Characters / Final Fantasy XIII - Main Party

Main Party (Lightning) | Final Fantasy XIII | Final Fantasy XIII-2 | Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

This page contains information pertaining to the main cast introduced in Final Fantasy XIII.

Due to the nature of his character in Lightning Returns, all entries in Hope's folder for the third game are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

Playable Characters

Lightning

See her page here

Snow Villiers

Snow Villiers

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono (Japanese), Troy Baker (English)

"Since when have heroes ever needed plans?"

Snow is the leader of NORA, an armed neighborhood 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 the Shiva sisters, Stiria and Nix.

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General tropes and those present in the first game:

• 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.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: As a Commando, attacking is all that he can do initially.
• Badass Biker: He rides Shiva as a motorcycle during their Gestalt Mode.
• Badass Longcoat: The longcoat is his weapon so it both looks badass and it makes him more so.
• 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. ^note technically its his coat, but that's more Power Armor and he fights by punching things. Being the Idiot Hero, a strong one too, always having his "weapon" ready usually leads to him charging in with no plan whatsoever, which usually backfires on him.
• Big Brother Instinct: Towards Hope, especially after they reconcile in Chapter 7. The only times he's not the one comforting/protecting Hope is when Lightning gets there first, and in the third game is the ONLY former party member to inquire after Hope's well being to Lightning.
• Big Damn Heroes: Literally. Considering how much he loves being a hero this had to happen sometime.
  Snow: Did someone call for a hero? I thought so.
• The Big Guy: The tallest member of the party with one of the best stats in HP and physical attack.
• Boisterous Bruiser: He's a self-proclaimed hero and very cheerful and loud, in contrast to Lightning. Snow somewhat deconstructs the trope however, as his boisterous persona is a cover to hide his own insecurities about failing to save people and only makes him come off as detestably obnoxious and insensitive to other's feelings, as Hope and Lightning would initially attest.
• Clothes Make the Superman: His coat is bulletproof, and uses AMP technology to boost the strength of his punches. His weapon is emblems that are attached to the back, which increase the potency of the effects.
• Companion Cube: Treats Serah's crystal tear as such, talking to it like Serah can hear him and encouraging the same from the other party members occasionally. It apparently worked, because in Episode One Serah confirms that, in her crystallized state, she could not only hear him, but also see the things he saw. She speculates it's indeed because he always carried her crystal tear with him.
• Conveniently an Orphan: He lost his parents when he was young. Perhaps he and Serah partially bonded over it?
• Determinator: He never, ever, gives up. He never accepts his Focus or the idea of fulfilling it and vows that no matter what happens or what it takes, he will save Cocoon and bring back Serah. Lampshaded by Lightning, who mentions "He's too stubborn to die. And that's his best quality."
• Does Not Know His Own Strength: He first realizes he's a l'Cie when he gut punches a Ghast to defend the others and sends it flying twenty feet with ice chunks flying out of the impact.
• Dumbass Has a Point: Sure, his claims that being a hero will save the world ultimately leads them to doing everything that Barthandelus wanted them to do, even though there were no good options to begin with... but his point about doing nothing doesn't help anything is completely true (as L'Cie, they're ticking time bombs regardless of success or failure).
• Elemental Powers: While a Ravager, learning all ice and water spells, in addition to wind magic up to the "ra" level.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Twofold for Snow, since he clearly knows how to fight, the bulletproof 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.
• Extremity Extremist: In the Commando or Sentinel roles, he fights solely with his fists and legs.
• 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.
• Fearless Fool: He dives headlong into danger with only a basic plan.
• 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.
• Glass Cannon: With a certain setup he can become a very powerful physical attacker by sacrificing some of his very high HP count.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: In contrast to more traditional monks like Yang, Sabin, and Tifa, Snow is just punching and kicking with as much force as he can muster.
• 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 until Character Development happens. At which point, 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:
  • In Chapter 7, when Hope punctures his fake-it-till-you-make-it bravado and then reveals that he's Nora's son. Snow finally gives vent to all the fear and guilt he's been hiding.
  • Most pronounced after Barthandelus delivers a Break Them by Talking speech about Serah's Focus to the party after their first boss battle against him. Aside from a brief Self-Deprecation talk with Lightning, he doesn't speak throughout the Ark (even in battle, even if summoning Shiva).
