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"Absurd. Defeating me is meaningless. You know that more than anyone, Cloud. No matter how many times I fall, your darkness keeps calling me back!"

—Sephiroth to Cloud

Sephiroth is a mysterious swordsman with a connection toCloud's past. Cloud considers Sephiroth a representation of his own inner darkness. He, along with Cloud,Tifa,Aerith,Yuffie,Zack, andCid, originates from the Squaresoft gameFinal Fantasy VII, where he serves as themain antagonist. So far, Sephiroth is the only main antagonist from theFinal Fantasy franchise to appear in theKingdom Hearts series.

Development[edit]

Sephiroth originally appeared as an optional boss in the international version ofKingdom Hearts, and was retained for theKingdom Hearts Final Mix version of the game, which also added a short scene between him and Cloud. InKingdom Hearts II, his role was greatly expanded, giving him a short side-story featuring him, Cloud, and Tifa.[citation needed]

Story[edit]

Kingdom Hearts Union χ[edit]

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Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep[edit]

While Terra is in Olympus Coliseum, Zack reveals that he aspires to become a hero like "another," referring to Sephiroth.^[1] Later, after Master Xehanort's defeat, a black feather falls before Zack as he watches Hercules train, hinting at Sephiroth's presence.

Kingdom Hearts[edit]

Sephiroth challenges Sora as the contender for the Platinum Match.

Needing to find Sephiroth,Cloud decides to ally withHades. Hades promises to locate Sephiroth in exchange for Cloud defeating Hercules in a tournament, with no intention of honoring his agreement.[citation needed]

Sephiroth appears during thePlatinum Match at Olympus Coliseum, and after a difficult fight, Sora narrowly seizes victory. As Sora leaves the stadium, Cloud enters. Sephiroth invites Cloud to turn to the darkness, but Cloud refuses, launching into a high-speed aerial battle whose outcome is left unobserved.

Kingdom Hearts II[edit]

Sephiroth interrupts the gang on their way to stave off the invasion, and inquires about Cloud's whereabouts.

Right before the invasion of Hollow Bastion, Cloud warns Sora and company about Sephiroth, and his ways of the darkness. Later, as Sora exits the castle to help defend against the invasion, Sephiroth appears. He asks about Cloud's whereabouts, and although Sora says nothing, Donald and Goofy retort that Cloud recognizes Sephiroth to be the manifestation of his own darkness. Seeing that Cloud is becoming enlightened and desiring to fight him, Sephiroth takes his leave.

During the battle, Cloud is surrounded byHeartless, but Sephiroth intervenes, defeating them all in one slash. Cloud intends to defeat his nemesis to escape the darkness, but Sephiroth only replies that Cloud would never be able to do so, and would always cower in the light. Cloud vehemently denies his dark counterpart's claims, but Sephiroth is undeterred, and leaves just as Tifa arrives.

Sephiroth battles Cloud while tempting him to embrace his inner darkness.

After theMaster Control Program is defeated, Sora encounters Sephiroth atThe Dark Depths. The villain again asks about Cloud, but Sora and his companions do not reveal anything. He then inquires about Sora,Donald, andGoofy's identities, but again, they refuse to answer. Sephiroth then notices Sora'sKeyblade and attacks, intending to test Sora's power and that of the Keyblade. Even though Donald and Goofy accompany Sora when he confronts Sephiroth, they do not fight alongside him, as Sephiroth only wishes to battle the Keyblade master. Sora appears to overcome him, but Sephiroth simply shrugs off the battle. Sephiroth compliments Sora on his skill in wielding the Keyblade, but says that Cloud is the only one that could "eliminate him." Sephiroth then tells Sora to find Cloud so that they could settle their feud.

Cloud arrives later, and initiates a battle with Sephiroth, who desires to draw Cloud into the darkness. However, Tifa protects Cloud, saying that Cloud does have light in him, and that, even if he didn't, then he just needed to be surrounded by light. Nevertheless, Sephiroth and Cloud start off for another battle, and after Tifa's intervention, Cloud glows in light, surprising Sephiroth and causing him to drop his guard. The two disappear in a brilliant flash of light.

Other appearances[edit]

Dissidia Final Fantasy[edit]

Sephiroth's appearances based on his outfit fromKingdom Hearts has appeared as an alternate costume for him in theDissidia Final Fantasy series.

InDissidia 012 Final Fantasy, his "Kingdom Hearts Gear" outfit is available as downloadable content.

InDissidia Final Fantasy NT, his "One-Winged Angel" outfit is available as a purchasable item in the in-game shop.

Design[edit]

Sephiroth's appearance in bothKingdom Hearts andKingdom Hearts II is largely the same as his appearance in the various games of theCompilation of Final Fantasy VII, albeit with a few significant differences. He has his distinctive long, silver hair with long bangs that frame his face, and dresses in a black leather coat. The coat has a large collar that reaches his ears even when folded back, and is kept closed by a black belt with a silver buckle around his waist. Unlike in theFinal Fantasy games, Sephiroth's coat has a red-violet lining in the front. It is also noticeably more tattered in theKingdom Hearts games. InKingdom Hearts, Sephiroth also has regular blue eyes, unlike the green, catlike eyes he and his Remnants have in the main series, and he is right-handed rather than left. The sleeves of his coat end in metal rings in place of normal cuffs, and he wears black leather gloves. There is an odd, black and red, fin-like growth on each forearm. Sephiroth's face looks strikingly like Cloud's, which Goofy comments on inKingdom Hearts II. This similarity may explain Sephiroth's difference in eye color from his original incarnation.

