So…I know I’m a little late, but there’s a few things I wanted to point out after seeing that the “I’m your living legacy” quote from AC:C became a point of contention for some people.
I’ll be honest, I enjoy Zack a lot as a character. He’s definitely not the guy, but he’s not a horrible person. I’m not trying to change anyone’s minds about Zack. If I do, cool, but what I want to do is clear a few things up. Obviously, what I’m presenting is only an argument. I’m open to discussion about this.
This is gonna get a little long-winded and there’s still a lot to look into, but I wanted to be as thorough as I can. So here I go!
Please bear in mind that a lot of meaning can be lost in the translation between Japanese and English. It happens. For an example, let’s use the moment when in the English scene where Tifa confronts Cloud, she says, “What is it, a memory or us?” but in the Japanese subs, it goes more along the lines of, “Are we really going to lose out to a memory?” ( more specifically, these memories are Cloud’s /guilt/, not that Aerith is somehow responsible for Cloud’s inaction ). Totally different feel.
Let’s look at the ending scene of AC:C again, without taking stuff out of context. I will say that I am no expert on the Japanese language, however, the subs on the Japanese version of AC:C that I have translated it a little differently and it can change how a viewer interprets the scene. I don’t think Zack is trying to make Cloud out to be some mini-version of him at the end of AC:C, and I’ll explain why.
The conversation, in its entirety and including the lines Sephiroth says right before, goes:
Sephiroth: What is the most important thing to you? Will you grant me the pleasure of taking it away?
See AlsoFinal Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - WikiquoteWhat Is a Living Legacy and How Can You Create One? - LifeBook9 Ways to Live your Legacy - Thrive GlobalWhat is a Living Legacy and How Do I Prepare OneCloud sees a series of flashbacks. The flashbacks end with Zack.
Zack: If it were me, I wouldn’t be throwing in the towel. No matter how hopeless the situation seemed.
Embrace your dreams! And…never, ever let go of your pride as a SOLDIER. Well, you weren’t able to become a SOLDIER. But it’s a matter of heart, anyway!
Cloud: Zack…
Zack: Need me to lend a hand?
Cloud shakes his head ‘no.’
Zack: I mean, you kicked his ass once, right? It’s a piece of cake!
Cloud: Right.
Zack: Don’t you ever forget again.
Cloud: …that I’m…the proof you once existed.
Zack is an important part of Cloud’s life. Cloud’s life doesn’t revolve around Zack’s by any means, but I think it’s possible that Cloud himself is the one who “calls out” Zack towards the end of that fight. What could that mean? Well, it suggests that Cloud is consciously seeking Zack’s input. Cloud, as he has shown himself prone to do throughout the movie ( and in every moment, a character will lead him out of that doubt again. Tifa, Vincent, Marlene, and Aerith all play a part in this. Don’t be surprised that Zack would be included), is starting to doubt himself again.
First, Zack tells Cloud what he would do; Zack perseveres no matter “how hopeless” the situation looks. It’s what he did in the entirety of CC. It’s what he was doing when he was dragging a mako-poisoned Cloud around for five freaking years when they had the entire Shinra army after them. Zack has someone completely reliant on him for their survival. Now Cloud is in a similar position, only the stakes are much higher.
Then, Zack asks Cloud if needs “a hand” and the fact that Cloud says no implies that Cloud doesn’t need to rely on Zack anymore, physically or psychologically.
The last two parts of the conversation are the most convoluted and I’m going to pull up the CC ending for this one. I excluded the parts where Cloud just parrots Zack.
Zack:On my behalf…That’s right. You will live. You are the proof that I existed. My pride and my dreams…I give it all to you.
The words “living legacy” does seem to make Cloud’s actions, by extension, Zack’s. This, no doubt, detracts from Cloud’s growth as an independent character. “You are the proof that I existed,” however, can be read differently and lacks those connotations.
Yes, Zack can still come across as selfish by reminding Cloud not to “ever forget again” that Cloud was “the proof that [he] existed,” but I think what Zack says tells viewers more than just ‘I’m self-absorbed.’ Zack sacrificed himself to save Cloud, and one of the main premises of AC is that Cloud feels guilty for the deaths of his friends. Even if the words themselves may be poorly chosen, it seems he is referencing, as a whole, his last conversation with Cloud. Zack’s trying to tell Cloud not to lose this fight because he thinks he can’t save anyone ( I think the part where he brings up SOLDIER at all is a hint that Zack sucks ass at this inspirational stuff). The fact that Cloud is alive is the proof that Zack had once “existed.” That even if he had died, Zack had made a difference because he was able to save one person. And Cloud can too.
tl;dr
Maybe Square Enix needs to hire some new f*cking translators.
