- —Tagline
Yang VS Tifa is the 54th episode of Death Battle, featuring Yang Xiao Long from the RWBY series and Tifa Lockhart from the Final Fantasy series in a battle between fistfighting heroines. Yang was voiced by Barbara Dunkelman and Tifa was voiced by Tia Ballard.
Interlude
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Boomstick: Punching: The most useful language in the world when words fail. And these two lovely ladies are fluent in it.
Wiz: Yang Xiao Long, the adventurous huntress from RWBY.
Boomstick: And Tifa Lockhart, the Final Fantasy heavy hitter with enormous... power. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Yang Xiao Long
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RWBY Episode 1 Score by Jeff Williams
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Wiz: The world of Remnant is... well, crazy. Vicious creatures called Grimm run wild, entire cities have gone to waste, and every single weapon, is also a gun. Even nunchucks!
Boomstick: Ooh, that sounds like Disneyland to me; the happiest, most gun-filled place on Earth.
Wiz: Luckily, the world is protected by the Huntsmen and Huntresses, an elite group of expertly-trained warriors.
Boomstick: And where else would you get the training to kill bloodthirsty monsters, than from high school?
Yang: Oh, I can't believe my baby sister's going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!
Ruby: Please stop...
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RWBY Episode 4 Score by Jeff Williams
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Wiz: After losing her mother to mysterious circumstances and being trained all her life by her hero-legend of an uncle, Yang Xiao Long was accepted into Beacon Academy.
Boomstick: It's kinda like Hogwarts, except replace wands and books with swords, sniper rifles, and giant transforming scythes. Man this place just keeps getting better and better. Seriously, I know where I'm gonna retire now.
Wiz: A natural fighter and thrill-seeker at heart, Yang fit right in and soon found herself a member of the color-coordinated team, RWBY, lead by her younger sister, Ruby.
Boomstick: Because that's not confusing at all.
Ruby: I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang.
Yang: I always kick my semesters off with a Yang! Eh? Guys? Am I right?
Yang is hit by an apple.
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Sacrifice by Jeff Williams & Casey Lee Williams
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Boomstick: Anyway, Yang's time at Beacon was well spent, and she became the master of punching all the things.
Wiz: See, while Yang's fellow teammates wield a scythe, a couple swords, some big guns, Yang's style of combat takes a more... direct approach.
Boomstick: Yeah she does, with her shotgun-gauntlets!
Wiz: Her two golden bracelets aren't just stylish; they extend to form a weapon called the Ember Celica.
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Red Like Roses Part II by John Williams & Casey Lee Williams
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Boomstick: With just a punch, the Ember Celica fires off a flash of kinetic energy, blasting a foe with an explosion of force and a beautiful sound.
Yang jumps into a Nevermore's mouth and repeatedly fires her blasts down its mouth.
Yang: I! Hope! You're! Hungry!
Boomstick: To top it off, the concussive blasts can fly several hundred feet! Yang is one of the few people I know who can punch a bird out of the sky. That's what ya get for crapping on my car.
Wiz: In addition, like most Huntresses, Yang can manifest her soul as an Aura. Aura can be used to block deadly attacks and heal minor wounds, and Yang's is no different.
Boomstick: But my favorite way she uses her Aura, is when she goes Super Saiyan.
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I Burn Remix by John Williams & Casey Lee Williams
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Wiz: Many Hunters and Huntresses possess a Semblance: A special power unique to them that makes Beacon Academy look a little more like the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.
Boomstick: Yang's Semblance absorbs damage from hits she takes, adding them to her own physical power. After taking just two attacks from a Mech Suit, she was strong enough to shatter the whole thing in one go.
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RWBY Episode 16 Score by John Williams
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Wiz: Unfortunately, her Semblance does not increase her Aura's defense, so she feels the full force of everything that hits her Aura and can only absorb power so long as she remains conscious.
Boomstick: Luckily, she's pretty tough. Yang survived a punch that easily smashed her through a concrete pillar. You know, the ones designed to hold up entire bridges.
Wiz: And during a food fight, remember this is high school, Yang was knocked up into the air and did not come down for about 100 seconds; more than enough time to reach terminal velocity. This means upon landing, she took an impact of nearly 50 tons of force!
