Final Fantasy 7 is one of the most iconic JRPGs of all time. Among RPG fanatics, many agree that FF7 is an important classic and almost a must-play for those who wish to understand the genre. As a result, there are not many gamers who don't know two of the game's most important characters, Cloud Strife and Sephiroth. The two are extremely important to FF7, so when it came to Final Fantasy 7 Remake aiming to re-tell the memorable story once more, players were worried as to how their characters would change for the better, or for the worse.
However, a majority of Final Fantasy 7's cast aren't strangers to having their characters re-tooled for specific purposes, with one of the more famous examples being their guest appearances in Kingdom Hearts. In the KH series, Cloud and friends are reoccurring characters, adapted to fit the worlds within the series, which means the nature of the Final Fantasy guests have changed as a result. It could be easily argued that the character who went through the most changes was Sephiroth, who has his entire existence in KH adjusted to match Cloud.
Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
When it comes to Sephiroth, many fans of the original FF7 weren't exactly expecting Sephiroth to be a reoccurring character throughout Remake. While he's mentioned fairly early on, the Masamune-wielding villain isn't seen in the original game until the very end of the first section before players leave Midgar. However, in FF7 Remake, he appears numerous times to tease Cloud about their intertwined destinies. Sephiroth even asks Cloud to join him in defying their fate at the end of the game, to which Cloud declines.
In FF7R, it's hard to say exactly what's happening with Sephiroth yet, but there are plenty of implications that Sephiroth is still connected to Cloud through their Jenova cells, and this allows Sephiroth to appear before Cloud early on in the game. He remains a lingering presence in Cloud's mind until the very end when he kills President Shinra and nearly Barret. It's commonly theorized that the rogue SOLDIER found in Remake is actually Sephiroth from the future trying to change what happened in the past, but even if future games like Rebirth debunk this theory, Sephiroth seems to absorb the Arbiters of Fate and thus knows the future of their world regardless.
However, FF7R makes it a point to its players that Sephiroth is intimidating and should be feared, demanding all the attention at any point where he shows up, which naturally comes with how he's one of the most popular villains in video gaming. In Remake, it seems that he aims to change the story of the original Final Fantasy 7 to avoid being defeated a second time. It seems his goal in asking Cloud to join him is to try and recruit the help of the "Sephiroth clone" that once gave him the Black Materia in the original timeline early, which is probably why as he's denied, he simply smiles and fights Cloud once more. He's most likely aware that Cloud will just end up aiding him later in the future regardless of his choice at the edge of creation.
Kingdom Hearts' Sephiroth
In Kingdom Hearts, Sephiroth is a secret boss fight players can encounter after sealing the keyhole at Hollow Bastion and heading back to Olympus Coliseum. Due to the fact that fans can only fight him just before finishing the game, he's notoriously difficult, and those challenging him unprepared may end up with their HP cut in half from the first attack alone. For those who succeed in besting him, they'll be treated to a cutscene where Cloud and Sephiroth meet and fight like the rivals they are.
Unlike FF7R Sephiroth, who stands as a physical representation of Jenova trying to reform after being broken apart by Shinra's scientists, KH Sephiroth exists for a different reason - he's Cloud's darkness personified. Long before Sora wielded the Keyblade, Cloud relied on darkness too much, and that led to the creation of Sephiroth. In KH1, Cloud was looking for him to fight him and free himself from his darkness, but as of KH2, he's falling deeper into it and is said to only have one last speck of light left. It seems Sephiroth's driving motivation in this series is to force Cloud to fall into darkness.
The reason Sephiroth wants Cloud to fall into darkness could be because he wants to take over the blond swordsman, something that's been already shown as possible in the series through Riku's relationship with Seeker of Darkness Ansem. In fact, it could potentially be even easier than Ansem possessing Riku, as Sephiroth specifically says he "is" Cloud in KH2. Currently, the last time Sephiroth and Cloud both were seen in Kingdom Hearts was as they vanish to go fight their grand final battle in Kingdom Hearts 2 after Cloud is seen finding his light once more.
Comparing the Two Versions of Sephiroth
In both games, Sephiroth is positioned as a foil to Cloud, but they're foils in similar ways for different reasons. Both Sephiroths act as overwhelming presences to push Cloud to his limit, as if saying that he could be just like him if he just let himself fall into his darker instincts. However, the Sephiroth in FF7R could easily be seen as more threatening than the one found in KH. In Remake, Sephiroth seems to almost know what lies ahead for Cloud, which adds some anxiety to each of Sephiroth's appearances, even for those who know the character from the original game. Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts may be an actual part of Cloud rather than an external force, but Cloud seems more experienced in KH, and therefore more equal to his dark half. Sephiroth was also on the verge of being bested by Cloud's light, judging by his reaction when it appeared.
Compared to how FF7R Cloud seems when placed next to his KH version, it's rather interesting that Sephiroth's situation is almost the exact opposite. Where KH Cloud was more put together than how he was portrayed in FF7R, Sephiroth has the upper hand against Cloud in FF7R, where KH Sephiroth is beginning to fall behind. Unlike the Kingdom Hearts versions of these characters, the Remake versions still have at least two more games to grow from where they are now. The true might of Sephiroth has not yet been realized in the Remake project, and there's a chance fans will get to experience that for themselves when the sequel to Final Fantasy 7 Remake comes out next year.