become his "living legacy". Zack is the protagonist of Crisis Core, a prequel to Final Fantasy VII, which deals primarily with Zack's backstory. In the game, Zack is trained as a SOLDIER by his close friend, Angeal Hewley, and hopes to become a hero while working for Shinra. When Angeal, and another SOLDIER, Genesis Rhapsodos, betray Shinra, Zack and Sephiroth are dispatched to kill them, but they decide to avoid doing that if possible. He and Sephiroth learn that both Angeal and Genesis were the result of a Shinra experiment called "Project G", where they were injected with Jenova cells prior to being born in an effort to create perfect SOLDIERs. However, both Angeal and Genesis are suffering from secondary effects which led them to antagonize Shinra in the hopes of finding a cure. In the course of the game, Zack befriends Cloud and begins dating Aerith. During a mission to find Angeal and Genesis, Angeal forces Zack to kill him, as he wants to stop hurting people because of his mutations. Before dying, Angeal thanks Zack for stopping him and gives him his Buster Sword. Later, while Zack and Sephiroth search for Genesis and the former Shinra scientist Dr. Hollander, they go to Nibelheim where Sephiroth learns that he too was the result of genetic experimentation involving Jenova. The game then depicts the Nibelheim incident, leading to Zack and Cloud being taken captive and subjected to experiments themselves. Four years pass, Zack and Cloud are able to escape, and Zack learns that Genesis has come to believe the only way he can be cured is by being injected with Sephiroth's cells. As Sephiroth is thought dead, the only source of these cells is now Cloud, and Zack realises that Genesis plans to kill Cloud. Zack decides to stop Genesis, and after defeating him, he and Cloud head to Midgar, where he hopes to be reunited with Aerith. However, Zack and Cloud are intercepted by Shinra infantry, and Zack is killed. In his dying breath, Zack gives the Buster Sword to Cloud, telling him to be his living legacy. As Cloud stumbles off towards Midgar, Zack is pulled into the sky by Angeal, and wonders if he has become a hero. Zack has served as the basis for several forms of merchandise, such as being pictured on the Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Potion soft drink cans. Outside the Final