Ever since Final Fantasy VII hit the shelves over 20 years ago, it became the gold standard story, heroes, and (most of all) its badass villain. In gaming, Sephiroth has become one of the most iconic villains of all time not just because of his cool factor but of his seemingly unparalleled strength and power.
Sephiroth was the kind of villain that made gamers want to play through its story not just because they wanted revenge for the death of Aerith and the destruction of the Nibelheim, but it pushed the gamer to want to get Cloud and friends strong enough to beat an impossible adversary.
Throughout the entire Final Fantasy universe, Sephiroth is definitely Square-Enix's poster-boy villain, having appeared as the most difficult optional boss in Kingdom Hearts, and being one of the most powerful Chaos Warriors in Final Fantasy: Dissidia. He's often considered one of the greatest and most powerful characters of all time, but he's nowhere near the strongest ever seen in gaming. Here are 15 massively powerful characters that could destroy Sephiroth in a fight.
15 Dante (Devil May Cry)
Sephiroth is an incredible swordsman whose skill is in a league of its own. In addition, he thinks of himself as more than just a mere mortal and likes to consider himself god-like and thinks nothing of destroying the human race and all life on his own planet. Unfortunately for Sephiroth, Dante from the Devil May Cry series can not only match him with a blade, but he’s also very experienced with god-slaying — with the gigantic Leviathan being a prime example.
If the pair were to be matched evenly on the battlefield, Dante would be smart enough to allow Sephiroth to gain the upper hand, simply so he could activate his Majin Devil Trigger form to tear the legendary warrior to pieces.
14 Mewtwo (Pokémon)
Mewtwo is the result of a genetic experiment performed on a Mew permanently altering his DNA. The horrific gene splicing experiments continued after Mewtwo was born causing him to aggressively resent humans, eventually breaking free from his captivity, and escaping the laboratory where he was being held.
Despite being able to easily match him on a physical level, the biggest advantage Mewtwo would instantly have over Sephiroth is his mind blasting ability. Sephiroth’s mind was already altered and driven to madness by Jenova, which could make him vulnerable. Mewtwo wouldn’t just be able to control Sephiroth without even needing to touch him, but he’s capable of completely destroying him from the inside out.
13 Malthael (Diablo 3)
Malthael is the final boss and the main antagonist of the Reaper of Souls expansion for Diablo 3. Malthael was originally the Archangel of Wisdom until the Worldstone was stolen by Inarius and his cohorts. This eventually led to Malthael becoming resentful and taking up the mantle of the Angel of Death.
The transformation allowed Malthael to gain power over Death itself. The power allowed him to be able to control and manipulate all living things through their souls at will. He can even go as far being able to rip out and absorb the souls of any being to increase his own strength and abilities. As a result, not only would Malthael be able to control Sephiroth at will through his soul, but he could even absorb Sephiroth’s powers to increase his own if he felt like it.
12 Bayonetta
Sephiroth is often referred to as the One-Winged Angel, including in one of the most famous pieces of music in the entire Final Fantasy series. With this is mind, it would be good to remember that Bayonetta has destroyed (hundreds) of angels in many different shapes and sizes. She not only possesses the superhuman strength, speed, agility, and reflexes to go toe-to-toe with Sephiroth, but she also has the intelligence to take advantage of his arrogance.
Finally, Bayonetta has so much power that she’s capable of separating the souls of god-like entities from their bodies and smashing it into the sun. Sephiroth wouldn’t even have the chance to take advantage of any of the cosmic powers he’s able to summon, because she would be able to kick Sephiroth into the very meteor he summoned.
11 KOS-MOS (Xenosaga)
KOS- MOS is an incredibly powerful android and one of the main protagonists of the Xenosaga series. On the surface seems to be devoid of any emotions. However, underneath she became the vessel for the resurrected soul of Mary Magdalene. The personality of Mary only reveals itself when the game’s main character Shion is in mortal danger, the eyes of KOS-MOS turn blue and she becomes almost god-like.
