Why Tifa Lockhart?

[Alchemical Night]

Hi there,


I do not often post on issues of general discussion, though my musing seemed inappropriate for other forums, related to transformation, and too sincere to find a place on our FBS forum, as I find it. So, I bring it here from a certain curiosity.


Knowing that many of our members share considerable investment and history with the gaming community - being gamers themselves - and appreciating the conflation between that and transformation, I bring a question that occured to me, but has been a fact for a while.


The iconic Final Fantasy series, as many know and especially latterly, has many remarkable and well known figures, though it remains that a heroine from the series famous 7th installment, including that subsequent sub-series of games, retains her fame, praise and fan base. In this, I am speak of Tifa Lockhart.


Speaking from the perspective of a former gamer, if there is really such a thing, and someone who did not gravitate towards RPG series, but has long been part of the wider conflated sub cultures, I am curious as to why so many, and for so long, have been drawn to Tifa while successive heroines, such as Yuna or Lightning, have garnered popularity but not comparable to that of their famous predecessor.


Any views, insights or perspectives would be appreciated on this genuine curiosity .


Thanks again,


Alchemical Night.

[Dog_Girl_Kari]

Because

[tghawk555]

I'm pretty sure that the main reason is boobs. I know that other female protagonists have had large breasts as well, but when it comes to choosing between Tifa and Lulu (from FFX), for example, Tifa is the more well-known one and seems more approachable, due to her personality. I don't know, it's just a guess.

[vincent_richter]

What tg said.
She reminds me of a girl I knew in high school: friendly, outgoing, and well aware of her... considerable assets.

[Linear]

Preferred Aeris, pity she wasn't good at dodging swords.

[Daichi Azure]

I do have to agree, but I have to also state that Lulu is also approachable, but due to her nature of being not so discrete about telling you off also shows her maturity over Tifa's...

[TF-Viewer]

Hmm..

Well, as many have said already her large chest is probably the first thing people tend to notice. Keeping on the subject of her appearance there are other things to consider as well. Such as:

The short skirt.
Long legs.
Long dark hair with a simple style.
Her gloves.

The fact that her outfit and hairstyle are fairly simple makes it relatively easy for someone to cosplay as her. Also her combat style and knuckle weapons means that one can complete the entire outfit including her weapons on a very small budget indeed. In contrast many other characters in the FF universe have large or complicated looking weapons, or weapons that are both large and complicated. Tifa can get by with just fingerless leather gloves.

The simple style also makes fan art of her easier to produce as well. Not having to draw a hundred straps, buckles or belts, nor any ornate hair accessories is probably a relief to artists.

I think even if her chest were a few sizes smaller she'd still be fairly popular based solely on the simplicity of her design. Being a main character in the most popular FF installment doesn't hurt either I suppose. Or maybe it's just the big breasted and easy (to cosplay and draw) aspect that's responsible for her fame.

[JBird]

Breasts and decent design aside, I never cared for the character back when I played FFVII for the first time. If anything, I was more annoyed to have to completely change her build to that of a healer after Aeris/Aerith/the White Mage get's killed off.

[Silver Spoon]

I never liked Aeris. Too much of the stereotypical pure, perfect girl for me to care for her. After she bit the dust, I just used Cloud as my healer.

Tifa's original design and personality was, and still is to me, eye catching. Long, black hair, tight clothes that show off her frame, a cheerful smile in all her promotional art, an out-going and caring personality. And unlike Aeris, she can hold her own in battle. I always mained her.

I still to this day hate her re-design in Advent Children, though.

[Clickme]

I loved Aerith T_T In a game where I was seeing characters as people for hte first time (my first RPG), I latched onto Aerith right away. SHe was my favorite.

As for why Tifa? good character design. Good personality. She's sexy without her personality really making her stand out as a loose charcater. She's down to earth ,adn feel like a solid character, and she happens ot be very well built.

[Daichi Azure]

Personality wise I agree she was down to earth but she tended to shy on the side of immature...and for the record you could have had Tifa get the axe instead of Aerith...so yeah...it was an option...i kept my healer...got rid of the hardest limit break to use...

[TF-Viewer]

Originally Posted by Daichi Azure

Personality wise I agree she was down to earth but she tended to shy on the side of immature...and for the record you could have had Tifa get the axe instead of Aerith...so yeah...it was an option...i kept my healer...got rid of the hardest limit break to use...

Wait, are you trying to imply Tifa could die instead of Aeris somehow? Or... no just what the heck are you saying? There's no option about which one dies, it's a linear story, Aeris's death is totally scripted and mandatory. So there's no way that's what you meant. Stop confusing me.