Sephiroth's chest is exposed, revealing a grey strap around his abdomen with two black belts over it, as well as two brown, overall-like straps that intersect over his chest. He wears black pants and black knee-high boots, with two grey belts wrapped around each boot as well as a silver pauldron over each shoulder. In both games, Sephiroth sports a large, navy blue wing on his right shoulder, a design feature that has carried over to several characters associated withJenova in theCompilation of Final Fantasy VII. InKingdom Hearts II, he gains two more wings of the same color, one of which sprouts from each of his hips, possibly referring the multiple wings of hisSafer∙Sephiroth form as the final boss ofFinal Fantasy VII. Sephiroth carries his iconic sword, Masamune, as his weapon. Sephiroth is one of only two characters who does not reappear in theirAdvent Children attire, the other being Cid.

Personality[edit]

Sephiroth is cold, calculating, and ruthless, though not entirely uncaring. He is taciturn and focused, determined to draw Cloud down the path of darkness. Like manyFinal Fantasy characters, Sephiroth displays stoic personality traits, coupled with an almost monotone voice. Almost emotionless, he never overreacts to anything. Sephiroth is incredibly powerful, both physically and mentally, and is convinced that his power surpasses that of anyone else. However, he is not as arrogant as others who had fallen to the darkness, such asMaleficent andJafar, but gauges his opponents and admits their skill when they prove it, as he does at the end of his battle with Sora inKingdom Hearts II.

Abilities[edit]

Main article:Game:Sephiroth

In all incarnations, Sephiroth is portrayed as a master swordsman, wielding a long blade known as the Masamune. In theKingdom Hearts universe, Sephiroth boasts a large repertoire of techniques that reflect some of the abilities he used inFinal Fantasy VII. He moves about with impressive speed, and is able to fly and teleport. His "Firaga Wall" attack summons gigantic pillars of flames that can suck matter in. Another attack sends out orbs of darkness called "Shadow Flares". His most powerful attack, "Meteor," calls down meteors that revolve around him before exploding.

His most noticeable technique is "Heartless Angel", which that drains Sora's MP and defeated him instantly (unless Second Chance is equipped, in which case he will be left with 1 HP), if he is not interrupted in time, immediately followed by "Flash", which is fatal unless blocked via Reaction Command. He also uses a variation of Cloud's "Omnislash", in which he flies around the arena slashing wildly. In both games, all of his attacks are extremely powerful, able to easily kill Sora even with maxed stats. Sephiroth has extremely high HP in both games. To add to the difficulty, Sora must fight Sephiroth one-on-one without any help from his allies.

InKingdom Hearts, Sephiroth ranks as one of the hardest bosses in the game, rivalingKurt Zisa andPhantom, but is arguably surpassed in difficulty byXemnas, known at the time as "Unknown". InKingdom Hearts II, he is also one of the hardest bosses, but is again surpassed by theOrganization XIII's Replica Data and theLingering Will.

Origin[edit]

Sephiroth debuted as the main antagonist inFinal Fantasy VII. Once revered as a great hero, his discovery of the mysteries surrounding his origins and nature drives him to insanity. Easily recognizable by his foreboding appearance and frighteningly long sword, Sephiroth aspires to become a supreme being by using a destructive item known as the Black Materia to cast Meteor and devastate the world, wherein he would absorb the energy used to heal the Planet, and attain godhood. Sephiroth has developed a murderous obsession with Cloud Strife, who constantly impedes him.

Almost all of Sephiroth's attacks in theKingdom Hearts series, such as "Supernova", "Heartless Angel", and "Shadow Flare", are named after attacks he uses in theFinal Fantasy series. The few attacks he does not know in theFinal Fantasy series, such as "Meteor" and "Flash", are still named after attacks in the series. Sephiroth'sKingdom Hearts appearance heavily influences his attacks inDissidia Final Fantasy, such as his Flash attack fromKingdom Hearts II appearing as "Oblivion", and his Shadow Flare, which uses similar graphics to the twoKingdom Hearts games in the original Japanese version ofDissidia. His Heaven's Light HP attack resembles his aerial combo inKingdom Hearts II, and in his EX Mode, Sephiroth takes on a purple aura similar to that he takes on in theKingdom Hearts series when his HP is low. Sephiroth also quotes or paraphrases many of hisKingdom Hearts lines, such as "It's time" (based on "The time has come") and "Know your place."

Notes and references[edit]

• Entelechy
• Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden
• Olympus Coliseum
• Final Fantasy characters
• Kingdom Hearts characters
• Kingdom Hearts II characters
• Kingdom Hearts Union χ characters

• Articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with section stubs