78-
Sephiroth

*Note: One-Winged Angel affects some of Sephiroth's shield safety. All One-Winged Angel frame advantages will be this color.

Jab1 (-19) & Jab2 (-25/-24):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)

Jab3 (-23/-22):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
Grab (Frame 16)

FTilt (-15 Close, -11 Middle, -14 Tip/-13 Close, -8 Middle, -12 Tip):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
(This move can be spaced out)

UTilt (-32/-31):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
Grab (Frame 16)
DSmash (Frame 20)
FSmash (Frame 26)

DTilt (-25):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
DSmash (Frame 20)
(This move can cross up)

Dash Attack (-20/-16):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)

FSmash (-33 Close, -39 Middle, -32 Tip/-31 Close, -26 Middle, -30 Tip):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
Grab (Frame 16)
DSmash (Frame 20)
FSmash (Frame 26)
(This move can be spaced out)

USmash (-29 Front, -23 Back/-26 Front, -21 Back):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
Grab (Frame 16)
(This move can be spaced out)

DSmash (-20 Close, -22 Far/-17 Close, -20 Far):
Grab (Frame 16)
(This move can be spaced out)

NAir (-5/-4):
Unpunishable
(Safe on shield)

FAir (-10/-9):
NAir (Frame 7)
(This move can be spaced out)

BAir (-11/-10):
NAir (Frame 7)
(This move can be spaced out)

UAir (-17):
Grab (Frame 16)
(This move can be spaced out)

DAir (-19/-18):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)

Flare (28), Megaflare (-22), & Gigaflare (-13):
Unpunishable
(Projectile usage)

Shadow Flare (-17 to -15):
Unpunishable
(Projectile usage)

Blade Dash (-27/-26):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
(This move can cross up)

Octaslash (-47/-45):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
DSmash (Frame 20)
FSmash (Frame 26)

Scintilla (-25):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
DSmash (Frame 20)

• Neutral Moves: Aerials, FTilt, DTilt, Shadow Flare, Grab, Dash Attack, Blade Dash.

• Kill Moves: Smash Attacks, BAir, FAir, UAir, DAir, Dash Attack, FTilt, UTilt, Flare/Megaflare/Gigaflare, Octaslash, Scintilla counter.

• Kill Confirms: BThrow > BAir, NAir > BAir, UThrow > timed Shadow Flare explosion > UAir.

• When Sephiroth has One Winged-Angel, he leaves behind small feathers in his path in the air. This is an aesthetic thing, but this helps to track his movement and movement patterns.

• Sephiroth will usually get One-Winged Angel every stock in this matchup (assuming no stock lead), since Young Link can only kill Sephiroth beforehand in specific scenarios.

• Neutral is most often played at the long range in this matchup. This is because while Young Link can pressure Sephiroth up close, and while that is necessary in this matchup, movement at long-range is much safer than close range. It gives Young Link more maneuverability around Sephiroth’s large horizontal range. A lot of interactions will be won off of positional advantage or a read for either player if an easy projectile/Shadow Flare hit isn’t given.

• Sephiroth’s sword attacks have long horizontal reach, which he uses to stuff out approaches and movement. These large hitboxes make him excel as a hitbox-based zoner, where he can deny large amounts of space, following up with non-sword moves to catch the opponents movement/counterattacks.

Key Attacks:

• FTilt is one of Sephiroth’s key attacks. Sephiroth slashes his sword horizontally to cover a whole initial dash’s worth of range in front of him. FTilt can be angled, the up-angled version will catch short hops. FTilt has a sweetspot in the middle of the blade with the highest killpower. Down-angled FTilt's sweetspot is a bit closer to Sephiroth than the forward FTilt.

• While FTilt can cover a lot of ground space, it can be rather committal at times for Sephiroth. It’s not as strong at covering space right next to Sephiroth due to the high startup. Its use is more preemptive in that sense, and less reactive. It’s good to force the opponent out of it's range, and can condition shielding or jumping.

• FAir is another one of Sephiroth’s key moves. It denies a large amount of space horizontally in the air. The hitbox is rather thin, so it can sometimes whiff depending on how Sephiroth drifts in the air. FAir struggles to cover both ground and airspace quickly. FAir can cover some ground space, but is most adept at covering the short hop height. Its sweet spot is at the tip of the blade.

