Final Fantasy 7 Remake devs have revealed that Tifa was the hardest character to create a battle style for.
Square Enix has posted a brand new developer interview blog to their official website, this time focusing on Final Fantasy 7 Remake's fifth chapter with those who helped create the RPG. In the game itself, this is a chapter where the player can control a variety of characters in battle, including Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, and Aerith.
When asked if Tifa was a difficult character to balance for the remake, Teruki Endo, battle director for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, confirmed as much. "It was comparatively easy to differentiate Cloud, Barret, and Aerith," Endo explains. "But we had to think extremely hard about what defining characteristics we should give Tifa," the battle director continued.
However, Endo believes Square Enix ultimately succeeded in giving added depth to Tifa in the remake's combat system, by tying her abilities to the 'Burst' system. This core pillar of Final Fantasy 7 Remake's combat governs how much damage enemies can take before they're stunned, and Tifa has key abilities that massively boost the amount of stagger damage dealt to an enemy.
In our Final Fantasy 7 Remake review from 2020, we heaped praise upon the remake's overhauled combat system, writing that the combat was "satisfyingly varied" thanks chiefly to each character feeling distinctly different and entertaining to play. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the sequel to Remake and part two of a planned trilogy, should keep the party-based combat going when it arrives next year in Winter 2023.
Here's why the Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core Reunion remaster is a must-play ahead of Rebirth launching near the end of next year.
