Even after finishing FF7 Rebirth, you’re likely wondering if Zack dies or lives. His status is ambiguous at the start of the game, and his situation doesn’t get much better by the end. So, we’ll take a look at whether he’s alive or dead at the conclusion of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and what that might mean for the third game in the trilogy.
Does Zack die in FF7 Rebirth?
Yes, Zack dies quite a few times in FF7 Rebirth. Toward the end of the game, we see that he perishes when trying to rescue Biggs at the Sector 6 Reactor, and one or more versions of him might die in battle with Sephiroth. It’s also worth noting that he died before FF7 Remake even started in the prime universe and that there are likely many universes where his fate was to die on the outskirts of Midgar.
Does Zack live in FF7 Rebirth
On the flip side, at least one version of Zack is alive at the end of FF7 Rebirth. The Zack that fought alongside Cloud is returned to his reality. Unfortunately for him, the universes in which he survives are basically the worst-case scenario for the planet.
So far, we’ve seen that in any universe in which Zack survives, Avalanche are stopped before they leave Midgar, Aerith is injured and becomes comatose, and Cloud’s coma never ends. Unfortunately, Zack’s death triggers enough trauma in Cloud’s unconscious that he awakens and takes on aspects of Zack’s identity along with his Buster Sword.
If Cloud stays in a coma, he doesn’t fight alongside Avalanche, and they get killed or captured by Shinra. He also isn’t around to protect Aerith from Shinra and the Turks, and she’s seriously injured as a result. Without any opposition, Sephiroth and Jenova are free to breach the fabric between timelines, leading to the rift in the sky.
However, the Zack that fought with Cloud is now aware of Sephiroth’s goals and the multiverse. My theory is that his universe is the same that one Aerith Prime ends up in after her body is killed by Sephiroth and that the two will end up fighting together in the third game.
