Seifer Almasy

Seifer Almasy is a temporary playable character and one of the main antagonists in Final Fantasy VIII. He is the rival of the main character Squall Leonhart and is the mirror image of him in many ways. He wields a gunblade.

Appearance and Personality
Seifer has short blond hair, blue-green eyes, and a scar across his forehead and nose received from Squall as retaliation during a duel. Seifer wears a blue vest, with a cross-like design lined in white, a gray coat with an emblem resembling the symbol of the on the sleeves, black gloves and boots and a silver chain with a tag. The cross is Seifer's symbol as much as the angel wings are Rinoa's and the Griever is Squall's.

As Squall's rival Seifer's appearance is directly opposite in many ways. His hair color is light, as opposed to Squall's brown. His chin is square whereas Squall's is more oval. The color scheme of their clothing is opposite, as well as their coat lengths. Even though they both use a gunblade, their fighting styles are different, with Squall wielding his with two hands, whereas Seifer uses his with one. Seifer's friends, Raijin and Fujin, call themselves a "posse", whereas Squall is a loner.

Seifer is famous around Balamb Garden for being skillful in battle, but his stubborn, arrogant, reckless, and unpredictable nature has kept him from completing the SeeD exam. Aside from Squall, Seifer is the only gunblade specialist in the Garden. At the beginning of the game, Seifer once again fails the SeeD field exam after his impatient behavior makes him disobey direct orders. Although his suspicions wouldn't be unreasonable in a regular military force, the mercenary nature of SeeD prizes money above all else, and so he fails. The other members in his squad, Squall Leonhart and Zell Dincht, pass.

There are many parallels between Seifer and Squall. Even though they are rivals, always battling to prove their superiority, they have an unspoken mutual respect for each other's prowess. Both have a facial scar inflicted during their duel in the game's opening sequence; the scars are mirror images of each other, with Seifer's pointing up-left (from his point of view) while Squall's points up-right. Seifer is a stubborn, arrogant, loud and outspoken rebel, while Squall is a silent, strict follower of duty. Both are nigh-equally skilled in using the gunblade, but Seifer's temper often leaves him losing to Squall. Seifer's Triple Triad card is also a mirror of Squall's, both having the same numbers.

Despite his reckless and arrogant nature, Seifer is the head of Balamb Garden's Disciplinary Committee. The other committee members are Fujin and Raijin, both of whom are loyal to Seifer and consider themselves a "posse". Other members of Balamb Garden consider them a gang more interested in exercising their "disciplinary" powers than keeping students in line.

Although he is belligerent and rude, Seifer is shown to be troubled rather than bad. The most obvious example of this is when he storms out of the detention room at Balamb Garden upon hearing that Squall and company were sent on a mission in which they could end up fighting the whole Galbadian Force with the intention of somehow helping them. Earlier, Seifer is the first among the other students to applaud the SeeD graduates. Seifer is twisted by the sorceress's power, and pursues a warped version of his dream: to be a Sorceress Knight. After this, his actions take a darker turn. He gleefully tortures Squall and devotes himself entirely to Edea even when she belittles him for his failures. The degree to which he is controlled or influenced by her power is left ambiguous.

Story
Seifer was born 18 years prior to the events of Final Fantasy VIII. He was orphaned in the Sorceress War and sent to Edea's Orphanage. From a young age he bullied the other children in the orphanage, especially Zell. As he grew up, he became a student at Balamb Garden, where he studied to become a SeeD. Seifer would later forget his past in the orphanage due to the memory loss that using Guardian Forces causes.

Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania reveals that when Seifer was a child, a popular movie was released about a sorceress who stood to defend her country, and her knight who protected her. The film was Seifer's favorite, and inspired his dream to become a Sorceress Knight himself. He even copied the battle pose of the actor who played the Knight in the film.

At Balamb Garden, Seifer would form the Balamb Garden Disciplinary Committee with his friends Fujin and Raijin, abusing their power to give fellow students punishment and detention. Seifer became a rival to Squall Leonhart, who had coincidentally grown up in Edea's Orphanage, although neither of them remembers this. Of all the students at the Garden, only Seifer and Squall chose a gunblade as their specialized weapon, and it can be presumed the two would often duel to hone their skills.

Even though Seifer had great potential to become a SeeD, his behavior made him fail the exams, and he was labeled a "problem child". Seifer developed a "romantic dream" about becoming a Sorceress Knight and borrowed several books from the Balamb Garden library related to the subject. About a year before the events of Final Fantasy VIII, Seifer started a romantic relationship with Rinoa Heartilly, a girl working in a resistance group to free the occupied nation of Timber.

At the beginning of Final Fantasy VIII, Seifer and Squall have a fierce duel in a rocky field near Balamb Garden. Seifer casts a Fire spell sending Squall to the ground and strikes at Squall's face, giving him a bloody scar. As Seifer lets his guard down Squall strikes back, leaving a mirrored scar on Seifer's face.

