Why Tifa Lockhart is an Amazing Character

tifa lockhart is one of the most popular and iconic characters in gaming history there's no doubt that she's loved by millions and for good reason but tifa fans are always viewed as incredibly shallow and sure there's always going to be people out there that only care for a design but grouping the entire fanbase to that stereotype is far from the truth you see along with its brilliant storytelling final fantasy vii is well known for its phenomenal character writing and tifa is no exception when i first got into the ff7 games tifa became an instant favorite and not because of her design her personality and struggles are written to feel incredibly realistic and relatable and the parts of the story in which she was most relevant are some of the best she makes the plot even more engaging than it already was and makes the experience even more enjoyable overall today i'll be breaking down why teeth alakar is one of if not the best character from the final fantasy 7 games now i'm going to be talking about both the original ff7 and remake in this video so there will be spoilers but if that doesn't matter to you let's get right into why tifa lockhart is an amazing character [Music] a lot of ff7's main cast starts off pretty emotionally distant like cloud and barret but not tifa both games waste no time in introducing tifa's personality she's quickly established to be a dedicated motherly and caring childhood friend who has no trouble defending herself either it's hard to dislike such a loving and independent person she's also so supportive of not only cloud and the members of avalanche but everyone in sector 7 as well and while at first glance it seems like she has everything under control it doesn't take long for the player to realize how much she's actually struggling one of my favorite parts of tifa's character writing is how quickly the game establishes that she's just like us a human being i know that sounds strange but let me explain when writing a character you usually want them to feel realistic so the player can better relate to them it's crucial that their reactions emotions and internal conflicts make sense so the player can properly connect with that character naotif is a part of the eco-terrorist group avalanche and they've been bombing shinra's maca reactors in an effort to save the planet most of the members are extremely passionate about their work and confident in their actions even showing pride in being a public enemy hey you see the news the reactor bombing was the work of the eco extremist group avalanche public enemy number one hits your heart racing doesn't it being a proud terrorist is not an easy concept for most players to relate to but feeling trapped and uncomfortable because you're being forced to go on a bombing mission is a much easier position for the player to understand and empathize with this discomfort is a significant part of her character in a small chunk of the original game and the majority of remake keith is well aware that avalanche is gonna have to think big if they want to make a noticeable impact but this isn't the way she's the only member of avalanche who actually feels guilty for all the lives that were lost in the bombing missions she doesn't care if these people work for shinra they're innocent people who didn't deserve to die she shows this strive to save people's lives before we even get to shinra hq what are you doing trying to keep you alive but i work for shinra i'm the enemy i don't care i don't want anyone to die please avalanche gets so caught up in the action that they frequently forget the actuality of their situation teef is the one that helps them take a step back and remember that shinra's employees are just regular people trying to support their families just because they work there doesn't mean they're bad people a bit later into the original game once we leave midgar and arrive at calm cloud tells his story of the nievelheim incident he speaks of being friends with sephiroth and being the soldier that traveled with him to the reactor the rest of the party believes cloud as they don't know any better but since tifo was present during the described event she has her own memory of what actually happens she's very skeptical about everything cloud says but keeps it to herself and starts to doubt her own recollection of the events this once again ties into the realism of her character it wouldn't make sense for her to solve the problem right away that's not how humans work confusion and self-doubt is something so many people face every day antifa brings that realism to the table again everything all works so well because she's presented as a flawed character and overcomes those flaws throughout the story another good example of this is back in the train graveyard we learn that she's scared of ghosts which is understandable it's a challenge for her to get through the area but by the end she overcomes her fear and deals the final blow to the boss especially in remake tifa is presented as a more emotional person overall this doesn't mean she's too sensitive it actually makes her character feel more fleshed out and gives the player a deeper connection with her for example when they get the news that the sector 7 plate is about to be dropped she's the only one who's actually fazed by it of course cloud and aerith don't have the same