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Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character
in the role-playing game Final Fantasy VII
developed by Square Co.
He is introduced there as the main antagonist. Character designer Tetsuya Nomura
wanted his role in the story to be different from the other Final Fantasy villains while his design is intended to contrast directly with that of the main character, Cloud Strife
. His Japanese voice actor is Toshiyuki Morikawa
; in English, he was first voiced by Lance Bass
in Kingdom Hearts and by George Newbern
in all his subsequent appearances.
In Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth is the result of an experiment by the mega-corporation Shinra, in which they used cells from the extraterrestrial lifeform Jenova. After discovering this, Sephiroth decides to become a god to take control of the planet; Cloud and the game's other protagonists choose to stop him. Sephiroth's role in the story as well as his background are expanded in the titles from Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
. Additionally, he appears as a boss character in the Kingdom Hearts
series, and other video games developed by the same company.
Sephiroth has been well-received within the video game community, and is regularly featured in top positions on many villain lists, as well as lists of Final Fantasy characters. While his role in the story has been praised, many websites commented on how difficult it is to defeat Sephiroth in the games he appears in. Various types of merchandise based on his appearance have been developed, such as figurines.
. His character existed since Nomura thought that the game's plot would be about Cloud Strife
pursuing Sephiroth with him already being the main antagonist. In the making of the plot, Nomura wanted Sephiroth to appear early in the game and then follow his way so that gamers would not meet the game's final boss late in the game. During development on Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth was meant to be Aerith Gainsborough
's first love interest who she remembers when seeing Cloud. Before finishing the game, Sephiroth was replaced by Zack Fair
with Nomura considering it to be sudden. Director Yoshinori Kitase
has regarded Sephiroth's role in the game as one of the reasons why the game has become very popular. Nomura later called Sephiroth "the ultimate antagonist in the Final Fantasy VII saga. There can't be anyone else." and regarded him as an enemy from a previous generation in contrast to his "remnants" that later appear. In early drafts of the game, Sephiroth's original personality would already be brutal and cruel, as well as strong willed with a calm ego. He would also suffer from Mako Addiction, a semi-conscious state result of high exposure to Mako energy, but would show withdrawal symptoms to retain his composure caused by his madness, making him a unique exception. Sephiroth was also meant to be influencing Cloud into believing he is a creation from his will, but such theory would later be dismissed. In another removed scene, when his true body is first seen in the Northern Crater, it would have the contours of a female. His name comes from Kabbalah
, in which the ten sephirot on the Tree of Life represent the ten attributes that God created through which he can manifest.
Illustrator Yoshitaka Amano
and Nomura drew the artwork of Sephiroth. He has long platinum hair and bright cyan eyes with cat-like pupils, and is portrayed in a black coat decorated with metallic pauldron
s. Since appearing as Safer Sephiroth, Sephiroth has had a black angel wing on his back which references the theme music "One Winged Angel". When Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
was released, the staff stated that the reason for the wing's color being black was based on the notions of evil. Nomura has stated that Sephiroth was made to be a complete contrast to the game's main protagonist, Cloud's original designs of slicked-back, black hair with no spikes. His weapon, the Masamune, which has been featured in numerous Final Fantasy titles, is an elongated nodachi
that he learned to use during his days in SOLDIER
. The Masamune is named after the famous Japanese swordsmith Goro Nyudo Masamune
, whose blades are considered national treasures in Japan today.
Sephiroth was added to Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, the film sequel of the series, as script writer Kazushige Nojima
thought that the film's plot would become less entertaining without him. His revival was planned in early plan of the film, but the official reason was not reached until later dates. Nomura originally planned to make him appear since the start, but the staff spent two years to develop his design which caused them difficulties. Other details were made emphasize Sephiroth's other-worldly character such as the fact he would never blink or breathe, and that his voice always sounded calm. The staff stated that his strength considerably increased to the point that Sephiroth had "ascended to a new level of existence." Despite initially finding troubles about who would voice him, Nomura said that once Toshiyuki Morikawa
auditioned for the role, he found it suitable. Morikawa was aided by the staff to make Sephiroth's lines so that his words would mean how superior the character feels. The voice director and Morikawa agreed to make Sephiroth's voice sound calm to the point that he would not have been defeated by Cloud, giving a feeling to Morikawa that he may reappear to continue their fight.
, killing the president of the company Shinra is one of his first actions. Sephiroth was once the best and the most powerful member of SOLDIER, the elite warriors division of Shinra and rose to the status of celebrity during the Shinra Wutai war. After the war, however, Sephiroth was sent on a mission to the village of Nibelheim, wherein he discovered that he is the product of a biological experiment using cells from the extraterrestrial lifeform Jenova . Learning that Jenova tried to take control of the planet years ago, Sephiroth decides to follow her wish. Sephiroth then burns down the entire village and kills many, but is assumed dead after a confrontation with the game protagonist Cloud Strife
. A few years later, Sephiroth once again appears to continue his mission.
Sephiroth's primary objective is to become a god that rules over the entire planet by merging with the planet life force, known as Lifestream, and taking control over it. In order to do so, he must summon Meteor, a destructive meteorite entity from the outer space that can catastrophically damage the planet, thus allowing Sephiroth to merge with the exposed Lifestream. To this end, he has to face both the game protagonists (Cloud and his comrades) as well as the antagonistic mega-corporation Shinra. Despite appearing multiple times in the games, it is revealed that it was Jenova who was taking his shape, while the real Sephiroth's body was sealed in Northern Crater. Therefore, he uses copies of himself in order to bring the Black Materia, the item required to summon Meteor, succeeding when tricking Cloud into believing he is also a copy. In the game's last battle, Sephiroth takes two forms to fight: the first one is , while the subsequent form is . After his defeat, Sephiroth reappears in Cloud's mind, but is once again defeated.
