Zack is coming back, as Square Enix announced during the Final Fantasy VII Anniversary Celebration that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is being remastered for PC and consoles as Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion. Crisis Core was originally released for the PlayStation Portable in 2007 and it remained on the handheld for years, despite being an important part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.
The 2007 spinoff Crisis Core is a prequel to FF7, following Zack Fair throughout the downfall of SOLDIER and Sephiroth's descent into madness. FF7 was a turn-based RPG that used a party of three characters, while Crisis Core was an action RPG starring a single character, making it feel more like a Kingdom Hearts title than the other Final Fantasy games of the era. The story featured new characters who weren't part of the original FF7, but would go on to appear in other entries in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. The most significant of these was Genesis Rhapsodos, a former member of SOLDIER who would make a surprise appearance in Dirge of Cerberus, where he had one of the last moments in the original FF7 timeline.
The story of Crisis Core is important to the new timeline in FF7 Remake, and modern fans will now be able to experience the story for themselves. The recent Crisis Core remaster leaks turned out to be true, as it was revealed during the Final Fantasy VII Anniversary Celebration that Crisis Core is being remastered for the PC and consoles as Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion. The game will feature upgraded HD visuals, but it doesn't appear to have any new content. The trailer for the game can be seen in a video on the official Final Fantasy YouTube channel.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion will contain HD visuals, with reworked FMV cutscenes, and updates to all of the 3D models in the game, in a similar manner to the Final Fantasy VIII Remaster. The game will feature new music arrangements, as well as full voiceovers. The visuals really are striking, considering that fans have only had access to the PSP version of the game up until this point, and the summon sequences are now incredible, as their quality suffered on Sony's old handheld hardware.
The story of Crisis Core has its polarizing moments, with many fans disliking Genesis' role in the story and how he was injected into Sephiroth's downfall, but the gameplay is a lot of fun, and it has one of the best endings in the Final Fantasy series. The FF7 Remake players who were unfamiliar with the original game or Crisis Core were likely confused by the Zack scenes, but they can now experience his story and learn the context of his appearance for themselves. The trailer for the newly-announced Final Fantasy VII Rebirth also suggests that Zack will have a much bigger role in the story going forward, so fans should take the time to learn about him in his original adventure.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion will be released for PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in winter 2022.
Source: Final Fantasy/YouTube