Tifa Lockhart appears in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake. She is the main protagonist of the novel Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts, and she also has supporting roles in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, and Crisis Core. She is a friend of Cloud Strife and a member of the Avalanche resistance group.
Tifa grew up in Nibelheim with Cloud but lost touch with him years ago. When she sees him again, she persuades him to join Avalanche in its fight against the Shinra Electric Power Company, which she despises due to the destruction of their hometown. She stands by Cloud as a comrade and assists him and his allies in their fight against Sephiroth. Tifa is reserved and empathic, acting as a mother figure to her allies by encouraging and providing emotional support. She also acts as a sounding board, encouraging them to think things through and do the right thing.
Tifa has a vigorous combat style, fighting with her fists, in contrast to her shy personality. She is trained by Zangan and uses martial arts skills to fight opponents up close, using knuckles as weapons. Unlike other characters in the original Final Fantasy VII, her Limit abilities, each of which is a different martial arts technique, are not selected from a list; rather, each ability can be used consecutively if the slots for the ability land on the “Yeah!” reel. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Tifa plays a similar role as an agile close combat fighter who employs powerful techniques in battle and has a unique ability based on her Unbridled Strength chi level.
Before Final Fantasy VII: Tifa Lockhart
Tifa Lockhart was born on May 3, 1987, in Nibelheim, to Brian Lockhart and his wife Thea. She was an outgoing child who played with friends named Emilio, Lester, and Tyler, who were all around her age. Though they were only a year apart in age, the two were not close.
Tifa was eight years old when Thea died in 1995, leaving her upset and confused, and causing her to drift away from her friends. Tifa came to believe that her mother had gone to Mt. Nibel and that she could meet her again if she crossed the mountain. Tifa and her friends set off for Mt. Nibel, and Cloud followed to protect her. Instead, her friends retreated, and Tifa slipped on a shaky bridge; Cloud tried to catch her, but they both fell.
Avalanche and Midgar: Tifa Lockhart
Tifa was taken to Midgar for medical treatment by Zangan.
Tifa ended up in the hands of quack doctors who patched her up but stole money so she would owe them and took a topless photograph of her against her will in order to avoid Shirna-affiliated clinics. Tifa stayed at Stargazer Heights, an apartment complex owned by the landlady Marle in the Sector 7 slums. When Marle needed surgery and saw Tifa’s surgery photo at the quack doctor’s office, she became protective of Tifa.
Operations involving avalanches
In Final Fantasy VII, on December 9, during “At the Hideout in the Slums,” Cloud returned to Tifa’s bar after a successful mission to destroy Mako Reactor 1. Following an argument with Barret, Cloud attempted to leave Avalanche, but Tifa intervened. She begged Cloud to stay and reminded him of their childhood promise, while reminding Barret that the group needed assistance.