Sephiroth has brief cameo appearances in the action game prequel, Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
, in which he supports Shinra in their battle against the terrorist group AVALANCHE and later, the game revises his betrayal upon Shinra and his apparent death while fighting Cloud. Sephiroth also appears shortly in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, a CGI
film set two years after Final Fantasy VIIs ending, wherein Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, the movie's main antagonists and "remnants" of Sephiroth's will, try to reincarnate him. Although Kadaj eventually succeeds, Cloud Strife once again defeats Sephiroth, whose body changes back to Kadaj's. Sephiroth is also the focus of the chapter "Case of the Lifestream - Black" from the novella
On the Way to a Smile: Final Fantasy VII. Set during Final Fantasy VIIs ending, Sephiroth creates the disease Geostigma, a non-contagious disease that infects people who come in contact with tainted Lifestream.
Sephiroth appears as one of the antagonists of the original video animation
Last Order: Final Fantasy VII
which depicts the events from Nibelheim's destruction. Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
also features small appearances from Sephiroth in which discussions about the experiments that would make Lucrecia Crescent give birth to him are made. He is also a main character of the prequel Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
in which he and the protagonist Zack Fair
go in the search of two rebelled SOLDIERs, Genesis and Angeal, whom they are close, but during Nibelheim's destruction he repraises his role. Sephiroth appears as a boss in this part, while a copy of himself is then optional under the name of "Experiment No. 124." Executive producer Yoshinori Kitase
was pleased with Sephiroth's role in Crisis Core as there he has a "much more human side".
Ehrgeiz
. A redesigned Sephiroth also appears in the English and European versions Kingdom Hearts as an optional boss character in Olympus Coliseum. Lance Bass
would voice Sephiroth in this game, while in subsequent titles he is replaced by George Newbern
. In the Japanese rerelease of the game, Final Mix, an additional scene was added in which Sephiroth fights Cloud although the result of the match is not revealed. He was not included in the sequel Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
as director Tetsuya Nomura
could not give him a storyline related to Cloud and he feared negative fan response if Sephiroth did not have a notable role in the story. Sephiroth's third outside appearance is as another optional boss fight in Kingdom Hearts II
in which after he first encounters the series' protagonist, Sora
, and then Cloud, who is pursuing him. When Sephiroth battles Cloud, both of them disappear with Sora concluding they went somewhere else to continue. Nomura said that in this game Sephiroth represents Cloud's dark side in contrast to Tifa Lockhart
who represents his light side. Although Sephiroth does not appear in the prequel Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
, he is known as a hero that Zack Fair
aspires to be like. The staff, however, did not know if they would portray him as a being of darkness as shown in other titles. Sephiroth's fourth outside appearance is in the Itadaki Street
games Special and Portable, where he appears as an unlockable playable character.
Sephiroth was also the representative villain of Final Fantasy VII in Dissidia: Final Fantasy
. His fight against Cloud in the game was based on their fights from Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children. Along with the rest of the Dissidia cast and new characters, Sephiroth appears in the sequel Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
. He also appears in the puzzle platformer
video game LittleBigPlanet
and its sequel LittleBigPlanet 2
as a character model; Media Molecule
's Alex Evans
felt "honored" with the addition of Sephiroth to the title.
. His primary theme is , a piece utilizing bells, low drums, and a deep chorus, which accompanies Sephiroth's appearances throughout the game. In the final battle, plays while the player combats Sephiroth's first form, "Bizarro Sephiroth" (also known as "Reverse Sephiroth"). The most well-known piece is which is played during the final confrontation with Sephiroth. In an interview featured on G4
's Game Makers
(formerly Icons
), Uematsu revealed that this piece was designed to be a fusion of the musical styles of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky
and rock musician Jimi Hendrix
. The song revolves around his character, as Uematsu was thinking about him when writing it. Two official covers
have been done of this song, the first one being a different orchestration present in Kingdom Hearts. In Advent Children, a revised "One-Winged Angel" theme is played throughout the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth, this time with the progressive metal stylings of Nobuo Uematsu's band The Black Mages
as well as orchestral elements and new lyrics. There is also a fourth version titled "The World's Enemy" that plays in Crisis Core.
listed Sephiroth as number 2 in its "Top 10 Tuesday: Most Memorable Villains" while in the "Top 100 Videogame Villains", he was fourth. In October 2005, Electronic Gaming Monthly
listed Sephiroth as number one in a top 10 "Video Game Bosses" list. In December 2009, UGO Networks placed Sephiroth twenty-fifth on their list of "Top 25 Japanese RPG Characters" calling him "one of the most visually striking villains of all time" while praising how different he is from previous Final Fantasy villains. In Spring of 2005, Sephiroth was the winner in a GameFAQs character battle of villains. Sephiroth has also been named the number one villain in an episode of G4's Filter
. PCWorld
placed him second in "The 47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time" with praise focused on his story. GameSpy
put him eighth in their "Top 10 Villains in Games" by Cary Schwartzman who commented on how difficult it is to defeat him in Final Fantasy VII. In late 2007, Sephiroth was named fourteenth best character of all time in Dengeki PlayStation
s retrospective awards feature about the original PlayStation
. A reader's choice poll organized by GameSpot
placed Sephiroth at the top spot of the list. In this contest the character got five times more votes than Bowser who finished in second place, most of the comments noted the difficulty of the fight as well as distinctive elements between it and those found in other games. Sephiroth was listed at the top of IGN's "Final Fantasy VII: Top 10 Characters" in which writer Dave Smith commented he is the "heavyweight champion of Final Fantasy villains", praising his appearance and the reasons for why he became a villain. He would take the same spot in the "Top 25 Final Fantasy Characters" by the same site. In IGN's "Final Fantasy Reader's Choice", also written by Smith, Sephiroth was fourth with comments focused on his activities in the game's plot. IGN also put Sephiroth in the articles "Big Boss of the Day" and "Baddie Brawl", with the latter comparing him with Liquid Snake from Metal Gear Solid
. During February 2010, Famitsu
readers voted Sephiroth as the twenty-first most popular video game character. In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
from 2011, he was voted as the thirty-second best video game character.
