What do you think?

I think Sephiroth is highly overrated. I liked him much more before I played any of the other FFs.

He's not a terrible villain in my opinion- he succeeded in making me hate him, whereas some (like Vayne, for instance), just bored me and I couldn't care less about them or stopping their evil plans. He's just not all that he's hyped to be. I also think he is extremely overexposed, which doesn't help. He's the badass optional boss in KH, I see him on every "Best Game Villains of All Time" list I've come across, and hell, at a dollar store, I once came upon a toy sword that had a knock-off Sephiroth on the front of the packaging.

I guess what I really dislike about him is his fanboys. A lot of people make him out to be the best damn villain ever, and he's just not, in my opinion. And the more people go on about how hot he is, or how awesome, or about his long sword (which we all know is compensating for something), the less I like him.

 

I'll admit that the razing of Nibelheim was pretty damn cool. The scene of Sephiroth walking through the fire is a classic. But then on the other hand, you have the great Sephiroth defeated by average Shinra punk Cloud shortly afterwards. Not so cool.

I guess I always thought Sephiroth's motivations for his behavior were sort of weak. Perhaps if I played Crisis Core I'd appreciate him a little more. I know it's not his fault that he was misguided, but it was sort of annoying that he spazzed out about taking the planet back on behalf of his "Mother," who was not his mother, because he believed her to be a Cetra, though she was not. It's been a while since I've played VII, so maybe I'm forgetting things. I just remember thinking Sephiroth was kind of stupid, I guess. >_<

And I don't want to dwell on Kefka versus Sephiroth much, but one of the reasons I prefer Kefka is that he succeeds in his goals. Yes, ultimately he is defeated, but he does destroy the world and reigns as a god for some time. Sephiroth tries, but never does come out on top.

 

Agreed.

I would also have to disagree with him being labeled as the best, though like Desert Warrior said, this is just personal opinion.

That doesn't say much for the strength of the rest of the characters then, if Sephiroth went down so easily. v_v

I guess another thing that annoys me about Sephiroth is that even the characters in the game are fanboys. People (by that I mean mostly Cloud, but still) go on singing his praises, but I just don't find him to be all that awesome, especially after I've played other games and met other villains.

 

I think you have a point, though I don't think his theme is the sole reason for his apparent badassery.

Bah. Ultimecia sucks even more than Sephiroth. Sephy had lame motivations (IMO) for his behavior, but Ultimecia had none at all. Ultimecia pops right the hell out of nowhere at the end of the game- Sephy was a present threat throughout. And, whether I like to admit it or not, Sephy is just cool, whereas Ultimecia, when you do get to meet her without an Edea or Rinoa suit, is just weird.

And I personally believe that both of those characters are too bent on world domination to worry about getting laid. But even ignoring that, I think Sephiroth has too strong of a personality to be whipped by Ultimecia- he's not a pansy like Seifer disappointingly turned out to be.

I think S-E needs to let him rest a little. Let him drop out of the spotlight a little, and people will start to appreciate him again. He's just always there, and I for one am tired of him.