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

[Stiggie]

Two other ideas I want to float (yeah I've had way too much caffeine this weekend )

*Back when the leaks came out, there was one fake leak that said Aerith and Zack went back in time and stopped Nibelheim incident from happening, how would people feel if they really did that?

*Kitase said they shouldn't forget to put an important scene in the game - most people thought he meant something nice, but what if it was like the original idea most of the cast dies while returning to Midgar?

Edit; Poor Serah/Snow, they never did get that wedding, I was a bit salty, ngl, after making it through all those games.

I think killing the entire party wont fit with the "I've spent so much time with these characters I'd like to give them a happy ending" quote XD

Concerning not having Nibelheim happen, I'd hate that, to me it would just invalidate everything that happened, I hate it when stories do that. Here it would even be worse because Nibelheim isn't the origin of the stories main internal conflict.
Preventing Nibelheim does nothing because the most important conflict in the story is Clouds conflict with himself, which existed before Nibelheim. Removing it simply removes Clouds story-arc and leaves him broken.

I am pretty certain that the "important scene people haven't seen yet" is the Aerith Zack reunion. And yeah, that is my most anticipated scene that isn't in the OG.

 

[imach0c0]

One of the things I have observed with the Remake trilogy is the use of visual storytelling in depicting character relationships.

Regarding ZA in particular, there is a lot of visual storytelling, especially in Remake and Rebirth. The storytelling tool is effective for their story (tragic love story) because although they are not physically in the same space as one another, we (the player) are given visual imagery to show how they are still connected to each other. Things like parallel dialogue, symbolism and shot choices are used to depict this.

Here are some examples how dialogue is used:

REMAKE

When Aerith first meets Cloud after the Sephiroth illusion, she ask: JP "Are you okay? (paraphrase)
The camera shot, her head angle and the way she looks at Cloud is very similar (shot for shot) of Zack looking at Cloud and asking if he's ok in the AC flashback of him.

When Aerith gives the flower to Cloud, she says: JP "Its a memento of our meeting" (paraphrase)
In CC, Zack says this to Aerith when buys the bow for her.

When Aerith loses her balance on the Sector 5 roofs and Cloud catches her, she says: JP "How reliable" (paraphrase)
In CC, when Zack fights off the monsters, Aerith says the same thing to Zack.

When Aerith sneaks out to spend more time with Cloud, she says: JP "I want to spend more time with you" (rough translation)
This is one of the 23 wishes that Aerith tells Zack in CC.

When Aerith looks at Cloud's eyes and leans in closer, its a very similar shot to when Aerith leaned into Zack to look at his eyes in CC.
Also, the line Cloud says about the mako eyes is the same line Zack says to Aerith in CC (if not, its very similar - I need to double check this)


REBIRTH

At Aerith's bedside, Zack says: JP "Moshi Moshi"
Its the same line Aerith did to Zack in CC. Aerith does it to Cloud as well, however, I think there is more significance to Zack because ZA have a history of repeating each other's lines.

When Aerith says something about the sunscreen in costa del sol, she says : JP "Hyu Hyu da ne" - That's cute (rough translation)
When Marlene affirms the Aerith's feelings for Cloud, Zack says: JP "Hyu Hyu da ne" - That's cute (rough translation)

In the dream date, when Aerith takes the flower pin, she says: JP "I will always treasure this" (rough translation)
In CC, when Zack buys the bow for Aerith, she says the same line to Zack.

In the opening of rebirth, Zack tells Aerith as he holds her body: JP "I have returned back to you" (rough translation)
In the end of CC, the last thing Aerith tells Zack (as well as the last Aerith dialogue that appears in his DMW) is: JP "I'll be waiting"
In the LOVELESS play, the hero tells Rosa: JP "I will return for I know someone will be waiting" (rough translation)

All in all, its a type of storytelling that is easily missable because it relies on SHOW rather than TELL. If you pay attention, there are plenty of little and details and nuances that serve this narrative. Also, the dialogue parallels are missable if you don't play in JP because the translations are slightly different.

 

[Eerie]

I am pretty certain that the "important scene people haven't seen yet" is the Aerith Zack reunion.

I'm pretty sure it's not because it's something too heavily hinted at which means it was already in the script - maybe it's a ZA kiss though lol.

 

[Ryeleigh]

Since I think Zack is going to be there, I can see his character keeping Aerith grounded as a human. I mean, it's kind of difficult to be a distant goddess mother figure if you're working out relationship tangles with your boyfriend?