Some game editors have criticized Sephiroth's character with IGN's David Smith stating that "Sephiroth was certainly a good-looking fellow, but his motivations were about as clear as mud..." when analysing the Final Fantasy antagonists. When comparing Sephiroth with the Final Fantasy VI
villain, Kefka Palazzo
, GamesRadar commented he "seems as interesting as a dead accountant painted brown." 1UP.com
took a humorous approach to Sephiroth's several appearances after apparent deaths and in other games, ranking him third in their "They Is Risen" feature, which covered the ten most notorious video game resurrections. The publication noted that if the character continued to be used Square Enix would eventually "run out of ways to remix One-Winged Angel." GameSpy editor Ryan Scott called Sephiroth the "King of Overrated Characters" during GameSpy's villain feature for Dissidia: Final Fantasy
saying that gamers were impressed by him only because of his design and by how he kills Aerith during Final Fantasy VII. On the other hand, AnimeFringe stated that Sephiroth is one of "the most notorious villain in the entire Final Fantasy series." Calling him also "quintessential bishounen in the eyes of many fans -- male and female", AnimeFringe also compared him with Kefka, but praising his complexity seen in flashbacks from Final Fantasy VII in which he is doubting and troubled about himself. In a retrospective on Final Fantasy antagonists, GamesRadar
listed Sephiroth as their top pick, citing his developed motives and acts of evil.
He was also featured alongside Cloud in ScrewAttack
's "Top Ten Coolest Characters" although they preferred Cloud more than they did him. The nature of Sephiroth's boss fights have received a similar reception. Game Informer
listed his original appearance in the third place of the publication's "Top Ten Boss Fights", saying that the "battle against Sephiroth is top-notch." Japanese idol Shoko Nakagawa
, a declared Final Fantasy VII fan, comically stated in an interview she would like to marry Sephiroth.
The scene in which Sephiroth kills Aerith during Final Fantasy VII also resulted in comments regarding Sephiroth's murder; ScrewAttack noted that with such action Sephiroth was established as "the biggest bastard" when comparing him with Cloud. GamesRadar simply called him "the biggest cock blocker in the gaming world" as writer Shane Patterson found Aerith's character to be appealing and due to the fact Sephiroth killed her, players were unable to use her anymore. Also referring to the scene as a shocking moment, GameSpot found Sephiroth's FMV sequence of him appearing between Nibelheim's fire "might be one of the most recognizable cutscenes ever to grace video games." GamesRadar's article "Non-playable characters we wish were playable" featured Sephiroth as a character that they wished would have been playable in Final Fantasy VII as that "could relive skewering Aerith like an annoyingly dainty, needlessly chaste salmon over and over."
Critics also commented on his role in other games. GamePro
initially felt it hard to work alongside him due to his later antagonistic role, but then got used to due the story's development. IGN AU stated that "Even Sephiroth gets his moments in the sun", praising the depth in his backstory, which would later make his boss battle more entertaining. IGN UK agreed, stating that his character was granted "a more human dimension" and appreciate some from his events before becoming an antagonist. His boss battle was also shown in 1UP's "25 More of the Most Badass Boss Fights Ever" in which the staff praised how the original battle from Final Fantasy VII was expanded in the title. A feature published by GamerHelp included Sephiroth's Kingdom Heartss fight in a feature titled "The Hardest Bosses of All Time", noting that regardless of the player's skill "walking away from this match unscathed" is not possible, to the point of saying that the fight was more difficult than the entirety of Final Fantasy VII. AnimeFringe stated that only advanced gamers could be able to defeat Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts because the player has no backup and that "[his] devastating attacks can kill in seconds."
in Japan and released in 1997. A different model was released as part of the Play Arts collection following the release of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Kanji Tashiro, Square Enix's manager of merchandise, said at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con
that this figure became one of their best-selling item. With the release of the movie he was also included in a series of promotional material, primarily consisting of posters. Kotobukiya has included the character in numerous merchandise including a series of cold casts based on his appearance in both the original game and the movie sequel. As a result of promotional campaigns organized in Japan by Square Enix and Coca-Cola
, a version of Sephiroth drawn in a super deformed
style was featured in the first two volumes of a promotional collection. Products not connected to the release of the games or movies have also been produced. These include a figure as part of the Final Fantasy Trading Arts Vol. 1 series, a set as part of the Square Minimum Collection along Cloud, and a rare figure of "Safer Sephiroth" as part of the Final Fantasy Creatures series (Chromium). "Reverse Sephiroth" was also released as a normal figure in volume 2. A figure based on his appearances in the Kingdom Hearts games was released in the second series of the Play Arts Kingdom Hearts sub-line. Some replica weapon companies have produced replicas of Sephiroth's sword, the Masamune, as a 6 feet (1.8 m) katana with a stainless steel unsharpened blade. Other types of merchandise includes collectible cards, keychains, lighters, phonecards and plush toys.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the role-playing game Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
developed by Square Co.
