The Curious Case of Sephiroth

[@XellosNi]

Sephiroth went from being exploited by Shinra, to being expolited by Square Enix.

[@tigerwarrior1787]

Funny thing... Sephiroth is the PHYSICAL villain we (as consumers) see as the Big Bad... but we often times forget that the one individual who set all this in motion, whether Shinra would ever give the Green Light or not, is the deranged Dr. Hojo. He was the one who created Sephiroth, and messed with his head enough to push Sephiroth on that edge of sanity and madness. After Nibelheim, Sephiroth became the monster we see him as today, though Hojo is the true monster behind it all. Even in Dirge of Cerberus, Hojo was, yet again, behind the creation of Weiss, and this is the reason why most who know the lore of FF7 dictate that, in the eyes of Cloud and Crew, Sephiroth is a big bad guy, but we, as the players, see Sephiroth in that weird blurred area between Victim and Monster, due to how Hojo had created him and subsequently raised Sephiroth.

[@GodOfOrphans]

Don't forget that Jenova more than likely influenced his thoughts as well since everything that has jenova cells in them is networked wouldn't at all surprise me if what really drove him to villainy was jenova psionically influencing him more than he even realized. His end goal is basically to complete the feeding cycle of Jenova after all. For all his talk of ascending to godhood he seems to be essentially doing the dirty work of an interplanetary apex predator that literally eats lower lifeforms like himself for breakfast.

[@LadyAhro]

I was thinking this just while I've been replaying FF7 and we got to Nibelheim. Blasted Hojo has a lot to answer for in regards to shaping Sephiroth and hiding answers from him.

[@unskillfullymasterful]

@@GodOfOrphans if sephiroth met his real mother , i think he could've broken free from jenova's grasp . much like how cloud had tifa save him from his fallen state .

[@GodOfOrphans]

@@unskillfullymasterful Maybe, Lucrecia has Jenova cells too though.

[@TheBlackDeck]

Without shinras resources he would have been a crazy guy tinkering with things, like Cid, or Palmer.

[@grandmasterfarmer4792]

Sephiroth in the flames of Nibelheim will always be there in my mind forever.

[@Drifter2025]

Instead of rent free, we have to pay rent to that memory.

[@maloskain]

I legit used to just stare at the picture in the game booklet.

[@gagank478]

​@@Drifter2025😂

[@Tidwillshare]

"I will not become a memory" - Sephiroth *becomes a memory

[@BathrobeLady]

Would you go as far as to say it's burned into your mind?

[@sciverzero8197]

I don't think Sephiroth was ever depicted as a bad guy who became worse in the original. I think he was simply A Guy who you knew nothing about, who had a psychotic break and did some truly evil things.. and then died... and came back as something completely inhuman, who never talks TO anyone except Cloud, who he treats as if he's simply an inanimate toy on a shelf for him to have one sided conversations with himself at. And there's argument to how much of that was Jenova and not... but I think Sephiroth, in Nibelheim, was pretty human... but neither really good nor bad, just a soldier doing his job without notions of judgement on it as moral or not. It simply wasn't his place to decide and he had no reason to believe, as far as we know, that it was immoral. He seems disgusted with Hojo's experiment with the mako compressors and the once-people inside them... but not surprised, because he always had little respect for the man. Then as he reads the mansion's library he truly see's the horror of what his company does, and it shatters him to the point where (and this is important) he believes in the legacy of the _Cetra_ as being his legacy, because that's what Shinra thought Jenova was, and that's all he knows about it. But he doesn't just become angry, he becomes someone who isn't even human, and is outraged on behalf of a culture _he doesn't even belong to_ figuratively or literally. Not only is he not Cetra by birth because he's a piece of Jenova, he's more a member of humanity than anything else, by culture. Of course... if the people you were a part of undeniably, did something so reprehensible as a what he believes humanity did to the Cetra, would you really be able to own the fact that you are a member of that culture? Or would you, in a desire to completely disown it and not accept even the slightest possibility of being a minor contributor to the blame as a tiny part of it... decide the entire thing needed to go, and in fact you were always a member of the oppressed instead, and just didn't know it? That's why Sephiroth went insane and killed everyone... he couldn't accept that he WAS still human, because he didn't WANT to be human, but he didn't want to be a monster made from a human either... so he decided that he was a victim and used it as justification for a psychotic _mindless, and pointless_ rampage... and then was killed. But his anger survived like a curse, except that now, in the lifestream, he had access to the full knowledge of what he truly was... and what he _wasn't..._ and having that omniscience, removed any sort of human will or intent from him. He no longer saw people, or thought of them, he instead saw humans and other living things the way we see bacteria... not as individual lifeforms, but as a vague mass of some stuff that's on an organism, in this case, the planet. And he treated them as if they were bacterial cultures in a petry dish. Monologuing near them, but only to himself, because he knew they couldn't respond or comprehend him. From the time he entered the lifestream, Sephiroth ceased to even be "a person" in the original game's portrayal. Neither relatable nor unrelatable... he was simply a disaster happening to the world, rather than a person trying to do something to it... but an intelligent disaster with a will of its own, just not one... that could be called a person. He wasn't a Machiavelian manipulator... he was more of a second author, who had nothing but spite for the story the earth was writing, and wanted to edit it into oblivion. He stopped being a character in the story and started writing in competition with the actual author. But that's all hyperbole, not literal... but it does describe his portrayal. His... original game portrayal. Even if it wasn't what was intended for his portrayal, it was what they created.

[@beezybaby1289]

This is one of the best comments I’ve ever read on KZbin

[@londobellace]

I agree with what you said. Which is why it's a shame that Squenix caters to fans too much. I wish the remake still did the jaws thing, instead of making hm the final boss. IMO, the Midgar Zolom cutscene from FF7 was more impressive proof of what Sephiroth can do than anything the remake did. Ardyn from FF15 is a lot like Sephiroth, except his motivations are a bit more relatable. BTW, is it me or does no else see the obvious comparison between Jenova and Lavos. I can't be the only one that saw this.

[@m4riiko]

this comment needs more likes!

[@karurosuh]

@sciverzero8197 "he had access to the full knowledge of what he truly was... and what he wasn't... and having that omniscience, removed any sort of human will or intent from him." what do you think makes someone human then? in sephiroth's perspective atleast. and then with his omniscience, why is it he's not?

[@Yurikon3]

OG Sephiroth was impressive since he rarely said anything. He was pretty much enigma. Just like his mother he had just become something totally detached from humanity. When he started to become this "pear-selling salesman" he became strangely more... generic? I don't know if that is the proper word, but he basically just became Kefka with some constraint.

[@PrismaticWolf]

I miss Sephiroth being scary but since they seem determined to market the heck out of him I am SURPRISED they never greenlit a game where you play as him. I can see him as a main character for a game in the spectacle action genre (Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, God of War, Metal Gear Rising etc)

[@corwinchapman8270]

he's kind of a main character when he's younger in Ever Crisis.

