Characters

Playable characters

Former sergeant of the Guardian Corps, Lightning sought the Pulse fal’Cie, Anima, in order to ask it to save her sister Serah, whom the fal’Cie had turned into a l’Cie. However, much to her dismay, Lightning was turned into a l’Cie herself. Her l’Cie mark is in the center of her chest. Lightning has long pink hair and is 171 cm tall (5’7″). Originally named Éclair Farron, she discarded her birth name after her parents died in an attempt to emotionally reinforce herself so that she could protect Serah, although this only caused tensions to rise between them. Lightning is very independent and determined, but she is also shown to have a compassionate side. Lightning’s visual design was influenced by Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII, as Tetsuya Nomura was asked to design a female version of him to be the protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII. However, Yoshinori Kitase has contradicted this, saying the only similarities between the two are their pasts as soldiers, as Lightning has a more fragile side to her that Cloud does not.

Lightning wields a weapon called the Blaze Edge which is a combination of a gun and a sword (one collapsing into the other), similar to the gunblade wielded by Squall in Final Fantasy VIII. She can also manipulate gravity with a device on her thumb (though due to Sazh’s interference, this device becomes damaged). In battle, Lightning is very agile and uses acrobatic moves. As a l’Cie, she can summon the Eidolon Odin to fight by her side in battle, who can assume a horse-like form that she can ride on. While riding, Lightning dual wields Odin’s detachable sword. Her strongest unique special attack is called Scene Drive in the Japanese version  and Army of One in the North American version.

Snow Villiers

Prior to becoming a l’Cie, Snow is the head of Team Nora, a resistance group fighting against the government of Cocoon. Standing at a massive 200 cm (6’5″), Snow is a large character and is capable of running full speed while carrying two people at once. He has light blonde hair and wears a black bandanna. He was nicknamed “Mr. 33 cm” by the development team of Final Fantasy XIII as a nod to his shoe size. He uses his fists to take down opponents, focusing on brute force compared to the fast and agile Lightning. Snow bears the mark of the l’Cie on his lower left arm, through which he has the power to summon the twin Shiva Sister Eidolons, Nix and Stiria , who can combine into a motorcycle form for Snow to ride while toting a large gun. Unlike most grapplers, Snow changes his runes on his coat rather than buying new gloves.

Oerba Dia Vanille

Vanille is a mysterious but upbeat young girl with red-brown hair worn in pigtails. Originally residing from Oerba Village located on Gran Pulse, Vanille is among those being exiled from Cocoon at the start of the game and is subsequently rescued by Team Nora. She has a childlike innocence and is shown to be very compassionate, but at times she can also be very stubborn. Vanille also serves as the game’s narrator. Her weapon is a form of foldable fishing rod with multiple lines that can be reeled and used to attack enemies. She has been a l’Cie for a long time, one of two l’Cie given the Focus to summon the Eidolon Ragnarok, and her l’Cie mark is located on her upper left thigh. In battle, Vanille excels at using magic based attacks from a distance. Her Eidolon is Hecatoncheir, a multiple-limbed, earth-elemental summon who can transform into a bipedal mech armed with machine guns that she can pilot.

Saz Katzroy

A former airship pilot of the Military, Sazh wields dual pistols (which can be combined to form a collapsible rifle), and his strong point is striking enemies from a distance. His l’Cie mark is at the base of his neck. He has a six-year-old son named Dajh with whom he is very close. When Dajh inadvertently became a l’Cie and was taken by Sanctum, saving him became Sazh’s main motivation. Sazh has a pet baby chocobo that lives inside his afro. Sazh is described as having good judgment and moral discernment. He has a gentle personality and is easily moved to tears, and joins the party early in the game. His Eidolon is Brynhildr, a female fire-elemental knight who can transform into a race car. Tetsuya Nomura based Sazh’s appearance on Lionel Richie.

Hope Estheim

Hope is a fourteen-year-old boy with silvery-blonde hair and orange, yellow, and green clothing. He uses collapsible boomerangs in battle. During the Purge, his mother offers to help Snow and Team Nora fight off PSICOM. She dies during the battle, and though Snow honors her final request to protect her son, Hope nonetheless hates Snow in a grief-induced rage for his connection to his mother’s death. His Eidolon is the holy-elemental summon Alexander, which transforms into a fortress in Gestalt Mode, and is able to blast enemies from afar with multiple cannons.

Oerba Yun Fang

A raven-haired woman who comes from Oerba Village, donning clothing resembling the traditional Indian Sari adorned with tribal accessories, and bearing the mark of a l’Cie on her right shoulder. Though she is a l’Cie from Pulse, she originally works for the Cocoon Sanctum under Cid. It later turns out she is one of the two l’Cie given the focus to summon Ragnarok. She wields a spear that can transform into a sansetsukon in battle, and her Eidolon is Bahamut, who can take flight in his Gestalt-mode. As revealed by Tetsuya Nomura in an interview, during the early stages of development she was originally scripted to be a male character.