#I mean tbh I wouldn't be surprised if ALL the turks had different real names and the names they go by are just like shinra / turk names

[halchron]

you know I wonder if one day we'll eventually get confirmation on reno's real name. I mean probably not but I would love to know it

[lavellenchanted]

As an OG ff7 fan who had almost no opinion on Zack prior to retrilogy I appreciate your answer! It's been an odd fandom experience to see how into Zack everyone on here is when my only exposure to him was OG and like you said, there's not much there for him haha I think I feel a little bit of... bitterness towards his presence in retrilogy because of fandom (all of the issues you mentioned in your response in regards to "cloud is zack", recycled OG content in crisis core, people who thought cloud would die this time and be replaced by zack lmao, etc) so I enjoy reading a more nuanced opinion of how they've handled trying to fit him into the story with crisis core and now his role in the new trilogy. I'm hoping he will grow on me more in game 3 and I am curious to see what their plans are for him. It would be interesting to see him take part in the lifestream sequence since Cloud has already remembered him Your response also reminded me that I am very curious to learn more about Cissnei and would like to see her and Zack to reunite, even though I have never actually seen them interact haha I'm intrigued simply based on the interactions we had with Cissnei in rebirth

No worries! I completely understand what you mean - I definitely hate that part of the fandom essentially wants to replace Cloud's role as the protagonist with Zack, and that so much of Cloud's character and his relationships with whole party are undermined by the idea that almost every significant moment he has before the LS sequence is him "being Zack".

(Tbh I have issues with the way the fandom talks about "real" Cloud generally, as if he's some sort of split personality rather it being a more complicated issue of his own sense of self and an adopted persona as a trauma response but. Nuance has never been the FF7 fandom's strong suit.)

Crisis Core is, I think, an example of a prequel doing as much harm as good to an IP. It is essentially meant to give us some insight into Shinra's workings and into Sephiroth pre-FF7, and Zack is an interesting lens through which to tell that story that allows for the fleshing out of his character a little bit and some nice callbacks to the OG. But they wrote it without ever thinking they'd be doing something like Retrilogy and it's elevated Zack's character in a way in the fandom that I don't think they expected. So now they're trying to incorporate elements of it into Retrilogy but also retconning other aspects and it's all ... a bit of a mess.

I definitely think the LS sequence is going to play out in differently in P3, both because as you say Cloud has remembered Zack already and because a significant portion of it was already covered in Tifa's section in Gongaga. My theory at the moment is that Sephiroth is going to use the "truth" of Aerith's death to break Cloud alongside the assertion that he's degrading/a clone and that the LS will then cover three main points:

Fully pulling back the curtain on the fact that Cloud and Tifa weren't actually friends as children.

Cloud not being a SOLDIER and his and Zack's true roles in Nibelheim

What actually happened at the FC and the multiple worlds

And since omni!Aerith has been shown to be able to move Zack through the Lifestream into different worlds I wouldn't be surprised if he does turn up for the second two reveals - particularly the last, proving that there are multiple worlds.

But I think his main purpose will be to heal the Cloud of the Terrier World, so that he can save Aerith (or maybe so main timeline Cloud can shift into that body to save Aerith).

Zack and Cissnei have a really fun dynamic in Crisis Core - there's a compilation of all her cutscenes on YouTube if you wanna watch them without playing the whole game - but the upshot of it is Cissnei leaving the Turks and promising to look after Zack's family, and to tell him her real name one day, so I find it super interesting that she showed up in Gongaga in Rebirth and was shown to be keeping that promise and still waiting for Zack to come back. I will be very disappointed if they've done that and then don't reunite them.