Summary
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will deviate from the original game's storyline, with the late-game events of the first remake opening the door to a new future.
- The survival of Zack Fair, a significant character connected to Cloud and Aerith, will play a major role in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's narrative.
- The coexistence of Cloud and Zack in the game may result in the characters developing in entirely different ways.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will mark a departure from the legendary narrative of the original game. While the title acts as the second piece of a three-part remake, the late-game events of the first Final Fantasy 7 Remake saw Cloud and company defy fate's course and open the door to a very different future. By far the most sensational result of Remake's events was the miraculous survival of Zack Fair, who shares a deep and convoluted history with both Cloud and Aerith. In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the most important character likely isn't Cloud, as Zack's appearance at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade hints that the character's survival will feature heavily in the title's narrative.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will alter the 1997 original's narrative in a variety of ways. Final Fantasy 7 Remake ended with its team of protagonists defeating the Whisper Harbinger, an entity that intervenes when individuals try to alter destiny's course. The Harbinger's presence could be seen throughout Remake, as ghost-like whispers intervened at various major plot points. In defeating the Harbinger, the party opened a new timeline in which they can avoid the cataclysmic events of the original title, perhaps including the death of Aerith Gainsborough. The immediate and far-reaching impact of this victory was first made known through the survival of Zack Fair, Cloud Strife's best friend, and Aerith's first love.
Zack Fair is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Most Important Character
When Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is released, all eyes will be on Zack Fair, as he presents a paradoxical situation. Zack's death is among the most important moments in Final Fantasy, as it deeply impacts and motivates both Cloud and Aerith to partake in the journey to save Gaia. Due to Zack's sacrifice, Cloud is forever changed, becoming the mercenary-for-hire that players met early in the original and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. His survival and return to the Sector 5 Slums, as seen in Intergrade, opens the door for a much different future. Additionally, his survival has major implications for Cloud's pre-narrative arc, making Zack a far more important character moving forward.
Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core tells the story of Zack Fair and his early interactions with Cloud Strife, a rookie SOLDIER. Throughout the events of Crisis Core, Zack shares a profound emotional bond with Aerith. The memories of their time together go on to serve as a major motivator for his final heroic act: saving a comatose Cloud from the Shinra Army. Zack’s death and the inherent trauma of Crisis Core’s final act cause a delirious Cloud to combine Zack's memories with his own, before taking up Zack's Buster Sword. From that moment onward, he exists as an amalgamation of the two’s psyches, leading Cloud to meet and deeply bond with Aerith Gainsborough. However, Remake’s Aerith seems aware of this duality, as her Chapter 14 Resolution Scene sees the character inform Cloud that his love for her is not based on reality.
How Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Cloud and Zack Can Co-exist
As players learn in Crisis Core, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's version of Cloud could not exist without the heroic sacrifice of Zack Fair. However, a recent Rebirth trailer, shared at Summer Game Fest 2023, hints that the two will be featured among the title's main protagonists. Zack's survival is the product of Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Barret, and Red XIII entering a portal to defy fate, likely transporting them to an altered timeline. In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, fans may see the original timeline continue, albeit with a much different focus.
FF7 Rebirth's Summer Game Fest trailer shows what appears to be the dead bodies of Cloud and the party, seemingly left behind in the rubble when their true selves defied fate. This appears to align with Zack's first appearance post-survival, as Intergrade last saw the character return to the Sector 5 Slums Chapel, finding no sign of Aerith. Zack may be the narrative lead of Rebirth's original timeline, while Cloud ventures onward in the new timeline his actions have created. When Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is released in 2024, the two may be set on a collision course, as fate seeks to realign the course of history and reverse the fates of both Cloud and Zack.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will release in early 2024 on PS5.