Helloooo, been lurking since the new stuff came out.
I kind of want to push back a little at this sentiment, not that I don't think it's valid, but more that I don't think the information that's been revealed in the new Traces novel (not sure about the Ultimania yet I haven't really delved into it) really changes that much of Cloud and Tifa's relationship in the larger scheme of things. Also that, while I don't love being told what to think or how to interpret something either, the misunderstandings that stem from the OG — which imo isn't actually that ambiguous — due to mistranslations or otherwise, are so prevalent among FFVII fans that I think it does a disservice to the characters. It's different from reading a novel or watching a film where themes or plot points are left purposefully vague, here I don't think it was ever purposeful.
As a fan of Tifa's characterization, it's often been frustrating to read how she was a bully or how she deliberately excluded Cloud from her friend group. While we obviously know that's not the case, this point of view is still so common; and I don't believe it'll go away with this novel release either because not everyone consumes everything FFVII and it's not widely available to an international audience, but at least it's some indication that they're working to correct these misunderstandings that actually have a large impact on how people see the characters. And we can see they do this in the Remake itself too.
I have seen some annoyance elsewhere that the new novel "retcons" Cloud and Tifa not really having been friends and that it cheapens the reveal from the OG and the development of their relationship as adults, which I don't really think is the case.
At least from the tidbits and summaries I've seen floating around, it doesn't seem like they were BFFs/inseparable or anything, just that they were playmates as young children before Tifa's mother died, which makes sense because they were neighbors and the village had, like, less than 20 people living in it. And as kids it's not like they were baring their souls to each other, they just kinda bopped around having fun sometimes, like finding Tifa's cat. Cloud had a crush on her, but we already knew that.
And once Tifa's mother died they drifted apart, which also makes sense since all the adults thought Cloud was a bad influence on her due to the other kids' lies. So Cloud was relegated to admiring Tifa from afar, and Tifa was left confused but still interested in Cloud because she always felt the explanation of him forcing her up the mountain was weird. She thought he was handsome and admired his attitude (and like a lot of teenage girls refused to admit it was because she had a crush), but never really approached him again until he asked her to the water tower.
I actually like this explanation because it's in line with her expressions and response to his declaration that he was going to leave for Midgar. In the Remake, you can see that she looks briefly upset when he says he's leaving before pivoting to the promise. I don't think she'd agree to meet him at the water tower at all (even in the OG) if she weren't already marginally interested in him as a person, nor would she have made that promise if she didn't want him to keep in touch.
She clearly didn't know that much about him because this is the moment she realizes that he's just an ordinary boy with big dreams, so it doesn't contradict the idea that she didn't know him well or that they weren't close friends, imo. It just illuminates a bit more of what Tifa thought of Cloud at the time, and it's not drastically different from what I would've expected already. And then of course she began to think of him even more once he left.
I do agree that the romantic-ness of it all is a bit much, but I dunno it's kinda cute too because it's like the ruminations of a teenage girl.