Square Co.
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
He is introduced there as the main antagonist. Character designer Tetsuya Nomura
Tetsuya Nomura
is a Japanese video game director and character designer working for Square Enix , best known for his work on both the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series.-Time before Square:Nomura was born in Kōchi, Japan...
wanted his role in the story to be different from the other Final Fantasy villains while his design is intended to contrast directly with that of the main character, Cloud Strife
Cloud Strife
is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Square's role-playing game Final Fantasy VII and several of its sequels and spin-offs. His original design was created by Final Fantasy VII character designer Tetsuya Nomura...
. His Japanese voice actor is Toshiyuki Morikawa
Toshiyuki Morikawa
is a prolific Japanese male voice actor from Yokohama, Kanagawa, was affiliated with Arts Vision. Lately, however, he has become the head of that a voice actor company he founded in Apr 2011. His name is also sometimes mistranslated as Tomoyuki...
; in English, he was first voiced by Lance Bass
Lance Bass
James Lance Bass , best known as Lance Bass, is an American pop singer, dancer, actor, film and television producer, and author. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop boy band 'N Sync. 'N Sync's success led Bass to work in film and television...
in Kingdom Hearts and by George Newbern
George Newbern
George Young Newbern is an American television and film actor best known for his roles as Bryan MacKenzie in Father of the Bride and its sequel Father of the Bride Part II as well as Danny in Friends...
in all his subsequent appearances.
In Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth is the result of an experiment by the mega-corporation Shinra, in which they used cells from the extraterrestrial lifeform Jenova. After discovering this, Sephiroth decides to become a god to take control of the planet; Cloud and the game's other protagonists choose to stop him. Sephiroth's role in the story as well as his background are expanded in the titles from Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII is a series of games and animated features developed by Square Enix based in the world and continuity of Final Fantasy VII...
. Additionally, he appears as a boss character in the Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The first game in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is the result of a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company. The game combines characters and settings from Disney...
series, and other video games developed by the same company.
Sephiroth has been well-received within the video game community, and is regularly featured in top positions on many villain lists, as well as lists of Final Fantasy characters. While his role in the story has been praised, many websites commented on how difficult it is to defeat Sephiroth in the games he appears in. Various types of merchandise based on his appearance have been developed, such as figurines.
Concept and creation
Sephiroth was designed by Final Fantasy VIIs character designer Tetsuya NomuraTetsuya Nomura
is a Japanese video game director and character designer working for Square Enix , best known for his work on both the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series.-Time before Square:Nomura was born in Kōchi, Japan...
. His character existed since Nomura thought that the game's plot would be about Cloud Strife
Cloud Strife
is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Square's role-playing game Final Fantasy VII and several of its sequels and spin-offs. His original design was created by Final Fantasy VII character designer Tetsuya Nomura...
pursuing Sephiroth with him already being the main antagonist. In the making of the plot, Nomura wanted Sephiroth to appear early in the game and then follow his way so that gamers would not meet the game's final boss late in the game. During development on Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth was meant to be Aerith Gainsborough
Aerith Gainsborough
— spelled Aeris Gainsborough in the English releases of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics — is a player character in Square's console role-playing game Final Fantasy VII...
's first love interest who she remembers when seeing Cloud. Before finishing the game, Sephiroth was replaced by Zack Fair
Zack Fair
is a fictional character from the Final Fantasy series by Square Enix. He first appeared as a non-player character in the role-playing game Final Fantasy VII. In the story, Zack is a late member from the paramilitary organization SOLDIER developed by the megacorporation Shinra Electric Power Company...
with Nomura considering it to be sudden. Director Yoshinori Kitase
Yoshinori Kitase
is a Japanese game producer and former game director that has been working for Square Enix since April 1, 1990. He is mostly known for his work on the role-playing video game series Final Fantasy and is currently the manager of 1st Production Department....
has regarded Sephiroth's role in the game as one of the reasons why the game has become very popular. Nomura later called Sephiroth "the ultimate antagonist in the Final Fantasy VII saga. There can't be anyone else." and regarded him as an enemy from a previous generation in contrast to his "remnants" that later appear. In early drafts of the game, Sephiroth's original personality would already be brutal and cruel, as well as strong willed with a calm ego. He would also suffer from Mako Addiction, a semi-conscious state result of high exposure to Mako energy, but would show withdrawal symptoms to retain his composure caused by his madness, making him a unique exception. Sephiroth was also meant to be influencing Cloud into believing he is a creation from his will, but such theory would later be dismissed. In another removed scene, when his true body is first seen in the Northern Crater, it would have the contours of a female. His name comes from Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
, in which the ten sephirot on the Tree of Life represent the ten attributes that God created through which he can manifest.
Illustrator Yoshitaka Amano
Yoshitaka Amano
is a Japanese artist. He began his career as an animator and has become known for his illustrations for the anime Vampire Hunter D and for his character designs, image illustrations and title logo designs for the Final Fantasy video game series developed by Square Enix . His influences include...
and Nomura drew the artwork of Sephiroth. He has long platinum hair and bright cyan eyes with cat-like pupils, and is portrayed in a black coat decorated with metallic pauldron
Pauldron
A pauldron is a component of plate armour, which evolved from spaulders in the 15th century. As with spaulders, pauldrons cover the shoulder area. Pauldrons tend to be larger than spaulders, covering the armpit, and sometimes parts of the back and chest...
s. Since appearing as Safer Sephiroth, Sephiroth has had a black angel wing on his back which references the theme music "One Winged Angel". When Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable. First released in 2007, the game is a prequel to the video game Final Fantasy VII and is also the sixth installment in metaseries Compilation of Final Fantasy VII which includes products related to the game...