• 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: He's tall and very muscular. This is even lampshaded by Serah in XIII-2.
• An Ice Person: Like Lightning, his primary element is reflected in his name.
• 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.
• Improbable Weapon User: His weapon is his Badass Longcoat, which is effectively a light form of Powered Armor that provides increased strength and defense.
• Indy Ploy: He is quick on his feet, which is the only reason he gets away with the above.
  "Heroes don't need plans!"
• Innocently Insensitive: Mentions to Hope that "the only ones that should be fighting are us dumb grown-ups", and that he agrees that fighting is stupid if you get killed, while unaware that he's basically insulting Hope's deceased mother to his face, as she volunteered to assist Snow to fight in Chapter 1 and soon died as a result.
• Keet: Snow's a positively huge rough-and-tumble looking guy with an energetic personality akin to a kid's.
• Hurricane Kick: His version of Blitz is one.
• Large Ham: Just listen to his shouts, boasts, and cries!
• Leitmotif: "Snow's Theme", which is an upbeat rock number signifying his hero personality.
• The Leader: He tries to invoke this trope at the start by being a Type IV and rallying everybody to complete their Focus, but he just annoys everyone.
• Mr. Fanservice: He's very good-looking and muscular, and his outfit leaves his chest open. He later gets a Shirtless Scene after being injured protecting Hope with some very form-fitting bandages.
• Megaton Punch: The Sovereign Fist.
• 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.
  Lightning: (ruefully): [Snow] thinks he's everybody's pal...
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His showmanship during the group's return to Cocoon causes him to accidentally reveal himself (and by extension, his allies) to be a l'Cie when he pumps his fists into the air during a televised race in Eden, thus showing the brand on his forearm. This puts the city and the people into high alert and makes the group a target.
  "...Oops, probably shoulda covered [the brand]..."
• No-Sell: One of the Synthesis abilities available to him through his Feymark/Soul Blazer can render him immune to magic attacks; unfortunately, magic can't be used to heal him either, only items and Eidolons. A more conventional No Selling can be done through Paladin/Winged Saint, which increases the effectiveness of his Guard stances; the official guide claims in optimal conditions he takes 1% DAMAGE.
• One-Man Army: He protects Serah from the army of Cocoon, beats up trained soldiers by himself with his bare hands, and saves Lightning and Hope in Palumpolom along with Fang, trashing every single PSICOM agent along the way. And he did half of that before becoming a l'Cie.
• 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: He has perpetual stubble on his face.
• Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: He promises to try and make amends for Nora's death, but says that if it's not enough, Hope can take out his grief on him. Hope rejects this, because Snow protecting him even after Hope's tried killing him once knocked him out of his plans for vengeance, and he says that he won't let Snow get killed so easily.
• Right Makes Might: One of his quotes when using Sovereign Fist is "Heroes always win!"
• Roundhouse Kick: His version of Blindside are these.
• Running Gag: Running into barriers because he acts without thinking it through. Unusually for the trope, it's Played for Drama in XIII, with Snow charging at Barthandelus out of anger before each boss battle, but it's played straighter in XIII-2 when he gets repelled by time gates that won't let him in.
• Shirtless Scene: When he's patched up in the Estheim house. Snow is ripped.
• Slasher Smile: Has one in the cutscenes leading up to the final battle.
• Stepford Smiler: He tries to keep on smiling after things go horribly wrong at the beginning, but to Hope, this just comes off as being horribly insensitive to other people's suffering.
• Stock Shōnen Hero: What he thinks he is. Realizing that life doesn't yield to determination alone plays a big part in his Character Development.
• Stone Wall: Has the highest HP of any character, but the second-worst Magic and only slightly above-average Strength. He is best in the Sentinel role.
• Summon Magic: Snow's Eidolon is Shiva, who in this game comes as pair of twin sisters called Nix and Stiria.
  "Cool them off!"
• 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 afterward.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Refuses to believe they'll either become Cie'th or commit genocide; always knew they'd save the day.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: He self-identifies as the hero on a quest to save the world and get his girlfriend back, and he presumes that if he just keeps acting the part, makes heroic choices, and never gives up, things will fall into place for him to succeed, because that's how things always go for the heroes in the stories. The major aspect of his character arc is coming to terms with the fact that real life doesn't follow those rules.
• You Are Worth Hell: Firmly believes that Serah is worth it, even if she's a l'Cie.

