If you’ve played Final Fantasy VII, you know the Buster Sword. It’s iconic. It’s the oversized, rusted slab of iron that Cloud Strife swings around like it weighs nothing. But if you only know Cloud, you’re missing the actual soul of that blade. Honestly, the sword isn’t even Cloud's. It wasn't even Zack Fair’s originally. It belonged to a man named Angeal Hewley, and without him, the entire moral compass of the FFVII universe basically doesn't exist.
Most people look at Angeal and see "the mentor who died." That’s a bit of a disservice. He wasn't just some guy who taught Zack how to swing a sword. He was the physical embodiment of a specific kind of honor that the Shinra Electric Power Company tried its best to kill. He’s a tragic figure, sure, but he’s also the reason why characters like Zack and Cloud eventually found the strength to rebel.
The Buster Sword was a debt, not a weapon
Here is a detail a lot of people miss: Angeal almost never used the Buster Sword. Think about that. You have one of the most powerful weapons in Midgar, and you keep it strapped to your back while fighting with a standard-issue SOLDIER rapier.
Why? Because the sword was a burden.
His stepfather, a poor man from the village of Banora, literally worked himself to death to pay for that blade. It was forged to celebrate Angeal making it into SOLDIER. To Angeal, using the sword meant wearing it down. It meant "wear, tear, and rust," which he saw as a spit in the face to his father’s sacrifice. He told Zack that the sword was a symbol of their dreams and honor. If you use it for petty violence, you’re cheapening those dreams.
It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? The most famous weapon in gaming history spent the first few years of its life being pampered like a museum piece because its owner was too humble to scratch it. When Angeal finally does use it to save Zack from a monster in Wutai, he makes a joke about Zack being "a little" more important than the sword. That’s Angeal in a nutshell. He valued people over power, even when he was literally engineered to be a living weapon.
Project G and the "Monster" Complex
We can’t talk about Angeal Hewley without getting into the messy, unethical science of Project G (Project Gillian). While Sephiroth was the "perfect" result of Jenova experiments, Angeal was something different. His mother, Gillian, was injected with Jenova cells, and those cells passed to him naturally in the womb.
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This gave him a weird ability that Sephiroth didn't have: the power to copy.
Angeal could graft his own DNA onto other living things. It’s why we see those creepy "Angeal Clones" in Crisis Core—animals and even people who started growing white wings and looking like him. When Angeal found out he was a product of a lab, it broke him. He started seeing himself as a monster.
You’ve probably seen the white wing. In the world of Final Fantasy VII, wings usually symbolize something profound. For Sephiroth, the black wing is a sign of his fall. For Angeal, the white wing was something he hated. He called himself a monster because he wasn't "natural."
Zack, being the lovable "puppy" he was, tried to tell him that wings are for angels, not monsters. But Angeal couldn't see it. He was too obsessed with the idea of "purity." This is the core of his tragedy: a man who lived by a code of honor couldn't handle the fact that his very biological existence felt dishonorable to him.
The Relationship with Sephiroth and Genesis
Before everything went to hell, Angeal, Sephiroth, and Genesis Rhapsodos were actually friends. It’s hard to imagine Sephiroth having "bros," but he did. They used to sneak into the Shinra training room just to spar.
There’s this incredible scene where they’re fighting on top of a virtual Junon cannon. Genesis is being flashy, Sephiroth is being cold and efficient, and Angeal is the one trying to keep the peace. He was the glue. When Genesis started "degrading" (basically his body falling apart because of the experiments), Angeal was the one who went AWOL to try and help him.
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He didn't leave Shinra because he wanted to destroy the world. He left because his friend was hurting, and Shinra was the cause.
Why he had to die (and why Zack had to kill him)
Angeal’s death is one of the most misunderstood moments in the series. He didn't just lose a fight. He basically committed suicide by mentor.
By the time Zack finds him in Modeoheim, Angeal is done. He’s tired of the clones, tired of the degradation, and tired of feeling like a freak. He merges with his clones to become "Angeal Penance"—a massive, multi-limbed beast—and forces Zack to fight him.
He knew Zack wouldn't kill him unless he had to. By turning into a monster, he gave Zack no choice.
As he lay dying, he gave the Buster Sword to Zack. He told him: "Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your SOLDIER honor."
That moment changed Zack forever. It’s where Zack gets his "hero" persona. And later, when Zack is dying outside Midgar, he passes those exact same words (and the sword) to a muddled, traumatized Cloud. Every time you see Cloud acting "cool" or talking about being a mercenary with a heart of gold, you’re seeing the echoes of Angeal Hewley.
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What most fans get wrong about his legacy
People often think Angeal's story ends with Crisis Core. But if you look closely at the original Final Fantasy VII or even the Remake and Rebirth games, his influence is everywhere.
The "white wing" imagery that pops up? That’s him. The obsession with "honor" that Zack carries? That’s him. Even the way the Buster Sword is handled—with a sense of weight and importance—goes back to that poor kid from Banora who didn't want to chip the blade.
Angeal is the reason the Buster Sword isn't just a piece of metal. It’s a baton passed from one broken hero to the next.
How to apply the "Angeal Mindset" to your lore knowledge:
- Look at the hilt: Next time you see the Buster Sword, look at the gold crossguard. That’s the "honor" Angeal was talking about.
- Watch the wings: In the FFVII mythos, pay attention to who gets a wing and when. It’s never just a design choice; it’s a commentary on their humanity.
- Appreciate the "Puppy": Remember that Zack was a reckless kid before Angeal shaped him. If you like Zack, you like Angeal’s handiwork.
Honestly, Angeal Hewley might be the most "human" character in a series filled with aliens and gods. He was just a guy trying to do the right thing while his world told him he was a mistake.
If you want to dig deeper into the Banora lore, you should definitely check out the Crisis Core Reunion side missions. They flesh out his childhood more than the main story ever could.
Next, you might want to look into the specific differences between Project G and Project S to see exactly why Sephiroth turned out so much worse than Angeal did.