Learn How to Use Sephiroth in SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE from Sakurai
We learned at The Game Awards that Sephiroth would be the next DLC character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Then, the other day, Masahiro Sakurai gave players a more in-depth look at the character and announced that fans could start playing the One-Winged Angel on December 22. Fans can actually unlock him, his stage, and the music he comes with early by completing a special boss battle called the Sephiroth Challenge at any difficulty. You do need to have purchased Challenger Pack 8 for $5.99 or the Fighters Pass Vol. 2 for $29.99 first though.
Before we dive into Sephiroth’s abilities, I do want to go over the Mii Costumes being released. We’ve got Barret for the Gunner, Tifa for the Brawler, and Aerith for the Swordfighter to further represent Final Fantasy VII. You can even change their hair styles. There’s also a new Chocobo hat available. Finally, Geno from Super Mario RPG is a costume for the Gunner.
Now, for the big boy himself. Sephiroth wields his Masamune blade with ridiculous reach. However, he is taller and easier to launch to help offset this. It’s also noted that his last two costumes feature him shirtless and only his Japanese voice will be used. When Sephiroth is hurt, his Winged Form will activate and provide him with speed and strength boosts, a third jump, and all his smash attacks have super armor. This form will go away when you die or you kill an opponent. Also, the point at which it activates will partly depend on if you have more or less stock than your opponent(s). If you have more, it takes more damage to activate and vice versa.
Meanwhile, Sephiroth’s sweet spot is just above the middle of his blade for slash attacks or the tip for stabs. His neutral attack is slower than many other characters, but it is one of Sephiroth’s fastest with simple kicks and a punch. His dash attack has him using dark power to give him quite a bit of launch power. His side tilt attack can be aimed up or down allowing you to hit foes lying on the ground. There’s a lot more for his attacks, so I recommend watching the full video, but I think Sephiroth is going to be a force to be reckoned with.
For his specials, Sephiroth’s neutral is a ranged attack that can be charged up. It’s insanely powerful if the fully charged version, Gigaflare, gets to explode, but you can’t hold the charge like Samus. The side special is called Shadow Flare and is a narrow energy blast that will circle opponents (up to 5 at a time) before they go in for the explosive kill. Blade Dash is the up special and it’s very similar to Fox’s in that you quickly dash. However, you can charge it to do Octaslash and deal 8 slash attacks as you move a little farther. His down special is Scintilla which is similar to a counter, but its attack can still trigger even if an enemy doesn’t hit into it. Also, strong attacks can break it. His Final Smash is Supernova with Safer Sephiroth summoning a Meteor to wipe out planets and inflict random status conditions on your opponents.
Sephiroth’s stage is called Northern Cave and it includes bits from the end of Final Fantasy VII.
Can I just say that I love Sakurai. He seems like such a chill guy. My favorite part is at the 40:20 mark.