Sephiroth (Final Fantasy)

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Sephiroth
Sephiroth.png
Sephiroth artwork by Tetsuya Nomura
Series Final Fantasy
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Kingdom Hearts
First game Final Fantasy VII
Designed by Tetsuya Nomura
Voiced by (English) Lance Bass (Kingdom Hearts)
George Newbern (all other appearances)
Voiced by (Japanese) Shin-ichiro Miki (Ehrgeiz)
Toshiyuki Morikawa (all other appearances)
Fictional information
Class/Job SOLDIER 1st Class
Weapon Masamune

Sephiroth (セフィロス Sefirosu?) is a fictional character and main antagonist in the role-playing game Final Fantasy VII. He has also made appearances in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts series, and Dissidia: Final Fantasy. His appearance, characterized as a tall man with long silver hair, was intended to contrast directly with that of the main character, Cloud Strife.

Sephiroth has been well-received within the video game community and is regularly featured in top positions on many villain lists.

Contents

[edit] Concept and creation

Sephiroth was designed by Final Fantasy VII's character designer Tetsuya Nomura. His character existed since Nomura thought that the game's plot would be about Cloud Strife pursuing Sephiroth with him already being the main antagonist.[1] Illustrator Yoshitaka Amano and Nomura drew the artwork of Sephiroth. He has long platinum hair and bright cyan eyes with cat-like pupils, and is portrayed in a black coat decorated with metallic pauldrons. Since appearing as Safer Sephiroth, Sephiroth has had a black angel wing on his back which references the theme music "One Winged Angel".[2] Nomura has stated that Sephiroth was made to be a complete contrast to the game's main protagonist, Cloud's original designs of slicked-back, black hair with no spikes.[3] His weapon, the Masamune, which has been featured in numerous Final Fantasy titles, is a long sword, and it is said that it can only be wielded by Sephiroth.[4] He usually uses his left hand predominantly when wielding his weapon with one arm, although in the first installment of the Kingdom Hearts series he holds it with his right hand. The Masamune is named after the famous Japanese swordsmith Goro Nyudo Masamune, whose blades are considered national treasures in Japan today.[5] His name comes from Kabbalah, in which the ten sephirot on the Tree of Life represent the ten attributes that God created through which he can manifest.[6] In the making of the plot, Nomura wanted Sephiroth to appear early in the game and then follow his way so that gamers would not meet the game's final boss late in the game. During development from Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth was meant to be Aerith Gainsborough's first love interest who she remembers when seeing Cloud. Before finishing the game, Sephiroth was replaced by Zack Fair whom Nomura considered to be sudden. Director Yoshinori Kitase has regarded Sephiroth's role in the game as one of the reasons why the game has become very popular.[7]

Sephiroth was addded to Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, the film sequel of the series, as script writer Kazushige Nojima thought that the film's plot would become less entertaining without him. Nomura originally planned to make him appear since the start, but the staff spent two years to develop his design which caused them difficults. Toshiyuki Morikawa, Sephiroth's Japanese voice actor, was aided by the staff to make Sephiroth's lines so that his words would mean how superior the character feels. The voice director and Morikawa agreed to make Sephiroth's voice to sound calm to the point he would not have been defeated by Cloud, giving a feeling to Morikawa that he may reappear to continue their fight.[8]

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Final Fantasy VII and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

Sephiroth appears as the main villain in Final Fantasy VII. A former member of SOLDIER, the elite warrior division of the mega-corporation Shinra, Sephiroth discovered he was the product of a experiment in which Proffesor Gast combined cells from the extraterrestrial lifeform Jenova with his fetus.[9][10] In his rage, Sephiroth burned Nibelheim and took Jenova's head and confronted Shinra's soldier Cloud Strife. In the fight, Cloud threw Sephiroth to Mako poison, and his body and consciousness were crystallized in Mako inside Jenova's crater. Sephiroth's primary objective is to become a god that rules over the entire planet by merging with the planet life force, known as Lifestream, and taking control over it. In order to do it, Sephiroth summons Meteor which would harm Gaia, and allow him to get close to Lifestream.[11] To this end, he has to face both the game protagonists (Cloud and his comrades) as well as the mega-corporation Shinra who want to stop him.[12][13] Despite appearing various times in the games, it is revealed that Jenova was taking his appearance, while his real body is sealed in Northern Crater.[14] In the game's last battle, Sephiroth takes two forms to fight: the first one is Bizarro Sephiroth (リバース・セフィロス?), a cocoon-like Sephiroth, and Safer Sephiroth (セーファ・セフィロス?), an angel-like Sephiroth.[2] Despite his efforts, Sephiroth is defeated in the game's ending by Cloud's team and Meteor is destroyed by the Lifestream and the spell Holy summoned by Aerith Gainsborough.[15]

