SPOILERS LTD Remake — It's like New Coke except ... no, it's exactly like New Coke

[Rose Alive]

If you look at the og story without any shipping glasses on, it ended with Cloud and Tifa being together, and if not together, they were well on their way to it.

But you will find people who have written essays on why "Tifa is just Cloud's good friend" or "Cloud never moved on from Aerith." And there is some coyness on the devs part for sure. After the og over the years, there have been interviews that would throw Cloud and Tifa's relationship into question. Maiden Who Travels the Planet was published, and canon or not, it added fuel to the fire. Some would even throw Kingdom Hearts into it just because Tifa wasn't introduced until the second game (she ends up being Cloud's light, a nice nod imo).

My problem is this: stick to your story, writers. Stand behind what you wrote, and stop being afraid of "alienating" fans of certain ships. Because if they don't play or like a game just because their ship doesn't sail, I would argue they aren't really fans of the game.

 

[Stiggie]

If you look at the og story without any shipping glasses on, it ended with Cloud and Tifa being together, and if not together, they were well on their way to it. But you will find people who have written essays on why "Tifa is just Cloud's good friend" or "Cloud never moved on from Aerith." And there is some coyness on the devs part for sure. After the og over the years, there have been interviews that would throw Cloud and Tifa's relationship into question. Maiden Who Travels the Planet was published, and canon or not, it added fuel to the fire. Some would even throw Kingdom Hearts into it just because Tifa wasn't introduced until the second game (she ends up being Cloud's light, a nice nod imo). My problem is this: stick to your story, writers. Stand behind what you wrote, and stop being afraid of "alienating" fans of certain ships. Because if they don't play or like a game just because their ship doesn't sail, I would argue they aren't really fans of the game.

Honestly most of the interviews are just people misinterpreting stuff, which people will always find a way to do. The most obvious one is:

"first off, there’s the premise that things won’t go well between Tifa and Cloud, and that even without Geostigma or Sephiroth this might be the same."

I've lost track of how many times I've heard people who clearly don't understand the story trod this one out as if they're saying "Cloud and Tifa are just fundamentally incompatible fam" when this is just a comment about the issues Cloud is going through during the time of AC.
They try to use it as evidence for Cloud belonging with Aerith when in reality the entire point of this quote is that its commenting on the very non-romantic issues Cloud is dealing with. Yes, had Sephiroth and geostigma not happened Cloud and Tifa would still be having issues, because, shocker, Cloud is going through cherophobia, ptsd, and fear of failure.

Honestly 90% of the LTD is maintained by people who don't understand the story throwing out evidence they don't understand, not understanding that it actually supports the Cloti " interpretation" of the story, not refute it. And that will stay the same no matter how explicit they are, because really, how much more explicit could they get?

 

[Rose Alive]

I agree it's already been made explicit in the og. But for a lot of people, the fade to black screen under the Highwind gave them wiggle room to argue along with the low/high affection options for the scene. I don't need a kiss or a sex scene between two characters to understand they're in love with one another, but it seems like others do. And even if they show Cloud and Tifa kiss in part 3, others will go "they thought it was the end of the world. It was just to find comfort..." Or if something physical happens in a high affection scene you have to go out of your way to unlock, some won't count it as canon because that's not the scene they get. The LTD will most likely never end, especially if the Highwind scene still has those low/high affection options. And if Aerith lives and they allow you to choose who Cloud spends the night with, well . . . We can all imagine how that's going to go.

 

[billy22]

Cody Christian (Cloud English VA) and Briana White (Aerith English VA) throwing their hats in the ring:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1746935684085235785

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1747061609908900214

Basically saying what everyone here has been parroting for years...

"Significant relationships that don't have to all be sexualized," knowing full well that the fandom loves to pretend that every character moment must have some hidden 'ship agenda.

 

[Ryushikaze]

Man, you guys picked up the pace while I wasn't paying attention. I was thinking we might pick up the pace once the game dropped but I guess people couldn't resist discussing the leaks and marketing (a classic blunder).

Also enthralled's drive-by posting was very strange, and makes me wonder if BB is out there seething about us somewhere, because as I recall it was always Blank Beat angry at us for ruining the Clerith fun as it were.

