and he's still my favorite FF villain, more so that kefka or Kuja or ultimecia, exdeath or any of the others.

There's something special about him.
Something Square hasn't been able to recapture especially in recent villains.
The recent villains lacked something..to such an extent by the time you got to the end of the game it was an anticlimax and the villain was an easier fight than others you fought along the way.

For me Sephiroth is still the greatest villain in the history of FF.