Sephiroth has appeared in the titles from Compilation of Final Fantasy VII; he has brief cameo appearances in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, a first-shooter action game, and Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, a role playing game. Sephiroth also appears shortly in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, a CGI film, wherein Kadaj, the movie's main antagonist and a "remnant" of Sephiroth clones tries to reincarnate Sephiroth. Although Kadaj eventually succeeds, Cloud Strife once again defeats Sephiroth, making him return to his original appearance.[16] Sephiroth is also the focus of the novella Case of the Lifestream - Black, in which, set during Final Fantasy VII's ending, Sephiroth creates the disease Geostigma which by Advent Children would infect a large number of people from the planet.[17]

Sephiroth appears as one of the antagonist of the original video animation Last Order: Final Fantasy VII. The movie explains in greater details what was already covered in Final Fantasy VII flashbacks about Sephiroth deserting Shinra.[18] In role-playing video game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth appears as a main character. The game's plot introduces a prequel to Final Fantasy VII, in which also shows how Sephiroth deserts Shinra and is assumed dead after a brief encounter with Cloud Strife. Kitase was pleased with Sephiroth's role in Crisis Core as there he has a "much more human side".[19]

[edit] Other appearances

His first appearance outside Final Fantasy VII was as a selectable character in the fighting game Ehrgeiz.[20] A redesigned Sephiroth also appears in the Kingdom Hearts as a boss character in Olympus Coliseum.[21] In the Final Mix version of the title, an additional scene was added in which Sephiroth fights Cloud Strife although the result of the match is not revealed. He was not included in the sequel Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as Nomura could not give him a storyline related to Cloud and he feared negative fan response if Sephiroth did not have a notable role in the story.[22] Sephiroth's third outside appearance is as another optional boss fight in Kingdom Hearts II in which he makes an appearance during the main story of the game, as well as being part of a sub-plot involving Cloud.[23] Nomura said that in this game Sephiroth represents Cloud's dark side in contrast to Tifa Lockhart who represents his light side.[24] Sephiroth's fourth outside appearance is in the Itadaki Street games Special and Portable, where he appears as an unlockable playable character.

Sephiroth also represented the villain of Final Fantasy VII in Dissidia: Final Fantasy.[25] His fight against Cloud in such game was based on their fights from Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children.[26] He also appears in the puzzle platformer video game LittleBigPlanet as a character model; The Final Fantasy staff felt "honored" with the addition of Sephiroth to the title.[27]

[edit] Musical themes
"Advent: One-Winged Angel"
The revised "One-Winged Angel" theme in Advent Children.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

In Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth is the focus of three pieces of music written by series composer Nobuo Uematsu. His primary theme is "Those Chosen by the Planet", a piece utilizing bells, low drums, and a deep chorus, which accompanies Sephiroth's appearances throughout the game. In the final battle, "Birth of a God" plays while the player combats Sephiroth's first form, "Bizarro Sephiroth" (also known as "Reverse Sephiroth"). The most well-known piece is "One-Winged Angel" which is played during the final confrontation with Sephiroth. In an interview featured on G4's Game Makers (formerly Icons), Uematsu revealed that this piece was designed to be a fusion of the musical styles of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and rock musician Jimi Hendrix. The song revolves around his character, as Uematsu was thinking about him when writing it.[28] Two official covers have been done of this song, the first one being a different orchestration present in Kingdom Hearts. In Advent Children, a revised "One-Winged Angel" theme is played throughout the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth, this time with the progressive metal stylings of Nobuo Uematsu's band The Black Mages as well as orchestral elements and new lyrics. There is also a fourth version titled "The World's Enemy" that plays in Crisis Core.[29]

