Since completing Crisis Core the other day for the 1st time (I got a bit bored of it at one time and didn't get it ages anyways 'cause I'm pro broke, yo), I've been thinking about a lot. The ending is left pretty open imho and could have been done better. Nontheless I was very moved by the game in general but one thing in particular has been plagueing my mind;

In Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth is the 'One Winged Angel', his theme tune is named 'One Winged Angel', in Advent Children he has one wing, he's the One Winged Angel. Now, on the 10th Anniverary of FF VII we're introduced to Sephiroth's friends; Angeal and Genesis.

Now, I understand why these 2 also have their own wing but this is where my point comes in. Sephy, despite people's various opinions, does in the end turn out to be one hell of a guy and I believe this whole 'wing' thing helps that. Now in Crisis Core both these 2 new characters Angeal and Genesis both have wings and for some strange reason Zack wants one! (I expect turbulance to be heavy on one of those things. ) Anyways...Where was I...Oh yeah! I got thinking that the fact these also have wings may actually degrade Sephiroth as a character and the main villain in Final Fantasy VII.

In the original game this guy was leet, super strong and super annoying and his Supernova did my super head in with its super cast time. We've since been introduced to the compilation series of VII and taking AC in mind (I don't believe they made out Sephy to be as powerful as he really is I mean take the end when he gets chopz0rd...) and then Crisis Core (That scene with the 3 in the training room was A-O-K) it kinda makes out that Sephiroth was nothing more but the Survivor just because he went and locked himself in the Northern Crater. Personally, I think this degrades Sephiroth. The 3 were pretty strong each in their own right Angeal was a bit of a 'uhh what?' but Genesis and Sephiroth had a bit of a go in the cut scene and it seems obvious they're powerful as hell. It seems the only reason Sephiroth is now around is because he got a good bit of MotherJ over there whilst Genesis got slapped around a bit by Zack and the whole 'degredation' process whilst Angeal kinda got caught in the middle. and got flopped up with Lazard somehow.

ANYWAYS through all that babbling my original point is; does the presence of Genesis and Angeal in Crisis Core make Sephiroth any less 'special' in his own right? I believe so but what do you guys think?

I understand where you're coming from too, this definatly shows a story to Sephiroth and the 'human side' of him is very much a difference to the usual cold hearted supervillain I've been exposed to over the 10 or so years I've owned FF VII.

As for your comment about the best of the best, I'm not quite sure. Yeah, you can easily argue that Sephiroth took out Zack with ease at Nibelheim, and even survived a sword through the chest at the hands of Cloud whilst Genesis proved little to Zack and same for Angeal. Sephy still had the hype around him in CC but I still get the impression that he almost fled to a life of solitude whilst waiting for Jenova just because he's the one that actually wasn't a failed experiment.

It brings up an interesting question, if Genesis wasn't one to degrade, and Sephy didn't go awol in one of the most interesting if not most interesting area of the VII world what would have actually happened? It is apparent that back in the day G and S were a good match, as I'm sure they were at it in the training room. I just get the feeling that ShinRa hid something up pretty good here, because Sephiroth wasn't the only strong 'hero' 1st class SOLDIER member around. He was just the one publisiced.

(Speaking about that, do SOLDIER 1sts even exist? We hear no mention of others apart from the 4 and there was a mass desertion anyways. Judging from CC it would appear that in the intro to the original game VII AVALANCHE got away because there were no 1sts, as by Cloud's own words they'd probably be dead, because there aren't any!)

^Bracketed notion holds no actual factual backing nor relevance to this btw.

Honestly, if anything it show how much superior he is to Angeal and Genesis because according to the Shinra Company or Hojo, whoever said it, Sephiroth was the perfect soldier. If u notice, all three of them underwent the same experiment, but Sephiroth was the only one who didn't reject the Jenova cells and experience the degredation process like the other two. Also, technically, in terms of power, Sephiroth is unmatched. Cloud only beat him in terms of will power, not skill or strength