[@patriotsfan122480]

Who’s to say they won’t try at some point? The First Soldier story is essentially his main character arc, from the look of it right now, but I’m curious what they’ll actually bring of it into the Remake trilogy. They already hinted they want to dovetail AC into the final ending, both in Remake’s end as well as recent interviews, so we’ll see how else they incorporate the compilation into a single canon universe which seems to be their prime objective with the Remake trilogy.

[@CthulhuTheory]

@@corwinchapman8270 Sure, but he's got 1 chapter and pretty much the only thing that happens in it is he revelas he was given a picture of his mom, but told the wrong name. =\ There's an amazing lack of substantial content in EC, especially in the FS portion. It's all meaningless fluff.

[@reallyshel]

Yeah and base it off the Wutai War? Lol

[@c-red4637]

a sephiroth game would be very difficult to make. sephiroth, especially before his initial death in crisis core was in a league of his own. he could kill anything, summons included with one hit. there will literally be nothing to challenge him. he wasn't even trying much when genesis and angeal teamed up on him, and those are 2 of the strongest 1st class soldiers that shinra had to offer.

[@izzyalistair]

The build up and mystery behind Sephiroth up until the flashback sequence in Kalm, and even some afterwards was one of the best setups for a big bad in all of fiction.

[@corwinchapman8270]

i felt the addition of sephiroth in the remake so early really undid a lot of his spooky, otherworldly energy. ive come to understand the sephiroth we see in the remake is not the same sephiroth from the original FF7, which adds a different type of mystery. i do appreciate his characterization in Ever Crisis, how hes just an isolated kid who wanted to live a normal life, how Hojo really fucked with his head by giving him a photo of his real mother, but purposely giving him the wrong name. it really highlights how, despite sephiroth being the driving force behind the plot, hojo is the true villain setting up most of the pieces to move to his desire. im intrigued to see where Ever Crisis goes with young sephiroth, and how it will tie in to the first scene of Glenn interrupting him trying to call Genesis.

[@majinboo6377]

the sephiroth from remake is the the one from the OG and the advent children sephiroth, he never died and worse he learnt to travel through space and time in which he traveled to this remake world, the body is still the body of that remake sephiroth body, but the mind and soul is that of the OG and advent sephiroth.

[@merlockmerlin1065]

I would almost make the (headcanon) argument that you could make an argument that OG Sephiroth could still he under the influence of Jenovah Advent Children Sephiroth is his initiative for retaking his own control with his final line of he refused to become a memory (and memories being completely absorbed into the lifestream Remake Sepheroth has figured out a way to travel through the lifestream and timestream (through something multiversal) and these games will remove any discrepancy from the original and cement Sephiroth as the biggest b(d)addy ever

[@alejandromomota6934]

You can’t do the same mysterious swordsman thing twice and expect it to hit the same

[@Caterfree10]

See, I think Hojo actually never outright gave him the photo, but a young but curious Sephiroth found the photo hidden in some book Hojo didn’t think he’d be interested in. Then when Seph asked who it was, Hojo only said “that’s your mother” and Sephiroth filled in the blanks from there. But then I like to maximize tragedy with villains so that may just be me lmao.

[@CthulhuTheory]

I was with you until you shat your pants calling Hojo the real villain. SMH.

[@jaynajuly2140]

I think Kingdom Hearts fills in a crucial piece as to how Sephiroth continued to become so well-known and popular

[@dust_to_dust]

... Kingdom HEARTS!!! ❤👑

[@nickantonacci8280]

And Smash bros now too

[@samsherrington7423]

Sephiroth is without doubt one of the best villains ever conceived. He's up there with Vader, for me. He's always imposing even down to the seemingly effortless way he fights. Always looks like his opponent is trying their best to stand toe to toe with him and for Seph its just another Tuesday.

[@drumjod]

Wow, this has got to be one of my favorite videos you've made. Really great information about Kitase and details of how the cinematography of jaws inspired him.

[@FinalFantasyUnion]

Very high praise indeed! So glad to hear you enjoyed the video

[@Skyset_angel]

Sephiroth’s madness was ALL preplanned Hojo’s doing. He was the one to ok his mission to Neibelheim told him that Jenova was his mom and had all the documents he read in the basement and to find Jenova in the chamber with monster people. Had EVERYTHING planned so he could use his cells and see what happened during the Reunion theory. They need to hit this home in Rebirth and next one. This kind of thing happened before from Ifalna’s recollection so it makes sense Sephiroth might not be the only final boss.

[@MachFiveFalcon]

5:31 "...Jaws having seldom appeared on the screen..." This is how I wish FFVII Remake handled Sephiroth. The fear of the unknown - horror before the terror/payoff when you finally confront him.

[@kirara2516]

Sephiroth will always be one of THEE greatest villains of all time. Every time he shows up in any game, anytime I hear the starting notes of his theme, there's a flash of fear, followed by a rush of excitement.

[@Vayne_Solidor]

Iconic? Yes. Greatest? Nah. He has an interesting backstory, but his appearances in FF7 outside of flashbacks is nothing special. Just following the team and talking about reunion etc. Not really intriguing. I found him more appealing in Crisis Core. Nowhere near Caius or Ardyn imo.

[@chrisharvey3168]

I would argue that he isn't the greatest villain. Don't get me wrong he is probably the most recognizable villain, but he isn't the greatest. Sephiroth failed in his ultimate goal.

[@PaladinTim]

Maybe ONE of the greatest but in my opinion Kefka takes the number one spot. Sinister, comical, and successful. Unlike sephiroth, Kefka accomplished his plans to destroy the world. Only other villain to do that was ardyn in his goal to end the Lucis blood line.

[@SamuelJohnsonYT]

​@@chrisharvey3168Cloud only defeated him because of plot armour

[@EdgeKisaragi]

🥱

[@DarkShadow-pe6ud]

It's interesting that Sephiroth was originally going to be Cloud's appearance but they changed it to the antagonist because they thought that his appearance worked more as a villain, and now they are slowly changing Sephiroth into becoming more and more of a hero/anti-hero, ironic huh? How things go around.

[@alexf2231]

It was nice to see him actually be "human" in a sense. Before it all went to hell. Hojo never gave him a chance to be normal.

[@EvelynL.1112]

Agreed. He's the Anakin Skywalker of Final Fantasy.

[@OzZforrest]

This is actually so meta, what a poor guy: Not only in the game he is the poster boy for Shinra, but also in the real world for Square Enix. Just let him rest and be in peace

[@avatar-kf1ii]

The issue with overusing any villain is that they lose their presence as they constantly get beaten by the heroes. Overusing Sephiroth will eventually make him about as threatening as Doctor Robotnik.

[@donovanfaust3227]

How many times in the franchise have we fought and beaten him? It's not nearly at that point yet where he's non-threatening.