And flirting! How could I forget flirting! I want them to flirt like crazy to make up for lost time, lol.

She's 17 and he's 18 as of the Nibelheim Incident. As of his death they were 22 and 23.
Cloud is 21, Tifa is 20, for the record.

Right! Thank you. I just remember that they're essentially babies in CC, lol.

*Back when the leaks came out, there was one fake leak that said Aerith and Zack went back in time and stopped Nibelheim incident from happening, how would people feel if they really did that?

Well, unlike apparently everyone else, I guess I could see it as an ending? In this fan fic au kind of way? Depending on how far back in time Aerith and Zack would go, Cloud either doesn't leave Nibelheim or reunites with Tifa later in other means, and it basically turns into a slice-of-life romance FF7, lol.

*Kitase said they shouldn't forget to put an important scene in the game - most people thought he meant something nice, but what if it was like the original idea most of the cast dies while returning to Midgar?

And as others said, didn't he also say that he wants them all to have a happy ending, lol?

 

[imach0c0]

I'm pretty sure it's not because it's something too heavily hinted at which means it was already in the script - maybe it's a ZA kiss though lol.

Im inclined to assume if there is a kiss, it would be CT.

Having said that, do you think its too much for both ZA and CT to have a kiss?

 

[Eerie]

Im inclined to assume if there is a kiss, it would be CT.

Having said that, do you think its too much for both ZA and CT to have a kiss?

A CT kiss is a definitive, at least under the HW and maybe even another in the LS scene (let me dream ok but I think it's highly possible to underline how romantic this scene is).

What I'm saying is that there is also the possibility of a ZA kiss, once they have reunited and cleared everything between them.

 

[Ryushikaze]

I think killing the entire party wont fit with the "I've spent so much time with these characters I'd like to give them a happy ending" quote XD

Concerning not having Nibelheim happen, I'd hate that, to me it would just invalidate everything that happened, I hate it when stories do that. Here it would even be worse because Nibelheim isn't the origin of the stories main internal conflict.
Preventing Nibelheim does nothing because the most important conflict in the story is Clouds conflict with himself, which existed before Nibelheim. Removing it simply removes Clouds story-arc and leaves him broken.

I am pretty certain that the "important scene people haven't seen yet" is the Aerith Zack reunion. And yeah, that is my most anticipated scene that isn't in the OG.

I could see "a world where the incident never happened" as an illusory world presented to Cloud and Tifa at some point in the story, where they need to snap out of the illusion and face reality and Sephiroth together.

 

[imach0c0]

A CT kiss is a definitive, at least under the HW and maybe even another in the LS scene (let me dream ok but I think it's highly possible to underline how romantic this scene is).

What I'm saying is that there is also the possibility of a ZA kiss, once they have reunited and cleared everything between them.

I get what you mean.

Do you think it necessary for ZA to get a kiss as well or is a hug enough?

Given that CT gets a kiss, would it be too much if ZA also got one? Especially for a FF type game.

 

[Sacky]

I could see "a world where the incident never happened" as an illusory world presented to Cloud and Tifa at some point in the story, where they need to snap out of the illusion and face reality and Sephiroth together.

ive had an idea about this Sephiroth showing Cloud taunting him like see what your future could have been
this was a shower thought that in no way think is happening though XD

 

[Stiggie]

When Marlene affirms the Aerith's feelings for Cloud, Zack says: JP "Hyu Hyu da ne" - That's cute (rough translation)

Is that what he said? I was trying to translate that line but couldn't find a video of it with japanese subtitles. But what I heard was "Kinkyū Da ne", which would mean "it's an emergency then?" or something along those lines. Essentially I took it to playfully say it's important and urgent.

 

[Eerie]

Do you think it necessary for ZA to get a kiss as well or is a hug enough?

Given that CT gets a kiss, would it be too much if ZA also got one? Especially for a FF type game.

I guess they could go with a hug but it would make fans happy to get a ZA kiss so I'd say it's not off the table; they have shown that they also want to please the fans in this trilogy, so it might happen. It would show Aerith fans that she have found her happiness, at least, and that would be sweet for her character.

 

[imach0c0]

Is that what he said? I was trying to translate that line but couldn't find a video of it with japanese subtitles. But what I heard was "Kinkyū Da ne", which would mean "it's an emergency then?" or something along those lines. Essentially I took it to playfully say it's important and urgent.

