The 10 WORST Things Sephiroth Has Done

The 10 Worst Things Sephiroth has Done

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we are looking at the 10 worst things Sephiroth has done. No other Final Fantasy villain has ever had as much attention as Sephiroth, and across many games, spin offs, and movies, he’s done his fair share of evil… Let’s see how bad it can get. Spoiler warnings ahead.

Kills Barrett (but not forever)

“Final Fantasy VII Remake” (2020)

With the introduction of the whispers in Final Fantasy VII Remake, beings who bordered on breaking the 4th wall as they kept our protagonists from swaying too far away from the trajectory and plot laid out by the original game, players felt safe to assume there weren’t going to be many major plot changes. That was until we reached the top of the Shinra tower, and Sephiroth put his long-arse sword through one of our favorite characters. For those split moments until the whispers resurrected him, both longtime fans and first time players were ready to charge Sephiroth themselves, and give him the old Melbourne stomp.

SOLDIER

“Final Fantasy VII” (1997)

SOLDIER represents the top-tier military force affiliated with the Shinra Electric Power Company. Shinra serves as the main antagonist faction in the game, and it becomes evident that their soldiers engage in questionable actions on their behalf. Sephiroth is easily the most famous and esteemed member of the group, and when working for Shinra, performed many atrocities in their name. When he is trying to destroy the world, he has motives. When he was taking part in the brutal war of Wutai, he was just following orders. Somehow that is way worse.

Shinra Headquarters

“Final Fantasy VII” (1997)

Upon reaching the Shinra Headquarters and progressing through numerous levels towards its summit, players find themselves captured and thrown into a makeshift jail by the organization. Eventually, the party is freed from confinement only to discover everything that they’d seen only moments ago is now in ruins, with nearly everyone in the building now dead. At this point in the game, we wonder “what kind of person could do something like this?” …Sephiroth. Evidently, he harbored deep resentment toward the experiments conducted on him under the president's orders and sought to free the remnants of his "mother," Jenova. In pursuit of this goal, he tears through the entire building without breaking a sweat.

Cloud’s Mental Breakdown

“Final Fantasy VII” (1997)

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! When discussing the events at Nibelheim, the initial account provided by Cloud doesn't align with later revelations in the game. Why the disparity? It turns out that the role Cloud remembers playing in those events was actually fulfilled by a man named Zack. Tifa arguably should have disclosed this information to Cloud earlier, but she didn't, leaving room for Sephiroth to exploit the situation with more manipulation later in the game. When Cloud eventually learns about the presence of Sephiroth's cells within him, his mental state deteriorates, and he goes into a state of psychosis as the game takes an unexpected turn.

Haunting Cloud

“Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children” (2005)

As you can tell, Cloud's psyche proved to be particularly vulnerable to Sephiroth's manipulation, a vulnerability highlighted in the storyline of the first game. Although Cloud ultimately triumphs over this influence to ice Sephiroth like a warm drink, their conflict doesn't conclude there. In the Final Fantasy VII film Advent Children (set 2 years after the events of the first game), it becomes apparent that Cloud isn't immune to the effects of Geostigma, the widespread affliction affecting children and others. While his symptoms aren't as severe as some, he still grapples with the disease and fights with haunting visions of Sephiroth, compelling him towards isolation and introspection throughout the film. Sephiroth puts a lot of mental strain on Cloud and it changes Cloud’s life in irreparable ways.

Geostigma

“Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children” (2005)

Geneva Convention? Nope. Sephiroth only abides by the Jenova convention. Despite being decisively defeated and cast into the Lifestream during the climax of Final Fantasy 7, his hatred proved too potent to allow complete death... Imagine that, being so grumpy you can’t die. Instead of dying, he utilized the Lifestream as a conduit to disperse his essence, resulting in the emergence of Geostigma, a disease comparable to leprosy. This affliction manifests in the masses through symptoms like skin lesions and fatigue, with the Jenova cells dispersed by Sephiroth ultimately proving fatal to most victims. Essentially, he farted as he got off the elevator... Sure, he feels a lot better, but what about all those poor people that have to get on after him?

Meteor

“Final Fantasy VII” (1997)

During one of these times when Sephiroth takes control of Cloud’s mind and actions, Sephiroth forces him to surrender the Black Materia, a powerful artifact capable of summoning Meteor—an enormous celestial body destined to collide with the planet and bring about its destruction. Although Sephiroth manages to initiate the summoning of Meteor, the player party confronts and defeats him at the North Crater. This victory triggers the release of the spell Holy, which ultimately neutralizes Meteor and preserves the planet from annihilation. On paper, you’d think almost successfully destroying the entire world would be the worst thing a person can do… Not quite.

Manipulating Kadaj

“Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children” (2005)

Following Sephiroth's disappearance, the primary antagonists in Advent Children shift to the trio of brothers: Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. Much like Sephiroth in the main storyline, they fervently pursue Jenova cells, longing for reunion with their "mother." Unbeknownst to them, Sephiroth is manipulating them from within the Lifestream. This manipulation reaches its climax when Sephiroth emerges from Kadaj's body, seizing control and assuming his original form. After being vanquished by Cloud, Sephiroth vanishes, leaving Kadaj to meet his demise in his place. This revelation reveals Kadaj's role as a simple pawn in Sephiroth's grand scheme, misled into his relentless pursuit. We certainly didn’t need any more proof, but Sephiroth will walk through whoever he needs to in order to achieve his goals without batting an eye.

Nibelheim

“Final Fantasy VII” (1997)

One of the most infamous and enjoyed sections of gameplay ever developed is this flashback sequence of Final Fantasy VII. With the gameplay being arbitrary, the player feels no weight on their character progression as it doesn’t affect the main game, so they simply enjoy the story that unfolds, and the story that unfolds shows us just how evil and powerful Sephiroth actually is. After seeing Sephiroth as a kinder man, we witness the downfall of his mental state as he learns of his own origins. The aftermath of this revelation sees Sephiroth burning down the town they are currently in, Nibelheim, which happens to be the hometown of Cloud and Tifa. Sephiroth brutally murders everyone in sight as he makes his way to the reactor, and this includes Tifa’s father and Cloud’s mother. The brutality is instant, unrelenting, and shocking, and sets up one of the most infamous villains in gaming history.

Killing Aerith

“Final Fantasy VII” (1997)

In reality, brutally slaughtering an entire innocent town or attempting to destroy the world are probably far worse than killing one single person. But for a generation of gamers, no character death has been quite as shocking, or quite as heartbreaking, as the now infamous death of Aerith Gainsborough. Originally attempting and almost succeeding to make Cloud do it himself, Sephiroth eventually takes over, impaling Aerith in front of Cloud and her friends, removing her from the player’s party for the rest of the game, and creating the saddest death in video game history.