Characters
Playable characters
* Lightning (ライトニング, Raitoningu?)
A former soldier of the Cocoon military, Lightning sought the fal'Cie of Pulse only to be made a l'Cie much to her dismay. Lightning has long pink hair and is 177 cm tall (5'10"). She discarded her real name after her parents died in an attempt to emotionally reinforce herself so she could protect her sister Serah, though this only causes things to worsen between them. For her design, character designer Tetsuya Nomura was asked to create a "female version of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII". During development, he described her as "not very feminine".[24] Lightning wields a weapon called a Blaze Edge that is a combination of a gun and a sword (one collapsing into the other) and can also manipulate gravity with a device on her thumb (though due to Sazh's interference, this device becomes damaged).[25] In battle, she is agile and uses acrobatic moves. She can also summon the Eidolon Odin to fight by her side in battle, who can assume a horse-like form that she can ride on.[26] While riding, Lightning dual wields Odin's detachable sword. Her l'Cie mark is in the center of her chest. Her strongest unique special attack is called Scene Drive.[27] Her Japanese voice actress is Maaya Sakamoto.[28]
* Snow Villiers (スノウ・ヴィリアース, Sunou Viriāsu?)
Prior to becoming a l'Cie, Snow is the head of Team Nora, a resistance group against Cocoon.[29] He is a big character and is capable of running while carrying two people.[30] He was nicknamed "Mr. 33 cm" by the staff of Final Fantasy XIII as a nod to his shoe size.[31] He uses his fists to take down opponents, focusing on brute force compared to the fast and agile Lightning.[32] After becoming a l'Cie, Snow gains the power to summon the Eidolon Shiva, which takes the form of two sisters, Nix (二クス, Nikusu?) and Styria (スティリア, Sutiria?), who can combine into a motorcycle form for Snow to ride while toting a large gun.[33] Unlike most grapplers, Snow changes his runes on his coat rather than buying new gloves.[34] His Japanese voice actor is Daisuke Ono.[28]
* Oerba Dia Vanille (ヲルバ＝ダイア・ヴァニラ, Woruba-Daia Vanira?)
Vanille is a mysterious but upbeat young girl with red-brown hair worn in pigtails who lives in Pulse.[20] Her weapon is a kind of foldable fishing rod with multiple lines that can be reeled.[35][36] She narrates many of the events in the game. 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.[37][38] Her Japanese voice actress is Yukari Fukui.[28] Her English voice actress is Georgia van Cuylenburg.[39]
* Sazh Katzroy (サッズ・カッツロイ, Sazzu Kattsuroi?)
Sazh is a middle-aged man with an afro whom Lightning knows from her time serving in 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, whose mother died three years prior to the game. Sazh gets separated from his son during the game, and reuniting with his son is his main motivation.[40] He also 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[41], a female fire-elemental knight original to this game, who can transform into a race car.[42] His Japanese voice actor is Masashi Ebara.
* Hope Estheim (ホープ・エストハイム, Hōpu Esutohaimu?)[21]
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[43], which transforms into a fortress in Gestalt Mode, and is able to blast enemies from afar with multiple cannons. [44] His Japanese voice actor is Yūki Kaji. His English voice actor is Vincent Martella.[45]
* Oerba Yun Fang (ヲルバ＝ユン・ファング, Woruba-Yun Fangu?)
A raven-haired woman donning clothing resembling the traditional Indian Sari adorned with tribal accessories, and bearing the mark of a l'Cie on her left shoulder. As revealed by Tetsuya Nomura in an interview, during the early stages of development she was originally scripted to be a male character.[46] Though she is a l'Cie from Pulse, she actually works for the Cocoon Sanctum under Cid. She wields a spear that can transform into a sansetsukon in battle, and her Eidolon is Bahamut, who upon his Gestalt-mode takes flight. She is voiced by Mabuki Andou in the Japanese version of the game.[47]