[edit] Cultural impact

[edit] Critical reception

The gaming magazines, on multiple occasions, have chosen Sephiroth as one of the the highly notable characters from the series; In March 2006, IGN listed Sephiroth as number 2 in its Top 10 Tuesday: Most Memorable Villains.[30] In October 2005, Electronic Gaming Monthly listed Sephiroth as number one in a top 10 "Video Game Bosses" list.[31] In December 2009, UGO Networks placed Sephiroth 25th on their list of "Top 25 Japanese RPG Characters".[32] In Spring of 2005, Sephiroth was the winner in a GameFAQs character battle of villains.[33] Sephiroth has also been named the number one villain in an episode of G4's Filter.[34] PCWorld placed him 2nd in "The 47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time" with praise focused on his story.[35] GameSpy put him 8th in their "Top 10 Villains in Games" by Cary Schwartzman who commented on how difficult is to defeat him in Final Fantasy VII.[36] In late 2007, Sephiroth was named 14th best character of all time in Dengeki PlayStation's retrospective awards feature about the original PlayStation.[37] A reader's choice poll organized by GameSpot placed Sephiroth at the top spot of the list. 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 fight as well as distinctive elements between it and those found in other games.[38] Sephiroth was listed at the top of IGN's "Final Fantasy VII: Top 10 Characters" in which writer Dave Smith commented he is the "heavyweight champion of Final Fantasy villains", praising his appearance and the reasons for why he became a villain.[39] He would take the same spot in the "Top 25 Final Fantasy Characters" by the same site.[40] In IGN's "Final Fantasy Reader's Choice", also written by Smith, Sephiroth was 4th with comments focused on his activities in the game's plot.[41]

Some game editors have criticized Sephiroth's unclear motivations as a character flaw. David Smith of IGN stated that "Sephiroth was certainly a good-looking fellow, but his motivations were about as clear as mud..."[42] 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."[43] The nature of Sephiroth's boss fights have received a similar reception. 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."[44] A feature published by GamerHelp included Sephiroth's Kingdom Heart'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.[45] He was also featured alongside Cloud in ScrewAttack's "Top Ten Coolest Characters" although they preferred more Cloud than him.[46] GameSpy editor Ryan Scott called Sephiroth the "King of Overrated Characters" during GameSpy's villain feature for Dissidia: Final Fantasy.[47]

