"I will... never be a memory." ― Sephiroth's final words
Sephiroth is the main villain of Final Fantasy VII, its movie sequel, and its remake. Once a war hero, Sephiroth was driven insane by the revelations of his past, turning him from a hero of the military into a vengeful spirit hell-bent on destroying the planet.
Background[]
Sephiroth was born to the scientists Professor Hojo and Lucrecia Crescent. As a fetus, Sephiroth was injected with cells from Jenova, an alien being with exceptionally powerful biology, lending to him possessing superhuman abilities from an early age. Sephiroth was raised by the Shinra corporation as a soldier, serving as a major player in the Wutai war, but everything changed during an expedition to the town of Nibelheim. Sephiroth discovered the existence of Jenova's body, mistakenly believing her to be his real mother, and the revelation drove him insane. He falsely associated Jenova with the Cetra, a group of people that once lived in the world long ago, believing himself to be their last surviving descendent and the chosen ruler of the planet. Thus, Sephiroth set out to annihilate Humanity and absorb the planet's Lifestream for himself, taking what he thought to be rightfully his.
In Advent Children, Sephiroth regenerated from the destruction of his body and soul by holding on to his hatred for his killer, Cloud Strife. He went after Cloud only to be killed once more, departing with chilling final words and the promise that Cloud would never truly forget him, a statement that would come to be true as he would follow Cloud across the multiverse to participate in the Dissidia conflicts, the story of Brave Exvius, and even other series entirely, becoming the Yin to Cloud's Yang and the ultimate expression of his inner turmoil.
Stats[]
Attack Potency: Multi-Solar System Level (Stronger than Zack Fair, who previously defeated summons capable of forming pocket dimensions with starry skies such as Bahamut Fury) | Low Multiverse Level (Stronger than Cloud Strife by a wide margin, and required the entire party to defeat him. Later matched Cloud with multiple extra years of experience and power behind him while holding back) | Low Multiverse Level (Stronger than before. Absorbed Meteor, and was able to casually defeat Remake Cloud while holding back) | Multiverse+ Level, possibly High Dimensional (Aided in the defeat of Shinryu, and is comparable to beings such as Exdeath and Bartz. Can launch enemies hard enough to break space and send them into alternate dimensions)
Speed: Massively Faster Than Light+ (Faster than Zack, who kept up with Bahamut Fury) | Massively Faster Than Light+ (Can react to his own telekinesis, which moves objects at this speed) | Massively Faster Than Light+ (Should be as fast as before) | Supraconceptual (Comparable to Bartz, who was able to defeat Neo Exdeath, a being that was omnipresent within the void that transcends past, present, and future)
Durability: Multi-Solar System Level (Took hits from Zack, and should be tougher than him) | Low Multiverse Level (Survived a sustained barrage of attacks from the entire party) | Low Multiverse Level (Tougher than before after absorbing Meteor) | Multiverse+ Level, possibly High Dimensional (Can take hits from other Final Fantasy characters like Bartz)
Hax: Space-Time Manipulation (Masamune can cut into other dimensions, such as breaking into Ifrit's. Created a portal to the Singularity by cutting space, and destroys the dimension he creates with Supernova. Alternate dimensions in Final Fantasy are entirely separate space-time continuums, with different flows of time between them, and Magic, which utilizes Spirit Energy, is capable of warping time and space and creating pocket dimensions and big bangs with enough of it), BFR (Draws the opponent into an alternate dimension to utilize Supernova, literally breaking space in the process), Soul Manipulation and Mind Manipulation via magic (Magic bypasses physical defenses by attacking the soul, requiring defenses specifically tailored to magic in order to defend against it. This extends to even magical barriers and amplifications meant to protect against physical attacks. The soul in Final Fantasy also contains one's Mind, Will, and Memories), Acausality (Connected to the Lifestream which has different concepts of time and distance, with the passing of time having no meaning there. Later became separated from the Lifestream entirely), Durability Negation (Draw Slash ignores the opponent's durability and physical barriers), Life Manipulation, Healing Negation, Power Nullification (Can dispel enchantments and magical effects with Dispel). Resistance to Space-Time Manipulation, Soul Manipulation, Mind Manipulation (Highly resistant to magic and its effects. His mind and soul couldn't be dissolved by the lifestream), and Heat (Unaffected by Ifrit's flames. Walked through