Editing Tifa Lockhart (section)

===''Final Fantasy VII''===
Tifa is introduced in ''Final Fantasy VII'' as the childhood friend of [[Cloud Strife]] and owner of the 7th Heaven bar in the slums of [[Midgar]], a technologically advanced metropolis owned by the [[Shinra Electric Power Company]]. She is also a member of the eco-terrorist organization AVALANCHE, who opposes Shinra's extraction and use of [[Gaia (Final Fantasy VII)#Mako|mako]], the planet's spiritual energy, as a power source. When they reunite in Midgar, she convinces Cloud to join the group and follows him in pursuit of the game's antagonist, [[Sephiroth (Final Fantasy)|Sephiroth]]. While she is unable to keep him from being manipulated by Sephiroth, she helps him recover after his mind becomes fractured and they realize their mutual feelings for one another, working together to defeat Sephiroth.<ref name="42-47"/>

When they were children, Tifa and Cloud followed a path up the mountain near their hometown of Nibelheim. However, they were both injured and Tifa fell into a [[coma]] for a week, with her father holding Cloud responsible for the incident.<ref name="egm"/> Cloud eventually left to join Shinra's [[Gaia (Final Fantasy VII)#Departments|SOLDIER]] program to become stronger, but it is later revealed that he did it primarily to attract her attention.<ref name="cloud">{{cite video game |publisher=Sony |developer=Square |platform=PlayStation |date=1997-09-07 |title=Final Fantasy VII |quote='''Tifa:''' 'Now that you mention it, why did you want to join SOLDIER in the first place.' ... / '''Cloud:''' '......I was devastated. ......I wanted to be noticed. I thought if I got stronger, I could get someone to notice.........' / '''Tifa:''' 'Someone has to notice you...? ......who?' / '''Cloud:''' 'Who.........? ......You know who! ......You, that's who.' ... / '''Cloud:''' 'Tifa missed her step.  I ran to her... but didn't make it in time. Both of us fell off the cliff. Back then, I only scarred my knees, but......' ... / '''Cloud:''' 'Tifa was in a coma for seven days. We all thought she wouldn't make it. If only I could've saved her... I was so angry... Angry at myself for my weakness. Ever since then, I felt Tifa blamed me... I got out of control... I'd get into fights not even caring who it was. That was the first time I heard about Sephiroth. If I got strong like Sephiroth, then everyone might... If I could just get stronger...... Then even Tifa would have to notice me......'}}</ref> In response, she requested if she were ever in danger, he would return to save her.<ref name="promise">{{cite video game |publisher=Sony |developer=Square |platform=PlayStation |date=1997-09-07 |title=Final Fantasy VII |quote='''Tifa:''' 'Hey, why don't we make a promise? Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind..... You come save me, all right?' / '''Cloud:''' 'What?' / '''Tifa:''' 'Whenever I"m in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once.' / '''Cloud:''' 'What?' / '''Tifa:''' 'Come on--! Promise me----!' / '''Cloud:''' 'All right.... I promise.'}}</ref> Years later, during Sephiroth's rampage in Nibelheim, Cloud rescued Tifa after she was wounded by Sephiroth. Tifa was taken to safety by her martial arts instructor and eventually arrived in [[Midgar]], meeting AVALANCHE's leader, [[Barret Wallace]]. She joined AVALANCHE to get revenge for the destruction of her home. Shortly before the beginning of ''Final Fantasy VII'', she encountered an incoherent Cloud at the city's train station and convinced him to work for Barret, to keep him close and watch over him.<ref>{{cite video game |publisher=Sony |developer=Square |platform=PlayStation |date=1997-09-07 |title=Final Fantasy VII |quote='''Tifa:''' '...it's really been a long time. Actually, it's been seven years. You got your wish and joined SOLDIER, quit after the Sephiroth incident, and now you're a mercenary... You told me a lot about what happened after you left Nibelheim... But... Something's wrong. I felt there was something strange about the things you talked about. All the things you didn't know that you should. And other things you shouldn't know that you did... I wanted to make sure... But then I heard... you were going far away... And I didn't want that... ...I didn't know what to do. So, I thought I needed more time. And that's why I told you about the AVALANCHE job.  I wanted to be with you, watch you.'}}</ref>

Her character changed significantly during development, with an early relationship chart depicting her as Sephiroth's sibling.<ref>{{cite book |title=Final Fantasy 25th Memorial Ultimania Vol. 2 |publisher=[[Square Enix|SE-Mooks]] |editor=[[Studio BentStuff]] |pages=12, 22 |date=January 2012 |isbn=9784757537705 |language=Japanese}}</ref> In preliminary drafts of ''Final Fantasy VII'', Tifa was a background character with a particular fondness for Cloud whose role in AVALANCHE was to provide support behind the scenes and to cheer everyone up after missions. She was supposed to have a large scar on her back caused by Cloud and partial amnesia from the incident when she had received it.<ref name="early">{{Cite book | year=2005 | editor=Studio BentStuff | title=Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω | language=ja | publisher=[[Square Enix]] | isbn=978-4-7575-1520-8 | page=518}}</ref> [[Masato Kato]], one of the event planners, proposed a scene in which she and Cloud had sex but it was replaced with a toned-down version by Kitase wherein a suggestive line is followed by a [[Fade (lighting)|fade to black]]. In an interview, Nojima stated that none of the staff thought the scene would become an issue at the time.<ref name="8-13"/> When developing the international edition of ''Final Fantasy VII'', an additional cutscene was added to showcase an enemy in the game, Ultima Weapon, and featured Tifa in it due to how popular her character had become.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Weekly Famitsu]] |issue=461 |title=Final Fantasy VII |pages=105–111 |date=1997-10-17}}</ref>