Tifa Lockhart

Tifa Lockhart (Japanese: ティファ・ロックハート, Hepburn: Tifa Rokkuhāto) sometimes transliterated as Tifa Lockheart in earlier materials, is a main character in the 1997 Square video game Final Fantasy VII and its related media, and a minor character in the Disney/Square Enix video game Kingdom Hearts II.
==Canon==
===Final Fantasy VII (1997)===
With a strong will and an even stronger punch, Tifa is one of the most popular characters from Final Fantasy VII.
She was childhood friends with Cloud Strife in the town of Nibelheim, and one of few who knew of the true events that transpired there. Having lost her father to Sephiroth, and almost her life, Tifa developed a strong hatred for Shinra, SOLDIER, and their disregard for human life, having seen its impact first hand. 
Tifa joined AVALANCHE, an ecoterrorist group lead by Barret Wallace, in order to fight Shinra, which she held responsible for the razing of her hometown. By coincidence, she met up with Cloud once again, who was working as a mercenary.
==Fandom==
===Reception and Popularity===
Tifa is one of the most popular characters in the entire Final Fantasy franchise, and perhaps one of the most iconic female characters in all of gaming. 
In a 2010 Famitsu poll, fans voted Tifa as the 19th best-liked video game character of all time.Gifford, Kevin. Snake Beats Mario, Is Coolest Video Game Character Ever published to 1UP on 10 February 2010. (Archived 11 August 2014). In a 2013 Square Enix poll, Tifa was voted fans' fourth favorite heroine in the Final Fantasy franchise.Hodgkins, Crystalyn. Square Enix Poll: Favorite Female Final Fantasy Character posted to Anime News Network on 17 January 2013. (Accessed September 2020.)みなさん、こんにちは！ posted to Facebook on 16 January 2013. (Accessed September 2020.) In a 2020 NHK poll, Tifa was voted the ninth most popular character in the entire Final Fantasy franchise, out of 200 major and minor characters., NHK, Q1 2020. (Accessed September 2020.)TheMomAbides. I translated the NHK Final Fantasy poll character rankings., posted to r/FinalFantasy in Q1 2020. (Accessed September 2020.) In a July 2020 Famitsu poll, Tifa was voted the second most popular character in the first installment of the Final Fantasy VII Remake, with 1548 votes.リメイク』アンケート結果発表や開発スタッフインタビューなど、プレイ後に語りたい聞きたい大特集！ published in Famitsu in July 2020. (Accessed August 2020.)MKillerby. Character popularity ranking from Japanese fan poll in new issue of Famitsu, posted to r/FinalFantasy in July 2020. (Accessed August 2020.)GameFAQs. Official Famitsu character poll is out, Cloud and Tifa is tied for #1, posted to GameFAQs in July 2020. (Accessed August 2020.) 
Tifa fan art is very popular, commonly posted and re-posted in various online communities, including r/FinalFantasy.lpeccap. Could we limit Tifa posts to "tifa tuesdays" or something? posted to r/FinalFantasy in 2019. (Accessed September 2020.) Her simple but iconic design makes her a popular subject for cosplay.
Tifa is depicted with relatively large breasts in the original game, although there is variation between her field model, her combat model, her FMV sequence model, and her concept art.Know Your Meme. Tifa's Breast Size Change posted circa June 2019. (Accessed September 2020.) This led to controversy when her Remake incarnation was unveiled in a 2019 trailer, showing that the proportions of her bust had been reduced relative to some of these appearances. Some criticized the change as unfaithful to the original design, or viewed it as puritanical censorship, but others countered that the change was an improvement upon her original design, which they viewed as overly sexualized. A third position was that the change was simply the result of stylization differences, and neither design erased the other. The controversy was ultimately relatively brief, although its size and intensity were exaggerated in popular coverageSo we're people really upset over Tifas boobs or posted to GameFAQs in 2019. (Accessed September 2020.) 
===Fanon and Tropes===
Tifa's aggressive role in battle and revealing, tomboyish outfit lead to her often being portrayed in fanon as having the confident, bold attitude commonly associated with the "brawler" archetype in RPGs and other media. However, her canon personality is overall gentle and reserved outside of combat situations, and she tends to downplay her own feelings to avoid inconveniencing others. (This contrasts her with Aerith, the game's other primary female love interest, who has a feminine aesthetic and healing powers, but is far more assertive and open in personality.)
While known for having a relatively large bust in canon, it is often further exaggerated in fan art and cosplay. She is also commonly depicted with exposed cleavage, despite the fact that her cleavage has been fully covered in the vast majority of her canon appearances.
It is a common fan idea for Tifa to have a scar across her torso from the Nibelheim Incident. 
