When one talks about some of the most iconic villains of all time, it's only a matter of time before Final Fantasy VII's Sephiroth is brought up in the conversation. The fact of the matter is that this silver-haired one-winged angel is easily one of the most recognizable figures in gaming history, and one need only look at the pomp and fanfare surrounding his debut in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to understand the sheer depths of this figure's infamous reputation in the gaming community.
Therefore, it's only a given that devout fans would want to know everything there is to know about Cloud's nemesis. Keeping this in mind, here are ten things about Sephiroth that most people had absolutely no idea about.
10 His Masamune Can Be Equipped By Vincent...As A Gun
One unique thing about Sephiroth's Masamune is that it can be equipped by another person in the main party, although the person in question might be a rather surprising one.
Funnily enough, it's Vincent who can equip said Masamune, which turns out to be a rather powerful weapon. However, he still "shoots" it like a gun, with the attack animation still featuring a slash.
9 Sephiroth Could've Been Aerith's Sibling...Or Lover, At One Point
One interesting fact about Sephiroth is that he was initially meant to have way a deeper connection to Aerith than what ended up being included in the final game.
Early drafts painted Sephiroth as Aerith's sibling and even her lover, which would've definitely made for quite an interesting dynamic. Ultimately, these ideas were scrapped and Sephiroth just became Aerith's killer.
8 Sephiroth Was Meant To Have A Greater Influence Over Cloud
While Sephiroth definitely manipulated Cloud quite a bit in the final game, his influence over the protagonist was meant to be way greater than what was integrated into the final product.
After being thrown into the Lifestream, a desperate Sephiroth would've used Cloud's body as a vessel to carry forward his goal, rewriting his memories accordingly so that Cloud wouldn't suspect a thing.
However, with the creation of JENOVA and the fleshing out of Zack's backstory, this influence was reduced significantly.
7 Sephiroth's Presence Was Supposed To Be Fairly Muted In The Remake
The initial draft of Final Fantasy VII Remake didn't really feature Sephiroth all that much, since he doesn't really make his presence known until after the party leaves Midgar.
However, as the game was being developed, the studio assumed that Sephiroth's infamy was something players would be quite aware of at this point. Hence, he was included in multiple scenes throughout the game to let players catch regular glimpses of this iconic character.
Given the fan backlash over this particular creative choice, perhaps things would've been better if Sephiroth's presence was used more judiciously instead.
6 His Health In His Final Boss Form Changes As Per The Player's Action In Previous Battles
The final battle against JENOVA and Sephiroth is one of the best and most iconic battles in JRPG history. Therefore, it's only a given that the mechanics surrounding this battle would also be rather unique as well.
There is a bunch of hidden criteria that can be met — such as whether the player used Knights of the Round in the preceding battle and how many Level 99 characters are there in the final party — which governs the stats of both Bizzaro and Safer Sephiroth.
5 He's Left-Handed In The Original Game But Right-Handed In The Remake
One rather interesting thing to note about Sephiroth is the fact that his dominant hand has been pretty inconsistent throughout the series.
In the original game, it's clear that Sephiroth is a left-handed swordsman. However, in Final Fantasy VII Remake, one can clearly see that he prefers wielding the Masamune in his right hand instead.
4 The Manner In Which He Keeps His Hair So Pristine Is Actually Somewhat Hilarious
There's actually a rather irrelevant — yet hilarious — piece of information that pertains to the manner in which Sephiroth keeps his hair so pristine and immaculate throughout the series.
Apparently, in order to achieve this feat, Sephiroth used an entire bottle of shampoo and conditioner that were enhanced with thirteen different kinds of perfume each every single time he decided to wash his hair. These hair products that were given to him by Shinra themselves!
3 It's Impossible To Lose The Final Battle Against Him
The final confrontation with Sephiroth sees Cloud unleashing the powerful Omnislash on his nemesis, decimating him and removing his influence from his mind once and for all.
However, if the player decides to sit back and let Sephiroth defeat them, then they'll find that the game has a hidden failsafe in this situation. Sephiroth's attack will always take away 31/32 of Cloud's HP, following which the spiky-haired blonde will automatically counterattack and defeat Sephiroth. Cloud will accomplish this without all the pomp and fanfare of the Omnislash.
2 Yoshinori Kitase Considers Sephiroth To Be His Favorite Final Fantasy Villain
One thing to note about Sephiroth is that the director of the game is incredibly fond of him.
In fact, Yoshinori Kitase has gone on record to say that Sephiroth is his favorite Final Fantasy villain — an opinion that the majority of the Final Fantasy fanbase is likely to agree with. Kitase remarked that he loves Sephiroth's humanity, as his villainous actions are motivated by genuine reasons and trauma.
1 The Game's Poor Translation Messed Up Sephiroth's Transformation Into An Absolute Madman
If there's one thing that Final Fantasy VII is notorious for, it's the horrible translation that ended up taking away from the overall experience. Typos and weird sentences are one thing, but glossing over key plot points is something else entirely.
One thing to note about Sephiroth is that he didn't become evil of his own accord — JENOVA actually brainwashed him somewhat to walk the path of evil. JENOVA even helped Sephiroth merge with the Lifestream so that he could still help her achieve the goal of destroying Earth itself.
The fact that none of this is communicated effectively through the game's translation is a huge misstep. Thankfully, mods have come up that alter the translation and make it less painful — and more clearer — to understand.