Why is Sephiroth praised as one of the best villians?

[Sj]

Because of ungodly hype he recieved ? He's actually pretty insignificant and proves to be the easiest boss fight to ever exist in the history of gaming. I never bothered listing him on those Villain lists

He is pretty beastly in Kingdom Hearts though. Guess there was some regret at Square for making him such a pushover in FF7.

[Deleted]

Oh this of course could be possible, I just remember the last fight in FF7 where you passed instead of using some attack, you just parry his, deal 1 damage and he dies his timely death. :P

[Herecius]

Kuja was probably the most interesting villain because there was enough mystery surrounding him and his motives. He actually managed to do everything he set out to do and when we found out why he was going to do it, it made sense and you could actually sympathize with why he acted this way. Kefka had no motive except for being batshit crazy. Sephiroth's motives were so convoluted that it basically boiled down to "mommy issues" and being a puppet.

That is precisely why Kuja is my favorite FF villain, hands down. I really ended up sympathizing with him. He wasn't doing evil things for the sake of being evil, or because he was loony toons, everything he did he did genuinely believing in his own cause, and it was all rational to boot. I was able to really say 'yeah, I could very likely end up the same way if presented with the same choices and situations he was.'

[Thage]

Give someone a nodachi, trenchcoat, long hair, brooding demeanor, and psuedo-cryptic one-liners that make no goddamn sense and people will eat that shit up.

[Kuja]

He has a big sword.

[Mavecryst]

Well, he was an famous villain in a famous game that was one of the pioneers in making video games more mainstream and acceptable. It made him memorable. Up till then, most of the villains in RPGs were generic "I'll kill you cos I can" types, or some variation of that. He had motives (albeit extremely convoluted), and there was that twist to him not being him the entire game (just controlling a form of Jenova). He had power, and you see him pwn face for most of the game (kills aeris, is uber powered when you use for him for a few minutes, burns Cloud's village down, etc). He wasn't some all powerful entity you just sorta knew was there in the distance as the end boss, he was there in some way throughout the story.

Some may not like him for the reasons that made him a good villain, but they can't deny that there were reasons in the first place that made him feel fully fleshed out. If Kefka can be praised as a good villain, then even more, Sephiroth would be. Not saying Kefka wasn't, but he was more one dimensional. He was crazy, and fun to watch for sure, plus he did destroy the damn world, so he's arguably more badass than Sephiroth, but still being an interesting villain takes more than crazy and power.

[Zenko]

People often mix character and "badass" events, especially the easily impressionable youth.

I can agree with this. I thought I loved Sephy growing up, but lately I've realized it was only due to his interactions with Cloud that got me going. There was a cool synergy between those 2 that hasn't really been done again besides in FFIX. The fact that Cloud was such a pussy but was the only person to somehow match up to Sephy when his life depended on it was pretty inspiring to my young mind. The flashback scene at the Mako reactor when Sephy goes nuts for the first time will always be ingrained in my head as being super badass.

[trips25]

Kefka is the best, I have a cat named Kefka.

He will swat crap off the table and stare you down the entire time he's doing it, like he's saying "what are your going to do about it!?"

..Clearly I didn't think of the aftermath of giving him that name.. Damn evil clown cat.

[pickley]

Nostalgia probably.

Hell, hes not even the best Final Fantasy villain (Thats Kefka)

[Vasti]

I love FFVII.... It is what brought me into the FF games. I have beaten it multiple times over the past 8-10 years. On many top villian polls/rankings, I find Sephiroth very often. But I do not get why....

HUGE Spoilers!
-----------------
You first see Sephiroth very early in the game, but in the past. He is looked to be a "good guy" but as the story continues he learns what his true origins were. He becomes mad and filled with rage, killing innocents and burning a town to the ground, only to have the truth of what happened to be hidden by Shinra.
Yea, that is pretty big, and a great part in the game, but look at present time..... You see what looks to be Sephiroth multiple times in the game, but you later find out that it really isnt him, but Jenova disguised as Sephiroth. You really don't see the real Sephiroth till your very deep in the game. He doesnt move, he doesnt say anything during the present time at all if I remember right.

Even when you fight him at the end of the game, he doesnt say 1 word. The only time a "Sephiroth" talks, is when it is really Jenova!

So shouldn't Jenova take Sephiroths place as one of the best villians on gaming history?