[@hpwilliams0]

I doubt he’s going to be the actual villain on the remakes. The whole theme is rewriting the past and I bet he’s going to try to separate himself from JENOVA

[@xeithar9236]

if they try to give Sephiroth a redemption arc FF7 as a whole is fucked... Sephiroth is irredeemable, DO NOT Darth Vader the coldest most badass villain of all time! @@hpwilliams0

[@elizabethchint6485]

He's survived 26 years being known and THE FF villain. I do agree that they should've waited until rebirth to show him but they clearly needed to use him early for marketing.

[@Caterfree10]

Doctor Robotnik was never threatening, even when I was little and sucked at Sonic games, what are you talking about lmao? Meanwhile, Seph is still pretty damn intimidating tbqh.

[@Hc2p3n4t4rp]

I love some part and hate others but for Remake, I had a bit of a stroke when they revealed "There are 4 Sephiroths you see" and then explaining each one, I understood something, so we have a shark (the OG still is there following its original path), a vengeful spirit (The one you fight at the end, the one that made things go awry), a murderous clone (Jenova possing as Sephirot from the OG) and something compleatly different from all that was (The one who talks to Cloud at the end, the one who uses Ore instead of Watachi) in 1 game

[@FearTheDeep]

Imagine a world with a good guy Sephiroth.

[@TheIsraelProphetess]

I think one day it will come … his redemption

[@Sluggii]

I like seeing Sephiroth be humanized, it makes following his story feel more tragic and his descent into madness and pure evil feel heavier. Force of nature bad for the sake of being bad type characters are good too, and I know plenty of people prefer that, but I personally enjoy a good fall from grace. It's part of why I like Seymour from FFX as a villain too, he's incredibly similar to Yuna with the main difference being he was shunned and not shown acceptance by anyone (on top of his mom essentially killing herself in front of him to become his aeon when he was like 10). It gives you room to imagine how differently things could've gone had the villain's upbringing and circumstances been just a little different.

[@MissDerpina2606]

Personally, when I first saw Sephiroth it was on Kingdom Hearts at the Colosseum. He was strong and I never got to beat him. Then I got to play FFVII. He's a strong character and I think that's what appeals to me the most about him. His backstory was mysterious though I wasn't curious about Sephiroth himself. I was and still am more curious about his past than his personality. I mean I do like his personality but it's his mysterious past that got me thinking about him a lot. Particularly, the research and experiments Professor Hojo did. It all roots down to Jenova and the mystery of why it is the way it is.

[@PurpleSnake]

1) Cloud's personality change makes sense. It shows he is human, and because so many have relied on him and still do, he feels preasure, like he has to push himself ever more. He reaches a breakingpoint, but even then he is *still* trying to find a cure for Geostigma. Throughout the film we see him regain confidence until he's back to his old self. 2) Sephiroth's role in Remake is perfect. He's not the same Sephiroth from OG. This one, in this universe, has knowledge the previous Sephiroth didn't. That is why he is so fixated on Cloud whereas the OG one didn't even remember who Cloud was, seeing him as insignificant. So even if the decision for Sephiroth to be so prevelant was due to concern for newcomers, the lore reason he is so prevelant is far better understood by us who knew the original world.

[@ddubmomo]

In Advent Children, there was a moment when some debris almost crushed Tifa when Bahamut: SIN was attacking Midgar. It quickly cuts to Cloud’s face remembering every time he watched a loved one die and wasn’t quick enough to save someone. For me, that really put his personality change into perspective for me because how TF else is he supposed to be!? I watched a cat get hit by a car like 20 years ago and I bawl like a little bitch when I see a cat with a slight limp.

[@Edowin-jz2sj]

As much as I liked the original FFVII upon release, I always thought it was weird how he went from mentor/hero to mustache twirling villain so quickly in the flashbacks and I have appreciated the expansion and fleshing out of his character over the years.

[@nodieza]

Theory time: Ever Crisis is trying really hard to make Sephi sympathetic. I am expecting him to be a protagonist beyond the flashback sequence in Rebirth, probably in Zack's playable chapter that they alluded to having in the Rebirth. Either that or he (actual Sephiroth, not Jenova) is going to block Cloud's sword when Cloud swings on Aeirith and we are going to have a huge WTF moment before credits roll, making him a potential ally in the third game against Jenova.

[@bloodblues85]

Demure is _not_ a word I would use to describe Sephiroth. Maybe Tifa, just a bit with Cloud, but on the other hand she owns a bar where she bartends so in the other parts of her life she isn't.

[@Sephiroth1992]

Sephiroth is so awesome and i'm really happy that we will learn more about him in "ever crisis". 🖤

[@SnuubScadoob]

This comment seems sus…

[@Sephiroth1992]

@@SnuubScadoob why?

[@Aerotides]

​@@Sephiroth1992how are you liking ever crisis? I'm at about 121k max power. Mostly f2p (only buying season passes)

[@James-sn5mg]

Sephiroth is a victim of Hojo and Jenova. He's destined to become evil. I feel bad for him

[@dust_to_dust]

He made choices. He's chosen vengeance over forgiveness, to bring darkness over light, and to say so many are worth less than him over saying they're worth as much or more. His selfishness and disregard for what is good and right is the source of guilt, for no one can force him to choose the easy evil option over the hard good one. I love the guy and he's my absolute favorite villain, but he deserves death and hell like the rest of us. ...man, I'd love to see him turn good one day, though. = u=,

[@elizabethchint6485]

@dust_to_dust Weirdo.

[@MsFreshadenu]

The crazy thing about jaws is that you were supposed to see the shark, but it didn't look real enough, so they were forced to keep the shark from being shown much.

[@Sk8RJOSH94]

Sephiroth may have been the bad guy, but that doesn't mean he was a bad guy

[@JM-sg7bg]

I find past Sephiroth, the one we finally get to be playable in rebirth, the best of all. We really need to get more of him, how he got the Masamune, what he did during utai war, how he connected to Angeal and Genesis. I can’t wait to see that happen. Btw, what is the music playing? I found the remixes really good.

[@saladinboss2507]

Great video, FFU! A Sephiroth-lead game would be very interesting. I would also love to see a Metal Gear game played through the eyes of Ocelot.

[@wizardgreen6154]

Ive always been a fan of Sephiroth and so I'm enjoying the greater look at him form his backstory to his motivations and quite looking forward to seeing how the further show his "future"

[@HLl564]

What makes Sephiroth "likeable" is that he is so isolated, its just him and his crazy mind

[@SMCwasTaken]

Nah he's just pretty He's perfect waifu material and he will turn even Christians gay

[@neoshadowdukeofgames8223]

Sephiroth is amazing and i like seeing more of him. Crazy for me to think that's he's been around for 26 years. Most video game villains don't enjoy quite the long run.

[@yoloalchemist]

I say more Sephiroth as a character is always a good thing, especially when you consider the whole compilation, including the Remake trilogy, one continuity. But that's just me.

