Tifa's Design: Has It Gotten Better?

[ForceStealer]

Yeah, part of it is just a scale thing. But I imagine a lot of Midgar's richer citizens did move to Kalm.

And we're off-topic now. So try to bring it back if you can. But bob dammit I can't bring myself to stifle honest to goodness FF7 nonLTD discussion

 

[Splintered]

@Splintered. Still though, the new 7th Heaven definitely looks like a "nicer" place. After all, they're serving refugees from the plate as well as the slums, so there is still a different clientele.

A different clientele that lost all their belongings, their house, and their munnies. Also their job because I'm assuming almost everyone on the plate was a Shinra employee.

Tifa's place was upped up, but I always took it as more of a escapist route imo. This was a place of relaxation from stress as opposed to just a slum bar. Also she's not trying to fund a terrorist group at the same time.

But I always considered Edge definitely not middle class. Tifa-Cloud are but they are providing two very needed services. They don't have hospitals for the infected, orphanges for children, or anything like that.

Although I guess I would have to say on reflection it probably isn't ffvii slums poor. I would say that it's... busy. As in nobody is poor because they don't have anything too do. It's just they don't have enough infrastructure. Trying to build houses but not necessarily goods and services. Although that's where probably Reeve comes in.

It's post reconstruction so there's always something to do and someone willing to give something just enough to scrape by. Just barely comfortable, if that.

And we're off-topic now. So try to bring it back if you can.

NEVER. Off topic rebels.

 

[TheEdgeofDespair]

I, for one, believe that some fans' discontent, myself included, with Tifa's Advent Children redesign is due to the fact that Tifa's identity is lost in SquareEnix's attempt to modernize her appearance.

It is neither her new outfit nor her new hair style that alters Tifa's character; it is the elimination of the minute details that exemplify her personality that have warped and distorted her character to a mere anachronism. Those small alterations are, ostensibly, the changing of her eye color from a passionate, determined crimson hue to a clouded, worried shade of hazel, the obscuring of her once prominent and strong facial characteristics, and the minute changes to her hair's density and hue.

I understand SquareEnix's desire to depict FFVII's characters in a more realistic manner; however, it seems as if, in doing so, they have removed all of Tifa's distinguishing characteristics in preference of a more forgettable, tangentially recognizable design that breaks the feelings of nostalgia and fond reminiscence that the original design elicits in many fans. Tifa's identity, as well as that of other main characters in FFVII, seem to have been repressed within the carnivorous black hole of story retcons that SquareEnix has created.

Overall, this loss of Tifa's character by means of modernization on SquareEnix's part can also be seen as a microcosm of SquareEnix's shift in focus in the Compilation from the minute character detail and extensive character development found in the original game to the shallow, unfulfilling narratives of the newer installments in the compilation, which cast aside the attention to detail of the original in favor of mindless action and blatant fan service. Newer releases in the compilation seem to have disregarded the prospect of peering into each character's thoughts and feelings in relation to their actions and words, choosing instead to focus on inane, contrived plot extensions that take away from the FFVII lore more than they add to it.

/rant

 

[Max Payne]

I wouldn't call it modernization, rather adaptation.

 

[OneWingedDemon]

I blame Nomura's obsession with zippers and pockets and buckles. Man's completely unimaginitive. Her outfit seems more fitting for KH than FFVII.

It's the fact that they changed so much that is disconcerting, than just any particular change on its own. They cut her hair and changed the eye color, and completely overhauled her wardrobe (I'm assuming she raided Sora's or Sephiroth's), and made her much skinnier, to give her that soft & feminine~ look.

Tifa's an iconic fictional character. There's a reason people in video games/comics/cartoons/anime/etc. seem to always wear the same clothes. Their outward appearance is inextricably tied to their character.

That having been said, her AC outfit isn't bad. I think she looks rather majestic...from behind . I don't get why half-skirts are all the rage in edge all of a sudden though.

 

[Scias]

I blame Nomura's obsession with zippers and pockets and buckles. Man's completely unimaginitive. Her outfit seems more fitting for KH than FFVII.

Oh and look what I just found on the internetz

 

[Gym Leader Devil]

Now you made me want to read The Dark Id's LP of DoC again.

 

[Elisa Maza]

Eh. Amano had obsession over jewelry beads and mismatching tights. Not to mention swimsuit-like clothing.

Each designer has his/her preferences.

 

[Max Payne]

Eh. Amano had obsession over jewelry beads and mismatching tights. Not to mention swimsuit-like clothing.

Each designer has his/her preferences.

You forget that 90 percent of his men are beyond effeminate and everyone is fucking pale as hell.

 

[Elisa Maza]

And looking like geisha ladies, yes.

 

[ForceStealer]

and made her much skinnier, to give her that soft & feminine~ look.

Skinnier? How do you figure?

Do you see those legs?

 

[OneWingedDemon]

She always looked fine in the actual game, that's mainly what I'm going by.

 

[Max Payne]

people have a strange definition of skinny

 

[Alex Strife]

people have a strange definition of skinny

But that's not new, isn't it?

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

You forget that 90 percent of his men are beyond effeminate and everyone is fucking pale as hell.

Nomura's least imaginative designs are still better to me than all of Amano's pale, starving waifs.

With the exception of the Tifa redesign, because it just pisses me off so much for taking away all of the things that were iconic about her original design. Especially the dolphin tail.

And, no, Force, I will not less this go. =P

 

[ForceStealer]

You know, its funny considering that Tifa is apparently unrecognizable without the dolphin tail, just how few of the fanarts in the Tifa fanclub feature it.

