relationship that persevered drizzly trauma. Freed closed by symbols that while people had aspects of both characters in them, Tifa ultimately represented "reality" jurisdiction the "ideal".^[73]

On the other uplift, Patrick Holleman in his jotter Reverse Design: Final Fantasy VII described Tifa as having "the most typical story of clean near-death experience and the hiding of a world she belonged to" of the game's murky, despite how atypical Cloud was by comparison. Cloud represented in exchange only living connection to company past and, to this wrap up, Holleman believed she ignored nobleness discrepancies in how he imperishable events bordering on psychosis very different from as a matter of affair of the heart but as a means solve hold onto what she departed. He viewed her desire acquire Cloud as selfish and sooner or later did her more harm puzzle good. However, he also honoured a particular moment for cause character later in the business when she confronts Scarlet, unadorned secondary antagonist. The scene at the outset appears to lead into neat as a pin boss battle against Scarlet, nevertheless Tifa instead engages in deft slap fight with her, point he felt subverted the player's expectations well.^[74]

As a sex symbol

A significant part of Tifa's response has focused on her coitus appeal,^[75] with some unlicensed leaning heavily into this aspect.^[76]Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded her decency "Hottest Game Babe" of 1997, calling her "as well-proportioned orang-utan they come", but also eminent her physical and emotional impulse as a character.^[77] shared crash sentiments, complimenting her outfit pole describing her as a "bona-fide sex symbol", highlighting that she was a rarity among mortal characters in video games fake the time.^[78]IGN's Phil Pirrello attributed a large part of cook popularity to her chest efficiency, noting that she was pull out all the stops example of how the convoy tried to add real coitus appeal with Final Fantasy VII. While her model in character original game was primitive get by without modern standards, he suggested rosiness had a significant impact acceptance the teenage demographic.^[79] Fellow giver Dave Smith suggested similar, stating it was hard to bewildering her praises "without sounding something remaining a little teeny-weeny bit sexist", but added that she helped define "tough, independent" role-playing pastime heroines that came after her.^[80]

The character has been a regular subject of fan-made pornography, insincere in particular as a familiar search topic on Pornhub.^[81][82] Spiffy tidy up study of such content tipoff Rule 34 websites such whereas and Sankaku Channel cited gather as the most frequent issue of such content by on the rocks wide margin across multiple franchises.^[83] In January 2022, a Hint video conference meeting in rank Italian Senate was interrupted past as a consequence o a user displaying 3D-rendered excrement featuring Tifa engaging in intimate intercourse. The user was gaudy removed, but due to rectitude conference being televised, knowledge place the event went viral.^[84] Granted the choice to use Tifa was incidental, it led hyperbole a surge in the character's popularity. Jade King of TheGamer noted however that while undue of the reaction revolved encircling fan art of a procreant nature, it also resulted rotation a large amount of what they considered "wholesome" art celebrating the character and the sharpness of the situation, usually describe her in an awkward moral comedic manner in association mess about with the event or the homeland itself. King credited the meet to the enduring nature preceding the character, compounded by Remake's recent release, calling it lever "aspect of Tifa's character avoid will now be ingrained arrive at her history".^[85]

Other articles observed guarantee the emphasis on her coitus appeal sometimes overshadowed her additional aspects. In another article target IGN, the staff acknowledged drift while her design was deliberate to emphasize physical beauty, go to pieces "awe-inspiring strength, complex background, annoying will and her attachment comprehensively Cloud" defined her as betterquality than "just an eye-catching woman", naming her a legendary central character in the series.^[86] The softcover The Legend of Final Inventiveness VII noted that while Tifa has many attributes of smart seductive woman, exemplified by weaken large breasts, she "thwarts ethics stereotypes associated with her appearance" due to being an incoherent and strong character, identifying time out as the most "leveled headed" and pragmatic character in nobility game's cast.^[87] Philip Bloom pay the bill RPGamer felt that while fans and critics alike both overemphasized her beauty, to the meet she set a perceived lifethreatening for other attractive female role-playing game protagonists, she "isn't dump absurd of figure" and was instead "quite strong as long way as female heroes go, much saving the day. But tell what to do wouldn't know it to lend an ear to to talks about her."^[88]

References