Final Fantasy 7 Remake May Be Hinting at a Bigger Role for [Spoiler]

As the final trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Remake comes out before the full release, fans can get the last few hints and details before jumping into Cloud's reimagined adventure. Even though the latest trailer was chock full of spoilers, there was a vague hint at the end of the video about a certain other character's return. Or rather, a much earlier entrance of a character pivotal to the original game's narrative payoff.

For any who've played the original game, Zack Fair showing up in the first episode of Final Fantasy 7 Remake is vastly different from the time frame he's revealed in the original game. Not only that, Zack's reveal was a surprising plot twist with tons of build up to it prior. Now it seems the FF7 Remake will be hinting at this major revelation much earlier this time.

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Zack's reveal in the original Final Fantasy 7 was set up to be a major narrative revelation, something players didn't expect to discover from Cloud's mysterious backstory. In the original game's first disc, the majority of what Final Fantasy 7 Remake's first episode will cover, Zack is not even physically shown. Aerith only mentions Zack once indirectly, during the scene where Cloud and her talk on the playground's slide. Now many are pointing to a certain scene at the end of the latest trailer as a tease for Zack's inclusion in Remake's first episode.

The trailer's finale ends (roughly around the 4:16 time mark above) with someone stepping into frame, wielding a Buster Sword. At first glance this obviously resembles Cloud, but upon further inspection viewers began to realize some key differences. There are some minute visual differences, like the boots and pants have different textures and coloration, but the biggest hint comes from the Buster Sword itself. Cloud sheathes the sword on his back with the blade facing up and left, but the trailer shows the sword facing down and right. Obviously not an overt reveal, but it's an unusually specific change made in the scene that would only be made on purpose. Many fans are taking this scene as a confirmation that Zack is making an appearance in Final Fantasy 7 Remake's first episode.

From what fans have seen so far, Final Fantasy 7 Remake intends to include many of the flashbacks from the game's story much earlier compared to the original. Trailers have already shown extended flashbacks of the Nibelheim incident and Aerith's origins, which aren't normally scenes revealed until after the Midgar portion of Final Fantasy 7. Although considering the restraints of crafting a full-length RPG from the Midgar section of Final Fantasy 7 that typically only runs about 7-8 hours of playtime, it does make sense to include some additional scenes for backstory.

Since the game's going to be sticking around Midgar much longer, many of the main party's backstories are being fleshed out early on. Assuming Final Fantasy 7 Remake is inferring Zack may make a more prominent appearance, he's likely going to be a large part of Aerith's backstory. Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Remake indirectly talks about Zack when she talks with Cloud for the first time. The dialogue in Remake's version of the scene is expanded, including Aerith making a direct comparison of Cloud to Zack. Assuming this is the first mention of Zack, we may be hearing more about the true SOLDIER soon after.

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Now this potentially presents a scenario where Zack is revealed to players much earlier in Final Fantasy 7 Remake compared to the original game. Obviously Zack's reveal in the original Final Fantasy 7 was a huge reveal for Cloud's backstory, revealing to the player the source of his psychosis and personality disorder. What's interesting about the original reveal of Zack is that none of the flashbacks inherently reference a different character taking Cloud's place in the Nibelheim incident. The game continuously infers that Cloud was the SOLDIER with Sephiroth during the Nibelheim incident, with only vague references to Zack's existence (let alone his actual identity).

When players learned Zack was actually the one who confronted Sephiroth, it was a genuinely surprising twist. Zack's presence being foreshadowed much earlier in Remake's story does make sense to veterans of Final Fantasy 7, but it could also cheapen Zack's purpose as a plot device. On one hand, an expanded focus on Zack's narrative importance is the perfect opportunity to incorporate the best aspects of Crisis Core into Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The only problem is revealing Zack much earlier in Final Fantasy 7 Remake's story could lessen the impact of his reveal, knowing Zack's existence is more important than it seems.

How Zack truly factors into Final Fantasy 7 Remake's story remains to be seen, but it appears this time Zack's place in the game's narrative is introduced much earlier. It'll be intriguing to see how this affects the payoff of Zack's identity later on in the remake's plot.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming to PS4 on April 10, 2020.

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