Summary
A recent interview has revealed thatFinal Fantasy 7’s Tifa and Aerith were originally a single character. The decision to split her into two separateFinal Fantasy 7characters resulted in some of the most iconic heroines in a game to date.
Aerith and Tifa both have a big role to play inFinal Fantasy 7, whether it’s the original or the remake trilogy. While Aerith is deeply connected to the planet and the lifestream,Tifa is Cloud’s childhood friendand knows him in a way that no one else does. Fans have debated for years which one is the best choice for Cloud, or simply the “best girl,” but it turns out that might not have ever happened if the original plan had gone through.
In a new interview (viaSiliconera) between Japanese publicationYoungjumpand Tetsuya Nomura, the character designer behindFinal Fantasy 7, the designing legend talked about Aerith and Tifa’s character designs and origins. Nomura noted that he’s never said this before, but Aerith was the original heroine designed for the game, but her original incarnation wasn’t the same as the Aerith players eventually met when the game released. Instead, Aerith originally had something close to her current appearance, but with Tifa’s personality. In an effort to break away from standard character formulas, the team decided to split Aerith into two distinct characters:Aerith and Tifa.
System Restrictions Impacted Aerith and Tifa’s Appearances
Aerith retained her appearance, but gained the curious, gentle, and spunky personality she has today. Meanwhile, Tifa was given a new character design, creating the tough but kind heroine gamers know today. Aerith was intended to be glamorous, but due to the restrictions polygonal modeling put on them at the time, Nomura chose to give her the now-iconic rope braid hairstyle, as depicting flowing, loose hair wasn’t really possible. The hairtie added to the end of Tifa’s long hair was also included for similar purposes. Intriguingly,Tifa’s hair would cause problems inAdvent Children, resulting in it being shortened.
All these years later, it may be hard forFinal Fantasy 7fans to imagine that Aerith and Tifa were once a singular entity. It also raises a lot of questions, like whether Aerith would have been ahand-to-hand brawler like Tifaended up being, or whether she would have still been a childhood friend or a stranger Cloud had barely met. Considering how early in the development of the game this was, it’s possible that combat and plot points hadn’t fully come into the picture yet. However, it’s certainly interesting to thnk that at one time, only Aerith - but not quite the Aerith fans know today - existed.
Final Fantasy 7
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Mako—the discovery of this natural resource drawn directly from the planet’s life force marked the dawn of a new era, and now the energy sustains the lives of people across the world. However, the Shinra Company has monopolized mako production, and in doing so established a powerful hegemony–its influence reaching the far corners of the globe.Cloud, a former member of Shinra’s military organization, SOLDIER, joins the anti-Shinra resistance group AVALANCHE, despite caring little for their motives. During one of the group’s attempts to stop the company, they learn of the return of Sephiroth, Cloud’s nemesis, and that with his reemergence, the planet is in greater danger than anyone had expected.With the fate of the world riding on their success, Cloud and his allies set out to quell this deadly threat.
