Tekken 8 boss gives broken Tifa stans hope after Clive got to join the fighter instead: "It's not like we're only limited to one character from Final Fantasy"

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Begin the Tifa summoning circle

Final Fantasy 7 Remake
(Image credit: Square Enix)

If you exist in the venn diagram centre of Final Fantasy fan and Tekken enjoyer, than chances are you've encountered the countless online pleads for Final Fantasy 7's Tifa to be added to the fist-fighting series. Maybe you're one of the people who've begged for it yourself over the years. Good news, then: all hope isn't lost for a collaboration. 

Earlier this month, Tifa stans reacted about as well as you'd expect when Tekken 8 revealed that the last DLC character coming in its Year One roadmap was none other than Final Fantasy 16's Clive - a real 'we were this close' situation. Tekken is traditionally a hand-to-hand fighting series and Tifa is her series' most famous boxer, so it seemed like a perfect match. Series producer Katsuhiro Harada even acknowledged the intense fan demand earlier this year, only to pull a switcharoo with Clive.

Harada went on to say that when deciding on crossover fighters, the team takes into consideration what's a "good match for our brand," what character's "fighting style" fits in with the rest of the roster, and the "atmosphere of the character that we think would go quite well with Tekken," as well as "timing" the collaboration well so both series benefit from the DLC.

I don't mean to get anyone else's - or my own - hopes too high, but Tekken 8 is gearing up for a Year 2 pass that'll add even more fighters to the mix throughout 2025. Tifa lovers can just keep their fingers crossed and fists clenched, then. Or you can see more from her in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's PC port coming next month.

Or you can let some of that anger out with the best fighting games of all time. 

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.