Zack Fair had a bit part in the original 1997 Final Fantasy 7. He’s now getting a 30 cm figure with movable eyes and his own Buster Sword. That’s a long way to travel for a SOLDIER who spent most of the first game as a memory other people were arguing about.
Square Enix has slotted the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth version of Zack into its PLAY ARTS SHIN line, with the figure scheduled to arrive in January 2027. It stands roughly 30 cm tall, about 11.8 inches, and is modeled directly on his in-game look in Rebirth: black SOLDIER uniform, muscular build, that hairstyle, and the expressive face fans have been drawing for decades.
What’s in the box
The Buster Sword comes along, with metallic weathering and two Materia slots. You get six separate Materia pieces to fill them however you like. And there are two interchangeable face parts plus movable eyes, so you can shift his expression and where he’s looking from pose to pose.
The uniform itself uses different textures to mimic fabric, leather and metal across the outfit, which is the kind of detail you notice only when a figure gets it wrong. Here it’s meant to give the whole thing a distinctive, authentic quality.
Why SHIN is the line worth caring about
PLAY ARTS SHIN is Square Enix’s new high-end tier of the long-running PLAY ARTS KAI brand. Vincent Valentine kicked it off, and the Rebirth roster has since grown to include Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Sephiroth and now Zack.
The headline upgrade is a redesigned “articulation system.” SHIN ditches the older click-style joints for smoother movement, which means a wider range of poses. Adjustable eyes have become a recurring feature across the line too, the idea being that collectors can shape the figure into any pose their hearts desire.
How Zack earned this
He’s a former member of SOLDIER who once wielded the Buster Sword, and his story runs through Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough, Sephiroth and several of the events that shape Final Fantasy 7’s story. But it took Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 to put him at the center, turning him into a fully realized protagonist with an infectious optimism and a heartbreaking fate.
Crisis Core Reunion then handed that story to a new generation, and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy has kept finding new, unexpected angles on him. Decades after his debut, he’s still a firm fan favorite, which is why any excuse to see him return lands harder than it should for a character with a limited original role.
What it’ll cost you
Mamegyorai currently lists the figure for ¥27,170 on preorder. Western pricing looks somewhat higher: Canadian retailer Maple and Mangoes has the PLAY ARTS SHIN Zack Fair at $245 CAD, which gives collectors outside Japan a clearer idea of what to expect.
One catch. The Canadian retailer currently estimates a March 2027 arrival, slightly later than the January 2027 window on the Japanese listings. So if you’re ordering from this side of the Pacific, plan on a bit more waiting.
With Rebirth having pushed Zack back into the spotlight and the final entry in the remake trilogy on the way soon, the timing is about as good as it gets for a figure of one of the series’ most beloved heroes. The hype is at an all-time high, and now there’s a 30 cm version of him to prove it.