 

[Stiggie]

Man, you guys picked up the pace while I wasn't paying attention. I was thinking we might pick up the pace once the game dropped but I guess people couldn't resist discussing the leaks and marketing (a classic blunder).

Also enthralled's drive-by posting was very strange, and makes me wonder if BB is out there seething about us somewhere, because as I recall it was always Blank Beat angry at us for ruining the Clerith fun as it were.

I've mostly been hearing people complain about Clotis lately strangely enough, or perhaps not so strange as I tend to get recommended stuff I am likely to engage with, and I am likely to engage with stuff I disagree with, the curse of the algorithm.

 

[null]

PS As said before I am Aerith fan first and foremost, I just want her to be happy, so if in rebirth/third game we see adult Aerith and Zack kiss/make up I'll accept Canon, I hope she will be happy and none of cheerleading Cloud, the grass is always greener type thing if that's the story the devs want to tell.

I doubt I'll ever feel the same about Z/A I do C/A, I didn't grow up with it, it isn't my experience, my memories, but if it's Canon in ending it's Canon, I won't ship C/A anymore, but will be happy for Aerith and if she's happy.

See, that's what bothers me about the Compilation and its comic book approach to death. Aerith died before her time. She's supposed to be unresolved - that's what made it all so tragic. At this point she shouldn't be sorting out her feelings between Cloud and Zack. I mean, yeah that horse left the barn two decades ago and, yeah, we should let the devs cook and, yeah, "by continuing to play these games you agree to accept our writing decisions". That's a fair expectation but in reality I just want the annoying popup to go away. I never agreed to stfu and stop whining.

Having said that, I'm an Aerith fan too and I think Remake has generally done her justice. Not everyone likes her personality makeover but I think it fits her perfectly and contrasts well with the fact that she's lost, scared and bottling/hiding her true feelings. She feels like a real person, as opposed to generic white mage love interest in OG and AC leaning way too hard into the Pink Jesus angle.

Plus she's completely broken in combat and that takes precedence over thematic fidelity any day. I cope with Aerith having a potential love life after death by putting on Gotterdammerung and Planet's Protection and prancing around spamming Sorcerous Storm as my smoking enemies pile up like so much Sector 5 Slum garbage. Then I'll put four Luminous Shields in a row and thwack Tonberry to death while he takes 20 minutes walking through them. Aww, he thinks Scourge is working so he doesn't teleport. Loser. Oh and Bahamut, you think I can't stagger you before the countdown ends? Eat Ray of Judgement bitch.

 

[Stiggie]

She feels like a real person, as opposed to generic white mage love interest in OG

Strange, this is the opposite of how I feel. I hate how Aerith is done in the remake, because to me, she felt like a real person in the OG, as opposed to the generic white mage love interest that she feels like in remake.

 

[null]

Just things like lots of extra focus on her friendship with Tifa, bonding with Marlene, being well-liked by the orphans and other residents, negotiating with Tseng and winning his respect instead of getting slapped around, Chairith Painsborough, etc. I dunno, to me it's like there was a dimension missing in OG and AC that Remake brought to the table. Like we actually get to meet Aerith the person instead of the Special Vibrant Last Of Her Kind Lead Heroine.

And sure, a lot of it is just the existence of voice acting, facial expressions and body language. Obviously every character benefited from that over the OG (Cloud's inconsistent behavior in sharp focus, Tifa nonverbally baring her soul every second she's alone with Cloud, Barret's smile that he reserves for Marlene alone). But it's done really well and imo Aerith needed it the most after being ultra-tropified (especially by AC).

