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Zack Fair

From The Codex
Zack Fair
Final Fantasy VII

“ So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn’t give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honor as SOLDIER. „
~ Zack Fair to Cloud Strife

Background

Zack Fair is a main protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, and the best friend of the lead character, Cloud Strife. Serving as a SOLDIER 1st Class, Zack went from loyal Shinra warrior to a fugitive on the run, as he attempted to get back to his girlfriend, Aerith Gainsborough. His immeasurable honor and optimism echoes throughout the entire chronology of games, serving as a guiding light to Cloud.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Zack’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Ever since he was a young boy from the town of Gongaga, Zack looked up to the Shinra Power Electric Company’s SOLDIER program, and dreamt of becoming a SOLDIER 1st Class. This dream was so prevalent in Zack’s mind, that at 13 years old, he left for Midgar without even notifying his parents.

Zack was quickly enlisted into the Shinra infantry, in which he served for nearly three years. However, once he reached the age of 16, Zack was promoted into SOLDIER as a 2nd Class, and was taken under the personal tutelage of 1st Class SOLDIER, Angeal Hewley. Angeal taught Zack the importance of sticking to his dream, and always maintaining his honor.

Eventually, both Angeal and Zack were sent off to deal with Shinra’s war on Wutai, specifically Fort Tamblin. The two SOLDIERs infiltrate the fort and bring it to its knees, finally ending the Wutai conflict; however, much to Zack’s surprise, Angeal had suddenly disappeared. The legendary SOLDIER, Sephiroth, arrived on the scene and deduced that Angeal had betrayed them, joining his friend Genesis to rebel against Shinra.

Zack’s efforts would then be shifted onto dealing with the Genesis conflict, which eventually even got him promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class in Angeal’s place. His quest would lead him to the Sector 5 Slums, where he refused to fight against Angeal. As a result, Angeal attacked Zack, and sent him plummeting to the slums below.

The young SOLDIER woke up in a small, broken down church, where he met a young snappy girl named Aerith Gainsborough. Zack and Aerith would hit it off immediately, and soon form a relationship together. However, duty would continuously pull Zack away from Aerith, as the war against Genesis raged on.

Appearing in Modeoheim for a mission, Zack made friends with one of the infantrymen stationed with him, Cloud Strife. The two infiltrated Modeoheim and finally confronted Angeal once and for all, who transformed into a monster to force Zack to fight. Zack struck down his mentor, and held him in his arms as he died. Angeal, with his dying breath, entrusted his honor and dreams onto Zack in the form of his sword, the Buster Sword.

For the next two years, Zack would continue on as the only SOLDIER 1st Class remaining loyal to Shinra. Zack’s relationship with Aerith was going on strong, although he would soon be pulled away on a mission alongside Cloud and Sephiroth to the Mako Reactor in Nibelheim.

With Sephiroth suddenly going rogue and slaughtering the entire town of Nibelheim, Zack was forced to confront him within the Mako Reactor. Feeling caught off guard and betrayed, Zack was defeated by Sephiroth after a brief scuffle, and knocked unable to fight. However, Cloud stepped up and caught Sephiroth off guard, seemingly killing him.

Both Cloud and Zack were knocked unconscious and retrieved by the evil scientist, Professor Hojo, who experimented on their bodies for the next four years. Thankfully, Zack was finally able to come to his senses, and escape from the experimentation facility in Nibelheim. He recovered Cloud and fled the town, hoping to make his way back to Aerith.

The Shinra Infantry was hunting Zack and Cloud down, however, and were quickly gaining on him. Seeing no other way out, Zack confronted the entire army and tried to defeat as many as he could to keep Cloud safe. Unfortunately, Zack defeated a majority of the army but could not hold off all of them, and was fatally shot.

As the Shinra army left Zack for dead, Cloud crawled up to his friend and watched as his life began to fade. With his final actions, Zack entrusted his honor and dreams to Cloud in the form of his Buster Sword, asked him to say hello to Aerith for him, and faded into the Lifestream.

Statistics

Key: Pre-Modeoheim | Post-Modeoheim

Tier: At least 4-A | 3-A

Name: Zack Fair

Origin: Final Fantasy VII

Sex: Male

Age: 17 years old | 18 - 23 years old

Classification: SOLDIER 1st Class

Alignment: Neutral Good (Zack is the epitome of a hero, doing what is right and helping anyone in need, no matter the circumstances. Even when his life is on the line and he is being hunted by Shinra, Zack still puts his neck out for others and actively tries to help out both Cloud Strife, Genesis Rhapsodos, and Professor Lazard. For almost all the members of Shinra's military who succeeded him, he's looked up to as what a hero should strive to be)

