Respect between warriors. *SPOILERS*

[Cat Rage Room]

Here's an interesting question that I hope will spawn far more interesting answers. Here it is, straight from Crisis Core.

I wonder if Sephiroth gave his all fighting you?
It's too bad the monitoring system cannot record the subject's mind as well. Still, the data shows significant strength.
Could he have accepted you as a SOLDIER member? An interesting state he was in...

What do you think?

 

[Makoeyes987]

Oh I definitely think he did. Going by the onslaught Sephiroth gave Zack, yeah..he gave his all.

I don't see why he wouldn't have accepted Zack as a SOLDIER though, considering all they've been through. I think that's just Hojo's ignorance there. Because yeah, Seph respected Zack before he went nuts.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Yeah, the second answer I sort of already knew. I guess I meant to ask more; Did Sephiroth see Zack as a worthy adversary or just sort of 'some dude he works with' like he sort of sees the other SOLDIERS, besides Angeal and Genesis?

And yeah, I think Seph gave his all as well. Unlike he did with Cloud, did he look at Zack as a worthy adversary that's actually WORTH giving his all?

 

[Ravynne Nevyrmore]

Hmm, are you implying that whether or not Sephiroth "accepted" Zack as a SOLDIER would have influenced whether or not he gave his all fighting him? Or do you think that's what Hojo was implying?

It always interests me to see how Hojo speaks about Sephiroth, to be honest. Even in this quote, it's like he vacillates between referring to him as a person and wondering what he was thinking and feeling to referring to him strictly as a source of interesting data.

I really think Hojo just had no idea how to process his own feelings regarding Sephiroth. And while that doesn't really have anything to do with the question you're asking, as far as I understand what your question actually is, it does color the quote you provided. Hojo isn't exactly an objective spectator in that situation, even if he thinks he is.

 

[Andalegogo]

Hojo actually considering that Sephiroth might have accepted Zack as a worthy opponent seems to say a lot about Zack's ability.

Here we see Hojo, a guy who thought nothing of Zack despite all his accomplishments, actually considering that his glorified Sephiroth, the being above all things, might have viewed some insignificant creature as being worth the use of his great power.

The quote doesn't seem to serve any other purpose than pointing out that Zack has grown as a fighter, from what I can tell.

 

[Arianna]

Sane-Sephiroth seemed to be amused with Zack. I wouldn't be surprised if Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis considered him promising, with a great amount of amusement.

I recall

Spoiler

the part where Hollander gets away in Junon, and Sephiroth comes up behind Zack mentioning how this will be on his permanent record. He mentions how Genesis forces have been all over, including the slums. He was aware of Zack's relationship with Aerith

, I feel it - just by seeing the glee in his face as he dropped that little hint - knowing it went right over Zack's head.

But overall, yeah - this is an interesting question. What was Sephiroth thinking?

 

[Neo Bahamut]

Word of God. Sephiroth has never given his all.* What Hojo is suggesting is that he put more effort into fighting Zack because, on some level, he considered him a worthy adversary. Makes sense, if you think about it. Why the Hell would Sephiroth have told Zack stories about himself, Genesis, & Angeal if he didn't see him as a friend?

I'd also like to note that Hojo did have some respect for Zack. If you beat his special experiment thing when he's doing tests, he notes that Zack is an interesting test subject. (From Hojo, I consider that respect.) He certainly didn't admire Zack for his intellect, though. "The job of SOLDIER isn't to think. It's to protect those who think for them."

*=Plus, the gameplay nods to it. Sephiroth mostly just stands there. Compare this with Genesis's acrobatics & magic or Angeal Penance's ferocity.

 

[Lord Noctis]

Sephiroth would have every reason to go all out, or at least close to it, against Zack. For one thing, he was pissed as hell at the moment, and would want to eliminate any challenger as quickly as he could, and the more power he uses the shorter the fight is likely to be. Add to that that Zack was the second strongest SOLDIER of his time, possibly the strongest SOLDIER ever not including Sephiroth or deepground.

After all, Genesis had once been Sephiroth's equal in terms of skill, and capable of rivalling him through his ability to manipulate magic to a greater extent than most, and Zack beat him.

 

[Shadow-of-Seven]

In my opinion, Sephiroth needed to go all out, for if he risked just fighting at half strength, he'd really be taken out by Zack. And as Noctis said, Genesis was Sephiroth's equal in skill, but Zack had taken him down a peg or two as well. The fight between Zack and Seph was also in favor to Sephiroth, as who could stand up against a supersoldier who has been modified since before birth to be the ultimate killing machine? However, a lingering part of my mind still says that Sephiroth was toying with him during the fight, taunting him (Zack) by showing how superior he (Sephiroth) was.

Just my two cents.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Or how about this....
Maybe, in some subconscious part of his otherwise insane mind, Sephiroth did not want to kill the only friend he had left?

 

[Max Payne]

Sephiroth simply didn't give a shit about Zack or any other human at that point, he was just an obstacle in his way, and he didn't have the patience to play with him.

 

[Neutron Ronnie]

Or how about this....
Maybe, in some subconscious part of his otherwise insane mind, Sephiroth did not want to kill the only friend he had left?

I honestly think Sephiroth lost all vestiges of humanity during the Nibelheim incident.

 

[ForceStealer]

Sephiroth simply didn't give a shit about Zack or any other human at that point, he was just an obstacle in his way, and he didn't have the patience to play with him.

Yeah, he was more crazy than cocky at this point. He did just go on a killing spree, Zack was just able to defend himself...better.

 

[Gym Leader Devil]

I think it is hard to reconcile the word of god thing, considering certain things. Sure, they say Sephiroth has never shown his full power, and in some fights I can believe that. But, c'mon, really? He's freaking died four times now, all because of Cloud. Surely by now he'd have said to himself "Fuck it, no sadistic toying with him this time, this time I just kill him. I can mock him once I take control of the lifestream and become supreme god of all, but for now just kill kill kill!"

As for the fight with Sephiroth and Zack... I can't decide why Seph-ylis (VD joke!) would hold back. I mean, he was insane, considered all humans to be traitors to his perceived race, and had just butchered an entire town. True, he had known Zack for a while and even showed some signs of being fond of Angeal's "puppy" but lets face it Sephiroth is not one to let sympathy hold him back, even when he still had any. I'd have to say it would just be out-and-out sadism, wanting to hurt people a little more, scare and awe them a bit more, before he finishes them off.

But, I will say even when he is being a sadistic prick during fights, he does seem to show some mocking respect to strength. Look at AC/C during the fight with Cloud. Swords locked, he takes the time to smirk and ask, depending on translation, "Where did you get this strength?" or "Interesting. What made you stronger?" While it doesn't seem overly important, he is basically commenting that Cloud is tougher than he used to be and wondering how it happened. It's almost like a compliment.

With that precedent, I could say Sephiroth might still respect Zack's skills and power as a fellow warrior but still want to toy with him, cat to mouse style, before offing the poor lad.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Four times?