We’re trying something different! Looking at some of the timeless characters in gaming and pulling out a bit of a profile on them. Gaming Icons, if you will. I’m not sure if it’s a worthwhile endeavour or a waste of time, so any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Starting with Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII. Arguably one of the biggest, most recognisable JRPG villains in the world. Killer of Aerith, SOLDIER poster boy and good-looking anime dude.
This is actually a sister piece to another profile on Cloud Strife, too. Because how can you have a piece on Sephiroth, without a piece on Cloud?
How much do we know about these SOLDIER boys?
Note, these are based on slightly re-imagined versions of the characters in Final Fantasy VII Remake. So I’m sure there’s plenty to be argued about if it’s not hitting some of the traditional Final Fantasy VII points.
Sephiroth
Some villains command armies, and some villains scheme in the shadows. And then there is Sephiroth.
Not merely a villain; he is an event, a psychological scar, a ghost in the machine of the Planet itself. With his flowing silver hair, impossibly long Masamune, and a chilling theme that haunts the very air, Sephiroth has long been the gold standard for video game antagonists.
Final Fantasy VII Remake takes this legendary figure and elevates him. No longer just a traumatic memory or a future threat to be confronted.
Sephiroth is a constant, terrifying presence, a metaphysical entity who seems to possess knowledge beyond his own timeline. Turning him from a simple world-ender into a manipulator of fate itself.
The perfect soldier, the perfect lie
To understand the monster, one must first understand the man he was meant to be.
Before the fire and the madness, Sephiroth was the pinnacle of Shinra’s SOLDIER program. A war hero, a celebrity, an idol admired by all and worshipped by a star-struck young Cloud Strife. He was calm, efficient, and possessed a grace that bordered on the divine.
This heroic image is not just backstory; it is the entire foundation of his tragedy.
Sephiroth’s perfection was a meticulously crafted lie. He was the product of the Jenova Project, an infant injected with the cells of a calamitous alien entity and groomed to be the ultimate weapon.
He lived his life as the poster boy for a system that had created him as a biological tool. Then the discovery of this truth is the catalyst for his spectacular fall.
Nibelheim
The Nibelheim incident remains the defining moment of Sephiroth’s existence.
Locked away in the Shinra Manor, he consumed scientific reports that twisted his understanding of reality. He didn’t see himself as a lab experiment. Sephiroth saw himself as the last surviving member of the Cetra, a rightful heir to the Planet. He saw his “mother,” Jenova, imprisoned by the “traitors”—humanity.
This was not a simple descent into madness; it was a re-forging of identity.
In the face of his own manufactured existence, he chose a new truth. He would not be a monster in their story; he would be a god in his own. The ensuing rampage and the burning of Nibelheim was a declaration of this new identity, a violent severing from the humanity he now despised.
When he was cast into the Lifestream by Cloud, he did not die. He began to learn.
Remake’s New Nightmare
This is where Final Fantasy VII Remake fundamentally changes the game.
In the original, Sephiroth is largely absent from the Midgar section, his presence felt only through the stories of others and the trail of bodies he leaves behind. In Remake, he is an immediate and personal antagonist for Cloud.
He appears in flashes of static, in alleyways, and within Cloud’s mind. Less a physical being and more a psychological infection.
Sephiroth is a manifestation of the Jenova cells within Cloud, a living embodiment of his trauma. But he is more than that. This version of Sephiroth speaks with a chilling prescience. “That which lies ahead does not yet exist,” he tells Cloud. He speaks of “seven seconds till the end,” referencing the original game’s final moments.
This Sephiroth has memories of a timeline that hasn’t happened yet. He is no longer just following a script of revenge; he is actively trying to rewrite it. His goal is no longer simply to summon Meteor and become a god. His new, terrifying goal is to shatter the chains of destiny itself.
He doesn’t just want to win; he wants to change the rules of the game. He tempts Cloud, goads him, and pushes him to defy the Whispers—the arbiters of the original timeline. Why? Because he knows that as long as destiny holds, his ultimate defeat is assured.
He needs Cloud, his living puppet and eternal rival, to help him break free.
At the Edge of Creation, his true, modern purpose is revealed. He doesn’t want to kill Cloud; he wants Cloud to join him, to refuse fate together.
Sephiroth has evolved beyond a mere planetary threat into a cosmic horror. He is a sentient paradox, a ghost who remembers the future, fighting not just against a party of heroes, but against the narrative that seeks to contain him.
Iconic
As we’ve already said, Sephiroth is one of the most well-known JRPG antagonists, the world over. He’s iconic. With his character design, his motivations and his actions.
A character that isn’t just bad for the sake of being bad. But he feels like a real person who’s as flawed as any of us. With some extenuating circumstances, he’s been put into this pressure cooker and well, exploded.
I think with Sephiroth, he’s one of the first major gaming villains with a genuinely heartfelt story. Sure, it’s science fiction and unrealistic. But his plight, his reality, it feels real. It feels deep and rich and all the things a million other video game writers wish they could achieve.
Love him or hate him, he’s an icon for sure.
For even more opinion pieces like this one, click right here.
