Final Fantasy 7’s Aerith and Tifa Were Originally a Single Character

A recent interview has revealed that Final Fantasy 7‘s Tifa and Aerith were originally a single character. The decision to split her into two separate Final Fantasy 7 characters resulted in some of the most iconic heroines in a game to date.

Aerith and Tifa both have a big role to play in Final Fantasy 7, whether it’s the original or the remake trilogy. While Aerith is deeply connected to the planet and the lifestream, Tifa is Cloud’s childhood friend and knows him in a way that no one else does. Fans have debated for years which one is the best choice for Cloud, or simply the “best girl,” but it turns out that might not have ever happened if the original plan had gone through.

In a new interview (via Siliconera) between Japanese publication Youngjump and Tetsuya Nomura, the character designer behind Final Fantasy 7, the designing legend talked about Aerith and Tifa’s character designs and origins. Nomura noted that he’s never said this before, but Aerith was the original heroine designed for the game, but her original incarnation wasn’t the same as the Aerith players eventually met when the game released. Instead, Aerith originally had something close to her current appearance, but with Tifa’s personality. In an effort to break away from standard character formulas, the team decided to split Aerith into two distinct characters: Aerith and Tifa.

System Restrictions Impacted Aerith and Tifa’s Appearances

Aerith retained her appearance, but gained the curious, gentle, and spunky personality she has today. Meanwhile, Tifa was given a new character design, creating the tough but kind heroine gamers know today. Aerith was intended to be glamorous, but due to the restrictions polygonal modeling put on them at the time, Nomura chose to give her the now-iconic rope braid hairstyle, as depicting flowing, loose hair wasn’t really possible. The hairtie added to the end of Tifa’s long hair was also included for similar purposes. Intriguingly, Tifa’s hair would cause problems in Advent Children, resulting in it being shortened.

All these years later, it may be hard for Final Fantasy 7 fans to imagine that Aerith and Tifa were once a singular entity. It also raises a lot of questions, like whether Aerith would have been a hand-to-hand brawler like Tifa ended up being, or whether she would have still been a childhood friend or a stranger Cloud had barely met. Considering how early in the development of the game this was, it’s possible that combat and plot points hadn’t fully come into the picture yet. However, it’s certainly interesting to thnk that at one time, only Aerith – but not quite the Aerith fans know today – existed.