connection to the slums as her but even barrett doesn't seem to feel the same shock and disbelief in the situation and while tifa is definitely more emotional than most of the party she knows how to control it she lost her mother only eight years old her father is a teen and the slum she lived in for five years as an adult these losses led her to have a hatred and vengeance for both shinra and sephiroth but she never lets her anger get the better of her she controls it and uses it as fuel this not only adds even more for the player to potentially relate to but gives proper reasoning as to why she is who she is her backstory gives the player a whole another level of understanding and makes her actions even more meaningful than they already were writing characters can be extremely tricky not only do you want them to have flaws just like regular people but also stand out as a lovable and respectable person that the player will enjoy playing as and rooting for throughout the entire campaign it can be extremely challenging to get that balance just right but tetsuya nomura and the ff7 riders nailed it on the head with tifa her flaws and strife she faces easily resonate with the player and like i said before truly make her feel like an actual person that could exist in the world we live in [Music] there's no question as to whether or not thief is a significant part of the story of final fantasy vii behind only a few characters she's one of the most crucial parts to the overall plot of the game whether it be the events of the story itself her personality or relationships with the other characters there's no denying that the role she plays is an essential piece to the puzzle that is ff7 the player first meets her at 7th heaven right after the first bombing mission and during their time at the bar we learn that tifa's always been the one who takes care of marlene while barrett is away so right off the bat we know that she's going to be the mom of the group her role as a motherly figure becomes more and more evident throughout the entire story she's the most observing and empathetic character in the party and can easily identify others struggles you always see her offering consolation to cloud because he needs it she's incredibly selfless and always takes others issues into consideration before her own during the same period of time cloud attempts to leave avalanche after arguing with barrett but the only reason he stays is because of tifa without her the rest of the game literally wouldn't happen because cloud would be off somewhere else doing mercenary work as the story progresses you really start to realize how important tiva's relationships are with the other characters especially cloud you see something ff7 does extremely well with the character writing is making it so every character both receives and gives support to each other if tiefen never struggled and only helped others with their issues it would be very impressive for sure but also unbalanced and illogical this comes back to what i mentioned earlier how writing a character is like a balancing act you want them to appear strong and independent but not invincible either fortunately this challenge is handled extremely well with tifa as she is presented as both supportive and troubled she has a strong relationship with each major character and they all work out to help both people involved if we take a look at barrett sometimes his morals can be a bit questionable but tifa helps him stay on the right path in return barrett's there for her when she doesn't know what to make of a situation as for aerith thief is there to take care of her when she needs support and aerith returns the favor with their positivity her link with cloud is probably the most significant in which they depend on each other for a mutual reason ever since nibelheim burned down they are all they have to remember who they were during their childhood as nobody living there currently seems to know what happened thanks to shinra being childhood friends means they come from the same background and face similar issues that only they can solve together i'll go more into cloud antifa's relationship later as there's a lot to unpack like with any good character you continue to learn more and more about tifa throughout the story this keeps things interesting as you don't know everything right away as for ff7 we find out how self-critical tifa can be this is not only another way the games make her feel more human but it pushes herself to do better no i'm the one who asked her to go get marlene we'd only just met but she was so kind and helpful i took advantage of her she treats every mistake as a learning experience making her such an open-minded individual this gives tifa another layer of likability as well as an explanation as to how her character grows and while you absolutely need the characters of your story to be dynamic a certain level of consistency is important to maintain fifa grows as a person and improves herself throughout ff7 and she feels like the same person through it all you don't want your character to change too drastically as it can ruin the connection the player has when first meeting that character and most times it feels unrealistic and unnatural while tifa is improving herself she remains that same loving supportive patient and empathetic friend you can always rely on her frequent concern and care