Do we like them?

Do we like Sephiroth?

A character from Final Fantasy VII (1997)

Our score: 1 out of 10. Absolutely not. He's a brilliant, magnetic fighter, but his goals are catastrophic for everyone else on the planet. Fans love to hate him, and we wouldn't back him.

Sephiroth is the most famous soldier in the world of Final Fantasy VII. He was once the pride of the Shinra Company's elite SOLDIER program, a hero who inspired many young people to join up, Cloud among them. The story follows Cloud and his allies as they take on Shinra and then find themselves chasing Sephiroth, a figure from the past who is far more dangerous than any corporation.

He is calm, polished and terrifyingly capable. He rarely raises his voice, even in the middle of a fight, and that composure is much of why he is so unsettling. He is also tied up with Cloud's past, which gives their rivalry a personal edge beyond a simple hero-versus-villain fight.

We score him a near-zero because of what he does with his talent. The man who was once held up as a role model turns it into a mission that puts the entire planet at risk. Nothing in his arc asks us to cheer him on. His charisma, his theme music and his place as one of gaming's great villains are why people remember him, not any reason to back him.

After discovering the truth about how he came to be, he decides he is meant to rule the planet. He destroys Cloud's hometown, Nibelheim, and later kills Aerith, one of the party's most beloved members. He then tries to summon Meteor to wipe out the world so he can take the place of a god.