Sephiroth/Dissidia (PSP)

Sephiroth is one of the villains fighting for the side of Chaos in Dissidia Final Fantasy. A legendary SOLDIER operative who wields an impossibly long blade with great ease. In battle, he combines that reach with incredibly swift swordplay that crushes opponents in the blink of an eye. Standing apart from the other villains, Sephiroth has little interest in either destroying the world or ruling it, working towards a separate goal. His immediate desire is to face his arch-rival Cloud, and he manipulates Cloud's emotions to force him into battle.

He is set to return, along with the other characters from Dissidia, in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.

Attire
Sephiroth's appearance is virtually identical to his original Final Fantasy VII appearance, with some changes to resemble Yoshitaka Amano's artwork of Sephiroth. His belt is ornate and decorated with beads, he wears a bracelet with similar beads on his right wrist, and his pauldrons are a different design. Underneath his coat are white and lavender sashes, both a reference to Amano's design and to his wings as Safer∙Sephiroth. Sephiroth's alternate costume leaves him shirtless, as he appeared during the final scripted battle in Final Fantasy VII.

His third outfit in Dissidia 012 is based on his original artwork by Tetsuya Nomura for Final Fantasy VII, giving him a less elaborate coat with no sashes or beads, a different belt with the original SOLDIER logo, differently styled bangs and different pauldrons.

His Manikin version, Imaginary Champion, is light blue.

Dissidia 012
In the TSG trailer, he is seen at the very end with Tifa. She does not seem to recognize him, and he identifies himself as her enemy. In a later screencap, Cloud has his Buster Sword at Sephiroth, while the latter seems to mention to Cloud that he's left him with little choice.

Destiny Odyssey
Before the events of the game, during the last cycle of war, Sephiroth took his own life in front of Emperor Mateus. Though the other servants of Chaos do not understand why, Sephiroth did this to attempt to learn the true nature of life, and over the course of the game he begins to recover his memories from the past cycles of war that other characters have forgotten.

To goad Cloud into fighting him, Sephiroth attacks his allies Tidus, Cecil, and Firion, and steals Firion's rose. Firion pursues Sephiroth to the Planet's Core, while the Warrior of Light finds Cecil and Tidus and also pursues Sephiroth. The Warrior finds Firion injured while fighting Sephiroth, and sends him back to Cecil and Tidus while he battles Sephiroth. Although the Warrior impresses Sephiroth, he is unable to stop him, making the latter realize that Cloud is the only one who could defeat him. Sephiroth questions the Warrior's reason for fighting - to end the war - and accuses him of finding pleasure in the fighting as he does. Sensing Cloud is near, Sephiroth leaves to meet with him. Sephiroth approaches Cloud and prepares to battle him, but Cloud refuses to fight, claiming a battle would be pointless. Sephiroth asks if Cloud would fight him if he had a reason, and produces Firion's rose. Worried about what Sephiroth has done to them, Cloud follows Sephiroth to the Planet's Core. There, Sephiroth tells Cloud he acts like he wants a reason for fighting, but makes no effort to find such a reason, which is why he eagerly accepts the motivations and reasons of others as his own. Accusing Cloud of being a puppet that cannot act on his own, Sephiroth offers to continue to give Cloud reasons to fight, which Cloud refuses. The two battle, and Cloud defeats Sephiroth and finds his Crystal. Sephiroth warns Cloud that taking the Crystal will mean Cloud will continue to be drawn into a battle, a fate Cloud accepts. Sephiroth departs, telling Cloud he will always pull his strings, and to remember Cloud only obtained his Crystal with Sephiroth's guidance.

Later, the Emperor and Ultimecia approach Sephiroth, offering him a role in their plan to rule existence. Sephiroth refuses, and leaves when the two turn their attention to the spying Bartz nearby.

Shade Impulse
With Chaos' power growing, Sephiroth has regained his memories from the past cycles of war. Sephiroth killed himself to discover more about the nature of life, and wonders if, when his body perishes, his soul will merge with the core of the world. Using this theory, Sephiroth plans to merge with the energy of the worlds as Chaos begins to destroy them, and become a god.

Cloud and Sephiroth confront each other again, Sephiroth telling Cloud he is infected by a disease - hope. Cloud says it is something he must endure to keep going on, and the two battle again. Cloud prevails and insists he is not longer tied to Sephiroth. Sephiroth vanishes in a flash of light, telling Cloud his shadow is burned into his heart, and he will continue to come back as long as Cloud is who he is.

