I think the biggest "shippy" Cloud/Tifa moment for me is when Tifa saves Cloud post-Rufus fight on top of Shinra Tower. That's prime CT content right there: role-reversal with Tifa wanting to be saved by a hero but saving the hero instead, a direct callback to their promise (not to mention the Lifestream sequence); Tifa teasing Cloud to do better; Cloud smirking, recognizing that, and then accepting her help. Not to mention that Tifa's Theme plays over it, which makes it a more intimate moment even though they're on the verge of falling off a building.
The closest this game came to showing that was right after Cloud fell and before the church scene.
I wanted to say they did the real!Cloud's voiceover and existence really well. Was curious to see how they'd do the black voiceover screens but they've incorporated them well so far. Also no more confusion about who that voice was — I remember some people believing it was Zack, and I never really understood how that misinterpretation came about.
Re: Cloud's identity — I think it's a bit disingenuous to write off Cloud as not having agency during the time he knows Aerith. Obviously he's extremely fucked in the head, but his feelings and memories during the whole FF7 journey up until the Lifestream are still his own — he doesn't just forget it all after he regains his true self. He forms real bonds and friendships during that time, including with Aerith and everyone else.
On the other hand, I also think it's disingenuous to write off the physicality between Cloud and Tifa as "gratuitous" or fan service. If it didn't directly tie into the theme of their relationship, then I'd be more inclined to consider that view, but as "Words aren't the only way to tell someone how you feel," is the core of their bond, I think any other interpretation willfully ignores that fact. (Also because the devs painstakingly decided to add all those moments in, motion capture them, render them, etc. They're there for a reason, and they're very hard to miss.)
