Editing Sephiroth (SSBU)

|image        = {{tabber|title1=Coat|tab1=[[File:Sephiroth SSBU.png|250px|Sephiroth]]|title2=Coatless|tab2=[[File:Sephiroth-Alt1 SSBU.png|250px]]}}

|tier = A+

|ranking = 27

{{Cquote|Sephiroth Descends to Battle!|cite=Introduction Tagline}}

Sephiroth is ranked 27th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing him at the end of the A+ tier. Sephiroth's greatest strengths are his great KO power and long range; the latter of which is courtesy of his [[Masamune]], which grants him the ability to apply constant pressure to his opponents without having to risk fighting in close-quarters combat. Sephiroth's [[Winged Form]] also grants him increased attack power, higher mobility, [[super armor]] on his [[smash attack]]s, and a second [[double jump]] throughout the form's duration.

However, Sephiroth has some glaring weaknesses. His very light [[weight]] and tall hurtbox collectively make him easy to hit and KO in a similar vein to {{SSBU|Mewtwo}}. Sephiroth's long range also comes at the cost of sluggish frame data and the Masamune's hitboxes being very narrow to compensate for their long range. Lastly, the Winged Form is a high-risk, high-reward [[fighter ability]]: due to being a comeback-oriented mechanic, it requires Sephiroth to be at a noticeable disadvantage in order to be accessed, and upon dissipating, it will be able to be reactivated only after Sephiroth is KO'd.

Despite his shortcomings, Sephiroth is seen as a high tier in the current metagame, with players such as {{Sm|KEN}} and {{Sm|Ned}} showing what he is capable of.

Sephiroth's attributes are fairly polarized; he is a tall fighter, but is tied with {{SSBU|Kirby}}, {{SSBU|Mewtwo}}, {{SSBU|Pikachu}} and {{SSBU|Olimar}} as the 7th [[Weight|lightest]] fighter in the game. He has the 14th slowest [[walk]]ing speed, yet his [[dash]]ing speed and [[traction]] are both above-average, with the former being marginally faster than {{SSBU|Hero}}'s. Despite his height, Sephiroth's [[crouch]] is deceptively low. In the air, Sephiroth's overall [[jump]]ing force and [[air acceleration]] are both average, he has slow [[air speed]] and below-average [[air friction]], and yet he has the 11th fastest [[falling speed]] and above-average [[gravity]]. Notably, Sephiroth's short hop is tied with {{SSBU|Steve}}'s for the lowest in the game, which aids him very well in the neutral game.

One of Sephiroth's most defining traits is his [[range]]. He notably sports among the longest overall range in ''Ultimate'', thanks to his signature weapon, the Masamune, and surpassed only by {{SSBU|Min Min}} in this regard. Unlike other swordfighters, Sephiroth's {{b|sweetspot|hitbox}} hitboxes differ between his stabbing and slashing attacks: his stabs (up tilt, down smash, forward aerial, and down aerial) have sweetspots positioned along the tip of Masamune (very much like {{SSBU|Marth}} and {{SSBU|Simon}}'s own [[tipper]]s) with a mediumspot at the center of the blade, whereas his slashes (forward tilt, forward smash, up smash, back aerial, and up aerial) have sweetspots positioned along the upper center of its blade (similarly to {{SSBU|Roy}}'s inverse tipper, but with better range overall) with mediumspots at the tip. This gives Sephiroth plenty of ranged options if opponents are reasonably within range of him. On the other hand, the handle of the Masamune also has sourspots, which means Sephiroth needs to be careful when spacing his attacks.

Sephiroth's other most defining trait is his unique [[fighter ability]]: the [[Winged Form]]. Like [[Aura]] and [[Super Special Move]]s, it is a comeback mechanic that activates when Sephiroth has received sufficient damage. However, the Winged Form's activation is also influenced by the score count/stock count; it activates at ≈90% when the score/stock count is even, though it will activate earlier or later if Sephiroth's score/stock count is behind or above the opponent's, respectively. Upon activation, Sephiroth's wing unfurls and grants him a third jump, a 1.3× damage multiplier, and much higher mobility overall. In particular, Sephiroth gains the 7th fastest dashing speed (tied with {{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}}'), the highest traction (surpassing {{SSBU|Sonic}}'s), as well as higher air speed, air acceleration and air friction.