[@federicamacchia1656]

Speaking about him,Nomura and Nojima call Sephiroth "a pure and beautiful soul".....A lot of ppl want to see Sephiroth as a brutal and cruel villain,but the creators and devs of FF7 have all different ideas about him

[@its_heeho]

That intro was *fire*

[@myscreen2urs]

The antihero arc had been trending well lately. Suicide squad, venom, Joker, etc. I think making a game with Sephiroth as the main protagonist would be a stroke of genius

[@TeoS69]

I follow just the right amount of content creators on YT. But everytime I got a notification about a new FFU video I'm excited to see what they cooked for us!

[@MrTimelord77]

Sephiroth's voice always creeped me out, but in a good way. The sinister, but calm tone made it seem like he wanted to be seen as a good person who had to do bad things. Even before his fall, the voice was the same and the lack of emotion meant no predicting what happened next. George Newburn had the best voice in my opinion because he sounded older and more mature like a proper movie villain. Tyler Hoechlin's version is still good, but not as mature.

[@taylon5200]

Hard agree

[@Loyyid]

Sephiroth is a prime example of living long enough to become the villain 😮‍💨

[@bradreed4414]

Yeah…100%

[@dudemcguy1227]

The villain was always inside Sephiroth from the circumstances of his birth (Narcissism/Ego). It just took a traumatic event to break his identity and reveal it. Similar to how Cloud's identity is shattered, but with the help of his friend Tifa he's able to regain himself and accept his failure as a part of himself. And that humbling experience is what makes him the hero of the story. But Sephiroth could never accept the idea that he wasn't special or superior to everyone else, even after he learned the truth about what Jenova really was. And that lack of humility and extreme selfishness/Ego is what makes him the villain.

[@pauldehayes1898]

Definitely the reason why I like Crisis Core Sephy. He represented pride, ego, a lot of the defining characteristics of Man itself imo. He seemed more human there. Then he loses his mind and becomes what we know him as today. Considering the truths he found out about himself in VII and also represented in Crisis, it's no wonder his mind broke.

[@slurplie]

or live long enough to become the hero…? 😂

[@federicamacchia1656]

​@@dudemcguy1227not exactly...He was project ed from before his birth to become the Vessel of Jenova's Will and personality ....he has NEVER had chances,real Freedom,free Will...Shinra thoughts that Jenova was a Cetra,so they made experiments on some babies before they were even Born...Sephiroth was the best result Among them.The incident of Nibelheim was planned to give him such a shock,such a break down to lead him to madness..in such Extreme condition,and due to the mako treatment he has had as Soldier during sll his Life,alongside of the DNA of Jenova inside his own DNA,the personality of Jenova finally took control on him...From that Moment on,the person we see Is no more Sephiroth,but Jenova using his body and his mind as She likes.

[@MBSulos]

Seeing Sephiroth as Jaws is now forever in my mind, and if they kept him silent, he would be like Michael Myers (The Shade) from Halloween. Honestly, I think that would have been best as well to keep his horrorific demeanor.

[@Charsept]

Of all my childhood villains, Sephiroth is a stand out. No video game antagonist had actually made me afraid like he did.

[@clipsnchits4820]

same i was 8 the first time i beat it, and i used to have to turn the sound off when fighting the one winged angel verson because the song was so scary to me. now its probably my favorite video game music of all time

[@xdragovian2655]

I don't know if the specific mention of Robotnik, Bowser and Ganondorf is a deliberate Big Bad Bosses reference or not but if it was then I'm absolutely here for it

[@TheBlackDeck]

I recently found this gem of a channel, and have been binging content ever since.

[@hirowinglessangel]

My obsession w/ Sephiroth as become a well known facate of my identity. Since middle school. Years, before CC, or AC, released. Just on the source alone. The further expansion, and growth of his presence. Only further cemented, my own personal fanaticism, going as far as a Sephiroth tattoo, and basing my model in First Soldier. Around my likeness, just wearing his clothes, and weilding a similar sword.. He was strong, not just in body, but in mind. Had that confidence, cloaked in chill. He was, and still is, a major role model for me as an adult. Sephiroth, always knew something was off about himself, until post nibelheim. There I think, he finally figured out. His true nature.

[@Alexander-uo3ct]

Was absolutely thinking the same thing after seeing the newest trailer. Having a game where you could play as Sephiroth and explore his backstory would be unreal

[@georgehouliaras7239]

All i know is that i want to kill Sephiroth. It's not a hope or a dream, it's like a hunger, a thirst. Chaos-ehh i mean Sephiroth will die.

[@holierthanu1]

Chaos- I mean Sephiroth hates Capitalism, yet he participates in it. Ironic.

[@bluecat3338]

I did the whole thing a bit backwards so my first introduction to Sephiroth was not FF7 or Crisis Core or even Advent Children. My first intro to Sephiroth was Kingdom Hearts, and my first impression was “he seems interesting, wonder what’s up with him?” From there I largely transitioned not into OG stuff, but fanfiction which, ngl, is where most of my FF7 knowledge comes from (plus enough wiki crawls to figure out what’s cannon and what’s not). With that context, FF7R feels a lot like just more of the same. Although that might just be my preference for time travel fix-it fics speaking. To some extent, it is sad what they lost by treating the story this way, but I at least find it even more exciting to wonder what’s going to happen next.

[@AlexQuartz4221]

Didn’t watch yet but I would like to Sephiroth never lost his mind. Because he was so cool and smart guy.

[@paulhiggins6433]

I would have absolutely loved a revised localized script for the original FF7, so we could get a better idea of the story jn gsme, as it's happening rather than having to break immerison to get things right, like the times when Jenova took the form of Sephrioth. As much as I'm excited to see Rebirth, i would also love a proper remaster of rhe original. But that's just me.

[@paulhiggins6433]

@RenaissanceElf an official one would be awesome. I know there are tons of mods, but for better or for worse I'm a console guy. I have a PC that could do the mods, but it just doesn't feel right.

[@paulhiggins6433]

@RenaissanceElf definitely. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about how Rebirth is gonna go. I really wish they had stayed true to the OG story. Not saying the changes have been bad, after all they still have to surprise those of us that played 7 when it first came out, but at the same time it feels a bit out of place with as much foreknowledge one needs to really understand FF7R. That said, the Hell House boss fight was one of my favorites in the Remake. I remember feeling that the Hell House should have been a boss the first time I ran into one in the original. Granted, back then I was a stupid 11 year old, but still. Hahaha.

[@paulhiggins6433]

@RenaissanceElf Agreed. This feels more like an alternate universe rather than a remake. Don't know if that was ever confirmed or not, but I know it's a theory at least. So "Return" would definitely be a better word to use. Like you, I was hoping for a 1 to 1 remake, though I expected a combat system like what we got since that's the direction Square is going these days. It's a shame, really. I definitely think that Rebirth is a fitting title for the second part, considering the scope of the changes made thus far. It's literally reminding you that it isn't the same FF7 you remember.

