Sephiroth (Final Fantasy) - Reception

Reception

On multiple occasions, numerous gaming magazines have chosen Sephiroth as one of the best villains from both the Final Fantasy series in specific and in all of video games in general. In March 2006, IGN listed him at number 2 in its "Top 10 Tuesday: Most Memorable Villains", while in the "Top 100 Videogame Villains", he was fourth. In October 2005, Electronic Gaming Monthly listed him as number one in a top 10 "Video Game Bosses" list. In December 2009, UGO.com placed Sephiroth twenty-fifth on their list of "Top 25 Japanese RPG Characters" calling him "one of the most visually striking villains of all time" while praising how different he is from previous Final Fantasy villains. In Spring of 2005, Sephiroth was the winner in a GameFAQs character battle involving only villains. He was been named the number one villain in an episode of G4's Filter. PCWorld placed him second in "The 47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time". GameSpy placed him eighth in their "Top 10 Villains in Games", commenting on how difficult it is to defeat him in Final Fantasy VII. In late 2007, Sephiroth was named fourteenth best character of all time in Dengeki PlayStation's retrospective awards feature about the original PlayStation. A reader's choice poll organized by GameSpot placed him as the best villain of all time. In this contest the character got five times more votes than Bowser, who finished in second place. Most of the comments noted the difficulty of the final fight with Sephiroth, as well as its distinctive elements when compared to other games. Sephiroth was listed at the top of IGN's "Final Fantasy VII: Top 10 Characters" list, with writer Dave Smith calling him the "heavyweight champion of Final Fantasy villains," and praising his appearance and backstory. He would take the same spot in the "Top 25 Final Fantasy Characters" by the same site. In IGN's "Final Fantasy Reader's Choice", also written by Smith, Sephiroth was placed fourth, with comments focused on his activities in the game's plot. IGN also put Sephiroth in the articles "Big Boss of the Day" and "Baddie Brawl", with the latter comparing him with Liquid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. During February 2010, Famitsu readers voted Sephiroth as the twenty-first most popular video game character. In a retrospective on Final Fantasy antagonists, GamesRadar listed Sephiroth as their top pick, citing his developed motives and acts of evil. Sephiroth was also featured alongside Cloud in ScrewAttack's "Top Ten Coolest Characters", although they preferred Cloud. Game Informer listed his original appearance in the third place of the publication's "Top Ten Boss Fights", saying that the "battle against Sephiroth is top-notch." In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition from 2011, he was voted as the thirty-second best video game character of all time.

The scene in which Sephiroth kills Aerith during Final Fantasy VII has also prompted much commentary. For example, when comparing him with Cloud, ScrewAttack noted that with this scene, Sephiroth was established as "the biggest bastard." GamesRadar simply called him "the biggest cock blocker in the gaming world," as writer Shane Patterson found Aerith's character to be appealing, and due to the fact Sephiroth killed her, players were unable to use her anymore. Also referring to the scene as a shocking moment, GameSpot suggested that the FMV sequence of Sephiroth appearing in front of the Nibelheim fire "might be one of the most recognizable cutscenes ever to grace video games." GamesRadar's article "Non-playable characters we wish were playable" featured Sephiroth as a character that they wished would have been playable in Final Fantasy VII so they "could relive skewering Aerith like an annoyingly dainty, needlessly chaste salmon over and over."

However, some game editors have criticized Sephiroth's character. For example, IGN's David Smith has stated that "Sephiroth was certainly a good-looking fellow, but his motivations were about as clear as mud." When comparing Sephiroth with the Final Fantasy VI villain, Kefka Palazzo, GamesRadar commented that he "seems as interesting as a dead accountant painted brown." 1UP.com took a humorous approach to Sephiroth's several appearances after apparent deaths and in other games, ranking him third in their "They Is Risen" feature, which covered the ten most notorious video game resurrections. The publication noted that if the character continued to be used, Square Enix would eventually "run out of ways to remix One-Winged Angel." GameSpy editor Ryan Scott called Sephiroth the "King of Overrated Characters" during GameSpy's villain feature for Dissidia Final Fantasy, arguing that gamers were impressed by him only because of his design and by how he killed Aerith during Final Fantasy VII. On the other hand, AnimeFringe stated that Sephiroth is one of "the most notorious villain in the entire Final Fantasy series." Calling him the "quintessential bishōnen in the eyes of many fans -- male and female," AnimeFringe also compared him with Kefka, but praised his complexity.

Critics have also commented on Sephiroth's role in other games. In relation to Crisis Core, IGN AU stated that "even Sephiroth gets his moments in the sun," praising the depth in his backstory, which would later make his boss battle more entertaining. IGN UK agreed, stating that his character was granted "a more human dimension" and enjoying some of the events from before his transformation into a villain. His boss battle was also shown in 1UP's "25 More of the Most Badass Boss Fights Ever" in which the staff praised how the original battle from Final Fantasy VII was expanded in the title. A feature published by GamerHelp included Sephiroth's Kingdom Hearts's fight in a feature titled "The Hardest Bosses of All Time", noting that regardless of the player's skill "walking away from this match unscathed" is not possible, to the point of saying that the fight was more difficult than the entirety of Final Fantasy VII. AnimeFringe stated that only advanced gamers would be able to defeat Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts because the player has no backup and that " devastating attacks can kill in seconds."