Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Developers Had No Idea Sephiroth Would be in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

At The Game Awards 2020, Nintendo offered one of the night's biggest surprises, as the company announced Sephiroth as a DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The announcement was completely unexpected, and it even shocked Square Enix's Naoki Hamaguchi. Hamaguchi served as the co-director on Final Fantasy VII Remake that same year, and some might assume that he would have some kind of input or involvement with Sephiroth's depiction in the Nintendo Switch fighting game. However, Hamaguchi revealed in an episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast that the whole thing was "extremely confidential." 

"So actually, with Sephiroth in Smash Bros., it was actually extremely confidential that he was even going to be in it. So none of the dev team knew, including myself," Hamaguchi said through a translator. "So it was more like when the whole world knew it, that's when we knew. It like, 'Oh, I had no idea!'"

The quote says quite a bit about the secrecy that surrounds new fighters in the Super Smash Bros. series! At the time Sephiroth was announced, Hamaguchi was likely starting work on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, a game where Sephiroth plays a massive role in the narrative. Yet Nintendo and Square Enix felt the need to keep things under wraps to make sure the secret didn't get out ahead of time. Luckily, it doesn't seem Hamaguchi's input was needed, as response to Sephiroth's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been very positive. 

Following Cloud

While Sephiroth's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate might have been a surprise, it did make a lot of sense; after all, Cloud Strife joined the fighting game series as a DLC fighter in 2015. That move was also a pretty big surprise, as Final Fantasy VII hadn't even appeared on a Nintendo system at that point! While Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are currently exclusive to PS5 and PC, the original Final Fantasy VII and its prequel Crisis Core are both available on Nintendo Switch. 

The Next Super Smash Bros. Game

At this time, there are a lot of questions about the future of the Super Smash Bros. series. The Nintendo Switch iteration has been a massive success story, selling more than 33 million copies worldwide. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate featured a huge roster of 89 playable characters, including several from non-Nintendo franchises, like Cloud and Sephiroth. There have been hints that development on a new game in the series has started for Nintendo's next console, but it remains to be seen whether the developers will be able to keep the current roster together, or if some third-party favorites might not return. Until we get some kind of announcement, fans are just going to have to speculate! 

Are you surprised that Sephiroth's appearance was a big secret? Do you think he'll be back for the next Super Smash Bros. game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

[H/T: Nintendo Everything]