[@johnlawful2272]

@RenaissanceElf I heard the original is the bad ending after dirge of Cerberus

[@johnlawful2272]

@@paulhiggins6433 ff7r is a sequel and a remake

[@Lambeaux0]

I feel like its a shame to not mention the powerful effect of Kingdom Hearts as a multiplier and turning point in the Sephiroth mythos and development. It was the introduction of SOOO many people to him and so accurately fits the Jaws analogy - a ????? option appears, you enter into a strange arena where the insanely epic theme plays and this insanely powerful superboss who it seems (with how health displays in the game work) where it feels like you are doing no damage no matter how long you wail on him and beats you in 2-3 hits was jaw dropping. I feel like almost as many people were intorduced to the FF7 characters through that game, and their decision to go with emo Cloud from before the lifestream shaped so many peoples perception of Sephiroth as this devastating, terrifyingly beautiful force and Cloud as a "so edgy" emo, especially conpared to Squall/Leon getting the "cool guy mentor" role.

[@grahamwade5932]

i love how well thought out and executed he is in the original game. only to destroy all the aura of tension and fear surrounding him forever after that. Edit: except for advent children

[@Caluben]

The Sephiroth fight in AV is one of my favorite fights in cinema history, but I always wished I could play it. And Remake gave me that. So whatever complaints I could have of “too much” Sephiroth, it doesn’t matter cause I got what I always wanted in the end.

[@Serinigalini]

Considering a lot of FF7's main topics are becoming more and more relevant today, including the consequences of systems that are set in place and big corporations benefitting from exploited workers, as well as destroying nature, I believe that putting an emphasis on Sephiroth's humanity makes a lot of sense. Doesn't necessarily mean him getting a redemption arc, that's up to the writers, exploring that side of him. He didn't choose his life as a soldier, but also later on, he harmed a lot of people, and both statements can co-exist.

[@flyaroundyourfire]

More FF7 content? Yes please 😍

[@drantino]

because how well known sephiroth is, its hard to really do much with him in his original role that i know quight a few amount of people knowing a general story of FF7 without playing it including a good chunk of details about sephiroth.(im actually one of them to, i have yet to fully play 7, but even before my inital attempt at playing the game i still know who and what sephiroth is). there is some understanding of this with all the story points of basicly all the different media around 7 as as whole wont mean much because of whats already known out there, so the change in how even the fundemental parts of the plot is, there will be differences and intreeg, especially considering there is aknowladgement of the originals plots existance.

[@feverpyretic]

I feel like Sephiroth being explored further in Ever-Crisis is cool, I'm not so keen on him being centre stage so early in the story of the Remake trilogy. Sure, new fans might be confused, but that's on them, if you care so much, you'd play the original... simple as that. I feel like making Sephiroth playable is a bad decision, since they could have used that time to make him appear more awesome and powerful to let the player know what they are up against, having control, is instead going to make the player feel powerful, which I think will not translate well to an understanding of this being the villain.

[@legendarydante3]

I gotta disagree on his development and story. Do slightly agree on timing. I feel his story completely humanises Sephiroth. He's been controlled by Hojo since birth. Imo Hojo is the real villain. Really but not really. He's just a tool for Hojo and Shinra. It's more depressing then everyone's story shy of cloud and maybe Tifa.

[@BonnetOnxZu]

My prediction for the 3rd installment will be titled Final Fantasy 7: Reunion /Reconciliation /Reunite /Resolution or something similar :D If anyone remember the movie Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within which came after FF7 OG, I believe the ending will be similar. This movie is about the struggle of the people locale to the planet against an alien spirit. The alien spirit is basically not compatible with the spirits of the planet and the former slowly devours the latter. These 2 spirits can be compared to the current state of the lifestream in FF7, The pure lifestream against the corrupted (geostigma). When Sephiroth says combining both worlds, I believe he was referring in reconciling this 2 lifestream. In the movie, if I remember correctly, the protagonist was searching for a new life form because the spirit of that life form represents reconciliation of the 2 contradicting spirits and is the key. I think the entire Remake Project will be something similar and I believe Cloud will be the catalyst that wasn’t triggered in the OG and Sephiroth found a way on how to do so.

[@LilacSongx217x]

I prefer Sephiroth being more of an enigma. it’s more terrifying when the motives and predictability of a villain are unstable or unknown

[@TheAceLewis]

“Momma’s boy” - Kefka I just hope remake does him Justice and that I can stop listening to mouth breathers who have only played the first part of the remake whining about how he “rUiNs ThE MyStErY”

[@Fluckinoob]

I was thinking about this when you mentioned a sephiroth centric game. Imagine we basically play all of ff7 the original but in sephs perspective. Where he is what hes doing foiling the plans of the crew etc slowly going more and more mad. I could see it actually being very compelling

[@elChirrinChirriondelDiablo]

That would be "interesting", you would be frozen in the norhtern carter for hours 'watching' what the crew is doing 'till the final battle

[@NuevaBestia]

Remember when Amano had a strong role in the design of bosses way back in the day? Final bosses and antagonists have come so far in the Final Fantasy series. I sure would love to be a fly on the wall during the development of Final Fantasy VII!

[@johnlawful2272]

I follow an artist that did an artwork for there calendar and gave 1 of the developers a fan art of nyx they put it on their desk at square enix

[@NuevaBestia]

@@johnlawful2272 holy crap no way. When was this?

[@subject_9875]

Sephiroth will always be one of the greatest villains of all time for me. His design is fantastic- tall, stong, and handsome with flowing hair but the pale, bloodless skin and slits of his eyes hinting at the malice and evil just below the surface. At every turn he makes things worse for Cloud and by the end has absolutely ruined his life.

[@Durahan82]

Hojo was the real villain in FF7 , if only Sephiroth had met Lucrecia Crescent , none of this would have happened.

[@DrCoomer_1]

Remember, it's all Hojo's fault.

[@wreday720]

10:19 damn so they werent even going to have the Cloud v Sephiroth rematch in the movie, Nomura saved this movie

[@dyliriuss7751]

I personally loved sephiroth as a mystery compared to him being seen as a constant haunting. I feel like it doesn’t provide the same emotion that it depicted within the original game.

[@elizabethchint2391]

Well then, go play the OG.

[@itsshauta]

@@elizabethchint2391 Hell yeah! No dissenting opinions allowed here!

[@frederickbingley6699]

I like to imagine Sephiroth, Zack, Cloud and the rest in an NFL Football team

[@ElTaitronAnim]

I really appreciated the way Sephiroth was originally portrayed like a horror movie villain: only catching glimpses of him and seeing/hearing what he's capable of, but not meeting him face-to-face until much later on. Cloud is gripped with "we need to get out of here NOW" terror at seeing the Masamune impaling President Shinra, being (more or less) the only one to understand the significance of it at that time, until he can explain the Nibelheim events later on. It's also interesting to see how he used to be a fairly nice guy before going completely insane. In the Remake, Sephiroth is showing up all over the place (whether it's Cloud hallucinating or not), and as much as I enjoyed the final fight against him, it all seemed rather excessive, considering how early in the story it is. I'm still intrigued to see where the new story will go, but I think the original game portrayed him the best.