 

[Stiggie]

Just things like lots of extra focus on her friendship with Tifa, bonding with Marlene, being well-liked by the orphans and other residents, negotiating with Tseng and winning his respect instead of getting slapped around

See, my problem with that is that those are all positives, in that "heej look, here is Aerith, everyone instantly loves her". That doesn't feel human to me, it feels whitewashed. In AC she's dead, so her having this angelic aura doesn't bother me much. But imo white mages already quite naturally have this mary-sueish feel to them because they tend to exemplify this "majestic healer" trope, so when you take that and then add in helping orphanages, and everyone instantly loving her, then that pushes it over the edge towards becoming unappealing to me.
That is then made worse by her seemingly knowing the future, which adds even more of the AC angelic vibe. She always had this disney princess vibe, with the perfect house in the slums and what not, but in the original she very much felt like "just a girl", she was uncertain, silly, sometimes rude. While with Remake even the "silly" moments feel designed to make her feel somehow divine. Just doesn't feel like a party member anymore to me. If she really is some future Aerith it might make sense, but it still doesn't make up for not getting to see Aerith as she was in the OG.

Barret got the best treatment imo, he's sooooo good in remake, then Cloud I think, then Tifa and RedXII I think were just done well, and Sephiroth and Aerith were done badly imo.

 

[KindOfBlue]

I love Aerith’s interactions with every other character in Remake except Cloud lmao

 

[Ruri]

Honestly most of the interviews are just people misinterpreting stuff, which people will always find a way to do. The most obvious one is:

"first off, there’s the premise that things won’t go well between Tifa and Cloud, and that even without Geostigma or Sephiroth this might be the same."

Actually I think this is the worst quote in the world to exist for Cloud/Tifa, and I say this while being massive C/T at heart. So the full quote is:

‘Episode Tifa’ … first off, there’s the premise that things won’t go well between Tifa and Cloud, and that even without Geostigma or Sephiroth this might be the same. I don’t really intend to go on about my views on love or marriage or family (laughs). After ACC, I guess Denzel and Marlene could help them work it out. Maybe things would have gone well with Aerith, but I think there is a great burden from Aerith.

There are two time periods this quote is talking about. Pre AC/post ACC. Even with the pre AC context, I think it does exist as a nasty base for Cloud and Tifa not being compatible. If the highlight of the discussion here were Cloud's traumas that existed in between Geostigma/Sephiroth, then why does Nojima choose instead to, first disclaimer, as to not include his own views of love/marriage/family, and then mull over Aerith's potential as a romantic partner instead? Aerith has no shot, for obvious reasons, but Nojima includes her because he's envisioning how Cloud would exist as one half of a romantic partnership for both women, and he isn't enthusiastic about either of them. So Tifa wins, but at a cost loaded with Nojima's personal baggage. Post ACC: I guess the kids could help them is not a fist punching win, either. Poor Marlene and Denzel.

I personally think you have to twist it out of context to rub out the compatibilty part to make it about Cloud's trauma. Nojima went out of his way to remove two massive trauma's of Cloud's life and I feel you are inserting all the other ones he didn't actively choose to omit, but that he didn't need to, because that isn't what he's talking about to try and shield Tifa away from the point of what he's strying to say. The rest of the quote still exists. Nojima doesn't sit down and say they're the couple of the decade post ACC, but rather sticks a fork in what the ultimanias and post ACC credits actually show.

Which, by the way, is still a C/T pro. Tifa has to be someone Cloud is romantically interested in/in a relationship with for Nojima to speak in this way about her. So anyone using this quote as fuel against is either, backhanding themself by admitting Tifa is Cloud's partner (which honestly, too many and too loudly of the opposite party still deny to this day) or holding it to iron and concluding that Cloud/Tifa don't work out and they are free to think Cloud thinks about his flower girl for the rest of his days.

This is what sucks about this quote, the ultimania quotes and the post ACC credits scene exist to say this isn't what Cloud does at all. The correct interpretation would be that Cloud and Tifa do work out but these developers are utter chickens. I like what someone said earlier on this board, that we have all the ultimania quotes but they can't just outright say Cloud and Tifa are boyfriend and girlfriend. Alas, two more games to go.

 

[Rose Alive]

See, my problem with that is that those are all positives, in that "heej look, here is Aerith, everyone instantly loves her". That doesn't feel human to me, it feels whitewashed. In AC she's dead, so her having this angelic aura doesn't bother me much. But imo white mages already quite naturally have this mary-sueish feel to them because they tend to exemplify this "majestic healer" trope, so when you take that and then add in helping orphanages, and everyone instantly loving her, then that pushes it over the edge towards becoming unappealing to me.
That is then made worse by her seemingly knowing the future, which adds even more of the AC angelic vibe. She always had this disney princess vibe, with the perfect house in the slums and what not, but in the original she very much felt like "just a girl", she was uncertain, silly, sometimes rude. While with Remake even the "silly" moments feel designed to make her feel somehow divine. Just doesn't feel like a party member anymore to me. If she really is some future Aerith it might make sense, but it still doesn't make up for not getting to see Aerith as she was in the OG.