If a Warrior of Cosmos other than Cloud encounters Sephiroth, Sephiroth will state that no one will be able to stop him, not even the Warriors of Chaos, as he is about to be reborn as a god. He also remarks that the soul will live on and that someday, he will reach the Promised Land. After he is defeated, Sephiroth will remark that he is going on a journey, just as Mother did long ago, and that together they will create a shining future in the Promised Land.

Battle
In battle, Sephiroth uses a "Focused Blade" style, bombarding his enemies with swift sword attacks. Sephiroth's Brave attacks hit multiple times with only a single button press, and while pressing again will continue the combo, pressing it too soon will prevent Sephiroth from finishing the first strike before moving on to the second, minimizing overall damage and therefore timing is crucial to maximizing Sephiroth's power. When properly timed his melee strikes are powerful, but he has very few ranged capabilities. Sephiroth's ground speed is fairly fast, but he is not as fast as other characters. His HP attacks are versatile and hit over a wide area around him, but are weaker at long-range.

Boss
Sephiroth is fought in Destiny Odyssey I and VII, Shade Impulse, Distant Glory, and Inward Chaos.

EX Mode
Super Nova OJvlzcW4TT0 Sephiroth's EX Mode is Reunion, in which he gains a single black wing over his right shoulder. In EX Mode he benefits from Regen, and the abilities "Glide" and "Heartless Angel". Glide lets Sephiroth fly through the air by holding, while Heartless Angel is a special attack usable by holding R and. The attack has a long charge time, but if successful it instantly saps the opponent's Brave to one. The attack will not work if Sephiroth is inflicted with Break status while using it, or if the opponent's Brave is protected by certain summon effects like Demon Wall.

Sephiroth's EX Burst is Super Nova, where the player repeatedly taps to fill up a limit meter. If the limit meter is not filled, Sephiroth merely executes a normal sword slash. In the full version of the move, Sephiroth slashes the opponent towards the sun, and they are hit by a wave of fire as the sun explodes. As the opponent is consumed, Sephiroth stands in front of the fire in a mirror of his pose during the Nibelheim Incident.

Equipment
Sephiroth can equip the following: Katanas, Spears, Shields, Gauntlets, Helms, Light Armor, and Heavy Armor.