[@ManAtPogo]

Please keep up the good work! I love what is presented FF7EC.

[@ManAtPogo]

And not only Sephiroth stuff... Tifa's backstory and Aerith as well.

[@JoasXCloud]

Yo I can't just help to imagine how super freaking exciting FF7 Rebirth would be if Sephiroth wasn't in FF7 Remake and on any Rebirth promo material. Just imagine the launch trailer of Rebirth ending by the back of Sephiroth without showing it's face and a few criptic lines 😶

[@jessl1934]

I think sephiroth is going to suffer the same fate as the xenomorph from the Aliens franchise. It's no coincidence that the original Alien and, to a lesser degree, Aliens draws heavily upon Jaws and that you mentioned Jaws in your video. Ultimately the tchotchkyfication of a character like Sephiroth, who's motivations are inscrutable and whose presence is largely absent, is going to erode the function of Sephiroth himself in much the same way it has happened on Cthulu over the years. The character of Sephiroth risks becoming a parody of itself.

[@MattyChalk231]

I'm a simple man. I see a video about Sephiroth and I watch it. Don't need context. Don't need a reason.

[@dudemcguy1227]

Excellent deep dive into the history of the character and how the creators have changed him in the Compilation. One of the big issues I have with the FF7 compilation stories is retroactively changing Sephiroth to be more a more empathetic "fallen hero" type of character. (as described around @13:00 in the video) And it seems pretty transparent to me that these changes were made because the character became very popular after the release of the original game, so they wanted him to be more marketable and/or likable before he "suddenly turns evil" at Nibelheim. So that some of the fanbase could feel more comfortable liking the character and thinking "there was some good in him once". But in my opinion, the more SE tries to humanize Sephiroth and give him a backstory showing his downfall from good guy to bad guy (similar to Anakin/Darth Vader in the Star Wars prequels). The more they actually take away from the original purpose he served as a villain. ("A bad guy who became even more bad" as mentioned in the video.) In the original story, Sephiroth was simply meant to serve as the personification of pure Narcissism/Ego. Someone who was so gifted in everything he ever tried that he saw everyone else as inferior and beneath him. There was not much of a "character" shown to us and there didn't need to be. If we wanted to we could theorize that his incredible strength/abilities alienated him from his peers and made him distant and uncaring about other people's struggles and achievements. But that extra step isn't even necessary to understand his role in the story. He was just the perfect SOLDIER who was far better than anyone else who came before or after him. His status and the origin of his power is all you need to know about him. What made him such a great villain is that he and Cloud are 2 sides of the same coin. Cloud grew up as an average kid from a small village with dreams of becoming a hero. And his own Ego (and shame) allowed him to lie to himself and pretend that he did. He was too ashamed to admit to Tifa and his own mother that he never made it into SOLDIER. He saw himself as a failure who couldn't live up to his dream. But then Cloud suffers his mental breakdown at the Northern Crater, falls into the lifestream, and his friend Tifa later helps him rediscover who he really was and accept his own failure as a part of himself. To let go of that ego and recognize that it's OK to fail. It's OK that he didn't realize his dream. In contrast, when Sephiroth found out the truth about himself at Nibelheim, he lashes out and assumes that he must still be "special" and "the chosen one" somehow. This is why he latches on to Proffesor Gast's (mistaken) research about Jenova being an Ancient. Because it reaffirmed what he already believed about himself for his whole life up to that point. That he was superior and more important than other people. But then he finds out that Gast was wrong about Jenova when he falls into the lifestream, that his power really is a result of him being a successful lab experiment. But Sephiroth STILL can't accept this and comes to the conclusion that he's more important than all living creatures on the planet and literally tries to absorb the entire lifestream into himself to become a God. If he was ever a "Good guy" at heart, he wouldn't take his villainy so far as to believe that he was more important than all life on the planet. The character was a pure Narcissist. That was his role in the story. And the more Square Enix tries to humanize him and try to portray him as "Once he was a good guy" the more it takes away from the contrast between him and Cloud and his overall purpose in the original story.

[@rzxwm10]

Jenova's one line in the game: "You are a puppet." That is what Sephiroth is to everyone he is serving, whether it is Shinra or Jenovah. Hojo sent Sephiroth to Nibelheim just to see the effect it would have on him for his reunion theory. He is a lab experiment. There are indications that he is a caring individuals, but because of his upbringing is growth is stunted. He follows orders dutifully, until he had enough of all these lies, which is his entire life. When he had his breakdown, the screen is flashing, indicating Jenovah's psychic tampering. His epiphany coincidentally aligns with Jenova's will to consume the planet. If Sephiroth was in control, then he should know where his real mother is located. She is still alive as the Jenova cells in her refused to let her die. He should also have learned that Hojo is his real dad. But none of this matters because Jenova does not need him to know the truth: he is a puppet too. I think Sephiroth is misguided and was never pure evil. His actions post-Nibelheim might not even be his own. He was a good guy when he cared, but once he lost his mind, that's not the same Sephiroth anymore. The insanity defense should be considered here. Jenovaroth is what we were ultimately dealing with. I wonder if all the new ever crisis lore intend to depict Sephiroth as someone uncaring, or is it a pretense to redeemed his humanity for remakes' future.

[@dudemcguy1227]

@@rzxwm10 The Japanese text of the original game made it clear that Sephiroth took control of Jenova once he fell in the life-stream with her head at the Nibelheim reactor. So his will is controlling her actions throughout the game from the Northern Crater. In the English version of the game it's much more vague whether Sephiroth or Jenova is in control. I like your theory of seeing Sephiroth as a manipulated puppet when it comes to the original English translation. But the original Japanese and the post-release Ultimania guide made it the cannon or "correct" interpretation that Sephiroth was in control of Jenova for basically the entire game and that he was manipulating her to do his bidding.

[@cloudialee8400]

@@dudemcguy1227 Janova think Sephiroth is a puppet,not make him become a puppet

[@Анастасия-м2ф8ф]

Sephiroth is a deeper character than you have described. His narcissism is a mask, it's the result of his endless sadness. He finds out that he wasn't really important to anyone. Not to the madman father who turned into an experiment , nor to the mother who abandoned him and ran away , nor to Gast , who also took off .not to his "friends". For all his power, Sephiroth is not free, he is a puppet, first Shinra, then Genova - which plays with his need for involvement .

[@Анастасия-м2ф8ф]

@@dudemcguy1227 I honestly don't understand why the Japanese are talking about some Great Will of Sephiroth. His breakdown is an indicator that he was not very strong emotionally .Weaker than Angiel for sure .He was literally stunned by the realization of his origin, although if he had been smarter, he would have already guessed before Nibulhelm. And considering that Genova destroyed the entire Cetra civilization through mimicry and manipulation, I highly doubt that she was taken under control by an emotionally unstable dude.