For the SeeD field examination, Squall and Zell Dincht with Seifer as their leader, form Squad B in the military operation against the Galbadian Army. Selphie Tilmitt later joins the group, but because of Seifer's disobedience during engagement, he fails the SeeD exam and grudgingly applauds Squall, Zell and Selphie, all of whom pass.

While Seifer is sent to be disciplined for his actions during the exam, Squall, Zell and Selphie are assigned a their first SeeD mission: to aid the resistance faction Forest Owls free the occupied nation of Timber. Rinoa, Seifer's former love interest, is a member of said faction.

Having heard of this, Seifer breaks out of the discipline room, injuring many people in the process, and embarks to assist the Forest Owls by holding the President of Galbadia hostage during a broadcast from the Timber TV Station. Backed into a corner and watched on by Squall, Zell, Selphie and Quistis Trepe; Seifer's teacher who had been sent to retrieve him; Seifer is saved by Ultimecia who appears in the body of Edea Kramer. Appealing to Seifer's darker side, Ultimecia convinces him to follow her. Seifer is announced executed by the Galbadian government and a saddened Rinoa reveals her past with Seifer to Squall.

Seifer is believed dead until he shows up in Deling City, standing at the side of Ultimecia having become her Sorceress Knight. Squall, with their new ally, Irvine Kinneas, had been assigned to assassinate the sorceress by shooting her, but Irvine, remembering his past at the orphanage, refuses to shoot Edea and disguises it as merely nerves.

Squall convinces Irvine to shoot, but Ultimecia blocks the shot with a spell. Squall breaks into the sorceress's parade and fights her one-on-one. Seifer stops him and, claiming his new status as hero and Sorceress Knight, fights Squall. After Seifer's defeat, Squall fights Ultimecia, but Ultimecia casts Edea's Limit Break, Ice Strike, piercing Squall's shoulder.

When Squall comes to in Galbadia's D-District Prison he is transported to the torture room by none other than Seifer who tortures Squall for the truth about SeeD. Edea wants to know why the SeeD persecute sorceresses, but Squall, who knows SeeD only as a general mercenary force, does not understand the question, further enraging Seifer, who turns the electrical torture instrument to full, leaving Squall incapacitated. While Squall later escapes with his friends, Seifer, now head of the Galbadian Army, takes over control of Galbadia Garden under Ultimecia's orders. Enabling the Garden's mobile functions he embarks on the search for a girl named Ellone whom his sorceress wishes to find.

Galbadia Garden intercepts a similarly airborne Balamb Garden over the Centra continent near the ruins of Edea's Orphanage. With Seifer as commanding officer Galbadia Garden launches a full assault on Balamb Garden. The Balamb students and SeeDs turn the battle and make their way inside Galbadia Garden, where Squall and his party confront Seifer, who is defeated and left unconscious and disgraced on the floor. Despite Seifer's efforts Squall's party defeats Ultimecia within Edea's body, which results in Ultimecia leaving Edea's body to possess Rinoa and ordering Seifer to raise the Lunatic Pandora from the sea.

Under Ultimecia's orders Seifer embarks to resurrect the Esthar weapon Lunatic Pandora from the depths of the ocean. Restoring the device to active status he directs the pillar to be placed upon Tears' Point, starting the Lunar Cry. Squall and his party move to prevent this, invading the construct with an Estharian airship. The toils had taken their toll on Seifer at this point, as his hair is unkempt and his coat is blackened and falling apart. Fujin and Raijin, who up until now had followed Seifer loyally, beg him to stop and go back to being their friend.

Seifer claims it is too late to go back, and wishes them a good life. Before he fights Squall one last time, Squall asks him if he's still gonna continue "With this knight thing." to which he says he's retired from. Much to Squall's chagrin, he decides to consider himself a young revolutionary instead, claiming he's "Always gotta be doing something BIG!" Refusing to stop, he says he's gonna keep running and make it to the goal since he's come too far, with no interest in sharing it Squall, he nonetheless fights for his pride as the Sorceress' Knight. If Squall has obtained Odin, Seifer bisects him when he is summoned in battle, refusing to be taken out so easily, and Gilgamesh takes his place, knocking Seifer down.

Despite his defeat, Seifer captures Rinoa and offers her to Ultimecia in the body of her new host, Sorceress Adel, whom she had just resurrected. Rinoa pleads to reason with him, but to little avail, making him regain his senses, if only for a brief moment. He seemingly flees the scene right as Squall's party intervenes.

After Ultimecia is bested inside Adel's body by Squall's group, she casts time compression, allowing Squall to reach her era and defeat her. Seifer goes back to Balamb with Fujin and Raijin, where they spend a day fishing together. Raijin catches a fish, causing Seifer to throw down his fishing rod in frustration, and Fujin kicks Raijin into the sea. Seifer laughs before looking up at Balamb Garden with a smile as it flies past.

In Battle
Originating as a temporary player character, Seifer is later fought against four times as a mini-boss. Seifer is playable for the first portion of the Siege of Dollet during the SeeD exam. All the magic the player draws into his junction is immediately passed onto Selphie right after he leaves.