was released, the staff stated that the reason for the wing's color being black was based on the notions of evil. Nomura has stated that Sephiroth was made to be a complete contrast to the game's main protagonist, Cloud's original designs of slicked-back, black hair with no spikes. His weapon, the Masamune, which has been featured in numerous Final Fantasy titles, is an elongated nodachi
Nodachi
A nodachi is a large two-handed Japanese sword. Some have suggested that the meaning of "nodachi" is roughly the same as ōdachi meaning "large/great sword". A confusion between the terms has nearly synonymized "nodachi" with the very large "ōdachi"...
that he learned to use during his days in SOLDIER
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
. The Masamune is named after the famous Japanese swordsmith Goro Nyudo Masamune
Masamune
, also known as , is widely recognized as Japan's greatest swordsmith. As no exact dates are known for Masamune's life, he has reached an almost legendary status. It is generally agreed that he made most of his swords in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, 1288–1328. He created swords, known as...
, whose blades are considered national treasures in Japan today.
Sephiroth was added to Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, the film sequel of the series, as script writer Kazushige Nojima
Kazushige Nojima
is a Japanese game scenario writer and is the founder of Stellavista Ltd.. He is best known for writing parts of Square Enix's Final Fantasy video game series—namely Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2—and the Kingdom Hearts series...
thought that the film's plot would become less entertaining without him. His revival was planned in early plan of the film, but the official reason was not reached until later dates. Nomura originally planned to make him appear since the start, but the staff spent two years to develop his design which caused them difficulties. Other details were made emphasize Sephiroth's other-worldly character such as the fact he would never blink or breathe, and that his voice always sounded calm. The staff stated that his strength considerably increased to the point that Sephiroth had "ascended to a new level of existence." Despite initially finding troubles about who would voice him, Nomura said that once Toshiyuki Morikawa
Toshiyuki Morikawa
is a prolific Japanese male voice actor from Yokohama, Kanagawa, was affiliated with Arts Vision. Lately, however, he has become the head of that a voice actor company he founded in Apr 2011. His name is also sometimes mistranslated as Tomoyuki...
auditioned for the role, he found it suitable. Morikawa was aided by the staff to make Sephiroth's lines so that his words would mean how superior the character feels. The voice director and Morikawa agreed to make Sephiroth's voice sound calm to the point that he would not have been defeated by Cloud, giving a feeling to Morikawa that he may reappear to continue their fight.
Final Fantasy VII series
Sephiroth appears as the main villain in Final Fantasy VIIFinal Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
, killing the president of the company Shinra is one of his first actions. Sephiroth was once the best and the most powerful member of SOLDIER, the elite warriors division of Shinra and rose to the status of celebrity during the Shinra Wutai war. After the war, however, Sephiroth was sent on a mission to the village of Nibelheim, wherein he discovered that he is the product of a biological experiment using cells from the extraterrestrial lifeform Jenova . Learning that Jenova tried to take control of the planet years ago, Sephiroth decides to follow her wish. Sephiroth then burns down the entire village and kills many, but is assumed dead after a confrontation with the game protagonist Cloud Strife
Cloud Strife
is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Square's role-playing game Final Fantasy VII and several of its sequels and spin-offs. His original design was created by Final Fantasy VII character designer Tetsuya Nomura...
. A few years later, Sephiroth once again appears to continue his mission.
Sephiroth's primary objective is to become a god that rules over the entire planet by merging with the planet life force, known as Lifestream, and taking control over it. In order to do so, he must summon Meteor, a destructive meteorite entity from the outer space that can catastrophically damage the planet, thus allowing Sephiroth to merge with the exposed Lifestream. To this end, he has to face both the game protagonists (Cloud and his comrades) as well as the antagonistic mega-corporation Shinra. Despite appearing multiple times in the games, it is revealed that it was Jenova who was taking his shape, while the real Sephiroth's body was sealed in Northern Crater. Therefore, he uses copies of himself in order to bring the Black Materia, the item required to summon Meteor, succeeding when tricking Cloud into believing he is also a copy. In the game's last battle, Sephiroth takes two forms to fight: the first one is , while the subsequent form is . After his defeat, Sephiroth reappears in Cloud's mind, but is once again defeated.
Sephiroth has brief cameo appearances in the action game prequel, Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
is a Japanese action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in 2004. It was the first original game to be produced by Square Enix exclusively for mobile phones, and was released on NTT DoCoMo's FOMA iMode line of phones on a monthly subscription basis...
, in which he supports Shinra in their battle against the terrorist group AVALANCHE and later, the game revises his betrayal upon Shinra and his apparent death while fighting Cloud. Sephiroth also appears shortly in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, a CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
film set two years after Final Fantasy VIIs ending, wherein Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, the movie's main antagonists and "remnants" of Sephiroth's will, try to reincarnate him. Although Kadaj eventually succeeds, Cloud Strife once again defeats Sephiroth, whose body changes back to Kadaj's. Sephiroth is also the focus of the chapter "Case of the Lifestream - Black" from the novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
On the Way to a Smile: Final Fantasy VII. Set during Final Fantasy VIIs ending, Sephiroth creates the disease Geostigma, a non-contagious disease that infects people who come in contact with tainted Lifestream.