[@osirismoorstage2.1]

I think there were a lot more villains that were on the tier of Sephiroth back in that era. You had Kazuya, Heihachi, and ogre from Tekken. You had ganon from ocarina, you had liquid, ocelot, and gray fox from metal gear solid. Hell, Andross from Star Fox, and also the villains from the earthbound/mother series. There was so many villains that had just as much depth, intrigue, and status as Sephiroth during that era…

[@jonbourgoin182]

I have never experienced a mandela effect until I noticed that lines of dialogue in this game seem to have changed...

[@catkaboodle]

FF7 was retranslated in the 2010s.

[@PlantdaddyTKB]

you've done it again FFU!

[@salazar556]

Sephiroth is in my top three favorite villains.

[@SMCwasTaken]

Sephiroth is top number one in my waifu list

[@VerumLeonhart]

I’ve played that og ff7 midgar section a billion times and I just don’t feel the same level of buildup for him like others seem to do Well outside of him taking out president Shinra That being said my introduction to him was KH, cc, Dissidia and advent children so that exposure could’ve muddled the impact As a fan of these later appearances it’s no surprise I didn’t mind any of his shenanigans in ff7r

[@apeddie9355]

Why did Shinra send him on a mission to where the secret jenova reactor was? In the same town as the secret lab?🤣

[@for_the_lore5567]

Whatever the reason, I blame Hojo.

[@matthewdykeman8149]

​@@for_the_lore5567Always blame Hojo.

[@Sammonoske]

Hojo orchestrated the mission and planned to have Sephiroth see the truth.

[@walteranurantha5014]

​@@Sammonoskeand complete his awakening to realize he's the agent of Jenova and not born from Hojo's biological mother he killed, along with the Jenova cell injected into baby Sephiroth during birth from her mother's womb 20 years ago.

[@apeddie9355]

@@walteranurantha5014 she didnt die

[@36inc]

i like it honestly- think about it this way- FF7 had the time to put him in the background and slowly build up- and worse all of it would be predictable and thus less effective for old fans. by changing how sephiroth messes with the party reintroduces that unhinged creepy unknowable menace and its not actually disruptive to the narrative even if much happens the same. you always have to guess what theyll change or not- how much of that is just sephiroth fucking with louds head?

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Narratively, it's probably best less is said about Sephiroth to keep the mystique/keep the story simple. But I can't lie and say I'm not happy to get more content and information, as with this whole remake series.

[@MercenaryTau]

I've been thinking of this lately, too. Sephiroth has gone from being Jaws to becoming Beetlejuice.

[@grahammantle8381]

I think you can see Sephiroth's exposure in marketing directly correlating with his relationship with Cloud as well. A shocking revelation in the original game was that Cloud finally meets the actual living Sephiroth after appearing to him in so many visions and memories, and the first thing my man says after waking up was "Who are you and why are you in my house?" It could maybe be justified that Sephy would be concerned with Cloud after he foils his plans and all, but for the remake it just seems a bit much. At this point Sephiroth may as well be digging through Cloud's trash and keep locks of spiky blond hair in his pocket. Perhaps it is my boomer mindset and me just playing FF7 until my hands were bones but I am annoyed with these directions they keep taking with the remake. The last thing I would wanna do is prevent anyone from enjoying any of the FF7 remakes and or spinoffs. However, after decades of cynicism from Square especially regarding FF7 I think it's fair to be a little jaded by some of the major plot elements in the remake. Sephiroth is kind of representative of not just the weird directions of Square, but pop culture as a whole. It is absolutely hilarious that he canonically uses an entire bottle of both shampoo and conditioner every time he washes his hair. Did not need to know that. Don't get me wrong, thinking about Sephiroth in the shower is a regular thing for me. But the fact that Square acknowledges that cheapens it. Their attempts to appeal the character have only served to tear down their original presentation of the character, in my opinion. When you barely survive passing the snake, only to see it mysteriously impaled as you make your way through. Like a genocidal Gary Oak, always one step ahead of you. Unlike a genocial Gary Oak, has no regard for your presence. The one threat to him was Aerith, and when she was taken care of he barely saw you as an obstacle. To me, all their attempts to flesh him out will never make him as real as the looming terror did in the original. When you see his conviction. His ability. The fact that he was integral to the conflict of the story, and ultimately Cloud wasn't. Not being chosen but choosing yourself is the central message that I feel FF7 was trying to impart after many chosen one narratives. Sephiroth was the challenge to that, seeing himself as a chosen one. Now I don't even know what message the remake is trying to give. It is a heck of a lot of fun to play, so I guess that's enough. sorry to any 30-40 year old fujoshis who may have been triggered by the use of Sephy

[@Marcustheseer]

he isnt only the coolest villain i know but also the best looking charc i ever seen not in terms of attractivenis to me but just his desighn is so good,and as someone that loves long hair his long silver/white hair is nothing i ever seen on a charcs before. normaly i like charcs but am thinking i would do this or that diffirent in terms of look but with sephiroth i wouldnt not do annythig diffirent realy he is exacly how i would create a charc. i hope in ever crisis they eventualy add a playable adult sephiroth,i also hope that at the end of ff7 remake they redeem him that he becomes atleast back to his good self like in crisiscore.

[@Malacite]

So this is probably gonna be a hottake to most people, but I wanna say my piece about a few things. 1) Sephiroth as a villain, is Mid AF and a wannabe Kefka. His backstory while tragic, only further cements what a loser he is, and that Hojo and Jenova are vastly more interesting as Villains. The capstone was how he snapped because of an off-hand comment from Zack, like come on (unless my theory is correct and that was the moment Jenova actually took over control of him which would.be an amazing twist) 2) I liked him SO much more in Crisis Core. He made a much better Hero than villain. Trying to humanize villains can sometimes backfire, and I know many who argue that it did with him, but I disagree. I think it made him stand out more, and I'd like to see this angle explored further in compilation. 3) As I said before, I think they need to shift the focus much more towards Jenova, and even Genesis & Weiss. Weiss is supposed to be asleep prior to DoC, yet both he and Nero are awake. And Genesis vanished at the end of DoC, taking Weiss with him. If that doesn't factor into the remake saga I will be greatly upset. And Jenova needs to be at the core of it all. The threat she represents has been massively underplayed throughout the compilation. We know that it took the lives of nearly every Cetra just to bring her down, and she wasn't even dead, more like in a state of suspended animation. And these were people who could freely manipulate Mako, casting magic without the need for Materia. Yet somehow Sephiroth is the greater threat, and he by some BS miracle avoided her mind control powers? Give me a break.

[@babymj3942]

Sephiroth 🥺🥺❤️

[@Loriddian]

I prefer my sephy to be mysterious, yet at the same time I want a wutai war game with a playable young seph

[@Enikeev14]

As long as we never see child sephiroth I think we’ll be okay.

[@dannyfromtheville3613]

They have big plans for Sephiroth. Idk what but it's gonna be crazy

[@Skyset_angel]

I think something crazy will happen to the Lifestream for ill or for better. Though… they said the trilogy will end with Advent Children. BUT… at some point in new timeline Lucretia is getting out of her cave and the Lifestream will be changed.

