Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth shippers waited 27 years to see Cloud kiss Tifa, but the team only added it because they wanted "something more" than a hug

gamesradar.com:

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth tucks away a missable romantic moment that some fans have been waiting 27 years for, and the game's director has finally explained how it came about. Just be warned: there are some potential spoilers for the remake/sequel/requel ahead.

Almost three decades on, Final Fantasy 7's love triangle is almost as iconic as it is brutal since no one wants to pit the game's two main gals against one another. There's Aerith, the sweet and optimistic new friend who represents hope for the game's dying world, and by extension, Cloud's tortured past. And then there's Tifa, Cloud's childhood bestie - someone who knows what he's been through more than anyone, but still finds the strength to stand up to the capitalist machine that's hurt them both. 

Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth thankfully depicts Aerith and Tifa's loving friendship way more than the 1997 original ever did - giving more fuel to the right-side-of-history Aerith and Tifa shippers - but both games still tease the love triangle that bubbles to the surface in the sequel's Gold Saucer scene, in which Cloud goes on a 'date' with whichever party member the player bonded with the most. Barret might be the easiest companion to date, but if players instead focused on Tifa throughout the game, then the two eventually share a long-awaited kiss. 

When asked about the first explicitly romantic scene between the two in an interview at the PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 Japan Asia event, which has been shared by Game Watch (with translations from twitterer Genki), Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi explained that "yes, actually there was a clear intention behind it." In the remake trilogy's first part, there's a small scene where Cloud hugs Tifa. "So, when connecting Remake to Rebirth, we wanted to show growth in Cloud as well and the team discussed that if he hugged Tifa in the first game, wouldn't it be better to do something more than that in the second game, and that's how it ended up