There are many things that Final Fantasy 7 is remembered for. However, it's hard to talk about the iconic nature of Square Enix's classic RPG without mentioning the Buster Sword, Cloud's heavy and almost comically large sword. It wasn't always his weapon, however. It belonged to Angeal Hewley and Zack Fair before Cloud, as seen in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion.
Cloud was given the Buster Sword from Zack Fair at the end of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, following him taking the sword from Angeal at the end of Crisis Core's first act. Angeal hardly used it, even saying that his protege Zack the Puppy was only "a little more important" than making sure the Buster Sword avoided any wear, tear, and rust. If fans check everything in Crisis Core, they find out why.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion Shows the Buster Sword's Origins
When fans find Angeal's mother Gillian early on, they'll learn a few interesting tidbits about Angeal. However, they'll learn even more if they get curious and snoop around his childhood home. There are plenty of secrets there, like a collection of photos depicting the 1st Class SOLDIER growing up with his family and Genesis Rhapsodos. The most heart-wrenching one is in plain sight, but many fans might skip it for being too obvious.
Angeal already paid his mother a visit prior to Zack arriving, and he left the Buster Sword behind. If fans interact with it, they'll be given special dialogue that reveals how the famous weapon was created. In the original PSP title, this dialogue went without voice acting, but the Reunion remaster fixed that. Gillian says the Buster Sword was a present to the family's son for getting into SOLDIER, and because they were poor, Angeal's father worked himself to an early grave to make up for what he paid to make it.
The Price of the Buster Sword is Steep
This only adds to the sordid history of the Buster Sword that has been known for decades, as it seems like all of its owners go through some extreme hardship while the Buster Sword is in their possession. Angeal hardly used it to keep the weapon pristine in his father's honor. Despite that, the Buster Sword fell to Zack when he had to cut his mentor down for losing himself to his fate.
From there, it's the same story almost every FF7 fan knows. Zack is gunned down by Shinra troops mere inches away from a second chance in Midgar with Cloud and Aerith, and he hands Cloud the Buster Sword to be his "living legacy." The Buster Sword finally gets proper use in Cloud's hands, but the Jenova S cells within Cloud manipulate his memories and leave him to believe that he lived Zack's life instead of his own.
Once Cloud is done with his heroics in Final Fantasy 7, he retires the Buster Sword on the same ledge where Zack died, giving the spiky-haired mercenary a chance to finally move on from his trauma. The sword is even shown to be covered in wear, tear, and rust before Cloud later finds the weapon again, cleans it up, and gives it a proper resting place in Aerith's church at the end of Advent Children.
Despite being such an iconic weapon, the Buster Sword appears cursed, as it seems none of its owners had a decent time with the blade. Even Angeal, who hardly used it, turned out to be a secret experiment with Jenova cells; a revelation that changed his entire life. Perhaps the only people who are safe from the Buster Sword's apparent bad luck are the fans who get to see the full scope of its life across the series.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
