Testuya Nomura Discusses Tifa Lockhart’s Redesign In The ‘Final Fantasy VII’ Remake

[UPDATE – JUNE 23] An updated, more complete translation regarding Nomura’s comments can be found here. There was not a conscious effort to reduce Tifa Lockhart’s chest size as originally reported, nor did Nomura even use that phrase.

Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII is a seminal game for this medium, and the upcoming remake of it has received a lot of attention. Among the changes the episodic remake is making is adjusting Tifa Lockhart’s design, the process of which is something director Testuya Nomura explained in a recent interview with Famitsu (with the translation courtesy of Digital Foundry’s John Linneman).

“It was necessary to restrict her chest,” Nomura said. According to the Final Fantasy veteran, his company’s ethics department requested the development team to “restrict” Tifa’s chest and emphasize her athletic qualities, such as her abs. Square Enix didn’t want Tifa to look “unnatural” during fighting sequences, which inspired an updated version of her iconic white tank top and black shorts.

Nomura also admitted during the interview that protagonist Cloud Strife‘s infamous Honey Bee Inn cross-dressing event will still be included in the remake, but, as with Tifa’s design, it will be modernized. The blocky 1997 iteration of the scene can be seen below:

The first part of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII remake will hit the PlayStation 4 on March 3, 2020.