Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Director Talks Zack Fair and Vincent Valentine

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is poised to be a hum-dinger of a game when it launches next year. That’s because, regardless of how it actually lands with audiences and critics, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will be a AAA powerhouse, if the glitzy, expensive Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is any indication of its scale and scope.

Revelation is also likely to land with a bang for another, more emotional reason: it’s the conclusion of the Final Fantasy 7 remake saga, which kicked off more than six years ago with Final Fantasy 7 Remake. As such, it’s going to reveal the many lingering mysteries of the Final Fantasy 7 world, while hopefully delivering satisfying conclusions for characters that have enraptured a new generation of gamers in recent years.

On top of the likes of Cloud, Barrett, and Tifa, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation plans to add two new party members, Cid Highwind and Vincent Valentine, both of whom are fan favorites, with the latter even getting his own PlayStation 2 spin-off titled Final Fantasy 7 — Dirge of Cerberus. This puts him in the esteemed company of Zack Fair, who has also had his own FF7 spin-off. And according to Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi, they’ll both be getting their due in the Final Fantasy 7 remake conclusion.

Vincent and Zack’s Roles Will Be ‘Even Bigger’ in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation

In a recent discussion with GameRant, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi said this when asked about the influence the PSP game Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core had on the upcoming game:

“Zack is going to have an even bigger role this time around, not just in the story, but in terms of the overall game experience for the players as well.

This actually doesn’t just apply to Crisis Core, but also Dirge of Cerberus, the Vincent Valentine spin-off. These spin-off titles have quite a big impact on the remake series as a whole, since the concept of the remakes is to reimagine the entire world of FF7. So, in that sense, Revelation is going to have elements that tie into these two games, and even Advent Children.”

Setting aside the unprompted Advent Children name-drop, it’s clear that the two most popular single-player FF7 spin-offs are going to play into Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, albeit in a roundabout way. While it’s unlikely that the game will directly adapt major chunks of Crisis Core or Dirge of Cerberus (unless certain Final Fantasy 7 Revelation DLC theories turn out to be correct), it will continue to hone in on Zack and Vincent, thereby further fleshing out “the entire world of FF7,” as Hamaguchi put it.

Zack Fair’s Role in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation

Zack Fair was an accomplished First-Class SOLDIER, AKA an elite, genetically modified member of the Shinra Army. Despite his often happy-go-lucky attitude, he assumed a leadership role in the Army and served as something of a role model to many younger recruits, including Cloud Strife. Although the remake saga hasn’t fully played its hand with this character, keeping his true fate and relationship with Cloud ambiguous, those who’ve played the original FF7 can attest to his significance.

What’s Next for Zack Fair?

In the original Final Fantasy 7, Zack had almost no screen time and wasn’t playable, but he’s much more present in the remakes. He was even playable in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, so the fact that he will return in Revelation isn’t exactly shocking. By that same token, Hamaguchi’s statement about Zack’s role in “the overall game experience” as well as the narrative shouldn’t be surprising either. He’ll likely be playable once again.

But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be Zack-related surprises in store for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation players. Newcomers will learn exactly how important Zack is to the FF7 story, of course, but even series veterans could be in for some twists and turns. It’s undeniable that Zack’s role is more visible, complicated, and interactive in this rendition of FF7, so there’s a good chance that he’ll appear in unexpected or significantly altered contexts. We may even get to play through another recreation of his story, as it unfolded in Crisis Core.

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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.