References to Zack #004

Location – Junon Fortress

Shortly after getting to Junon (pronounced JEW-NON) Fortress, the team is faced with a boss battle after a girl runs into the water to save a dolphin. During the stay over at the inn, Cloud has a flashback. I'll highlight Cloud's words in green. The conversation is as follows:

(Cloud and the others go to sleep. The screen is black.) 

"...That reminds me." 

"You again?"

 "...Who are you?" 

"...You'll find out soon. ......But more importantly, 5 years ago..." 

"5 Years ago... Nibelheim?" 

"When you went to Mt. Nibel then, Tifa was your guide, right?" 

"Yeah.... I was surprised." 

"But where was Tifa other than that?" 

"...I dunno." 

"It was a great place for you two to see each other again." "...You're right." "Why couldn't you see each other alone?" 

"...I don't know. I can't remember clearly..." 

"Why don't you try asking Tifa?" 

"...Yeah." 

"Then, get up!" 

"Hey wake up. Wake up, Cloud!" (The screen fades in to show Tifa standing in the room. Cloud gets out of bed.)

This is widely debated. It could be either Zack or Cloud's true self. If you search on the internet, you'll find people saying that it's Cloud. If we look at a plot analysis on IGN - they seem to think it's Zack. Don't forget, Crisis Core allowed us to see that Zack had visited Junon. The following paragraph from finalfantasy.wikia.com gives us more information about Zack's background in Junon (from Crisis Core on the PSP).


"Junon first appears in a flashback during Zack Fair's first mission with Sephiroth. In the Training Room on the 49th Floor of the Shinra Building, Sephiroth and his friends, Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos, sneak in and fight each other during their off time on a Virtual Reality System of the recently-completed Mako Cannon. Sephiroth and Genesis start a friendly duel, but it escalates to a deadly confrontation and the cannon is sliced to pieces during the battle. The fight is stopped by Angeal and the simulation program shuts down.

Junon as seen in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.

Later, Zack is required to go on a mission to Junon with a good number of troops, and a number of Turks lead by Tseng. Dr. Hollander is being held in a prison in the upper city of Junon for interrogation, when Genesis and the Genesis Copies invade. Zack is dispatched to retrieve Hollander and when he escapes, Zack chases after him across the city."

This is where things get VERY COMPLICATED. I'll do my best to explain. It's likely that Cloud knew about the virtual reality system that ShinRa used to train SOLDIER troops, so it's feasible that the voice inside Cloud's head is Zacks. In order to further prove Zack knew about Tifa, we have to find the connection between Zack and Tifa. 

When the group arrive in the town of Kalm, Cloud begins to tell the story of Sephiroth and how they went on "several missions" and became "friends" until one day, when they were sent on a mission, to look at old Mako Reactor in Nibelheim that had been "misfunctioning" and "creating brutal monsters". Cloud and Sephiroth were supposed to eliminate the source. Tifa turns out to be the tour guide for Sephiroth and Cloud - much to Cloud's surprise at the time.

It's interesting to note, that Cloud is actually wearing a ShinRa MP uniform. Cloud never made SOLDIER First Class, so he keeps his identity hidden from the people in Nibelheim. During Cloud's flashback, he sees his mother and she asks him about the uniform:

Cloud's Mother: "So is this a SOLDIER uniform?" 

Cloud: "......Mom, I...."

Tifa leads Cloud and Sephiroth to the Mako Reactor although she's not allowed in herself. Again, from FinalFantasyWikia:

At the reactor they find monsters created by over-exposure to Mako. Sephiroth finds a tank labeled "JENOVA"—the name of his "mother"—with the vaguely feminine form of an alien creature. Genesis appears and tells Sephiroth he was born out of Jenova Project S, Professor Hojo and Gast Faremis's side of the Jenova Project. Sephiroth cannot create copies of himself, and thus doesn't degrade. Genesis asks for Sephiroth's genetic material to help him cure his degradation, seeing as Sephiroth is the "perfect monster" created from the Jenova Project, but Sephiroth rebuffs his old friend. With his past in doubt and Genesis's words in question, Sephiroth descends into the Shinra Manor basement and reads Professor Gast Faremis's files on Project S of the Jenova Project.

in Final Fantasy VII, Cloud's flashback shows Sephiroth in the ShinRa basement, reading books until he finally learns of how he became to exist: "....an organism that was apparently dead, was found in a 2000 year old geological stratum." "Professor Gast named that organism, Jenova...". The Jenova Project was created by Professor Gast. 

Sephiroth refers to Professor Hojo as an inexperienced man assigned to take over the work of a great scientist." and says that "He (Hojo) was a walking mass of complexes." Sephiroth then says that Professor Gast was "the genius who created me". So what was the Jenova Project? Sephiroth says that "The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients..... no, the Cetra."

Wait a minute - how does all this relate to Zack. Sephiroth is driven to insanity by the knowledge of his existance and as a result of this, he goes on a rampage by first stabbing Tifa and killing her father and then torching Nibelheim, resulting in one of the most famous scenes from Final Fantasy VII.

The fire kills most of the population. In Crisis Core, we find that Zack pursues Sephiroth up the mountain to the reactor where Sephiroth tries to free his "mother" from her containment tank. Zack confronts Sephiroth but is defeated. Cloud arrives, furious over his mother's death and his childhood friend Tifa's grave injuries (FinalFantasy.Wikia.com).

Now for the confusing part. We find out much later in the game, that Cloud wasn't first class and never made it to SOLDIER. We also find out that Cloud didn't visit Nibelheim with Sephiroth - it was actually Zack. Therefore, Zack was the one who met Tifa when he went to Nibelheim on the mission to look at the Mako Reactor. GameFaq's message board has some information regarding this. Crisis Core shows the scene where Zack meets Tifa for the first time.

So why didn't Tifa say that Cloud was incorrect during the flashback scene in FF7? Had she lost some of her memory due to Sephiroth's attack on her? Who knows. But what is most important to understand is that Cloud is living as though he's Zack - he isn't - but Zack's stories are so vivid in Cloud's mind, that Cloud thinks he IS Zack. I told you this story was complex!

Side Note: You can enter Tifa's house and play her piano during the flashback in FF7:

For more information about the mysterious letter in Tifa's house, click here.