Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion has been revealed, and it looks like it will be taking place in the same universe as Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion is set to release this winter, with the next part of FF7 Remake following it next winter. It only makes sense that the story of Zack Fair, whose legacy Cloud continues, is remade and released before the second section of Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, FF7, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, and Episode INTERmission.]
Crisis Core follows the story of Zack Fair, who is soon promoted to SOLDIER 1st class, and takes place before the events of Final Fantasy 7. Zack ends up embroiled in plots resulting from Shinra's experiments, beginning with being given the task to search for Genesis, a missing member of SOLDIER, and following into Sephiroth's budding madness. The trailer seems to follow a similar story to the original Crisis Core, but there's a strong possibility that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion will take a different path just like Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Square Enix has made some strategic choices in regards to the names and release dates of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth that fuel the belief that Crisis Core's remake will take part in the same universe as Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Both the trailer for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion and the trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth focus on Zack, and a bit on Sephiroth in the latter. Perhaps the most interesting reveal comes in the possibility that Crisis Core will have a different ending as it seems that Zack Fair might still be alive in FF7 Rebirth, just like Episode INTERmission implied.
Zack Was Made An Important Figure In FF7 Remake
Speculation that the second part of Final Fantasy 7 Remake could follow Crisis Core has turned into fact with the reveal that Crisis Core Reunion will be released a year before FF7 Rebirth. This is important because Zack has already been set up to be more prominent in the sequel - given the references and flashbacks to him in FF7 Remake and his big reveal in INTERmission. The developers have been more heavy-handed in alluding to Cloud's belief that he is Zack in comparison to the original game.
When Aerith and Cloud sit on the playground, she talks about how he reminds her of her first love and lists off how similar Cloud is to Zack. As she says Zack's name, Cloud's ears are ringing to the point that he can't hear it. The cutscene of Zack's final stand against Shinra is shown in the first part of the remake as well, but not his death. There was a lot of excitement to see what Square Enix would announce for Final Fantasy 7's 25th anniversary, and fans were certainly not disappointed to receive news about the new Final Fantasy 7 universe, and about Zack's potential fate within it.
Zack Will Survive Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion
It's not only likely that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion will take place in the same universe as FF7 Rebirth, but it's also looking likely that Zack will survive his last encounter with Shinra and be alive, possibly with a playable role, in Rebirth. In order for Zack to play a role and meet up with Cloud and Aerith in the sequel, he must survive his final stand against Shinra in this timeline. This isn't a far-fetched idea given that Zack survives in Episode INTERmission.
With Zack Fair's survival in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it adds in more possibilities for where the story of Rebirth will go - and what it means for Aerith's impending doom. It also adds more mystery to how destiny and fate work in the remake's universe. Some of the biggest hints toward Zack's survival actually come from the trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the lines that Aerith and Cloud say while Zack is on the screen.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Name And Release Date Are Important For Zack
Aerith's lines in the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth trailer are especially interesting. She says, "I'm trying so hard to find you." This is a huge hint toward Zack being alive because Aerith is an Ancient. If Zack was dead, she would likely know in the same way she knew that Elmyra's husband had died. Even the names of these remakes allude to Zack being alive. There are a lot of reunions that would take place, and it could be considered his rebirth after his death in the original timeline. Perhaps it even means both he and Aerith will survive on this new FF7 timeline.
It's unclear where Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth's story will end, but it's important for the fate of Zack that it won't be released until after the Crisis Core Reunion because part of the story will rely on whether or not Zack survives his final stand against Shinra at the end of the original Crisis Core. The ending of Final Fantasy 7 Remake seems to leave the party in an area similar to where Zack had his final stand. Meanwhile, Episode INTERmission ends with Zack at Aerith's church, where it seems that the plate has already fallen on the slums, leaving it unclear how or where Zack could meet up with the rest of the cast.
Zack being alive either in the current timeline or an alternate timeline is one of the biggest Final Fantasy 7 Remake spoilers, but it's also one of the most interesting in that it puts Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion in the same universe as Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The reinforcement of Zack Fair being alive in the trailers that have been revealed brings as much excitement as it does questions for fans. Square Enix has left the new timeline for Final Fantasy 7 shrouded in mystery, and it seems that it plans to add another dose of mystery this winter with Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion. However, for now, it appears that the game will indeed take place in FF7 Remake's universe.