Why Is Zack Fair Alive in FFVII Rebirth?

If you recently started FFVII Rebirth, one of the questions you may be asking yourself is, “why is Zack Fair alive in FFVII Rebirth?” This is a fair question to ask given Zack’s original situation in the series. Now, expect full spoilers ahead for everything up until the start of this second entry in the trilogy, but also an answer to your question.

Why Is Zack Fair Alive in FFVII Rebirth?

Once again, there are full spoilers ahead for games like FFVII, Remake, and Crisis Core ahead. With that in place, it is worth mentioning that in the original canon, Zack is very much in the grave. This happens in the climactic and emotional conclusion of his prequel PSP title. However, his fate seemingly changed with the events of Remake.

Remake appears to be a pseudo-sequel and remake at the same time. This is clear in how Sephiroth appears to remember losing in the original PS1 JRPG. The wild ending of the first in this trilogy features the party doing away with the shackles of fate. This allows some radically different events to happen, including Zack surviving his fateful encounter. This could even be due to him switching timelines, but regardless, he is alive.

Can You Play as Zack?

Since Zack Fair is alive in FFVII Rebirth, it begs the additional question of whether or not you can play as him. Once again, there are some spoilers ahead; this time for this specific JRPG. Yes, you can play as Zack in this second entry in the trilogy. In fact, he is the first character you play as in the entire game.

The story has an intriguing setup where in between certain chapters players switch to Zack’s perspective and see what he is up to. These are infrequent, of course, but it is possible to play as Zack Fair a few times throughout the adventure.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is available right now for PS5 and PC.