Weapon
Seifer wields a gunblade. His particular model is Hyperion, featuring a pistol handle based on the Beretta M9, rather than the revolver handles favored by Squall. The Hyperion might be lighter than Squall's Revolver, as Seifer holds it with one hand.

While Seifer is a playable character, pressing the trigger button when he strikes will boost his damage.

Limit Break
Seifer's Limit Break is Fire Cross. While there are three skills Seifer can use, only the first, No Mercy, can be used by the player. The other two, Demon Slice and Bloodfest, are used during battles against the player. Every Fire Cross Limit starts with him casting a Fire spell at his target in similar fashion as seen in the game's opening FMV.

Unlike the rest of the player characters, Seifer can use his Limit Break without having to be in HP Critical health; the chance it becomes available is at 84% or lower from his max HP.

Boss
Seifer is fought as a boss four times in the story. He uses Fire-based attacks and gains new Limit Breaks every time he is encountered. If the party has Odin a cutscene will occur the last time Seifer is faced. Seifer is the only enemy in the game who has the rare spell Aura available for drawing.

Pocket Station Memorycard Icons
An icon sprite of Seifer appears in the Pocket Station memorycard file manager.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Seifer is mentioned in the Museum under Odin's entry, where it is mentioned Seifer countered the Zantetsuken and bisected Odin. Several references to Seifer also exist in Dissidia Final Fantasy; Squall fights with a faster, one-handed style similar to Seifer, and begins his EX Burst by striking his opponent in an upside down cross, similar to Seifer's Bloodfest Limit Break. Seifer appears as the name of a Ghost card, a Level 100 Ultimecia bearing the Green Gem and GF Eden battlegen items.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Seifer is a sub-character in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, obtained by collecting Gray Crystal Shards from Dark Note bosses.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade


Seifer appears as a summonable Legend in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade. He is depicted in his default Final Fantasy V outfit. His abilities are Bloodfest, Demon Slice, Firaga and Zantetsuken Reverse.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest


Seifer is an exclusive character only available from the Premium Character Shop as a random downloadable content, he uses the No Mercy ability during battle.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Seifer appears in the trading card game of Final Fantasy and is represented by four cards. They are all Lightning-elemental.

Kingdom Hearts II


A younger version of Seifer appears in Kingdom Hearts II. He is the leader of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee, together with Fuu and Rai, and is idolized by Vivi for his strength. Seifer is known for being a top Struggle fighter, who also likes street brawls.

In DiZ's simulated Twilight Town, he is a rival of Roxas and his friends, while in the real Twilight Town, Hayner is his main rival since Roxas does not exist. He is antagonistic toward Sora, but after he saves Seifer's gang from the Nobodies, Seifer gives him the Struggle Trophy, an unspoken sign of respect. Although his rival Squall (under the name of Leon) appears in the series the two never meet, though they retain their trademark scars.

Seifer is voiced by Takehito Koyasu in the Japanese version and by Will Friedle in the English version.

Etymology
Seifer's last name, Almasy, is from the common family name Almásy (pronounced ). It means "related to or from [the land] of apples". His first name could be based on the Semitic root s-y-f, seen in Arabic سيف (seif), Hebrew סיף (sayif), and Maltese sejf meaning "sword" or "saber". Even the word "Almasy" may be based on the Arabic word (which has the same pronunciation) ألماسي, which means "Made from Diamond". This is also likely the reason refining Seifer's Triple Triad card yields Diamond Armors. "Seifer" is also a variant of the name Siegfried (meaning victor); a common German first name.

Cifer, Seifer's German name, comes from, a type of encryption normally hard to read or understand without the original producer's clues. The spelling was most likely changed because Seife is the German word for "soap", thus Seifer can be understood as an agent noun "soaper".

Trivia

 * Seifer uses a power similar to magic, though in-game information confirms he does not use real magic, but chi-based attacks.
 * The red cross usually worn by Seifer, is a variant of the Cruz de Santiago, the emblem of an ancient Spanish order designated to protect the European pilgrims from the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.
 * Seifer is the second-eldest character from the "orphanage gang", the eldest being Quistis.
 * Although Seifer forms a posse with Fujin and Raijin, the player never gets to fight all three of them in the same battle.
 * Seifer uses the more traditional meaning of "romantic", which can cause some confusion over the meaning of his "romantic dream".
 * During the parade, Seifer is usually seen on the float with Edea during the FMVs, however, he appears to have momentarily vanished for one scene.
 * A point of interest is that without even knowing it, the brief time he was an item with Rinoa, Seifer was living his "romantic dream" since Rinoa had the potential to become (and later became) a sorceress.
 * On May 30th, 2012, official website for Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary, in the character section dedicated to Final Fantasy VIII, Seifer's katakana was correct while his English name was translated to "Sephiroth". As of May 31st, 2012, Square Enix corrected the error.
 * In Kingdom Hearts II, Seifer calls Roxas "chicken wuss", which he calls Zell in Final Fantasy VIII.