Could it be...
[ . . . V i n c e n t ? ]
- Starting with the basics, we know that Vincent not only knew Sephiroth’s mother around the time of his conception, but that he had strong romantic feelings for her as well. They seem to have had some kind of relationship before Lucrecia started pushing him away. This alone makes him almost as likely a candidate for Sephy’s dad as Hojo, the only advantage that Hojo has here being that he has actually voiced an outright belief that he is Sephiroth’s father in the compilation whereas Vincent has not. However, when Hojo reveals to the party that he is Sephiroth’s father near the end of FF7, this assertation is met with surprise by Vincent, and his response implies that he had believed himself to be the father of Sephiroth all along. It would of course follow that he had a sexual relationship with Lucrecia around the time of Sephiroth’s conception, which once again would place both men on equal ground in the argument despite vocal claims or lack thereof.
At the very least, without reading too deeply into Vincent’s exact words, his shock in itself begs the question: Who did Vincent think was the father, if he was surprised to hear that it was Hojo? No other men were ever mentioned in such a context aside from Hojo and himself. Furthermore, Vincent narrates in his flashback that, “After that, a child was born to Lucrecia.” He never says that a child was born to Lucrecia and Hojo, nor does he ever give any other indication of who he believed the father to be prior to Hojo’s revelation. - The hair. Aside from color (which was a result of the Jenova treatment anyhow in Sephy’s case), they seem to have the same hair.
- Aside from the hair, they just look like each other. I mean, they’re close in height (an inch apart—Sephiroth is 6’1 while Vincent is 6’0), similar in build, and just look at their pictures. Compare. They look like they could be related to me. (Right down to the skinny ankles!)
comparison 1 | comparison 2 | comparison 3 - Their personalities are very much alike. Both men are quiet and calm, cool and composed, yet reveal when they speak that they are very intelligent. They also have rather...nasty..tempers, and both have a natural dislike for Hojo and a knack for killing people. (Like father, like son?)
Exact numbers aside, Vincent and Sephiroth are both very tall while Hojo is comparatively short next to either of them. In the FF7 flashback, if you notice, they make Vincent’s sprite just a little too big. Not only does he tower over everybody, but when Hojo operates on him, Vincent’s hands are about the size of Hojo’s head. I obviously don’t think that the deformity was intentional, but that it was most likely the result of the game’s creators trying to emphasize Vincent’s height in comparison to everyone else in the scene, including Lucrecia and Hojo. Sephiroth’s sprite is also taller than Cloud’s, Tifa’s, or generally anyone else he stands next to (except maybe Barret—I never noticed). Did they intend to make a point? Vincent seems to show a physical trait that Sephiroth has yet neither Hojo nor Lucrecia have. So where did Sephiroth get his height from?
Granted, I’m well aware that there’s such a thing as recessive genes and that Sephiroth’s father didn’t necessarily have to be a tall man. Hell, my own father is 5’6 and my brother definitely makes 6 feet and there’s no question of paternity there. However, my own family members, as well as other real people, are not fictional characters who were carefully and deliberately designed as they were in order to make an artistic point to a target audience. What I am suggesting is that perhaps the game designers may have been trying to put this connection between Sephiroth and Vincent in our heads by making Sephiroth tall, making Vincent tall, and making Hojo so starkly short in contrast. It is worth pointing out that they did make Vincent’s father Grimoire quite tall to illustrate a resemblance between him and Vincent, and took great and specific care when designing Grimoire to make their relationship as father and son visibly apparent, as admitted by Nomura and Kitase in an interview. So, the notion that they may have tried to build physical resemblances into other characters that they wanted us to view as related (or possibly related, in this case) is in no way farfetched.- Both seem to believe they are more monster than human.
- Vincent harbors demons, and is often artistically depicted as a demonic or half-demon creature, most notably his link to the mythological beast that stands between life and the underworld, Cerberus. Among Sephiroth’s titles is the “One Winged Angel,” and is often depicted with angellic traits. The fact that demons and angels are polar opposites actually link them to one another in that they complement one another. To delve further, Vincent and Sephiroth are both said to personify different parts of Cloud. So, there is a connection between their artistic roles.
Or is it indeed...
[ . . . H o j o ? ]
- First and foremost, Hojo wins the benefit of the doubt because he is the only one in any part of the FFVII Compilation who claims to be Sephiroth’s father in one of his most memorable final lines. If present when it is spoken, Vincent does not deny Hojo’s claim. In fact, he seems to accept it.