for others in the party really acts as the glue that keeps everything together and it all builds up to the major twist of ff7 i'm of course referring to learning the truth about cloud's past this is probably my favorite part of ff7 because of how clever it is plot-wise and significant it is character-wise sephiroth starts to tell cloud the truth about who he is and yes part of what he's saying is historically accurate but there are just as many lies sephiroth is constantly breaking down cloud throughout the story but not physically he goes for his emotions and while sephiroth does succeed in this situation cloud resists for a while he manages to keep telling himself it's all a lie how because of tifa sefrath takes advantage of cloud's uncertainty of his own past antifa is all cloud has to prevent him from losing his sanity sephiroth's out there saying he was just a failed experiment not even a real person cloud doesn't even know what to believe anymore he's filled with confusion and concern and even admits it's true that sometimes i can't figure out who i am there's a lot of things muddled up in my memories but tifa you said long time no see cloud right those words will always support me i'm the one you grew up with in nibelheim no matter how much i lose faith in myself that is the truth no matter what anyone else says to me it's your opinion that counts he needs her and she's there for him kiev is the only one he can talk to as she's the only one who really knows him so when he finally cracks tifa does everything she can to help him get better we find him suffering from severe mango poisoning he's pretty incapable of doing anything so tifa stands by his side through the struggle even though barrett shames her for being too emotional saying what happened to that tough girl i used to know she doesn't let that get in her way of taking care of who she loves most she's so determined to support her friends that she doesn't care what others say and will do whatever it takes to accomplish her goal through empathy patience and understanding thief is able to help cloud remember his past and find confidence in his own identity saving him from being further manipulated by sephiroth her connection sympathy and loyalty is what made it all possible and without her cloud wouldn't have ever found himself again their relationship alone does so much for ff7 story because it's so well written them being childhood friends gives them a deeper level of understanding for each other and allows both of their characters to overcome obstacles thus making the plot more engaging relationships like these are a brilliant way to present flaws and characters and give proper solutions as to how the characters overcome them tifa has so many traits that make a phenomenal character a perfect blend of so many qualities make her incredibly significant to the story whether it's her inclusion in the events themselves relationships personality or overall role it's irrefutable how crucial teeth is to final fantasy vii as a whole [Music] tifa is one of those characters who's easily overlooked due to most thinking she's nothing but fanservice but that couldn't be further from the truth she easily feels the most like an actual human when being compared to the rest of the cast giving her this unique sense of realism which adds so much relatability to the games like with any good character she makes mistakes and learns from them her relationships in the games not only remind the player how good of a person she is but that she's not invincible just like us the role she plays in the story is undeniably important as well and she truly does improve the final fantasy 7 experience altogether ultimately tifa lockhart is one of the greatest video game characters for so many valid reasons and of course she's much much deeper than one youtube video so i encourage you to give both the original ff7 and the remake a try if you haven't already both do brilliant things for her character and it's really enjoyable to see everything unfold i'm also really excited to see what they'll do with her in the sequels to the remake now that they can properly convey the character's emotions and the slower pacing gives you even more time to get attached to the characters i'm expecting to cry as always thank you so much for making it to the end of this video i was just absolutely blown away by tifa's character writing when i first got into ff7 and i knew i had to make a video on it i hope i was clear in conveying my thoughts and if you were confused by anything i said or just disagree with me please let me know in the comments i'd love to hear what you have to say and resolve any issues again thanks for watching hope you have a fantastic day [Music] you

Channel: Xander's Cut

Views: 41,196

Keywords: GiantPokeSpyro, Tifa Lockhart, Tifa Lockhart Character Analysis, Tifa Lockhart Character Study, Tifa Lockhart Character Writing, Final Fantasy 7 Story, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story, Final Fantasy Character Writing, Final Fantasy 7 Best Girl, FF7 Best Girl, Tifa Lockhart Video Essay, Final Fantasy VII Story, Final Fantasy VII Remake Video Essay, FF7R Video Essay, FF7R Critique, FF7 Critique, Cloti, Is Cloti Canon, Is Tifa a Good Character, Who is Tifa, FF7 Best Characters

Id: FO0IyMB3LuY

Length: 13min 32sec (812 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 17 2021