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Tropes present only in XIII-2

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.

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• '80s Hair: That big and messy hair is likely what it looks like without the hat.
• Barrier Warrior: As a Paradigm Pack member, he's a Sentinel, just like his best role in XIII. During a Cinematic Action in Sunleth, he stops a punch from Royal Ripeness with a Beehive Barrier that (assuming successful action) gives the party Protect status.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • In a cinematic action, no less during the forest arc, he jumps in to help Serah.
  • In one of the Paradox Endings, he bursts into the Academy HQ with the Time Police just in time to arrest The Mole and stop Serah and Noel from falling into a trap, then whisks Serah away on his time-traveling motorbike to fight Caius up and down the timeline.
• Dark Is Not Evil: At least, not when Snow's wearing it. He's as heroic as ever.
• Demoted to Extra: One of the main heroes now has only one area. Justified since his DLC heavily implies that (at least one version of) Yeul is purposely using her powers to prevent Snow from joining Serah and Noel.
• Disappears into Light: Fixing the paradox in the forest area means that the events leading up to his arrival there never happened and so he disappears.
• Dreadful Musician: During a Live Trigger outside the crystal pillar, Noel wonders if Fang and Vanille can hear them from inside, and can suggest singing a song to let them know Snow's out there. Snow refuses on grounds of this trope, insisting that his singing would just give them nightmares.
• 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: When in the Sunleth Waterscape he can help Noel and Serah.
• Hero of Another Story: The fragments state that he is on his own mission to stop Caius and doing things elsewhere and elsewhen while Serah and Noel do their thing.
• 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.
• Refuge in Audacity: When you prevent the game's most heartbreaking episode and ditch your protagonist fiance's time-traveling partner with your former Kid Sidekick to go punch a dude with the heart of a goddess while an And the Adventure Continues narration is going on, that is waaay beyond audacity.
• Self-Deprecation: A Live Trigger option in Sunleth has Noel suggest Snow sing to let Fang and Vanille know he's there. Snow just chuckles and admits that his singing would sooner wreck their dreams than give them comfort.
  • Snow also fully accepts Noel's claims during a "The Reason You Suck" Speech describing how Snow's Chronic Hero Syndrome leads him to end up hurting the people he's claiming to protect through his foolhardiness and reckless bravado, case in point willingly becoming a l'Cie again to have the power to help Serah, but keeps going because he admits he can't help anyone if he doesn't at least try.
• Took a Level in Badass: As a Guest-Star Party Member early in the game, he's in the unfortunate position of being a physical specialist in flan territory. 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.

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Tropes present only in Lightning Returns

After somehow making it out of the Void Beyond where he was trapped in XIII-2, Snow becomes the Patron of Yusnaan, described as the "City of Revelry" by becoming its protector as the last of the cursed l'Cie.