Boomstick: And stood right back up like it was nothing! Ah, what a waste of good food.
Wiz: Despite this, Yang can only take so much. Her Aura has a limit, as does her short temper. Pushing both of these too far leaves her extremely vulnerable.
Boomstick: Like when this ice-cream lady knocked her out because Yang had been fighting monsters all day with no sleep.
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RWBY Episode 5 Score by John Williams
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Wiz: It's also worth noting that Yang is less adaptable when fighting against foes specializing in kicks.
Boomstick: Still, she's confident she's one of the best in her class, and dedicated to graduating Huntress School, so she can travel the world fighting everyone just for the thrill of it.
Yang is seen speeding across the top of a forest, shooting downwards to stay in the air and lands on a tree and jumps to the next one, finally landing on the ground.
Yang: Nailed it!
Tifa Lockhart
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Tifa's Theme by Nobuo Uematsu
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Wiz: Far to the west on the planet Gaia lies a small mountain village called Nibelheim. At first glance, this town appears calm and peaceful; not worth a second look.
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Those Chosen by the Planet by Nobuo Uematsu
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Boomstick: Until a sword wielding goth guy found his alien mother hidden inside. He celebrated with fireworks!
Wiz: After losing her parents and watching the madman Sephiroth burn her hometown to ashes, Tifa Lockhart joined AVALANCHE, a group dedicated to protecting the planet from ecological harm, and meteors.
Boomstick: Speaking of meteors, check out the size of the-
Wiz: Boomstick!
Boomstick: What? I was talking about the meteor.
Wiz: Sure you were.
Boomstick: Anyway, Tifa was thrust into the stereotypical gender-role of housekeeper by maintaining the hidden AVALANCHE homebase, 7th Heaven. But it wasn't all bad, because it also doubled as a bar!
Wiz: And she doubled as a bouncer.
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Fighting (Remastered) by sschafi1
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Boomstick: Now I've been thrown out of my fair share of bars, for totally illegitimate reasons, but not even I would urinate on the 7th Heaven jukebox with Tifa on guard.
Wiz: Smart choice, since she is a master of close-quarters combat; Tifa is a Feint Brawler, adept at surprising foes with quick powerful strikes, and as she traveled with her friend Cloud to save the planet, she learned seven legendary techniques, the Limit Breaks.
Boomstick: Accessing her inner-gambler, Tifa's Limit Breaks include rapid-fire punches, explosive throwdowns, and summoning dolphins who uppercut people?! Well, that's just awesome. And if she manages to throw all of them in order, she charges the last of her Limit Energy into one final, titanic punch: The Final Heaven.
Tifa uses Final Heaven on a Trickplay.
Boomstick: Fuck you, squirrel!
Wiz: Tifa is ready to throw down at a moment's notice, and even wears leather gloves everywhere she goes just in case a fight comes her way.
Boomstick: And if she decides to get really serious, Ms. Lockhart busts out her two round, beautiful, ultimate weapons.
Wiz: Don't you dare!
Boomstick: The Premium Heart!
Wiz: Oh. Well, the Premium Heart increases Tifa's striking power immensely, and continues to do so over time as she builds Limit Energy. However, they lose this increase after Tifa uses her Limit Breaks, and need time to charge back up.
Boomstick: Oh that sounds like it could be a problem, oh, if she didn't also have magic!
Wiz: In Final Fantasy VII, there's a wide variety of magical ability-granting gems called Materia. Any person can wield any Materia, and it's up to the game's actual player to decide who gets what, giving Tifa no standard Materia setup. However, thanks to the Dissidia fighting series, we know Tifa prefers to carry Fire and Ice Materia into battle.
Boomstick: These Fire and Ice Materia let Tifa conjure and wield fire and... ice.
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FF7 Staff Roll (Remastered) by Unknown
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Boomstick: Combine that with her freakish superhuman strength, and she's like an unstoppable powerhouse.
Wiz: Well, her immense power does come at a price: Her skills and speed and defense are somewhat lacking, making her something of a glass cannon. But to help make up for this, Tifa wears two armor pieces. She wears a ribbon on her arm in memory of her late friend Aerith-
Boomstick: *sniff* C'mon man, don't bring that up.
Wiz: ...Which protects her from negative effects like Poison and Paralysis. She also likely wears the Minerva Band to defend from fire and ice.