Barret got the best treatment imo, he's sooooo good in remake, then Cloud I think, then Tifa and RedXII I think were just done well, and Sephiroth and Aerith were done badly imo.

I agree with Stiggie here. I adore Aerith, but she's so perfect it's difficult to connect with her. She has no flaws, but the writers made her say that "she should just give up because it's what she does best." I didn't understand that scene at all because Aerith doesn't give up? If anything she's very persistent. They also tried to make her seem lonely in the flashbacks in the train graveyard, but she gets along with every person she comes into contact with. Maybe it's because she didn't have any close friends, but perhaps that was due to her own insecurities. It's not like the average peson knew she was an Ancient just by interacting with her.

 

[Maidenofwar]

If she has insecurities then she's not perfect

 

[Rose Alive]

I love Aerith’s interactions with every other character in Remake except Cloud lmao

I didn't like her resolution scene. The whole "don't fall in love with me" tee hee but I'm going to keep flirting with you anyway despite the fact that you and Tifa obviously have something going on! Oh, but I'm her friend, really! It just grates me even though I do love her; she's hard not to love. And it's hard to blame her for seeing Zack in Cloud. I'd probably do the same in her position. But really her resolution scene made my jaw drop because she flat out told Cloud his feelings for her weren't real. I don't buy that it was to protect Cloud because she knows she dies; he will hurt over any of his friends who die. But the fact that the ball was dropped that quickly about the red herring was surprising . . . Yet it seemed to seriously go over a lot of heads and people gush about the scene being romantic when it was more bittersweet than anything.

 

[null]

Actually I think this is the worst quote in the world to exist for Cloud/Tifa, and I say this while being massive C/T at heart. So the full quote is:


There are two time periods this quote is talking about. Pre AC/post ACC. Even with the pre AC context, I think it does exist as a nasty base for Cloud and Tifa not being compatible. If the highlight of the discussion here were Cloud's traumas that existed in between Geostigma/Sephiroth, then why does Nojima choose instead to, first disclaimer, as to not include his own views of love/marriage/family, and then mull over Aerith's potential as a romantic partner instead? Aerith has no shot, for obvious reasons, but Nojima includes her because he's envisioning how Cloud would exist as one half of a romantic partnership for both women, and he isn't enthusiastic about either of them. So Tifa wins, but at a cost loaded with Nojima's personal baggage. Post ACC: I guess the kids could help them is not a fist punching win, either. Poor Marlene and Denzel.

I personally think you have to twist it out of context to rub out the compatibilty part and make it about Cloud's trauma. Nojima went out of his way to remove two massive trauma's of Cloud's life and I feel you are inserting all the other ones he didn't actively choose to omit, but that he didn't need to, because that isn't what he's talking about to try and shield Tifa away from the point of what he's strying to say. The rest of the quote still exists. Nojima doesn't sit down and say they're the couple of the decade post ACC, but rather sticks a fork in what the ultimanias and post ACC credits actually show.

Which, by the way, is still a C/T pro. Tifa has to be someone Cloud is romantically interested in/in a relationship with for Nojima to speak in this way about her. So anyone using this quote as fuel against is either, backhanding themself by admitting Tifa is Cloud's partner (which honestly, too many and too loudly of the opposite party still do to this day) or holding it to iron and concluding that Cloud/Tifa don't work out and they are free to think Cloud thinks about his flower girl for the rest of his days.

This is what sucks about this quote, the ultimania quotes and the post ACC credits scene exist to say this isn't what Cloud does at all. The correct interpretation would be that Cloud and Tifa do work out but these developers are utter chickens. I like what someone said earlier on this board, that we have all the ultimania quotes but they can't just outright say Cloud and Tifa are boyfriend and girlfriend. Alas, two more games to go.