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• Badass in a Nice Suit: His new outfit for Lightning Returns is a black suit in which he fights monsters, Lightning and chaos itself.
• Barbarian Longhair: Ironically, despite donning a suit for the game, his hair has become significantly longer than it used to be.
• Big Damn Heroes: During the climax on the Final Day he shows up to destroy the Holy Clavis so it won't destroy the souls of the dead.
• Body Horror: When he fully absorbs the Chaos he kept contained within the Palace, he becomes a mindless Cie'th; crystals cover most of his left arm, tendrils snake up his shoulder and onto his face, and his eyes have changed... At the mid-point of the battle, the transformation advances further, the crystals growing more extensive. Saving the fight for Day 6 makes it still worse, causing him to lose his jacket at the mid-point; waiting until Day 10 means he loses the top from the start, and the crystals just get worse from there.
• Bread and Circuses: He throws elaborate and extravagant parties and banquets in Yusnaan so that people can at least take their minds off the coming end of the world.
• Broken Bird: He used to be bold and cheerful—an eternal optimist. By the time of Lightning Returns, he's a broken man, having been looking after a dying world without hope for hundreds of years.
• Brought Down to Normal: If he's reached a 'shirtless' stage by the end of the fight, he remains shirtless in the cutscene during the aftermath; looking at his left arm reveals his brand is gone. Given he and the others lost their brands at the end of XIII because of Etro, this serves as nice Foreshadowing for what Lightning is becoming capable of.
• Death Seeker: When he hears that Lightning has woken up, he's glad because it means that "big sis" can have "payback" for Serah's death.
• Fan Disservice: Snow gets another Shirtless Scene in Lightning Returns... but only after he's transformed into a Cie'th, and only when he's transformed far enough for the crystals to envelop his musculature. Mr. Fanservice, he ain't.
• Heartbroken Badass: 500 years mourning Serah's death while keeping Chaos contained.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: He thinks that Serah's death is his fault.
• Leitmotif: "Snow's Theme ~Final Words~" is a much more melancholic tune that symbolizes his grief and pain experienced over the last 500 years.
• Man of the City: He protects the city of Yusnaan and its people even as the rest of the world falls apart.
• My Greatest Failure: He still regrets not being able to save Serah in Final Fantasy XIII-2
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He was chosen as the ruler of Yusnaan because everyone knew that he wouldn't become a tyrant.
• Really 700 Years Old: He's been protecting the city for a looooong time, which helps explain why he seems so burnt out.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: In contrast to his clothes in the previous games he now wears a formal black suit. He's the Patron now, so he has to look respectable.
• Together in Death: He wonders if he will be allowed this fate with Serah after the impending apocalypse.
• Universally Beloved Leader: After five hundred years in office, the people of Yusnaan still think he's doing a fantastic job.

Oerba Dia Vanille

Oerba Dia Vanille

Voiced by: Yukari Fukui (Japanese), Georgia van Cuylenburg (English)

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

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 Hecatoncheir.