• Sephiroth’s BAir has less active frames than his FAir, but much higher killpower at the sweetspot (center) of the blade. The hitbox also has more vertical reach, which helps it hit grounded opponents more reliably. Its higher startup makes it less consistent as a neutral tool.

• Sephiroth’s range can cover two whole initial dashes from a short hop (FAir/BAir/Shadow Flare), and that’s the burst range that has to be played around and managed within.

• NAir is the catch-all that holds Sephiroth’s zoning together. It’s a faster close quarters combat tool compared to his sword attacks that hits all around him. NAir can lead into combos/strings of multiple NAirs, FAir, BAir, and even FSmash/Grab on airdodge reads. Sephiroth can use NAir to hit opponents away that are too close for him to zone out. The hitbox is precise despite covering all around him, since it’s only active for 2 frames. It’s also safe on shield, allowing Sephiroth to apply shield pressure up close.

• NAir can also be used as an overshoot option by Sephiroth as a more immediate option to catch the opponent retreating.

• DTilt is a lingering hitbox that Sephiroth can use as close range pressure that covers ground space the best out of any of his attacks. DTilt is unsafe on shield, but can be tricky to punish since it can cross-up. DTilt sends upwards, where Sephiroth can string a NAir/UAir followup, or bait and punish an airdodge (with Grab for example).

• DSmash covers ground space in front of Sephiroth with ample killpower, stronger than FTilt. It does high damage to shields (leads to an instakill if a shield break occurs) and has super armor with One-Winged Angel, which will beat out aggressive grounded approaches and shielding. Sephiroth will either use this to get a stock at 0% at some point throughout the match, or use it actively to deny ground space, whittle shields to force pressure, and outright kill opponents for being too close and attacking.

Shadow Flare:

• Shadow Flare is another key move in Sephiroth’s kit, arguably the x-factor to his neutral. Sephiroth fires orbs as a projectile to cover a dash away or up to half the screen. These orbs then circulate the opponent for a few seconds (roughly 4.38 seconds) before firing. The orbs activate slightly later for each time the opponent gets hit.

• Since Sephiroth can force multiple attacks at once through Shadow Flare, the opponent HAS to respond to the orbs at a SPECIFIC timing, which can easily force the opponent's hand.

• It can lead to easier shield breaks as well (3 orbs with FTilt/BAir sweetspot for example). Generally, Sephiroth aims to force either getting hit by the orbs, or getting hit by him directly.

• Shadow Flare can be turned around before firing, and charging it increases the distance the move travels.

• Shadow Flare will visually clank with projectiles, but in actuality, the hitbox cuts through it and can still apply the orbs. This means that Sephiroth can fire off Shadow flare to not only clank a projectile, but also hit YL standing behind it.

• Aerials (particularly NAir and BAir) can clank with Shadow Flare.

Each of the orb charges have different uses:

• The fastest of the three charges at frame 16. It can be used as a quick reaction check or lack-of-awareness check to catch the opponent buffering/retreating.

• The 2 orb charge has less flexibility due to its higher startup, but Sephiroth can use it against projectiles that have higher startup (Boomerang).

• Sephiroth uses 3 orb charge to check timings on the opponent and hard punish them. This specifically catches shield drop effectively.

• For most of his sword moves, Sephiroth will throw out his hand with the sword, effectively extending his hurtbox as well. When close enough to Sephiroth, it’s possible to trade with him because of this.

• Fire Arrow is extremely strong in this matchup, since Sephiroth doesn’t have a fast, flexible, and consistent way to clank with Fire Arrows. They can force Sephiroth to jump at a more awkward angle or shield, which limits his mobility. Be wary of using Fire Arrow within Sephiroth’s range, and even from outside that range Sephiroth can punish Fire Arrow with Shadow Flare.

• Boomerang has limited use due to its high startup, and Sephiroth can easily punish it with Shadow Flare, but it’s quite strong at catching Sephiroth’s full hops and double jumps, since he has no easy way to clank with it in the air.

• Bomb is fine to pull when Sephiroth is waiting from across the stage, but in neutral specifically, there may not be many chances to effectively pull Bomb.

• Sephiroth is vulnerable to close quarters combat pressure due to the lack of consistent and fast out of shield options, as well as a lack of close range options. NAir and DTilt are good options, but are few compared to what Young Link has. BAir/NAir pressure at close range can force Sephiroth to back up and give up space to regain zoning capabilities. Young Link can use BAir, NAir, Jab, and Dash Attack to punish Sephiroth for getting too close, or using close quarters combat as a means to escape disadvantage.