Yeah, it's annoying. They keep alluding to the relationship "Tifa's like any woman who's been left behind by a man", "Tifa's like a mother, a koi____bito, and an ally who fought together in battle". It's like... wouldn't it have been so much easier to write them as a non-couple who don't live together but might have a chance someday, instead of writing them as koi_____bitos then pretending it's vague even though it's narratively incoherent to do so because... reasons?

Say I wanted Cloud to get with Aerith. How the heck does it benefit me if Cloud's spending his life in a vague relationship with a woman who's madly in love with him? Am I really supposed to think "well he'll die someday so there's still a chance"? Is that satisfying? Like if Cloud died and went to the Lifestream and was raising dead children with Aerith and going on about always being with her, would there be a point in saying "buuuut Tifa will die someday too and join him so there's a chance"? Would that actually be satisfying to Tifa fans, or... literally anyone?

Bonus Omake Stage: for the old school koi_________bito connoisseurs out there like myself: Japanese friend used "恋人" platonically?

My favorite comment:

I have a friend that I'm very, very close to (we say 'I love you' with '愛', hug and hold hands when we're together

Bruh...

Nothing about my friendship makes me think it's inherently romantic, mostly due to that and because he's married

BRUH.

 

[Rydeen]

koibito

 

[Rose Alive]

Yeah, it's annoying. They keep alluding to the relationship "Tifa's like any woman who's been left behind by a man", "Tifa's like a mother, a koi____bito, and an ally who fought together in battle". It's like... wouldn't it have been so much easier to write them as a non-couple who don't live together but might have a chance someday, instead of writing them as koi_____bitos then pretending it's vague even though it's narratively incoherent to do so because... reasons?

Say I wanted Cloud to get with Aerith. How the heck does it benefit me if Cloud's spending his life in a vague relationship with a woman who's madly in love with him? Am I really supposed to think "well he'll die someday so there's still a chance"? Is that satisfying? Like if Cloud died and went to the Lifestream and was raising dead children with Aerith and going on about always being with her, would there be a point in saying "buuuut Tifa will die someday too and join him so there's a chance"? Would that actually be satisfying to Tifa fans, or... literally anyone?

Bonus Omake Stage: for the old school koi_________bito connoisseurs out there like myself: Japanese friend used "恋人" platonically?

My favorite comment:

But didn't you know Tifa and Cloud are really good friends? Just really really good friends. They raise kids together and sleep in the same bed, but that's just alluding to the good friends thing they have going on. All sarcasm aside, if they really wanted to keep it ambiguous, I agree that having them live together was a bad decision. Not to mention the matching advent children outfits. Like it doesn't even make sense to dance around what was established during the lifestream scene and under the Highwind. Continuously playing both sides only waters down the relationship Cloud has with both girls to the point where it's like, ok Tifa deserves someone who is wholly devoted to her and ready to face life's challenges by her side. And Aerith deserves more than someone whose self consciousness is so tied to another girl that he went nearly insane the moment her faith in him outwardly faltered.

 

[eleamaya]

Whoa! Koibito again!! I would love to share what I asked my friend about it. Though it's about the phrase in Case of Lifestream White about Clerith, not Nomura's statement about Cloti. My friend has Bachelor Degree in Japanese Literature.

Her:

Koibito 恋人 itself literally means lover. But I know nothing about the novels, it might be have more context with the full phrase. The word koibito meaning can change depends on the particle follows.

Koibito no youni = (acting) like a lover
Koibito no youna = (the existence) like a lover
Koibito doushi = mutually lovers
Koibito no (name) = her/his lover (name)

Me:

It's "yuujin de ari, koibito de ari" What do you think?

Her:

"De ari" then makes it "as a lover", "as the beloved". In this "Yuujin de ari, koibito de ari" It's quite platonic. EN translation would make it ambiguous for "she loves (adore) him as a friend". But the JP words makes it that she treasures him as a friend and as someone she loves romantically equally. I think it's her personality that she treasures every feelings equally, not as a process from "friend" then grows to "love".

Me:

Is there any context that it is used in a platonic way though?

