Dream Smasher: Zack Fair (Guest Article)

This guest Dream Smasher was created by Mello (@abillionandtwo) on Twitter, and thanks to Cart Boy for help with edits.

Over the course of Super Smash Bros.’ lifespan, Nintendo and Square Enix’s relationship has come a long way. The biggest sign of this was the shocking debut of Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, before paying off in full in Smash Ultimate with the arrivals of the Hero from Dragon Quest, Cloud’s nemesis Sephiroth, and Kingdom Hearts’ Sora. Naturally, many have wondered what other franchises and characters from the Square vault could appear in the crossover, but today, I’m going to be honing even further into the world of Final Fantasy VII. It’s one of the most beloved RPGs in the history of gaming, so much so that it’s inspired an entire compilation of spin-offs that continue to explore the game’s rich world. In this article, we’ll be going over one such character: Cloud’s predecessor, Zack Fair from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

Who Is Zack Fair?

Though introduced in the original Final Fantasy VII, Zack Fair came into his own as the protagonist of Crisis Core, a direct prequel to Cloud’s story. Zack is a young man from the town of Gongaga who enlisted himself in the SOLDIER program for the Shinra Electric Power Company. This involved his body being infused with mako (a condensed version of the Lifestream, the energy source that powers the planet), and the cells of an extraterrestrial known as Jenova. Dreaming of becoming a hero, he is trained into a prestigious, 1st Class SOLDIER by his best friend Angeal, who soon betrays Shinra and joins the deserter Genesis. The truth is, however, that Angeal and Genesis left the corporation because they were infused with Jenova cells before they were even born, and as such, their cells are beginning to deteriorate. Thus, they seek a cure.

As Zack and his personal hero, Sephiroth, continue the search for Genesis and Angeal, he also meets several people, such as an unremarkable Shinra officer named Cloud, and a flower peddler named Aerith, both of whom he forms close bonds with. Zack and his comrades manage to track the traitors down, and while Genesis manages to escape, Zack is forced to deal the finishing blow to the spiraling Angeal, who, in death, gives his student his signature Buster Sword. Zack and Sephiroth’s search for Genesis takes them to the town of Nibelheim, where the latter learns that he was also a product of Shinra’s genetic tampering. He goes mad, and ultimately battles Zack. Though he manages to take Zack down, he’s then stopped by Cloud, who tagged along and takes Sephiroth by surprise. Afterwards, Zack and Cloud are kidnapped and experimented on by Shinra’s own Professor Hojo. When they wake up, years have passed, and Cloud’s been subjected to mako poisoning and cells from Sephiroth. Genesis is after Cloud to acquire the cells, believing they can cure him. Ultimately, Genesis is defeated, but Cloud and Zack are still on the run from Shinra troops looking to reclaim them. They manage to make it a fair way, but in the end, Zack is shot down by his former comrades. In his final moments, Zack gives Cloud the Buster Sword, professing that Cloud is now his living legacy. Finally, Zack follows Angeal into the afterlife, having finally become a hero.

Importance to Nintendo & Series

Final Fantasy VII is infamous for being the first game of the series to move away from Nintendo platforms and find a new home on Sony’s PlayStation, as the Nintendo 64 used cartridges that couldn’t hold as much data as discs. Though Final Fantasy continues to be a major seller on PlayStation platforms, older titles and spin-offs have found their way to other consoles, including Nintendo’s. For example, on the Switch, all Final Fantasy titles from the first to FFX-2 are playable as they were originally released, including VII. It’s also worth mentioning that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, a remaster of the original, was released on the Switch alongside the other major platforms. And of course, Final Fantasy doesn’t need to prove itself regarding Smash, as it already has two characters on its roster.

Zack, despite having only made minor appearances in the original FFVII, is immensely popular with fans. In “All Final Fantasy Big Vote,” a Japanese poll held in 2020, Zack ranked as the tenth most popular character in the entire franchise — higher than Sephiroth, the protagonists of FFXV, FFVI, FFVIII, FFV, and many more. Even in the Famitsu polls for Japanese fans’ favorite characters in Final Fantasy VII Remake, a game in which he seldom appears, he managed to make the top ten. Clearly, Zack is an icon of his series, and judging by his constant presence in promotional material alongside Cloud and Sephiroth, stands as his universe’s “third pillar.”

Colors & Design

Zack, by default, takes on his typical design from Crisis Core, proudly wearing his SOLDIER 1st Class uniform. And just like with Cloud, he wields the Buster Sword. Moreover, both existing FFVII reps have color swaps that are somewhat toned down in color saturation, so Zack will mostly follow this pattern.