[edit] Merchandise

Sephiroth's appearance has served as basis for several types of merchandise. These include being part of the "Extra Knights" action figures first published by Bandai in Japan and released in 1997.[48] A different model was released as part of the Play Arts collection following the release of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Kanji Tashiro, Square Enix's manager of merchandise, said at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con that this figure became one of their best-selling item.[49] With the release of the movie he was also included in a series of promotional material, primarily consisting of posters. Kotobukiya has included the character in numerous merchandise including a series of cold casts based on his appearace in both the original game and the movie sequel. As a result of promotional campaigns organized in Japan by Square Enix and Coca-Cola, a version of Sephiroth drawn in a super deformed style was featured in the first two volumes of a promotional collection. Products not connected to the release of the games or movies have also been produced. These include a figure as part of the Final Fantasy Trading Arts Vol. 1 series,[50] a set as part of the Square Minimum Collection along Cloud, and a rare figure of "Safer Sephiroth" as part of the Final Fantasy Creatures series (Chromium). "Reverse Sephiroth" was also released as a normal figure in volume 2. A figure based on his appearances in the Kingdom Hearts games was released in the second series of the Play Arts Kingdom HEarts sub-line.[51] Some replica weapon companies have produced replicas of Sephiroth's sword, the Masamune, as a 6-foot long katana with a stainless steel unsharpened blade.[52][53] Other types of merchandise includes collectible cards, keychains, lighters, phonecards and plush toys.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Khosla, Sheila (2003). "Tetsuya Nomura 20s". FLAREgamer. http://flaregamer.com/b2article.php?p=81&more=1. Retrieved 2006-04-13. 
  2. ^ a b (in Japanese) Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania (Revised Edition). Square-Enix. 2009. pp. 76-81. ISBN 1019740597. 
  3. ^ McLaughlin, Rus (2008-04-30). "IGN Presents: The History of Final Fantasy VII". IGN. http://retro.ign.com/articles/870/870770p1.html. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
  4. ^ Final Fantasy VII instruction manual
  5. ^ "Final Fantasy Retrospective Part XIII". GameTrailers. 2007-11-02. http://www.gametrailers.com/player/27455.html. Retrieved 2008-12-22. 
  6. ^ "Sephiroth Biography". IGN. http://stars.ign.com/objects/142/14211782_biography.html. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  7. ^ (in Japanese) Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania (Revised Edition). Square-Enix. 2009. pp. 8-13. ISBN 1019740597. 
  8. ^ SoftBank, ed (2006) (in Japanese/English). Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files. Square-Enix. ISBN 4-7973-3498-3. 
  9. ^ Square Co. Final Fantasy VII. (SCE America). PlayStation. (1997-09-07) "Sephiroth: Exactly. And it's Hojo of Shinra that produced these monsters. Mutated living on organisms produced by Mako energy. That's what these monster's really are./Cloud: Normal members of SOLDIER? You mean you are different? H... hey, Sephiroth!/Sephiroth: N... no... Was!?Was I created this way too?!"
  10. ^ Square Co. Final Fantasy VII. (SCE America). PlayStation. (1997-09-07) "Sephiroth: The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients... no, the Cetra. ...I am the one that was produced."
  11. ^ Square Co. Final Fantasy VII. (SCE America). PlayStation. (1997-09-07) "Aeris: How do you intend to become one with the Planet? / Sephiroth: It's simple. Once the Planet is hurt, it gathers Spirit Energy to heal the injury. The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the injury. ...What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the Planet? Think how much energy would be gathered! Ha ha ha. And at the center of that injury, will be me. All that boundless energy will be mine. By merging with all the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence. Melding with the Planet... I will cease to exist as I am now. Only to be reborn as a 'God' to rule over every soul. / Aeris: An injury powerful enough to destroy the Planet? Injure... the Planet? / Sephiroth: Behold that mural. The Ultimate Destructive Magic... Meteor."
  12. ^ Square Co.. Final Fantasy VII. (SCE America). PlayStation. (1997-09-07) "Cloud: For me, this is a personal feud. I want to beat Sephiroth. And settle my past. Saving the planet just happens to be a part of that. I've been thinking."
  13. ^ Cloud: Did you see him? Did you see Sephiroth? / Palmer: Yeah, I saw him!! I saw him with my own eyes! / Cloud: You really saw him? / Palmer: Uh! Would I lie to you at a time like this!? And I heard his voice too! Um, he was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land. Square Co. Final Fantasy VII. (SCE America). PlayStation. (1997-09-07)
  14. ^ Square Co.. Final Fantasy VII. (SCE America). PlayStation. (1997-09-07) "Yuffie: What?! You mean that wasn't Sephiroth? All that time I was following this...thing?"
  15. ^ Studio BentStuff, ed (2005) (in Japanese). Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω. Square Enix. p. 591. ISBN 4-7575-1520-0. 
  16. ^ Tetsuya Nomura (Director). (2008-08-14). Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. [DVD]. Square Enix. 
  17. ^ Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children (Limited Edition Collector's Set). [DVD]. Japan: Square Enix. 2007-02-20. 
  18. ^ Last Order: Final Fantasy VII. [DVD]. Square Enix. 2009-04-10. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489134/. Retrieved March 10, 2009. 
  19. ^ McCarthy, Dave (2008-04-28). "Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII UK Interview". IGN. http://psp.ign.com/articles/869/869858p2.html. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
