Why SephirothAnd soon, I will create the future...
Sephiroth is a character that appeals to many, here are some opinions!
Nissie
The fangirl answer to that would be: cause he's gorgeous.
The serious answer to that would be: because he's human.
It sounds a little odd to say that, especially since Sephiroth is in fact, not entirely human; he seems more god at times than mortal, with all the things involving controlling his own cells that sounds like something straight out of a highly technical sci-fi movie that leaves all but the most diehard fans puzzling, in the same way tachyon rays confuse all but the most avid Star Trek fan.
Sephiroth may not be genetically human in the strongest sense of the word, but he is psychologically human; he has his shares of mistakes (a lot of them), he is oftentimes overconfident, and he was a kindhearted soul way back before the events of Nibelheim - proof that he was a good person. It's hard to believe that anyone in his shoes wouldn't choose to lash angrily back at society when he'd thought everyone's turned against him and denied him his own humanity. The love of a mother for her child is the most destructive force in the universe after all - and as equally frightening is the love of a child for his mother.
Sephiroth is a magnificent villain, possibly the greatest villain of all time, gaming or otherwise. There are so many levels to him, and so many theories regarding who he is that it's difficult to fully explain him. Some people argue that he is actually a puppet of Jenova, that he was doomed almost from the moment of his conception, when he was injected with JENOVA cells in the womb, and therefore should not be fully held responsible for his actions. Other people say that he dominated JENOVA because his will was stronger, and through JENOVA he was able to plan his revenge against the human race he felt he no longer belonged to. I say that it's a little of each; both the puppet and the mastermind, simply because it is hard to tell where JENOVA ends and where Sephiroth begins. JENOVA may have guided Sephiroth along the path to self-destruction, but it was his own willing hand that dealt the final blow.
For great heroes to be born, there arises the necessity for great villains as well; the greater the villain, the far greater the hero needed to overcome him. Sephiroth doesn't ask anyone for redemption nor salvation. Because Sephiroth needs no one, he is in consequence, lonely. Because everything he has ever known about himself was a lie, he clings to and loves the only being who is by several definitions cruel and heartless and inherently evil, but the only being that has ever been honest with him. Sephiroth is everyone's dark side, because he reasonably justifies his own evilness, in the same way that we try to justify our own actions despite being the ones at fault.
Sephiroth is a villain, but he's a villain that people realize can all too easily be themselves.
Shaza
There is a saying that goes that a series, game, or even plot is only as good as the villains. This is especially true of Final Fantasy VII. Sephiroth is the best villain of all time in any video game series, show, and other plots that I have ever seen. He alone launched the Final Fantasy saga to a new height, giving birth to a countless number of video games, but making FF7 the "gold" of PS games, making it stand out among every other RPG out there.
Until today it is regarded as the best RPG of all time, and I believe this is solely due to the fact that Sephiroth existed in it. Without Sephiroth, FF would have been another RPG like any other, with some all-round bad-guy that has some weird past but is just freaking crazy. Sephiroth introduced the world to a new sense of villains, his character complex, and I must say made every villain look totally ridiculous comparatively. I have to admit to you that I am not a huge fan of FF games, I never was, and even now I am not really. The ONLY game I played was FF7 and that was because I had heard the plot was to die-for and I also thought that the main antagonist (Sephiroth) looked cool. I also played Kingdom Hearts and just tuned in When I played the game I was surprised at the depth of the plot, and Sephiroth's being.
I feel that it lies much more true to human nature. Sephiroth's whole being was a living lie, and with his misconception with JENOVA and then the truth with Lucretia makes everything all the more real in why he did what he did. Sephiroth is a character you can understand and relate to. You can see both sides of the story with him, and each way you can see how someone would turn from good to bad in such a second. I love Sephiroth beyond all means, he's an excellent character and made FF what it is now, giving it a reputation that not one game following 7 has been able to live up to. But the standard is still there.