His first two alternate colors are references to the other outfits SOLDIERs wear — black for 2nd class (which Zack dons in the beginning of Crisis Core), and red for 3rd class. In the original FFVII, 1st class SOLDIERs wore purple, and though this was altered for Crisis Core, Zack’s third alternate color is a reference to this classic uniform. The final two, rather than alluding to SOLDIER, invoke other Crisis Core characters. His fourth alternate color is orange, referencing Professor Hollander, an important villain who’s responsible for the creation of Genesis and Angeal. His final color in this outfit is a bright yellow. This isn’t a reference to a specific character, but many bosses in Crisis Core have a distinct gold motif, such as Angeal Penance, Bahamut Fury, and Minerva.

That being said, Cloud, Sephiroth, Hero, and Sora all have fully-realized alternate costumes, so Zack will receive some special attire of his own.

Like with Sephiroth, Zack’s rocking his own shirtless costume, perfect for a beach day. He wears black shorts with a yellow design, and instead of the Buster Sword, he wields a similarly sized beach umbrella. This design appears in Crisis Core when Zack meets Cissnei while on vacation in Costa del Sol and has to battle a surprise cluster of Genesis copies (it also appears in the mobile game Ever Crisis). This costume appears in Zack’s final two color slots. The sole recolor for this costume features a red umbrella and green shorts, a subtle reference to Cissnei’s bathing suit.

How Would He Play?

Zack’s stats and properties:

• Weight: ~ Cloud (100)
• Height: ~ Chrom
• Overall Speed: ~ Hero
  • Walk Speed: 0.98
  • Run Speed: 1.906
  • Air Speed: 1.113
• Jump Height: ~ Wolf (32.02)
• Multi-jumping? No
• Crawling? No
• Wall jumping? No

(A closer look at the stats)

Before getting into specifics, it’s important to state something up front. A common request from fans is for Zack to join Smash as an Echo Fighter for Cloud. This makes sense and all — Zack and Cloud both wield the same weapon and have similar builds and appearances, so they could easily be, in a way, the same character. However, for this article, we will be creating a moveset for Zack that is, despite some similarities, its own thing. In essence, think of him as the Isabelle to Cloud’s Villager — similar in basic build, but with his own set of abilities that make him very different.

At first glance, Zack might seem…honestly, kind of bad. He fights like Cloud, but he’s slower, heavier, and his attacks, while not weak, don’t really justify the downsides. Plus, it can be a bit tricky to kill with many of his specials. However, there’s a catch. In universe, Cloud is a hardened SOLDIER — he fights by the books, with finesse and skill. Zack, on the other hand, isn’t by the books at all. He can be unrefined, over the top, and a bit more rowdy and wild. So, as opposed to Cloud’s more proper playstyle, Zack will be a heavy swordfighter with a crazier game plan. To help lean into that, we’ll be giving him the Digital Mind Wave — more commonly known as the DMW.

The DMW is an important mechanic in Crisis Core, with much of the combat revolving around it. The same will be true with Zack’s playstyle here. For those who haven’t played his adventure, the DMW is basically a slot machine, spinning between three characters and three numbers. Depending on the result, combat could be flipped on its head — Zack could receive a variety of buffs, including leveled-up Materia, a special Limit Break, or one of many other boons (note that the Emotion Gauge, which dictates certain effects and could offer upgrades of its own, won’t be present here).

The DMW will be above Zack’s HUD at all times, constantly in play as he battles. Though he’ll start out with a bit of a disadvantage, with luck on his side, the battle could quickly turn in his favor. Like in his game of origin, the numbers will be limited to those between 1 and 7. As for the character slots, the same characters will feature as in Crisis Core — Angeal, Sephiroth, Tseng, Aerith, Cloud, and Cissnei. 

There’s a variety of conditions that could arise from combinations of numbers and characters. Here’s the full list of available effects:

As for the character slots, they only work when three of the same character are lined up in a row. When this happens, Zack obtains a single-use Limit Break that’s mapped to his down special. As expected, each character has their own Limit Break. Overall, they’re extremely powerful, possibly even more so than Cloud’s, but we’ll address them later.

