TheGamer’s article features commentary from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi, who explains that Cloud and Tifa’s kiss was deliberately crafted to surpass the Remake’s hug scene and demonstrate clear character development for Cloud.
There is a clear intention behind this scene. In the previous game, there is a scene where Cloud hugs Tifa in the final branching event scene towards the Shinra Building, but I wanted Cloud to grow in this game. So, if he hugged Tifa in the previous game, we talked about whether we should ask for more in this game. – Naoki Hamaguchi