Nibelheim as it burned down without catching fire) | Gravity Manipulation, Time Manipulation, Petrification, Death Manipulation, Absorption of Souls and Energy, Illusion Manipulation, Sleep Inducement, Telekinesis, Matter Manipulation, Power Nullification, Regeneration (Can rebuild his body from mere cells or even his raw spirit. Regenerated from his body and soul being completely destroyed, though this took time), Transmutation, Paralysis and Blindness Inducement with his physical attacks (As Safer Sephiroth), Size Manipulation. Resistance to Absolute Zero Ice, Status Effects, Time Manipulation (Unbound from time due to being a spirit), Energy Manipulation (Unaffected by Barret's Mind Blow, which attacks a foe's energy stores), BFR, Spatial Manipulation (Can withstand the Knights of the Round's Ultimate End, which destroys a universe with the shockwaves of its attack) | Disease Manipulation (Can infect people with geostigma), Mind Manipulation (Can control those that have been infected with Geostigma), Should have the abilities of his remnants including Wound Manipulation, Telepathy, Summoning, and Emotion Manipulation | Same as before. Resistance to Existence Erasure and Law Manipulation (Unaffected by exposure to the Interdimensional Rift)
Intelligence: Genius. Sephiroth is a war hero known for his exceptional skill in combat, able to duel multiple other first-class Soldiers without breaking a sweat, and stomping Zack Fair in swordsmanship to such a degree that it was impossible to believe that the two of them were in the same rank. After falling into the Lifestream, Sephiroth becomes even smarter, able to process the emotions of thousands of people at once and having the combined knowledge and experiences of a significant portion of all of human history, able to perform magic without needing Materia. A skilled manipulator that constantly led the cast right into his hand all the way up until his defeat.
Stamina: Limitless. His MP is restored fully at the beginning of each action he takes, as he is constantly drawing power from the Lifestream. No longer requires a physical body due to the Negative Lifestream.
Powers, Techniques, and Equipment[]
Powers[]
- Teleportation: Sephiroth is able to teleport at extreme speeds, doing so in his battle against Zack Fair. Later on, he was capable of teleporting the party around, despite them being capable of resisting BFR magic.
- Spatial Manipulation: Sephiroth's supernova is capable of shattering space to launch opponents into other dimensions. Furthermore, his Masamune is capable of cutting into other dimensions and creating portals through space and time with a swing of his sword.
- Forcefield Creation: Even before falling into the lifestream, Sephiroth was able to create spherical barriers to completely block attacks rather than simply reduce their damage. After falling into it, the versatility and power of these barriers are increased, with Sephiroth able to create more complex shapes with them. He could even form one over the country-sized Northern Crater.
- Materia Summoning: Sephiroth can summon four giant Materia around him representing Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Support spells. These materia will aid him in battle by casting spells to either attack the enemy or heal Sephiroth, and are quite durable. However, the first three are weak to their opposing element, which can be exploited. Given that they are made of Materia, these crystals should resist the standard effects of spirit energy, giving them Acausality and resistance to Space and Time manipulation.
- Soul Manipulation: Due to absorbing a massive amount of the lifestream's powers, Sephiroth is capable of destroying souls outright, as well as absorbing them directly, such as with President Shinra. With the Negative Lifestream, he can control and manipulate the souls of those who have died to Geostigma directly. Furthermore, magic as a whole utilizes Spirit Energy, and is able to bypass physical durability by attacking the soul instead of the body.
- Wound Manipulation: Scaling from Kadaj. Sephiroth should be able to take away injuries, as well as give them back at will.
- Absorption: Sephiroth is shown to be capable of absorbing spirit energy, such as when he planned to absorb the Lifestream from the planet, and absorbed President Shinra's soul. He has also shown to be capable of absorbing Materia directly into his body to use it (Scaling from his remnants, who possessed this ability) and in the Remake was capable of absorbing the entirety of Meteor into himself to become far more powerful than before.
- Reunion Mode: A super mode of sorts, where Sephiroth sprouts his signature single black wing. It increases his speed and strength greatly, allows for greater control over his flight, and lets Heartless Angel ignore the protective effects of summons like Alexander or Demon Wall.
