What Is Zack and Cloud's Relationship In Final Fantasy VII?

One of the more confusing aspects of Final Fantasy VII was the connection between Cloud and the mysterious, at the time, character Zack Fair. Zack’s existence shook the very foundation of Final Fantasy VII’s narrative and led players to question everything they had played to this point. At the same time, Zack serves to add complexity to Cloud while providing a significant payoff to his character arc and development.

Zack initially played a small role in Final Fantasy VII. In fact, many of his flashback cutscenes weren’t in the original Japanese release of Final Fantasy VII. Since then, Zack has played a larger role in Final Fantasy VII by leading in his own prequel game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and even making an appearance in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth poised to revisit Zack and Cloud’s story, with new layers to boot, it makes sense to explore the history of these two friends.

How Did Cloud And Zack Meet?

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Cloud and Zack began on two very different paths. Cloud grew up in Nibelheim alongside Tifa Lockhart. Despite their close bond, Cloud was never welcomed in Tifa’s friend circle, making him a loner. Cloud’s father died when he was young and he was nearly alone in the world. After an accident on Mt. Nibel left Tifa comatose for a week, her father blamed Cloud. Cloud blamed himself as well. After learning of Sephiroth, Cloud dreamed of becoming a SOLDIER, a member of the elite military force run by the Shinra Electric Power Company, to become strong enough to protect Tifa and his desire for her to better notice him.

Zack, from Gongaga, shared a similar dream. Zack joined SOLDIER and managed to work his way to 2nd Class SOLDIER by the start of Crisis Core. There, he found himself under the wing of 1st Class SOLDIER Angeal Hewley. When a fellow 1st Class SOLDIER in Genesis Rhapsodos goes rogue, ultimately leading Angeal to do so as well, Zack journeys to uncover what happened to his mentor and his mentor’s close friend. In the process, achieving his goal of becoming a 1st Class SOLIDER.

Meanwhile, Cloud found himself a lowly Shinra infantryman, basically working as a grunt. Cloud disconnected himself from Tifa and the rest of Nibelheim out of embarrassment, shielding his face whenever a mission calls him to that location. During a mission to the frozen lands of Modeoheim, where there was a Mako Excavation Facility, Cloud met Zack. The two of them quickly became friends thanks to their shared upbringing as “country boys.” Cloud and Zack would partake in another mission in Judon to stave off an attack by Genesis.

Zack Saved Cloud’s Life Multiple Times

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Cloud and Zack once again found themselves in the same mission grouping in Nibelheim – Cloud’s home village. Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth embarked on a tour of Mt. Nibel’s Mako Reactor by their tour guide Tifa, who was unaware Cloud was among the Shinra envoys. In the reactor, Sephiroth discovers the truth about his existence, the remnants of Professor Hojo’s experiments, and the subject of Project Jenova: Jenova herself. Angry at Professor Hojo and humanity, Sephiroth burned down Nibelheim in what is referred to as the Nibelheim Incident.

Who is Jenova?

• An extraterrestrial being that crash-landed on Gaia.
• Jenova annihilated the Cetra, an ancient race of people who lived thousands of years prior.
• Jenova was rediscovered and experimented on by Shinra.
• Believing Jenova a Cetra, Shinra attempted to create human-Cetra hybrids in order to find the “promised land.”
• In turn, elite super-soldiers like Sephiroth were made instead.

Along with Zack, Cloud successfully stopped Sephiroth’s rampage after witnessing his mother’s death, plunging the villain into the Lifestream with the head of Jenova. However, Cloud and Zack were captured and became the subject of experimentation by Professor Hojo. Professor Hojo injected both Cloud and Zack with Jenova’s cells and overexposed both to Mako Energy. Professor Hojo wanted to test his Reunion Theory where he believed that those who contain Jenova’s cells would eventually succumb to the overwhelming desire to return to Jenova.

Zack managed to break free while saving Cloud as well. While Zack was able to resist the effect of the Mako Energy thanks to his background as a SOLDIER, Cloud didn’t fare as well, as he was in a vegetative state. Zack attempted to carry Cloud back to Midgar while also defeating Genesis as they went. Along the way, Zack told Cloud stories about his past. As the two neared the entranceway of Midgar, they were stopped by Shinra forces. Zack fought valiantly before eventually being overwhelmed. Shortly after, Cloud regained consciousness and comforted Zack in his final moments.

Cloud Tricked Himself Into Believing Zack’s Past Was His Own

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After their final encounter together, Cloud became delirious and found himself wandering Midgar’s Sector 7 Slums. There, he was found by Tifa, a member of the mercenary group Avalanche. Though she could sense something was off with Cloud’s memory, Tifa invited Cloud to join Avalanche. This led to the No. 1 Reactor bombing mission that kicked off Final Fantasy VII.

Between the Mako poisoning and the extreme trauma he received in part due to Zack’s emotional death, Cloud’s memories were in direct conflict with one another. Cloud unknowingly suppressed many of his memories and replaced them with Zack’s. While Cloud acknowledges he’s still Cloud, much of Zack’s history and persona replaces his own — namely, Zack’s rise to becoming a 1st Class SOLDIER and his involvement during the Nibelheim Incident. In many ways, Cloud became a sort of reincarnation of Zack.

When Cloud realized the truth of his memories and Zack’s existence, the shock overwhelmed him, reverting him back to a comatose state. Later, Tifa would save Cloud, paving the way for Cloud to accept who he is as well as his past while giving him the strength to lead his party to the final confrontation with Sephiroth.

Years later, when Sephiroth resurrected himself in the film Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Zack and Aerith reached out to Cloud from the Lifestream to aid him in his fight. This gave Cloud the will to overcome Sephiroth while finally giving him long-needed closure.

Final Fantasy VII

An evil and powerful corporation is slowly draining life from the planet in an effort to control the universe. However, a small rebellion, known as AVALANCHE, has vowed to put an end to this destructive plan. You take on the role of Cloud Strife, an ex-soldier of the evil Shinra corporation, who joins AVALANCHE as a selfish mercenary, but becomes much more involved in this mysterious epic of friendship, love, and the battle between good and evil.

Released

January 31, 1997

Genre(s)

Action RPG , JRPG

ESRB

Teen (T)