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: At least Multi Solar System level (Zack was able to defeat the Summon, Bahamut Fury, who created its own realm containing several stars. He could also defeat Bahamut Fury’s summoner, Genesis Rhapsodos) | Universe level (Defeated Genesis Rhapsodos while he was strengthened by the Red Orb. A far weaker Genesis was able to contend with Sephiroth, who was confirmed by Hojo to have known Super Nova at the time of their fight; Super Nova has Sephiroth create a dimension, containing one galaxy with room for countless more)

Durability: At least Multi Solar System level | Universe level

Striking Strength: At least Multi Solar System Class | Universal Class

Lifting Strength: Athletic Human

Travel Speed: Athletic Human (Is comparable to Cloud Strife, who can run at similar speeds to a Chocobo; Chocobo are said in the Dissidia Final Fantasy Museum to run at 20 mph)

Combat Speed: At least Massively Hypersonic+ | FTL+

Reaction Speed: At least Massively Hypersonic+ (Could briefly react to a projection of Sephiroth. Should be similar to Cloud Strife, who could dodge the lasers from Shinra security system) | FTL+ (Was able to briefly contend with and react to Sephiroth’s attacks; Sephiroth was confirmed by Hojo to have known Super Nova at the time of their fight, meaning he could react to the comet of his Super Nova)

Stamina: Superhuman (Zack was on the run from Shinra for a very long period of time, and yet was still in prime condition to take on basically the entire Shinra infantry. He is able to go on covert missions for several days at a time and still be raring to fight)

Range: Standard Melee, Extended Melee with Buster Sword, far higher with Materia and Digital Mind Wave

Intelligence: Extraordinary Genius (Zack is a master of combat, able to defeat his superiors, Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley, who have years of experience over him. He was also able to defeat Minerva, the manifestation of the Lifestream itself, which has existed for countless years. He can perfectly replicate abilities from his peers from just hearing them; abilities that normal people are said to be incapable of replicating)

Powers and Abilities

Spirit Energy Physiology, which includes: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Blessed (Everyone born into the world is blessed with Spirit Energy), Sheer Will (Willpower alone can be enough to fight off Mako poisoning, and the will of Jenova. Those with a strong enough will can retain their sense of self after dying and returning to the Lifestream), Memory Manipulation, Energy Manipulation, Rage Power, & Aura (Limit Breaks are born of memories, are comprised of Spirit Energy, and are unleashed when the user's anger is pushed to the limit. They give off an aura when used), Non-Physical Interaction (Characters can interact with the souls of the Gi Tribe), Regeneration Negation (Mid-High; Jenova can regenerate itself fully so long as its cells remain, as Cloud Strife participates in Jenova's Reunion despite only containing her cells. Despite this, pieces of Jenova defeated by the heroes were unable to enact the Reunion), Immortality Negation (Type 3; Can completely kill pieces of Jenova, preventing them from regenerating), Accelerated Development (When Sephiroth fought the party far earlier than he was supposed to, the main characters could still contend with him, even after Sephiroth absorbed the Whispers and became stronger than he had ever been)

Spirit Energy Physiology, which grants Resistance to: Mind Manipulation & Soul Manipulation (Those with high willpower can resist succumbing to Jenova's will, which passively takes over one's mind and eats away at the soul, and can prevent their mind from shattering), Poison Manipulation (High willpower can prevent the toxicosis that comes with the exposure to Jenova Cells), Power Mimicry & Power Absorption (Limit Breaks cannot be copied by others. Only Zack Fair can copy Limit Breaks, though he is noted to be the only exception to this), Corruption (Types 1 & 2; Several main characters have been exposed to high amounts of Mako energy, and never became Makonoid monsters), Biological Deconstruction & Soul Manipulation (Main characters have fallen into the Lifestream and returned unscathed, without being forcefully diffused or dissolved into it, or having their spirit be eroded and dissipated), Heat Manipulation & Radiation Manipulation (Can withstand Super Nova without any negative effects of heat or radiation), Limited Disease Manipulation (Those with a will to live are unaffected by Geostigma, which infects those with a weak will)

Berserk Mode (Paired with Mystify Materia it inflicts Berserk), Resistance to Petrification & Time Stop (Paired with Contain Materia, grants resistance to Petrify and Stop), Resistance to Death Manipulation (Paired with Destruct and Odin Materia, grants resistance to Instant Death), Resistance to Magic Negation & Sleep Manipulation (Paired with Seal Materia, grants resistance to Silence and Sleep), Resistance to Size Manipulation & Transmutation (Paired with Transform Materia, grants resistance to Small and Frog)

Healing (Potions, Hi-Potions, and X-Potions all restore Zack’s health. Ethers restore magic power), Resurrection (Phoenix Down fully restores Zack when he is defeated), Status Effect Negation (Remedy and Elixir negate negative status effects)

Standard Equipment

*SOLDIER Sword: A standard broadsword with no Materia slots, utilized by all members of the SOLDIER program with very few exceptions. This sword is good to use for training or any other mild combat, though the swords are extremely prone to breaking and cannot bolster the use of Materia in any way.