Okay, I played this game several times so I think I should know that it was always Sephiroth that talked etc. (Just not his physical body, but more like a mental representative of him, explaining why he could fly/teleport etc)

On the other hand Jenova was not a single being. She was divided many times, people all over had cells of her in their body, Sephiroth being one of them, probably with the most Jenova cells, tried to unite her and bring 'mother'(=Jenova) back. So Jenova was never really back. It was all mostly Sephiroth under some influence of Jenova.

What makes him one of the coolest villains to me is that he looks cool and was very strong in the game. The player avoided fighting the Midgard Zolom (or whatever that giant snake's name was) and when you reach the other side chasing Sephiroth you see he killed one.
He wasn't alwas evil and you really get to experience his whole turning evil in a way that is quite good imo.
The way he toys with Cloud also adds to his coolness. He is not cool, because he is wicked evil, but because of the way he looks acts and is.
/my 2cts

[Lastlivingsoul]

Had to reply to this one:

First off instead of the hero constantly meeting him and defeating him in most RPG you were only following in the path of his nightmarish strength.

Example of his Nightmarish strength: Upon raiding the Shinra building in the beginning of the game your face swarms of shinra security agents robots and are finally captured by the Turks the elite mafia-eske agents of Shinra and put into holding cells. Upon going to sleep you find the door to your cell mysteriously open and the walls splattered with blood claw marks and all the signs of a massacre that took place silently as you slept. The same happens on the boat across the ocean and in the past in Nibliehem. You won't know he's there until its too late.

Also the fact that most of his encounters may have been expendable clones with the same strength also adds a bit of paranoia to the fear. At one point Cloud (the hero) realizes that he is also a failed clone of Sephiroth and his memories are someone else's. Even worse you see Sephiroth cutting down clones in black robes lining up in single file to meet him. His reason: they were all going to be part of Jenova anyway.

Moreover his motive for being evil is more than just wanting to destroy the world. To him it's his birthright, the illegitimate son of an alien that traveled to earth to infect and destroy the universe. Raised by those who would use him to advance their own civilization he learns of his true origin and decides for himself that he should follow his dark calling. It's no small wonder they chose the voice of Superman George Newbern to voice Sephiroth in Advent Children. Sephiroth is an evil version of a highly advanced Super alien raised on earth. Superior in every way to his enemies, with Jenova can copy any form and ability, can summon meteors from deep in outer space and what am I missing? Ahh yes, can DESTROY THE SOLAR SYSTEM with a well placed comet INTO THE SUN!!

The part that really blows my mind o think of it was that when the earth was destroyed he would use the hollow lifeless shell to find another planet to infect. A plague on a cosmic scale personified.

IMHO opinion the only one who beats Sephiroth in the villian game is Kefka (FF6)and Yu-Yevon (10). Kefka suceeded in destroying the world and establishing himslef as a god after but Yu-Yevon managed to do it for 1000 years. Both of them only had one planet on the world domination market though.

Oh yeah and Aeris ... So there's that.

So from Friday the 13th Jason human massacres, to endless clone Psylon-eske impersonators, to evil-Superman like powers, the command of like that of the Zerg infect and destroy planets throughout the universe, and the ability to SUPERNOVA the SUN blowing up the solar system.

He has to be on top of somebody's list.

Edit: After reading the first post I would say that you do bring up a good point: Its hard to tell What was Jenova and what was Sephiroth and what was a Sephiroth clone. I will say this, without Sephiroth's form/body Jenova could not have made it so far. I think it clear that even after you kill Jenova reborn in the crater that Sephiroth acts of his own free will.

[RiotDragonX]

After reading some of the replies put in this thread after not just I, but many others put intelligent reasons behind Sephiroth being one of the best villains of all time, it has occurred to me that debating this topic is rather pointless.

Even after all the informative posts, Sephy/FFVII haters still post long winded reasons why he was only liked because of this or that, and there was no actual depth to him whatsoever. So yeah, those who have their own fanboyisms will refuse to debate properly on the point.

[melodramocracy]

If you were the right age, playing FF7, he certainly was a memorable villian, based on what you were shown of his persona, and the actions he did. I'm sure there's many exceptions, but it seemed like most villians in games back then were the stereotypical rub-your-hands-together-plans-for-world-domination pointless types (example: Doctor Robotnik), so he was something presented with a hair more substance.