EV3RNITE89. Does Tifa have a scar ???? posted to Neoseeker on 2 October 2011. (Accessed September 2020.)KarateJons. Although we'll never get to see it, Tifa probably has a massive scar on her chest posted to r/FinalFantasy circa 2015. (Accessed September 2020.)PixelKnight84. How I'd like Tifa to look, including Sephiroth scar posted to r/FFVIIRemake circa 2019. (Accessed September 2020.)gisellasaurus. Was Tifa supposed to get a very noticeable scar on her body? posted to r/FinalFantasy circa Q1 2020. (Accessed September 2020.) She is occasionally depicted so in fan works, such as Monty Oum's Dead Fantasy.
Tifa is depicted in canon as quite slender despite her status as an elite martial artist capable of superhuman feats of strength. Art that depicts her as more muscular, often with a body type inspired by real-world MMA fighters, is common.
=== Shipping===
Tifa is frequently featured in both het and femslash works. According to FanFiction.Net and Archive of Our Own as of December 2020, Tifa is most commonly paired with Cloud.
Tifa's role in FFVII fandom cannot be separated from the infamous Love Triangle Debate. Both Tifa and Aerith Gainsborough are presented in canon as possible love interests for Cloud. The resulting ship war was intense and spanned decades. Character bashing fic where Tifa is portrayed as an antagonist in Clerith fic, or Aerith as an antagonist in CloTi fic, were common. In recent years, the LTD has been increasingly regarded in fandom as a source of pointless wank; as a reaction against it, Aerith/Tifa has become considerably more popular in recent years, and even other fic is more likely to emphasize their canonical friendship. 
In a sample of 423 FFVII stories published or updated on FanFiction.Net between 13 October 2013 and 23 July 2019, Tifa was most often listed in the pairing filter with Cloud (60%), followed by Aerith Gainsborough (13%), Vincent Valentine (8%), Reno (4%), Sephiroth (3%), Zack Fair (3%), Rufus Shinra (3%), Rude (2%), Barret Wallace (1%), Genesis Rhapsodos (1%), and Yuffie Kisaragi (1%).phantomstatistician. Tifa's FanFiction Shipping Chart 2013-Present, posted to Tumblr on 23 July 2019. (Accessed September 2020.)
====Notable Ships====
*Cloud/Tifa (CloTi)
*Aerith/Tifa (AerTi)
*Aerith & Tifa
*Reno/Tifa
*Vincent Valentine/Tifa Lockhart (VinTi)
*Cloud/Zack/Tifa
*Cloud/Aerith/Tifa
*Barret/Tifa (Barrifa)
*Zack/Tifa
*Yuffie/Tifa
==Example Fan Works==
===Fan Fiction===
*"and my heart is steel" by TrisakAminawn
*"Dried Petals" by You Light the Sky
*"Leave Taking" by Delendaest
===Fan Art===
*どのティファがお好き？ by あんべよしろう
*健気な幼馴染 by aokoma
*ティファドット絵詰め合わせ by 闘志
*Tifa Dance by Michael Firman
*Tifa by liyart
*Tifa Lockhart - Final Fantasy 7 by svenfromoz (warning: flashing lights)
*My take on Tifa. by adriancorn
*do. re mi si. la~ by tosquinha
*Tifa Lockhart by Sebastian Aburto Ñanco
File:Tifa Lockhart Final Fantasy VII Remake by fl1csart.jpg|Tifa Lockhart by fl1csart
===Cosplay===
*@carlmartincosplay let me look really cool with his 15lb Buster Sword by firagafox
*Here is my latest cosplay of Genderbent tifa as requested By many of you guys :) taken by the Bourgeoisie Brigade cosplay by shinrajunkie
===Animation===
*Dead Fantasy
===Meta===
==External Links==
===Fan Archives and Communities===
*FanFiction.Net
**FFVII stories and crossovers featuring Tifa L.
**Kingdom Hearts stories and crossovers featuring Tifa
**Dissidia Final Fantasy stories and crossovers featuring Tifa L.
**~*Tifa's Heaven*~ community
*Archive of Our Own Tifa Lockhart tag
*Pixiv: ティファ (Tifa) tag and ティファ・ロックハート (Tifa Lockhart) tag
*Tumblr: TifaStanClub
*Reddit: r/ChurchOfTifa
===Tribute Sites===
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===Hate Sites===
*DeviantArt: Anti-Tifa
=== Resources===
*Wikipedia: Tifa Lockhart
*Official character page for Tifa Lockhart at Squaresoft.com - Archived 29 May 1998
* The Lifestream: Tifa Lockhart Character Profile from the FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania
*The Lifestream: Tifa Lockhart Character Profile from the Crisis Core Ultimania
*Kingdom Hearts Wiki
==References==
Category:Kingdom Hearts Characters
Category:Final Fantasy VII Characters