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• Ambiguously Gay: Her and Fang are both openly very touchy-feely and comfortable with each other, to the point where Vanille can nonchalantly rest her hand on Fang's breast with neither one batting an eye. There's also the fact that the game ends with the both of them performing a Heroic Sacrifice together, transforming into crystal statues locked in an eternal embrace with Intertwined Fingers.
• Apocalypse Maiden: Her Focus is to become Ragnarok.
• Badass Adorable: Her staff weapons have bladed wires that let her fish enemies to death with her attack strings. She even 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 any opponent even the final boss in one hit. Badass Adorable indeed.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She's a master of the Death spell, her summon is a walking killstick, and she's a part of Ragnarok. Beware.
• Black Mage: Second only to Hope in most magical classes, she's the only character in the first game to specialize in both the Ravager and Saboteur Paradigms. Hecatoncheir rounds out her Elemental Powers with its Earth damage^* The only other source of Earth damage the party can access is the Quake TP ability, and she's the only playable character to obtain their Limit Break from the Saboteur Crystarium: Death.
• Break the Cutie:
  Vanille: My name is Oerba Dia Vanille. I'm a l'Cie, from Gran Pulse. And to everyone on Cocoon... evil.
• The Call Knows Where You Live: Vanille keeps silent and is willing to turn into a Cie'th rather than put Fang and the world in danger, and she unwittingly sucks the other four members of the cast into being l'Cie themselves.
• Character Narrator: She's the narrator of Final Fantasy XIII.
• The Chosen One: In Lightning Returns. While Lightning may have gotten Godlike power, Vanille as a Savior FAR outstrips Lightning. For perspective, Lightning searches the game hoping to save a handful of people, and, outside of one occurrence, unable to save the souls of the dead. Vanille, with a prayer, is able to save every single person that ever lived.
• The Cutie: She's easily the motivator of The Team (along with Snow) and has various moments of Badass Adorable.
• 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.
• Death Seeker: After Jihl shows Sazh that Vanille and Fang are responsible for Dajh being made a l'Cie, Vanille begs Sazh to shoot her.
• Elemental Powers: While as a Ravager. She specializes in fire and ice.
• Epic Flail: Her three-pronged whip/flail staff, which is found in a Pulse vestige, pings her as the quirky one of the group and also is a clue that she's from Pulse.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: She, along with Fang, was crystallized five centuries ago and was just brought back to life 13 days before the beginning of the game.
• Faking Amnesia: Vanille pretends that she's forgotten a substantial plot-relevant swath of memory in order to avoid having to share her Dark and Troubled Past (and its ramifications for their current situation) with the rest of the party. Her partner Fang, who really has forgotten, eventually tricks her into admitting it by pretending that she's recovered the lost memories.
• Genki Girl: Consistently cheerful and energetic despite how long they march.
• Girlish Pigtails: She wears her hair in pigtails, and is portrayed as both child-like and childish.
• Girly Run: How she runs, emphasizing her femininity and childishness.
• The Heart: Cute, cheerful, and tries to support everyone.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Vanille is crystallized at the end of the game after completing her Focus. She was on an extended version of one for much of the beginning half of the game, too, by deciding not to become Ragnarok and become a Cie'th instead.
• Implied Love Interest: To Fang. They're extremely dedicated to one another, seeking each other out over the course of the game and promising to protect the other.
• Improbable Weapon User: It's a sort of whip-staff that is, apparently, supposed to be used for fishing.
• Intimate Marks: Her l'Cie brand is on her upper, upper thigh - to the extent that the male members of the party sheepishly turn away when she reveals it.
• Leitmotif: "Vanille's Theme", a piano piece that is supposed to represent her cheerful personality, but also has a few minor chords to show her underlying guilt.
• The Medic: One of the best Medics in the party, able to learn all healing spells.
• Morality Pet: To Fang. Vanille is the one that Fang is willing to go along with saving Cocoon for...and also the one that she'd destroy it for.
• Ms. Fanservice:
  • 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 rear end, meaning she has to lift her skirt to see and check it. Wonder why that is.
