Final Fantasy 7 Remake is one of the most gorgeous games to have come out in recent years. With the release of Remake Intergrade and its newly added photo mode, the game's re-imagining of the original Final Fantasy 7 is finally able to be appreciated in all its splendor. Naturally, the new depictions of these characters call for cosplays, with @meggiicosplay and @gelnythecosplays taking a stab at (and totally nailing) Tifa Lockhart and Aerith Gainsborough.
Tifa and Aerith are fan-favorite characters from FF7, having appeared in nearly every entry of the FF7 story over the past 24 years. Before Remake, the last time either character had been featured meaningfully was Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, a PlayStation Portable game released in 2007, set before the events of the original game.
While the love for FF7 never truly dissipated in the time between Crisis Core and Remake, it certainly was not on the forefront of the gaming or cosplay communities. Remake, then, and now Remake: Intergrade on the PlayStation 5, with their beautiful depictions of the characters and world of the original game, have reestablished FF7 as a series looking to be cosplayed.
On @meggiicosplay's Instagram, she put out a two-picture post of her and @gelnythecosplays posing as Tifa and Aerith respectively. While the differences between Tifa and Aerith's character designs between FF7 and Remake are slight, the two are most certainly cosplaying their Remake appearances. For instance, Meggii is wearing Remake Tifa's red, fortified gauntlet on her left forearm and black stockings with her boots, instead of the original's simple gloves and black socks.
Although Meggii's post is commemorative and not specifically about her cosplay, the poses of her and Gelnythe echo the loving relationship of Tifa and Aerith as displayed in Remake. For the protagonist of FF7, Cloud Strife, both Tifa and Aerith are potential romances that the player can choose to follow. The player's choices to certain dialogue options, that usually involve what Cloud looks for in a woman, will ultimately determine what dresses Tifa and Aerith will wear during the infamous Wall Market Sequence during FF7. While one might predict there being some strife between the two ladies as the game continues over Cloud, they become quite fond of one another through their mutual banter with Cloud and desire to save the Planet.
What is most impressive about this cosplay is that both character portrayals are so spot-on. A single successful cosplay is impressive on its own, but featuring another equally successful cosplay further amplifies the spectacle of the final pictures, not even mentioning that Final Fantasy is hard franchise to cosplay to begin with. As more cosplayers come together, the line between game models and people dressing like them becomes fainter.