Sephiroth's smash attacks also gain damage-based [[armor]] that can withstand up to 20%, making them incredibly risky to challenge, save for a few exceptions. However, the Winged Form dissipates when he gains a decisive lead against an opponent or is KO'd outright. This means that, compared to other comeback mechanics, more careful attack planning is usually necessary to score KOs easily. Regardless, the Winged Form's damage multiplier allows even mediumspotted attacks to become quite deadly under the right percentages.

Sephiroth's ground game offers him fairly crucial tools, and his sword attacks in particular are prime examples of long ranged attacks. Neutral attack, despite having the shortest range of his grounded moves, is Sephiroth's fastest move while having decent melee range for a neutral attack, making it one of his few reliable tools to quickly ward off an opponent. Forward tilt has incredibly long range (comparable to Simon's) and can be angled, making it a superb spacing option and a viable KO option at high percentages when fresh, especially in Winged Form.

Up tilt boasts incredible vertical range, a decently long duration, and renders his upper body [[intangible]] for a brief period. Although it can be difficult to land, it also sports a hitbox in front of him that launches opponents into the rest of the blade, much like Marth's up smash. Down tilt is Sephiroth's fastest tilt attack and, although it is slightly slower than {{SSBU|Cloud}}'s down tilt, it functions almost identically to his: it boasts great range by propelling Sephiroth forward and significantly lowers his hurtbox, giving him a way to punish more ranged attacks. Dash attack, despite being fairly punishable due to being his slowest melee attack, covers a lot of ground and has respectable power; as a result, it is useful as both a burst option and, when clean, a KO option.

Sephiroth's smash attacks also boast varying degrees of utility. Forward smash is a very long-ranged slash that is potent at punishing and spacing, yet also boasts excellent KO potential at the middle of the blade and, to a lesser degree, at the tip. Up smash is an overhead arcing slash, much like {{SSBU|Ganondorf}} and {{SSBU|Ike}}'s up smashes. Although it is weaker than theirs and slower than Ganondorf's, it is Sephiroth's best anti-air option due to sporting more range overall, to the point that it allows him to cover an area wider than an entire platform of [[Town and City]]. Down smash only hits in front of Sephiroth, but it is faster than his forward smash and has the unique property of becoming even stronger if the Masamune's blade hits the ground. On an extended note, the combination of the Masamune's tipper and the debris that erupts when its blade hits the ground collectively enables down smash to deal immense [[shield damage]]. Thus, while it is somewhat outclassed by forward smash as a KO option, it has better [[shield break]]ing capabilities.

 

 

 

 

Finally, Sephiroth has a strong set of special moves. His [[side special]], [[Shadow Flare]], is arguably his best special move: it is unique among [[charge]]able projectiles in that, while the initial projectile deals little damage and cause flinching, it generates larger, darkness projectiles that do not immediately attack the opponent, but instead orbit around them and deal damage by homing in. Depending on how long it is charged, one to three projectiles can be generated by a single Shadow Flare, and up to five projectiles can be orbiting a single opponent at a time. Its range is also comparable to his sword attacks on top of having low lag all around, making it easily spammable and useful for spacing.

Sephiroth's [[up special]], [[Blade Dash / Octaslash|Blade Dash]], is a dashing blade attack that functions differently depending on if the button was tapped or held. When tapped, Blade Dash is a single-hitting move that sweetspots edges easily. However, when held, it instead becomes Octaslash, which travels slightly farther, has huge range and hits multiple times, dealing higher damage and knockback at the cost of sweetspotting edges. Octaslash's large range particularly makes it a high risk, high reward combat option that can break the opponent's zone. Lastly, his [[down special]], [[Scintilla]], is unique among [[counterattack]]s in that it will always produce a hitbox regardless of whether or not any attacks were countered, while its multi-hitting nature allows it to pressure shields, and is one of the strongest counters in the game with a 1.5× damage multiplier. Although Scintilla only covers in front of Sephiroth and has a cap of 25%, breaking the cap will not damage Sephiroth and instead simply cause him to stagger. If his shield is heavily damaged, these traits can grant him a brief reprieve from exhausting his shield any further.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outside of neutral aerial, Sephiroth's melee-based moves also tend to have high ending lag, which results in him not having much in the way of mixing up his pressure at close range. Adding to this is Sephiroth's grab game, which is polarized in spite of its respectable utility; his grabs are short-ranged, his pummel is merely average, and his throws lack KO potential due to their meager damage outputs, average knockback, and/or unsuitable launching angles. All of these issues result in a poor close-quarters game that, when combined with his frailty, collectively culminates in Sephiroth being vulnerable to rushdown-based pressure if the opponent is able to keep up with his defense, such as {{SSBU|Captain Falcon}} or {{SSBU|Pikachu}}.

