It’s hard to believe it’s already been a week since The Game Awards wrapped up. It was a unique night for the gaming industry in more ways than one. We’re sure that one thing Geoff Keighley isn’t fully happy about is the set of controversies that intentionally or unintentionally popped up during the show and after it that are still being talked about by fans. One such controversy was that of Tekken 8, which not only won “Best Fighting Game,” which some felt was controversial due to the game’s antagonizing acts against the community via microtransactions, but the fact that it chose Clive Rosfield as its final Season 1 DLC character instead of Tifa Lockhart.
If you’re wondering, “Is this really a controversy?” the answer is an emphatic “YES!” Since before the game dropped, people had been asking for Tifa to be in the game, as they felt she would not only be the “perfect guest character” but would fit the gameplay style of the title perfectly. Yet, when The Game Awards dropped, it was Clive who was picked as the guest character and not Tifa, which made many fans very angry at Tekken 8…again.
Fast forward a few days and Katsuhiro Harada chatted with IGN about the inclusion of Clive and had this to say about his arrival and Tifa not being included:
“It’s not like we’re only limited to one character from Final Fantasy. It would be cool to have two, but it’s not something we can decide alone.”
Very curious words for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that later in that interview, he noted how they came up with guest characters to put into the series. Harada claimed that it was about fighting styles, the timing of certain games and events, and about the “brand” itself.
That makes it more confusing that Tifa wasn’t chosen. First, the second entry in the “Remake Saga” came out in 2024, versus Clive’s game, which came out in 2023. So, from a “marketing standpoint,” she was fresher on people’s minds. Second, while Clive has made waves within the community, thanks to Ben Starr’s portrayal of the character, Tifa has been around for decades and is one of the most iconic characters in the series’ history.
Not to mention, her fighting style in the game is much more akin to that of the other fighters in the game compared to Clive, who uses a sword and summons the Eikon inside of him.
Oh well, maybe next time…