  • As a meta example, her design in general, considering that Word of God says her outfit is based on Namibian Himban women. For anyone who doesn't know what the average Himban woman wears, it's... very revealing.
• Nice Girl: Vanille is kind, sweet and always helpful. This, unlike her happiness, is actually genuine.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Subverted; Vanille feigns Laser-Guided Amnesia in order to protect Fang from the truth of their past as well as keep Fang from completing their Focus (so she could save Vanille from becoming a Cie'th). This results in Dajh becoming l'Cie. Dajh ends up finding the Vestige — which leads to the Purge. However if Vanille never lied and told Fang the truth from the beginning, Fang would have attempted to complete their Focus (destroy Cocoon) which would would be much worse if it succeeded.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: According to the developers she was modeled after Japanese model and singer Meisa Kuroki.
• Older Than They Look: Despite looking like she's in her early teens, Vanille is actually 19 years old, physically. Chronologically, she's 519 years old.
• One-Hit Kill: Her Full ATB skill is the Death spell.
• Orgasmic Combat: During the Gaian Salvo attack, she throws her head back and gives a very unsubtle scream.
• Pink Means Feminine: Her top is pink, and she's probably the most girly character in the game.
• Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: When Sazh finds out that she is responsible for Daj turning l'Cie, she makes this offer in atonement.
• The Pollyanna: If this eternally cheery girl gets depressed, then everyone's screwed.
• Pretty in Mink: She wears fur over her skirt. It's made from the pelt of a bear she killed herself.
• Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: With Fang. As behaviour typically seen in younger girls, it's a sad reminder of how fractured their childhood and development has been, living in war-torn Oerba as orphans, being forced to rely on each other heavily for emotional support (Vanille more so than Fang), not to mention having a Focus that demanded they wipe out thousands to millions of lives.
• Reality Is Unrealistic: There have been some complaints about how fake her Australian accent is, even though Georgia von Cuylenberg is actually Australian (and, for one based abroad for so long, retains her normal accent). A likely reason is that she seems at times to be trying for the Hollywood Australian accent rather than her own authentic one, leading to Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping — by contrast, Fang's accent is unauthentic, due to her voice actress being an American, but it's consistent.
• Really 700 Years Old: She's 519 years old, chronologically, thanks to being in crystal stasis for centuries.
• Red Is Heroic: She has bright red hair, and is a heroine amongst the cast.
• Showgirl Skirt: Her bear pelt and short skirt make it appear as though she's wearing this.
• Small Girl, Big Gun: Hecatoncheir's gun platform Gestalt Mode is big enough for her to ride. She also takes up the hefty machine guns the PSICOM soliders use on occasion.
• Status Effects: And your best one mainly because she can get Improved Debuffs (which makes Poison, Deprotect and Deshell more successful) and Death.
• Stepford Smiler: Type A. Vanille's cheerful attitude is just her way of running away from the fact that she knows that it is her Focus to destroy the world. Despite being always upbeat and positive, she has an authentic death wish and blames herself for everything that has happened.
• Squishy Wizard: By the time everyone's Crystariums are fully developed, Vanille's HP ranks third lowest out of everyone, but she makes up for it by having the second-highest Magic out of everyone, tied with Lightning. Interestingly enough, during the early stages of Crystarium development, Vanille's HP climbs far higher than one would expect from a mage archetype, surpassing Lighting and climbing almost as high as Sazh at times.
• Summon Magic: Vanille's Eidolon Hecatonchier is a strange many-armed earth creature named after a monster in Classical Mythology.
  "Come on, Hecaton!"
• Token Super: Vanille serves as this for the first two chapters, being the only l'Cie out of the playable characters (this is shown by her having three ATB bars as opposed to two like everyone else). Obviously, she loses this role when everybody else becomes a l'Cie.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Her tribal-looking outfit is wildly different than the machine-made modern clothing that everyone in Cocoon wears, and she speaks with an accent nobody else does. This clues in the player that her origins don't match the rest of the cast on the Purge train, but none of the other characters remark on it.
• Weapon Specialization: Vanille's weapon of choice is a whip combined with Magic Staff.

