018
Despite being young, Tifa’s
very much AVALANCHE’s
mother figure.
H
aving grownupwith
Cloud in Nibelheim,
Tifa’s the person who
convinces the super-
soldier to help
AVALANCHE out. The two share
quite a bit of history, some of which
we see in Cloud’s flashbacks, though
they ended up going their separate
ways as they grew up. She’s come all
the way from that frontier-spirited
mountain town to Midgar, where she
runs 7th Heaven, the 7th Sector bar
that AVALANCHE use as their base
of operations in Midgar. When the
rest of the team are out on missions,
she often keeps the base safe and
looks after Marlene.
She’s a caring person, always
considerate of her friends’ wellbeing.
While she wants Cloud to assist
AVALANCHE in taking on Shinra,
she’s equally keen for him to feel a
part of something, and to make sure
he’s okay. Thanks to her, Cloud stays
with the team longer than he initially
said he would, as she wants to stay
close to him to see how he’s changed
since their time apart. While Tifa’s
always concerned about the feelings of
others, this does also mean that she
can remain quiet about her own.
She might be slight and a bit quiet,
but don’t let that fool you. Tifa’s a
fierce fighter for AVALANCHE, and
proficient in combat. She has her own
reasons for moving to Midgar, and for
having put so much effort into getting
stronger. Her determination to take
care of herself means she can more
than hold her own in a fight, and lay
the smackdown for her friends. She’s
proficient in martial arts and an asset
to the team, not least because she can
keep Cloud on the straight and narrow.
Due to their past connection she
wants to show him there’s more to life
than just being a Buster Sword for
hire. (There is, honestly.)
T
ifais anotherscrapper
likeCloud,thoughshe
doesn’tneeda swordto
dothetalkingasherfists
dojustfine.Hercombos
involvea lotofpunches
andkicksthatallfeellike
theyhaveimpact,asshe’s
abletoknockenemiesfor
sixwiththepowerbehind
herjabs.Herwattack
is WhirlingUppercut,
whichallowshertoknock
enemiesintotheairwith
the tap of a button. Thanks
to her quick strikes she can
build up ATB quickly, and
has plenty of lower-cost
abilities to make use of, so
she can always deal out
speedy, strong hits.
As you might expect
from someone well-versed
in punching enemies in
the face, she’s great
for putting pressure on
foes and building up their
stagger meter, stunning
themandleavingthem
opentoa beatdown.Many
ofherabilities,suchas
Omnistrike,TrueStrike,
andRiseAndFall,deal
damagedirectly,butshe
alsohasmovesthatdebuff
enemiessothey’remore
vulnerabletobuildingup
staggeracrosstheboard.
If shetargetsanenemy,
theycanreceivea one-way
tickettobecomingbroken
andreadyfordefeat.
Punch drunk love
HOW SHE FIGHTS