Boxing Ring Title: “Hero of Gongaga”

Series Icon	Stock Icon (Courtesy of @TheyWhoRemain)	Kirby Hat

Move Type	Description
On-Screen Appearance	Zack drops from the sky, crashing down and holding his right palm to the ground before getting up to his feet, like with Cloud’s entrance.
Stance	Zack stands in place with his sword readied, jostling up and down to prepare for the fight.
Idle #1	Zack lifts his sword up a bit and looks to his left and right before resuming position.
Idle #2	Zack stretches downward, placing the sword flat next to his knees before lifting it back up into his stance posture.
Walk	Zack walks forward with one arm off his sword and swaying back and forth.
Dash & Run	Zack dashes forward with his Buster Sword tilted back and his free arm swaying faster than in his walk cycle.
Crouch	Zack kneels down toward the ground.
Jump	Zack crouches with his left palm to the ground, then leaps into the air.
Damage	When grounded, Zack flinches and stumbles back. If launched or airborne, he will instead tumble onto his back.
Shield	Zack crosses his left arm and holds his sword in front of his chest.
Dodge	Zack rolls forward, or backward — not much more to say.
Floor & Edge Attacks	When recovering from a fall, Zack will spin his blade in a circular motion, hitting to both sides. When climbing onto a platform from a ledge, Zack will slash forward on the ground.
Neutral Attack: Just Like Practice	Zack makes three slow slashes in a 1-2-3 pattern. First a diagonal slash, then a side slash, and finally an upward slash.
Forward Tilt: SOLDIER Strike	Zack slashes forward in a downward motion, hitting the ground with a powerful impact. Similar to Cloud’s forward tilt, but weightier.
Up Tilt: Soaring Meteor	Zack swipes his blade in an arc overhead. Similar to Cloud’s up tilt, but with less range. A great tool for hitting enemies overhead.
Down Tilt: Slide Kick	Zack slide kicks straight forward, similar to Cloud. It acts as a means of traversal, as well as a powerful attack for closing in on far-away opponents.
Dash Attack: Charge Blade	Zack charges forward and slashes his blade toward the ground. It isn’t as powerful as Cloud’s dash attack, but it has a larger radius.
Forward Smash: Heaven Launcher	Zack slashes forward in a circular arc, pushing him forward slightly with a wide-reaching attack that hits both in front and above.
Up Smash: Beast Piercer	Zack stabs his sword upward. Similar to Marth’s up smash, but with a larger hitbox and no piercing tip.
Down Smash: Ground Sweep	Zack spins his legs along on the ground, hitting anyone within a certain radius.
Neutral Aerial: Buster Whirl	Zack shoves his sword in a half-circle arc, striking nearby foes.
Forward Aerial: Aerial Outslash	Zack slashes sideways in front of himself, similar to his neutral aerial, but hitting harder and pushing him farther.
Back Aerial: Spin Slash	Zack spins backward with a slash, striking from behind himself with a surprise hit.
Up Aerial: Soaring Bicycle Kick	True to its name, Zack shoots out a bicycle kick that hits above himself. It has a tad more vertical range than his other aerials.
Down Aerial: Chocobo Stomp	Zack does a fast dropkick, propelling him downward at an angle. This acts the same as other dropkicks in the game (Min Min’s or Simon’s, for instance), though he does not bounce off of targets.
Grab: Heartbreaker	Zack takes a hand off his sword and grabs his target by the chest.
Pummel: SOLDIER Assault	Zack quickly smashes his fist against his victim’s face.
Forward Throw: SOLDIER Knockout	Zack finishes the pummel with a sucker punch to the face.
Back Throw: SOLDIER Somersault	Zack does a backflip before kicking his target away.
Up Throw: Hero’s Uppercut	Zack finishes the pummel with a powerful uppercut straight upward.
Down Throw: SOLDIER Stomp	Zack stomps his target into the ground before kicking them forward.
Neutral Special: Assault Twister	Zack spins around in a circular motion, slashing anyone to the left or right of himself. This functions similarly to Link’s spin attack, making it great out of shield, but it hits about three times, and does not travel upward when used in the air.
Side Special: Blast Wave	Zack charges up for about a split second before leaping and twirling his blade overhead for a powerful downward strike. This move is Zack’s most high-damaging normal special, but this comes at the cost of having almost no ability to launch. It also has the unique ability to deflect (but not reflect) incoming projectiles.
Up Special: Magic Jump	Zack leaps into the sky before dropping down with a powerful dropping slash. This technique’s basically identical to Ike’s up special, though faster and without a hitbox on the upward swing.
Down Special: Undying Guard	Zack assumes a guard stance, in which he is able to halve incoming damage. However, he cannot move, and is still susceptible to grabs.
Down Special (Sephiroth): Octaslash	Becomes usable when three Sephiroth portraits are matched on the DMW. When used, Zack will charge straight forward, and if he makes contact, will begin to rapidly slash at foes before landing one last downward strike. This can kill at higher percentages, though otherwise the final hit will often just slam them off the ground. This move also works in the air. While airborne, Zack’s straightforward path might make it hard to land, but if it does so, it leads to a meteor smash on the final hit. However, this move also leaves you in freefall afterwards, so it’s a risky option. If you are launched off the stage and cannot reach an opponent, you could also choose to save a stock by using the opening dash of the move to move horizontally and quickly reach the stage.
Down Special (Angeal): Assault Rush	Zack imbues himself with a green charge before dashing forward. If he makes contact, he will rapidly dash around enemies with a barrage of punches before charging at them with a final hit, creating a small explosion. This attack only really works on one opponent, making it not ideal for crowd control, but makes up for it in kill potential. The final explosion can easily guarantee a stock without foes even being at especially high percentages. Similarly to Octaslash, this move can be done in the air, and can also be used for horizontal recovery rather than strictly for offense. However, it does not have as long a travel distance as Octaslash, and the charge animation can slightly delay the dash.
Down Special (Tseng): Air Strike	Zack pulls out his phone and calls Tseng. Afterwards, a reticle appears on the screen that targets all opponents and bombards them with rockets. This may seem destructive, but it isn’t that hard to shield or dodge the barrage. However, if foes’ shields are already about to break, this move could easily shatter them. It can also be great as an edge guarding tool when the target is offstage. Naturally, the move can be used in the air, though there’s not much unique to it other than Zack’s descent briefly being slowed down.
Down Special (Cissnei): Lucky Stars	When this move is activated, Zack runs in place for a few seconds before being charged up with a green aura. This heals him by about 18%. Moreover, for the next twenty seconds, Zack’s attacks will sport greater damage and kill power.
Down Special (Aerith): Healing Wave	Zack clasps his hands together in prayer and is surrounded by a green light. He then heals 25%, and his defense is bolstered for about fifteen seconds.
Down Special (Cloud): Meteor Shots	If performed in the air, Zack will propel himself upward by firing down two powerful meteor shots. This functions similarly to Robin’s Elwind, working as a great vertical recovery option that also blasts those below him with explosive projectiles. When done grounded, he instead leaps upward before firing the meteors at a diagonal angle. Their power, along with their unusual trajectory, are sure to put pressure on anyone in their way.
Final Smash: Genesis Mode ~ Apocalypse	Three Genesis portraits appear on the DMW roulette for as long as Zack stores his Final Smash, keeping it from spinning until he uses the attack. When activated, Zack creates a large magic circle, and anyone who gets stuck in it will suffer a dramatic finisher. Zack floats into the air, accompanied by Genesis’s taunting voice, and casts fire and lightning magic at his victims. Afterwards, the circle shatters, launching the wounded fighters as Zack resumes the fight.
Up Taunt: Limit Breaker	Zack twirls his blade over his head before holding the hilt up to his face.
Side Taunt: Embrace Your Dreams	Zack picks up his blade, holds it to his forehead, and proclaims “Embrace your dreams!” He then thrusts it outward and returns to his battle stance.
Down Taunt: The SOLDIER Regiment	Zack breaks into three squats before getting back into position.
Victory Pose #1	Zack twirls his blade behind his back before posing with it. Similar to Cloud’s victory pose, though ending with a confident smirk.
Victory Pose #2	An exhausted Zack limps onto the screen, leaning against the Buster Sword as he gives a disheveled thumbs-up to the camera.
Victory Pose #3	Zack, worn out from the fight, collapses onto the ground with a smile on his face.
Victory Fanfare	It would make sense to just use the same victory theme as Cloud’s, but in the interest of calling back to Crisis Core, I instead think it’d be better to take the Kazuya approach by having the victory fanfare not be a jingle, but instead a signature narrator proclaiming the battle’s end.