  20. ^ "Ehrgeiz Hints & Cheats". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps/action/ehrgeiz/hints.html?tag=tabs;cheats. Retrieved 2009-08-15. 
  21. ^ Birlew, Dan (2003). Kingdom Hearts Official Strategy Guide. BradyGames Publishing. ISBN 0-7440-0198-6. 
  22. ^ (in Japanese) Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Ultimania. Square-Enix. ISBN 978-4757513440. 
  23. ^ Square Enix. Kingdom Hearts II. (Square Enix U.S.A., Buena Vista Games). PlayStation 2. (2006-03-28)
  24. ^ (in Japanese) Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Ultimania. Square-Enix. 2005. ISBN 978-4757516212. 
  25. ^ Torres, Ricardo and Thorsen, Tor (2007-05-12). "Final Fantasy XIII, Dissidia rock Square Enix Party". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6170645.html. Retrieved 2007-05-12. 
  26. ^ (in Japanese) Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania. Square-Enix. 2009. p. 530. ISBN 978-4757524880. 
  27. ^ Rubenstein, Jeff (2008-10-08). "TGS 08: Sackboy Old Snake and Sephiroth to join LittleBigPlanet". PlayStation.Blog. http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/10/08/tgs-08-sackboy-solid-snake-and-sephiroth-to-join-littlebigplanet/. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 
  28. ^ North, Dale (2009-04-17). "Destrucoid interview: Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu". Destructoid. http://www.destructoid.com/destructoid-interview-final-fantasy-composer-nobuo-uematsu-128986.phtml. Retrieved 2009-04-22. 
  29. ^ "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Original Soundtrack". SquareSound. http://www.squaresound.com/final-fantasy-vii-advent-children-original-soundtrack-p45.html. Retrieved 2007-11-20. 
  30. ^ "Top 10 Tuesday: Most Memorable Villains". IGN. 2006-03-07. http://pc.ign.com/articles/694/694399p1.html. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  31. ^ Editors of EGM magazine, ed (2005). Electronic Gaming Monthly, October 2005. Ziff Davis. pp. 72–73. 
  32. ^ "Sephiroth - Top 25 Japanese RPG Characters". UGO Networks. http://www.ugo.com/games/japanese-rpg-characters/?cur=sephiroth. Retrieved 2 December 2009. 
  33. ^ "Spring 2005: Got Villains?". GameFAQs. http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/contest/spr05. Retrieved 3 November 2006. 
  34. ^ "Top 10 Villains". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/filter/top-10-villains/episode/453857/recap.html. Retrieved 29 January 2008. 
  35. ^ "The 47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time". PCWorld. April 2, 2008. http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/210911/47_most_diabolical_video-game_villains_all_time?pp=4. Retrieved 29 December 2009. 
  36. ^ Schwartzman, Cary (October 2, 2001). "Top 10 Villains in Games". GameSpy. http://www.gamespy.com/articles/493/493861p1.html4. Retrieved December 29, 2009. 
  37. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2007-11-22). "Nomura Talks FFXIII". IGN. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/837/837350p1.html. Retrieved 2007-11-22. 
  38. ^ "Top Ten Boss Fights". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/features/6086260/p-7.html. Retrieved 2008-04-28. 
  39. ^ Smith, David (2008-03-28). "Final Fantasy VII: Top 10 Characters". IGN. http://stars.ign.com/articles/861/861824p11.html. Retrieved 2009-03-01. 
  40. ^ Smith, David. "Top 25 Final Fantasy Characters". IGN. http://stars.ign.com/articles/874/874708p5.html. Retrieved 2009-12-22. 
  41. ^ Smith, David. "Final Fantasy Reader's Choice". IGN. http://stars.ign.com/articles/875/875562p7.html. Retrieved 2009-12-22. 
  42. ^ Smith, David (2000-11-22). "Final Fantasy IX review". IGN. http://psx.ign.com/articles/162/162190p1.html. Retrieved 2007-11-20. 
  43. ^ Sharkey, Scott (2007-04-08). "They is Risen: Top 10 Videogame Deaths That Didn't Stick". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId=3158550. Retrieved 2008-04-25. 
  44. ^ "The Top Ten Boss Fights". Game Informer: Issue 181. May 2008. pp. 20. 
  45. ^ "The Hardest Bosses of All Time". GamerHelp. http://www.gamerhelp.com/article_viewer.cfm?article_id=127580. Retrieved 2008-04-28. 
  46. ^ Craig, Stuttering; Tom, Handsome (2007-02-07). "Top Ten Coolest Characters". GameTrailers. http://www.gametrailers.com/player/16889.html. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
  47. ^ "The Villains of Dissidia Final Fantasy: Sephiroth". GameSpy. August 6, 2009. http://psp.gamespy.com/playstation-portable/final-fantasy-dissidia/1011672p1.html. Retrieved August 29, 2009. 
  48. ^ "Final Fantasy VII 7 Legendary Soldier Sephiroth Extra Knights Figure". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0031R741M/. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 
  49. ^ "Interview: Square Enix's National Manager of Merchandise, Kanji Tashiro". Anime News Network. 2008-08-03. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2008-08-03/square-enix-national-manager-of-merchandise-kanji-tashiro. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
  50. ^ "Final Fantasy Trading Arts Figures Sets of 4 (Cloud Strife, Rinoa Heartilly, Sephiroth & Yuna)". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G527EK/. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 
  51. ^ "Disney Square-Enix Kingdom Hearts 2 Play Arts Action Figure Sephiroth (Arena)". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0025ZPRA6/. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 
  52. ^ "Sephiroth Masamune Wooden Sword". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VF77DW/. Retrieved December 28, 2009. 
  53. ^ "HUGE 68 inch Sephiroth Masamune Sword". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TK7JO6/. Retrieved December 28, 2009. 

[edit] External links

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