In English, Zack is voiced by Rick Gomez. In an interview with IGN whilst promoting Crisis Core, Yoshinori Kitase explained that when the original game was created, "Zack was a rather minor character," although Nomura had created art design, and Nojima had created a "basic concept of [Zack's] story." Kitase further explained that "you could say that the idea [for the storyline of Crisis Core] has been cooking for 10 years." Before Crisis Core began development, the staff had planned to create a PlayStation Portable port of Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, but soon changed their minds to create a game that focused on Zack, whose fate was already predetermined; fans knew how the game was going to end. Throughout the game, the staff decided to use a blue sky in cutscenes to represent Zack, while other features in such scenes are meant to symbolize his connections. A number of Zack's actions from the game were also designed so as to augment the similarities that Aerith finds between him and Cloud in Final Fantasy VII. Due to Zack initially appearing as a younger person than the one seen in previous games, Suzumura was asked to portray Zack in a fashion that shows him naive in order for his character arc being more noticeable as Zack becomes more mature in the narrative of Crisis Core. He wears the SOLDIER 1st class uniform, consisting of a black, sleeveless turtleneck, black boots, and armor. In Crisis Core, Zack has two attires; his Final Fantasy VII outfit and a different outfit worn during the start of the game, which he changes after fighting Angeal Hewley. Originally, Zack was meant to wear red clothing until Tetsuya Nomura drew his black outfit. He was made as a conventional heroic character in contrast to Cloud who was written as an unlikely hero. There was an attempt to make Zack's and Aerith's interactions appealing in Crisis Core. Zack's full name was first revealed in an article in Dengeki PlayStation. Nomura stated that Zack's name was derived from 'fair weather' and specifically chosen because it contrasted with Cloud Strife's name. Zack and Cloud's connection was also meant to be expanded upon near the game's ending, with both of them planning to flee to Midgar. However, due to limitations in the console's hardware, these scenes could not be implemented, and instead, they decided to focus on Zack's role as a