Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Who is Zack Fair?

Zack Fair was revealed to be still alive at the end of the FF7 Remake, but who is this character and why is he back in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth? Spoilers below.

Fans of the original FF7 will remember Zack as a pivotal figure in the life of protagonist Cloud Strife. Before Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the earlier FF7 Remake, Zack was mostly just a figure from the series‘ back story. However, he was also the protagonist of Crisis Core: FF7, a prequel to the original PS1 game that explained his connection to Cloud, Aerith, and Sephiroth.

A shock twist at the end of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake showed that Zack was still alive in this parallel universe and the character is even more important in FF7 Rebirth. So here’s everything you need to know about Zack heading into Rebirth, charting the character’s story from Crisis Core and beyond.

Crisis Core: Who is Zack Fair?

Like Cloud, Zack Fair was a SOLDIER, a genetically enhanced warrior in the employ of the Shinra organization. While we won’t fully go over the whole story of Crisis Core here, we will say that Zack is placed into a unit with his mentor, Sephiroth, and the more fresh-faced Cloud Strife. The team goes on various missions for Shinra and Zack also becomes romantically involved with Aerith during this time.

During the story though, Zack, Cloud, and Sephiroth begin to uncover the truth about Shinra’s secret experiments on Jenova and each begins to turn against the company. However, they’re also needed to eliminate other threats, not only to Shinra, but the whole planet. Sephiroth goes insane from these revelations and commits mass murder in Nibelheim with Cloud’s mother and Tifa’s father counted among his victims.

Cloud defeats Sephiroth, seemingly killing him, but is heavily injured in the attempt. Shinra orders the death of all three to eliminate any blowback on them from the incident. Zack and Cloud are attacked and heavily outnumbered by a Shinra kill team and Cloud is too injured to fight. Zack defends Cloud and fights off the Shinra army singlehandedly but is fatally wounded while doing so, dying in Cloud’s arms.

Following these events, Cloud adopts aspects of Zack’s persona into his own, including wielding his buster sword, and becomes a mercenary for hire. He also suppresses his trauma including everything that happened with Nibelheim, Jenova, Sephiroth, and Zack until he’s forced to remember during Final Fantasy 7.

Remake continuity

In the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, everything that happened in Crisis Core is still canon but with one key difference – Zack survived his battle against Shinra and is still alive during the Remake’s events. This is revealed at the end of the FF7 Remake, significantly changing the timeline.

Where Zack was during the events of Remake will be explained during FF7 Rebirth as Zack is an important figure in the game’s story. The sequel also explains how this impacts the series moving forward and what it means for characters like Cloud and Aerith, who both have a deep and complicated relationship with Zack.

It’s also likely to cause a problem for the Whispers, or the Arbiters of Fate, who have committed themselves to ensuring that everyone who died in the original timeline also dies in this one.

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