This is the Japanese subtitles:
Zack: それは　ひゅ～ひゅ～だな
Marlene: ひゅ～ひゅ～

 

[Stiggie]

This is the Japanese subtitles:
Zack: それは　ひゅ～ひゅ～だな
Marlene: ひゅ～ひゅ～

Fair nuff

 

[Empyrea]

The narrative is pretty clear on where Cloud and Aerith stand, which is exactly why Aerith says she knows where they stand now at the end of the dream date. If anything, I find the writing kind of insulting because I feel like they're holding my hand and being like "See? Cloud and Aerith are just two confused people who are both in love with someone else!" And I'm like "YEAH, I KNOW." But .... given the fact that the LTD remains, I guess I understand why they did it that way--not that it seems to have changed anything at all.

Just to piggyback off this, I've said elsewhere that at this point, given how the Retrilogy has thrown all subtlety out the window, about the only thing the devs have left to do is violate "Show, don't tell."

...which I hope they don't. My face hurts from all the bricks Retrilogy's sledgehammer broke against it already.

 

[Yoru]

I came across a gif from the end of Remake when Tifa slips on the floor of the Shinra roof to catch Cloud just in time.

And I thought, looking back: is it just me, or did they add a lot of scenes that didn't exist with Tifa?

And I'm not even talking about the "fan service" scenes based on our in-game choices (midnight date/GS date).

Maybe I'm biased and I don't realize it, but I have the impression that Aerith simply keeps her scenes or even loses some (highwind, cait sith etc.) while Tifa has quite a few new ones.

And there's a bit of that philosophy again with the Gold Saucer. Aerith is rather faithful to OG (with even the same dialogues) while Tifa takes advantage of a completely different context and a totally crazy ending.

That was my midnight thought. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

 

[Empyrea]

Because I... can't remember a single action shounen that has a kiss? And kisses aren't that common in shoujo either? Or maybe that was the '90s shoujo, I don't know.

I recall this vividly. If the main pair gets a kiss in a 90s shoujo, the story is almost over. And that's if they're lucky

 

[Ryeleigh]

I recall this vividly. If the main pair gets a kiss in a 90s shoujo, the story is almost over. And that's if they're lucky

South Korean dramas don't go crazy with the physicality either (or didn't used to, I haven't watched the new ones). So when the couples do get kisses, it's always EPIC, lol. It's so cute. Honestly better than American romance shows because watching those I'm always like, "omg, please stop swapping spit", lol.

 

[looneymoon]

I've heard a lot of people talk about how its good that they're not jealous in the remake but instead friends and I think I am one of the few people who actually disagrees lol.
For one I don't think there is anything wrong with jealousy, it's a human emotion that's fine to explore so I don't mind it being there. But Aerith and Tifas friendship does come with baggage that I find particularly unpalpable.

If Aerith and Tifa are great friends then Aeriths behavior kinda disgusts me, it's one thing to hit on Cloud in the presence of Tifa if you don't really know her. But to do it while pretending to be great friends, even as a rebound, or maybe especially as a rebound, just really sickens me. In Rebirth anytime Aerith is alone with Cloud it feels like she's waiting to be alone with him so she can stop her "I'm your friend act" with Tifa an stab her in the back while she's not looking.

Imagine being Tifa, having all these heart to hearts with Aerith, helping her with her pain over Zack, talking about boys, you have a date at the GS with Cloud, you then almost kiss him in Gongaga, Aerith is all supportive telling you it'll be alright, you go back to the GS, you kiss Cloud. And then suddenly when no one is watching Aerith uses her ancient powers to go on a dream date with Cloud and following Clerith interpretations confess her feelings to him......I can say it in no other way than FUCK this woman. Right now I can still find some reasons to give Aerith the benefit of the doubt, mostly the fact that I think Aerith is desperately projecting her feelings for Zack onto Cloud even during the dream date, and is only doing it because she knows this is the end and she wants closure. Aka, she is in no way trying to get between Cloud and Tifa here, she knows that there is no outcome to this date that would result in Tifa being hurt since even IF they both had feelings for each other, that date would still be the end of it and Cloud would go on to Tifa.

But really, if there is ANYTHING in p3 that hints at Aerith actually trying to further connect with Cloud in some romantic way past that date....her character is dead to me. And her friendship with Tifa would be to blame for it, because friends don't do that.


