(screencap for the name use)
This is a long answer incoming.
The Leo in me says “no”, lol. But To be as objective as possible, I can understand why that would worry some cleriths. But let me remind everyone that there are two heroines in FFVI, and only one of them is the focus of a “love story” (i.e., Celes). So even if there are two heroines, it doesn’t mean both are equal or will be Cloud’s canon love interest. I made a thread on twitter (read here) about why Aerith’s heroine status is not the same as T*fa’s and basically, what I said there was that Aerith’s storyline is an integral part to the overall story, she is literally the focus of everything, from Jenova to Cloud. Compared to T*fa, who has a minor importance in *one* scene, and that’s being generous.
After giving up her life for the planet, it’s Aerith that saves the planet all by herself from the grave. No secondary/minor character does that. That is a story arc reserved for one kind of character... and that is the Hero or heroine role.
That's why Aerith is THE eternal heroine (Square’s words, not mine).
That said, if you look at what’s been going on with all the marketing lately, it’s been Aerith after Aerith, after Aerith as the main focus from Square Enix. The Famitsu issue where Nomura said that very statement looks like this:
T*fa’s screencap is there, sure. But it’s a random fit. She comes off like one of the battle bodies, no different than any of the times Cloud and Barret showed up alongside each other.
Only Aerith and Cloud have renders, only Cloud and Aerith are used in the interview section. Looking at these scans, you do not get the vibes that there are two heroines. It almost feels like Nomura *had* to say that to appease the T fans. At the most, T*fa comes off as secondary, the one reserved for the “nakama” section.
Then you look at the rest of the marketing (which I will begin tracking on its own timeline very soon). Just as an example:
“two heroines”, my butt. I’m not at all worried about Aerith being replaced as the heroine. T might get more screentime/fanservice stuff, but it’s not comparable to Aerith’s worth in the story.
NOW, as for the possible “CT shift” in the later parts. Right now, we could have 2 more parts where Aerith is still alive (3 in total). That’s literally years and years of Aerith/Clerith hype to look forward to. That’s a long enough time for Aerith and Clerith’s fanbase to grow, and it’s long enough for fans to realize that Aerith is the heroine so Square won’t even bother pushing the “two heroines” thing anymore. I mean, just like in 1997... nobody is gonna be thinking about anything other than Aerith’s final moments. Square knows this, they’re banking on it. So I’m not worried.
But let’s just say worst-case scenario happens and T*fa gets more focus, too. That really wouldn’t bother me at all. For starters, Aerith came first, T*fa would still be the secondary character. Secondly, there’s really not much of anything that T*fa does even in the later parts that puts her on the same “heroine” level as Aerith. Unless the devs are changing and adding a lot more content, just off the top of my head, T*fa’s “important” scenes after Aerith dies in the OG are:
Northern Crater where she’s seen lying to Cloud (I think this is more negative for T*fa’s heroine role, to be honest.)
The Junon execution mission with Barret and Co.
Then she leaves the groups side when they find Cloud in Mideel, leaving all the fun parts of the game to the other characters.
Then she’s literally doing nothing while in Cloud’s mind, she’s more of an observer in this part in order to atone for her own mistakes.
I could argue (and well at that) that T*fa’s only significant parts in the story are more important for her own self-growth rather than any significance to Cloud or the overall story. It’s about T*fa’s redemption as a character and for her actions towards Cloud. That’s why T*fa’s character even says in the original game that she didn’t do anything, it was Cloud who fixed himself. She just got to witness it. This is why I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to say this is T*fa’s “heroine” moment in the game (compared to Aerith’s sacrifice).
Then, after Cloud regains himself, T*fa quickly falls back to being no different than the other minor characters. And right after T*fa resumes her minor role, the game reminds players of Aerith’s significance in the story with the Cosmo Canyon and City of the Ancients scenes. And it’s Cloud of all people to remind the players just how important Aerith is.
Then, of course, we have the Highwind scene (which is variable and vague at best), I’m not sure this could be used as “heroine” proof, though. Romance, maybe, but not heroine status at all. Especially since the very next day, Aerith is back as the focus in not just the fight against Sephiroth, but in Cloud’s mind, as well; saying how he must unfreeze Aerith’s smile from Sephiroth’s grips if they’re to save the world and how he wants to find Aerith in the Promised Land. The devs used Cloud to remind the players that Aerith is the key to defeating Sephiroth as well as still a significant person to Cloud’ story.
At the end of the day, T*fa’s overall plot does not affect the core of the story at all, whether or not T*fa did what little she did do, Sephiroth was still going to successfully summon Meteor. Again, only Aerith could stop Sephiroth. No matter what T*fa did, whether in the Lifestream or under the Highwind, Aerith resume focus soon after, especially in Cloud’s heart.
This will be much harder for fans to ignore or miss when it’s all in HD graphics and fully voiced.
So I expect to see T*fa get her time to shine, she just won't shine as bright as Aerith. ♥
