Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion is a remastered release of the 2007 action RPG Crisis Core. It's a ‘prequel’ to 1997’s Final Fantasy 7 that tells the story of Zack Fair, a central figure in the mythos of the original game.

Crisis Core Reunion is the perfect place to get to know Zack Fair prior to his appearance in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Crisis Core contains many direct connections to the Final Fantasy 7 remake project as a whole, explaining to us the origins of characters and circumstances that shape the events of the original game’s narrative.

This article contains spoilers not just for Crisis Core and Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but for the original Final Fantasy 7 as well!

Zack Fair, SOLDIER

First and foremost, Crisis Core is the story of Zack Fair, an ambitious and loyal member of SOLDIER, the paramilitary group of the Shinra Electric Power Company. You’ll likely already know that Shinra is one of the central antagonistic forces of the series.

SOLDIER is the same elite organization that protagonist Cloud Strife claims to have once been part of. You may also know that Zack is the hero that Cloud has modelled himself on, taking Zack’s memories and experiences as his own as a result of extreme trauma and ‘mako poisoning’.

Who Are Genesis And Angeal?

Crisis Core focuses largely on SOLDIER’s struggles against a defecting member of the group, known as Genesis. During the first hours of the game, many elements of Final Fantasy 7’s universe are established.

At this point in the timeline, the primary villain of the original game, Sephiroth, is nothing more than a skilled member of SOLDIER. Zack himself is just a beginner, learning the ways of SOLDIER from his mentor, Angeal.

Angeal is also the original owner of the Buster Sword, the iconic weapon that eventually belongs to both Zack and Cloud. In the game, the sword comes to represent not only Angeal, but the value of having both dreams and honor — the two key principles that Angeal holds dear.

What Happens In Crisis Core Reunion?

Crisis Core deals with the nature of Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth as experimental hybrids of humans and alien DNA, something which gives them certain special abilities.

When Angeal learns of their origins as experimental beings, he briefly joins Genesis’ defection and begins sporting a single angel wing. They’re defeated by Zack shortly afterwards, and he is bequeathed the Buster Sword.

After Angeal’s demise, Zack is granted the rank of First Class SOLDIER and inherits Buster Sword. This is how we view the character in his few appearances in the original game.

The second half of Crisis Core continues to intersect with the original game and Remake in compelling ways. The Nibelheim flashback that explains Sephiroth’s turn to evil, and Zack and Cloud’s role in these events in the original game, is played out fully in Crisis Core,.

The events at Nibelheim will likely be revisited in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, so the perspective presented in Crisis Core may be crucial to a complete understanding.

Zack's Living Legacy, Explained

After protecting an inexperienced Cloud from Sephiroth’s sudden descent into chaos, and accidentally uncovering Shinra’s dubious human experiments, Zack is made an enemy of the corporation to which he once swore loyalty.

Hunted down by Shinra soldiers, Zack is killed. He passes on the Buster Sword — and his legacy — to a damaged Cloud.

This scene is also shown at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The ramifications of destroying the ‘arbiters of fate’ had a ripple effect on the past, altering Zack’s fate and showing us a version of events where Zack survives his supposed demise.