This is what convinced me it wasn't jealousy, the moment he said the same thing while alone the idea of it being jealousy made zero sense to me.

I've said this before but I'll say it again. I think the writers have a lot of cognitive dissonance between how the writers want the characters to come across and how the characters actually behave. I don't think your reading of Aerith is accurate to the story's intent. That said, it's completely reasonable, and if we were talking about characters who felt more like real people, I might even agree. The problem is that the story tends to be pretty arbitrary as to when to defer to understandings of anime tropes. I feel it does so in a way that really hurts the characterization.

Tifa and Aerith aren't more enlightened or mature for not being jealous and occasionally petty over liking the same guy. It's a genuinely awkward situation. Cloud is also prone to extreme violence against both of them, which can come at any uncontrollable moment. Both girls unquestioningly ~~believe~~ in him no matter what though, and remain devoted. The end result, to me, just looks like 2 waifu characters who only make sense when viewing them with working knowledge of incredibly tropey harem and/or isekai anime. Of course Aerith and Tifa are super devoted to this guy, he's the main character. Of course their friendship never suffers for it, he's the main character. The girls themselves get it, the audience should too!

...It's why I've fully boarded with the delulu yuri. Even though the Aerith/Tifa date was pure wholesome fanservice, at least they come across as genuinely liking each other. Them liking Cloud makes me feel bad for them tbh. It also makes me like the characters less because the virtue of their sustained interest in him feels so bland.

 

[Eerie]

I think for Tifa it makes sense, narratively, to have a high faith in Cloud - because it is her job, so to speak, and also because Cloud does open up to her in ways he doesn't to others, so that faith can carry on; the Lifestream sequence has been added to add faith to Tifa, so she would believe he truly is Cloud, to maintain her faith high. Cloud relies on her faith in him to be able to function so yeah, while it can feel weird, at least there's a reasoning behind it. Aerith though? There's literally no reason for her to do that, except for the fact that she fell in love with him (how we're still not sure to be honest). Which is odd because honestly at 18 days of knowing Cloud, it should be at best a crush and not something deep (even more so with her not knowing the real Cloud and be aware about it).

 

[Sacky]

I came across a gif from the end of Remake when Tifa slips on the floor of the Shinra roof to catch Cloud just in time.

And I thought, looking back: is it just me, or did they add a lot of scenes that didn't exist with Tifa?

And I'm not even talking about the "fan service" scenes based on our in-game choices (midnight date/GS date).

Maybe I'm biased and I don't realize it, but I have the impression that Aerith simply keeps her scenes or even loses some (highwind, cait sith etc.) while Tifa has quite a few new ones.

And there's a bit of that philosophy again with the Gold Saucer. Aerith is rather faithful to OG (with even the same dialogues) while Tifa takes advantage of a completely different context and a totally crazy ending.

That was my midnight thought. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

the most reflecting thing for me when looking back at Remake. Is one of the first pieces of information the player learns in the game is Jessie asking Cloud if him and Tifa are close. Which then leads to a flashback so we get introduced to a plot point very early on thats memorable. Arguably, its the first main story point of the game. Which is then repeated by Aerith later asking the same question after another young Tifa flashback (all lifestream set up from game 1) again. Cloud cannot explain what his relationship is with Tifa; only Aerith says shes someone special. Theres a storytelling term; I cant remember what it is though. When a plot point or question is brought up through the story but not resolved, it means later in the story it will be resolved. Or there was no point to keep asking it or having a character ask it. So by the end of Remake Trilogy we will know Clouds feelings for Tifa and we do in the lifestream sequence.

 

[looneymoon]

Nah, Tifa's fucked too imo. Tifa's Lifestream sequence is literally a magic whale (the whale ex machina) saving her from an attempted murder that would have otherwise been successful. Said magic whale shows her Cloud didn't mean it really, uwu (ignoring the fact that it could, in fact, happen again at a moment's notice). The rest of the story carries on, as if the stakes concerning the reason for her unease around him haven't been raised dramatically. The end result just makes her come across a poorly done Yamato Nadeshiko.

