Line #6 Fridge/CrisisCore


1	!Per wiki policy, Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.
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3	!!FridgeBrilliance
4	* In ''Reunion'', Zack learns to use Blade Stance after gaining the Buster Sword. However, he's still capable of using the stance in the optional beach missions, despite those missions forcing him to use an umbrella. This seems like a case of GameplayAndStorySegregation at first, but it should be noted that Blade Stance is obtained after a timeskip of several months and was likely developed through training. Since Zack is a MasterSwordsman, he could easily adapt the stance to lighter swords and even non-swords in case he were to ever lose access to the Buster Sword.
5	* When Cloud tells the story of Sephiroth's fall from grace in ''Final Fantasy VII'', he omits the presence of Genesis & his pushing Sephiroth into discovering the truth of his origins. Whilst it could simply be that Zack left that out when he told the story to Cloud, it wouldn't make sense for Zack to throw Sephiroth (Someone he considered a friend) under the bus by absolving Genesis of his role in the events; it ''would'' make sense, however, for Cloud's anger at Sephiroth over the subsequent destruction of Nibelheim to blur his recollection of the story & pin everything on Sephiroth.
6	** In a similar vein, going back where Cloud and Zack were being held shows only some of the most important moments. In Crisis Core, Zack was fighting an army and only three soldiers left. Cloud never really saw Zack fighting the army, all he saw is his friend in a pool of blood, killed by three Shinra soldiers. And the Mako did the rest to his memories.
7	* Zack's Last Stand sees the Digital Mind Wave breakdown the further you progress and defeat enemies. This is representative of combat fatigue, which as stated by the original Wikipedia, whose symptoms include fatigue, slower reaction times, indecision, disconnection from one's surroundings, the inability to prioritize, and most significantly, an extreme feeling of losing control of a situation. Along with Zack probably being nothing but put on edge for the last several months looking behind his back for assailants, pinning him against the entire Shinra Army was likely the piledriver to the last nail to his coffin.
8	** When it comes down to the last three Shinra soldiers, Zack is so tired he can barely even lift his sword -- yet a maxed out player can hit them for the damage cap easily, to which they all but NoSell because [[PlotArmor they must kill him.]] This seems a bit ridiculous, until you remember that the Digital Mind Wave system is modulating all of the combat data for him, and actively breaking down. Zack is such a {{Determinator}} that even as his mind is wearing out its last moments from stress and injury, he still imagines himself dealing fatal damage to the soldiers, when the reality is that it's more like he's flailing around and barely hurting them if at all. Every part of ''Crisis Core'' has been ''his'' interpretation of events, including his own success in battles.. but once reality catches up to him, [[KilledOffForReal it hits hard.]]
9	* Why does Cloud never use the Digital Mind Wave system in the original game or the remake? Because he wasn't SOLDIER; he had the bolstered capabilities of the Jenova cell experiments, but none of the actual training or abilities actual [=SOLDIERs=] like Zack had. Canonically the mechanic's explanation is to draw upon the past experiences to pull off the moves of their comrades or the equivalent of leveling up. Cloud has none of those yet, nor the training to specifically harness it. Zack himself is also ''very'' inspired by all of his allies and enemies alike, hence deriving their moves from them, whereas Cloud effectively just [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer kills things with his sword harder and harder.]]
10	** The Ultimania mentions the Digital Mind Wave to be Zack's own Limit Break.
11	* Fittingly apt for the person who would go on to so very much influence the future of ''FFVII'', Zack's last stand contrasts heavily with Cloud's own final battle against Sephiroth. Whereas Cloud brief internal battle against Sephiroth ends with him obtaining his strongest LimitBreak and is an overall brief affair which cannot be lost at all, Zack's stand against Shinra is a drawn-out affair where he actively suffers from CombatBreakdown and gradually loses his abilities, culminating in a fight that cannot be won regardless of how powerful he may have been by then.
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13	!!FridgeHorror
14	* Yuffie genuinely seems to be hyperactive and proud in herself as a youth, to the point that she actually isn't playing games when she tries to fight Zack-- she's just so young she doesn't actually know how to fight yet. So here she is proclaiming she saved Wutai after "defeating" Zack in their first encounter.. and then Zack scratches his head, walks off and kills the powerful guardians that gave her nation an edge, effectively sealing her nation's fate under Shinra's boot. Imagine thinking you're contributing to protecting your home, but it didn't do a single thing.
15	* Look at Sephiroth's face during the entire game, his skin is clear, his eyes are bright blue/green, then look at the infamous fire scene, his skin is pale, his eyes have shadows under them, his eyes seem dull and sinister. Remember, this is practically the only game where we see Sephiroth before his madness for longer than the flashback, showing how disturbing a change Sephiroth had in personality and apparently, physical appearance.

Context Fridge / CrisisCore