 

[Max Payne]

That's a really bad attempt at being a smartass.

Leave it to the pros chief.

 

[ForceStealer]

Not being smartass, smartass. It was an observation.

 

[Max Payne]

An observation so painfully skewed and shortsighted that you'd have to be making an attempt at being witty for it to be justified at all. How is else is such a statement as this "
its funny considering that Tifa is apparently unrecognizable without the dolphin tail" meant to be taken chief?

Oh and just because I feel like being a dick, "its" should only be used when using it as a possessive, not when trying to use the contraction for "it is".

There's a shitload of Tifa fanart on the net, and much of it features the tail and much of it doesn't. Obviously people can identify her without it thanks to AC.

The very people who have posted art without it can probably post many with it.

 

[Splintered]

I don't even know what we are arguing anymore.

 

[Max Payne]

I don't even know what we are arguing anymore.

Not so much an argument as it is a simple observation :p.

Oh dear force do troll if you must!

It will amuse me.

 

[Splintered]

Honestly with fanart, I feel that the majority of it is anime style and with anime style it feels like all the faces are the same, just with different hair styles and clothes. A lot of times, you can just find out who is who in context.

Actually I think some Japanese games are like that too.

 

[Max Payne]

Honestly with fanart, I feel that the majority of it is anime style and with anime style it feels like all the faces are the same, just with different hair styles and clothes. A lot of times, you can just find out who is who in context.

You're right about there being an assload of generic cookie cutter fanart in anime style. Just a quick look at the usual image dump sites for this kind of thing will show you that.

 

[Nursie]

This thread was entertaining to read. (I know I don't post much - I be a lurker ) Its sad when bad things happen to... interesting threads.

Although I have loved every outfit and look Tifa has had, both in and out of the compilation, I have to agree with what someone said before (you guys are always changing your names, and its so damn confusing! )--

Tifa definitely looks Asian in AC, and taking away a lot of what made her individual and unique in the game as also taken away a lot of what made her so lovable in the first place. The dolphin tail hair, the dark, wine-coloured eyes, her freakin' awesome battle outfit complete with metal plates on the elbow and foot, the heart-shaped face and dinky outfit - that was TIFA.

Her personality was what made it so contradictory, yet complimentary - the immodest clothing would lead the player to believe that she had the scruples (or lack thereof) of a ho, her armour indicating that she was a badass chicka who was always looking for a fight (and thats not even bringing in the fact that she was associated with a rebel group that was painted by the ShinRa media as evil), and the fact that she ran a bar with a five-year old as a waitress, just made it so damn strange. I have to admit, when I first played the game, I thought, "who the hell is this woman, and what the hell is she doing?"

Getting to know Tifa in the game--even within the first few minutes of dialogue with her, Barret and Cloud, made me attached to her almost right away. Her sweet and caring personality leads the gamer to believe that you can't judge a book by its cover. Everyone has a past, a reason why they are in their current circumstance. It may have been by choice, or by the decisions made by more powerful forces than she.

Underneath the armour and the hoochy clothing, the management of the bar, one realizes that there is an explanation for it. And as you play the game, you discover those reasons, for example:, why the heck is she running a bar in Sector 7? What brought her to Midgar? How come she's associated with a bunch of weirdo rebels?

Now, I don't think we'll ever really know why she was christened with a cropped tank and a miniskirt that would've served better as a belt - IMO, the creators just wanted to make a hot character --cm'on, it came out in the freakin' 90's.

As for her eyes, hair, and overall look, it was a shame that Squeenix made her so...dull. One of the reasons I fell in love with FFVII was just how colourful everything was. The outfits were so...out there, from Barret's metal girdle-thing to Vincent's pointy, surgically-attached brass boots. It was so creative, so vivid, and so memorable.

It doesn't stop me from loving the outfits they have in the other games/movies, but it did disappoint me a little because they were so dull - and they were all pretty much alike! They all had different shades of black! The only crazy addition to an outfit I can remember from AC/ACC would be Barret's fishnet beater.

As for her frontal appendages... I believe its the woman that makes the boobs, not the boobs that make the woman. Look at Lulu. Compared to Tifa, she doesn't get a whole lot of attention with her triple D's. Tifa is more memorable because of her character, not necessarily because of her anatomy (though it probably does help to an extent...).

I think someone made a reference to Lulu way back in the thread. Doesn't stop it from being any less true. You might have a small fanbase for Lulu that consists of little boys who were still in diapers when FFVII was released - but they don't count.

BTW - I love Lulu. Not bashing her at all - just her 13-year-old hormonal fanboys who don't even know what hormones are.

I remember Tifa more for her sacrificial character, her willingness to please those she loves, and the fact that she's a peacemaker. Though she didn't always speak up when she should have, her silence sometimes proved to be beneficial. She listened to Cloud. She cared. EDIT: That's not to say that she isn't tough or can't fight, I'd be an idiot if I said that. I guess what I'm trying to say is that she is a woman as well as a tough girl.

Wow. If you managed to read this, more power to ya. Dunno if it even makes sense.

 

[Max Payne]

Her personality was what made it so contradictory, yet complimentary - the immodest clothing would lead the player to believe that she had the scruples (or lack thereof) of a ho,

I agree with most of your post, but I will never understand why people do this. You should never judge a person based off of clothing, or any other superficial trait.

Also, clothes don't make a hoochie. There's no such thing as hoochie clothes lawl.