Editing Sephiroth Challenge

[[File:Sephiroth Challenge title screen.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The title screen for the Sephiroth Challenge]]

The '''Sephiroth Challenge''' was a limited-time challenge for ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' which allowed players to unlock the [[Sephiroth (SSBU)|fighter]], [[Northern Cave|stage]], and [[List of SSBU Music (Final Fantasy series)|songs]] of [[Downloadable content (SSBU)|Challenger Pack 8]] prior to its official release date. It was announced in {{h2|Mr. Sakurai Presents|Mr. Sakurai Presents "Sephiroth"}} on December 17th, 2020, and ran from December 17th-22nd, 2020. It was available only if the Challenger Pack or Fighters Pass Vol. 2 were purchased. The mode can still be played if the game is not updated to Version {{h2|List of updates (SSBU)|10.1.0}}.

After selecting between Easy, Normal, and Very Hard difficulties from a menu based on the menu design of ''Final Fantasy VII'', complete with sound effects from the original game, and choosing a fighter, the player must defeat Sephiroth in a one-on-one [[Stamina Mode|Stamina match]] in the Northern Cave with all [[item]]s and the [[Final Smash Meter]] off. The player has 150 HP while Sephiroth has 100 HP in Easy, 150 HP in Normal, and 200 HP in Very Hard. The stage is in its normal form on Easy and Normal modes and its [[Ω form]] on Very Hard mode. The difficulty also controls the amount of damage Sephiroth will deal and receive: ×0.965 damage dealt and ~×1.32 damage received on Easy, ×1.325 damage dealt and ~×1.08 damage received on Normal, and ×1.45 damage dealt and ~×0.84 damage received on Very Hard.

Defeating Sephiroth on any difficulty unlocks him for use immediately and presents a victory screen showing the time elapsed in the fight. The player will also be able to push the Y button to "Share", this will automatically have the [[Nintendo Switch]] system take a screenshot, and pull up the screen that allows players to post Switch screenshots on social media platforms. The challenge can be freely retried and replayed throughout the allotted time frame, although Sephiroth himself cannot be selected by the player even if he has already been unlocked.

When entering the mode, the character select screen plays ''{{SSBUMusicLink|Final Fantasy|Main Theme of FINAL FANTASY VII}}''. During the battle itself, ''{{SSBUMusicLink|Final Fantasy|One-Winged Angel}}'' plays on Easy and Normal, while ''{{SSBUMusicLink|Final Fantasy|Advent: One-Winged Angel}}'' plays on Very Hard.

*Initially, Sakurai planned to have the mode playable once; those who failed to win would lose the ability to unlock Sephiroth early. This idea was eventually scrapped.

*This mode along with [[Challenger's Approach]] are the only modes in ''Ultimate'' that would no longer be available at some point. In this case, Sephiroth Challenge is no longer available after the formal release date of {{SSBU|Sephiroth}}.

*Unlike other single-player modes, such as {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} or [[World of Light]], moves for the player and Sephiroth can [[stale]].

*Following the mode’s release, “speedruns” of the challenge became a minor trend within the community, with the fastest victory known being [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOnykanFGiU 1.5 seconds], until it was broken in [https://twitter.com/Cookie11Chip/status/1340361394064150529 0.80 seconds].

*The corresponding spirits were he only contents of Challenger Pack 8 that were not obtainable via this mode.