Final Fantasy 7is one of the most iconic JRPGs of all time. Among RPG fanatics, many agree thatFF7is 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 toFF7, so when it came toFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeaiming 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 ofFinal Fantasy 7’scast aren’t strangers to having their characters re-tooled for specific purposes, with one of the more famous examples being their guest appearances inKingdom Hearts. In theKHseries, Cloud and friends are reoccurring characters, adapted to fit the worlds within the series, which means the nature of theFinal Fantasyguests 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 inKHadjusted to match Cloud.
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Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
When it comes to Sephiroth, many fans of the originalFF7weren’t exactly expecting Sephiroth to be a reoccurring character throughoutRemake. 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 sectionbefore players leave Midgar. However, inFF7 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.
InFF7R, it’shard to say exactly what’s happening with Sephirothyet, 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 inRemakeis actually Sephiroth from the future trying to change what happened in the past, but even if future games likeRebirthdebunk this theory, Sephiroth seems to absorb the Arbiters of Fate and thus knows the future of their world regardless.
However,FF7Rmakes 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. InRemake, it seems that he aims to change thestory of the originalFinal Fantasy 7to 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
InKingdom Hearts,Sephiroth is a secret boss fightplayers 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.
UnlikeFF7RSephiroth, who stands as a physical representation of Jenova trying to reform after being broken apart by Shinra’s scientists,KHSephiroth exists for a different reason - he’s Cloud’s darkness personified. Long beforeSora wielded the Keyblade, Cloud relied on darkness too much, and that led to the creation of Sephiroth. InKH1, Cloud was looking for him to fight him and free himself from his darkness, but as ofKH2, 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 throughRiku’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 inKH2. Currently, the last time Sephiroth and Cloud both were seen inKingdom Heartswas as they vanish to go fight their grand final battle inKingdom Hearts 2after Cloud is seen finding his light once more.
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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 inFF7Rcould easily be seen as more threatening than the one found inKH. InRemake, 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 inKingdom Heartsmay be an actual part of Cloud rather than an external force, butCloud seems more experiencedinKH, 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 howFF7RCloud seems when placed next to hisKHversion, it’s rather interesting that Sephiroth’s situation is almost the exact opposite. WhereKHCloud was more put together than how he was portrayed inFF7R,Sephiroth has the upper hand against Cloud inFF7R,whereKHSephiroth is beginning to fall behind. Unlike theKingdom Heartsversions of these characters, theRemakeversions 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 toFinal Fantasy 7 Remakecomes out next year.
