Super Smash Bros. Ultimatestunned the masses with its The Game Awards presentation where it revealed Sephiroth as the next available fighter in the second Fighters Pass. While fans of the game have run wild with speculation about his moveset, strengths, and weaknesses, there’s also the interesting matter of match ups. Like all characters, Sephiroth is bound to perform better against certain fighters than others, but there’s also a lot of intrigue to be had in looking at the types of match ups Sephiroth can take part in. There are some prettyzany characters inSmash, so it will be hilarious to see Sephiroth go toe to toe with them.
This wouldn’t be the first time that Sephiroth found himself in an alternate universe fighting strange characters. TheDissidia Final Fantasyfranchise let him fight other heroes and villains from his own series, and theKingdom Heartsseries saw him face off against the likes of Disney’s Donald and Goofy. Even so,Super Smash Bros. Ultimateundoubtedly has the widest variety of characters not native to theFinal Fantasyfranchise that Sephiroth has ever come in contact with, so the possibilities for cool, silly, or funny match ups is nearly endless.
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Sephiroth VS Cloud
This one’s obvious but it had to be said. In almost every form of media they are in,Cloud’s character is defined by Sephiroth. The two seem to share a twisted, unbreakable bond that draws them together no matter what universe they are fighting in. Few hero/villain dynamics are quite as epic as the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth, and it’s been recreated countless times through remakes, spin offs, and side games. Now players can re-enact this epic battle inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, as they will both be playable characters once Sephiroth’s DLC releases.
In terms of actual match-up, Cloud just might be at a disadvantage here. From the snippets of gameplay that were shown in Sephiroth’s reveal trailer, it looks as though he’ll be a very long ranged fighter. Much like Byleth, he’ll want to keep foes at a distance, and this is something that Cloud sometimes struggles to deal with. That said,Sephiroth’s full kit still hasn’t been completely revealed, so it’s really anyone’s game at this point. Regardless, this will certainly be the match-up for the ages, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out for the two diametrically opposed foes.
Sephiroth VS Byleth
When Byleth hit the competitive scene, they were (sometimes not so) fondly nicknamed the distance demon. This is because their weaponry allows them to maintain a great distance between themselves and their opponent. Proper spacing is vital to Byleth’s playstyle, and it is important to keep foes at medium range at all times. As previously mentioned, it looks like Sephiroth will play similarly to Byleth, or at the very least challenge them for the title of distance demon. The Masamune sword that Sephiroth wields might be one of the only weaponslonger than Byleth’s Areadbharafter all.
Regarding how the match-up between these two characters would play out, it’s difficult to tell. As a character that focuses so heavily on spacing, they can handle others that do quite well. It will really come down to who has the better reach, but perhaps more importantly, who is the better player. That said, Sephiroth has some unique tools in his kit that might just give him the upperhand. His counter will effectively neutralize Byleth’s down special, and hisHeartless Angel abilitymight make it difficult for them to use their neutral special arrow attack.
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Sephiroth VS Galeem
Naturally, sinceSephiroth’s reveal trailerfeatured him slicingSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s main antagonist in half with a single blow, many fans want to see this fight play out in game. Unfortunately, it probably won’t go quite as well for Sephiroth during the actual boss fight, as the One Winged Angel will most certainly be balanced to play similarly to all the other fighters. With that in mind, how well would Sephiroth actually fair against Galeem, and how would things change onceSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s other main antagonist, Dharkon, is added into the mix?
Again, until Sephiroth’s full moveset is revealed, it is difficult to parse out exactly how well he’d hold up against the two, but he does have a few things going for him. Though spacing isn’t particularly important in these fights, it does allow Sephiroth to strike from a safer distance. What’s more, counters tend to beincredibly effective inSuper Smash Bros.‘boss fights, as it is much easier to predict when this type of enemy will attack than it is when fighting another player or even a computer-controlled fighter. Finally, both of these bosses summon other fighters, and Sephiroth’s powerful attacks should help him deal with them quickly.
Sephiroth VS Jigglypuff
Characters inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatecan be epic heroes like Link, giant aliens like Ridley, or even goddesses like Palutena, but despite all of thatthere will always be Jigglypuff. As one of the original characters inSuper Smash Bros.on the Nintendo 64, Jigglypuff has been in everySmashgame and will likely continue to do so. There’s something that seems horribly wrong about Sephiroth battling a Jigglypuff to the death, but that’s the kind of crazy stuff thatSuper Smash Bros.was made for.
One of thedefining traits ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateas a fighting game, however, is that all the characters are balanced with one another for the most part. Typically speaking, Jigglypuff performs better against slower and heavier characters, so someone like Sephiroth with long reach could pose a serious problem. Time will tell, however, as for all anyone knows, Jigglypuff may be capable of defeating Sephiroth easier than Cloud is.
