That was likely done with Zack more for the players' benefit -- to have enough pieces to understand it all without it needing to be spelled out.
Along similar lines, the former member of SOLDIER running the accessory shop in Junon who feels compelled to don a black cloak without understanding why (Jenova cells, Sephiroth's call, the Reunion, etc.) gives us insight into the setting.
I am not sure see how adding Zack to the scene adds anything in terms of understanding on par of the player? The scene is optional for one, and once most people get access to it, they'll already have learned of the process that goes into creating SOLDIER.
It still raises (and doesn't explain) why Zack is being processed witt, ostensibly, the same treatment as Cloud.
The Junon shop-keeper doesn't have to mean anything. All the other black cloaded men are people processed with Sephiroth's Jenova-fused cells as far as I know, and so it's seems to me that the implication here could just be that the Junon shop keeper was also submitted to the Sephiroth-copy treatment, not that he was subjected to Jenova cells as a part of joining SOLDIER.
Even in much earlier versions of FFVII story, having Jenova inside them was tied to SOLDIER's ability to use Mako. It's Zack that came along later on in the writing process and needed to be put somewhere.
Could be true, but even if it was it's not very pertinent to what I was getting at.
What order the problem arises is doesn't change the argument for it being a plot inconsistency. As such, I still feel it is probably yet another example of a minor accident that results from large narratives worked on by multiple people, and not something fan's should be bending backwards trying to accomodate (not saying you are in this case specifically - just as a generally commentary). I'm willing to change my mind on which part's inclusion lead to the inconsistency though.
I would be very interested in what you mean by earlier versions of the story? I'm not familiar with anything that suggests what you're saying here.
Also, I suppose you meant materia, not mako, as mako isn't something SOLDIERs use for anything as far as I know.
In either case, in Midgar, you have children using materia. All of the party outside of Cloud can use materia, and presumably profficiently at that.
As far as I know, Zack was conjured up very early in development, when they changed Cloud's design and introduced the theme of identity.
I don't think there is any part in the game (at the very least prior to) outside of Cloud's speech in the control room that describes the SOLDIER process as involving Jenova cells, so the actual OG story building into that claim is pretty sparse.
On the other hand you have the following :
- Jenova laying dormant in Shinra building all up until Cloud gets there despite being surrounded by people supposedly injected with her cells.
- Zack being reprocessed with Sephiroth/Jenova cells (and mako) despite already having been so as a 1st Class
- The pointless process of pursuing "Sephiroth copy" research resulting in continuous failure despite the fact that adult cell therapy supposedly produced strong, reliable and stable SOLDIER anyway.
Clearly, direct speech from Cloud is more compelling on the surface, but I'd say that in setting that single statement of dialogue off as a mistake actually improves the story, and that taking it for what it is, detracts from it.
The way I see it, the plot would simply be a lot tidier if the following were true
- SOLDIERs are made only with mako treatment.
- In pursuing a stronger type of SOLDIER, Shinra did an off-hand experiment, injecting fetus Sephiroth (and perhaps others) with Jenova cells, after discovering Jenova.
- Sephiroth was the (only) success, hence why the Shinra then pursued injecting others with Sephiroth's cells in hope that whatever trait Sephiroth had
would temper the effect of the Jenova cells on other people. This didn't really work, as is apparent with the black cloaked people.
The following take allows for reuinion to work (since it would only apply to the Sephiroth copies, not to other SOLDIER), makes sense of why Zack is given treatment, explains why Jenova lays dormant in Shinra Building until Cloud approaches it, allows you to not muck about with the "strength of will" excuse to explain why some SOLDIER are prone to being controlled by Jenova while others aren't (after all, strength of will isn't a very good excuse when we're talking about a space alien that nearly wiped out the ancients), and also makes sense of Shinra's motivation for pursuing Sephiroth copies in the first place (by eliminating any competing alternative like "conventional Jenova treatment).
I know this isn't how the plot ended up, nor necessarily how it was first imagined - I'm just saying this seems a lot more tidy, and so when I noticed discrepencies, I tend towards thinking the discrepencies that create the additional convolution are probably ones added over time.
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