Now, it's been a while since I played, but I think that the Nibelheim incident was covered up by Shinra, and Tifa didn't even remember. Somehow, they erased people's memories of the events there.

I've been hiding it for some time, afraid that if I told you...something terrible might happen.
But, I'm not going to hide anything anymore

I pretty much agree with Cefca. Tifa was afraid that if she questioned Cloud's story, it would unbalance him further and perhaps cause a mental breakdown. He obviously already had a tenuous grip on reality, and she didn't want to make that even worse. Whether or not she made the right decision is debatable, of course, but she did what she thought was best.

Well, okay, it's been long for me, so answer this question. Did Tifa know Cloud when they were in Nibelheim? Because Cloud's memory of Zack was blocked out right, so he never mentioned him.

So she didn't know everything. And I don't think she knew that Right?

It looks like Cefca and Reod Dai have the right answer, and I think the game does clear it up sufficiently in the lifestream sequence.

I can add that FF7 and all the characters in it are written by Japanese people, and therefore the characters' behavior strongly tend to be what is natural for Japanese people. One of the most prominent features of Japanese culture is the value they give to holding your tongue. What I'm saying by this, is that they feel they're behaving properly when stopping themselves from speaking up when the topic at hand includes any conflict, even when what they could be saying is crucially important information that everyone should know.

Considering the conflict between Cloud's memory and reality, I'd say Tifa is following this custom. So if we consider all of the info. about what happened in Nibelheim and say, "I understand Tifa's reason for holding her tongue, but it doesn't seem natural," then what annoys FinalFantasyAoibh is best explained with cultural differences between Japan and Western countries.

Does that make sense?

So yes it was traumatic, she probably didn�t remember. Thanks for that point Perigryn. But she did remember it being burned down. When the party arrives in Nibelheim for the first time Cloud and Tifa are both shocked to see it rebuilt.

So she didn't know everything. And I don't think she knew that Right?

You're right to say she didn't know it, but then again I think she



I also think it's supposed to be clear that she's half conscious when she says it, and so doesn't retain the memory.

As for FinalFantasyAoibh, thanks for considering my view on it.

In VII I don't think Tifa says anything during the actual event, it's when she's watching it in the Lifestream she says something along the lines of "you kept your promise" or "you did keep your promise".

And yeah, I don't think there was any memory erasing by Shinra.  I think the overall impression of Shinra we should  get is that they weren't really scared about what the little civilians knew, and that it was more or less too huge to operate wisely or shrewdly.

Tifa is confused. She's frightened. She says so to Barrett after the destruction of the Sector 7 slums. She's conflicted. She can't make up her mind.

She is afraid of what will happen if she calls Cloud out on what she knows is BS. She is so freaked out and broken inside that she simply freezes up.

Later, in the Lifestream, before she finds Cloud's soul, Tifa's soul is examined.

She feels guilty. She doesn't like resorting to terrorist tactics to fight the Shinra, and she feels very bad for having caused the deaths of people in Midgar.

Tifa's redemption is not as closely examined as Cloud's, but it is a key element to the story. How Tifa got her groove back, if you will.