Zack, in the prime universe the player explores, is dead. When the Whisper Harbinger is destroyed at the end of Remake, a world free of fate is made and a timeline is created where Zack survives his confrontation with the Shinra Trooper squad. From that point on, the player experiences various Zack timelines and learns how each decision made by Zack fractures off into another timeline. With the apocalypse of world after world, Zack tries to comprehend the breaking of the multiverse and what can be done to stop it. A major difference between Cloud and Zack by the end Rebirth is their direction, which sets up the possibility of Zack being the true hero.
Cloud’s Relationship With His Party Is Faltering By The End Of FF7 Rebirth
Sephiroth’s Manipulation Is Stronger Than Ever
The original Final Fantasy 7 Cloud was manipulated by the Jenova cells in his body and forced the party to travel to the reunion in the Northern Crater. The Remake Cloud follows the same story beats but with the knowledge of the multiverse due to Sephiroth’s explanation. Even after battling Sephiroth alongside Aerith and Zack in a timeline limbo, his directive remains the same: find and stop Sephiroth. Even with enhanced knowledge, the pull of Jenova is even more powerful. Cloud’s singular ambition to stop Sephiroth is the mask to join the homecoming, even if he does not know it.
Sephiroth’s attempts to sever Cloud from his closest bonds have strained those relationships. Tifa Lockhart is the most at risk, with Sephiroth repeatedly trying to convince Cloud she is a fake, even pushing him to almost cut her down in Chapter 9 at Gongaga. Through the latter part of Rebirth, Cloud’s behavior becomes more and more single-minded and his consideration for his friends diminishes. Jenova’s tendrils have taken hold and a rift between Cloud’s party is apparent even in the last cutscene of the game. Tifa’s unease is sign enough that their close bond has cracked. Unlike Cloud, Zack struggles alone.
Zack Is Pivotal To The FF7 Remake Trilogy’s Fractured Timeline
Something Ensures A Version Of Zack Is Saved
Having the player briefly jump into Zack’s shoes and experience different timelines in Midgar is a way of showing how Sephiroth is systematically ensuring each world’s destruction. Each time Zack makes a choice, such as to find the cure for Cloud or help Biggs, a new timeline is created into a doomed world. Zack’s role in the fracturing time is vital due to the knowledge he maintains upon his death in one. Zack is gaining information about Sephiroth’s overall agenda through each timeline as a possible preparation to face him. He is able to do this because of the Light Whispers, who may be transferring his consciousness to each new Zack at the behest of Aerith Gainsborough.
Zack is fated to die, as many characters are. Zack’s will to survive makes him different. When others, such as Biggs, accept their fate and that destiny cannot be changed, Zack is the opposite. He believes that nothing is set in stone and possibility is the greatest gift of all, showing this in his monologue to Biggs just before the Avalanche member is shot. This heroic perspective is what helps him continue to push forward each time a new timeline is created through his actions. The Light Whispers would not be saving him pointlessly, pointing to the fact he may play a pivotal role in the final downfall of Sephiroth and Jenova.
Zack’s Goal In FF7 Remake Part 3 Is To Save The Multiverse
He Sees The Bigger Picture
The last scene of Zack in Rebirth has him sitting in Aerith’s church in Sector 5. He reflects on how the worlds are parting but also the possibility of them reconnecting. It is suspected that the church he is sitting in is actually within the multiverse limbo due to the bright white light seen in the windows. This would imply that the Zack seen at the end of the game is the prime Zack the players will follow in Remake Part 3, instead of jumping between numerous Zacks in their own timeline plots. This will help streamline his story into a linear thread that actively affects the prime timeline the majority of the game takes place in.
Zack has witnessed the end of various worlds, or at least the beginning of the end, so he is very aware of what is at stake. His perception of destiny is rebellious, allowing him to take a stand against the impending destruction of multiple Gaias even if he should already be dead, as shown by his resolve at the end of the game. The Zack storyline is so detached from the direction of Cloud and company going into Remake Part 3, it allows Square Enix to create a completely original journey for the character that could even see him coming to the prime timeline and ousting Cloud as the hero. Unlike Cloud, Zack’s heroic ambitions are untainted by Jenova.
Zack Versus Cloud Is A Battle Of Will
One Is Pulled Forward, The One Charges Forward
It would be quite the plot twist in FF7 Remake Part 3 to see Zack usurp the role of primary protagonist from Cloud. During their time suffering Hojo’s experiments in Nibelheim, Cloud succumbed to the Jenova cells implanted into his body. This traumatic event altered his memories of his life and began the long journey to the reunion, pulled forward by the Jenova cells wanting to unite. Zack resisted the insertion of the Jenova cells and retained control of his mind and body. He appeared as the ideal hero, saving Cloud and doing whatever was right at the time. He is not conflicted, but is resolute in his desire to do good.
Rebirth displays the heroic side of Zack and lets players experience his ideals firsthand. In the original, Zack is the hero who never was due to his death before the beginning of the game. Cloud would never have survived without Zack carrying him from Nibelhiem to Midgar and dying to protect him. With a new Zack focused on uniting the fracturing worlds together in the hope of sparing each worlds’ apocalyptic end, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 could see Zack barreling into the prime world with the Light Whispers’ aid to do what Cloud struggles to do – resist Sephiroth and guide the party to success.
Cloud is an extremely popular character and the poster child for Final Fantasy 7, so it is unlikely he will be replaced indefinitely. Zack’s popularity is also quite high, and Square Enix will most likely capitalize on that popularity by giving Zack an even more prominent role in Part 3. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth set the stage for Zack to steal the show as the hero of the planet alongside Aerith, giving him a focused mission in his last scene. The more Cloud falls into darkness, the more likely it is that Zack will bring the light.