• Rising NAir especially is unreactable, and Sephiroth has no means to effectively punish it out of shield.

• Sephiroth’s wide range and coverage makes him well-equipped to punish opponents that are waiting, since there isn’t much space to work with. It can become tricky to delay attacks against Sephiroth really fast, which can encourage hasty decision making. Whilst this pressure isn’t fake and very real, the same can also apply to Sephiroth, since he is facing the pressure of Fire Arrow and an unreactable rising NAir at close range, encouraging him to swing earlier.

• One deadly mix-up that Sephiroth has is tomahawk USmash with One-Winged Angel. This setup covers jump, roll, drop shield, Grab (outspaces it), and attack (damage-based armor). The only way to reliably beat it is by shielding and punishing, but that can be conditioned with DSmash/Grab shield pressure.

Some Combos & Counterplay:

• With One-Winged Angel, Sephiroth can use NAir > BAir as a kill confirm at mid %s. This works since BAir’s killpower scales much higher with both One-Winged Angel and rage active.

• Sephiroth can kill confirm BThrow into sweetspot BAir. DI behind Sephiroth to get out of BAir range to avoid the true combo.

• Sephiroth’s UThrow > double jump UAir is a true kill confirm on frame 4 airdodge characters (untrue on Young Link but is a strong kill string). Without One-Winged Angel, Sephiroth can use the additional Shadow Flare orb hitstun to make this a true combo.

Boxing
(How do I escape this situation?):

• On hit, Sephiroth’s short hop FAir at mid %s and weak FAir at mid-high %s sets up for a tech chase, where Sephiroth can follow up with Shadow Flare, BAir, or another FAir.

• Sephiroth can use Dash Attack as a burst option to catch dashbacks and close stocks. He can overshoot with NAir (especially with One-Winged Angel) for the same purpose of catching Young Link in the air and catching dashbacks.

• Sephiroth’s corner pressure is strong, since he can zone from center stage with FTilt, FAir, BAir, and UAir (to catch full hops).

• Trying to reversal Sephiroth isn’t a good idea, since he can stand far from Young Link and hit him, or can also use Shadow Flare to hit Young Link for using projectiles.

• Use empty movement to escape the corner and maneuver around Sephiroth’s hitboxes. Threaten unreactable aerials/shield pressure should Sephiroth get too close.

Platform Pressure
(What tools do they have? How can we escape this pressure?):

• Sephiroth can cover entire platforms with USmash and UAir, though not all at the same time. The direction in which Sephiroth is facing before using these moves will impact the timing of the attack more drastically, since different hitboxes of these attacks cover different options.

• Sephiroth can poke from under the platform with NAir and short hop rising FAir/BAir.

• Mix up timings and options off the platforms. If Sephiroth whiffs an aerial/Young Link shields one from below, Young Link can drop down and pressure Sephiroth.

Landing
(How do they cover it? What are my best options?):

• Sephiroth can pressure landings by covering with FAir/BAir/UAir. UAir especially covers a wide amount of options, but is susceptible to being covered by airdodge due to its high startup. Sephiroth will sort of have to “half-guess” an airdodge and cover with NAir/USmash/frametrap it.

• Sephiroth can use the top hit of NAir to pressure landings directly on top of him with little commitment.

• Sephiroth’s instant double jump UAir will autocancel, which can lead to frametraps with Grab if the opponent doesn’t fastfall with their airdodge. If the opponent fastfalls and airdodges, Sephiroth can empty land and cover it. This sort of half-guess takes place whenever Young Link is sent high up and Sephiroth has time to set up a double jump UAir.

• Mix up fall and airdodge tinings to escape. DAir isn’t reliable as a landing option due to UAir, but NAir can interrupt Sephiroth’s aerial on startup.

Offstage
(How Do I Escape This Position And What Do I Look Out For?):

• The main aerial to avoid offstage from Sephiroth is FAir. It covers a lot of airspace horizontally, which can cover multiple recovery routes. Sephiroth can use it from a short hop, full hop, or even a ledge slip to hit low recoveries. Sephiroth can also follow opponents as they drift away from him, potentially frametrapping with a second FAir.

• Shadow Flare offstage doesn’t outright kill, but it will reset Young Link’s airspeed upon getting hit. This can gimp Young Link, or force a specific recovery route.

• Once Sephiroth has limited Young Link to a specific recovery route, Sephiroth can cut it off with Scintilla to counter ASA. Drift back to avoid it, or go below/above.

• If Young Link goes low to ride the ledge of the stage to recover, Sephiroth can hit Young Link with DAir and spike. Sometimes, DAir will sourspot and bounce Young Link into the stage, which can be stage teched.

• There isn’t much incentive to use ASA to hit above the ledge, since Sephiroth won’t stand directly at the ledge as often.

Ledge:

• FTilt is Sephiroth’s key reactionary ledgetrapping tool. FTilt can be used to react to ledge getup and strike from roll distance. The blade will sweet spot on neutral getup, which can close stocks quickly. Mix up with ledge jumps and different ledge getup timings.

• Sephiroth can cover ledge jumps/roll with NAir, since it hits both sides of him. Sephiroth might fire off NAirs as an attempt to bait attacks (baiting a whiff punish) or to discourage ledge roll.

• Sephiroth can use DAir at ledge to hit Young Link on the startup of a ledge jump or drop down double jump.

• Because of his range, Sephiroth doesn’t have to risk being close to the ledge while ledgetrapping, minimizing reversals. Sephiroth can preemptively cover ledge roll, getup, attack, and jump from a short hop with FAir/BAir.

Juggling/Boxing:

• Because of the wide reach of Sephiroth’s attacks, Sephiroth can still zone from the corner. He can pressure Young Link for using projectiles in advantage with his sword attacks and Shadow Flare.

• When corner pressuring Sephiroth, make a choice between boxing him up close (within his sword’s range) or containing him with projectiles (long range, comfortably outside of the sword’s range). Trying to mix in both will only result in playing at a range where Sephiroth can reversal the situation.

• When within the sword’s range, Young Link can force Sephiroth to pick an option within unreactable situations (shield, NAir, roll, jump). At such a close range, Young Link has faster attacks, both in the air and on the ground. Young Link has to commit at this range to pressure Sephiroth, but the risk-reward is ultimately in Young Link’s favor (assuming the pressure is safe).

• Rising -> falling FAir, driftback NAir, rising BAir, Jab, and DTilt are all safe ways to pressure Sephiroth up-close. Use aerials safely on shield to minimize the risk of a reversal.

• Sephiroth can use Flare charge to stall in the air by decreasing his fall speed and reverse his momentum, but it must be airdodge/jump canceled. Otherwise, Sephiroth can land with an UAir, NAir, or airdodge.

• From outside of the sword’s range, use projectiles to catch Sephiroth’s movement. Sephiroth’s counterplay to this is sword aerials and Shadow Flare, which can be dashed out of range from or jumped over.

• Sephiroth can use landing UAir as a reversal to hit opponents that try to challenge him as he’s landing. This can catch opponents around Sephiroth and force a defensive option.

• Sephiroth can also use DAir as a landing option to punish aggressive juggling attempts/mix up his fall timing. DAir’s hitbox will reach through platforms.

• Sephiroth can use Blade Dash to cross-up Young Link in disadvantage. Blade Dash travels with a hitbox in a direct line, which crosses up shields and has ample flexibility. Sephiroth can use this out of the corner, or when trying to land.

• On hit, Blade Dash doesn’t true combo into anything, but it still has enough frame advantage for Sephiroth to threaten a FAir/BAir followup.

• Sephiroth’s ledge planking and ledge options are so strong that he may forgo the corner escape situation to plank at the ledge and buy more time/opportunities to escape. If not, Sephiroth can reversal more effectively from the ledge than the corner. Stay center stage, out of harm’s way from an aerial.

Offstage:

• Sephiroth has several mix-ups offstage. Sephiroth can swing at Young Link challenging him offstage with FAir, UAir, or BAir. He can also use Shadow Flare to hit opponents approaching him offstage. This halts the opponent's aerial momentum.

• Sephiroth can use Flare to reduce fall speed and drift away from Young Link offstage. This can set up for a safer Blade Dash.

• Sephiroth’s Blade Dash and Octaslash are his main forms of recovery. This is how he’ll grab the ledge most of the time. Before using either variant of the move, Sephiroth will halt his aerial momentum before dashing forward. Sephiroth is vulnerable during this window, and can be gimped with a NAir/FAir.

• Octaslash is impossible to contest offstage with aerials. Use a Bomb from onstage. Sephiroth can mix between the two variants to change his timings and hit opponents offstage for trying to edgeguard. The startup of the dash also shifts Sephiroth’s hurtbox downwards.

• When Sephiroth has One-Winged Angel, Young Link can’t really edgeguard Sephiroth consistently. Stay near the ledge and aim for a ledgetrap/corner pressure scenario.

• Sephiroth is rather difficult to ledgetrap due to the sheer amount of ledge options he has access to.

• Most of the time, it’s best to stay at roll distance/center stage to opt for better corner pressure, and ledgetrapping to catch lazy/panic ledge options (such as repeated neutral getups).

• A lot of the time, it’s best to setup Boomerang to cover jumps/ledge, or Bomb to roll off and pressure the ledge to scout ledge timings.

Sephiroth’s Ledge Planking Game Includes:

• B-Reverse Flare charge > BAir.

• Driftback/forward double jump FAir.

• Octaslash into ledge.

• Blade Dash onto stage from ledge jump.

• Ledge jump NAir.

• Shadow Flare off a ledge jump/FAir pin jump.

• Scintilla off of ledge.

• FAir pin jump > anything -> jump > anything.

• Drop down from FAir pin.

• If Sephiroth has One-Winged Angel, then he gets 3 jumps off of ledge and 3 jumps from FAir pin.

• Octaslash into ledge is a common Sephiroth ledge option to hit away opponents too close to the ledge. Short hop Boomerang angled down can catch Sephiroth on the startup of Octaslash (36 frame startup).

Ledge Info:

XLR8’s Spreadsheet Young Link Ledge Info:

DTilt: Doesn’t Hit

DSmash: Hits

Forward Tilt: Hits

Most Reliable Move: FTilt

Animation Info: N/A

Note: Medium difficulty, FTilt reaches farthest.

• FD DTilt > ASA %s at ledge: 101, 90

• FD FThrow @ Ledge %s: 155, 135

• FD Milkshake Kill %s: 91-113. 79-95

• Sephiroth Kill Throws: UThrow (with Shadow Flare hits after the throw)

• Sephiroth can consistently SDI out of Milkshake, and is often sent in front of Young Link after GSA.

Stats with One-Winged Angel:

• Jumps: 3

• Damage: 1.3x (stacks with rage)

• Damage-based armor on Smash Attacks (20% threshold)

• Battlefield:
  Indifferent. The larger blast zones and offstage areas give Sephiroth more survivability here than on YS, while also facilitating his edgeguards compared to YS.

• Small Battlefield:
  Good. This stage has enough space that allows Young Link to zone out Sephiroth, but is also short enough that Young Link can threaten his boxing game close to Sephiroth and around platforms.

• Final Destination:
  Terrible. Without platforms, Young Link has less places to land and shield Sephiroth’s aerial pressure. Sephiroth can set up stronger frametraps and threats with the limited defensive resources.

• Smashville:
  Good. This stage can be volatile at times, since Sephiroth doesn’t have to move as much to be able to space his long aerials. Young Link, however, can threaten his boxing game more often against Sephiroth, leaving little breathing room for him to escape pressure.

• Town & City:
  Terrible. Same reasoning as FD. This stage enables Sephiroth’s edgeguards as well, and can give him even earlier BAir kills.

• Lylat Cruise:
  Indifferent. Similar reasoning to HB.

• Pokémon Stadium 2:
  Bad. This stage does have good strengths for Young Link, but Sephiroth gets to decide the spacing of neutral here, since he has such a long stage to work with. Young Link gets fewer opportunities to create boxing scenarios. Sephiroth can stay outside of Young Link’s range safely most of the timem and fire off Shadow Flare pressure.

• Kalos Pokémon League:
  Terrible. This stage gives Sephiroth a lot more safety when ledgeplanking due to the platform protecting him from attacks from above. Sephiroth doesn’t have much of an issue recovering, yet it facilitates Sephiroth edgeguarding Young Link, and makes it more difficult to take Sephiroth’s stock.

• Yoshi’s Story:
  Great. Same reasoning as SV. Additionally, the shorter side spaces make it easier for Young Link to recover, in addition to access to wall jumps.

• Hollow Bastion:
  Indifferent. One of the more neutral stages in the matchup, it gives more space for Sephiroth to utilize, and confining Sephiroth up-close isn’t as common as it is on SV.

• Young Link vs Sephiroth Matchup VOD Playlist: YL vs Sephiroth Matches

• ssbwiki.com- Winged Form (Winged Form Stats)