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Final Fantasy's Cloud and Tifa showed a generation how romantic video games could be

The love affair between Cloud and Tifa in Final Fantasy VII defined what love could be for a generation of gamers

Features by Nathan Clark, Contributing writer

Published on Thu Feb 05 2026

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This may be a bit of a daring opinion, but I think Final Fantasy VII is one of the most important video games ever made.

While the series had been a juggernaut in Japan since its inception in 1987, it was still rather niche in the West by comparison - but this would change with the series’ dramatic shift over to the PlayStation from Nintendo and the addition of a Z-axis. 1997's Final Fantasy VII would introduce gamers outside Japan not only to Final Fantasy as a series and JRPGs as a genre, but also help instill the idea that games can be a medium for profound and thought-provoking narratives. Central to that narrative is the messy and complicated relationship between the aloof ex-SOLDIER Cloud Strife (yes, 'SOLDIER' is meant to be in all-caps) and beloved bartender-turned-eco-terrorist Tifa Lockhart.

Cloud and Tifa: Childhood sweethearts turned soulmates

Before we continue, I must warn any Cloud x Aerith shippers out there to steel themselves, for the following won’t be an easy pill to swallow.

Cloud’s identity - his very purpose for being - is tied to a childhood desire to impress and protect Tifa. Before the story even began, as children in the tiny mountain town of Nibelheim, Tifa and Cloud fell off a cliffside in an accident that left Tifa clinging on for dear life, with Cloud taking the (undeserved) blame; this lead him to look towards beloved war hero Sephiroth and long to be a man like him with the strength to protect those he cares about. Even as Cloud would lose his memories of the past, he wouldn’t forget the promise he made to Tifa on the town’s water tower before he left home: that, should she ever find herself in trouble and in need of saving, he would be there.

Cloud and Tifa didn't see each other for a few years after Cloud left to join SOLDIER, but immediately after their reunion, she knew that something about him wasn’t right. Although others in their party accepted his quirks and eccentricities, Tifa who knew something was amiss. When Cloud succumbed to Mako poisoning and fell into the Lifestream, Tifa was the one who helped him pull his very identity back together. The truth is that she’s the only one who could have done it, because she’s the only one who knew him well enough. After all, she was the central subject of his shattered psyche.

A kiss worth waiting 27 years for

That is what makes the relationship between Cloud and Tifa so heartwarming: between planetary devastation caused by corporate greed, and aliens threatening to wipe out humanity, is a story of a boy who wanted to become a man that his crush would respect, and a girl who would do anything to support her first love. Sure, by today’s standards, it’s quite tame for video game romance compared to something like Baldur’s Gate 3’s infamous bear romance, but this was the 90’s! We were lucky if a princess wanted to kiss a plumber on the nose at the time.

With that said, there’s the ongoing remake trilogy, which has only expanded on every aspect of Final Fantasy VII, including Cloud and Tifa’s relationship. Where emotion was previously conveyed through cartoonish head nods and fist shakes, there are now gentle caresses and the stealing of embarrassed glances. You can feel the tension portrayed in their voices, something technology simply didn’t allow in 1997.

Towards the end of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, depending on how you have treated the members of your party up until this point, you will go on a date at the Golden Saucer amusement park. This date will be largely the same regardless of who you go with. You’ll play some mini-games, and you’ll watch a play, but then there’s one major difference between Tifa’s date and everyone else’s. If you treated her well over the course of the game, Cloud will shed his awkward persona if only for a moment to kiss her as fireworks go off outside. It's a kiss that Final Fantasy VII fans waited 27 years for.

There's more waiting, of course, but as we wait for the conclusion of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy to see how Cloud and Tifa’s relationship will play out this time around, one thing can be said for certain: If the countless fan-fictions, schoolyard arguments, and video essays are to be believed, these two kids from the boonies showed an entire generation what romance in games can be.

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