Sephiroth appears as one of the antagonists of the original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
Last Order: Final Fantasy VII
Last Order: Final Fantasy VII
, also abbreviated as Last Order or LO, is a 2005 Japanese anime original video animation produced by Madhouse and released by Square Enix. It was directed by Morio Asaka and produced by Masao Maruyama, Jungo Maruta, and Akio Ofuji. Tetsuya Nomura acted as the supervising director...
which depicts the events from Nibelheim's destruction. Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
is an action role-playing third-person shooter video game developed and published by Square Enix in 2006 for the PlayStation 2. It is part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII metaseries, a multimedia collection set within the universe of the popular 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII...
also features small appearances from Sephiroth in which discussions about the experiments that would make Lucrecia Crescent give birth to him are made. He is also a main character of the prequel Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable. First released in 2007, the game is a prequel to the video game Final Fantasy VII and is also the sixth installment in metaseries Compilation of Final Fantasy VII which includes products related to the game...
in which he and the protagonist Zack Fair
Zack Fair
is a fictional character from the Final Fantasy series by Square Enix. He first appeared as a non-player character in the role-playing game Final Fantasy VII. In the story, Zack is a late member from the paramilitary organization SOLDIER developed by the megacorporation Shinra Electric Power Company...
go in the search of two rebelled SOLDIERs, Genesis and Angeal, whom they are close, but during Nibelheim's destruction he repraises his role. Sephiroth appears as a boss in this part, while a copy of himself is then optional under the name of "Experiment No. 124." Executive producer Yoshinori Kitase
Yoshinori Kitase
is a Japanese game producer and former game director that has been working for Square Enix since April 1, 1990. He is mostly known for his work on the role-playing video game series Final Fantasy and is currently the manager of 1st Production Department....
was pleased with Sephiroth's role in Crisis Core as there he has a "much more human side".
Other appearances
His first appearance outside Final Fantasy VII was as a selectable character in the fighting gameFighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
Ehrgeiz
Ehrgeiz
, fully titled Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring, is a 3D fighting game developed by DreamFactory and published by Namco in 1998 for the arcade platform. It was first ported to the PlayStation and published by Square Co...
. A redesigned Sephiroth also appears in the English and European versions Kingdom Hearts as an optional boss character in Olympus Coliseum. Lance Bass
Lance Bass
James Lance Bass , best known as Lance Bass, is an American pop singer, dancer, actor, film and television producer, and author. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop boy band 'N Sync. 'N Sync's success led Bass to work in film and television...
would voice Sephiroth in this game, while in subsequent titles he is replaced by George Newbern
George Newbern
George Young Newbern is an American television and film actor best known for his roles as Bryan MacKenzie in Father of the Bride and its sequel Father of the Bride Part II as well as Danny in Friends...
. In the Japanese rerelease of the game, Final Mix, an additional scene was added in which Sephiroth fights Cloud although the result of the match is not revealed. He was not included in the sequel Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and Japanese studio Jupiter and published by Square Enix in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance. The game serves as an intermediary between the two larger-scale PlayStation 2 games in the Kingdom Hearts series. It was one of the first GBA games to...
as director Tetsuya Nomura
Tetsuya Nomura
is a Japanese video game director and character designer working for Square Enix , best known for his work on both the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series.-Time before Square:Nomura was born in Kōchi, Japan...
could not give him a storyline related to Cloud and he feared negative fan response if Sephiroth did not have a notable role in the story. Sephiroth's third outside appearance is as another optional boss fight in Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts II
is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by Buena Vista Games and Square Enix in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console...
in which after he first encounters the series' protagonist, Sora
Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
is a fictional character and the main protagonist of Square Enix's best-selling Kingdom Hearts series. Introduced in the series' first game in 2002, Sora is a cheerful teenager who originates from Destiny Islands and has been best friends with Riku and Kairi since early childhood. When they plan to...
, and then Cloud, who is pursuing him. When Sephiroth battles Cloud, both of them disappear with Sora concluding they went somewhere else to continue. Nomura said that in this game Sephiroth represents Cloud's dark side in contrast to Tifa Lockhart
Tifa Lockhart
is a player character in Square Enix's role playing game Final Fantasy VII. Created by character designer Tetsuya Nomura, she has since appeared in the fighting game Ehrgeiz and cameo appearances in other titles, as well as the CGI film sequel to Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children and related games...
who represents his light side. Although Sephiroth does not appear in the prequel Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix and Disney for the PlayStation Portable, serving as the sixth installment in the Kingdom Hearts series. The game was released on UMD in Japan on January 9, 2010, in North America on September 7, 2010 and in Europe on September...
, he is known as a hero that Zack Fair
Zack Fair
is a fictional character from the Final Fantasy series by Square Enix. He first appeared as a non-player character in the role-playing game Final Fantasy VII. In the story, Zack is a late member from the paramilitary organization SOLDIER developed by the megacorporation Shinra Electric Power Company...
aspires to be like. The staff, however, did not know if they would portray him as a being of darkness as shown in other titles. Sephiroth's fourth outside appearance is in the Itadaki Street
Itadaki Street
is a computer board game series originally created by Dragon Quest designer Yuji Horii. The first game was released in Japan on Nintendo's Famicom in 1991. Since then, sequels have been released for the Super Famicom and Sony's PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Playstation Portable and Nintendo DS...
games Special and Portable, where he appears as an unlockable playable character.
Sephiroth was also the representative villain of Final Fantasy VII in Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Dissidia: Final Fantasy
is an action RPG/fighting game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable as part of the campaign of the Final Fantasy series 20th anniversary. Information on the game was first released during the "Square Enix Party" event of May 2008...
. His fight against Cloud in the game was based on their fights from Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children. Along with the rest of the Dissidia cast and new characters, Sephiroth appears in the sequel Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
is a 2011 fighting game published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable as part of the Final Fantasy series. It was developed by the company's 1st Production Department...