- Jenova: The alien being whose DNA was infused into Sephiroth, making her his "Mother", in a sense. Sephiroth should have access to all of Jenova's powers, as he is capable of controlling her, and as of Advent Children the two of them have merged into one through the creation of Geostigma, which Sephiroth manipulates.
- Telepathy: Sephiroth can read the consciousness and emotions of others using Jenova. Kadaj, a much lesser user of this power, required physical contact, but Sephiroth can use it without such a restriction due to his much greater control over Jenova, as shown with his many usages of Illusions. He can also project his voice into the minds of the party from afar to communicate with them.
- Illusions: Jenova is capable of creating extremely realistic illusions that can fool the likes of Cloud and Tifa. With her power, Sephiroth was able to recreate the entirety of Nibelheim down to its smallest detail, including its destruction, and was able to disguise himself as other members of the party to trick even Red XIII's senses.
- Telekinesis: Sephiroth is capable of extremely powerful telekinesis. He can draw comets from outside the galaxy, manipulate buildings to use as projectiles, and fly at high speeds. Furthermore, he can directly use this power to trap and restrain others, tossing around the party like ragdolls.
- Duplication: Sephiroth can create duplicates of himself made of Jenova's cells, which are capable of using their own respective abilities and powers when battling the party. They have displayed multiple unique abilities as well, such as phasing through solid steel and shapeshifting into monstrous forms.
- Mind Control: Those infected with Jenova's Cells or Geostigma are susceptible to Sephiroth's will. When they take these into their body, Sephiroth is able to control them, puppeteering them in accordance to his will in an event called the Reunion. He can spread the Geostigma through his attacks as a Negative Lifestream Spirit.
- Aura: Jenova can create an aura around Sephiroth that slows down the movement of all foes in his vicinity.
- Geostigma: A disease formed by the remnants of Sephiroth's will after he was killed by Cloud at the end of Final Fantasy VII. When someone is infected with Geostigma, their spirit energy is corrupted by Sephiroth, and the immune system works to try to eliminate it. This fails to remove it, and the immune system overcompensates fighting an incurable contamination. Symptoms of Geostigma include extreme fatigue, physical weakness, open sores, hallucinations, seizures, and eventual death. When one dies, they become part of Sephiroth's "Negative Lifestream", The opposite of the main Lifestream. Sephiroth is capable of summoning it to blot out the sky, and can form it into Shadow Creepers, monsters capable of killing others to add their energy to the Negative Lifestream, with the ultimate plan of supplanting the Lifestream and making it into his own.
- Weather Manipulation: Sephiroth is capable of generating storms through the Negative Lifestream as shown in Advent Children, as well as massive telekinetic maelstroms that can destroy entire cities as shown in the Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Techniques[]
- Swordsmanship: Sephiroth is an exceptional swordsman and war hero whose raw skill has been alluded to many times over the course of the FF7 compilation, and he has demonstrated this ability in many appearances, especially the Dissidia games, where he is capable of evenly fighting the likes of Bartz Klauser and Lightning Farron. Sephiroth's fighting style is called Focused Blade, relying on fast, powerful hits that he can cancel out of and using precise timing for his attacks.
- Reaper: Sephiroth slashes his opponent three times, each leaving a trail of lifestream energy that strikes the opponent multiple times more.
- Transcience: A quick, short-ranged sword slash that hits multiple times before knocking the opponent away.
- Fervent Blow: Similar to Cloud's Blade Beam, Sephiroth swings his sword out and fires several blades of energy at the opponent.
- Sudden Cruelty: Sephiroth strikes his foe twice, each slash hitting multiple times.
- Oblivion: An Iaijutsu-type move, where Sephiroth charges through the opponent, leaving a slash that knocks them out of the air.
- Draw Slash: Another quick-draw attack similar to Oblivion. This attack has the unique property of ignoring the durability of his opponent.
- Godspeed: Sephiroth fires several energy blades, and if they hit, moves forward and hits the opponent with a downward slash.
- Octaslash: One of Sephiroth's signature moves, comparable to the limit breaks of other characters. He charges forward and slashes an opponent eight times, each one more powerful than a normal hit.
