The idea of ‘archetypes’ is an interesting aspect of fighting games that can be more abstract than it appears. The introduction of Sephiroth to Smash Ultimate is the perfect example of this. My immediate assessment of the character was that he was zoner, after all he has a massive sword that covers a lot of space and projectiles. My friend, however, disagrees. They have been playing Sephiroth since release and think he falls strictly under the ‘non-zoner’ category. The best he could do was agree that, while Sephiroth might not be a traditional Smash Bros zoner, “he has zoner-like qualities in Smash.” I, however, felt that something was missing in our understanding of the SOLDIER because, as a rushdown player, I feel like Sephiroth has impeccable zoning options.
All fighting games are the same, it’s just the tools that make the gameplay unique. It’s a fact I’ve come to realize over the past few weeks and, honestly, it’s eye opening. Learning to apply everything I’m reading into my Smash gameplay has been exhilarating. Recently, I read an article on Guilty Gear fundamentals by Machaboo (translated by Shinjin) that went over the Axl versus Sol matchup. In that game, Axl is a zoner who has a full screen option that deals with all of Sol’s grounded approaches. In theory, Sol should just IAD (Instant Air Dash) to deal with Axl’s Rensengeki, but the cool thing about fighting games is that the Axl player can always choose to not Rensengeki. Essentially, this turns the game into an RPS that is favored toward the Axl player due to the option to reactively cover the IAD with an anti-air or use the Rensengeki to cover the grounded option. This turns the zoner into the initiator rather than the receiver, because Sol has to deal with the mere existence of Rensengeki.
Sephiroth, however, doesn’t have full screen options to stop approaches, but his control of the mid-range is almost unmatched. His forward-tilt and, especially, Shadow Flare are excellent tools for controlling the space that rushdown characters normally thrive in. It’s actually because of Sephiroth’s lack of traditional zoning tools that Shadow Flare is so important for his gameplan.
Fighting game interactions can be boiled down to a strike or a throw, and forcing your opponent to choose an option can be deadly. Let’s imagine that the rushdown character is in the mid-range with Sephiroth and is worried about Shadow Flare. They decide to jump into Sephiroth because Shadow Flare completely halts grounded momentum, which would lead to a punished grounded approach. The Sephiroth player, however, had already decided to not Shadow Flare and were waiting to reactively anti-air their opponent. During the next interaction, the rushdown player decides to wait for a grounded opening (in fear of getting anti-aired), and they are able to shield the explosions of Sephiroth’s reactive Shadow Flare. The issue is that they are now stuck in a position that is vulnerable to a throw (an option that is very rewarding for Sephiroth). The existence of Shadow Flare, like Rensengeki in Guilty Gear, turns Sephiroth into the initiator when both characters are in that mid-range.
I am by no means saying that Shadow Flare is a perfect, mid-range option, but it is a tool that gives Sephiroth a lot more versatility in how he can play. His lack of quick frame data gives the impression that he would have no answer to fast characters but, while he does struggle, Shadow Flare does a lot to even the mental playing field for the Sephiroth player.