Sazh Katzroy

Sazh Katzroy

Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (Japanese), Reno Wilson (English)

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

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 Brynhildr.

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• Ace Pilot: He was a civilian pilot before the plot kicked off, but his skills are definitely top notch.
• Afro Asskicker: He has an awesome afro, and can kick just as much ass as the rest of the party.
• Action Survivor: His pistols are emergency survival weapons given to civilian pilots in case they crash in the wilderness—meaning he was trained, but his behavior in the early cutscenes implies that this is the first time he's actually put it to use in extended danger and survival situations.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: As a Commando. His version of Blitz is even a rapid-fire barrage.
• Bottomless Magazines: Never needs to reload, no matter how long the battle lasts.
• The Chew Toy: Poor Sazh just can NOT catch a break. In fact, of his two leitmotifs, one of them is called "Can't Catch a Break"
• Combo Rifle: Once he gets three ATB segments, his handguns will combine into a rifle for 2.5 damage on the last "attack" command in the chain.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Sazh is foolish, kind, 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 can be very redundant.
• Death Seeker: Slips into this briefly in chapter 8, accepting that he'll be executed if he turns himself in but being willing to do it if he can see Dajh as a last request. Then goes over the Despair Event Horizon hard when Dajh turns to crystal before his eyes and Jihl reveals Vanille was the one who caused him to be branded. He puts his gun directly to his head, but can't bring himself to end it.
• Department of Redundancy Department: In the Sunleth Waterscape: "This dampness is damp."
• Elemental Powers: As a Ravager he specializes in lightning and fire spells.
• Funny Afro: His afro provides moments of comedy when the choco chick starts living in it.
• Guns Akimbo: Which combine to make a rifle for the combo finale once he gets his fourth ATB slot.
• The Gunslinger: Sazh isn't nearly as skilled at using guns as the other entries (particularly given Lightning's Improbable Aiming Skills), but has some elements of Vaporizer and Quick Draw.
• Head Pet: Leads to some jokes by fans about how much chocobo shit he's gotta clean out.
• Leitmotif: "Sazh's Theme", "Can't Catch a Break" and "Daddy's Got the Blues" are all jazzy pieces that are associated with his character. The two variants normally play in more emotionally charged scenes while the straight theme plays over any other scene featuring Sazh. There is also a prototype version "Sazh B+ Prototype" that was released as a bonus.
• Long-Range Fighter: As a Commando and Ravager he attacks from afar with his guns.
• Mage Marksman: He wields guns and is the most potent spellcaster in regards to StatusBuffs.
• Manly Tears: When Dajh crystallizes in front of him, what you see is the pain of a devoted father.
• 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, involves a deluge of bullets. His Blitz skill is unique in that it does this rather than a surrounding attack.
• The Nicknamer: Sazh doesn't get Lightning or Snow's names until Chapter 3, so he calls them "Soldier Girl" and "Trench Coat", respectively.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Sazh's appearance is modeled after Richard Pryor, according to game designer Yoshinori Kitase.
• Older Sidekick: The rest of the party are in their early twenties or their teens (though Vanille and Fang are chronologically older than him). Sazh is forty and has a son.
• Only Sane Man: Combined surprisingly with The Fool. He'll still make bad decisions and rely on flawed coping mechanisms, but he at least knows they are bad and that his propensity to crack wise or make light of things is a coping mechanism because he just doesn't know how to find a genuine solution. This is in contrast to the younger set, who tell themselves that their bad decisions and flawed coping mechanisms are the solution until outside events force them to admit otherwise, which Sazh makes light of. He's also much more intellectually sound than the rest of him team, disregarding the Cocoon propaganda against Pulse by stating the lack of proof behind it despite his own personal distaste of Pulse and freely points out the logical flaws of the reckless actions of his team.
• Papa Wolf: He joins the Purge so that he can destroy whatever's in the Pulse vestige that's being shipped out, hoping that doing so will fulfill his son's Focus. Everything he's done in the story has been to eventually secure his son's safety.
• Playing with Fire: Fire attacks are his specialty.
• Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: When using Cold Blood, Sazh tends to exclaim "Wish on THESE fireworks!"
• The Red Mage: His primary roles are Commando, Ravager, and Synergist. As a Ravager he learns the Fire and Lightning elemental attacks in addition to the Aero spell. Although he lacks traditional white mage spells, his Synergist primary allows him to learn the base level of every buff except for Veil.
• Sad Clown: By far the most comedic character and deliberately designed after Richard Pryor, personality-wise. Also, probably the most tragic character too and at times outright suicidal.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: He develops this with the Gigantuar on Gran Pulse.
• Status Buff: Alongside Hope he's probably the best Synergist in the game, learning Haste early and almost every buff by the end of the game.
• Stellar Name: Sazh's guns, much like in Final Fantasy XII, are named after stars.
• Straight Man: Despite his wisecracking, Sazh serves as this in comparison to the more hot-headed and panicky members of the party. He 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.
  "I summon Brynhildr!"
• Team Dad: Takes it upon himself to look after Hope and Vanille, and, to a lesser extent, Snow and Lightning.
• Token Minority: Sazh and his son are the only black members in the cast of XIII, rather than just being Ambiguously Brown.
• What Could Have Been: Concept art shows that Sazh was originally designed as a white man who fought using a weapons platform strapped to his coat which was equipped with shields, machine guns, and more. The head model of this design was re-purposed into Rygdea, while the idea of the weapons platform may have inspired Snow's "weapon."