- Scintilla: Sephiroth creates a forcefield out of hexagonal lifestream constructs, and then takes advantage of the opponent's openings to strike them twice.
- Hell's Gate: The move infamously used to kill Aerith Gainsborough. Sephiroth rapidly descends down from the air to impale opponents from above, the impact creating a fissure that throws up debris. He can cancel this mid-descent to release a wave of energy from his sword instead.
- Heaven's Light: The opposite of Hell's Gate, Sephiroth swings his sword up, releasing a massive slash of light.
- Aeolian Onslaught: A spinning slash accompanied by a wind of lifestream energy.
- Telluric Fury: A charging attack that slashes an opponent three times with Masamune.
- Moon Slash: A lightning-quick swipe to the side.
- Zanshin: Another energy blade attack caused with swings of his sword.
- Magic: Through the use of Materia, and later after absorbing a large portion of the Lifestream, Sephiroth is capable of freely casting magic and using it against his opponents. Spells he has shown include:
- Firaga: Sephiroth either causes an explosion directly on the enemy or shoots out three homing fireballs.
- Blizzaga: Sephiroth either encases the opponent in a pillar of ice or crushes them with a large block of it.
- Thundaga: Sephiroth either shoots bolts of lightning at the enemy or calls them down from the sky.
- Quaga: Sephiroth triggers a massive earthquake, that causes spires of earth to erupt from the ground.
- Aeroga: Sephiroth creates a tornado that deals massive wind damage to enemies.
- Elemental Infusion: Sephiroth is capable of infusing the five elements into his sword, changing the damage of his melee attacks and giving himself a resistance. This also gives his elemental attacks different properties or unlocks entirely new ones.
- Flamewall: Sephiroth sends fire along the ground, that erupts into a lingering wall of flame that continually damages foes.
- Frostspike: Sephiroth summons up four ice crystals that explode violently after a few seconds.
- Thunderstorm: Sephiroth generates a localized thunderstorm that strikes with twelve bolts in a few seconds.
- Windwail: Sephiroth's attacks strike extra times with hits of wind, and casting Aeroga leaves a lingering whirlwind for a few seconds.
- Graviga: Sephiroth generates a gravity well around opponents that crushes them, bypassing their durability by using their own body against them. Shown in the likes of Brave Exvius, this spell is potent enough to harm characters capable of withstanding Black Holes.
- Break: Sephiroth petrifies the opponent, encasing them in rock before shattering that rock and leaving them as a mere statue.
- Flare: By making the atoms of a target collide with eachother, Sephiroth triggers a colossal explosion that bypasses magical defenses and durability.
- Curaga: Sephiroth heals himself a great deal, restoring wounds that his regeneration are unable to recover fast enough.
- Wall: Sephiroth forms a barrier that protects him from both physical and magical attacks, halving their effects.
- Dispel: Sephiroth dispels any positive magical effects that an opponent is using, nullifying them.
- Slow: Sephiroth halves the speed of his opponent's time, slowing them down.
- Stop: Sephiroth stops an opponent in time, freezing them in place. He can still strike and damage them during this time.
- Sleepel: Sephiroth puts an opponent to sleep. Magical attacks will not rouse them, but physical attacks will.
- Death Sentence: Sephiroth places a counter over a foe for 60 seconds, which instantly kills them when that counter elapses, as the grim reaper itself appears to steal away their soul.
- Shadow Flare: One of Sephiroth's favorite attacks. Sephiroth surrounds an opponent with dark flames from all directions and causes them to converge, dealing exceptional damage that ignores magic defenses and durability.
- Shadow Slice: Sephiroth releases a series of homing orbs out at opponents. If they hit, the target will be paralyzed and unable to move for seven seconds.
- Wave of Nihility: Sephiroth forms a dark aura around himself before then releasing it outwards in the form of a dark wave.
- Heartless Angel: Another one of Sephiroth's signature attacks, which takes two forms. In one, Sephiroth dives down and creates an explosion that reduces everyone caught in it to their last legs, sending them to 1 HP. In another, Sephiroth forms the construct of an angel above an opponent which causes the same effect.
