Sephiroth is available in Smash Ultimate with the v10.0.0 update!
The Final Fantasy antagonist arrives as DLC Fighter #8 and comes with a unique moveset to boot.
It's one that many fans will be pleased to see and Sephiroth certainly looks like a strong character out the gate.
You can already grab this character by completing the Sephiroth Challenge before its intended release date.
Here's our guide to Sephiroth.
Sephiroth Playstyle
Sephiroth is a hybrid brawler and sword character.
The Final Fantasy Antagonist is rather tall, meaning that he's prone to attacks and he's also quite light; so he will be launch quite easily.
Sephiroth isn't the fastest character, but his moves cover a large area and pack a serious punch.
If you're caught out you can easily be punished.
Sephiroth's long sword means you can play a pretty safe game whilst on inflicting a lot of harass on your opponent and maintaining edge control.
But, the hit detection of his attacks are very fine, so you'll need to be precise in your attacks.
Moveset
- Neutral Attack - Quick flurry of attacks using his feet and the handle of his sword
- Dash Attack - A charged strike, similar to Captain Falcon and Ganondorf's Side-Special
- Side Tilt Attack - Long reaching slash (middle of the blade is the strongest point), it can also be aimed at an angle to attack up or down
- Up Tilt Attack - Long reach stab (tip of the blade is the strongest point)
- Down Tilt Attack - Sliding kick
- Side Smash Attack - A powerful side cut
- Up Smash Attack - A wide-range slash
- Down Smash Attack - Pierces the ground in front of you and send debris flying
- Neutral Air Attack - Sephiroth clicks his fingers quickly creating a damaging AOE around him
- Forward Air Attack - A forward stab attack
- Back Air Attack - Sephiroth turns and swings his sword with a wider and more powerful range
- Up Air Attack - Sephiroth cleaves his sword upwards in a 180-degree motion
- Down Air Attack (Hell's Gate) - Sephiroth dives downwards and plunges his sword into the ground
- Grab and Forward Throw - Sephiroth thrusts his opponent forward
- Grab and Back Throw - Sephiroth teleports his opponents behind and then launches them
- Grab and Up Throw - Sephiroth throws his opponent up and cleaves them into the air
- Grab and Down Throw - Sephiroth slams his opponent into the ground
- Neutral Special - A projectile that unleashes one of three moves depending on how long you hold it for (it can not be stored)
- Flare (No charge) - Sends a Flare with a long-range that ends in an explosion
- Megafare (Small charge) - Sends a Megaflare with a medium-range that ends in a powerful explosion
- Gigaflare (Small charge) - Sends a Gigaflare with a short-range that ends in a huge explosion
- Side Special (Shadow Flare) - Sephiorth fires a small purple beam at his opponent
- Up Special (Blade Dash) - Sephiroth dashes in a given direction with a devastating strike
- Octaslaswh - This is a variant of the Blade Dash, executed by holding the command down, causing Sephiroth to strike eight times in a row
- Down Special (Scintilla) - Sephiroth conjures a honeycomb shield to counter opponents attacks, even if it takes no damage
- Final Smash (Supernova) - Sephiroth summons a Meteor to trigger a supernova, wiping out his opponent; it also applies a different status effect to each opponent
How To Play
Overall, you'll want to maximise your sword's extended range using a combination of slash and stabs to keep your opponents at bay.
Sephiroth's extended range also means it has fantastic aerial attacks that you can utilise to execute combos and safely deal damage.
You'll want to use the Shadow Flare ability as much as you can to not only zone players, but also distract them from your next moves.
Players will either take damage from the move or they will need to shield it and you can close the gap and execute damage on them easily.
Tips And Tricks
- Use your stab attack (forward air) to plant your sword into walls or stages, this will allow you to then vault upwards; effectively granting you an extra jump.
- Players can shield your Shadow Flare, so be sure to follow us with a flurry of attacks or grab them to ensure you stay on the offence.
- Your Slash attack is strongest at the middle of the blade and your stab attack is strongest at the tip of the blade.
- Use your down tilt attack near ledges, as the sword will penetrate through the stage, to prevent players from recovering or grabbing the ledge
Wing Ability
Sephiroth has a unique wing ability that activates when he is in trouble - meaning he's sustained a fair amount of damage or he's losing the battle.
This increases his speed and strength, while also providing an extra air jump.
All his smash attacks also provide super armour, meaning he will attack through your opponent's hits while taking damage.
This will disappear when he dies or KO's an opponent.
It will resist appearing if the battle is weighted in your favour e.g. you have more stocks than your opponents.
Meaning you'll take more damage before it appears (roughly about 100% compared to 80%).
It will appear more freely when the battle is weighted against you e.g. you have fewer stocks than your opponent.
Meaning you'll take less damage before it appears (roughly about 30% compared to 80%).
Combos
Here are some handy combos you can try using with Sephiroth:
- Down Throw ⮕ Up Tilt ⮕ Octoslash
- Down Throw ⮕ Dash Attack ⮕ Side Tilt ⮕ Blade Slash
- Down Throw ⮕ Dash Attack ⮕ Down Tilt Attack ⮕ Up Air Attack ⮕ Down Air Attack
- Neutral Special (Gigaflare) ⮕ Side Smash Attack
Counters
In general, any character that has projectiles will more than likely match up favourably against Sephiroth.
Why not try out these characters:
- Link
- Young Link
- Toon Link
- Samus
- Mega Man
- Mewtwo
- Palutena
- Snake
- Zelda
There's also a few that can absorb and stop the effects of Sephiroth's Flare attacks:
- Mr Game & Watch
- Villager
- Isabelle
- Ness
- Lucas
Also, due to his lack of speed, you could also consider these characters:
- Fox
- Falco
- Wolf
- Zero Suit Samus
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