Tifa Lockhart was born in Nibelheim and grew up next door to Cloud Strife. Though they knew each other since childhood, circumstances prevented them from getting close, and Cloud was left to admire Tifa from afar.
When Tifa was eight, her mother died, and soon after, believing that her mother's spirit may have passed through the mountains, she decided to follow the path leading up the nearby Mt. Nibel.[2] Her three closest friends, who were afraid to follow her up the mountain, abandoned her one by one. Cloud, however, who had been following them unnoticed, continued on after Tifa. When Tifa missed her footing on a rope bridge leading into the mountain, he ran to save her but was too late, and both of them fell into the gorge below.
Cloud survived the accident while suffering no more than scraped knees, but Tifa was in a coma for a week. Tifa's father held Cloud responsible for the incident[3], and his relationship with Tifa remained distant. Cloud blamed himself for the accident as well and felt that he had been unable to save Tifa because of his own weakness. His self-reproach led to anger toward himself, which then led to him into fights with others. Later, he would hear of Sephiroth, a legendary soldier admired by many young men, and he would conceive a plan to prove to himself and to everyone else that he was strong enough to protect Tifa.
At the age of fourteen, Cloud asked Tifa to meet him one evening at the well in the center of town. Cloud then told her of his plans to leave for Midgar and join SOLDIER. It is later revealed that this decision was largely influenced by a desire not only to become strong enough to protect Tifa, but also to impress her as well.[4] Tifa was both surprised and disappointed at Cloud's news; she asked him to promise that if he achieved his dream and that if she were ever in danger, he would come to her rescue.[5]
Springtime came and Cloud left for Midgar. Despite never really being close with Cloud, Tifa found his departure harder than she had expected. She began to think about him frequently, wondering whether he was well and whether he had achieved his dream. She began to read the newspapers, thinking there might be an article about him, but it would be years before she heard any news of him.[6]
When she was fifteen, Tifa acted as a Nibelheim guide for a group of SOLDIER personnel inspecting the mako reactor on Mt. Nibel. The group consisted of the 1st-Class SOLDIERs Sephiroth and Zack, as well as two MPs, one of which, unbeknownst to Tifa, was Cloud. After the inspection, the group returned to town, and Sephiroth stayed in the basement of the Shin-Ra Mansion to read through the research notes left by Professors Gast and Hojo. What he discovered brought about a gruesome change in him. (For more information, see Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII).) Without warning, he set fire to Nibelheim in the night and slaughtered the townspeople.
With her hometown in ruins and most of her loved ones dead, Tifa pursued Sephiroth as he returned to the reactor, only to find that Sephiroth had murdered her father as well. In a blind rage, she attempted to kill Sephiroth with his own sword. However, he proved too strong for her, and with terrifying ease he disarmed and seriously injured Tifa, nearly killing her. As Cloud made his way into the reactor, he found Zack lying against some machinery with critical injuries, as well as Tifa's severely wounded and unconscious body at the bottom of the stairs leading into Jenova's chamber. Enraged, Cloud took up Zack's sword before picking Tifa up and moving her to a more comfortable position. Cloud then confronted Sephiroth, who stabbed him. With a final burst of strength Cloud lifted Sephiroth whilst still impaled, and threw him off the edge into the Lifestream below. In the aftermath of the incident, Zangan appeared on the scene and took the grievously injured Tifa to safety.
Due to the severity of her injuries, Zangan carried Tifa to Midgar for medical attention, where he left her in the care of a doctor before returning to his travels. Upon recovering, Tifa set up a bar called "7th Heaven" in Midgar's Sector 7. There she met Barret Wallace, the leader of the Shinra resistance group AVALANCHE. Tifa joined his resistance faction, as she wanted revenge on Shinra for the events that had occurred in Nibelheim.
One day, Tifa found a barely-coherent Cloud sitting at the Sector 7 train station and took him back to AVALANCHE's base to recover. It was the first time she had seen him in seven years, though he would later say —- much to her confusion —- that it had only been five. Tifa soon realized that Cloud knew many things he should not have known, while apparently unaware of other things that he should have known. These abnormalities caused her great concern for his mental welfare, and she persuaded him to join AVALANCHE so she could be with him and watch over him.[7]
Tifa as she appears in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children.
[edit] On the Way to a Smile: Case of Tifa
A story from Tifa's point of view, set after Sephiroth was defeated, and before the events of Advent Children. Tifa, Cloud and Barret move to Edge, a new town being constructed just outside of Midgar, and set up a new 7th Heaven as they attempt to build a family life for themselves. After Barret leaves to settle his past, Cloud and Tifa tend to the orphan Denzel and Barret's adopted daughter, Marlene. During the story, Tifa tries hard to maintain a sense of family unity and the concept of a "normal family" itself. She particularly concerns herself with Cloud, as he begins isolating himself froher and the others as time goes on by living in Aerith's church. Pam Spurlock does the voice of Tifa in all the games and the movie.
[edit] Final Fantasy VII Advent Children
Tifa, along with Cloud, is one of the main characters of Advent Children. Her role in the film sequel is mainly that of emotional support for Cloud, urging him to come to terms with the unwarranted guilt he places on himself. She also displays a great deal of concern for the children in their care, particularly Marlene and Denzel. Tifa takes part in a one-on-one battle with the new villain, Loz, and later joins in the fight against Bahamut SIN. During the film, her athletic abilities, martial arts skills, strength, and agility are clearly proven to be superhuman. Her strength may have been above normal earlier than the film and the present time of the game. In another fight scene, Tifa shows her true power and knowledge of martial arts to fight. Although she loses, she showed she could put up a fair fight.
[edit] Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-
Tifa has a small role in Dirge of Cerberus, appearing most notably during the World Restoration Organization's full scale conflict with the Deep Ground organization. She goes into the battle with Barret and the WRO ground forces, and later throttles a enemy soldier helping to clear the way to Omega Weapon. She is seen at the Seventh Heaven in the final FMV, where she and Yuffie talk briefly about Vincent's apparent disappearance.
Tifa as she appears in Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-
[edit] Kingdom Hearts II
Tifa makes a cameo appearance in Kingdom Hearts II, seen in her Advent Children attire. She is a resident of Radiant Garden, but when Sora, Donald, and Goofy meet her, they learn that she is searching for someone. This person is later revealed to be Cloud, who himself is searching for Sephiroth. It is later shown that she helps Cloud find his light, though many fans debate as to whether or not Tifa was the source, or Cloud found it within himself. While she continues to be portrayed as a kind young woman, unlike her other appearances, she seems more willing to use force.
During the game, Sora fights alongside her in Radiant Garden, as well as against her in the Olympus Coliseum. In battle, she has her famous "Final Heaven" limit break, as well as several other of her Limit skills from Final Fantasy VII, such as "Beat Rush" and "Water Kick". Tifa also gives Sora the Fenrir Keyblade if he defeats Sephiroth.
Fans debate over whether or not Tifa actually exists as human, since the only beings she is found talking to are Sora, Donald, Goofy, Cloud, and Sephiroth. Nomura states that there are many different ways to freely interpret her status and encourages the fans to think about it freely. While he explains the idea that Tifa and Sephiroth parallel what each respective being could represent (i.e. light vs. darkness) is a possible view, he also gives another interpretation in which Tifa could possibly be an inhabitant of Radiant Garden.[8]
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