Boomstick: Glass cannon or not, her strength is ridiculous; she's strong enough to fight an embodiment of Sephiroth, and throw giant monsters around like nothing.
Wiz: And there was the time she helped throw Cloud through the air to reach the flying monster Bahamut SIN. After leaving Tifa's hand, you can see a mach cone form around Cloud, which means Tifa must've helped throw him with enough force to break the sound barrier.
Boomstick: Eh, Cloud's a lightweight, c'mon, how high can that be?
Wiz: Well, factoring in the weight of Cloud and his giant weapon-
Boomstick: Heh.
Wiz: ...He must have been thrown with up to 153 tons of force.
Boomstick: Well shit, talk about power! You don't want to mess with Tifa's strong, twin, firm-
Wiz: No...
Boomstick: Fists. Also, she's got a really nice rack, did I mention that yet?
Tifa: (while performing Final Heaven) Feels like you're flying, doesn't it?
Tifa is seen defeating Tidus.
Tifa: Ahh... all done.
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
Death Battle
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Gimme the Bass by ATB & Darude
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In 7th Heaven, Tifa is seen serving drinks at the bar while multiple people are dancing at the party. Yang walks up to the entrance where she encounters a bouncer.
Bouncer: Hold up! Let me see some ID.
Yang cracks her knuckles and knocks the bouncer through the doors. The people start panicking and leaving the area as Yang approaches the bar.
Yang: Hello! No need to panic people, I'm just looking for someone. I will take a Strawberry Sunrise though. No ice. Thanks!
Tifa leaps over the counter to confront the intruder.
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It's All About Me by Akemi Kimura
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Tifa: Sorry, miss, I think you better turn yourself around and look elsewhere.
Yang: So...
In response, Yang readies her Ember Celica and takes a fighting stance.
Yang: ...does this mean no Sunrise?
They both charge towards each other and unleash their first attack.
Tifa's kick collides with Yang's punch. Yang charges forward and tries getting Tifa with her gauntlets, but Tifa is able to counter and avoid her blows. Tifa charges a fire punch that blows Yang forward. She charges up her ice Materia and Yang sees the ice surrounding her. Tifa releases her ice projectile, and Yang dodges it. The two continue to exchange punches with each other.
Yang: Having fun? I sure am!
Their punches collide with fire charged.
Tifa: Don't mock me!
Tifa punches Yang forward and tries kicking her. Yang grabs her foot but Tifa kicks her down with the other leg. Yang charges forward using her shotgun gauntlets and punches Tifa down. Tifa gets up wear Yang gets the upper hand on her and punches her towards a mirror that shatters upon her impact. While on the mirror Tifa notices her Premium Heart behind the bar counter as Yang tries throwing a chair at her. Tifa grabs the Premium Heart and picks up the bar counter.
Tifa: Ok, brat, warm-up's over!
She tosses the counter at Yang, who manages to shoot the counter down into multiple pieces. Tifa equips the Premium Heart.
Tifa: I'm going to blow you out of the water!
She freezes Yang and then fire punches her.
Tifa: Take this!
Yang is knocked through the wall to another section of the bar.
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I Burn by Jeff Williams & Casey Lee Williams
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Tifa: Had enough?
The bleeding Yang stands up as her hair starts glowing and reloads her gauntlets with explosive shells.
Yang: Not even close.
Tifa starts firing multiple fire shots at Yang, who dodges them. Yang retaliates with multiple explosive bullets that Tifa avoids. Tifa tries launching an ice attack at Yang, prompting Yang to launch herself into the air with her gauntlets resulting in more close quarters combat. Tifa gets the upper hand by feinting, and slams Yang into the air and back down.
Tifa: You're going down!
As Yang gets up, Tifa prepares a large ice projectile.
Tifa: Don't move!
Tifa launches it forward and Yang punches it through and shatters it. The shards knock Tifa back and wound her, prompting her to use her Limit Breaks as the slot machine appears behind her.
Tifa: All right, let's see if you can keep up with this!
Tifa charges forward and uses Beat Rush and Water Kick, which is blocked by Yang. Yang staggers after Tifa performs Somersault, allowing her to use Meteodrive, Dolphin Blow, and Meteor Strike successfully.
Tifa: Here it goes!
