Let's discuss Cloud's main love interest: Aerith or Tifa

[silentenigma]

They gave her a 20 point lead because otherwise Tifa would have led by 23 before you even met Aerith, to say nothing of Tifa's AV loop in ShinRa tower.
And again, the AV are irrelevant to Cloud. If they are anything but a game mechanic, they represent the opinion of the person towards Cloud, in a very limited sense.

While Tifa's AV loop can actually go either way (to either infinitely add or subtract from her score) I have reviewed the mechanics and you are right, it's pretty easy to rack up a high tifa score in the beginning. I took the 'average' point values for all the AV situations and they end up pretty even for Tifa and Aeris when the extra 20 points are added.

And you do misunderstand, this was not an interview or a compilation entry. It was the 20th Anniversay Ultimania, an overview of all the FF games of the past 20 years and their important characters and story elements. None of the additional compilation entries were included in the scenario section- though they were in the character section.

I know that the ultimania was just about the game, but due to the time of its release - and the fact that its character sections reference the compilation like you said - suggests that the scenario section could very well have been affected by the outlook of the compilation. After all, when put into perspective with the compilation (OtWtaS:CoT, Advent Children) the 'high affection' version is the only one that really makes any sense. It's logical that the ultimania, then, would reflect this.

... Outside of Nibelheim, WHAT RETCONS?

I'm glad you acknowledge Nibelheim, because while it may not be an issue for you, I have a big problem with how much it's been changed. And here's a quick list of just a few things from the compilation which retcon the original game or, in my opinion, undermine the original game in some way:

Crisis Core does most of the retconning:
(SPOILER)Cloud mimicking Zack due to his instruction to become Zack's "living legacy/proof of existence" rather than completely due to Jenova's cells taking advantage of his weaknesses.
Cloud being able to speek coherently BEFORE being found (and 'awakened') by Tifa on the streets of Midgar.
Cloud remaining hidden from Shinra troops, rather than the troops finding him and leaving him for dead.
Zack being the first to fall through the church roof in the slums, in the exact same spot as Cloud would later on. (Though there is no question the Cloud DID crash through the roof in FFVII unless we ignore the fact that he is found under the rubble and that he and Aeris suppose he survived because of it; Did the roof get fixed since Zack crashed through it? Who would fix an abandoned church in the slums? Are we to assume that there are two holes in the roof now?) I haven't played Crisis Core so I'm sure there are more.

Advent Children does most of the undermining:
(SPOILER)At the end of FFVII, when the party supposes that Sephiroth has been defeated, Cloud senses that there is remnant of him still present. He then fights an out-of-body battle to destroy all that is left of sephiroth, even in this abstract state of existence. There is no reason why there should still be remnants of Sephiroth floating in the lifestream, waiting for an opportunity to return to life and turn back into Sephiroth via Jenova.
Which brings me to Jenova: By the end of FFVII, all of Jenova's fragments (with the exception of cell extracts) had reunited, and Cloud & co. defeat "Jenova Absolute." By this time, there is no reason for Jenova as a specimen (or what they call its 'head') to still live on. But as revealed FFVII:AC, it turns out they actually didn't get the job done, with Jenova and with Sephiroth. So although it doesn't necessarily have 'retcons' in a proper sense, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children effectively wrecks a lot of what is accomplished and established in the original game.

And again, I can, and have, argued using MERELY the original game and materials released around that time, to elucidate the C/T conclusion.

What are the materials from around 1997 which you've used?

Lifestream sequence and Cloud's tender/precious and secret memories.

This can plausibly be argued not to have been the basis for a romantic relationship, but rather to have been an event which took place between close friends who shared a closely connected past. Cloud's subconscious kept these tender/precious memories (which concerned Tifa's mother's death, Cloud and Tifa's fall from Mt Nibel, and Tifa's coma) hidden mostly due to past embarrassment of being blamed for putting the girl he liked in danger, when he had actually been trying to help her, and the detrimental affect this event had on the remainder of his childhood. EDIT: And although they served as his true original motivation to become a SOLDIER - wanting to transcend the other boys and get Tifa to notice him - these feelings didn't carry over into his present state. They were only a catalyst, and Cloud completely forgets about this original motivation for most of the game. Only the young boy deep within his consciousness remembers it.

Hearts calling out to each other. Cloud's 'So much to say/ no clue what to/ Nothing's changed' and Tifa's 'words aren't the only way' in response.

This is, of course, the high affection version. In the low affection version, Cloud does not acknowledge calling out to Tifa's heart, and nothing physical takes place between the two that night. The high affection version, if i'm not mistaken, has been considered canon only since the 2007 Ultimania.

