The most lethal apparition of Sephiroth did not occur in a Final Fantasy game.

Without a doubt, Sephiroth is a legendary character that terrifies gamers who have even the slightest familiarity with the antagonist. His theme tune, One Winged Angel, is only the first few chords that may make your pulse race. However, Sephiroth's reputation wasn't established by Final Fantasy on its own. The villain was first made popular to a new generation of fans in a special Disney and Square Enix series, Kingdom Hearts, and his appearances there are every bit as terrifying as his debut in Final Fantasy 7.

If players were not there for Sephiroth's 1997 Final Fantasy 7 premiere, they may find it difficult to understand why the character is so beloved by fans. Beginning FF7 with a planet-ending event and haunting protagonist Cloud Strife, Sephiroth made a strong impression as a villain. But what really made Sephiroth terrifying to some of us was his tense confrontation in Kingdom Hearts.

I was on the opposite side of Sin Harvest in 2002, and it was in this Disney combination that the One-Winged Angel made a lasting effect on me. As you can see, I wasn't old enough to catch on to the FF7 craze when it was first popular, and I wouldn't encounter the title until years later. Therefore, Sephiroth was first exposed to me in the video game Kingdom Hearts. And well, that was quite the beginning.

The Platinum match of Sora

As Kingdom Hearts draws to a close, They might return to the Olympus Collesuem and take part in fresh competitions. One of them is the Platinum match, which does away with a lot of the customs associated with boss fights up to that time. It matches Sephiroth with Sora in a battle that most players would lose at first.

I went into battles without any planning and just kept hitting foes until I met the Platinum match. Yes, some were a little repetitive, but nothing prepared me for a battle that required reflexes and fast thinking on par with a demigod, so I quickly conquered hurdles after rereading a few zones to get a few simple levels.

As his theme tune intensifies, Sephiroth teleports into the arena to begin the Platinum battle and silently prepares his weapon. The strong bad guy doesn't run or launch a careless attack. No. Even more eerie, when One Winged Angel soars above the arena, Sephiroth approaches me cautiously, as if to ask, "Oh, are you here too?" The tone is established by this brazen exhibition of badassery.

Sephiroth could reach me almost anywhere with his enormous sword, and anytime I stumbled, his lightning-fast swordswing met me. A brute-force approach to closing the gap would set his surrounds on fire and send me into a scorching storm. Alternatively, Sephiroth may teleport and jump about the arena to set up an assault if I attempted to play the backfield. There was not a secure base.

Somehow, I managed to exert enough pressure on the One-winged Angel for it to begin considering me seriously. Subsequently, the powerful blows began, evoking meteor showers or, worse still, that Sin Harvest move that instantly reduces Sora to one HP and zero MP. I'm using all of my might to survive the attack, pathetically eroding his vital signs here and there. Sephiroth doesn't even seem to be perspiring throughout this whole time.

It's gone by faster than I know. I pause in front of Sephiroth's sword in my rush to heal after he catches me in the middle of one of his fire assaults. It seemed unwinnable the first time I lost the Platinum match. But that's exactly what motivated me to keep going at it until I finally managed to survive.

The Shadowy Depths of Sephiroth

As for Kingdom Hearts ,could have given me the impression that I knew what to anticipate from Sephiroth, but he kept surprising me with his second appearance. More space than in the last fight, the conflict takes place in a rough region, yet my lack of mobility hurt me. All through Kingdom Hearts 2 My misguided disregard for the arduously slow-to-unlock traversal and mobility skills made my Sephiroth rematch even more formidable. In Kingdom Hearts 2, the antagonist travels about a lot more, often teleporting behind or into the sky, and I had no way to counter these hit-and-run strategies.

Unlike in his last appearance, Sephiroth pushes right into the battle, unleashing an assault that can only be evaded by an unanticipated quick-time event. He attempted to surprise me with the fatal hit many than once throughout the battle; it happened at random. I had to be alert for it at all times since the blow may terminate the match in an instant. Without giving me an opportunity to retaliate, Sephiroth reverted to his usual maneuvers, teleporting and jumping while testing my sword defenses.

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The fact that almost all of Sephiroth's assaults may reduce my HP to critical and that he would carelessly launch blows one after the other added to the difficulty. This immediately forced me into a new attrition-based game, in which Sephiroth steadily reduced my health as I struggled to stay afloat. For what seemed like hours, we danced about the arena, with me panicking and quickly recovering and chipping slices off his life with rapid combinations as Sephiroth put on one amazing show of power after another.

In a moment after I ultimately defeated Sephiroth once again, he is shown physically dusting some dirt off his armor as if to forget our harrowing fight. Before sending me out to get the ex-SOLDIER for him, Sephiroth believes that only Cloud can provide him a true challenge—the ultimate insult to injury. Man, it hurts so much.

The Kingdom Hearts series gave Square Enix a chance to increase Sephiroth's recognition and popularity. When the One-winged Angel first appeared in FF7, he was already a formidable foe, but Kingdom Hearts would allow him to leave his own reality. While it would have been simple to utilize Sephiroth as a mere cameo, a la Tidus or Selphie, the more thoughtful strategy proved to be effective.

Prior to Kingdom Hearts, all I knew about Sephiroth was this mysterious myth that I read about in internet forums or heard from friends' elder siblings. However, his notoriety became clear when Kingdom Hearts introduced the scary opponent. I will never forget the hardships I went through to defeat Sephiroth in these Disney games via practice and preparedness. It made me go outside of my comfort zone and made me think in a game where pressing buttons was the main objective. Undoubtedly, regardless of the players' inclination towards the character, Kingdom Hearts made sure Sephiroth lived up to the expectations.