Another prominent issue on Sephiroth's moveset is his inconsistent KO potential. Due to his moves' sourspots, Sephiroth must always be at a distance from the opponent in order for them to KO reliably. His differing sweetspot mechanics can also work against him, due to how varied their locations are. His stab attacks possess narrow ranges and require the opponent to be at their longest range in order to be effective, which can result in them missing. On the other hand, his slash attacks do not require perfect spacing at long range to be effective, but their sweetspots are harder to land as a result of being located between the weaker sourspots and mediumspots. In regard to sword attacks, Octaslash should also be noted in that it only becomes consistently reliable for KOing while the Winged Form is active.

Outside of his sweetspotted sword attacks, Sephiroth does not have many reliable ways to KO an opponent. Although dash attack's clean hit KOs at reasonable percentages, its slow start-up can make it easily predictable. Flare's decent damage output is mostly counterbalanced by its middling knockback, which results in it failing to KO at reasonable percentages like Megaflare and Gigaflare. As a result, Sephiroth must be careful when it comes to being able to secure KOs in spite of his impressive damage racking potential.

Although Sephiroth's moveset remains solid overall, some of his moves are either highly risky or have notable flaws. Up tilt's incredible vertical range is counterbalanced by its extremely narrow horizontal range, even in spite its point-blank grounded hitbox, while its sourspots have minimal KO potential. Up aerial, on top of being Sephiroth's slowest aerial by a wide margin, sends at an unreliable angle for KOing due to being vulnerable to [[LSI]], is notoriously difficult to properly sweetspot, and cannot auto-cancel other than from a double jump, making it a lackluster juggling tool if the opponent knows how to deal with it. Down aerial, due to being a stall-then-fall, is risky to use offstage, so careful positioning must be had to edge-guard opponents with it onstage to avoid inadvertently [[self-destruct]]ing.

As for his special moves, Flare and Megaflare's generally slow start-up and speed makes them easy to shield, [[absorb]], or [[reflect]]. Although Shadow Flare has low overall lag, it still must be used wisely, especially if used by a character with a reflector, as it can result in Sephiroth being struck for high damage himself and allow the opponent to capitalize on it. While Octaslash covers a great distance on its own and is risky to edge-guard, characters with counterattacks can easily use this to their advantage, which can leave Sephiroth at an even worse spot for recovering. Finally, despite its animation suggesting otherwise, Scintilla cannot reflect projectiles whatsoever (although it can stop them without effort). It also does not directly protect Sephiroth (especially from behind) and its damaging hitbox is treated as a projectile, making it a double-edged sword if reflected.

Last but not least, Sephiroth's Winged Form suffers from its own limitations. Despite the wide array of benefits it grants, it only activates whenever Sephiroth receives damage, and is further dependent on his standing against an opponent. While the Winged Form can activate as low as 30% if Sephiroth is 2 stocks behind the opponent, it conversely activates as late as 110% if Sephiroth is 2 stocks ahead. Thus, the Winged Form suffers from consistency issues similarly to [[Aura]] in that Sephiroth will have to play very carefully if he is to keep his advantage, which is easier said than done due to his noticeable frailty.

Although the Winged Form's damage-based armor on Sephiroth's smash attacks can definitely help him power through incoming offense, reckless usage of his smash attacks can render him predictable. Additionally, Sephiroth cannot regain the Winged Form until he gets KO'd. As a result, if Sephiroth is not able to capitalize on its benefits properly, it can become harder for him later on to level the playing field when he is at a stock deficit, as it forces him to contest with his moveset's flaws. This also means that Sephiroth should actively avoid gaining the Winged Form when at a 2 stock deficit, as he will otherwise have no reliable way of turning the tide to his complete favor.