Cloud fighting for a very personal memory, in reference back to the lifestream sequence.

At the end of Disk 2:

What are we all fighting for? I want us to understand that. Save the planet...for the future of the planet...Sure, that's all fine. But really, is that really how it is? For me, this is a personal feud. I want to beat Sephiroth. And settle my past. Saving the planet just happens to be a part of that. I've been thinking. I think we are all fighting for ourselves. For ourselves...and that someone...something...whatever it is, that's important to us. That's what we're fighting for. That's why we keep up this battle for the planet.

Cloud is NOT fighting for his memories of Tifa.

The butt touch and the general closeness to each other during the ending.

The "butt touch," if i get what you're referring to, was more of a touch to the back of his leg above the knee, to help/'make sure' Cloud was able to climb all the way onto the ledge. Even if she was tenderly/erotically touching his ass there (which it doesn't appear that she was) it only shows Tifa's affection for Cloud, not his affection for her.

The fact that the Promise is a key aspect of Cloud's personality, that falling and failing to catch someone is a repeated theme from nearly the beginning of the game and truly from the start of his tale when he fails to catch Tifa and this arc is closed by him saving Tifa from falling.

Still does not indicate a romantic relationship.

Evasion noted.
Concession will be accepted in three additional posts where you do not provide examples.

I answered the way that I did because I was short on time and I did not expect that you folks do not believe there is ANYTHING that REMOTELY suggests that Cloud MIGHT HAVE HAD affection for Aeris. Now I'm not saying that any one instance of the following offers all the proof that CloudxAeris was intended to be canon in the original game. At the most I'm trying to convey that the game either leaves it as ambiguous OR gives Aeris a SLIGHT edge. Here's a few non-optional scenes to consider:

Cait Sith's prediction: Although he was wrong about the two living happily ever after together, the context surrounding the prediction has CloudxAeris overtones: Cloud agrees to pose with Aeris as the prediction is made; "Interrupted by Fireworks," a sentimental tune, starts playing as soon as Cait Sith comes upon his prediction; Tifa, if in the party, becomes fed up and turns away jealously. (Why would she react this way if there was absolutely no reason to believe there was something between Aeris and Cloud at the time?)
Cloud's dream of Aeris in the sleeping forest: AerisxCloud implications are made when Cloud and Aeris fall slowly together to the ground, and when Cloud tries to run after Aeris as if 'pursuing her' and not wanting her to leave. I will concur, however, that there may be many different interpretations of this scene.
The Ending: Aeris' and Cloud's souls (or whatever you want to call their out-of-body existences) reach out to each other before Cloud snaps back into reality and into his own body.

An answer from the Planet...the Promised Land...I think I can meet her...there.

Here Cloud is obviously expressing a personal desire to meet Aeris and says that she can be found in the Promised Land, which we all know is a very personal place/state of mind. Therefore by saying "I can meet her... there", he makes it clear that: 1) He's not too concerned with Tifa or the others meeting her, and 2) he's planning on meeting with Aeris in a way which the others cannot. Now Tifa, surprised and/or taken by what Cloud has just said, responds with "Yeah, let's go meet her." She, not Cloud, is the one to apply his statement to herself and the others, since after all, Aeris is missed by everyone. Although it is a sentimental line, it is not said with the same level of depth as Cloud's line is, and it really doesn't seem to be what Cloud has in mind--Because when you put it all into perspective, Cloud sees meeting Aeris as something which is a significant part of, if not wholly in itself, his personal Promised Land. Also, Tifa's reaction to Cloud's line (both in her line and in her facial expressions) can be interpreted a couple of different ways: Either she 1) is very touched by Cloud expressing the significance of the dear friend she recently lost, or 2) she is becoming aware of who is truly on Cloud's mind, accepts it, and resigns from her pursuit of him, or 3) Both.

Of much greater significance, however, is Cloud’s line from the ending of the game about meeting Aerith again. Until the Compilation of FFVII came along, this line was seen by many Cleriths as the clencher that Cloud preferred Aerith, and by many Clotis and neutrals as the line that left things just ambiguous enough.

Though I would have once argued otherwise, looking at things more objectively today, I have to agree that this line left matters in the original game more in favor of Aerith than of Tifa. Due to the existence of the newer Compilation materials, however, that no longer holds true in the wider scheme of things.

As a critic of the Compilation & materials, I agree with SoS, that the ending tips the scale slightly in the direction of Aeris when looking only at the original game. Aside from that, I think the game is pretty ambiguous on the matter. A lot depends on how much weight you place on certain aspects of the game, really.