Then the rest of the cast seem to agree with her that it's nbd Cloud is completely losing it, because their reactions (including Tifa's!) are so weirdly ambivalent. That, or they conveniently don't see all the really egregious shit happening, which in turn would mean Tifa is withholding information that is unambiguously crucial for everyone to be aware of, because it could literally cost them their lives. The writer super under-emphasis the scenes where they do seem concerned, and undersell the amount of concern they really should be showing in this situation. It seems to be a little bit of all these things that make it feel so hard to employ my suspension of disbelief. Either way, it circles back to the same crap where the audience has to accept the entire cast's unwavering belief in the protagonist, even when it makes absolutely no sense for them to do so. Defer to anime for this to seem remotely reasonable, he's the main character after all. It's all really silly.

 

[Sacky]

Nah, Tifa's fucked too imo. Tifa's Lifestream sequence is literally a magic whale (the whale ex machina) saving her from an attempted murder that would have otherwise been successful. Said magic whale shows her Cloud didn't mean it really, uwu (ignoring the fact that it could, in fact, happen again at a moment's notice). The rest of the story carries on, as if the stakes concerning the reason for her unease around him haven't been raised dramatically. The end result just makes her come across a poorly done Yamato Nadeshiko.

Then the rest of the cast seem to agree with her that it's nbd Cloud is completely losing it, because their reactions (including Tifa's!) are so weirdly ambivalent. That, or they conveniently don't see all the really egregious shit happening, which in turn would mean Tifa is withholding information that is unambiguously crucial for everyone to be aware of, because it could literally cost them their lives. The writer super under-emphasis the scenes where they do seem concerned, and undersell the amount of concern they really should be showing in this situation. It seems to be a little bit of all these things that make it feel so hard to employ my suspension of disbelief. Either way, it circles back to the same crap where the audience has to accept the entire cast's unwavering belief in the protagonist, even when it makes absolutely no sense for them to do so. Defer to anime for this to seem remotely reasonable, he's the main character after all. It's all really silly.

I think that was done on purpose for Sephiroth to use it against her and Cloud and turn the group against each other in NC could be wrong though

 

[Stiggie]

I think for Tifa it makes sense, narratively, to have a high faith in Cloud - because it is her job, so to speak, and also because Cloud does open up to her in ways he doesn't to others, so that faith can carry on; the Lifestream sequence has been added to add faith to Tifa, so she would believe he truly is Cloud, to maintain her faith high. Cloud relies on her faith in him to be able to function so yeah, while it can feel weird, at least there's a reasoning behind it. Aerith though? There's literally no reason for her to do that, except for the fact that she fell in love with him (how we're still not sure to be honest). Which is odd because honestly at 18 days of knowing Cloud, it should be at best a crush and not something deep (even more so with her not knowing the real Cloud and be aware about it).

This is what I mean about Clerith being twilight level writing. I can think of many reasons why Aerith would have a crush on Cloud, but I can't think of any reasons that from a story telling perspective would be seen as "indicative of true love". Only "wrong reasons", reasons that should lead towards the story conclusion that "this isn't a good reason to like someone".
Aerith genuinely liking Cloud, when he's not himself and the person he's being is both rather awful, and partially based on her Ex.....is death to any "this is what true love looks like" telling of the story.

With Tifa I agree that her loyalty doesn't run into the same issues. Because she's known Cloud since before he became a soldier. She's known about the degradation from before he started acting erratic and the actions he performs because of it (she thinks its because of it, I know its Jenova and seph) aren't used by her to judge him as a person because they don't reflect who he is. And while she doesn't like his Soldier persona she gets more glimpses of the real Cloud. He never treats her horribly normally, and often opens up, making it logical that she'd see that the boy she once loved is still in there somewhere. The most progress she makes towards liking him is when she's reminded of who he was inside before all this started combined with him acknowledging that he's essentially having a severe medical issue.
Add to that the fact that on some level she WANTS to be in love with Cloud because of what he means to her symbolically and I get her devotion completely. Hell, I even think that his issues sort of endear him to her because she sees it as a shared trauma that they can help each other with.

Theres a storytelling term; I cant remember what it is though. When a plot point or question is brought up through the story but not resolved, it means later in the story it will be resolved. Or there was no point to keep asking it or having a character ask it. So by the end of Remake Trilogy we will know Clouds feelings for Tifa and we do in the lifestream sequence.

I think you mean Chekov's gun. And yeah, Chekov's gun is essentially why Clerith is doomed. Because all the Chekov's guns that have been set-up between Cloud and Tifa point to a reveal of their enduring mutual love. While every Chekov's gun with Aerith points towards it not being real.

