Īs years passed, Emilio, Lester, and Tyler had a picnic with Tifa under the water tower, where they mentioned their desire to leave for Midgar for a better life, leading her to resent the city. Tifa had developed an admiration for Cloud, believing him to be something unreachable. Later, Claudia Strife brought the cat to Tifa's house, as Cloud had found it in the mountains, but was too embarassed to bring it himself. After spraining her ankle when Mal leapt from her arms and coming down with a fever, the entire village chased after the cat to no avail. Instead, Tifa grew a connection to a white cat she owned named Mal, gifted to her by the village chief. In their pre-teens, Tifa's friends began to view her differently, seeing her as a potential partner in life, though she would politely decline spending time with them alone. Her father found her severely injured, in a coma for seven days, and blamed Cloud for leading her to Mt. Instead, her friends turned back, and Tifa took a misstep on a rickety bridge Cloud tried to catch her, but they both fell. Nibel with a group of friends, and Cloud followed to protect her. Nibel, and that she could meet her again if she crossed the mountain. Coping with her trauma, Tifa came to believe her mother had gone to Mt. Thea died when Tifa was eight years old in 1995, leaving Tifa upset and confused, and causing her to grow apart from her friends. Though Cloud was separated by only a year in age, the two were not close.
As a child, she was outgoing, and played with friends named Emilio, Lester, and Tyler, each around the same age as her. Tifa was born May 3, 1987, in Nibelheim to Brian Lockhart and his wife Thea.
Tifa as a child talking to Cloud (top) and making him promise to her (bottom) in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Tifa has a similar role in Final Fantasy VII Remake as an agile close combat fighter making use of powerful techniques in battle, with a unique ability based on her Unbridled Strength chi level. In the original Final Fantasy VII, unlike other characters, her Limit abilities, each a different martial arts technique, are not selected from a list, rather, each ability can be used consecutively if the slots land on the "Yeah!" reel for the ability. Trained by Zangan, she uses martial arts skills to fight opponents up close, and equips knuckles as her weapons. In contrast to her shy personality, Tifa has a vigorous combat style, fighting with her fists. She also serves as the voice of reason grounding them to think things through and do the right thing. Tifa is reserved and empathic, acting as a motherly figure towards her allies when providing encouragement and emotional support.
She supports Cloud as his comrade and helps him and his allies fight Sephiroth. When she meets him again, she convinces him to join Avalanche to fight the Shinra Electric Power Company, whom she bears hatred for due to the destruction of their hometown. Tifa grew up with Cloud in Nibelheim, but lost contact with him years ago.
She is a friend of Cloud Strife, and a member of the resistance group Avalanche. She is the main protagonist of the novel Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts, and also plays a supportive role in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-, and Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII. Tifa Lockhart is a playable character in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake.