Final Fantasy XIII/Characters

A list of characters from Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2.

"Lightning" Farron


""It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life you just do.""

Voiced by Maaya Sakamoto in Japanese and Ali Hillis in English.

The main character of Final Fantasy XIII. A former Sergeant of Cocoon's Guardian Corps who resigned so she could be free to rescue her beloved sister Serah from the clutches of the Pulse fal'Cie. Her weapon is a transforming gunblade called the Blazefire Saber. Her Eidolon is, who transforms into a horse during his Gestalt Mode.

She changed her name to "Lightning" after the death of her parents as part of an effort to change herself into a stronger, more confident person capable of protecting both herself and her little sister. While her new Stoic personality was perfect for the Guardian Corp, she ended up developing a Married to the Job Ice Queen persona that hindered her Relationship Values and distanced her from Serah.

The first game centers around the defrosting of this persona as she is forced to confront her failings as a caretaker and as a sister.

General tropes and those present in the first game:

"Lightning: [before using Army of One]: "I'm no one's slave!" Lightning: [before using Zantetsuken]: "The storm is here!" Lightning:"
 * Action Girl
 * Anti-Hero (Type II): Definitely a heroic character, but Good Is Not Nice and Knight in Sour Armor are in effect.
 * Armor Piercing Punch: Lightning scores three of these on Snow within the first three hours of the game. To release her pent up anger and frustration towards him.
 * Badass: Just look at the first cutscene... and that's before she becomes a l'Cie.
 * Badass Cape/Scarf of Asskicking
 * Berserk Button: Do NOT mess around with Serah.
 * BFS/Bifurcated Weapon/Double Weapon/Dual-Wielding: In Gestalt mode, Lightning gets use of Odin's utterly monstrous sword Zantetsuken.
 * Bifauxnen: Not in game, but in a cross promotion. She appeared in Japanese mens fashion magazine Arena Homme Plus modeling Prada's mens summer collection.
 * Big Sister Instinct
 * Blue Eyes
 * Broken Bird: Lightning's opinion about her moniker at the start of the game is that it reflects how destructive "Lightning" has been in regards to Serah and her relationship with her sister.
 * By-The-Book Cop: One of the reasons she had such a problem with Snow was because she saw him as a jobless law breaking thug.
 * Character Focus: Final Fantasy XIII only came out at the end of 2009. Following that, Lightning appeared in Dissidia 012, Itadaki Street Mobile, and Final Fantasy XIII-2. She's also got an avatar in Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, and The 3rd Birthday has Aya wear Lightning's costume as an alt outfit. Lightning also appears in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and was announced to be in Final Fantasy Brigade the very same day the game itself was announced, when no one else has been mentioned yet.
 * Cool Big Sis: Serah's. Along with the overprotectiveness, strength, and lack of social grace normally given to big brothers. Heck, Snow calls her "Nee-san"! (Although in his case it is a reference to her being his (future) sister-in-law.)
 * To Hope she's either this or a Parental Substitute.
 * Sazh refers to her as 'nee-chan' once in a while, though in his case it's less straightforward. The only time he actually says it to Lightning's face is when they've just met and he doesn't know her name—in Japan, addressing strangers as sister/aunt/grandmother depending on their age is pretty common. The rest of the time, he's talking to the others about her, which can be seen as Sazh encouraging them to think of Lightning as such.
 * Deadpan Snarker: "Worst birthday ever."
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: At the start she spurns everyone, especially her future brother-in-law. By ch 10, she advocates True Companions.
 * Despair Event Horizon: Crosses one when she thinks her sister is dead. Looking after Hope causes her to go even further.
 * Determinator: Her motto for living can be boiled down to: keep moving no matter what.
 * Dub Name Change/Woolseyism:.
 * Dual-Wielding: Guns Akimbo in the opening scene, and when mounted on Odin, she dual wields BFSs.
 * Effortless Amazonian Lift: Easily carries around the unconscious Serah at the beginning of the game, looking rather protective.
 * Embarrassing Tattoo: Her brand is on top of her left breast where her heart is, hidden under her shirt. You never actually get to see it. Until Aya Brea wears her costume in The 3rd Birthday.
 * Expy: She was referred to as a "female Cloud" well before the game's release, and shares several traits. However, her character design evolved a great deal from her initial conception as his Distaff Counterpart. Also of Squall for most of the same reasons, and the gunblade.
 * Moreso Squall than Cloud. Gunblade? Check. Defrosting storyline? Check. Sister who plays an important part? Check.
 * Also looks and acts a lot like Ashe. They might as well be sisters. Strangely, their character designers are different, but almost everything else about them is the same.
 * Fair Cop
 * Fingerless Gloves
 * Flower Motifs: Roses.
 * Fragile Speedster: Second lowest HP, but also the fastest.
 * Freudian Excuse: Deconstructed. Serah telling Lightning about wreaks havoc on both ends of the relationship due to circumstances.
 * Good Is Not Nice: And how...
 * Gun Fu
 * The Gunslinger: The woman has some Improbable Aiming Skills in cutscenes. In battle, the end of a normal combo has her shoot at the enemy. While backflipping.
 * The Heroine: She is the leader of the party, the main protagonist, and the one who holds everyone together.
 * Hot Chick with a Sword: Driven to take care of Serah, then to survive, then help her new team survive and all of Cocoon.
 * Ignored Epiphany: She actually acknowledges fairly early on that she screwed up with Serah. This lasts until, at which her grieving process skips right to the anger stage at the closest possible target (meaning Snow).
 * To be fair... Serah and Snow announcing the marriage BEFORE telling her about the L'cie thing didn't really help matters.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills: Can shoot a small stone out of the air with her gunblade in one shot. While falling.
 * Jack of All Stats: If fully developed, she has the second-best Strength and ties for second in Magic with Vanille. She also has the second-lowest overall HP, but learns Sentinel skills that allow her to dramatically increase her evasion to physical attacks, so she can step into pretty much any role easily.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Nasty to most people, especially Snow, but dearly loves her sister and grows on the group.
 * Knight in Sour Armor: She believes in doing what's right, which is not to say she's not incredibly bitter about just about everything.
 * Lightning Bruiser: If fully developed.
 * Meaningful Name indeed.
 * Magic Knight: Equally skilled in sword melee and magic.
 * Master Swordsman
 * Married to the Job: Her dedication to the Guardian Corps; a possible reason she has no canon love interests.
 * Modesty Shorts
 * My Sister Is Off-Limits: Is this when it comes to Serah and Snow.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: LIGHTNING!
 * Nice Shoes: Knee-high, elaborate boots.
 * One Woman Army: Lampshaded; her signature skill is even called Army of One.
 * Paradigm System
 * Commando
 * Ravager
 * Medic
 * Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner

""Odin... Cut us a path!""
 * Promoted To Parent: Once legally for Serah, once metaphorically for Hope.
 * Resentful Guardian --> Character Development --> Parental Substitute: For Hope. Almost literally for the last trope.
 * Rose-Haired Girl: Usually closer to Fiery Redhead, but the "girl" manages to overtake the "warrior" at times.
 * Sergeant Rock: This was her rank in the Guardian Corps, pre-game.
 * She's Got Legs
 * The Stoic
 * Sugar and Ice Personality: Just read Final Fantasy: Episode Zero. Oh Lightning, you were never fooling anyone.
 * Summon Magic

"“This door is a door of trials. It will turn away those who hold evil in their hearts, and lead on those who hold the holy spirit.” The girl with the eyes of an adult knelt before the door, and prayed. The girl with the eyes of a child followed suit. The symbol on the door glowed red, and the door opened."
 * Lightning's Eidolon, Odin, who in this game is a Knight in Shining Armor instead of the Black Knight he is in previous games.
 * BFS
 * Bifurcated Weapon
 * Cool Horse
 * Cool Sword: His Zantetsuken.
 * Double Weapon
 * Horseback Heroism
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me
 * Razor Wind
 * Lightning And Awe
 * White Stallion
 * She Fu: Lightning's fighting style.
 * Shock and Awe: Her magic specialty is (of course) the thunder line of spells.
 * Speak Friend and Enter: In one of the early cutscenes, she pounds on a door that looks like a l'Cie Brand, and then apologizes and asks the door (or the fal'Cie controlling the door) nicely to open, which works. It is explained in Episode Zero that this door turns away those who are evil:


 * Spin Attack: Her Blitz skill is one of these.
 * Still Wearing the Old Colors: She quit a minute or two before she boarded the train in the opening, and didn't have time to change.
 * Custom Uniform of Sexy: Lightning's variation of the Guardian Corps uniform only has one pauldron, is sleeveless, has Fingerless Gloves, Modesty Shorts instead of pantyhose and no Commissar Cap.
 * Swiss Army Weapon: Her gunblade (unlike Squall's) is a weapon which can shift between its sword form to a submachine gun instead of being a bullet-powered Vibroweapon.
 * Cool Sword/Cool Gun
 * The Musketeer: Uses both sword and gun, but focuses on the sword.
 * Tall, Rosehaired, And Bishoujo
 * Third-Person Seductress: A beautiful aversion.
 * Troubled but Cute
 * Worst Whatever Ever: See Deadpan Snarker above.



In XIII-2, Lightning has gone missing and is assumed dead by all but her sister Serah. The reality is that she has been whisked to the timeless plane of Valhalla, where she has ascended to become the protector to none other than the Goddess Etro.

Tropes present only in the sequel:


 * Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Has been pulled to the world of Valhalla to protect Goddess Etro's temple.
 * The Beast Master
 * Big Good
 * Chainmail Bikini: It's a bit more practical than most, but still qualifies.
 * Cool Sword/Cool Gun
 * Decoy Protagonist: Though she will has a short DLC episode in the form of "Requiem of the Goddess" to explain her side of the story a bit more.
 * Demoted to Extra
 * Feather Motif: Her costume and her gunblade summoning now involve copious amounts of feathers. Word of God confirms that this symbolizes a connection to the divine.
 * Fluffy Fashion Feathers
 * Hero of Another Story
 * Hyperspace Arsenal: Calls her new gunblade from thin air.
 * Legally Dead/First Episode Spoiler: Believed dead by everyone but Serah.
 * Leotard of Power
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me
 * Mounted Combat/Dragon Rider: With Odin and Bahamut.
 * Narrator
 * Out of Focus
 * Not Quite Human: The booklet states, “…she is something beyond human, almost a goddess herself.”
 * The Paladin
 * Showgirl Skirt: It's made of Fluffy Fashion Feathers.
 * Summon Magic: She can summon her own version of Bahamut now as well as command of monsters.
 * Taken for Granite:.
 * Transformation Sequence: How she got into all that fancy armor. It looks like a less-flashy version of a Magical Girl's transformation, complete with nudity.
 * Valkyries: Certainly in terms of design.
 * Wolverine Publicity: She's the one on the boxart and the logo but The Hero of XIII-2 is really her sister Serah.
 * Transformation Sequence: How she got into all that fancy armor. It looks like a less-flashy version of a Magical Girl's transformation, complete with nudity.
 * Valkyries: Certainly in terms of design.
 * Wolverine Publicity: She's the one on the boxart and the logo but The Hero of XIII-2 is really her sister Serah.

Snow Villiers


""Since when have heroes ever needed plans?""

Voiced by Daisuke Ono in Japanese and Troy Baker in English.

Snow is the leader of NORA, an armed neighbor watch that fights local monsters. When the Purge starts, they rebel against the Sanctum. He is engaged to Lightning's sister, Serah. Snow fights with his bare hands and Ice magic. His weapon is a special coat developed by the government which can alter the strength of the wearer. His Eidolon is Shiva, which splits into two sisters,. They transform into a motorbike during their Gestalt Mode.

General tropes and those present in the first game:

""Heroes don't need plans!""
 * Always Save the Girl: Snow is VERY dedicated to rescuing Serah, to the point where he abandons the others to save her at one point.
 * Badass: For clarification on his badassery, see his entry in the Memetic Badass entry on the game's YMMV subpage.
 * Badass Abnormal: Twofold for Snow, since he clearly knows how to fight, the bullet proof strength enhancing coat lets him make the most of it. Being turned into l'cie with magic powers is just the cherry on the top.
 * Badass Biker
 * Badass Longcoat: Which is actually his weapon.
 * Bare-Fisted Monk: Although it's obvious he relies more on brute strength than technique. There's some skill there though, just enough for him to be efficient about it.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Literally. Although, since he wants to live and breathe this trope, this had to happen sometime.
 * The Big Guy: At somewhere around 6'7", he's the biggest human PC in a Final Fantasy game yet.
 * Blue Eyes
 * Boisterous Bruiser: And how!
 * Clothes Make the Superman: Before the L'cie did, anyway.
 * Determinator: He never believes destroying Cocoon is his Focus and strives relentlessly to save it instead.
 * Does Not Know His Own Strength: Especially around Hope and Serah.
 * Expy: Of Shinjiro Aragaki, of Persona 3 fame. If you can't see it, compare his plot line with Hope to Shinji's plot line with Ken.
 * He is also basically Seifer.
 * He acts like Zack: cheerful, Adorkable, and wants to be a hero/thinks he's a hero.
 * He looks a lot like Sabin, has the same personality, and even fights with his fists.
 * Fake Ultimate Hero: Claims to be a traditional 'save the world' hero when all he's done is trounce local wildlife. After transforming, he tries to be the real deal.
 * He was some sort of revolutionary before the game started, and while his tactics were questionable, he was charismatic enough to garner followers. Not exactly a hero, but probably where he got the idea that he was heroic.
 * Five Stages of Grief: While Lightning is trapped in the anger stage following Serah's crystalization, Snow is stuck in the bargaining stage. He is convinced that he can free her from her fate if he just sacrifices something, anything.
 * Gentle Giant: Jokes about his shoe size aside, Snow is a determined romantic who believes in doing the right thing as a self-designated hero. Also, he insists on calling Lightning 'nee-san / sis' even though he isn't married to Serah yet and Lightning hates him.
 * Good Old Fisticuffs: He's more of a brawler than a Martial Artist, using his aforementioned coat as an Amplifier Artifact to augment his strikes rather than a pair of gloves.
 * Hair of Gold
 * The Hero: Deconstructed. He identifies himself as one, but at first the world is just so crapsack that he mostly serves as a source of irritation for Lightning, the actual protagonist, until Character Development happens...
 * Post Character Development, he's the one to set their long term goal and gets them to acknowledge how much of a team they've all become. While Lightning leads more often then him, he's more traditionally heroic and steers them towards helping bystanders (often to the other's exasperation).
 * Heroic BSOD:
 * Most pronounced
 * Before that when Hope started to question his actions.
 * Hidden Depths: While he appears to be oblivious, arrogant, or thoughtless, he is in fact masking his intense fear of failure and guilt for those he's failed (Nora and Serah, in particular). Since he doesn't know how to make up for those deficiencies, he tries to be gregarious and active. He's so afraid that he'll never make up for it that he can't bring himself to apologize or acknowledge what he did that was wrong. Hope convinces him to be more mindful of his sins.
 * Hot-Blooded: He charges headlong into danger with nary a thought.
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Compared to Serah, Snow is HUGE.
 * Hunk: Lampshaded by Serah in XIII-2.
 * Fearless Fool
 * An Ice Person: As with Lightning, it's not hard to see why this is his main magic element.
 * Ideal Hero: Leads to being an Idiot Hero, at first, since he doesn't consider anything other than ideals when trying to be heroic. However, as the most idealistic one in the team, he can also be the most clear-sighted, which becomes important after the Trauma Conga Line renders everyone doubtful and unsure.
 * Idiot Hero: Thinks he can save everyone with enthusiasm. His plans are never more complicated than: Summon Shiva, kick ass. He does show a practical mindset at times, but it's clear he tries to fight it. Character Development helps...
 * Indy Ploy: On the other hand, he is quick on his feet, which is the only reason he gets away with the above.

""Cool them off!""
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's mostly arrogant, doing things without thinking, but he's willing to do anything whatever it takes.
 * Keet
 * Hurricane Kick: His version of Blitz is one.
 * Large Ham: Just listen to his shouts, boasts, and cries! Troy Baker was clearly not afraid to unleash the hog.
 * Mr. Fanservice: Judging by his Shirtless Scene.
 * Megaton Punch: Snow's Sovereign Fist.
 * Memetic Hand Gesture: Snow's "right fist punches left palm" motion. Often includes a Rousing Speech. Done so often, however, that it undercuts such speeches in later chapters.
 * Nice Guy: Never has a bad word to say about his allies or the people of Cocoon. Even if they punch him in the face or are terrified of him.
 * One-Man Army: Not as much as Lightning, but still very much present.
 * The Paragon: He tries to be, and he can play the part, but by refusing to recognize his flaws or the challenges around him he endangers others as much as he tries to empower them. During his journey, once he actually thinks through his (rather dire) situation, he acts as one to the group, being the first to commit to rebelling against the fal'cie and by being continually cheerful in the face of the others' gloom. It pays off.
 * Perma-Stubble
 * Paradigm System
 * Commando
 * Ravager
 * Sentinel. With the most support equipment for defending, he's got this role down pat; except he's missing Elude.
 * Roundhouse Kick: His version of Blindside are these.
 * Shirtless Scene: Snow is ripped.
 * Stone Wall: Has the highest HP of any character, but the worst Magic and only slightly above-average Strength. He is best in the Sentinel role.
 * Mighty Glacier: With a certain setup he can become a very powerful physical attacker by sacrificing some of his very high HP count.
 * Summon Magic


 * Snow's Eidolon is Shiva, who in this game comes as pair of twin sisters called Nix and Stiria.
 * An Ice Person: Strange when you consider his personality.
 * Cool Bike
 * Deadly Disc: Nix uses her wheel in combat.
 * The Medic: Styria
 * She Fu/Waif Fu: Nix as opposed to Styria.
 * Yin-Yang Bomb
 * Throw Down the Bomblet: Before he gets l'cie powers he uses hand grenades to deal area damage.
 * Understanding Boyfriend: Stands by Serah when she becomes a l'Cie, proposing to her shortly afterwards.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: Refuses to believe they'll all either Cie'th or commit genocide; always knew they'd save the day.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: He thinks he's a hero and if he makes the most heroic choices, everything will be fine. If he was in a Lighter and Softer RPG series, this would work, but not in this one...
 * Double Subversion: ...Except it does work. Moping about solves absolutely nothing in this game (and for l'Cie, it generally results in an Eidolon showing up to either kick you back into shape or just kill you). It's only by making the heroic choice to defeat the Big Bad rather than give up and become Ragnarok that the party saves Cocoon. Just look at Lightning's Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner to the Final Boss. Ultimately, Snow is wrong only about his particular role in the story.



In XIII-2, Snow has put his marriage to Serah on hold while he looks for the missing Lightning at his fiance's request. He soon disappears altogether, having been whisked into the vortex of time.

Tropes present only in the sequel:
 * Eighties Hair: To be fair, that is likely what it looks like without the hat.
 * Barrier Warrior
 * Big Damn Heroes: In a cinematic action, no less.
 * Then in one of the Paradox Endings,.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: At least, not when Snow's wearing it.
 * Demoted to Extra
 * The Fettered: He can't keep himself from challenging a much stronger giant flan because it's a danger to Vanille and Fang.
 * Guest Star Party Member
 * Hero of Another Story
 * Guest Star Party Member: When in the Sunleth Waterscape he can help Noel and Serah.
 * Palette Swap: Notable as Final Fantasy XIII is always praised for its visuals, Snow's overall appearance isn't changing much other than coloration and hairstyle.
 * Took a Level in Badass: As a Guest Star Party Member early in the game, he's pretty lame. However, as a DLC boss, his punches hurt like hell and he can easily wreck your team with his Sovereign Fist if you don't use the proper strategy.
 * Took a Level in Badass: As a Guest Star Party Member early in the game, he's pretty lame. However, as a DLC boss, his punches hurt like hell and he can easily wreck your team with his Sovereign Fist if you don't use the proper strategy.

Oerba Dia Vanille


""Wishes can come true. But not if you just wait for miracles. Miracles are things we make for ourselves. Here, and now.""

Voiced by Yukari Fukui in Japanese and Georgia van Cuylenburg in English.

A mysterious girl with red hair tied up in pigtails who, despite facing hardships, is an upbeat and caring person. Her weapon is a strange kind of fishing rod. Her Eidolon is the many-armed, and it transforms into a bipedal mech with four machine gun turrets in its Gestalt Mode. The resemblance to magiteck armor is a complete coincidence.


 * Action Girl
 * Ambiguously Gay: The ambiguity levels get dangerously low at times.
 * Badass Adorable: The girl gets to fish enemies to death in the beginning of the game.
 * She learns DEATH. The adorable girl, who all but skips her way through the game learns the one spell your party can learn that will outright kill an opponent. Badass Adorable indeed.
 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Beware the Nice Ones: She's a master of the Death Spell, her summon is a walking killstick, and . Beware.
 * Break the Cutie/: Courtesy of one infamous scene...
 * Break the Cutie/: Courtesy of one infamous scene...

""Come on Hecaton!""
 * The Call Knows Where You Live:
 * The Chick: Female, cute, cheerful, and tries to support everyone.
 * Combat Medic: Vanille is the best Medic in the early and middle stages of the game, but is eventually outpaced in terms of raw healing power by Hope. To compensate, her HP is considerably higher, improving her survivability. She is also capable of acting as a fairly good offensive mage and is the best debuffer in the game.
 * Dangerously-Short Skirt
 * Death Seeker:
 * Genki Girl: Consistently cheerful and energetic despite how long they march.
 * Girlish Pigtails
 * Girly Run
 * Green Eyes
 * Improbable Weapon User: It's a sort of whip-staff that is, apparently, supposed to be used for fishing.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Makes frequent sexual-sounding noises in battle for no apparent reason.
 * Beyond that, while everyone else's l'Cie brand is on a reasonably harmless position (except for Lightning's), hers is right on the side of her asscheek, meaning she has to lift her skirt to see and check it. Wonder why that is.
 * To be fair, given how she's dressed quite striperiffically, the designers had not many options
 * Narrator
 * Nice Shoes: Fur-trimmed, square-toed cowboy boots with turned up soles.
 * One-Hit Kill: Her specialty skill is the Death spell.
 * Orgasmic Combat:
 * It appears as if she actually has an orgasm during the Gaian Salvo attack.
 * Paradigm System
 * Sabetour, and your best one mainly because she can get Improved Debuffs (which makes Poison, Deprotect & Deshell more successful) and Death.
 * Ravager
 * Medic
 * Pink Means Feminine: Her top.
 * The Pollyanna: Unless this girl gets depressed, then everyone's fucked.
 * Pretty in Mink
 * Reality Is Unrealistic: There has been some complaints about how fake her Australian accent is, even though Georgia von Cuylenberg is actually Australian.
 * Redheaded Hero
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: With Fang.
 * She's Got Legs
 * Showgirl Skirt: Made from the pelt of a bear she killed herself.
 * Small Girl, Big Gun: Hecatoncheir's gun platform Gestalt Mode.
 * Stepford Smiler: Type A.
 * Squishy Wizard: As a less extreme example than Hope.
 * Summon Magic
 * Showgirl Skirt: Made from the pelt of a bear she killed herself.
 * Small Girl, Big Gun: Hecatoncheir's gun platform Gestalt Mode.
 * Stepford Smiler: Type A.
 * Squishy Wizard: As a less extreme example than Hope.
 * Summon Magic


 * Vanille's Eidolon Hecatonchier is a strange many-armed earth creature named after a monster in Classical Mythology.
 * Dishing Out Dirt
 * Gatling Good
 * Macross Missile Massacre
 * More Dakka
 * Multi-Armed and Dangerous
 * Stuff Blowing Up
 * What Could Have Been: According to the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega, the development team at one point considered making Vanille the official main character of the game, but dismissed the idea as they had already released a trailer and art featuring Lightning in that role.
 * She also would have been a shade of blonde if they went through with it.
 * Whip It Good: Vanille's weapon of choice is a Binding Rod which is a whip combined with Magic Staff.
 * Whip It Good: Vanille's weapon of choice is a Binding Rod which is a whip combined with Magic Staff.

Sazh Katzroy


""You think you die, and that's that?! You think you die and everything'll be sugar and rainbows?!""

Voiced by Masashi Ebara in Japanese and Reno Wilson in English.

A professional airship pilot from Cocoon, he tags along with Lightning so that he can confront the fal'Cie. His weapons are dual pistols. His Eidolon is, a female Fire-elemental, who can turn into a race car in her Gestalt Mode.

""I summon Brynhildr!""
 * Ace Pilot: He was a civilian pilot before the plot kicked off, but his skills are definitely top notch.
 * Afro Asskicker
 * Action Survivor: Early cutscenes would seem to imply that he just picked up the guns somewhere and had no real familiarity with them. Meaning he had no combat training or experience. The description of his pistols claim they are emergency weapons assigned to pilots in case of crashes in the wilderness.
 * Bottomless Magazines: Never needs to reload, no matter how long the battle lasts.
 * Brown Eyes
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Sazh is foolish, nice, and cries easily. He's also a hardened veteran Ace Pilot who has a very firm grip on reality and two large pistols.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Not even close to the extent of Lightning or Fang, but he pulls off many a fantastic one-liner, which also ties in with...
 * Department of Redundancy Department: In the Sunleth Waterscape: "This dampness is damp."
 * Funny Afro: Which he shares with his son.
 * Guns Akimbo: Which combine to make a rifle.
 * The Gunslinger
 * Head Pet: Leads to some jokes by fans about how much chocobo shit he's gotta clean out.
 * Long-Range Fighter
 * Manly Tears
 * Master of None: His Strength and Magic stats are both below average; they become the worst of all six characters in the postgame. On the other hand, he has the second-highest HP and compensates for his lack of power by Dual-Wielding with a ranged attack and being the earliest character to get offensive Status Buffs. With a maxed Crystarium and Ultimate weapon, he can hit a single enemy up to 18 times, making him stronger than Snow.
 * More Dakka: His specialty skill, Cold Blood.
 * Only Sane Man: Combined surprisingly with The Fool.
 * Papa Wolf
 * Paradigm System
 * Commando
 * Ravager
 * Synergist
 * Playing with Fire: Firaga is his specialty.
 * Sad Clown: By far the most comedic character and deliberately designed after Richard Pryor. Also, probably the most tragic character too
 * The Smart Guy: He's a pilot and he can fix robots. He's the only one in the group that knows more 'kill stuff'.
 * Stellar Name: Sazh's guns, much like in Final Fantasy XII, are named after stars.
 * Straight Man: Sazh, also serves as Only Sane Man in similar circumstances.
 * Summon Magic


 * Sazh's Eidolon Brynhildr is a Lady of War valkyrie named from Norse Mythology as opposed to Ifrit.
 * Blade on a Stick: Which doubles as a Hand Cannon.
 * Car Fu
 * Combat Stilettos
 * Cool Car
 * Elemental Punch: Using his En-Element spells, Sazh can change the properties of Brynhildr's special attacks.
 * Playing with Fire
 * Team Dad: Takes it upon himself to look after Hope and Vanille, and, to a lesser extent, Snow and Lightning.
 * Token Minority: Sazh is the only black member in a cast that is mostly white (except for Fang). His son, Dajh, may qualify as a Twofer Token Minority, being the only named black NPC and the only named young child NPC.

As the pilot for Blitz Squadron, Sazh and Dajh were sucked into a temporal distortion. The "Heads or Tails" XIII-2 downloadable content shows that after spending some time in the casino at Serendipity, a place that is beyond time, they then enter a time gate and wind up even further in the future, and he aids Serah, Noel, and Hope as an airship pilot.

Tropes present only in the sequel:


 * Back for the Finale
 * Catch a Falling Star:
 * Demoted to Extra/Previous Player Character Cameo: In the game proper. He does get his own DLC story, however.

Hope Estheim


""And what if that gets people around you involved? What happens when your actions end up ruining someone's life? What if someone dies? What then, Snow? How do you pay for what you've done?""

Voiced by Yuuki Kaji in Japanese and Vincent Martella in English.

A young boy originally from a high-class family. His mother was killed while volunteering to help Snow and NORA, so for that he bears a grudge against Snow. His weapon is a boomerang. His Eidolon is, which has the ability to turn into a fortress in Gestalt Mode.

"Hope [before using Last Resort]: I decide my fate!"
 * Abstract Apotheosis: This is basically Hope's Character Development, but done in a more symbolic way. Lampshaded frequently over the course of the plot. Lightning is the Foil to Hope through this trope . See also Meaningful Name and Bilingual Bonus.
 * Action Mom: His mother Nora volunteers for Snow's militia and even saves Snow at one point.
 * Action Survivor: Like Sazh, Hope has likely never seen combat before the events of the game although his weapon implies he has experience with hunting with a boomerang.
 * Adorably Precocious Child: After character development, he becomes extremely mature for his age.
 * Battle Boomerang: Hope's Weapon of Choice.
 * Precision-Guided Boomerang: Justified in that it works through futuristic technology, allowing Hope to control it with hand movements.
 * Bratty Half-Pint: Initially, although he largely outgrows this and his other major character flaws by mid-game.
 * Cannot Spit It Out: For a good portion of the game, Hope cannot bring himself to say something about Snow's responsibility for the death of his mother, Nora.
 * Casual Danger Dialogue: Once he gets his head on straight, he starts doing this a fair bit, from summoning Alexander with "Need your help, big guy!" to and saying nothing but "Hey there." He's clearly taking a leaf out of Fang's book.
 * That's actually not a bad thing in his case.
 * Child Mage: And (eventually) the most powerful one; by end-game, the only magic class where he's weaker than Vanille is Saboteur, and only because she's got the Death spell.
 * Death From Above: Hope's signature skill, Last Resort, also has elements of this trope.
 * Emo Teen/Momma's Boy --> Character Development --> Determinator
 * Expy: Of Ken Amada. Right down to the orange jacket and short shorts.
 * Also, Does this remind you of someone?. Let's see... only fourteen, loses his mother, hates his dad, forced into life-endangering situations against his will, forms a strong relationship with a Military chick, spends a heavy amount of timing in Angst Mode, and (eventually) calls into battle a Humongous Mecha. Yes, he's the FF equivalent of Shinji.
 * Gender Blender Name
 * Genre Savvy: Well aware of the "revenge doesn't help anything" Aesop that would generally be headed his way like a five-ton anvil. Doesn't care.
 * Green Eyes
 * Hammerspace: Where his boomerang comes from and goes to before and after battle, apparently.
 * The Lancer: In a Kid Sidekick sort of way.
 * Light'Em Up: His Last Resort spell has shades of this.
 * It's also a direct Shout-Out to FFX's holy spell.
 * Lonely Rich Kid: Initially, until the party develops into True Companions.
 * Long-Range Fighter
 * Magikarp Power: Some players dismiss Hope as an inferior medic to Vanille because he doesn't get the higher-level healing spells until later in development. However, his magic power ultimately outstrips Vanille's.
 * Mama Bear: His mother Nora, who covers for her son and.
 * Paradigm System
 * Synergist
 * Ravager
 * Medic
 * Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner

""We need your help big guy.""
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: AKA Operation Nora.
 * Red Mage: Hope will out do any characters magical abilities in any role with the exception of Vanille in Sabetour.
 * Squishy Wizard: By far outstrips the other characters in magic, but has the least HP making him a...
 * Glass Cannon
 * Summon Magic


 * Hope's Eidolon Alexander, who takes the appearance of a Mini-Mecha not unlike the Giant of Babil from Final Fantasy IV.
 * Beam Spam
 * Big Fancy Castle
 * Death From Above
 * Frickin' Laser Beams
 * Holy Hand Grenade
 * Light'Em Up
 * Power Fist
 * Rocket Punch
 * Wall of Weapons
 * Tagalong Kid: Along the other five, he was in Bodhum for a vacation. In other words, the wrong place at the wrong time.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy
 * Whole-Plot Reference: His circumstances and costume are largely modeled on Tidus from Final Fantasy X, from color scheme and daddy issues to adjusting to being taken out of his comfort zone and
 * You Killed My Mother: He gets over it, eventually.



In XIII-2, the 24-year old Hope is the director of the Academy, a scientific organisation born from the new provisional government of Cocoon. Together with his fellows, he is working on building a future for humanity based on human technology.

Tropes present only in the sequel:


 * Adventure Archaeologist
 * Badass Bookworm: Is head of the Academy research group.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Saves Noel and Serah from a monster with just his boomerang. This is the previous game's Squishy Wizard, by the way.
 * Bishonen: Now that's he's grown up, he definitely qualifies.
 * Dawson Casting: A rare inverted example, with teenage Vincent Martella playing a man in his twenties.
 * Emperor Scientist: As the Director of Academy Hope is the undisputed leader of humanity. His rise to power makes more sense when you learn that his father Bartholomew and Rygdea were the ones who set up the provisional government and Academy after the fall of Sanctum.
 * Regent for Life: A benign version, Even after spending time in suspended animation Hope can still comes back in the future and he is still unquestioned in authority.
 * Hot Scientist
 * Improbable Age: At 24 he is the head of Academy as well as Academia the new capital of the world making him humanity's de facto leader. The game Hand Waves this ahead of time in NPC dialog as the Academy caring more about abilities than age.
 * Meaningful Name: Snow even lampshades it in a paradox ending.
 * The Messiah
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Hope's team builds Augusta Tower in order to create
 * Older Than They Look: Does he look like he's 24? (Admittedly, the silver hair may be adding a few years.)
 * Omnidisciplinary Scientist
 * Set Right What Once Went Wrong: His reasons for entering the Academy were to find a way to bring back Lightning, Fang, Vanille, and his mother Nora.
 * Supporting Leader
 * Static Stun Gun: His new boomerang has an electromagnetic pulse which stuns paradox creatures.
 * EMP
 * Stepford Smiler: Implied when Serah and Noel meet with him at the Yaschas Massif, considering next to everyone he was close friends with has disappeared from his life.

Oerba Yun Fang


""Let Cocoon get what's comin', better that than watch a friend go Cie'th.""

Voiced by Mabuki Andou in Japanese and Rachel Robinson in English.

A mysterious woman from Pulse who grew up with Vanille. Her weapon is a double-bladed spear that can be split into a three-section staff. Her Eidolon is, who has no element, which also turns into a flying dragon in its Gestalt Mode.

""I'd tear down the sky if that's what it took to keep Vanille safe.""
 * Action Girl
 * Always Save the Girl

""Rain down hell!""
 * Ambiguously Brown
 * Ambiguously Gay: One starts to wonder just how ambiguous it's really supposed to be.
 * Badass
 * Beauty Mark: Under her right eye.
 * Blade on a Stick: A double sided one which separates into a three section staff.
 * Blood Knight: It's not extremely obvious, but she seems to really enjoy kicking her opponents around. One of her battle quotes is, "You're gonna squirm!"
 * Deadpan Snarker: "Who ordered the battalion?"
 * Another example would be, upon seeing two rather powerful monsters duking it out, "Wow. Look at 'em go."
 * Early-Bird Cameo:
 * Fish Out of Temporal Water:
 * Fluffy Tamer: "What a sweetheart!" in regards to Bahamut.
 * Glacier Waif: She has the highest Strength and above-average HP, but subpar magic. She is the best Commando in the game and the second-best Sentinel after Snow.
 * Land Down Under: Gran Pulse, a challenging world with unique wildlife? Check. Fang using an appropriate accent? Check. Devotee of Deadpan Snarking? Hooboy, check.
 * Ms. Fanservice: General consensus is that Fang is sexier than sex.
 * Mythology Gag: Has quite a few; her specialty skill Highwind resembles the signature command of the Dragoon Job and is named after the surname of many of the series' previous dragoons like Ricard, Kain, and Cid. Her ultimate weapon is Kain's Lance, and she even rides a Dragon as a mount like Ricard did.
 * Paradigm System
 * Commando
 * Saboteur
 * Sentinel
 * Sixth Ranger: The final cast member to join the party.
 * Slasher Smile: Has a habit of flashing these before boss battles start.
 * Statuesque Stunner: She's 5'9".
 * Summon Magic
 * Statuesque Stunner: She's 5'9".
 * Summon Magic


 * As a Dragoon, it's only fitting that Fang's Eidolon is the king of dragons Bahamut himself.
 * Breath Weapon
 * Death From Above
 * Dragon Rider: In Gestalt, of course.
 * Giant Flyer
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons
 * Non-Elemental
 * Our Dragons Are Different
 * Super-Powered Evil Side:
 * Sticks to the Back: Her spear curiously does this while most other weapons have carrying cases. There are straps near her waist, but they aren't large enough to keep the spear from jiggling everywhere.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Unkempt Beauty
 * What Could Have Been: Her character was originally conceived as a male in early preproduction. Noel in XIII-2 was likely based on this original design.
 * When All You Have Is a Hammer: While most of the other party members tend to agonize over solutions to their plight, Fang's solution for every problem seems to be to stab it until it stops twitching.
 * Wild Hair
 * Wild Hair

Primarch Galenth Dysley


""Without our help, death is all of which you're capable. You saw the fools. A mindless mob drunk on fear of a few l'Cie.""

Voiced by Masaru Shinozuka in Japanese and S Scott Bullock in English.

The Primarch of Cocoon, he is revered and loved by his people as a wise and fair old ruler that protects them from the horrors of Pulse, even if it means Purging cities at times. In reality, however,


 * Authority Equals Asskicking: How wrong you were if you thought he was a harmless old man...
 * Badass Long Robe
 * Badass Boast: Combines this with "The Reason You Suck" Speech, making for a truly awe-inspiring monologue when . The Oh Crap looks on the faces of the party are amazing.
 * Listen for yourself here.
 * The Battle Didn't Count
 * Blond Guys Are Evil: His hair is even long under his headdress, according to his artwork.
 * Blue Eyes
 * The Chessmaster:
 * Climax Boss:
 * Death Seeker:
 * Early-Bird Cameo: Although he doesn't physically appear until the third chapter, he can be heard speaking to the Purge victims at the very beginning of the game.
 * There's also a literal bird cameo as his Rukh Menrva shows up very early in the game.
 * The Emperor: Subverted; as Cocoon runs on a democracy, he was elected.
 * Evil Old Folks
 * Familiar: His Rukh, Menvra.
 * Femme Fatalons: Even though he is a guy, those are some insanely long specimens.
 * First Church of Mecha: The Sanctum Government worships the fal'Cie like gods.
 * Frickin' Laser Beams: His main attack method.
 * Beam Spam: In fact he never stops attacking with them.
 * Gold and White Are Divine:.
 * Human Sacrifice:
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch:
 * Kill Steal: Ganks before you get a chance to.
 * Leitmotif: Notably the only character outside the main cast (and Serah) with one.
 * Light Is Not Good: Uses lots of light and holy themed attacks as well as his overall appearance.
 * Light'Em Up
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Master of Illusion:.
 * My Name Is
 * Nice Hat
 * Ominous Latin Chanting: His battle theme.
 * Owl Be Damned: Has a robotic Nightmare Fuel pet owl.
 * President Evil:
 * Purple Is Powerful
 * Running Gag: Whenever he encounters the party,
 * Sinister Minister: In the Japanese version his title is Great Pope.
 * Slasher Smile:
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Some fans romanize his name as . The Spanish translation has that romanization as canon.
 * Staff of Authority: Although it seems to be just a badge of office it also doubles as a Magic Wand,
 * Recurring Boss
 * Title Drop:.
 * Villain with Good Publicity: If only the adoring public knew.
 * Visionary Villain:.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:.
 * Staff of Authority: Although it seems to be just a badge of office it also doubles as a Magic Wand,
 * Recurring Boss
 * Title Drop:.
 * Villain with Good Publicity: If only the adoring public knew.
 * Visionary Villain:.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:.

Lieutenant Colonel Jihl Nabaat


""Your son's a hero. We'll erect a memorial for him on Eden... and put his crystal on display!""

Voiced by Mie Sonozaki in Japanese and Paula Tiso in English.

A colonel in charge of running the military division PSICOM (Public Safety and Information Command) which are charged with the handling and containing Pulse activity, and as such opposes the party.

Is available as DLC for FFXIII-2's coliseum.


 * The Baroness: Of the Sexpot subtype.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
 * Blue Eyes
 * Cleavage Window: One that you can put Adornments in! Yeah...
 * Combat Stilettos
 * Expy: Her similarities to both The Baroness and Quistis (moreso appearance-wise in terms of the latter) have been noticed by the fans.
 * Flunky Boss: In XIII-2
 * The Minion Master
 * For Science!: After revealing to Sazh that Vanille is the reason his son crystalized, she lets them fight it out to 'gather data' on l'cie battle power.
 * Four Eyes, Zero Soul
 * Full-Contact Magic: Her Sadistic Surge Feral Link.
 * Glasses Pull: Jihl does this a few times to punctuate particularly callous lines. Later, she whips off her glasses and crushes them in a fit of abject rage and frustration,.
 * The Glasses Come Off:
 * Ice Queen
 * Improbable Weapon User: Brandishes a swagger stick as her Weapon of Choice in cutscenes.
 * Magic From Technology: Uses Manadrives.
 * Not So Stoic: The aforementioned Villainous Breakdown showed this off, only cementing her status as Smug Snake rather than Magnificent Bitch.
 * Officer and a Gentleman: Subverted; she acts polite, but is really just trying to get her way.
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Yaag's Blue.
 * Sexy Spectacles: Until she breaks her glasses during her...
 * Villainous Breakdown: Throws a nervous tantrum when the party breaks into the airship she and the Primarch are in.
 * Also her trademark. not only did her glasses have concept art, but they're a rare drop from her in XIII-2.
 * Smug Snake: So very much.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Pretty self explanatory.
 * Staff of Authority: Carries a fancy swagger stick for both combat and command purposes.
 * : She was willing to try and give it a go,.
 * Unwitting Pawn:.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: As a gameplay mechanic in her boss fight, she has the ability Sacrifice Pawn where she sacrifices any allies you haven't killed yet. Depending on the type and number of allies she sacrifices, she gains various effects: PSICOM Wardens restore her HP, Nightblade Pumas cast Daze on your party and Azure Behemoths allow her to use her Limit Break and if none are present, she instead sacrifices a large chunk of her HP to use it.
 * Unwitting Pawn:.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: As a gameplay mechanic in her boss fight, she has the ability Sacrifice Pawn where she sacrifices any allies you haven't killed yet. Depending on the type and number of allies she sacrifices, she gains various effects: PSICOM Wardens restore her HP, Nightblade Pumas cast Daze on your party and Azure Behemoths allow her to use her Limit Break and if none are present, she instead sacrifices a large chunk of her HP to use it.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: As a gameplay mechanic in her boss fight, she has the ability Sacrifice Pawn where she sacrifices any allies you haven't killed yet. Depending on the type and number of allies she sacrifices, she gains various effects: PSICOM Wardens restore her HP, Nightblade Pumas cast Daze on your party and Azure Behemoths allow her to use her Limit Break and if none are present, she instead sacrifices a large chunk of her HP to use it.

Lieutenant Colonel Yaag Rosch


""Tell me, do you really think your life is worth more than the lives of millions of Cocoon citizens?""

Voiced by Hiroki Tochi in Japanese and Jon Curry in English.

Jihl Nabaat's second-in-command, Rosch is a field commander and regularly participates in battle alongside his troops, hence the scar on his forehead.

"Fang: "He really wants us dead!""
 * Ace Pilot: Has his own transforming mecha/airship called The Proudclad which he challenges you in.
 * Anti-Villain: The party has his sympathies, but he does what he thinks is best for Cocoon.
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Beam Spam
 * Blue Eyes
 * The Captain: Director, actually, of PSICOM.
 * Colonel Badass: Far more dangerous than any lower-ranking solider.
 * Cool Airship: The Proudclad.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Expy: See, there's this Final Fantasy game in which there's this pretty cool villain; a high ranking officer in the goverment's service who has silver-y hair, dresses in a long, black coat, and is armed with the Masamune and he also... What was that? ...No, I'm not talking about Sephiroth. Why?
 * Frickin' Laser Beams: The main weapons of the Proudclad.
 * Friend to All Children: Got along very well with Dajh in the Novella.
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a faint one on his forehead. It's there to show that he's not afraid to mix it up and fight to the death alongside his own troops.
 * Interservice Rivalry: Between him and the Guardian Corps.
 * Macross Missile Massacre: As a very annoying Counter Attack.
 * My Country, Right or Wrong: Played straight in an interesting way..
 * Mythology Gag: the Proudclad may be a reference to a giant robot with a similar name in Final Fantasy VII.
 * Recurring Boss: Twice in the same chapter.
 * Mythology Gag: the Proudclad may be a reference to a giant robot with a similar name in Final Fantasy VII.
 * Recurring Boss: Twice in the same chapter.
 * Recurring Boss: Twice in the same chapter.
 * Recurring Boss: Twice in the same chapter.


 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Jihl's Red.
 * Self-Destruct Mechanism:
 * Transforming Mecha: His mecha, the Proudclad, is his method for challenging the party but he carries a Cool Sword as well.
 * Spider Tank
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Has steel-gray-ish hair with a light blue tint.

Brigadier General Cid Raines


""The public fears what it doesn't know... Strike down the phantoms before their eyes, and they sleep like babies.""

Voiced by Yuuichi Nakamura in Japanese and Erik Davies in English.

A Brigadier General who runs a fleet of airships called the Cavalry. Cid, however, has secret machinations of seizing power in Cocoon and giving rule to the people rather then the fal'Cie, and helps the party in order to achieve this goal. Unfortunately,


 * Adaptive Ability: Notably because he, like you, uses Paradigm Shifts to change his fighting style to better suit the battle.
 * Badass Army: His soldiers, the Cavalry.
 * Bare-Fisted Monk
 * Bishonen: Prettiest Cid yet.
 * The Brigadier: His rank.
 * Four-Star Badass
 * Gray Eyes
 * Holy Hand Grenade: His attack Seraphic Ray.
 * I Did What I Had to Do: In regards to, which involves him opposing the group that he's supposed to help]].
 * Kung Fu Wizard
 * Lightning Bruiser
 * Power Gives You Wings: Six of them, in fact.
 * Screw Destiny:
 * You Can't Fight Fate:.
 * Shadow Archetype: He can easily be described as the Anti-Snow. He's idealistic, but it was turned against him. Wants to defy his fate, but is forced to follow it. Fights with his fists. The only thing missing is a short fiancée.
 * Troubled but Cute
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist:.
 * Shadow Archetype: He can easily be described as the Anti-Snow. He's idealistic, but it was turned against him. Wants to defy his fate, but is forced to follow it. Fights with his fists. The only thing missing is a short fiancée.
 * Troubled but Cute
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist:.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist:.

Lieutenant Amodar


""Listen up, Farron! Your mission is to dominate this field of battle! I wanna hear that blade sing!""

Voiced by Yuji Ueda in Japanese and Dave Wittenberg in English.

A lieutenant in the Bohdum Security Regimen of the Guardian Corps and Lightning's immediate superior.


 * Adaptive Ability: He can paradigm shift just like you.
 * Ambiguously Brown
 * Badass Normal: He doesn't use any magic or even manadrives when you fight him, just his gun, some grenades and his bare hands.
 * BFG
 * Gatling Good
 * DLC: Comes with the Lightning DLC in Final Fantasy XIII-2.
 * Interservice Rivalry: Implied between him and PSICOM.
 * Mighty Glacier
 * Throw Down the Bomblet: He uses a lot of annoying grenades in battle which can inflict Standard Status Effects.
 * Pistol-Whipping: Although it's a pretty damn big gun to smack someone with!
 * Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: His Iron Bear Claw Feral Link.
 * Stout Strength

Captain Rygdea


""Damn idealism! Ya feed it blood and it howls for more!""

Voiced by Yasuyuki Kase in Japanese and Josh Robert Thompson in English.

A soldier in Cid Raines's airship fleet, he is Cid's right hand man and aids the party at his request.


 * The Captain
 * Head Swap
 * Mr. Fanservice
 * Mercy Kill:
 * Number Two: To Cid.
 * One-Scene Wonder
 * Rebel Leader
 * Satellite Character: Although supplementary materials expands his behind the scenes role as one of the co-founders of Academy along with Hope's father Bartholomew.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: The game does not elaborate to his fate

Team NORA


""The army's no match for NORA!""


 * Gadot Voiced by Biichi Satou in Japanese and Zack Hanks in English.
 * Yuj is Voiced by Wataru Hatano in Japanese and Jeff Fischer in English.
 * Maqui is Voiced by Makoto Naruse in Japanese and Daniel Samonas in English.
 * Lebreau Voiced by Yū Asakawa in Japanese and Anndi McAfee in English.

A team of rebellious monster hunters from Bodhum. The name is an acronym for "No Obligations, Rules, or Authority" in the English version, but is a play on the word "noraneko" in Japanese (meaning stray cat). When the Purge breaks out, they become La Résistance to combat PSICOM and protect the Purge victims.


 * Action Girl: Lebreau
 * Adorably Precocious Child: Maqui, who is Older Than He Looks.
 * The Bartender: Lebeau.
 * Big Damn Heroes:
 * Bishonen: Yuj
 * Development Gag: During the demo stages, the art team couldn't decide what hairstyle and colour to give Yuj so they made him look like a random NPC. They went on to lampshade this in his bio, saying that he went to Eden to get a whole new look.
 * Expy: Of Avalanche
 * The Fashionista: Yuj
 * Five-Man Band
 * The Hero: Snow
 * The Lancer: Gadot
 * The Smart Guy: Lebreau
 * Tagalong Kid: Maqui
 * The Chick: Yuj
 * Guest Star Party Member: Lebreau and Gadot in the first chapter.
 * Goggles Do Nothing: Maqui
 * Mr. Fixit: Maqui
 * One of the Boys: Lebreau
 * Sleeves Are for Wimps: Gadot
 * Small Girl, Big Gun: All of Team Nora uses the standard military issue machine gun except for Lebreau who packs a much larger rifle.
 * Stripperific: Lebreau, who's outfit is based on volleyball players.
 * Team Chef: Lebreau.
 * Team Mom: Lebreau
 * Theme Naming: Doubles as Fridge Brilliance, as Snow and the two Guest Star Party Members Lebreau and Gadot all have rhyming names.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Lebreau

Dajh Katzroy
Voiced by Shotaro Uzawa in Japanese and Connor Villard in English.

Sazh's young son, he loves Chocobos, and Sazh purchases the Chocobo Chick for him as a gift. Showing extreme maturity for his age, he comforts his father over the untimely death of his mother. Shortly before the game started, he was branded by the Cocoon fal'Cie Kujata and was taken by Jihl Nabaat into PSICOM custody.


 * Back for the Finale: In XIII-2, along with his father.
 * Cheerful Child
 * Funny Afro

Chocobo Chick
A baby chocobo Sazh bought for his son Dajh at Euride Gorge. It has human intelligence and frequently stands in as a physical form of Sazh's conscience.

"Sazh: "Hurry the what up?""
 * The Conscience: Talks Sazh out of multiple times.
 * Fan Nickname: Frocobo
 * Head Pet: Resides in Sazh's Funny Afro.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * Intellectual Animal
 * Killer Rabbit: Its entry in the Datalog implies it. The fact that it took on a and won confirms it.
 * No Name Given: The chick is unnamed. The implication is that Sazh wants Dajh to have the honor of naming it. In Episode Zero, Sazh declares that he'll give it a name "as soon as they get back" and wants to give it a "cool, cute name".
 * In XIII-2,
 * Precision F-Strike:


 * Ridiculously Cute Critter: Duh.
 * Team Pet

Orphan
""You overreach yourselves.""

Voiced by Hiro Shimono in Japanese and Michael Sinterniklaas in English.

The fal'Cie powering Cocoon hidden within the capital city, He is in stasis while the other fal'Cie draw upon his massive power to cater to the whims of Cocoon's inhabitants.


 * Clipped-Wing Angel:.
 * Creepy Child: Has a childlike face in the middle of an angelic wheel.
 * Death Seeker
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Evil Orphan
 * Eye Beams
 * Fan Disservice: He has a creepy giant, serpentine woman caressing him through the whole final battle.
 * Heads I Win, Tails You Lose:
 * Holy Hand Grenade / Light Is Not Good: Like, his attacks are light-based.
 * I Am Legion:.
 * I Cannot Self-Terminate:.
 * Mechanical Lifeform
 * My Name Is Orphan: Sort of. The very impressive music that plays when he appears for the first time has an extremely big, dramatic, and loud opening, and the translation of the choir's Latin is "My name is Orphan! ORPHAN!"
 * Also somewhat counts for his fused form when he first appears. "We are the Abandoned One. Born, but now to die. Our name is Orphan. By our hand, the world shall know redemption."
 * Nietzsche Wannabe: Killing everyone for some vague 'rebirth'.
 * One-Hit Kill: His final form has only one attack besides Doom, which he casts at the beginning of the battle, and repeatedly casts Death.
 * Our Angels Are Different: He bears some similarities with a Throne (also known as an Ophan), a high angel shaped like a wheel and that governs energy that maintains the world: Fitting, considering his role in Cocoon.
 * Powered by a Forsaken Child: He is the forsaken child powering Cocoon. Which is why.
 * Slasher Smile: Right before the final battle.
 * Voice of the Legion
 * Yin-Yang Bomb: His first form, which is aptly accompanied by either the debuffing skill Consummate Darkness or the buffing skill Consummate Light.
 * Yin-Yang Bomb: His first form, which is aptly accompanied by either the debuffing skill Consummate Darkness or the buffing skill Consummate Light.

Lindzei
The deity who is said to be the creator and master of Cocoon. The people of Pulse saw Lindzei as their greatest enemy and the source of all evil in the world. Many years before the beginning of the game, Lindzei supposedly abandoned the fal'cie of Cocoon and vanished. Lindzei does not actually appear within the game, but plays a very prominent role in the back story.


 * Abusive Parents:
 * Bigger Bad:
 * Final Solution:
 * Guardian Entity:
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen: We never actually see Lindzei, although it's represented by a symbol and various statues.
 * Omnicidal Maniac:.
 * Riddle for the Ages: Why did Lindzei abandon Cocoon? Doubles as a bit of a Driving Question,
 * Sigil Spam: Lindzei's mark is prominent throughout Cocoon, such as the head Dysley's Staff of Authority as well as Dajh l'cie brands.
 * Satan: To the people of Pulse, at any rate. The viper comparisons really drive it home.

Serah Farron


""The point is, I have people I can count on. I'll make it through.""

Voiced by Minako Kotobuki in Japanese and Laura Bailey in English.

Lightning's younger sister and Snow's fiancée, Serah was branded a l'Cie by the Pulse fal'Cie Anima prior to the game. Her Focus is what draws the party together, setting the plot in motion.


 * Blue Eyes
 * Body to Jewel: She sheds a crystal tear which Snow keeps with him for the duration of the game.
 * Crystallized Little Sister
 * Demoted to Extra: She was originally meant to be the seventh party member, but problems with her implementation led to her being made an NPC, which resulted in Lightning's more serious personality and Fang's Gender Flip.
 * Damsel in Distress
 * Hair Decorations
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: She is fairly average in height but anyone would look tiny next to Snow.
 * Expy: Her design is extremely similar to that of Kurumi Imari of Bible Black.
 * Feminine Women Can Cook: Between Lightning and Serah, Serah is the better cook.
 * Only Mostly Dead
 * Posthumous Character:
 * The Lost Lenore: For Snow.
 * Rose-Haired Girl
 * Sisterly Marriage Veto: Lightning does not approve of her engagement to Snow.
 * Zettai Ryouiki



Living with the rest of Team NORA in New Bodhum (Snow off searching for a way to free Vanille and Fang), Serah's world is shattered when monsters attack the village. Noel saves her, handing her a weapon so she can fight.

The two then set off to investigate Lightning's fate—everyone believes she's dead, but Serah's memory shows the opposite. What is behind these strange events?

Tropes present only in the sequel:


 * Action Girl: Believe it or not.
 * Apologetic Attacker: She sometimes does this after killing an enemy.
 * Ascended Extra
 * Badass:
 * Badass Adorable: Seems to possess fighting skills on-par with the original party members now, but she's no less cute while doing it.
 * Her victory pose is catching Mog and giving him a hug. Aaaaaaw.
 * Badass Teacher
 * The Beast Master: As with Lightning, she can collect crystals of monsters and raise them akin to Pokémon, the datalog explains this is a lesser form of Summon Magic.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Among her students she has a reputation as a rather strict teacher and both Snow and Noel comment she is like Lightning when she is angry.
 * Black Mage: Serah specializes in the Ravager, Sentinel and Saboteur paradigms.
 * Bow and Sword in Accord: They're technically the same weapon, but the effect remains.
 * Crazy Cat Lady: Some of her Live Triggers can invoke this, regarding her cat Snow. Because the cat is her only family!
 * Dreaming of Things to Come: Saw Noel in her dreams before she met him.
 * Expy: of Reimi Saijoni; she uses a bow—which is the same color mind you—does a backflip when up close, and heck, they even share the same voice actress!
 * Leads to a unique Casting Gag with Noel, who has the same seiyu as Edge Maverick from the same game.
 * Fan Girl: Of Snow. Best demonstrated in an optional Live Trigger where Noel asks her what Snow means to her where she goes into a rapid rant about how awesome he is as seen here.
 * Gameplay and Story Segregation: Although she has never actually fought in her life, she is just as useful as Noel, who has been fighting monsters all his life, from battle one.
 * It was mentioned that she learned how to defend herself, which makes sense as she and the people of Bodhum chose to go off into the wilds of Pulse in search of a beach.
 * Girly Run
 * Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: The developers have stated they wanted Serah's sword to turn into a bow to preserve her femininity.
 * The Heroine
 * In the Blood: Takes charge after Lightning goes missing.
 * Mythology Gag: She wields a sword that can turn into a bow, just as Lightning uses a Gunblade. In the early Final Fantasy games, Archers were a prominent Job class that got phased out in favor of Gunners as the technology of the series shifted forward.
 * At first, the three paradigms she's shown to have were Commando, Ravager and Medic, the same ones Lightning specialized in.
 * More recently, she's been shown as having Commando, Ravager, and Sentinel, which were Snow's starting paradigms in the original game.
 * While she begins with Snow's paradigms at the start of the game, she also majors in Ravager and Saboteur just like Lightning and Vanille, respectively. Vanille and Serah were friends before XIII began.
 * Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Pink to Noel's blue.
 * Seer
 * Blessed with Suck
 * Waif Prophet:
 * She Fu
 * Stripperific
 * Swiss Army Weapon: Mog, which can transform into a sword or bow.
 * The Archer
 * The Straight and Arrow Path
 * Rain of Arrows: With her Ultima Arrow skill.
 * Bow and Sword in Accord
 * Cool Sword
 * Empathic Weapon/Equippable Ally
 * Parrot Exposition
 * Platonic Life Partners: With Noel.
 * The Power of Love: Serah manages to take out several miniflan that were attacking Snow with no weapon whatsoever.
 * Took a Level in Badass: From Damsel in Distress in the original game and at game open to full-blown Action Girl by Chapter 2.
 * Transhuman: After the fall of Cocoon Serah is one of the few who have developed natural magical abilities, by Noel's time this is said to be the norm.

Noel Kreiss


Voiced by Jason Marsden in English and Daisuke Kishio in Japanese

A mysterious youth from Gran Pulse who appears to protect Serah when New Bodhum is attacked by monsters. They set out together to find Lightning.

""What a pretty little girl! I do like 'em pretty! But look at this boy, he's even prettier!""
 * The Aloner: In the time period he comes from.
 * Badass: Come on he was trained by Caius!
 * Bishonen
 * Lampshaded by Ultros


 * Cool Sword
 * Bifurcated Weapon: Like most weapons in this series, his can combine/transform to create Blade on a Stick.
 * Dual-Wielding
 * Katanas Are Just Better: Some of his left hand swords fall into the category.
 * Reverse Grip: His left hand sword.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Deuteragonist: He is this to Serah.
 * Development Gag: Many suspect that he's derived from the original designs for Fang when she was a male. Noel also combines his weapons to form a spear akin to Fang's.
 * The Dulcinea Effect: He knew Serah for how long?
 * Expy: of Silver and Trunks: Leaning more to the former than the latter.
 * Appearance wise, he looks a lot like Fang from the previous game, and a bit like Sora.
 * His involvement with time travel, outfit and choice of weapon also make him pretty similiar to Serge from Chrono Cross.
 * Failure Knight: The Dulcinea Effect he displays upon meeting Serah is explained when we find out  This is also the source of his antagonism towards Snow.
 * Fish Out of Temporal Water
 * Foil: To Snow and Lightning
 * Headbutting Heroes: With Snow.
 * Not So Different
 * The Hunter: He is from a time where monster hunting is one of the only reliable ways of getting food.
 * Javelin Thrower: His Meteor Javelin skill which shifts his swords to its spear form and throws it at the enemy multiple times. He will also toss javelins when he cannot reach the enemy.
 * Mysterious Protector: For Serah.
 * I Will Protect Her
 * Mythology Gag: His ultimate weapon the Odinblade is named after one Lightning's level 100 exclusives in Dissidia.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Looks and acts like a young Tom Cruise.
 * Nothing Personal: Said verbatim at times after landing a finishing blow.
 * The Paladin: Noel specializes in the Commando, Medic and Synergist paradigms.
 * Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Blue to Serah's pink.
 * Platonic Life Partners
 * Proud Warrior Race Guy
 * Restart At Level One: Despite being a monster hunter capable of taking out a behemoth all by himself in his backstory, Noel starts the game at the game's equivalent to level 1 just like Serah.
 * Screw Destiny
 * Set Right What Once Went Wrong: His goal as the only survivor of a Bad Future.
 * She Fu: Another rare male example with the first being Tidus, he does a lot of backflips with his attacks.
 * Survivor Guilt: Seems to be carrying a bit of this around, although he hides it well.
 * Sticks to the Back: His swords. Although there is a small, almost impossible to see hook that they attach to on his back, near his right shoulder.
 * Thou Shalt Not Kill
 * The Watson

Mog


""Time for some moogle magic. Kupo""

Voiced by Sumire Morohoshi in Japanese and Ariel Winter in English.

A mysterious little creature, he makes himself useful by transforming into a weapon for Serah. No one knows much about this strange animal who calls himself her guardian. People were led to believe that moogles don't exist, and those who meet him for the first time assume he is merely a stuffed animal. Although shy at first, once he opens up, he is quite the chatterbox, teaching Serah and Noel all about the world and its history.

""You guys play rough, kupo.""
 * Butt Monkey: He gets poked, held, and thrown around.
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Disproportionate Reward: He swore fealty to Lightning because he lost to her... In a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors.
 * It's not quite disproportionate. Across the various fragments you gather, it explains that ever since Mog fell into Valhalla, he's been going with the 'weak obey the strong' rule there. He's been rejected and abandoned multiple times by many powerful opponents, who didn't want such a weak creature. When he ran into Lightning, and lost his game, he expected to be abandoned again... but she told him to come with her. It was this kindness that made him swear fealty to Lightning.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Empathic Weapon/Living Weapon: He turns into Serah's bowsword.
 * Exposition Fairy: Mog sure knows a lot about time travel and paradoxes.
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia: Mog doesn't remember much of anything before Valhalla.
 * Legacy Character
 * Made of Iron: Go on, throw him at anything. No matter what he bounces off or where he falls, he'll be fine.


 * Ridiculously Cute Critter
 * Team Pet
 * Universal Translator
 * Verbal Tic: Kupo!

Alyssa Zaidelle


""It's my friend's. She died here. Running from the Purge. And me? I'm one of those who survived.""

Voiced by Yoko Hikasa in Japanese and Kim Mai Guest in English.

One of the young Academy researchers. Bright and cheerful, she is a popular figure within the institute and the leader in Paradox studies. She is also a smart and canny scientist, and she has become Hope’s trusted assistant.


 * Buried Alive: She had a recurring nightmare that she died in the Purge this way.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: For Hope.
 * Deus Est Machina: The Proto Fal'cie Adam she created.
 * Girly Run
 * Hot Scientist
 * Mission Control
 * Of Corsets Sexy
 * Older Than They Look: She's the same age as Hope if the demo is to be believed; does she look 24
 * Sexy Secretary: She's Hope's.
 * She's Got Legs
 * Shorttank: Has something of this as her physical design. Whether or not it shows up in her personality is to be revealed.
 * Who Wears Short Shorts?
 * Spoiler tropes:

Caius Ballad


""Lose yourself in battle, and rejoice!""

Voiced by Hiroshi Shirokuma in Japanese and Liam O'Brien in English.

A mysterious figure, said to be a rival to Lightning and shown to be an antagonist to Noel and Serah.


 * Always Save the Girl:
 * Badass: He's said to be the strongest rival in the Final Fantasy series! And he shows it too by completely owning the Shiva sisters with one grab to the face!
 * Badass Teacher: He used to train Noel.
 * Heartbroken Badass
 * The Battle Didn't Count: Constantly. Justified in game mechanics by giving him the Auto-Raise status.
 * Big Bad: Described by the producers as the most powerful Big Bad in the history of the series.
 * BFS: The biggest one in the game, so far.
 * Blood Knight: Seems to be enjoying his fight with Lightning a bit too much.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall:
 * Colony Drop: He favours the Comet spell.
 * Cursed with Awesome: He can't die. He's lived for all of recorded history, at the very least.
 * Curtains Match the Window: Has purple eyes and purple hair.
 * Death Seeker:
 * Despair Event Horizon:
 * Evil Sounds Deep: He has the same voice as Kain Highwind.
 * Evil Weapon: Or it at least looks that way, it even has an eyeball and it glows. Just like another sword.
 * Named Weapons: Ragnarok after the creature from the first game.
 * Expy: His character designer Yusuke Naora said his look was inspired by Leon.
 * Feather Motif: He seems to share this with Lightning (his are, of course, black, to contrast with her white).
 * Gravity Master: Outside of summoning comets, his favorite spell is Gravity, he spams it in every fight.
 * Hair Decorations: Beads and feathers and headbands, oh my!
 * Heads I Win, Tails You Lose
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Yeul. To a lesser extent with Serah and Lightning, considering that Lightning is between 5'7" and 5'10" herself and she barely reaches his shoulder when they're standing back to back.
 * Immortality Inducer: The Heart of Chaos.
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:
 * Just Toying with Them:
 * Lightning disgustedly remarks, during the Final Boss Preview upon the opening of the game in Valhalla, that Caius is going easy on her and Noel, that he's only testing them. She's right.
 * This comes more into play with Serah and Noel since he uses almost none of the mind-boggling powers that he used to fight Lightning against them. In fact, whereas Lightning could give as good as she got... both Serah and Noel were shown to be 100% helpless when fighting him. Caius even condescendingly touches Serah's face when using time voodoo to show how helpless she is....
 * Lightning Bruiser: He is fast. And he hits hard. Each and every time.
 * Love Makes You Evil:
 * Magic Knight
 * Manipulative Bastard:
 * Morphic Resonance: Look closely at
 * Motive Decay / What the Hell, Hero?:
 * Noel calls him out for his actions in-universe;.
 * In a more meta-example of an inversion, it appears that Caius is just your typical Final Fantasy Omnicidal Maniac during the prologue sequence, but, as time goes by, it's later revealed that he's an Anti-Villain with a sympathetic motive and a morally grey end for his means. This wouldn't normally be worth a mention, but it considering how jarring it is to see him declare himself an Obviously Evil mass-murderer in the first act to a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds in the final one, it honestly makes one wonder whether the writer changed his mind about the character midway through the game.
 * Cursed with Awesome pretty much explains everything. The writers wanted the What the Hell, Hero? reaction from the get go.
 * Multi-Armed and Dangerous:
 * Multiple Choice Past: His surname. Either it's a shortening of "Caius of the Ballads" or it's a name he took from a fallen man out of respect, both are used in canon. Although, considering the Timey-Wimey Ball in play in this game, it's entirely possible that both really are true.
 * Not So Stoic: He is shown crying once, and goes batshit crazy during the final battle.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: Sorta. His real first name is Caius, but Ballad is not his real last name. He took on the name after defeating a warrior who nearly killed him, as a show of respect. Alternately, he was originally known by the epithet of "Caius of the Ballads", meaning that his great deeds were the subject of many songs, which then became Caius Ballad. The canon disagrees with itself on this.
 * Playing with Fire: His Bahamut forms very clearly use this; although it ultimately counts as Non-Elemental for tradition's sake.
 * Poisonous Friend: Most Yeuls would rather just live peacefully with the time they have. He... disagrees.
 * Real Men Wear Purple: He has a purple headband, a purple scarf, and a purple aura emanating from his sword.
 * Purple Is Powerful
 * Recurring Boss: You must fight either him or no less than eight times in the main storyline alone—if you're after One Hundred Percent Completion, you'll have to fight him an additional three times.
 * The Rival: To Noel. Ideally, he was to be succeeded by Noel, but Noel refused to do the Klingon Promotion.
 * Scaled Up: Can transform into "Chaos Bahamut" to fight the heroes.
 * Slouch of Villainy:.
 * Sticks to the Back
 * Summon Magic
 * Sword Beam: One of the peskier attacks he uses when you fight him.
 * Time Master
 * Villainous Breakdown: In the ending, when Noel points out just why He is openly devastated at the realization.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: Can transform himself into Bahamut.
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
 * Xanatos Gambit:
 * You Gotta Have Purple Hair
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
 * Xanatos Gambit:
 * You Gotta Have Purple Hair

Paddra Nsu-Yeul


""I saw death. If I were to live, it would bring contradiction to...to the timeline.""

Voiced by Mariya Ise in Japanese and Amber Hood in English.

A young woman seen in the company of Caius. She seems more friendly towards Noel and Serah than he is. If her name is any indication, she was the author of some of the Analects from the first game. States that Serah is like her, as the latter's psychic dreams would indicate.


 * A Child Shall Lead Them
 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Cassandra Truth: She warns our heroes that facing Caius for the final time won't go well. If you want to finish the game, you have no choice but to ignore her.
 * Cleavage Window: A very small one, that while showing much more stomach than chest, still qualifies.
 * Death Is Cheap: Because of the Timey-Wimey Ball, but she knows that her fate is ultimately inevitable.
 * Died in Your Arms Tonight: Two or three times in fact!
 * Emotionless Girl: Her voice doesn't change much from her normal monotone. She seems to feel normally though, though her expressions are a bit limited.
 * Expy: Of Akyuu with a leading role.
 * Flower Motifs: She is often seen with a daisy.
 * Go Out with a Smile: Often, usually if she notices the timeline changes are for the better.
 * Green Eyes: They make her seem cold and distant, Noel apparently finds that hot while Serah thinks she looks angelic with them.
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The tiny girl to Caius's huge guy.
 * Implied Love Interest: To both Caius and Noel. Although it is only the Yeul from the Dying World that Noel has a fixation on.
 * Legacy Character:
 * Ironically,
 * Morality Pet: To Caius.
 * Mysterious Waif
 * Protectorate: For both Noel and Caius.
 * Seer: Her prophecies were mentioned in many, many datacores in Final Fantasy XIII. One of them flat out spells out the plot for XIII-2.
 * Blessed with Suck
 * Waif Prophet
 * Too Good for This Sinful Earth
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: Of the silver haired variety.
 * Wise Beyond Their Years
 * Your Days Are Numbered: A fact she has come to accept as an inevitability.
 * Face Death with Dignity:
 * Your Days Are Numbered: A fact she has come to accept as an inevitability.
 * Face Death with Dignity:

Chocolina
""The beauty's all mine, but the products can be yours--but only if you show me the money!""

Voiced by Seiko Ueda in Japanese and Julie Nathanson in English.

A quirky traveling merchant dressed in a costume that looks like a red chocobo. She sells a wide variety of equipment to Serah and Noel during their journey.


 * Animal Motifs: The chocobo.
 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Aside from her odd costume, she never seems to grasp the seriousness of the current situation, almost always staying peppy and cheerful even when a giant, rampaging robot is on the loose. In Academia 400 AF, however, she is openly distraught by the events going on around her, which makes the situation all the more jarring.
 * Expy: She's one to O'aka.
 * Fluffy Fashion Feathers
 * Genki Girl
 * Intrepid Merchant: So much so that she appears at least once in most of the different timelines
 * No Hero Discount: Of course, she is less than sane, so she probably doesn't realize that you're the hero.
 * Stripperific
 * The Pollyanna
 * Thigh-High Boots
 * Took a Shortcut: She's always ahead of you, all set up and ready to do business, whether it's across the map or across timelines.
 * Hell, she's set up shop in Oerba 200AF despite the dimensional flux.
 * She's even set up shop in
 * She's even set up shop in

Etro
The Goddess of Death who is said to be the creator of the human race. Etro does not actually appear within the game, but plays a very prominent role in the backstory.


 * Dark Is Not Evil: The pictures of Her in Final Fantasy Versus XIII have her in all black, but she, inadvertedly admittedly, created humanity and gave them their heart. Mind you the powers she may elect to further bless humanity with aren't all that great.
 * Despair Event Horizon: Being powerless compared to Pulse and Lindzei as well as thinking of Mwynn caused her to cross it in the myth.
 * Deus Ex Machina: Actually, could be seen as a Deconstruction of this trope.
 * Divine Intervention: She often takes pity on humanity in their struggles.
 * Driven to Suicide: Thanks to her Despair Event Horizon where she tore at her own body. But thanks to that humanity was born from her blood.
 * Enigmatic Empowering Entity: She has gifted Lightning with godlike power, as well as granted Yeul and Serah with her eyes allowing them to see the future and Caius with her heart; granting him immortality.
 * God Is Good: In a really weird sense.
 * Guardian Entity: Etro's duty is to watch over the Door of Souls.
 * Identical Grandson: Etro is said to be identical to her creator's mother Mwynn.
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen: Like Lindzei we never actually see Etro, only a painting of her in Final Fantasy Versus XIII
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:

Valfodr, The Arbiter of Time
""You seek a trial?""

Voiced by Tomomichi Nishimura in Japanese and Steve Blum in English.

The keeper of the Coliseum, where he handles the downloadable content fights and gives a background story to each enemy.


 * Badass Baritone
 * Everyone Calls Him the Arbiter of Time
 * Flunky Boss: You may stop thinking Chichu is awesome when he sends a swarm of them after you.
 * Guardian Entity: Watches over the Coliseum, and wanted Serah and Noel to leave once they entered his domain.
 * Large and In Charge: He absolutely towers over over Serah and Noel at roughly twice the duo's height.
 * Large Ham: He's very bombastic when describing the bosses.
 * No Name Given
 * One-Scene Wonder: Story-wise, he only appears once to give you an Artefact, but what an appearance it is. He does have more of a part in other DLCs though,.
 * Time Master
 * Vader Breath: His breath seems to echo throughout the entire coliseum chamber.
 * Large and In Charge: He absolutely towers over over Serah and Noel at roughly twice the duo's height.
 * Large Ham: He's very bombastic when describing the bosses.
 * No Name Given
 * One-Scene Wonder: Story-wise, he only appears once to give you an Artefact, but what an appearance it is. He does have more of a part in other DLCs though,.
 * Time Master
 * Vader Breath: His breath seems to echo throughout the entire coliseum chamber.
 * Vader Breath: His breath seems to echo throughout the entire coliseum chamber.