I'm sorry I'm not trying to bash Tifa really I'm not but compared to Aeris she just seems so....selfish, to me at least. However alot of the things we both mention about her is ultimately good for a character, and helped Tifa develop and face her past, she's definitely a well developed and dynamic character that's for sure. Again, I'm a Cloti shipper so I can never really hate her, I just find faults within her character, more faults than within Aeris which actually benefits both her and Cloud's relationship making it more realistic.
And I didn't mean Tifa is cold in general, of course she's not or she wouldn't be so good with kids, I meant that with Cloud in particular she comes off cold compared to Aeris especially during their past as kids. Of course again, this could just be her shy nature, and she's not intending to act cold, that's how it came off to me though.
Yeah I know there would be no game if it weren't for the events triggered by Tifa lol, but again I'm just stating a point that she did more harm to Cloud than good, while Aeris did the opposite. Of course this is one of the reasons on why I love Cloti so much, they had a rocky relationship in the past but they both worked hard together and overcame it, Cloud and Aeris didn't really have that so that's what makes their relationship a bit less realistic than Cloud and Tifa's
Again though as a character I do prefer Aeris but only because she's so sincere, pure and not jaded like Tifa seems to be. I also like her whole backround and how everyone in the group gets infected with her sweet, cheerful personality. EVERYONE loves Aeris (Well maybe not Sephiroth lol) even Tifa deep down, she really is like Mother Earth, everyone's light in the darkness. That's why I like Aeris, she just seems to have this totally different character from the others and from Tifa, it's more mystical-like and out of this world.