She's been through quite a lot and she's seen her father be murdered and her home town burnt down and massacred. She does rely on Cloud though a bit too much; almost like a young daughter too afraid to be apart from her mother. I wouldn't call Tifa weak as she's been through a massive traumatizing event, though there's stronger Final Fantasy females out there, that go through so much more and don't rely on the main male hero too much- Garnet, Rydia, Yuna, Terra, Celes, Ashe etc. Even Aerith didn't need Cloud for support; she flirted and fancied him and needed to be saved sometimes, but she didn't grab on to Cloud's arms per say.

I would put Tifa in the same box as Rinoa as they both rely on the main hero too much; and almost basically need to him to survive. As soon as Cloud went out of the picture due to mako poisoning, Tifa just couldn't cope anymore.

Tifa is big-breasted Rinoa imo; that gets away with bashing because of her sex appeal and physical strength. I don't hate these female characters but they are not the most independent girls and need their men far too much to help them stand.