Everyone was pretty shocked at the Nintendo Direct yesterday that revealed Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII as a new playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS. However, I feel that Tifa should have been the one to represent that particular series as it would have made more sense. Don’t agree? Well, you need to read the article in full to find out my reasoning on why she would have been a better choice than Zack’s clone. Hit the jump.
[ Cloud’s Trailer for Smash Bros. ]
Just in case you did not see Cloud Strife’s trailer for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS, I have it posted here so you can witness it in all its glory.
[ Tifa Lockheart, Bartender Badass ]
For those of you who are not familiar with Tifa Lockheart from Final Fantasy VII, she is part of the underground resistance group known as “AVALANCHE” which fights against the evil conglomerate known as “Shinra Electric Power Company”. Shinra is basically causing the lifestream to slowly die by using it as a source of power, thus killing the planet in the process. Tifa is also a childhood friend of main character, Cloud Strife, and presently works as a bartender in a tavern called “7th Heaven” in the slums. Tifa became an instant fan favorite due to her being Cloud’s love interest, and at that time she had pretty large breasts for a video game character (sadly this is probably what she was known most for during that time).
If you would like to know more about Tifa besides just this brief summary, ScrewAttack did an EXCELLENT presentation of her skills and abilities in her Death Battle vs Yang Xiao-Long.
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| Tifa’s official Final Fantasy VII Artwork. |
Final Fantasy VII is possibly the most popular game within the Final Fantasy series, with only Final Fantasy X carrying more notoriety. While Cloud Strife is naturally one of the more popular characters due to him being the protagonist, Tifa is also very well-known. Her being put into Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS seems like it would have been the smart move for a variety of factors concerning the game. Mainly that it would be nice to have more human hand-to-hand combatants and that there has not been any new female characters as DLC even though only a small number of women are playable to begin with.
Human hand-to-hand combatants have been a real rarity within the Super Smash Bros. series. Within this latest iteration we only have Little Mac, Ryu, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon which fit the quota I am talking about. While we do have characters like Mario, Luigi, Wario, etc. who do not fight with a weapon, they look more cartoonish than human, if anything they are “human-like”. Also, we do not have any female hand-to-hand combatants other than Sheik (Wii Fit trainer does not really count to me), everyone else is using some type of magic power or a weapon. It would also be nice to see another battle-hardened female.
As it stands now, there are currently 13 playable female characters (Princess Peach, Zero Suit Samus, Samus Aran, Zelda, Sheik, Jigglypuff (?), Rosalina & Luma, Lucina, Goddess Palutena, Wii Fit Trainer, Female Robin, Wendy O. Koopa [Bowser Jr. Palette Swap], and Female Mii Character). What is even worse about this is that Zelda/Sheik are the same person and so is Zero Suit Samus/Power Armor Samus. We also have Female Robin, Female Mii Character, and Wendy O. Kooper which are not dedicated gender-specific characters, and Jigglypuff was a male in the Pokémon anime series so no idea if it is male or female in this game (even though it boasts feminine accessories in Smash). There have been absolutely no new female characters that have currently been announced and it would be nice to see some new blood representing the ladies.
They also have plenty to go by for Tifa’s moveset. She has been in various other games than just Final Fantasy VII; Tifa has also appeared in other games, such as Erhgeiz: God Bless the Ring, Final Fantasy: Dissidia, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, and even appeared in the CGI movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Tifa would be very easy to craft moves and skills for that would fit right at home with the other combatants in Smash.
Overall, I think that Tifa would make quite a good character. She’s iconic within the Final Fantasy series, she knows how to hold her own in a fight, and she fits all the criteria I believe Super Smash Bros. For Wii U & 3DS is missing. Hopefully next time around Nintendo will consider the female lead and see what she has to bring to the table.
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1- Cloud is more iconic. There is no denying that. He is the face JRPG. Not Tifa.
2- Gender represetnation is dumb. A character should get in for their own merits not for the amount of X chromosomes they have.
I like female characters, there needs to be more of them in Smash Bros. I typically main females in every game I am in, and I just do not like Zelda in this version.
"Death battle did an excellent job portraying her fears"
Uh. They gimped her HARD.
Huh?
I agree with this article. Based on Tifa's collective appearances in gaming and media, she is a definite 'glass canon' (as stated in the video), which is what every other snowflake that makes an appearance in the SSB series is _redesigned_ to be.
If the game is going to be open to 3rd party characters (which is good imo) it would make more sense to include the ones that are the most organic to the SSB style of fighting, and yet she hasn't been included because of Nintendo's apparent attempt to provide the greatest diversity of characters to generate the maximum diversity of appeal to consumers. Which is ridiculous. Half the line up is ridiculous. The animal crossing guy, the pikmin guy, the wii and mii characters, 'dark pit', 'toon link', game & watch, the duck hunt dog, f#cking pac-man…. that there are so many cringe-worthy, franchise sell-out characters in this installment (and too much fire emblem srsly who plays it) in place of likable ones is the reason I will probably not bother getting a wii u.
I realise this an old post (accidentally stumbled upon it whilst looking for mods), but here are my thoughts. Tifa instead of Cloud is stupid (bearing in mind Tifa is one of my all time favourite female gaming icons and characters in FFVII). Tifa as well as Cloud would have been cool. However, Tetsuya Nomura didn't offer her. He offered Cloud, Bartz (FFV) or Terra (FFVI), Cloud being the chosen one due to a, popularity, b, how iconic and well known he is, and c, being the most requested Final Fantasy character for Smash of all time.
The fuck are you dunces going on about with "diversity" and "female representation"?
They picked Cloud because Cloud *IS* Final Fantasy. He's the most popular and most well-known protagonist. Tifa is an optional side character that you don't even have to use the whole game. FFVII ain't about Tifa. It's about Cloud. Put your hentai boner away and think with your brain.
Next you'll be telling me they should have Great Fairy Betilla represent Rayman.