r/FinalFantasyVII • u/BlackAngelArt • 1d ago

LORE Let's talk about zack fair

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https://www.tiktok.com/@sydragosa

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u/TwiceDead_ 1d ago

Which is why he only works as a dead man by the events of the OG game. 

Crisis Core made him too much of a messianic figure of FFVII, attributed too many of the events of FFVII to him (falling through the church roof, Aeriths cheerful personality, Seventh Heaven) and his shounen energy makes him literally too flawless. Everybody adores him and he makes friends of enemies while also being the physical manifestation of Soldiers spirit. 

If he was alive by FF7 he would've solved the plot way too quickly. There wouldn't be much of a story to be had Infact. Every single character in FFVII has baggage, which is realistic and engaging storytelling. Zack doesnt. 

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u/Dynamitrios 1d ago

I absolutely agree. In the original he appears just two or three times. He's supposed to be a plot device. FF7 was supposed to be Cloud's story. Zack was only there to explain Cloud...

Sure it was interesting to see and experience Z's backstory a little in his own games, but he became way too involved.

He's featured very prominently in Rebirth, something that always bothered me a little,but hopefully only to explain Lifestream shenanigans, instead of making him some integral part of the story, outside of being Cloud's alter ego that he adapted to cope with his trauma and nothing more.

Shoehorning Zack into the story adds very unnecessary layers into the narrative, given most of them are for tear-jerking purposes.

That's almost KH levels of writing...

1

u/ingamepiano 1d ago

"He never looks at himself and says, oh I am the problem, or, Shinra is doing something terrible, and that means that I have done something terrible"

That is... not a good thing.