. He also appears in the puzzle platformer
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
video game LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California...
and its sequel LittleBigPlanet 2
LittleBigPlanet 2
LittleBigPlanet 2 is a puzzle platformer video game, centred around user-generated content. The game is developed by Media Molecule, published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for PlayStation 3 and was originally scheduled for release in November 2010 but was delayed until January 2011...
as a character model; Media Molecule
Media Molecule
Media Molecule is a British video game developer based in Guildford in Surrey. The studio was founded in January 2006 by former Lionhead Studios employees Mark Healey, Alex Evans, Dave Smith, and Kareem Ettouney...
's Alex Evans
Alex Evans (video game developer)
Alex Evans is a UK based computer games developer. Evans previously worked at Guildford-based Lionhead Studios and developed the video game Rag Doll Kung Fu independently. He is the co-founder of Media Molecule, a computer games studio based in Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom...
felt "honored" with the addition of Sephiroth to the title.
Musical themes
In Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth is the focus of three pieces of music written by series composer Nobuo UematsuNobuo Uematsu
is a Japanese video game composer, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series. He is considered as one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community...
. His primary theme is , a piece utilizing bells, low drums, and a deep chorus, which accompanies Sephiroth's appearances throughout the game. In the final battle, plays while the player combats Sephiroth's first form, "Bizarro Sephiroth" (also known as "Reverse Sephiroth"). The most well-known piece is which is played during the final confrontation with Sephiroth. In an interview featured on G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
's Game Makers
Game Makers
Game Makers is a TV show on G4. The original series followed the process of game development, as a company attempts to finish a big new game in time for shipment. The "original" Game Makers did not air often, and when it did it was referred to as a "G4 Special Presentation" rather than a separate...
(formerly Icons
Icons (TV series)
Icons was a documentary TV show on G4 that originally focused on significant people, companies, products, history, and milestones in world of video games. It was relaunched in 2006 and focused entirely on pop culture. It was cancelled soon afterwards....
), Uematsu revealed that this piece was designed to be a fusion of the musical styles of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
and rock musician Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. The song revolves around his character, as Uematsu was thinking about him when writing it. Two official covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
have been done of this song, the first one being a different orchestration present in Kingdom Hearts. In Advent Children, a revised "One-Winged Angel" theme is played throughout the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth, this time with the progressive metal stylings of Nobuo Uematsu's band The Black Mages
The Black Mages
The Black Mages were a Japanese instrumental rock band formed in 2002 by Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito - three composers for Square Enix. The band arranged Uematsu's Final Fantasy video game series-based compositions in a rock style often similar to progressive metal, achieved...
as well as orchestral elements and new lyrics. There is also a fourth version titled "The World's Enemy" that plays in Crisis Core.
Critical reception
The gaming magazines, on multiple occasions, have chosen Sephiroth as one of the highly notable characters from the series; In March 2006, IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
listed Sephiroth as number 2 in its "Top 10 Tuesday: Most Memorable Villains" while in the "Top 100 Videogame Villains", he was fourth. In October 2005, Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
listed Sephiroth as number one in a top 10 "Video Game Bosses" list. In December 2009, UGO Networks placed Sephiroth twenty-fifth on their list of "Top 25 Japanese RPG Characters" calling him "one of the most visually striking villains of all time" while praising how different he is from previous Final Fantasy villains. In Spring of 2005, Sephiroth was the winner in a GameFAQs character battle of villains. Sephiroth has also been named the number one villain in an episode of G4's Filter
Filter (TV series)
Filter is an American television series on the G4 cable television channel which follows a countdown format. It was canceled in December 2005, resurrected in a re-formatted form, and then once again was canceled in August 2006. It is currently airing as a commercial break hosted by Candace Baily....
. PCWorld
PC World (magazine)
PC World is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal-technology products and services...
placed him second in "The 47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time" with praise focused on his story. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
put him eighth in their "Top 10 Villains in Games" by Cary Schwartzman who commented on how difficult it is to defeat him in Final Fantasy VII. In late 2007, Sephiroth was named fourteenth best character of all time in Dengeki PlayStation
Dengeki PlayStation
is a Japanese gaming magazine published by ASCII Media Works . The magazine originally featured information pertaining to PlayStation video games, but since then has also incorporated information from PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable games...
s retrospective awards feature about the original PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. A reader's choice poll organized by GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
placed Sephiroth at the top spot of the list. In this contest the character got five times more votes than Bowser who finished in second place, most of the comments noted the difficulty of the fight as well as distinctive elements between it and those found in other games. Sephiroth was listed at the top of IGN's "Final Fantasy VII: Top 10 Characters" in which writer Dave Smith commented he is the "heavyweight champion of Final Fantasy villains", praising his appearance and the reasons for why he became a villain. He would take the same spot in the "Top 25 Final Fantasy Characters" by the same site. In IGN's "Final Fantasy Reader's Choice", also written by Smith, Sephiroth was fourth with comments focused on his activities in the game's plot. IGN also put Sephiroth in the articles "Big Boss of the Day" and "Baddie Brawl", with the latter comparing him with Liquid Snake from Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid
is a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
. During February 2010, Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
readers voted Sephiroth as the twenty-first most popular video game character. In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition is a Guinness World Records book dedicated to video games. The first edition was released in February 2008 in association with the video games world records' tracking organization Twin Galaxies. The second edition was released in 2009...
from 2011, he was voted as the thirty-second best video game character.