She has absorbed thousands of alien entities similar to Jenova known as the Gnosis with a burst of energy from her abdomen and possesses the Hilbert Effect projector which has a power that is thousands of times greater than that achieved by the largest spaceships. In addition, her being an android makes her completely immune to any of Sephiroth's mind games.
10 Darth Revan (Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic)
Darth Revan was the protagonist of Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic, and as a result of the events of the story in the game, he’s a unique Jedi that falls somewhere between the light and dark sides of the Force. However, events in Star Wars: The Old Republic led to Revan’s hatred completely taking over, leaving his light side to exist only in Spectral form.
Darth Revan is a militaristic genius, has super speed and strength and is able to skilfully duel-wield his light sabers, More importantly, he is very strong in the ways of the Force — both light and dark. In a battle with Sephiroth, Revan wouldn’t even need to engage Sephiroth in a duel because he could vaporize him using his Force Storm abilities. Finally, his ability to see the future could allow him to anticipate Sephiroth’s every move.
9 Asura (Asura's Wrath)
Asura is the main protagonist in aptly named Asura’s Wrath. He was a Guardian General that was betrayed and framed for the emperor's murder because he refused to take part in another war. In addition, his wife was murdered, and his child was kidnapped, forcing Asura to once again unleash his rage and anger to destroy the remaining eight guardians – some of which are so big they dwarf entire planets.
Against a character like Asura, Sephiroth would be pretty much helpless. Sephiroth tried and failed to destroy the planet. Comparatively, Asura killed Chakravartin the Creator of all things in the universe and an ultimate primordial god.
8 Raiden (Metal Gear Rising)
Raiden went from being one of the most unpopular protagonists in gaming history with his appearance in Metal Gear Solid 2: The Sons of Liberty, to one of the coolest and most powerful characters ever seen in gaming with Metal Gear Solid: Rising.
Since Raiden became a Cyborg Ninja with his 2018 upgrades, his physical capabilities have become almost limitless in terms of his strength and speed. Raiden's body can generate 300 tons of energy and is able to run faster than the speed of light over great distances. For as fast and as strong Sephiroth is, he wouldn’t be able to contend with that kind of power. In addition, Raiden is virtually indestructible with a blade that can cut through anything, so even if Sephiroth tried to counter and block Raiden's attacks, the Masamune along with Sephiroth himself would get cut to ribbons.
7 Ghaleon (Lunar Silver Star Story)
If I was going to mention a fallen silver-haired hero that became an insane with aspirations of becoming a god, the first character that would come to a gamers mind would be Sephiroth. However, five years before the iconic Final Fantasy VII villain made his mark on the gaming world, Ghaleon was trying to dominate in the world Lunar Silver Star Story and Lunar: Eternal Blue as the Magic Emperor.
Ghaleon isn’t just good with a blade, but he’s an incredibly powerful sorcerer who has beaten powerful (enchanted) swordsmen in the past. In terms of power, Sephiroth's best summon is the Super Nova, which does much less damage than Ghaleon’s Hellwave, so in terms of magic and physical skill, Ghaleon is capable of beating Sephiroth on all fronts.
6 Darkseid (Injustice 2)
Darkseid isn’t just a powerful character in Injustice 2 he’s one of the DC Universe’s most powerful characters. He’s so influential that he’s the inspiration for one of Marvel’s most powerful villains in Thanos. He hasn’t made an appearance in the film adaptations yet, but it’s only a matter of time before the Lord of Apokalips makes himself known on the big screen.
Darkseid is a character so powerful he’s capable of humiliating Superman in combat, and it took the entire Justice League defeat to thwart his intentions. Unlike Sephiroth, who couldn’t conquer the planet, Darkseid conquered thousands of universes, he’s confirmed to be omnipotent and has powers such as mass manipulation, telekinesis, super strength, and invulnerability. Darkseid is also capable of blasting Sephiroth into nothingness with his Omega Beams.
