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Sephiroth

Sephiroth is an optional boss in Kingdom Hearts. He is accessable only after unlocking the Hades Cup. He'll be right below the Hades Cup inside the ???? match when you first unlock it. After that, it will turn into the Platinum Match. Level requirements will depend on skill level, but once you see his pattern of movements, you can defeat him easily at lower and lower levels. Being level 100 won't give you that much more of an advantage, unless you severely lack defense and HPs. Equipment is a bigger concern.

The best equipment armors you can wear are Gaia Bangles. They will give you the largets HP boost as well as much needed defense. Make sure you can take 2-3 of his hits before you go critical. Anything that boosts HP + Def is recommended, but Gaia Bangles are the best, so try and synth 3 of them. Your keyblade is up to you, I used Oathbringer for the critical hits, my first time I went up against him, but some like Black Chocobo for the extra reach. It depends on how close you can get before you can hit him. If you aren't comfortable getting as close, use the Black Chocobo. You might even consider Lionheart or Oathbringer (for the critical blows), or any other weapon that boosts magic power for increases cure effect. This will depend on your HPs. If you have a lot, you'll want the extra magic power for your cure, so you can gain more per cast.

Equip as many Elixers as you can. Yes, they get used up during Collesium battles, but you saved your game before you faced him and died (and your Elixers were gone without killing him), right? If you don't have enough Elixers to fill your slots, use Mega Ethers. Refilling your MP is much better than refilling your life, but Elixers are really what you want to be using.

Equip MP Haste, MP Rage, Critical Plus, Dodge Roll, Second Chance, Strike Raid.
Other abilities won't really matter. However, I suggest NOT equipping Sonic Blade, Ars Arcanum, and Ragnarok. You'll want to always be able to use Strike Raid when you want it.

Sephiroth's Attacks

Basic Sword Slash:
Sephiroth does a basic standing sword slash. His sword has an incredibly long reach. If you're good, try parrying it. More often than not, I simply got hit by this, and cured after 2-3 of them.

Teleport Sword Slash:
Sephiroth does a teleport somewhere around you, generally behind you, and then follows with a sword slash. This can get annoying, because you lose your target lock on him. Damage is about the same as a Basic Sword Slash. He'll also do almost every time after you land a combo, sometimes interrupting your combo.

Flame Pillar:
Sephiroth summons a huge pillar of flame to surround him. He is not invincible while he does this, so take advantage of it. Unfortunately, you can't get close enough to him while he does it to hit him.. or can you? He normally does this attack after 2-3 sword slashes, and after interrupting Sin Harvest.

Sin Harvest:
Sephiroth teleports into a corner and summons some nasty voodoo against you. This move will hurt! Do not let it hit you! It will reduce your HPs to 1 (if you have Second Chance equipped), and your MPs to 0. It will kill you outright if you don't have Second Chance. After he does this, he will normally do a Teleport Sword Slash and try and kill you. If you interrupt this move (by hitting him), he'll immediately go into a Flame Pillar.

Omnislash:
Sephiroth does a frenzy of standing and leaping blows, then leaps up and does a finisher. This will hurt very much, but I've noticed the hits don't stun, so you can dodge roll away and Cure in the middle of his tantrum if you want. Just be wary of the last blow, because it takes a chunk of life. After he's done, he's winded for a second, so get a few hits in.

Darkness Ball Attack:
Sephiroth summons 5-8 Darkness Balls that surround him, then he closes in on you, and does as Basic Sword Slash as the Darkness Balls draw in close to you. He will also do a Teleport Sword Slash here as well, if you dodged the Darkness Balls and his Basic Sword Slash. Doesn't really do a whole lot of damage, but it can keep you stunned if you get hit by a lot of them. I basically mashed Cure here, and waited for an opening to hit him.

Meteor Shower:
Sephiroth turns white and summons a bunch of meteors. They circle around him slowly, causing you damage if you get hit. Then the meteors get sucked into a black hole over his head, then a huge meteor from the black hole hits you. He's invincible (at least from my testing) while he's doing this, so just try and stay away, and cure as needed.

Strategies:

Sephiroth has a very long reach with his sword. Do not underestimate your own reach. Using the MP Rage abilities, you should gain MP every time you get hit, enough to cast Cure. Obviously, this makes things easier if you're not spending time using items to regain your precious MP. Hit him when he's open, and try to avoid getting hit. Wait for your opening, just don't swing blindly. You'll die if you keep doing that. The basic strategy here is to whittle him down slowly but surely (hence the emphasis on defense and HPs), while ensuring that you stay alive.