Some game editors have criticized Sephiroth's character with IGN's David Smith stating that "Sephiroth was certainly a good-looking fellow, but his motivations were about as clear as mud..." when analysing the Final Fantasy antagonists. When comparing Sephiroth with the Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VI
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square , released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Final Fantasy series. Set in a fantasy world with a technology level equivalent to that of the Second Industrial Revolution, the game's story focuses on a...
villain, Kefka Palazzo
Kefka Palazzo
is a character in the Final Fantasy series of video games. Originally designed by Yoshitaka Amano, he appears in Final Fantasy VI as a clown-like, nihilistic psychopath who acts as the game's main antagonist...
, GamesRadar commented he "seems as interesting as a dead accountant painted brown." 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
took a humorous approach to Sephiroth's several appearances after apparent deaths and in other games, ranking him third in their "They Is Risen" feature, which covered the ten most notorious video game resurrections. The publication noted that if the character continued to be used Square Enix would eventually "run out of ways to remix One-Winged Angel." GameSpy editor Ryan Scott called Sephiroth the "King of Overrated Characters" during GameSpy's villain feature for Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Dissidia: Final Fantasy
is an action RPG/fighting game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable as part of the campaign of the Final Fantasy series 20th anniversary. Information on the game was first released during the "Square Enix Party" event of May 2008...
saying that gamers were impressed by him only because of his design and by how he kills Aerith during Final Fantasy VII. On the other hand, AnimeFringe stated that Sephiroth is one of "the most notorious villain in the entire Final Fantasy series." Calling him also "quintessential bishounen in the eyes of many fans -- male and female", AnimeFringe also compared him with Kefka, but praising his complexity seen in flashbacks from Final Fantasy VII in which he is doubting and troubled about himself. In a retrospective on Final Fantasy antagonists, GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
listed Sephiroth as their top pick, citing his developed motives and acts of evil.
He was also featured alongside Cloud in ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
's "Top Ten Coolest Characters" although they preferred Cloud more than they did him. The nature of Sephiroth's boss fights have received a similar reception. Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
listed his original appearance in the third place of the publication's "Top Ten Boss Fights", saying that the "battle against Sephiroth is top-notch." Japanese idol Shoko Nakagawa
Shoko Nakagawa
is a Japanese idol, tarento, actress, voice actress, illustrator, and singer. She is best known as the presenter of Pokémon Sunday. She is the daughter of Katsuhiko Nakagawa, a celebrity in Japan in the 1980s....
, a declared Final Fantasy VII fan, comically stated in an interview she would like to marry Sephiroth.
The scene in which Sephiroth kills Aerith during Final Fantasy VII also resulted in comments regarding Sephiroth's murder; ScrewAttack noted that with such action Sephiroth was established as "the biggest bastard" when comparing him with Cloud. GamesRadar simply called him "the biggest cock blocker in the gaming world" as writer Shane Patterson found Aerith's character to be appealing and due to the fact Sephiroth killed her, players were unable to use her anymore. Also referring to the scene as a shocking moment, GameSpot found Sephiroth's FMV sequence of him appearing between Nibelheim's fire "might be one of the most recognizable cutscenes ever to grace video games." GamesRadar's article "Non-playable characters we wish were playable" featured Sephiroth as a character that they wished would have been playable in Final Fantasy VII as that "could relive skewering Aerith like an annoyingly dainty, needlessly chaste salmon over and over."
Critics also commented on his role in other games. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
initially felt it hard to work alongside him due to his later antagonistic role, but then got used to due the story's development. IGN AU stated that "Even Sephiroth gets his moments in the sun", praising the depth in his backstory, which would later make his boss battle more entertaining. IGN UK agreed, stating that his character was granted "a more human dimension" and appreciate some from his events before becoming an antagonist. His boss battle was also shown in 1UP's "25 More of the Most Badass Boss Fights Ever" in which the staff praised how the original battle from Final Fantasy VII was expanded in the title. A feature published by GamerHelp included Sephiroth's Kingdom Heartss fight in a feature titled "The Hardest Bosses of All Time", noting that regardless of the player's skill "walking away from this match unscathed" is not possible, to the point of saying that the fight was more difficult than the entirety of Final Fantasy VII. AnimeFringe stated that only advanced gamers could be able to defeat Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts because the player has no backup and that "[his] devastating attacks can kill in seconds."
Merchandise
Sephiroth's appearance has served as basis for several types of merchandise. These include being part of the "Extra Knights" action figures first published by BandaiBandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
in Japan and released in 1997. A different model was released as part of the Play Arts collection following the release of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Kanji Tashiro, Square Enix's manager of merchandise, said at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
that this figure became one of their best-selling item. With the release of the movie he was also included in a series of promotional material, primarily consisting of posters. Kotobukiya has included the character in numerous merchandise including a series of cold casts based on his appearance in both the original game and the movie sequel. As a result of promotional campaigns organized in Japan by Square Enix and Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, a version of Sephiroth drawn in a super deformed
Super deformed
Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
style was featured in the first two volumes of a promotional collection. Products not connected to the release of the games or movies have also been produced. These include a figure as part of the Final Fantasy Trading Arts Vol. 1 series, a set as part of the Square Minimum Collection along Cloud, and a rare figure of "Safer Sephiroth" as part of the Final Fantasy Creatures series (Chromium). "Reverse Sephiroth" was also released as a normal figure in volume 2. A figure based on his appearances in the Kingdom Hearts games was released in the second series of the Play Arts Kingdom Hearts sub-line. Some replica weapon companies have produced replicas of Sephiroth's sword, the Masamune, as a 6 feet (1.8 m) katana with a stainless steel unsharpened blade. Other types of merchandise includes collectible cards, keychains, lighters, phonecards and plush toys.
External links
- Sephiroth on the Final Fantasy Wiki