  • SOLDIER Sword

    SOLDIER Sword

  • Buster Sword: An enormous broadsword with two Materia slots, that serves as a symbol of dreams and honor. It has inherited the hopes of those who fight, which is then bequeathed from one warrior to another. The Buster Sword once belonged to legendary SOLDIER 1st Class, Angeal Hewley, who then passed it down to Zack Fair, before it eventually ended up in the hands of Cloud Strife. It now currently rests in the Sector 5 Church, serving eternally as a reminder of those who sacrificed themselves to save the planet.
  • Buster Sword

    Buster Sword

*Summon: Small red orbs of crystalized Mako energy that can be used to call upon legendary, gargantuan beasts from the distant past, to fight alongside him. This includes giant flaming behemoths like Ifrit, to huge dragons like Bahamut.

  • Summon

    Summon

  • Magic: Small green orbs of crystalized Mako energy that can be used to enable the use of magic spells, oftentimes being elemental in nature, such as Fire/Fira/Firaga which attacks with flames.
  • Magic

    Magic

  • Command: Small yellow orbs of crystalized Mako energy that can be used to enable the use of extra commands in battle, such as the ability to throw items or steal items from enemies.
  • Command

    Command

  • Support: Small blue orbs of crystalized Mako energy that have the primary purpose of being linked to other Materia, in order to enhance their effects.
  • Support

    Support

  • Independent: Small purple orbs of crystalized Mako energy that increase the stats of the user, or give them auto-abilities such as Cover.
  • Independent

    Independent

*Potion: Restores a small amount of health.

  • Potion

    Potion

  • Hi-Potion: Restores a large amount of health.
  • Hi-Potion

    Hi-Potion

  • X-Potion: Restores all health.
  • X-Potion

    X-Potion

  • Ether: Restores a small amount of magic power.
  • Ether

    Ether

  • Turbo Ether: Restores all magic power.
  • Turbo Ether

    Turbo Ether

  • Elixir: Restores all health and magic power.
  • Elixir

    Elixir

  • Megalixir: Restores all health and magic power of the entire party.
  • Megalixir

    Megalixir

  • Remedy: Cures all abnormal status effects, including Sleep, Poison, Sadness, Fury, Confusion, Silence, Frog, Mini, Slow, Petrify, Berserk, Paralysis, and Darkness.
  • Remedy

    Remedy

  • Phoenix Down: Resurrects one party member from death.
  • Phoenix Down

    Phoenix Down

Notable Techniques

  • Octaslash: Using his Digital Mind Wave for Sephiroth, Zack can replicate his iconic attack. This has him slash his opponents into the air, and strike them eight consecutive times.
  • Octaslash

    Octaslash

  • Rush Assault: Using his Digital Mind Wave for Angeal Hewley, Zack can replicate his iconic attack. This has him punch the opponent several times, before charging through them and leaving them in a giant explosion.
  • Rush Assault

    Rush Assault

  • Air Strike: Using his Digital Mind Wave for Tseng, Zack can replicate his iconic attack. This has him call upon an air strike from the Shinra attack helicopter.
  • Air Strike

    Air Strike

  • Lucky Stars: Using his Digital Mind Wave for Cissnei, Zack can replicate her iconic technique. Being surrounded by bright stars, Zack is given the ability to temporarily land critical hits with every attack.
  • Lucky Stars

    Lucky Stars

  • Healing Wave: Using his Digital Mind Wave for Aerith Gainsborough, Zack can replicate her iconic technique. This has him pray to the planet, and he is bestowed with healing energy that fully rejuvenates him.
  • Healing Wave

    Healing Wave

  • Meteor Shots: Using his Digital Mind Wave for Cloud Strife, Zack can replicate his iconic attack. This has Zack jump high up into the air, powering up his sword before blasting out meteor-like energy balls from it at enemies.
  • Meteor Shots

    Meteor Shots

  • Apocalypse: Using his Digital Mind Wave for Genesis Rhapsodos, Zack can replicate his iconic attack. This has Zack summon a large circular pattern on the ground beneath his foes, before lighting it up with powerful electricity.
  • Apocalypse

    Apocalypse

Other

Weaknesses: Zack can be very naive at times, which hampers his judgement and can put him in trouble; such as when he refused to fight Angeal and was defeated for it. He’s also highly energetic and can sometimes put himself in situations not favourable to him.

Battle Records

None

None

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Discussions (Link For Mobile Users):

Discussion threads involving Zack Fair
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