Summary
Final Fantasy 7has something for everyone, but one of its most misunderstood aspects is how Cloud Strife deals with his twisted personal take on events.Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthmakes this very hard to ignore, though, as it spends quite a long time emphasizing that Cloud isn’t all there in his head.Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthdoes an excellent job of portraying this through how Cloud, and even his friends, are written, as the improvements eliminate a plot hole from the original game.
The way thattheFF7 Remakeprojecthandles Cloud’s wrongful memories and mental state is arguably rather different from the intrigue and mystery that the originalFinal Fantasy 7uses to get this point across. The change is especially apparent when looking at how Cloud’s friends now play a much bigger role in terms of caring for his well-being, especially Tifa.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Makes Tifa Concerned About Cloud From the Very Beginning
Tifa Was Always the Key to the Truth Behind Cloud Strife
While players have to play a fair number of hours through the originalFF7with the wrong idea of who Cloud is, Tifa was always aware of the whole truth behind the situation. It makes sense as to why, as Cloud’s story properly began when Tifa and Cloud’s shared hometown of Nibelheim burned to the ground, andCloud was taken by Hojoto be experimented on. While Tifa’s not aware of what exactly happened to Cloud, she’s aware that he’s taking Zack’s place in what actually happened on that mission.
Despite the fact that she’s aware of Zack’s existence and role in the events at large, Tifa never mentions this to anyone in the originalFinal Fantasy 7,quietly knowing something’s wrong and choosing to monitor Cloud through their escapadesas part of Avalanche, allowing him to descent further into Sephiroth-controlled madness before finally speaking up. While it makes sense to keep the mystery of Cloud’s headaches and concerning actions a mystery, many people have called out that Tifa hardly seems worried despite being a long-time acquaintance of Cloud’s, andFF7 Rebirthamends this.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Uses Dramatic Irony To Give the Whole Story of Cloud’s Problems
From the very beginning of the game, whenCloud tells his story of the Nibelheim incident, Tifa shares additional details as a witness but remains skeptical due to how her own memories don’t match up to Cloud’s. She confides in Aerith, the former girlfriend of Zack Fair, who can also easily see that Cloud isn’t being himself. These moments are shown to the player early on in the story, making it evident that the party is aware that something’s off with Cloud, with the steps they’re taking to be supportive of the situation and even gentle in how they approach him being clear to see.
It’s a very welcome change sincethe originalFinal Fantasy 7hadn’t entirely aged wellin terms of how it treated Cloud’s mental illness, as it instead focused on making Tifa and Aerith fight for his affections.FF7stuck with many players for how it handled its underlying messages of insecurity, weakness, and personal strength, but there were flaws in regard to how these topics were handled that have been pointed out over the years. Just asFinal Fantasy 7 Remakechanged the famous Cloud crossdressing scene to be more LGBT+ friendly back in 2020,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthadjusts the narrative of the protagonist’s literal battle in his own mind to be mindful of the other characters, while also exploring the full weight of Cloud’s actions. At his worst, Cloud’s actions are meant to unsettle players, and it shows, but luckily, this time he has his friends to bring him back to reality when necessary.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
WHERE TO PLAY
Discover a vibrant and vast world in this standalone entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct games. Iconic heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII have escaped from the dystopian city Midgar and are now in pursuit of Sephiroth, the vengeful swordsman from Cloud’s past who was thought to be dead. This new adventure can be enjoyed by all players, even those who have yet to play Final Fantasy VII Remake or the PlayStation original. Expect a new standard of cinematic storytelling, fast-paced combat and rich exploration across a vast world.