In the end, Sephiroth is arguably the most unique swordfighter in ''Ultimate'', as his playstyle is a hybrid of the glass cannon and turtle archetypes, resulting in a high learning curve. His high overall damage output, immense range, varied sweetspots and effective projectiles grant him a respectably solid ranged melee playstyle, as it can become difficult for the opponent to approach Sephiroth should he consistently make the right choices, and it is equally difficult to surmount him should he break through the opponent's zone or defense.

However, Sephiroth's inconsistent KO potential, polarized grab game, and poor close-quarters game can leave a much-to-be-desired offensive playstyle, and he is just as susceptible to pressure as much as he can dish it out himself. The benefits offered from his Winged Form can seriously help him on this regard, as it can help him greatly recover from a deficit should he be able to survive long enough, but his frailty means he also must play carefully in order to retain this advantage.

 

Opinions on Sephiroth's viability were initially somewhat unclear due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive Smash]], but his competitive reception has been mostly positive, and he is commonly considered to rest on a favorable spot. {{Sm|Zackray}} and {{Sm|Rizeasu}} have used him at offline Japanese tournaments to great success, and his reception further improved when {{Sm|Ned}} notably placed 2nd using mostly Sephiroth at {{Trn|InfinityCON Tally 2021}}, the first offline national in North America in over a year.

*Sephiroth's forward aerial can pierce walls and cling to them, similarly to [[Dragon Lunge]]. After piercing a wall, Sephiroth can choose to jump and thus boost his recovery by moving up or pressing the jump button/attack button, or let go of the wall by pressing away/down or waiting long enough.

|ftiltdesc=An outward slash. The move can be angled up and down. Has rather slow start-up (the slowest of Sephiroth's tilt attacks), but great KO potential at the middle of the Masamune's blade. Thanks to a combination of long range and its ability to be angled, as well as being safe on shield when connecting with the sweetspot, it is one of Sephiroth's most reliable spacing tools. It is almost identical to his Cruel Strike from ''Ehrgeiz''.  

|uairdesc=A backflipping overhead slash. Very slow start-up at frame 16, but its immense range covers a very wide arc above, in front of and even behind himself, making it exceptionally hard to avoid in the air if the opponent exhausts their landing options. It also possesses high knockback, with the sweetspot KOing at around 110% on Battlefield's top platform. However, it has the highest landing lag out of any up aerial in the game (22 frames), and it cannot autocancel out of anything but a double jump. As a result, while its early and late hitboxes can hit opponents while Sephiroth is landing, it is very punishable as a landing option compared to other aerials.  

|dairname=Hell's Gate ({{ja|獄門|Gokumon}}, ''Prison Gate'')

|dairdesc=A downward thrust. A [[stall-then-fall]] aerial, it powerfully [[meteor smash]]es aerial opponents during its initial frames. The blade extends through the ground, allowing for opponents under platforms and edges to be hit by the move. It has excellent vertical range below Sephiroth, as it is able to pierce through the edges of [[Battlefield form]] stages, and even the entirety of [[Town and City]]. As a result, it can consistently [[2 frame punish]] opponents with good timing and often KO them very early, even without the need to go offstage to land the move. Unlike other stab moves, it deals the same damage at the blade and the tip, making it more consistent. It also emits a unique stabbing sound on hit. Conversely, its landing hitbox is located at Sephiroth's legs and is indicated visually by small fissures of dark energy. It is based on his infamous murder of [[Aerith Gainsborough]] in ''Final Fantasy VII'', while the landing hitbox's fissures are based on the massive fissures of energy that Hell's Gate emits upon hitting the ground in the ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' series and ''Final Fantasy VII Remake''.  

|grabname= 

|pummelname= 

|pummeldesc=A point-blank burst of energy. Although it is very similar to Mewtwo's pummel, it is actually a magic attack instead of a darkness attack. It resembles a spark of energy Sephiroth uses to render Cloud unconscious during a cutscene in ''Mobius Final Fantasy''.

|fthrowdesc=A point-blank burst of energy. Due to being a [[semi-spike]], it is very useful as a setup into an edge-guard or a tech chase. At medium to high percentages against most characters, Sephiroth has the opportunity to follow up with Octaslash for a KO, which covers nearly every possible option when timed correctly.

