Clive is the Wrong Final Fantasy Character for Tekken 8

Clive Rosfield was announced as the final DLC character for Tekken 8 Season 1. It’s kind of cool seeing the protagonist of Final Fantasy XVI going toe-to-toe with the likes of Jin Kazama. Even better, unlike fellow Final Fantasy guest character Noctis in Tekken 7, we’ll get to dress Clive up in the goofiest outfits possible, as with any other Tekken character.

There’s just one problem. He’s the wrong Final Fantasy character.

This is not a new reaction. When Noctis was announced for Tekken 7, there was widespread confusion. Why is this character, best known for using a sword, appearing in a series based around unarmed martial arts? Why don’t they put him in Soulcalibur? It’s the same criticism for Clive, as he also uses a sword as his primary weapon, although, admittedly, there isn’t an imminent Soulcalibur game to direct him towards this time.

Noctis already felt like a weird addition in Tekken 7. His move list was considerably shorter than most of the roster, likely due to how limited the options from Final Fantasy XV were. His sword also gave him a wider range than most of the cast, offset only by his linearity. He was both less fun to play as and less fun to play against, and simply didn’t fit Tekken.

Clive in Tekken 8 isn’t as sword-heavy as Noctis based on the gameplay that’s been shown off. However, he does still appear to have the same issue of a limited moveset. As much as I enjoyed Final Fantasy XVI, it didn’t live up to the promise of a real-time action game as much as I would have liked because of how few moves Clive had available to. This already appears to be a problem for his Tekken moveset, as it draws heavily from the powers of the various Eikons. These look flashy and exciting in a trailer, but much like his home game, I can see their presence becoming repetitive and limited in the long run. Once again, there’s a feeling that he simply won’t fit well with the rest of the roster.

To counter the “sword user” criticism, you might say, there is Yoshimitsu. He’s been in Tekken since day one, always cropping up on the roster brandishing his mystical katana. But that’s the thing. Yoshimitsu is the notorious weirdo of Tekken. He’s deliberately unconventional, a guy who not only brings a sword to a fist fight, but also becomes a human helicopter, throws out poison gas and arbitrarily kills himself. His whole deal is that he’s not normal and was designed to be part of this roster with that in mind.

If Tekken must have a Final Fantasy guest character, there are much more appropriate choices. The Monk class has been around since the original NES game, and they fight with their fists. Any monk would be a more ideal fit for a cast full of practitioners of karate, taekwondo and assorted wushu styles. Many prominent characters across the series have been part of this class too, such as Zell, the hyperactive hot dog lover from Final Fantasy VIII, or Sabin, Final Fantasy VI’s resident train suplexer. However, there is one Monk character who is more iconic than all of them: Tifa Lockhart.

In fact, she is arguably the most requested guest character by the Tekken community. Any cursory glance at discussions around potential guests for the series are often topped by two main requests: a Yakuza character and Tifa. Yakuza is often a more free-form request. While Kazama Kiryu is inevitably brought up, rumors that Ichiban Kasuga might be in the game were met with positive reaction. Goro Majima is also, unsurprisingly, another popular request. It helps that Yakuza’s brand of angry fighty men in increasingly absurd situations matches Tekken’s vibe so well that anyone fits.

However, there are never requests that state they want “a Final Fantasy character”. The requests are always specifically Tifa. This is why the presence of Clive has been met with anger at worst and confusion at best from the wider Tekken 8 community. Certainly, there are some who are happy with the choice and are willing to give Clive a chance, but overall, the reaction can be boiled down “we asked for Tifa though” and it’s hard to ignore that she would have been the better choice.

Tifa would be a perfect fit for Tekken. For a start, she has a fighting style that matches a fighting game in a more obvious way. While her martial arts style is officially undefined, her moves in Final Fantasy draw from a mixture of kickboxing and gymnastics. Tekken already has plenty of kickboxers in its history and the likes of Lili show off how well an acrobatic style fits. She wouldn’t be the first Tekken character to blend styles either. The Mishima style of karate is already a brutal deviation from the traditional style, after all, and it’s the signature style of the whole franchise.

Her move list feels like it could be filled with much more fitting options simply based on her home games. Her basic moves from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth alone could be broken down to fill out a good chunk of a notoriously large Tekken move list. Her basic combos (including those initiated from a dodge) already include a jab flurry, several roundhouse kicks, a lunging punch, a slide kick and an overhead flip kick. All standard for most Tekken kits.

But on top of that, most of her Abilities would help round out that list and still feel like natural martial arts moves instead of the flashy Eikon moves filling out Clive’s list. Unbridled Strength also gives her an automatic Heat Engager, which means Omnistrike and Rise and Fall could easily become her Heat-exclusive moves. In other words, she’s practically already built for a transition into Tekken 8. Throw in some Dissidia moves where possible and you’re all set.

On a personal level, Tifa has always been one of the more enjoyable characters to play as in any game she’s available. In the FF7 remakes, she’s always in my party when I can get away with it, simply because I love switching to her fast flurry style. She was also a favorite in Dissidia 012. I can guarantee that if she was in Tekken 8, I would be genuinely tempted away from Xiaoyu, my typical main. I can’t say I feel as easily tempted to play Clive.

There is, of course, another major reason she would be the better addition. Final Fantasy VII and its cast are iconic. Tifa is a character that would get so many people excited, simply because of the fond feelings people have for her home game. It’s a level of fame and adoration Clive and Final Fantasy XVI can only dream of. However, I feel this may also be the reason she didn’t get in. After all, the choice of Clive or Tifa would come down to Square Enix, not Bandai Namco. Once you’ve figured that out, the decision to pick Clive makes sense from Square Enix’s perspective.

Either character could easily tempt some Final Fantasy players to play Tekken 8, but there’s a sense that most Tekken players are already aware of and have played Final Fantasy VII and its remakes. But for Clive, there could be a higher chance of getting those players to try out Final Fantasy XVI. Bandai Namco wins Final Fantasy fans over to try their game either way, but Square Enix only wins Tekken 8 fans over to their side with Clive. Which is almost certainly why things went the way they did.

Of course, there is an easy compromise to all of this. Simply let Clive channel his voice actor and let him wear Tifa’s outfit. It’s the only way.

Tekken 8 is out now for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Clive Rosfield from Final Fantasy XVI will be added as a standalone DLC character on December 20, 2024.