Allusions

 * Hell's Gate is an aerial downward stab based on the attack he used to kill Aerith Gainsborough. Octaslash is Sephiroth's special attack and Zack Fair's DMW in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. Shadow Flare and Super Nova are two of Safer∙Sephiroth's attacks in Final Fantasy VII, though the Dissidia version of Shadow Flare is based on the Kingdom Hearts version. Oblivion is based on one of Sephiroth's attacks in the Kingdom Hearts series, where he dashes past Sora and strikes him multiple times. Black Materia, when fully charged, represents Meteor, which Sephiroth casted using the Black Materia in order to severely damage Planet to draw out the Lifestream.
 * The disease Sephiroth mentions in Shade Impulse references Geostigma, which Cloud was infected with.
 * In a conversation with Garland, Sephiroth reveals that he killed himself in the previous war against Cosmos in order to ascertain the true nature of life and free his spirit from flesh to become more powerful. This is a reference to the Nibelheim Incident, where Sephiroth was "killed" and traveled the Lifestream, emerging years later as a more powerful being.
 * Sephiroth's victory quote "I will never be a memory," is what he says in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children when Cloud defeats him. His line in Shade Impulse "On your knees! I want you to beg for forgiveness," and his defeat quote "Where did you find this strength?", are lines he says to Cloud during their battle. His greeting to Cloud in Destiny Odyssey VII, "Good to see you, Cloud," is his greeting to Cloud in Advent Children. His line before their battle at the end of Destiny Odyssey VII, "If it's despair you want, then I shall provide," is a paraphrase of another line during his battle with Cloud in Advent Children, "I've thought of wonderful present for you. Shall I give you despair?" The line is also referenced at the beginning of his EX Burst, when he says, "I bring you despair."
 * His EX Mode, Reunion, is a reference to the Reunion; the process in which Jenova reassembles itself, after being destroyed or its cells scattered.
 * When defeated by a character other than Cloud in Shade Impulse, Sephiroth says he will go on a journey as "his Mother did", and create a shining future in the Promised Land, paralleling his conversation with Cloud in Advent Children.
 * Several of Sephiroth's victory and defeat quotes reference lines that he uses in Final Fantasy VII. "Stop pretending you're sad," references his line to Cloud after murdering Aerith. "Open a new door" and "You will live again as part of me" reference his lines to Tseng and Elena in the Temple of the Ancients. "So how does it feel?" and "What should I be sad about?" are both lines to Cloud during the initial Nibelheim flashback sequence. His intro to Cloud, "You ignorant traitor" is taken from Cloud's flashback of the Nibelheim Incident.
 * In the cutscene of Cloud's battle with Sephiroth in Destiny Odyssey VII, several scenes allude to other titles in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. The scene where Cloud crosses the Buster Sword over the Masamune is identical to part of Sephiroth's battle with Cloud in the Nibelheim reactor in Crisis Core. After being knocked back, Cloud descends after Sephiroth, who rights himself and knocks Cloud through the air, a reference to Sephiroth's first scene in Advent Children. When Cloud lands, the camera pans along the Masamune up to Sephiroth's face, similar to the climax of their Advent Children battle. Finally, as the two face off at the end of the scene, the camera angles and poses are identical to their scripted battle at the end of Final Fantasy VII.
 * One of Sephiroth's weapons, Masamune Blade, is the item that can acquired from the Gold Saucer on Final Fantasy VII but has no use whatsoever. The Masamune is of course, Sephiroth's signature weapon. The One-Winged Angel is named after Sephiroth's iconic theme, a naming convention shared with Kefka's strongest weapon, Dancing Mad.
 * During Shade Impulse, Sephiroth vanishes in a flash of golden light rather than dark light as most of the Warrior of Chaos, similar to how he vanishes at the end of the Final Fantasy VII.
 * The Trade Accessory needed for Sephiroth's One-Winged Angel, "Life of the Planet," is given the following description: "You chose to believe, even if it wasn't true... That's all." This refers to Sephiroth's dialogue with Genesis Rhapsodos in Crisis Core during which Genesis lies to Sephiroth about how he came to be, which led Sephiroth down the path of insanity and toward his status as a villain.
 * Sephiroth's statement to the Warrior of Light, regarding how only Cloud can defeat him, mirrors a statement he made to Sora in Kingdom Hearts II. His statement to Cloud regarding how Sephiroth will always be a part of him is also from Kingdom Hearts II.
 * One of Sephiroth's defeated quotes, "The Planet has forsaken me.", is similar to Sephiroth's defeated quote when Sora defeats him in the Platinum Match in Kingdom Hearts.
 * Sephiroth's response to Cloud's statement of "What I want most, I'll find myself!", "You are nothing... but a puppet.", refers to what Sephiroth tells Cloud immediately before transforming into Jenova LIFE, and what Jenova herself tells Cloud in the aftermath of the battle. This is also referred to in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete; after Cloud stands at Zack Fair's death spot, his Geostigma shocks him and Sephiroth echoes: "The only thing you are is an empty puppet."
 * In Dissidia 012, one screenshot shows Cloud holding the Buster Sword to Sephiroth's neck, who turns his head slightly. This mirrors exactly what Zack Fair did in Crisis Core before his fight with Sephiroth, when he confronts him after he discovers Jenova in the Mako Reactor on Mt. Nibel during the Nibelheim Incident. Also, in the Jump Fiesta trailer, Sephiroth points his Masamune at Tifa's throat, then Cloud comes in to protect her. This is reminiscent of a scene in Kingdom Hearts 2, where the exact same scenario plays out.

Trivia

 * Sephiroth is the only Warrior of Chaos who summons his weapon in a cutscene, and does so in a flash of light like the Warriors of Cosmos. Most other Warriors of Chaos are never shown summoning their weapons and typically just carry them around with them.
 * Of all of the villains, Sephiroth's alternate costume is the only one that does not simply change his color scheme.
 * Like Cloud and Squall, Sephiroth's ultimate weapon in Dissidia shares its name with a Keyblade. In this case, the Keyblade Sora gets after the Coliseum Battle versus Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix.
 * Sephiroth is the only character shown to have two fighting poses, the pose shown in cutscenes where he holds his blade sideways across his face and the pose shown in battle where he hangs his sword down at his side.
 * Sephiroth is the only Warrior of Chaos that has the camera encircle him during his victory pose.