Zack Will be a Key Character for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Story, Director Says
The director of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth believes that Zack will be one of the key characters for the game's plot. The creator commented on the changes in the story.
Fans of Final Fantasy 7 from 1997 probably experienced quite a surprise when they realized that the Remake made many changes to the storyline. The game's director, Naoki Hamaguchi, appreciates these changes, which he expressed in an interview for Game Informer. The developer also announced that Zack will be a very important part of the story in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Note: there are minor spoilers in the text regarding Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Zack in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
People who have played Final Fantasy 7 from 1997 or Crisis Core, probably know what an important character for this universe is Zack Fair, the black-haired friend of Cloud. In Final Fantasy 7 Remake the so-called Whispers were introduced. Their addition to the game explained the plot changes, which, however, I will not write about to avoid major spoilers. There were also cutscenes with Zack, from which it appears that the story of this character may have turned out quite differently than in the original..
In an interview with Game Informer, the game's director, Naoki Hamaguchi, noted the importance of these changes to Remake and Rebirth. He claims that Zack will be a key character for the story in the latest adventure in the FF7 universe, and the changes will have the potential to make the game end differently than the players believe.
"If we trace the original and stay exactly loyal to it as is, I think that is lacking in the gaming experience itself. With elements like the Whispers or Zack – these new elements introduced in Remake or Rebirth – this really gives players the feeling that based on these, perhaps the ending is going to be different from what we know from the original and have that sort of wonder and anticipation building. The mystery building is something we truly wanted players to feel in Rebirth."
Later in the interview, Hamaguchi focused primarily on Zack himself.
"Through him, players will be able to experience and understand more of the Final Fantasy VII worldview and it will deepen their understanding of the Final Fantasy VII world. We have used the character Zack to depict the combined view of [story and scenario writer Kazushige Nojima, creative director Tetsuya Nomura, and producer Yoshinori Kitase] – the original creators – intents of how this world of Final Fantasy VII came to be and its policies and rules governing this world. This is going to be depicted through the character of Zack. As much as the Whispers within the story, Zack is an equally, immensely important, crucial, key character to this story that I believe fans will enjoy within Rebirth."
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will debut on PS5 on February 29. The release date for the PC release is not yet known.