Phase 1:
Sephiroth uses Basic Sword Slash, Teleport Sword Slash (when you combo), and Flame Pillar. Dodge Roll his Basic Sword Slash if you can, or parry it if you're really good. He will run all over the place, and attack you at different angles. If you get hit, don't fret. You *NEED* to get hit in order to keep your MPs up. This is very important, as your MPs will cure you. Using Cura or Curaga if you have it, you should pretty much refill your HPs with 1 casting. You may also use whatever form of Aero you have, but at 2 MPs casting cost, I normally skip it. As discussed in the equipment section, you might want to even use a weapon that enhances your magic power and MPs. When he does his Flame Pillar, that's your chance! Dodge Roll away from him quickly, then use your Strike Raid to hit him through his flames. After a few of these, his life bar should begin to move. You may try and normal combo attack him here, but I don't recommend it, because more often than not, he'll use Teleport Sword Slash, and hit you from behind. When his life gets down to when the Yellow bar is visible, he'll teleport and say "come on".

Phase 2:
Sephiroth will start doing Teleport Slashes and become in my opinion, slightly faster. Maybe he just attacks you more often. But the big thing here is his Sin Harvest. He'll teleport away from you into a corner somewhere, then he'll say "Sin Harvest" and have a rainbow-like glow around him. Then you'll notice that same rainbow-like glow over your head. At this point, it's too late. You're gonna get hit by it, and your HPs will now become 1, and your MPs will be 0. Directly following this, he'll use a Teleport Slash, and impale you. Here's the strategy: Sin Harvest is your time to nail him. Do not get close to him and hit him, unless you just happen to be near him when he teleports and starts doing Sin Harvest. If you interrupt his Sin Harvest, he'll immediately go into a Flame Pillar. This isn't good if you're standing near him. Stand away, near the center of the arena, then when he teleports, quickly press R2 to lock onto to him. If you hear "Sin Harvest", quickly use your Strike Raid to nail him. It will interrupt his Sin Harvest, making you immune. If his Sin Harvest attack manages to go through, use an Elixer right before it actually affects you. If you time it correctly, you'll go through the item animation, Sin Harvest will hit, then your item will take effect. This is why you have Second Chance and those Elixers... just in case it hits. After that little exchange, dodge roll and/parry his Basic and Teleport Slashes, then wait for him to use Sin Harvest again, and repeat. He'll also use Omnislash for the first time. You can either get hit by this and cure like mad during it, or use Strike Raid to become invincible. I normally get hit a few times at the beginning of this to regain MP, then cancel into a Strike Raid to avoid the final hits of his attack. When he's done with his Omnislash, combo him, or continue to hit him with Strike Raid. Just get some hits in. After you knock his life down to where the Green is just barely visible.

Phase 3:
Sephiroth gets really angry here. A black and green vortex will surround him, and he'll have a white glow. Instead of relying on Sin Harvest, he'll be hurling other nasty voodoo at you, namely Darkness Balls and Meteors. While he's doing Darkness Balls, you can hit him. So make use of it. You'll need to cast Cure frequently here, so don't hesitate. When he does his Meteor attack, he's invincible (at least from my testing). Avoid the meteors as best you can, and quickly pop out the cures. Occassionally he will use Sin Harvest during this phase. Don't let it throw you off guard! He uses it infrequently here, and often at strange times, like right after his Meteor Shower. Sometimes he'll just do a Teleport Slash after it, and sometimes he'll teleport into Sin Harvest. My advice is to *NOT* cast Cure after the final meteor blast, and wait to see what he does. If you hear Sin Harvest, nail him with Strike Raid. If not, dodge roll, then Cure. He'll also use Omnislash here again as well, and it will be more powerful. Just repeat the strategy you used in Phase 2 for that, and you'll be okay. He'll infrequently use Flame Pillar, especially if you're close to him. Try and dodge roll away, then launch into a Strike Raid attack to hit him for some damage. Remember to cure! After this phase, he's dead.

Can't beat him?

Don't worry. You will die a lot until you get used to his incredible range and his timing. If you're dying in the first phase, either you aren't curing properly, or you don't have enough defense. Try levelling, or synthing items like Defense UP and Gaia Bangles. If it happens during the second phase, it's probably due to Sin Harvest. You must quickly press R2 to lock onto him, then nail him with Strike Raid. If you can't seem to do that, rely on Elixers. Get your Elixer ready when you see him doing Sin Harvest, then quaff it just before Sin Harvest hits. If you're dying during the third phase, it's either from Sin Harvest, or from his Meteors. I never died from his Omnislash, becuase you can cure in the middle of it. If you're having trouble against that move, raise your defense or use Strike Raid during it. Save your game before fighting: Unless you have 99 Elixers, you aren't going to want to waste them and not kill him. Load your item slots up with Elixers, get your abilities you want, equip the stuff you want, then save. If you die, just reset, so you still have your Elixers in tact.

What you win for killing Sephiroth:

After you defeat him, you'll gain a great deal of exp. 18,000 to be exact. Sephiroth will just stagger back, float up, and disentegrate into particles of energy. Whether or not you killed him, or he just teleported away is up for debate. Also, you'll gain his biographical information in Jiminy's Journal.

Here's the quote from the journal entry:
"Once known as the greatest of swordsmen, his wehereabouts have been unkown for some time. He challenged Sora to a on-on-one duel. No one knows why he has suddenly returned. Apparently, he and Cloud have crossed paths before."