[@jacksmith4460]

I really dont understand the notion that Sephiroth in the original game was just a manic who liked killing, its very clearly put across that he had his reasons for doing what he was doing, its part of what made hi so popular. He is very like Vader in Star Wars. I dont think Sephiroth in the flashbacks is portrayed as heatless at all. Its very obvious upon learning of his and Jenova's history and the role of Shinra and Hojo in that, why he became so extreme. I would say you dont agree with Sephiroth but you can kind of understand why he became what he became. Indeed a lot of Clouds story is hinting he might become the same way. Sephiroth is consumed by his rage and sense of injustice to the point where he is prepared to destroy absolutely everything and in this regard he is similar to the Joker in Batman. I am kind of perplexed at the implication that Sephiroth was humanised only in later spin offs? Other than Advent children I have had 0 interaction with ANY pf the spin offs, yet I got that human aspect the first time through back in 1997. It was a huge part of what made Sephiroth a great villain, because at points you actually feel for him to some degree. Also I would argue for the first 10 hours of that gameplay (up until the Shinra building) the enemy is all Shinra, it then changes to slowly become Sephiroth and the fact that both Cloud/Avalanche are opposed to Shinra but so is Sephiroth was a masterstroke of plot writing and was one of the most compelling parts of the story. Its actually one of the aspects that made the original feel so vast. You start off fighting Shinra who is already a worthy villain (like the Empire in Star Wars) and then gradually Shinra become akin to an annoying insect when compared to the threat Sephiroth presents. Until the blood soaked corridors of the Shinra building Sephiroth's leaning/threat is not defined and he is actually just shown as a very Logical , calm super Soldier , but neither good or evil, just a very effective military fighter. To me , all these aspects and the way in which they evolve were perfectly paced in the original game , and the Threat Sephiroth presents gets bigger and bigger through out. Also the parts that include Hojo indicate the very evil and Mengele-esque nature of Hojo and give some very strong implications on why Sephiroth is how is, I would argue Hojo is actually in a way, more evil than Sephiroth. Just because Sephiroth is not shown hugging and playing with friends does not means his Humanity (that is consumed) is not represented. Sure at times it was subtle, but there were times it was very clear (Nibleheim library scene for example)

[@elizabethchint2391]

Because some people can't use their brains. They don't like to think. The guy was literally labeled a hero and many boys around the world aspired to be like him. I partially blame the developers because they removed a lot of Sephiroth's dialogue in the OG.

[@dudemcguy1227]

I think it's pretty clear that Sephiroth wasn't always crazy, but he did have a strong sense of superiority to others. Because... well he was superior to everyone from birth. He wasn't a maniac who enjoyed killing, but he most likely had a narcissistic personality disorder developed from early age due to being better at everything than all of his peers. We see his Narcissism/Ego come out through his actions at Nibelheim. Once he finds the monster experiments in a big room labeled "Jenova" (which he's been told is his mother's name), it breaks him. The idea that his power and abilities do not come from himself, but rather as a result of being a successful lab experiment is what triggers his rage. Because if that was the truth of his birth it would mean that his achievements were not because he was naturally the "best of the best", but because he was designed to be. Given an unfair advantage over others from birth. We know this is how he thinks because after this he goes down to the Shinra mansion basement and reads through all the Jenova Research for days and days. And then he ends up latching on to the (incorrect) theory of professor Gast that said Jenova was an Ancient. Sephiroth clings to the one piece of evidence down there that allowed him to still believe that he was "special" and superior everyone else. Yet there was certainly contradicting research down there (Hojo's experimental monster data) that he read through and chose to discard because it didn't confirm what he wanted to be true. It's the equivalent of a famous person googling stories about themselves and only accepting/sharing the positive stuff. That's the kind of person Sephiroth is shown to be. The only piece of evidence he could find that said he was still special was the one that said his mother was an Ancient. So he picked that as his "truth" and ignored the rest. He (falsely) believed that he was a descendent of the Ancients and that the humans stole the planet from his mother and her kind. And he believed this so strongly that he felt justified in killing non-Shinra, innocent civilians for no reason. Based on this outburst, there was clearly something that went wrong with his psychological development long before Nibelheim. Then later he falls into the lifestream and gains the true knowledge about Jenova, that she's an alien parasitic life form and that he really is a genetic experiment. Yet he STILL believes that he is more important than everyone else and tries to absorb the lifestream, the literal soul/lifeforce of all living things into himself. I don't think he was meant to be portrayed as a sympathetic or "understandable" character at all. (Until the Compilation started to tweak that.)

[@elizabethchint2391]

@@dudemcguy1227 Everything you just said has been debunked from Ever Crisis chapter 5.

[@dudemcguy1227]

@@elizabethchint2391 Right, because Ever Crisis is part of the Compilation story, which has changed Sephiroth's character from how it was originally. Technically Sephiroth's original character/story was already "debunked" or "retconned" with Crisis Core. :)

[@elizabethchint2391]

@@dudemcguy1227 Not really because again, they removed a lot of Sephiroth's dialogue in the OG to leave things ambiguous. Sephiroth to me was never such a shallow character.

[@OriginalRyan]

On a totally different FF villain, I would LOVE to see FFVI get a remake. Seeing Kefka portrayed in a similar fashion would be amazing.

[@Yokai_Yuri]

Kefka is a better villain by far, and his games need an expanded lore and remake

[@LiminalMan777]

What an intro

[@lpotts75]

Sephiroth is a Legend.

[@mattjackson382]

My opinion of Sephiroth is complex. He was a good villain for that game, but his motivations always seemed uninspired. He wants to destroy the world because his (perceived) mother Jenova wants him to. This feeling became further compunded by how the final battle with Sephiroth bore so many similarities with the final battle with Kefka, who was and is my favorite Final Fantasy villain. I personally feel Sephiroth is overhyped. Especially now since they have moved away from the "less is more" mentality with him

[@Lamasis2]

I can only say how I feel about Sephiroth after the trilogy is finished.

[@metalthrashingmatt]

What i loved about FF7 is that you thought Shin-Ra was the bad guy...and bam..someone even bigger arrives and opens the world up past midgar.

[@federicamacchia1656]

I'm still so surprised that after so much time,almost nobody really understood who Sephiroth really is and what his story really is.....But let's wait till the end if the trilogy,and maybe it will clear to everyone....let's hope.

[@jaehaalexander1172]

"Over compensating wrapon" 😂 sir are you trying to say something about Sephiroth???😂😂😂😂 I really wish they would have kept Sephiroth a mystery. It was so foreboding in the OG. I mean I fangirled amyway when I saw him in Remake but I loved how they didn't show him but made him a threat. After CC came out I loved how they depicted him as the definition of "a monster is not born; they are made"

[@alessandrap9145]

FFU’s video about Sephiroth are never enough 🥹🤍 Thanks for sharing