Then the rest of the cast seem to agree with her that it's nbd Cloud is completely losing it, because their reactions (including Tifa's!) are so weirdly ambivalent. That, or they conveniently don't see all the really egregious shit happening, which in turn would mean Tifa is withholding information that is unambiguously crucial for everyone to be aware of, because it could literally cost them their lives. The writer super under-emphasis the scenes where they do seem concerned, and undersell the amount of concern they really should be showing in this situation. It seems to be a little bit of all these things that make it feel so hard to employ my suspension of disbelief. Either way, it circles back to the same crap where the audience has to accept the entire cast's unwavering belief in the protagonist, even when it makes absolutely no sense for them to do so. Defer to anime for this to seem remotely reasonable, he's the main character after all. It's all really silly.

To be fair, while I agree that this should be discussed more I think the game makes it pretty clear that the reason they put up with it is because they know that without Cloud they really can't do anything. They're genuinely lost about what to do and have essentially resolved to just watch over him and hope for the best and that he can overcome this or at least hold out.
If we look at Tifas face at the end that's not just distraught over Aeriths death, she's distraught because she thinks Cloud has finally essentially lost it, and she's completely lost as well because she has no clue how to handle it.
If they really ignored it we wouldn't have scenes like Barret in Nibelheim going "oh ok, so the town was rebuild, I figured Cloud might be bat shit insane again". They notice, they keep it in mind....but they can't really do anything.

 

[Sacky]

This is what I mean about Clerith being twilight level writing. I can think of many reasons why Aerith would have a crush on Cloud, but I can't think of any reasons that from a story telling perspective would be seen as "indicative of true love". Only "wrong reasons", reasons that should lead towards the story conclusion that "this isn't a good reason to like someone".
Aerith genuinely liking Cloud, when he's not himself and the person he's being is both rather awful, and partially based on her Ex.....is death to any "this is what true love looks like" telling of the story.

With Tifa I agree that her loyalty doesn't run into the same issues. Because she's known Cloud since before he became a soldier. She's known about the degradation from before he started acting erratic and the actions he performs because of it (she thinks its because of it, I know its Jenova and seph) don't bother her because she knows they don't reflect who he really is. And while she doesn't like his Soldier persona she gets more glimpses of the real Cloud. He never treats her horribly normally, and often opens up, making it logical that she'd see that the boy she once loved is still in there somewhere.
Add to that the fact that on some level she WANTS to be in love with Cloud because of what he means to her symbolically and I get her devotion completely. Hell, I even think that his issues sort of endear him to her because she sees it as a shared trauma that they can help each other with, it.


I think you mean Chekov's gun. And yeah, Chekov's gun is essentially why Clerith is doomed. Because all the Chekov's guns that have been set-up between Cloud and Tifa point to a reveal of their enduring mutual love. While every Chekov's gun with Aerith points towards it not being real.

yeah thats the term they have Chekov's gunned xd Tifa and Clouds relationship as a plot point in Remake something i noticed with no knowledge of FF7 on my first playthrough. I think thats also why a lot of newer players on youtube seem to lean cloti from what ive noticed

 

[imach0c0]

the most reflecting thing for me when looking back at Remake. Is one of the first pieces of information the player learns in the game is Jessie asking Cloud if him and Tifa are close. Which then leads to a flashback so we get introduced to a plot point very early on thats memorable. Arguably, its the first main story point of the game. Which is then repeated by Aerith later asking the same question after another young Tifa flashback (all lifestream set up from game 1) again. Cloud cannot explain what his relationship is with Tifa; only Aerith says shes someone special. Theres a storytelling term; I cant remember what it is though. When a plot point or question is brought up through the story but not resolved, it means later in the story it will be resolved. Or there was no point to keep asking it or having a character ask it. So by the end of Remake Trilogy we will know Clouds feelings for Tifa and we do in the lifestream sequence.

To add to the same story point (Cloud and Tifa's relationship) being brought up --

It seems Rebirth continues to address this indirectly through other characters. These are 2 examples that come to mind (there may be more but I have not looked deeply into it)

1. Yuffie GS date - Yuffie talks about Tifa having a crush on Cloud and asks Cloud if he did. When Yuffie says that Tifa probably forgot about Cloud after moving to Midgar, Cloud seems to frown and be bothered by it.
2. Aerith Water Tower convo at Nibelheim - Aerith calls out Cloud potentially using the tower as a lookout spot to Tifa. Its interesting that the answer with the highest points is: "Probably, seems like something I'd do" (since its a CA interaction).