|bthrowdesc=Teleports the opponent behind himself, then pumps his fist to hit them with a burst of energy. Unlike the majority of back throws, it forgoes KO potential in favor of possessing combo potential until medium to high percentages. Due to it launching vertically instead of horizontally or diagonally, it can combo into neutral, forward and back aerials or Shadow Flare until around 70%. If the opponent fails to DI properly in time, Sephiroth can follow up with back aerial at around 50% for a true KO confirm. This combo is especially potent while the Winged Form is active, due to his higher air speed and damage output. It is based on Sephiroth's ability to teleport himself and others in ''Mobius Final Fantasy'' and ''Final Fantasy VII Remake'', although its visual effects resemble the former's depiction.

|uthrowdesc=An upward slash. It has a collateral hitbox useful for fights with multiple opponents. Launches the opponent upward and behind Sephiroth, which can reliably lead to an up tilt or neutral aerial at low to medium percentages. It also works as a 50/50 KO setup into up aerial at around 110%; the opponent's only escape route out of this combo is to jump out of it, which either gets caught by up aerial's hitbox, or it puts them further into a disadvantage state due to Sephiroth's huge range being able to usually catch their landing afterward. It is almost identical to the second hit of his Heaven's Light from the ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' series.

|dthrowdesc=Telekinetically slams the opponent onto the ground. Its low damage output and ending lag collectively grant it excellent combo potential at low to medium percentages. It can combo into Shadow Flare and neutral, forward, back and up aerials at low percentages; at medium to high percentages, Sephiroth can perform a [[reverse aerial rush]] back aerial near the edge as a KO confirm, which is even more effective when the Winged Form is active due to his higher mobility and power. It is also Sephiroth's strongest throw overall, but remains moderately weak as it fails to KO until around 210%. It is based on the cinematic in ''Final Fantasy VII Remake'' at the beginning of phase 3 of the boss fight against Sephiroth, in which he uses his Boundless Void to pin down Cloud and [[Tifa Lockhart]]/Aerith.

|nsdesc=Charges Flare, an explosive fireball, in his right hand that travels slowly when fired. A chargeable projectile as long as the special button is kept pressed, it can be [[charge cancel]]ed (but the charge is not stored). It has three different variations, each producing incrementally stronger projectiles with larger explosions, but also significantly lowers their travel distance. Tapping the button results in Flare, a scarlet flame that travels the most distance, but has the smallest explosion. Charging it for some time results in Megaflare, a blue flame that is more powerful, travels faster, and has a larger lingering explosion, but travels a shorter distance. Fully charging it results in Gigaflare, which causes the background to darken dramatically, and the music's volume to lower; the small, yellow spark fired travels an extremely short distance, but results in an immense explosion with extreme knockback, being capable of KOing most characters as low as 20% near a ledge, or even potentially KOing at 0% if in Winged form. Gigaflare has moderate ending lag, but when it explodes at its farthest ranges, Sephiroth has enough time to follow up with another attack, most notably forward smash which can most likely KO at 0%. However, it has extremely high startup across all versions, making it punishable if used as a conventional projectile. Despite Gigaflare being extremely slow to start, its very large hitbox makes it a notoriously effective edge trapping tool, allowing it to simultaneously cover nearly every option when timed correctly; against opponents with a reflector, Sephiroth can simply cancel the charge and punish the attack. All three versions can be [[reflect]]ed and [[absorb]]ed; it should be noted that despite Gigaflare's extreme power, all three are relatively unrewarding to absorb due to their initial hits dealing very low damage.

