FFVII Rebirth Cloud Wild Surf Swimsuit Designed to Reference Zack

Square Enix took to social media to share insight into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth character designs again, and this time it brought up how the Cloud Strife Wild Surf swimsuit is also a reference to the one Zack Fair wears in Crisis Core FFVII. This involved closer looks at the concept art for the outfit from the front and back again. It also focused in on the metal patch on the back. 

In FFVII Rebirth, Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa can each wear one of two possible swimsuit options while at Costa del Sol, based on which one you use a Companion Card to get while in the resort town. The Ocean Chocobo outfit involved longer shorts that went to his knees, gum shoes, and a blue shirt with Chocobos on it over a black top. The Wild Surf one is a black pair of trunks with matching flip-flops. To compare, Zack also wore swim trunks that went to the knee and flip-flops  when in Costa del Sol on vacation in Crisis Core FFVII, and that’s also when he ended up using a beach umbrella as a weapon during a sudden attack. 

Here’s the official concept art showing Cloud in the Wild Surf swimsuit in FFVII Rebirth. 

To compare, here’s Zack in his Crisis Core FFVII swimsuit. (The image was taken from the Reunion rerelease, and Square Enix used it as a 2023 calendar image.)

In the past, Square Enix also used social media to share concept art and details about other characters’ swimsuits and designs from that game.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is available on the PS5 and PC, and FFVII Remake is on the PS4, PS5, and PC.The first entry in the remake series is also headed to the Switch 2 and Xbox Series X in 2025.