She throws Yang onto the ground where she explodes.
Yang: Ugh, did I just explode?
A piece of Yang's hair came off and she sees it fall in front of her. Tifa unleashes her ultimate attack.
Tifa: Final Heaven!
Yang is engulfed in a large explosion as the hair piece hits the ground. She spreads the fire from the explosion away from her.
Tifa: What in the world?
Yang slams her fists together, activating her Semblance. She charges forward and shatters Tifa's Premium Heart. She unleashes several rounds and punches on Tifa.
Yang: Like that?!
She then gets Tifa in an armlock and unleashes her shotgun gauntlet one last time, using the recoil to snap Tifa's neck, killing her.
Yang: Nailed it.
She walks away as a poster for the Vytal Festival Tournament rolls down.
Tifa's body is absorbed into the Lifestream as Yang puts on her sunglasses and leaves.
Results
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Gold by Jeff Williams
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Boomstick: (sigh) Cross another potential wife off the list...
Wiz: Tifa was naturally stronger and more experienced than Yang, but Yang's Semblance quickly turned all of Tifa's power against her.
Boomstick: Even the Minerva Band, the best of Tifa's armor options to counter Yang's strength and shotgun blasts, was eventually overtaken by the Semblance.
Wiz: Plus, while Tifa could lift many creatures heavier than Cloud using her Limit Breaks, she never shows this kind of strength anywhere else, implying those powers are exclusive to those Limit Breaks instead of something she possesses naturally.
Boomstick: And even though Tifa's Premium Heart increased in power over time, they reset after her Limit Breaks while Yang's power kept on rising.
Wiz: However, Yang's real trump card was her Aura. Her Semblance would've been useless if she could not survive Tifa's attacks. Luckily, her Aura is durable enough to take a punch that shattered a concrete pillar about four feet wide, a feat that requires at least 1,400 tons of force.
Boomstick: That's the equivalent of having 360 jetliners fall on your face. Yang's power just pulled through in a snap.
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Yang Xiao Long.
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Yang and Tifa are that they are both heroines with fist-oriented fighting styles that utilize fire and wear gauntlets that increase their striking power (Ember Celica and the Premium Heart, respectively). In addition:
- Both are close to their series' big weapon-wielding main protagonists (Ruby Rose and Cloud Strife, respectively), joining their teams that protect their worlds from the forces of evil (Team RWBY and Avalanche, respectively).
- Both wanted retaliation against a sword-wielding madman who mentally hurt them (Adam Taurus and Sephiroth, respectively).
- Both possess unique means to defend themselves from attacks (Yang has her Aura, while Tifa can equip the Minerva Band and Ribbon).
- Monty Oum based most of Yang's combat abilities on Tifa's. They are also both cast members of his creations (RWBY and Dead Fantasy, respectively).
- This episode had to be taken down after release to fix an error. What the error was is currently unknown.
- This episode drew considerable negativity since its release, with many claiming that the episode was rigged and the victory was given to Yang because of ScrewAttack merging with Rooster Teeth. However, it has been stated by Rooster Teeth themselves that they had no interest in who won the fight. Ben Singer also said that they had not shown any bias in the fight and that their research had determined the victor. However, he did add that Rooster Teeth had requested RWBY Volume 3 be promoted in some manner during the battle, but maintained that this did not affect the outcome.[1]
- Years later, in the 234th episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast, in light of the Supernova and summon feats from Sephiroth and Cloud shown in Link VS Cloud (2021), Ben discusses how, with the current Death Battle ruleset, Tifa would surely win instead. As such, he talks about how this is one of the episodes from the first two seasons that he would question the outcome of.[2]
- On the 54th episode of the Members-exclusive Death Battle Revisited series where Ben and Chad revisit this episode, both of them stated that the outcome, while entertaining, is wrong. According to Ben, the team did not know how to properly analyze Final Fantasy characters at the time of making this episode, genuinely believing they had done the research correctly and that Yang would win based on it. However, both he and Chad admit they did it wrong back then and unanimously agree that Tifa would beat Yang without question.
- The controversial result of this episode was referenced in Deadpool VS Mask, in which Deadpool used the Continuity Gem to show a possible alternate outcome for this episode in which the roles of the winner and loser were reversed, alongside Link VS Cloud (2012), Rogue VS Wonder Woman, Goku VS Superman 2, and Gaara VS Toph.