The fight with him, however, has got to be one of the most anti-climatic I've ever witnessed.

[Wilian]

If you were the right age, playing FF7, he certainly was a memorable villian, based on what you were shown of his persona

What is his persona in FF VII?

[Temujin]

If you were the right age, playing FF7, he certainly was a memorable villian, based on what you were shown of his persona, and the actions he did. I'm sure there's many exceptions, but it seemed like most villians in games back then were the stereotypical rub-your-hands-together-plans-for-world-domination pointless types (example: Doctor Robotnik), so he was something presented with a hair more substance.

The fight with him, however, has got to be one of the most anti-climatic I've ever witnessed.

Pretty much in a nutshell, his incarnation in Kingdom Hearts did do him justice.

[shise]

There goes my entire childhood. Enjoy.

For the record, I played this game ill, played the last disk with 40º fever, maybe that's why it was so special for me, immersion was unique ^^

[Jewster925]

Snip

Great post here. Wow. I totally agree with what you wrote and believe Sephiroth is one of the best villains (close with Kefka and Yu-Yevon of course).

He also just looks pure evil. The mako infused eyes, the sharp facial features, the unbelievable strength (skewering the snake outside of the cave after the Chocobo Farm), the crazy masamune sword that only he could wield.

The graphics for its time was unbeatable (especially in the videos) and here, when Sephiroth snaps in Nibelheim he just looks purely evil and apathetic to all those that have even an ounce of good in them.


---------- Post added 2013-03-06 at 09:52 AM ----------

There goes my entire childhood. Enjoy.

For the record, I played this game ill, played the last disk with 40º fever, maybe that's why it was so special for me, immersion was unique ^^

Although Kuja was pretty menacing in FFIX... playing the back stage of causing kingdoms to break treaties and go to war, I don't think he's in the top 5 villains. Plus... honestly, I can't see a man in a thong as terribly threatening.

[RiotDragonX]

Great post here. Wow. I totally agree with what you wrote and believe Sephiroth is one of the best villains (close with Kefka and Yu-Yevon of course).

He also just looks pure evil. The mako infused eyes, the sharp facial features, the unbelievable strength (skewering the snake outside of the cave after the Chocobo Farm), the crazy masamune sword that only he could wield.

The graphics for its time was unbeatable (especially in the videos) and here, when Sephiroth snaps in Nibelheim he just looks purely evil and apathetic to all those that have even an ounce of good in them.


---------- Post added 2013-03-06 at 09:52 AM ----------



Although Kuja was pretty menacing in FFIX... playing the back stage of causing kingdoms to break treaties and go to war, I don't think he's in the top 5 villains. Plus... honestly, I can't see a man in a thong as terribly threatening.

Yeah. Fact is that the people smashing Seph are simply fanboys for other villains or franchises. I've read the posts, and it shines clearly through their words. For Kefka, I haven't played FF6, so I don't have an opinion on him. Kuja, he found out he was a defect and decided to take everyone with him. That sounds pretty angsty to me, something Seph is always blamed for being. Seymour? Please. =/ He tried to do exactly the same thing that Seph did, and in the end fell horribly short. I'd say Yu Yevon was more successful than Seph was in that he actually accomplished his goals for a time.

I can honestly understand people liking one villain over another. Seph is my personal favorite, and if you prefer another then that's all good. But those people ripping on Sephiroth are little more than teenage boys hating the Leo Decaprio for being popular after his role in Titanic. Any and all of the questions this post started with have been answered, and if anyone has anymore, I'd be more than happy to answer them. But for those of you butthurt that Seph actually has depth and might possibly be able to stand up to their own villain idol, grow a quad already.

[Kelesti]

"Grow a quad"? What does that even mean? I am not understanding your lingo, dudebro.

[Deleted]

I guess I'm the only person who had to google who the hell was e talking about :S.

The fact that someone on this forum legitmately didn't know who Sephiroth was makes me feel worryingly old.

---------- Post added 2013-03-13 at 09:09 PM ----------

Great post here. Wow. I totally agree with what you wrote and believe Sephiroth is one of the best villains (close with Kefka and Yu-Yevon of course).

Not being funny, but Yu Yevon was a small black blob who said nothing. Lore around Sin and everything was cool and stuff, but really. Yu-yevon barely qualifies as a character imo.