Regardless of what the artistic group at Sq. Enix would have us suppose, Future and Destiny most likely nonetheless have a serious position to play in Closing Fantasy VII Rebirth and past. Though SOLDIER Zack Truthful appears to have escaped dying and joined the remainder of the solid in a brand new timeline, the most probably final result is a very totally different—however equally tragic—coincidence.
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Spoilers for the unique sport and FF7 Remake observe.
Within the unique Closing Fantasy VII timeline, Cloud and Zack are wounded by Sephiroth following what’s often known as “The Nibelheim Incident,” 5 years earlier than the occasions of the principle sport. The mad scientist Hojo kidnaps and experiments on them for 4 years, enhancing Cloud’s energy however scrambling his mind. After Zack breaks them out, they journey round for a couple of yr till Shinra catches as much as them on the outskirts of Midgar. Initially, Zack dies combating Shinra troopers, however as a result of the get together defeats the Whisper Harbinger on the finish of FF7 Remake, occasions up to now, current and future are altered.
Remake’s ending cutscene reveals that Zack survives the battle and helps Cloud make his means towards Midgar. It’s believable these occasions occur in an alternate timeline distinct from the brand new continuity. Nevertheless, it’s completely potential that when the get together entered the Singularity on the finish of Remake and destroyed the Whispers, they didn’t return to their unique world. As an alternative, they have been taken someplace totally different: a timeline created by the destruction of the Whispers wherein Zack is alive.
Producer Yoshinori Kitase has confirmed already that Zack performs a much bigger position in FF7 Rebirth than the unique sport.
“Inside the unique Closing Fantasy 7, Zack Truthful doesn’t seem as a lot,” Kitase informed IGN in a September 2023 interview. “As for Rebirth, there might be a brand new episode with Zack that can comprise much more of him than the Remake. I’m not in a position to say rather more than this as I would love for gamers to play and expertise this with it in their very own arms.”
How is all of this going to shake out precisely? Nicely, Rebirth Inventive Director Tetsuya Nomura confirmed on the official PlayStation weblog in September 2023 that the second a part of the trilogy ends on the Forgotten Capital, which is the place Sephiroth kills Aerith whereas she’s making an attempt to the White Materia to summon Holy.
“The longer term — even when it has been written — might be modified,” Aerith says within the June 2022 First Look Trailer for Rebirth. The unique timeline has already been “written,” so to talk, which is why the Whispers strove to protect this particular future. In different phrases, occasions can and may play out as they initially did apart from in cases the place characters make totally different decisions.
The Whispers will not be round anymore to make sure that every thing goes precisely in keeping with plan, but it surely’s all however sure that Aerith will nonetheless attempt to summon Holy herself and be threatened by Sephiroth. Assuming everyone exists in the identical continuity, what’s going to Zack be doing whereas Cloud and associates pursue Sephiroth? In all probability, after arriving on the Sector 5 Church within the post-credits scene of the Remake Intergrade INTERmission chapter starring Yuffie, he’ll attempt to observe Aerith down.
A fittingly tragic end result of all this could possibly be for Zack to lastly catch as much as Aerith on the finish of the sport within the Forgotten Capital simply in time to push her out of the best way and take the hit himself. The Whispers will not be round to make sure that Zack dies, however his continued existence within the timeline presents all kinds of cosmic continuity points. This could possibly be the proper tragic ending to Rebirth that conjures up Aerith and Cloud to proceed their mission to cease Sephiroth in a means that thematically echoes the unique with out getting too convoluted. On this style, Aerith may efficiently summon Holy to cease Meteor sooner than within the unique, however who is aware of what sort of repercussions all of this is able to have.
Is it honest for him to make the last word Zackrifice? In all probability not, however one thing about it feels becoming nonetheless.
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