I know there's been complaints about there being too many individual threads about the FFVII Remake. However, I feel this thread was appropriate, since it deals with one of the big ongoing debates with folks right now as we continue to hypothesize about how Square will handle modernizing some of the admittedly outdated material from the original game.
I, personally, find the question of how Tifa should be represented in the Remake to be my biggest concern. As one of the most popular heroines in the entire series as well as one of the most recognizable in videogames, there are a lot of different interpretations about the character and how she should be handled in the Remake.
The reason it's a concern is because I've seen a good majority of people insist that "Her tits still need to be huge."
Moments like this could be chalked up to outdated 1997 CG tech, and should not be represented as "canon" about the character's actual figure. But years of fan-artists and commentators have stuck to their guns about...Tifa's guns, as if this was not only indisputable but also acceptable.
Which is why her redesign in Advent Children wound up as my favorite canonical look for the character:
There have been plenty of disputes about the shorter hair length and drabber clothing, and those are valid complaints. But the most important thing to appreciate her is the more realistic, more proportional figure; Nomura and his team didn't pander by giving her a comically large, endlessly jiggling bustline, and the character is frankly the sexiest she's ever been as a result. Seeing her move and act like a normal human being is far more appealing than having her flop around like an Anime character.
But since then, it feels like Square has been trying to back-peddle a bit and introduce more cheesecake for the fans. Her Dissidia depiction isn't nearly as bad as her original FMV model, but the breast physics and panty shots unfortunately make her stand out, especially as she is the only character in the game to feature the former. Her most recent artwork in G-Bike, again, still isn't as bad as she used to look:
But it's still a design that emphasizes her chest, as if going along with the notion that her endowments are iconic and should never be tampered with. This is especially worrying, as the majority of fan-art following the announcement of the Remake has been extremely NSFW as fans demonstrate their excitement about the character's assets over anything else.
For the record, I've got nothing against busty videogame characters. This isn't a demand that all female characters feature a mandatory cup-size, because that would be unrealistic and boring (cheesecake is still acceptable in certain contexts). But from a story and character standpoint, it feels like a pointless and often distracting abundance of fanservice regarding a character who we are supposed to take seriously as the (arguably) primary heroine of Final Fantasy VII.
And worse yet, it is entirely unnecessary: there's more porn of the character out there than real life pornstars. Square has no obligation whatsoever to pander to the horny fanbase; if they really want spank material for Tifa, it's easily available and consistently updated.
This is why I'm hoping that the team behind Remake are taking a page from Advent Children and working toward a balance in Tifa's design, rather than just pander to the more vocal part of their fanbase demanding more fanservice. It would especially be in their best interests now to go for a balance given the current push for more reasonably-dressed heroines in videogames. It would also be the only requirement to improve Tifa's character, as I along with many other people felt she was portrayed perfectly the first time around, displaying that she doesn't need to constantly be rescued by the male protagonist and can handle her own in a fight: Ask anyone what their all-time favorite Tifa moment is, and many will reference her fight scene in Advent Children:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k70IWHiXl18
This is the kind of pandering that I can get behind. Instead of stressing over how sexy Tifa should look, think of additional ways she can look cool. If the rumors are true that CyberConnect is developing Remake, there is a golden opportunity to create martial arts sequences that are fluid, beautiful and ass-kicking.
Which is why I absolutely love this recent fan-art rendition of Tifa:
If Nomura's team can copy even half of this look for the Remake, I would be immensely satisfied. Also, muscle tone on a girl? Super sexy.
And it's not like the original outfit needs to be replaced wholesale, either. Something like this official CG render would be just as acceptable:
Once again, there isn't an emphasis on making her chest stand out. The miniskirt is still not ideal for someone doing a lot of high kicks, but it wouldn't be the end of the world either because she still looks reasonably proportioned.
So what do you think? Should we be more vocal toward the Remake team about this? Again, if it's the AC group, we should be reasonably confident they'll come up with a balanced design.