- Meteor: The ultimate Black Magic spell, surpassing even Ultima and Flare. Sephiroth, using the Black Materia, is able to call down meteors onto his opponent of varying sizes. It should be noted that to use its full power takes days, and the resulting Meteor (despite appearances) is capable of Low Multiversal levels of power, as it matches the power of the Lifestream which far exceeds the likes of Cloud and Sephiroth's full power. Sephiroth can use it instantly to call down smaller meteors in a usage of the materia similar to the Comet spells, and in the Final Fantasy VII remake, Sephiroth was able to absorb the entirety of Meteor, gaining a colossal increase in power.
- Divine Proclamation: As shown in the Remake, Sephiroth is capable of using Meteor after a very short charging frame, an attack which instantly defeats his opponents due to the sheer power of Meteor.
- Supernova: Sephiroth's Limit Break as noted by his fan club, and considered to be his ultimate attack. Supernova shatters space around the opponent, breaking down reality around them to form another dimension. Within this dimension are three potential variations of the attack. In the original Japanese version of the game, Sephiroth gathers a large amount of energy visible from Jupiter, then releases an omnidirectional wave that instantly obliterates the entire solar system. In the US release, Sephiroth summons a comet from outside the galaxy to shoot through multiple planets and into the sun, causing it to go supernova, dealing 15/16ths of an opponent's health and inflicting random status effects on them in the process. In the Dissidia games, Sephiroth strikes a foe so hard they're launched through space and sent into the sun, which then goes supernova in the process.
Equipment[]
- Masamune: Sephiroth's primary weapon, a massive nodachi whose length varies depending on the game, to as much as a whopping twelve feet. The blade is capable of cutting through space to infiltrate the other dimensions of summons, as well as create portals through space and time. The blade also has anti-healing properties, nullifying the healing magic Zangan attempted to use on Tifa when he stabbed her with it. Though Sephiroth lost Masamune when he fell into the lifestream, he gained the ability to materialize copies of it at any time.
- Black Materia: A massive, jet-black Materia which grants the use of Meteor to whoever wields it. Sephiroth has absorbed the Black Materia into himself, and is capable of freely utilizing Meteor due to this.
Key[]
Human | Lifestream Spirit | Negative Lifestream Spirit | Warrior of Chaos/Spiritus
Minor Feats[]
Attack Potency/Strength[]
- His shockwaves cut through the sister ray cannon
- One-shot Ifrit, whose flames can reduce the world to ashes
- Stronger than Tifa, who can suplex the colossal Diamond Weapon
- Superior to Jenova, whose impact alone created the Northern Crater
- Redirected a bunch of debris in a single strike
- Impaled and ragdolled Cloud
- His clash with Genesis cratered the metal floor
- Impaled the Midgar Serpent on a tree
Speed/Reactions[]
- Can move faster than the eye can track
- Far above the early-game cast, which can dodge lasers
- Can telekinetically pull a meteor from outside the galaxy
- Comparable to Jenova, who flew to the world from space
Durability/Endurance[]
- Superior to Jenova, who survived her impact that created the Northern Crater
- Can resist Shiva's ice, which is stated to reach Absolute Zero
- Unaffected by the flames of Ifrit
- Tanked Genesis' fireballs without any damage
Skill/Intelligence[]
- Far stronger than any stories you've ever heard about him
- Dominated Zack in a fight so thoroughly it was easy to forget they were both first-class
- The main soldier responsible for winning the Wutai War
- Has fought the likes of Bartz Klauser, Lightning Farron, and Cecil Harvey during the War of Cycles
Powerscaling[]
Having been stated to be the strongest character in Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth stands head and shoulders above the rest of the cast. He was able to fight all of them at once during the Final Battle, and later battled a much stronger version of Cloud while holding back, nearly winning.
Weaknesses[]
- Due to shedding much of his identity as part of the Negative Lifestream, Sephiroth has an obsession with killing and tormenting Cloud.
- Sense of superiority and overconfidence in his own strength (Albeit a justified sense within his universe).
Sources[]
- VS Battles Wiki (For calcs and an analysis on Spirit Energy)
Versus Compendium's Conclusions[]
Notable Wins:
Notable Losses:
Inconclusive Matches: