Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Director Didn't Know About Sephiroth Joining Super Smash Bros.

In an interview that took place days before the launch of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, game director Naoki Hamaguchi stated that he had no idea during the game's development that Sephiroth would be included in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a DLC fighter. Hamaguchi also stated that none of the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth development team had a clue at the time either, and claimed that he only found out when the public did.

Sephiroth's grand reveal as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate happened in December 2020, during the start of The Game Awards. Though the COVID-19 pandemic forced the show to go mostly remote, Nintendo and Square Enix were still able to give viewers and fans a surprise with the reveal of the One-Winged Angel as part of the Fighters' Pass Volume 2 DLC pack. The reveal trailer showed other fighters taking on Galeem, which ended when the light-based deity was sliced clean in half by the iconic villain. Sephiroth's arrival in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brought shock and excitement to fans worldwide. Since then, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has released fighters such as Sora from Kingdom Hearts and has had some smaller updates to bring Amiibo compatibility and bug fixes to the game.

As fans continued to prepare for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's release, the development team made the rounds on social media answering questions about the latest Square Enix title. During the February 26 episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast, show co-host Imran Khan asked Hamaguchi if he or any of the game's developers had any thoughts or ideas about Sephiroth's inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that were included in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The question was asked about 43 minutes into the show. Through his translator, Hinano Akiyama, Hamaguchi claimed the information about Sephiroth's inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was «actually extremely confidential» and that the announcement was a surprise to both him and theFF7 Rebirth development team.

Hamaguchi summarized