5 Kaim Argonar (Lost Odyssey)
Kaim is the protagonist of the Xbox exclusive Japanese RPG Lost Odyssey. Kaim is a man that has beaten armies of soldiers and tanks single-handed. He possesses a great deal of strength and speed as displayed by his prowess in combat and in how can effortlessly lift normal human beings from their feet with little to no effort at all.
Despite being an empathetic character, he displays an incredible amount of calm and cunning which is on par with that of Sephiroth. A massive advantage Kaim has over Sephiroth, however, is his immortality and the extra 1000 years of combat experience. In addition, it wouldn't even help Sephiroth if he tried to bring down a meteor to destroy Kaim because —as witnessed in Lost Odyssey— the immortal Kaim can survive a meteor strike without being harmed in any way.
4 Link (The Legend Of Zelda)
Link is the legendary Hero of Time and the main protagonist of the Legend of Zelda series. He’s the fated hero who has been reincarnated over and over again to defeat and save the lands of Hyrule from the incredibly powerful and evil sorcerer Ganondorf.
The courageous hero Link would deal with Sephiroth in much the same way that he has dealt with Ganon. Link would be armed with the indestructible Master Sword which alone would pose a massive threat to Sephiroth in combat. The mirror shield would be capable of creating openings when defending against Sephiroth’s attacks. Link can also cause a lot of problems using his bow and Light Arrows. Finally, Link could use Fierce Deity Mask to transform him into Fierce Deity and finish Sephiroth with his sword beams and superhuman strength.
3 Id/ Fei Wong (Xenogears)
Fei Wong is the main protagonist of Xenogears, but his alter-ego Id is also the primary antagonist. Fei is a very powerful character on his own with the potential to defeat Sephiroth. However, Id who was born from the physical and mental trauma Fei suffered as a child, has immeasurable strength and power. When Id manifests himself, Fei’s hair turns crimson and his eyes yellow, and in turn, his Gear Welltall also changes becoming stronger and more powerful in the process.
Id’s powers are terrifying, he has completely obliterated a town and its inhabitants with very little effort, and he even won a war on his own with very little effort. Id's power is so great that he accomplished his goal of killing a god capable of destroying a planet, Sephiroth needed to summon a meteor to destroy a planet and his attempt at becoming a god in his own right completely failed.
2 Ardyn (Final Fantasy XV)
Ardyn is the primary antagonist of Final Fantasy XV and is easily one of the best and most powerful villains in the entire universe. He seems to combine the best qualities of both Kefka and even Sephiroth himself. Like Kefka, he succeeded in everything he set out to accomplish even after death, and his powers were capable of matching Sephiroth on a physical level. Ardyn even manipulated Noctis throughout the story of Final Fantasy XV in much the same way that Cloud was by Sephiroth, albeit in a more subtle manner.
Ardyn’s attacks look similar to that Cloud’s Omnislash the very move which finished Sephiroth off. Also, he not only proves himself to be more than a match for Sephiroth in the final battle of FFXV, but he also has the power of immortality and the intelligence to outlast him. Sephiroth is many things, but he’s no immortal. Finally, Arden can only be truly defeated by the "True Chosen King" in the afterlife via self-sacrifice, so Sephiroth would have lost the fight before it even began.
1 Demi Fiend
The Demi-Fiend began the story of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne as a normal young man, but it wasn’t until the cataclysmic end of the world event known as The Conception that Lucifer granted him his power.
The power he was gifted with allowed to be able to control armies of the demonic underworld at his will. He has immeasurable speed, strength, and unlimited stamina, but most of all, his power is multiversal and has the ability to destroy and create universes as sees fit. The Demi-Fiend even gained enough power to fight and hurt an omnipotent God. Even if he were to ever cross paths with Sephiroth, there wouldn't even be a fight because he's so powerful that he could wipe the silver-haired swordsman out of existence before he even had a chance to smirk.