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Few video game villains are as well known as Final Fantasy VII’s Sephiroth. The character is famous for burning down the hometown of the hero Cloud and killing a potential love interest. His grazing scene has become one of the most iconic moments in video game history, and his antagonism towards the hero is viewed equally. It’s easy to see why Square Enix is dedicated to keeping it in the public consciousness. A constant feature of these cameos, however, is that they increasingly glorify Sephiroth’s achievements and swell his power.
Although he was a great warrior in the original game, he was still just a man who could be killed with enough skill and determination. At the time of Final Fantasy VII Remake, he apparently became a transcendent being capable of warping spacetime. While fans of the character may enjoy this increased importance, such elevations could make him counterproductive to make him a less impressive antagonist.
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In the original game, Sephiroth was addicting thanks to his intellect. He was certainly powerful, but not unbeatable. In fact, his abilities during the Nibelheim flashback are only slightly superior to what the main characters can achieve. Long before players fight humans, the game’s mechanics confirm that it’s not beyond them. In fact, Sephiroth spent most of Final Fantasy VII in a weakened state, forcing him to work through agents to carry out his will. This created an illusion of omnipresence that made it seem stronger than it actually was, bonding perfectly with the subtle horror elements of the game.
In comparison, the modern Sephiroth does not need such tricks. He enjoyed a significant power boost in the sequel film Advent Children, gaining the strength to level buildings and warp time with a single shot. Crisis Core reinforced this representation and further emphasized its strength and speed as beyond anything the protagonist was capable of. Although the extent of his power in Remake is unknown, what players have seen makes it clear that he has surpassed even these incarnations.
From an aesthetic point of view, this makes sense. The world of FFVII has become more and more anime-like since Advent Children, and its creators want to engage fans by showing just how dangerous their favorite villain is. However, while the resulting shows are impressive, they also undermine the plausibility of the story. After all, if Sephiroth has always been a person of mass destruction, then there is simply no way that Cloud should have won at the reactor.
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Compare this to how the original game depicts Sephiroth. While he certainly regards his means with monstrous terror, FFVII is surprisingly contemptuous of the man himself. He is portrayed, literally, as a loser; being canonically beaten in every duel with Cloud, approaching divinity only through deception. Sephiroth must resort to deception because he cannot win in a fair fight. That’s why most of her appearances turn out to be masked aspects of her genetic ancestor Jenova. From a certain point of view, the authors of the game are implying that their villain is so weak that he requires his mother to beat up his enemies for him.
This may sound like a funny remark, but it’s not the only time FFVII describes Sephiroth as pathetic. Indeed, the game draws bold parallels to history throughout the Nibelheim sequence. The flashback makes it clear that his heroic reputation is simply the result of being the ShinRa Corporation’s favorite attack dog. When he discovers the research used to create it, he becomes convinced of its supremacy and goes on a rampage. Like reality fascists, Sephiroth proclaims himself part of a superior race and sets out to exterminate those he now deems inferior, all based on nothing but bad science and his inflated sense of right. Also pointing out these failures, its final form is the infamous angel with one wing; not the god he wanted to be, but a relatively minor and incomplete being.
This unattractive representation of is, fittingly, the apotheosis of FFVII’s self-improvement theme. Cloud idolized Sephiroth as a child, but as an adult he must recognize that he was never worthy of being emulated. Indulging in the fantasy of succeeding one known only for strength, even unknowingly, is what makes him vulnerable to the manipulations of the villain. It is only when he accepts himself that he breaks Sephiroth’s control, symbolically rejecting his enemy’s empty strength. FFVII concludes on the note that such men are cruel, abusive and utterly unworthy of respect, and rightly does not consider it at all.
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Yet despite being the ones who wrote this incredibly important message, Square Enix seems to have largely forgotten it. Every appearance Sephiroth has made since the original game has downplayed his numb traits in favor of making him stronger and cooler. He can strike a man across the sky, destroy buildings with a sword swipe, and even come close to killing Mario himself in his Super Smash Bros. debut. He is consistently described as the strongest warrior in the series, and every mention of his attempt ethnic cleansing is abandoned as the world’s most uncomfortable hot potato.
It’s understandable why Square Enix might want to water Sephiroth for spin-offs and cameos. The character is among the darkest of all the villains in the series. More faithful representations would probably be too bleak to justify the appearances of parlor games. This is not inherently a bad thing, marketing and popularity can influence the positive growth of the character. But his wretched past has not been replaced with anything beyond mere power. With no limitation to force creative thinking, Sephiroth has become an incredibly dull shadow of himself. One can only hope that as Remake’s story progresses, the writers will find a way to help the Meteor master regain the impact it once had.
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About the author Sam Rowett (40 articles published)
Freelance writer and game designer with masters in Game Design and Creative Writing. He builds his games on @SamRowettGames
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