Tyler[1] is a minor character first depicted in flashbacks in Final Fantasy VII, and later expanded on in Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts. He is a childhood friend of Tifa Lockhart's from Nibelheim, forming the group colloquially known as the "Four Fiends" with him, Tifa, Emilio, and Lester. Tyler's home was known for having the best cured meats in the village.
History[]
Tyler is one of five children around the same age in Nibelheim when growing up, including the Four Fiends and Cloud Strife. The Four Fiends, earning the moniker from the other villagers due to how inseparable they were, had been friends since they could walk. Though Cloud was invited to adventures with them, he would refuse and ignore them.[2] Tyler's home was known for having the best cured meats in the village, due to a family recpie that had been passed down for generations.[3]
The group comforting Tifa after her mother's passing.
When Thea Lockhart, Tifa's mother, died while Tifa was eight years old, Tyler and the others comforted her in their home, before then accompanying her up Mt. Nibel when she looked for her mother. Tyler and the boys and the others came to comfort her. The group accompanied her up Mt. Nibel when she went looking for her mother there. Tyler discouraged her from climbing, and Cloud eventually followed her, but Tifa and Cloud slipped down a rocky slope, resulting in an accident that put her in a coma.[4] Tyler and the others rushed down the trail calling for help, and told the village that Cloud had joined them and urged Tifa to carry on, a story Cloud never denied despite it being untrue.[5][note 1]
In their teenage years, Tyler and the others began to see Tifa as a potential romantic partner, showing off to her and inviting her out alone, to which she responded with vague silence (declining them, but being careful not to hurt feelings).[2] When Tifa's ankle was sprained, her father Brian Lockhart enlisted the group to help her on walks to help with the recovery. Tyler showed up to the group with his home-cured sandwiches, causing the boys to cheer and Tifa to smile. The group thereafter began a tradition of tea parties, as Tifa had suggested. During these, the boys talked about Midgar (based on hearsay, containing a mix of truths and misconceptions), and expressing hopes to one day move there by enlisting in the Shinra Electric Power Company, which made Tifa feel she had to compete with Midgar for their attention.[6]
On Tyler and Lester's final day, they were picked up by a Shinra helicopter, a special treat provided by the Shinra army in giving them the chance to leave their hometown in style. Tyler fumbled his words in his goodbye to Tifa and stood with eyes downcast, fidgeting uncertainly, though Tifa herself reached out her arms to hug him. A few of the village's younger girls also ran up to hug Tyler goodbye, causing Lester to watch with envy.[7]
Tyler, along with Lester, is not seen or heard from after leaving Nibelheim, leaving his fate unknown.
Notes[]
Annotations[]
- ↑ In "Searching for the You of That Day" in Final Fantasy VII, it is unclear which of the three boys is which; depending on which, Tyler could have been one of the two who went with her but cautioned her against proceeding, or could have been one of the ones who ran away early on in the trail.
Citations[]
- ↑ Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts § "Traces of Tifa"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts, p. 6
- ↑ Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts, p. 11
- ↑ Final Fantasy VII script § "Searching for the You of That Day"
- ↑ Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts, p62
- ↑ Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts, p. 10-13
- ↑ Final Fantasy VII Remake Trace of Two Pasts, p. 19