Or they could totally go the Cindy route and remain tonally deaf to the whole debate. Again, this is my biggest concern going forward.
I, personally, find the question of how Tifa should be represented in the Remake to be my biggest concern. As one of the most popular heroines in the entire series as well as one of the most recognizable in videogames, there are a lot of different interpretations about the character and how she should be handled in the Remake.
The reason it's a concern is because I've seen a good majority of people insist that "Her tits still need to be huge."
Moments like this could be chalked up to outdated 1997 CG tech, and should not be represented as "canon" about the character's actual figure. But years of fan-artists and commentators have stuck to their guns about...Tifa's guns, as if this was not only indisputable but also acceptable.
Which is why her redesign in Advent Children wound up as my favorite canonical look for the character:
There have been plenty of disputes about the shorter hair length and drabber clothing, and those are valid complaints. But the most important thing to appreciate her is the more realistic, more proportional figure; Nomura and his team didn't pander by giving her a comically large, endlessly jiggling bustline, and the character is frankly the sexiest she's ever been as a result. Seeing her move and act like a normal human being is far more appealing than having her flop around like an Anime character.
But since then, it feels like Square has been trying to back-peddle a bit and introduce more cheesecake for the fans. Her Dissidia depiction isn't nearly as bad as her original FMV model, but the breast physics and panty shots unfortunately make her stand out, especially as she is the only character in the game to feature the former. Her most recent artwork in G-Bike, again, still isn't as bad as she used to look:
But it's still a design that emphasizes her chest, as if going along with the notion that her endowments are iconic and should never be tampered with. This is especially worrying, as the majority of fan-art following the announcement of the Remake has been extremely NSFW as fans demonstrate their excitement about the character's assets over anything else.
For the record, I've got nothing against busty videogame characters. This isn't a demand that all female characters feature a mandatory cup-size, because that would be unrealistic and boring (cheesecake is still acceptable in certain contexts). But from a story and character standpoint, it feels like a pointless and often distracting abundance of fanservice regarding a character who we are supposed to take seriously as the (arguably) primary heroine of Final Fantasy VII.
And worse yet, it is entirely unnecessary: there's more porn of the character out there than real life pornstars. Square has no obligation whatsoever to pander to the horny fanbase; if they really want spank material for Tifa, it's easily available and consistently updated.
This is why I'm hoping that the team behind Remake are taking a page from Advent Children and working toward a balance in Tifa's design, rather than just pander to the more vocal part of their fanbase demanding more fanservice. It would especially be in their best interests now to go for a balance given the current push for more reasonably-dressed heroines in videogames. It would also be the only requirement to improve Tifa's character, as I along with many other people felt she was portrayed perfectly the first time around, displaying that she doesn't need to constantly be rescued by the male protagonist and can handle her own in a fight: Ask anyone what their all-time favorite Tifa moment is, and many will reference her fight scene in Advent Children:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k70IWHiXl18
This is the kind of pandering that I can get behind. Instead of stressing over how sexy Tifa should look, think of additional ways she can look cool. If the rumors are true that CyberConnect is developing Remake, there is a golden opportunity to create martial arts sequences that are fluid, beautiful and ass-kicking.
Which is why I absolutely love this recent fan-art rendition of Tifa:
If Nomura's team can copy even half of this look for the Remake, I would be immensely satisfied. Also, muscle tone on a girl? Super sexy.
And it's not like the original outfit needs to be replaced wholesale, either. Something like this official CG render would be just as acceptable:
Once again, there isn't an emphasis on making her chest stand out. The miniskirt is still not ideal for someone doing a lot of high kicks, but it wouldn't be the end of the world either because she still looks reasonably proportioned.
So what do you think? Should we be more vocal toward the Remake team about this? Again, if it's the AC group, we should be reasonably confident they'll come up with a balanced design.
Or they could totally go the Cindy route and remain tonally deaf to the whole debate. Again, this is my biggest concern going forward.
))