Her:

What makes it platonic is the feeling that is kept for herself.

Me:

Do you personally agree that the official EN translation of the novel is "he's her friend--more than a friend, for she has loved."

Her:

Yeah I agree with the official translation.

 

[birbcode]

But didn't you know Tifa and Cloud are really good friends? Just really really good friends. They raise kids together and sleep in the same bed, but that's just alluding to the good friends thing they have going on. All sarcasm aside, if they really wanted to keep it ambiguous, I agree that having them live together was a bad decision. Not to mention the matching advent children outfits. Like it doesn't even make sense to dance around what was established during the lifestream scene and under the Highwind. Continuously playing both sides only waters down the relationship Cloud has with both girls to the point where it's like, ok Tifa deserves someone who is wholly devoted to her and ready to face life's challenges by her side. And Aerith deserves more than someone whose self consciousness is so tied to another girl that he went nearly insane the moment her faith in him outwardly faltered.

This. The LTD really paints Cloud in a not so favorable light. It adds very little to his characterization.

People dislike the LTD not solely for shipping reasons. It's damaging to the characters and the story.

 

[Maidenofwar]

Yet the complaints about characters not having imperfections, while simultaneously being unable to accept those imperfections. Such is why the devs feel they have to come up with things like they made a parallel between Zack and Aerith and Aerith asking Cloud out to protect Aerith, and Aerith is losing her memories because of the whispers which is silly.

 

[Rose Alive]

Whoa! Koibito again!! I would love to share what I asked my friend about it. Though it's about the phrase in Case of Lifestream White about Clerith, not Nomura's statement about Cloti. My friend has Bachelor Degree in Japanese Literature.

Her:


Me:


Her:


Me:


Her:


Me:


Her:

Thank you for providing that. I'm always interested in the Japanese context because often times liberties are taken with the localization.

 

[Rose Alive]

Yet the complaints about characters not having imperfections, while simultaneously being unable to accept those imperfections. Such is why the devs feel they have to come up with things like they made a parallel between Zack and Aerith and Aerith asking Cloud out to protect Aerith, and Aerith is losing her memories because of the whispers which is silly.

There are parallels between Aerith and Zack and Aerith and Cloud because Aerith clearly isn't over Zack and is looking for him in Cloud/trying to move on through Cloud. Again it's understandable. If Cloud wasn't a "soldier" and armed with her ex's sword, I don't think she would have pursued him at all.

 

[Stiggie]

Actually I think this is the worst quote in the world to exist for Cloud/Tifa, and I say this while being massive C/T at heart. So the full quote is:


There are two time periods this quote is talking about. Pre AC/post ACC. Even with the pre AC context, I think it does exist as a nasty base for Cloud and Tifa not being compatible. If the highlight of the discussion here were Cloud's traumas that existed in between Geostigma/Sephiroth, then why does Nojima choose instead to, first disclaimer, as to not include his own views of love/marriage/family, and then mull over Aerith's potential as a romantic partner instead? Aerith has no shot, for obvious reasons, but Nojima includes her because he's envisioning how Cloud would exist as one half of a romantic partnership for both women, and he isn't enthusiastic about either of them. So Tifa wins, but at a cost loaded with Nojima's personal baggage. Post ACC: I guess the kids could help them is not a fist punching win, either. Poor Marlene and Denzel.

I personally think you have to twist it out of context to rub out the compatibilty part to make it about Cloud's trauma. Nojima went out of his way to remove two massive trauma's of Cloud's life and I feel you are inserting all the other ones he didn't actively choose to omit, but that he didn't need to, because that isn't what he's talking about to try and shield Tifa away from the point of what he's strying to say. The rest of the quote still exists. Nojima doesn't sit down and say they're the couple of the decade post ACC, but rather sticks a fork in what the ultimanias and post ACC credits actually show.

Which, by the way, is still a C/T pro. Tifa has to be someone Cloud is romantically interested in/in a relationship with for Nojima to speak in this way about her. So anyone using this quote as fuel against is either, backhanding themself by admitting Tifa is Cloud's partner (which honestly, too many and too loudly of the opposite party still deny to this day) or holding it to iron and concluding that Cloud/Tifa don't work out and they are free to think Cloud thinks about his flower girl for the rest of his days.