- This is the last episode to be created before ScrewAttack partnered with Rooster Teeth.
- This is the second episode in which one or more of the combatants are voiced by their official voice actors (as Barbara Dunkelman reprises her role as Yang), after Iron Man VS Lex Luthor, and with the next 10 being Meta VS Carolina, Naruto VS Ichigo (unconfirmed), Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Ultron VS Sigma (unconfirmed), Weiss VS Mitsuru, Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki, Red VS Blue, Trunks VS Silver (unconfirmed), Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and Ruby VS Maka.
- Years after this episode's release, Brandon Yates would make a track for this matchup called "Burning Heaven" as part of his "What If?" commission tracks.
- This makes it the fourth episode to receive its own commission track after its release, after Master Chief VS Doomguy, Dante VS Bayonetta, and Kirby VS Majin Buu, and with the next five being Godzilla VS Gamera, Justin Bieber VS Rebecca Black, Tracer VS Scout, Mario VS Sonic (2011), and Mario VS Sonic (2018).
- This is the fourth one to be done by Brandon Yates, after Master Chief VS Doomguy, Dante VS Bayonetta, and Kirby VS Majin Buu, and with the next one being Justin Bieber VS Rebecca Black.
- This is the third episode with a commission track that features Therewolf Media as a guest artist, after Ruby VS Maka and Dante VS Bayonetta, and with the next one being Kratos VS Asura.
- Humorously, the episode's killing blow is featured on the TV seen in the upper-left corner of the track's cover art.
- This makes it the fourth episode to receive its own commission track after its release, after Master Chief VS Doomguy, Dante VS Bayonetta, and Kirby VS Majin Buu, and with the next five being Godzilla VS Gamera, Justin Bieber VS Rebecca Black, Tracer VS Scout, Mario VS Sonic (2011), and Mario VS Sonic (2018).
- As part of the Save Death Battle Kickstarter, any backers who pledged for any of the reward tiers could vote in a survey to decide a rematch to be made for Death Battle '25, with this episode having been one of the available options, though it ultimately lost to Master Chief VS Doomguy.
Easter Eggs
- Yang barging into a bar looking for someone and asking for a strawberry sunrise is reminiscent of the Yellow trailer for RWBY.
- The fight took place at Tifa's bar from Final Fantasy VII, 7th Heaven.
- The scene where Tifa lands on the mirror and shatters it is a reference to Tifa and Loz's fight in Advent Children, in which Tifa lands on a window in the exact same way.
- The bouncer was voiced by the animator of this episode, Torrian Crawford.
- The bar had a picture of the Rooster Teeth logo, the girl from David Guetta's "Shot Me Down" music video, and a poster for the Vytal Festival Tournament from RWBY.
- Like in Link VS Cloud (2012), Tifa's Limit Break attacks had bars that were labeled when she did the attacks, and the slot machine from the game also appeared.
- Yang's hair falling, as well her activating her Semblance shortly after, is a reference to how Yang will brutally retaliate (though not to the point of killing) against anyone who touches her hair (eg. Junior, Grimm).
- At the KO! screen, Yang puts on pixel-shades from the "Deal With It" meme. This is a reference to how Barbara Dunkelman, Yang's voice actor, owns the same pair in real life.
Other
- This is the sixth Females-themed episode, after Rogue VS Wonder Woman, Felicia VS Taokaka, Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui, Zelda VS Peach, and Ivy VS Orchid, and with the next 15 being Cammy VS Sonya, Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers, Android 18 VS Captain Marvel, Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, Weiss VS Mitsuru, Black Canary VS Sindel, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen, Blake VS Mikasa, Korra VS Storm, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna, Phoenix VS Raven, and Ruby Rose VS Maka Albarn.
- This is the first Web Series VS Video Games-themed episode, with the next one being Weiss VS Mitsuru.
- This is the first time the Web Series character wins.
- This is the first Square Enix VS Hitotsubashi-themed episode, with the next one being Ruby Rose VS Maka Albarn.
- This is the first time the Hitotsubashi character wins.
- WatchMojo.com ranked this episode at #5 on their "Top 10 Screw Attack: Death Battle Episodes" list.