- The Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega guide, which unfortunately is written only in Japanese, allegedly makes several statements or referrences which would communicate to the reader that Hojo is Sephiroth’s father, including a family tree-type diagram indicating that Hojo and Lucrecia are Sephiroth’s parents; however, I have not personally seen any of these statements or the context in which they were said in any language, nor the diagram. I only have the words of others, and I generally don’t base any of my Vincent conclusions off hearsay.
- In the DoC flashback where Vincent asks Hojo if it’s true that Lucrecia will be participating in the project, and she walks in and confirms it, the Japanese dialogue is significantly different from its English counterpart.
English Dialogue Vincent: Is it true? Hojo: Is what true? Vincent: That Lucrecia...that..Dr. Crescent is to take part in this project? Lucrecia: It’s true. Why are you so surprised? Vincent: But using your own child...for an experiment? Hojo: HA! I don't know what you're implying, but both of us are scientists. We know what we are doing. You are the last person to have any word in this. Now, leave us at once, boy! Vincent: But... Lucrecia: ...But what? Vincent: ... Lucrecia: If you have something to say...say it. Vincent: Are you...are you sure...this is what you really want? Lucrecia: Am I sure...? Am I sure?! If this only concerns me, then yes, I am sure. Vincent: Oh...I...I just... Narrator Vincent: All I did was watch... I didn’t even try to stop her...and then...
The English dialogue gives no real special attention to the issue of paternity, although as I watch it after knowing what was said in Japanese I can see where the question may have been meant to hang in the air. Hojo’s stressing of “Is what true,” Lucrecia’s query as to the nature of Vincent’s shock, Hojo’s smug emphasis on “both of us are scientists” and taunt that he doesn’t know what Vincent is implying, and Lucrecia’s “if this only concerns me” may imply it was possibly expected that Vincent may have thought it concerned him as well—but it isn’t really there unless you look for it. At first I thought these attitudes were because he is only a Turk, but perhaps the scene is a bit too emotional for that to be the only silent issue.
Japanese Dialogue from Dirge of Cerberus.net, translated by Souya. Vincent: Is this true? Hojo: About what? Vincent: I’ve heard about this project from Lucrecia... [He changed his way of addressing her in the middle of the sentence.] I heard it from Professor Lucrecia... Lucrecia: It’s true. So what do you want to do about it? Vincent: Using the child inside your stomach for this experiment... Hojo: HA! Do you know what you are talking about? She and I are both scientists. Moreover, this is OUR problem. Do you think it is the time for an outsider like you to speak? Vincent: No... Lucrecia: What? Vincent: ... Lucrecia: If you have something to say...say it right now. Vincent: Therefore... Are you...are you really going to... Lucrecia: What do you want to say? [Note: The original is “Nande ‘kimiha’ nanoyo!” I guess she wants to say, why do you have to be so polite and considerate towards me?] Are you talking about me? If it’s my problem, then it has nothing to do with you! Vincent: Ah...right...even to me... Narrator Vincent: I just wanted to see it... I wasn’t able to stop her...and then...
The Japanese version of the dialogue seems to touch more upon that unspoken question. At the very least, Hojo definitely says “it is OUR problem and YOU are an outsider.” So if Vincent had clearly already been told then that the child belongs to Hojo and not to him, then Vincent’s shock atop the mako cannon in FF7 means nothing. Hojo already told Vincent that he (Hojo) is the father years ago, and Vincent’s chronologically later shock at receiving the same information can be considered a plot hole. - If You DO still give credence to Vincent’s FF7 reaction atop the Sister Ray (since, after all, DoC’s back story hadn’t been conceived yet when FF7 was written, so technically DoC’s scene is the plot hole), Vincent accepted Hojo’s claim to Sephiroth’s paternity without question.
- Hojo and Sephiroth do both lean toward the insane, despite what other qualities they may not share.
- Although Sephiroth looks nothing like Hojo, he does resemble Lucrecia, so his looks may come entirely from his mother, and from the influence Jenova had upon his formation. Jenova is shown as having silver hair, which is obviously why Sephiroth’s hair is the color it is, and Sephiroth has cat-like eyes—which obviously didn’t come from any human parent either. Technically, Sephiroth has three “parents,” as his looks and other traits didn’t only come from Lucrecia and his father but from Jenova as well. If only a third of Sephiroth’s inherited qualities came from Hojo rather than half, then it would be understandable that he doesn’t resemble his father as much as normal offspring might.
