Final Fantasy VII Remake relies heavily on the assumption that players remember the plot of the original game, but while the game’s many cutscenes might serve as great foreshadowing for returning gamers, new players find themselves flailing to understand what’s going on. Take Tifa’s traumatic cowboy hat scene, for example.
Cloud gets his first yeehaw-Tifa-migraine while planting a bomb at Mako Reactor 5. It’s not the game’s first unexplained flashback sequence, but considering the content, it’s definitely the most bizarre. For no apparent reason at all, Cloud clutches his head, doubles over, and is immediately treated to Tifa’s pained voice.
“Sephiroth? SOLDIERs?” she cries, clutching onto a man’s dead body. She sobs into his chest, staggers to her feet, and picks up Sephiroth’s discarded sword before trudging deeper into what’s clearly a Shinra building.
It’s a full-on tragic backstory teaser, played completely straight—except for the part where Tifa is inexplicably dressed in cowboy duds and a leather miniskirt. She even has a feather braided into her hair to complete the Hollywood Wild West look.
Without context from the original game, the contrast between Tifa’s outfit and her circumstances is absolutely bizarre. So for players new to Final Fantasy VII, here it is: context. Spoilers ahead, so turn back now if you want to experience Tifa’s backstory for yourself!
The flashback takes place in Tifa and Cloud’s hometown, Nibelheim. It’s a backwater settlement with only a handful of residents, making it the perfect place for Shinra to set up one of its first reactors. Whereas Cloud is just some guy in town, Tifa’s position is a little more prestigious: mayor’s daughter, anyone?
Two years after Cloud leaves to become a SOLDIER, the Mako Reactor malfunctions, prompting Shinra to send Sephiroth, SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair, and a retinue of Shinra guards to investigate. Tifa is hired to give them a tour of the reactor, and the pieces are set to kick start the worst day of her life.
While staying at Nibelheim, Sephiroth snaps for reasons that would spoil the entire game, commits a few atrocities, and wanders into the Mako Reactor with Tifa’s father and several others hot on his heels. Not the smartest move; Sephiroth slaughters Tifa’s father, she runs in with her cowboy getup, and Cloud reveals the whole affair to the players via flashback.
Tifa’s tragic backstory is played completely straight, with no gimmicks or shocking surprises. While it would be nice to see the cowboy outfit as a DLC at some point, it doesn’t factor into the flashback at all; teen Tifa and her father seem to just really have a thing for the Old West aesthetic.
New players can relax: Tifa isn’t about to suddenly go full Arthur Morgan anytime soon.