Closing Thoughts

Zack Fair’s playstyle, as mentioned before, is meant to be similar to Cloud’s, but with a wild, spontaneous energy. And since Cloud’s become a fun Smash staple, the idea of including another spin on him has merit. I understand why many might be frustrated with the idea of Zack debuting as a unique fighter; after all, that would be a third character repping FFVII before other Square Enix properties — or even another Final Fantasy —  got a chance. However, I also think Zack’s extremely unique in what he could offer. I doubt Sakurai would add him before any of Square’s other frontrunners, but I do think it’s an interesting thought that was worth exploring. He would definitely make for an easier addition than most third parties, and be a really fitting and surprising complement to FFVII’s other fan-favorite fighters.

Credits

All footage of Final Fantasy VII and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII/Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII REUNION, are owned by Square Enix. ‘Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core – Intro Cinematic 8k’ is from Upscale on YouTube. ‘Genesis limit break “Apocalypse”’ is from ScottishFeller on YouTube. “Evolution of Cloud’s Moveset in Super Smash Bros. (2014-2018)” is from Madao Joestar on YouTube. “All cloud victory poses” is from YellowGamers on YouTube. “Healing Wave – Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion” is from Final Fantasy Wiki on YouTube. “Zack finds out that Angeal killed his Mother – Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 Reunion (4K)” is from Sirloin on YouTube.

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Hamada

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