This is what sucks about this quote, the ultimania quotes and the post ACC credits scene exist to say this isn't what Cloud does at all. The correct interpretation would be that Cloud and Tifa do work out but these developers are utter chickens. I like what someone said earlier on this board, that we have all the ultimania quotes but they can't just outright say Cloud and Tifa are boyfriend and girlfriend. Alas, two more games to go.

I've tried reading this several times but I'm not sure what you're talking about so I find it hard to really decide how to respond.
He's not talking about 2 time periods, he's just talking about Clouds issues separate from the events of ACC, which yes, start before ACC and potentially extend past it, but are still just one time period. Unless you mean the second period are the events of ACC specifically when he's talking about Sephiroth and Geostigma, in which case I agree but that's kind of the point, the issues weren't Geostigma and Sephiroth, the quote is trying to look at them separately.

I don't know where you're getting the "rub out the compatibility" part from, there is nothing to rub out, compatibility is never even mentioned, nor is it in any way relevant.

The reason he's mulling over Love and marriage is because this is a love/marriage situation, again, I don't see how this is relevant in any way aside from highlighting that Cloud and Tifa are romantic.

I suspect you're making a mistake that I often see people making, which is treating quotes as though they're hints.
People often treat quotes as "word of god", as though canon is some elaborate puzzle that the developers want you to figure out and every quote is a perfectly accurate, immaculately sculpted puzzle piece where each word was carefully chosen for us to pontificate over. It's not, most quotes are just spur of the moment ramblings that can give you a vague idea of the mindset of the person at that time. When I write something I edit and reword it a dozen times over to iron out stuff that could be misinterpreted or didn't quite come out the way I wanted it, and yet I am STILL constantly misinterpreted. Interview quotes by people who are not even shippers are about a thousand times more inaccurate.

The reason he's saying these words is simply more generic, it's just because Cloud is going through issues, and he's just kinda speculating this way and that. Who even knows what "maybe with Aerith it could have worked out" even means? Maybe it just means "ehh, maybe Aerith could have helped him get through it better since she's good at getting people to open up", which isn't any more of a testament to her compatibility as a romantic partner as my sessions with my psychiatrist mean that I should be dating him instead of my girlfriend. Or maybe it meant "maybe he wouldn't have been as messed up if Aerith hadn't died". We don't know, but no version of this quote is even CLOSE to touching on the innate compatibility of Cloud and Tifa as a romantic couple.

Same thing about the Denzel and Marlene stuff, just more "in the moment" speculations. For one Clouds issues were (mostly) solved in ACC so this part of the quote is already not very useful, and if you think that this quote is proof that the issues persevere in their current form post ACC then I refer you back to my point earlier about not using in the moment quotes as well thought out, perfectly articulated, puzzle pieces. But either way it sounds like nothing more than either a generic remark that if Geostigma and Sephiroth hadn't happened that perhaps Denzel and Marlene could have helped them work through Clouds issues (not them staying together for the kids or something like that), or else an equally generic remark about all the dozens of potential versions of this story where Clouds issues weren't solved during ACC. The entire quote is just taking Clouds issues and generally separating them from the concrete events in ACC and addressing them from the lens of a traditional domestic issue, and all of them say the same thing "Ehh, Cloud is working through mental health issues, who really knows how different events could have impacted that."

I just don't get what you're trying to say here, I see nothing bad or even remarkable about this quote when it comes to Cloud and Tifa, it's such a nothing burger I do not get why people think it's noteworthy.

 

[null]

There are parallels between Aerith and Zack and Aerith and Cloud because Aerith clearly isn't over Zack and is looking for him in Cloud/trying to move on through Cloud. Again it's understandable. If Cloud wasn't a "soldier" and armed with her ex's sword, I don't think she would have pursued him at all.

Yeah she said point blank on the gondola that she saw Zack in him at first. But she also said she knows there’s a difference between them and she’s searching for the real Cloud now. It’s not like she’s unconsciously using Cloud as a stand-in or a rebound.

Having said that, yeah she’s totally not over Zack and Remake is gonna get mileage out of that.