When releasing Megaflare, Sephiroth may say {{ja|行け|Ike.}} ("Go."), and when releasing Gigaflare, he may say {{ja|焼き尽くす|Yakitsukusu.}} ("Burn to nothing.")

|ssdesc=Snaps his fingers to emit a thin, short-ranged surge of dark energy at the opponent. If it connects, spheres of dark energy will orbit the opponent, then home in on them and explode after the spheres make at least two revolutions around the character. The initial surge can be charged, increasing its damage and range while creating more spheres on hit. An uncharged surge creates only one sphere, whereas a fully charged surge will create three spheres; up to five spheres can orbit an opponent at once. Sephiroth can also quickly turn 180° before firing Shadow Flare by quickly flicking the control stick in the opposite direction, similarly to [[B-reversing]]. The spheres can also hit bystanders while they orbit around the opponent, with each sphere being able to collide twice before disappearing. The spheres can be reflected and absorbed. If [[Pocket]]ed, the sphere is thrown as a standard projectile. In comparison to Sephiroth's other moves, Shadow Flare is very spammable, thanks to its fairly low interruptibility, and it pierces through enemy projectiles without being destroyed, making it capable of negating any projectile within its priority range despite the initial hit's low damage. As a result, it can be used frequently without fear of retaliation, and allows him to set up follow-ups or condition the opponent into picking an option. However, the move has very low safety in close quarters even on hit due to it causing minimal hitstun and shield damage.

When using the move, Sephiroth may say {{ja|目障りだ|Mezawari da.}} ("Pathetic."), {{ja|焼き付けろ|Yakitsukero.}} ("Burn."), {{ja|跪け|Hizamazuke.}} ("Kneel."), {{ja|滅びよ|Horobiyo.}} ("Perish."), {{ja|くらえ|Kurae.}} ("Take this.") or simply chuckle.

When using Octaslash, Sephiroth may say {{ja|消え去れ|Kiesare.}} ("Disappear."), {{ja|愚かな|Oroka na.}} ("Foolish."), or {{ja|恐怖を刻もう|Kyoufu o kizamou.}} ("I shall carve terror.")

|dsdmg=1% (hits 1-3),<br>5% (hit 4)<br>13.4%-30% (counterattack)

|dsdesc=Erects a honeycomb-shaped barrier in front of himself. It hits multiple times upon [[counterattack]]ing, yet only counters an attack that is in front of Sephiroth. It is unique for a counterattack in a few ways: for one, it will activate and deal minimal damage even if an attack does not connect with it, though it still grows stronger like a normal counterattack depending on the damage it has taken. Second, rather than growing stronger by multiplying the damage dealt by the attack that triggers it, a successful Scintilla's damage output increases on a range starting from 13.4% off of an attack dealing 1% and caps out at 30% on attacks dealing 18% or more. Third, it has a damage cap of {{rollover|25%|effectively 30% under the 1v1 multiplier|y}}, after which the barrier will shatter, negating the damage and causing Sephiroth to stagger briefly. Finally, the counterattack is considered a projectile, meaning it can be reflected and absorbed. Despite its appearance suggesting so, Scintilla cannot [[reflect]] projectiles. Like most counterattacks, Scintilla freezes the opponent right before the retaliating hit. Its unique properties make it excellent for edge-guarding any sort of recovery due to its ability to automatically trigger. This move can deter most opponents from sharking with their recovery move, making it effective against attacks that do not snap the edge as quickly.

When using the move, Sephiroth may say {{ja|来い|Koi.}} ("Come."). When performing the counterattack, he may say {{ja|目障りだ|Mezawari da.}} ("Pathetic."), {{ja|消え去れ|Kiesare.}} ("Disappear."), {{ja|愚かな|Oroka na.}} ("Foolish."), {{ja|いい顔だ|Ii kao da.}} ("I like the look on your face."), {{ja|打ち砕く|Uchikudaku.}} ("I will crush you."), {{ja|跪け|Hizamazuke.}} ("Kneel."), or simply chuckle.

|fsdesc=Performs a diagonally upward slash while saying {{ja|星に帰れ|Hoshi ni kaere.}} ("Return to the Planet.") Up to 3 opponents hit by the slash will be trapped in a cutscene where Sephiroth transforms into Safer∙Sephiroth (his final boss form) to summon Meteor and trigger a supernova, wiping out the world and causing random status effects to foes who are not KO'd. These status effects include an automatic [[shield break]], being [[timer|slowed down]], having reversed controls (indicated by a [[Ramblin' Evil Mushroom|mushroom]] on the victim's head), having a [[flower]] planted on the victim's head, being put to [[sleep]], or simply using the darkness effect alongside more knockback than usual (albeit still below-average for a Final Smash). Fighters caught in the Final Smash face toward him with their backs to the camera, much like Cloud and his party do in his final boss battle in ''Final Fantasy VII''. The attack is also based on the attack of the same name in ''Final Fantasy VII''. Once the move successfully concludes, Sephiroth assumes his fighting stance from ''Final Fantasy VII'' and then performs an animation based on his victory pose as a guest party member during the Nibelheim flashback.

