Final Fantasy 7 story.?

Question

At the end of Crisis Core Zach and Cloud are on the run from Shinra Infantry Troops. They are both considered criminals. But at the begining of FF7 Cloud says hes First Class. How did he get to First Class? How did he even get back to Shinra?

Answer 1

He didn't get to first class... nor did he go back to Shinra.  The massive Mako poisoning he suffered before he and Zack escaped, and the trauma of Zack's death, left his memory kind of screwed up.  For most of FF7, Cloud doesn't even remember Zack, and transposes Zack's accomplishments onto himself.  He does eventually remember the truth, which leads to a whole new breakdown.

Answer 2

Okay only read my answer if you want MASSIVE spoilers from the original FFVII.

Cloud never made it to first class, after Zack died, cloud took the sword and kind of a piece of Zack and pretended he had made it. He did this out of guilt for the death of his friend and because he was embarrassed he had never made it to First class, after all the bragging he did before he left his home town of Nibelheim to go to Midgar to join Soldier. They never really explain how he got back to Midgar (not Shin ra ^_^) just that Tifa found him at the train station.

Also, there is many a discussion out there on the whole CLoud-Zack issue.

Answer 3

That first question is answered during the FFVII story, but is a little hard to explain in detail. He also, apparently, walked back to Midgar (not Shinra, that's the Corporation), and ended up in the Midgar slums, which are under the actual city.

SPOILERS

Bottom line: Cloud's mind got messed up and thought that he was Zack.