- Hojo was a scientist. Who worked with DNA. Who studied Sephiroth. Who he still believed to be his own son. One would think that, with all that testing presumably done on Sephiroth in his youth, if Sephiroth’s DNA did not match Hojo’s, he would have found out by the time he got to the Sister Ray and made his final assertation! Everything we know about the science and technology of FF7’s world would imply that a paternity test (which only involves comparing DNA samples) wasn’t beyond their knowledge or capabilities. In fact, Hojo was able to calculate that the differences between Aeris and her mother Ifalna as Cetra specimens was “18%.” Surely it would have been very simple for him to calculate the differences between Sephiroth and himself with enough accuracy to determine if he was his own offspring or not, if he had the desire to do so (which is really the only variable left that speaks in favor of Vincent possibly being Sephiroth’s father).
And just in case none of that solves anything, it’s now time for some good old...
[ . . . C h a i r - S w i n g i n g a n d B i t c h - S l a p p i n g ]
| Jerry: | We’re here today, folks, with long-time rivals Vincent Valentine and Professor Hojo, both former employees of the one-time conglomerate monopoly Shinra Electric Power Company. |
| Hojo: | *wave* |
| Vincent: | *nod* |
| Audience: | Yeeeaahhh!! Whooooo!! VINCENT OMG HAVE MY BABY!! |
| Vincent: | *shifts in his seat* |
| Hojo: | *glare* |
| Jerry: | Incidentally, our topic is just that! The theme of today’s show is Who’s My Mentally Troubled and Suicidal Former Lover’s Megalomaniacal Genetically-Enchanced Globally-Destructive Baby’s Daddy? |
| Hojo: | *leaps out of his seat and rises his finger menacingly at Vincent!* It was ME, you insignificant wretch! I impregnated Lucrecia, and the world’s greatest villain is my son! |
| Audience: | *GASP!* |
| Vincent: | *gapes at Hojo* YOU never ran tests on him, you overconfident fool. Lucrecia and I were in love! And we were doing it behind your back. :D |
| Hojo: | WHY YOU!! You...you...HOOCHIE!! D:< |
| Audience: | You TELL him, honey! Yeah!! |
| Vincent: | What ever made you think Lucrecia could be satisfied by a man twice her age? |
| Hojo: | I have twice the experience. *smug!* |
| Vincent: | *mutters* Doubtful... |
| Hojo: | Why you...!! *Hojo leaps out of his seat and hurls the chair at Vincent!* |
| Vincent: | *leaps out of his own seat but too late* |
| chair: | *THUD* |
| Vincent: | *glare!* ... x.x |
| Jerry: | Hold on, hold on, Hojo, is it true? You never ran paternity tests on Sephiroth? |
| Hojo: | There was no need! |
| Jerry: | So you didn’t. |
| Hojo: | This proves nothing! |
| Vincent: | Yeah? Well Sephiroth has my NOSE. And guess what? We both hate YOU, you lying scum! |
| Hojo: | Hmph, it’s not MY fault that your girlfriend and his mother is easier than elementary Physics. |
| Vincent: | !! *bitch-slaps Hojo across the stage!* |
| Audience: | *cheers!* You go, girl! Whooooooo!! |
| Hojo: | *glares as he picks himself up off the floor* AND SHE GOES DOWN FASTER THAN THE TEMPERATURE OF HIGH-DENSITY MAKO EXPOSED TO LIQUID NITROGEN IN AN AIR-TIGHT PRESSURE CHAMBER! |
| chair: | *CRASH* |
| Hojo: | *flop* Urg.. |
| Vincent: | *lunges at Hojo!* |
| Jerry: | Oh my. Let’s solve this dilemma before it gets any uglier, shall we, folks? |
| Audience: | Go for the crotch!! Pull his hair!! |
| Jerry: | Settle down, settle down! Our next guest is Sephiroth himself, along with a medically qualified technician who will— |
| Hojo: | I AM a medically qualified technician, you imbecile! My word should be—oof!—mmrrgh—OW!— |
| Jerry: | —who will obtain a sample of each man’s blood! and— |
| TV asst.: | *runs onto stage and whispers to Jerry!* |
| Jerry: | *blink* He’s dead again? |
| TV asst.: | *nods* |
| Audience: | Boooooo!! We want Sephiroth! SEPHYYYYYY!! |
| Jerry: | *fidget* Well, when’s he expected to be back? |
| TV asst.: | Probably the next FFVII sequel. |
| Jerry: | Oh, well, no worries then. |
| TV asst.: | *nods and exits (stage left, of course)* |
| Jerry: | Well folks, it looks as though this episode will have to be continued at another time. Join us again in another few years for the exciting conclusion of Jerry Springer: FF7! |