*'''Up taunt''': Uses his right hand to gesture to the opponent to approach him, saying {{ja|来るがいい|Kuru ga ī.}} ("Come after me.")

!Cheer (English)

|[[File:Sephiroth Cheer French PAL & German SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Sephiroth Cheer Spanish SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Sephiroth Cheer Russian SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Sephiroth Cheer Korean SSBU.ogg|center]]

|Seph - i - roth! || Seph - i - roth! || Seph - i - roth! || Seph - i - roth!  

If Cloud is present during the match, Sephiroth has a chance of saying {{ja|思い出にはならないさ|Omoide ni wa naranai sa.}} ("I will never be a memory.") during any of his three victory poses. This is a reference to his final line of dialogue from ''Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children'' and, by proxy, his reveal trailer for ''Ultimate''.

*'''Up:''' Slowly raises his head and glares at the camera, saying {{ja|何度でも導いてやろう。|Nando demo michibiite yarou.}} ("I will usher you as many times as you want.") It references the first scene of the Nibelheim Incident cutscene.

*'''Right:''' While turning his back to the camera, he swings the Masamune and assumes his Winged Form, saying {{ja|その痛みで私を思い出せ。|Sono itami de watashi o omoidase.}} ("Remember me through your pain.")

*{{Sm|KEN|Japan}} - Co-mains Sephiroth alongside {{SSBU|Sonic}} and is the best Sephiroth player in the world. Placed 1st at both {{Trn|Battle of BC 4}} and {{Trn|Sumabato SP 25}}, 5th at both {{Trn|Crown 2}} and {{Trn|Double Down 2022}}, and 7th {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 7}}, with wins over {{Sm|Shuton}}, {{Sm|Tea}}, and {{Sm|Nietono}}.

*{{Sm|Ned|USA}} - Co-mains Sephiroth alongside {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}} and is one of the best Sephiroth players in the world. Placed 1st at {{Trn|Warp Zone}}, 2nd at both {{Trn|InfinityCON Tally 2021}} and {{Trn|Mega Smash Mondays 240}}, 5th at {{Trn|Rise 'N Grind}}, and 9th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2022}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|Onin}}, {{Sm|sisqui}}, and {{Sm|Elegant}}.

*{{Sm|Tweek|USA}} - Uses Sephiroth as a secondary alongside {{SSBU|Diddy Kong}}, and is one of the best Sephiroth players in the world. Placed 5th at {{Trn|CEO 2022}} with solo-Sephiroth; he also placed 2nd at {{Trn|Mainstage 2022}}, {{Trn|Scuffed World Tour}} and {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 6}} as well as 4th at {{Trn|MomoCon 2022}} with Sephiroth as a secondary, with wins on players such as {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}, {{Sm|Sonix}}, and {{Sm|Maister}}.

Due to his status as downloadable content, Sephiroth does not have a legitimate role in World of Light. Instead, he is unlocked for use in the mode after freeing 10 fighters from [[Galeem]]'s control. Loading an existing save file that meets this condition before downloading Sephiroth will result in him being immediately unlocked.

*When KO'd by reaching 0 HP during his final stock in [[Stamina Mode]], Sephiroth uses one of his heavy knockback voice clips instead of his standard KO voice clip. He shares this trait with {{SSBU|Mario}}, {{SSBU|Dr. Mario}} and all vocal DLC fighters except for Joker, {{SSBU|Banjo & Kazooie}}, and Byleth's Japanese voice.

*Sephiroth is the second character whose trailer references [[World of Light]], the first being {{SSBU|Hero}}'s.

*Sephiroth is the only DLC character to have a unique quote when winning against certain characters. He is also the second third-party character with this distinction, following Simon.

*Sephiroth, {{SSBU|Meta Knight}}, {{SSBU|Inkling}}, Hero, Banjo & Kazooie, Pyra, Mythra, and Sora are the only fighters who use their walking animation when navigating through the map in [[World of Light]].