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Tropes present only in XIII-2

Running an airship flight service, 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.

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• Back for the Finale: He shows up to help in the Final Battle.
• Call-Back: As a Paradigm Pack 'monster', one of his victory lines is "Dads are tough, too!"
• Catch a Falling Star: In the ending, Sazh catches the falling Serah and Noel after they leave Valhalla.
• Demoted to Extra: A former main, he's now only in cutscenes or fragment text; although he does get a DLC episode, there is no battle involved.
• Leitmotif: "Win or Lose", which combines elements from his variant pieces in the first game.
• Previous Player-Character Cameo: In the game proper he gets his own DLC story.
• Sidetracked by the Gold Saucer: In-universe example. The temporal distoration drops him in Serendipity. He knows he's still alive and has things to do but wants to score "one more jackpot" before leaving.

---

Tropes present only in Lightning Returns

Sazh now lives in the burnt-out wreck of a crashed airship in the northern reaches of the Wildlands. Between games at some point, Dajh's soul was fragmented and he fell into a coma. Sazh has been looking for the fragments to get his son back, but hasn't found a one.

---

• Be Yourself: When all five of Dazj's soul fragments are returned to him, Sazh tries acting like his old cheerful self to get him to wake up at last. It works.
• The Cavalry: He is part of the tide of humanity that comes to aid Lightning in her battle with Bhunivelze. In fact, he's its vanguard and summons Brynhildr.
• Demoted to Extra: Even worse than the last game and the other party members; Snow, Noel, Fang, Vanille, and Hope at least feature prominently in the main four questlines. Sazh is a sidequest and you can play the game without ever talking to him. Yes, his story is included in the "Main Quest" section but it is subordinate to the other Main Quest in the Wild Lands and Lightning has to travel to at least two of the other three areas to complete it.
• Despair Event Horizon: He's spent decades if not centuries watching over Dajh's body and trying to find the fragments of his soul. His inability to locate even one has worn Sazh down into a depressed recluse. He doesn't emote at all when Lightning visits his wreck.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When he arrives at the climax, he asks if he "missed the reunion", which refers to his absence throughout the game and the Soulsong event. Snow replies that yes, he is late.
• Wham Line: He dispels any doubts lingering from the last game that Chocolina is the Chocobo Chick when he directly calls the latter by name.

Hope Estheim (SPOILERS)

Hope Estheim

Voiced by: Yūki Kaji (Japanese), Vincent Martella (English)

"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?"

Hope is a young boy originally from a upper-class family, which included his parents Bartholomew and Nora. 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 Alexander.

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• Abstract Apotheosis: This is basically Hope's Character Development, but done in a more symbolic way. This is commented on frequently over the course of the plot. Lightning is the Foil to Hope through this trope in two ways. See also Meaningful Name and Bilingual Bonus.
• 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.
• Barrier Warrior: His Synergist primary gives him spells for an assortment of barriers that can be used offensively or defensively.
• Battle Boomerang: Hope's boomerang, which is noted (by in-game descriptions) to be mostly used for sport and not as a weapon, further indicating his upperclass life before the Purge. Also being a long-range weapon suits his character as a vulnerable child that needs to be kept off the front lines.
• Byronic Hero: He is a handsome and brooding young man with enough emotional issues (losing his mother, the fear of becoming a fal’Cie, and his growing antagonism against Snow, to name a few) to overfill Gran Pulse.
• 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 dropping into the middle of a racetrack directly in front of an oncoming enemy mech which skids to a halt right in front of his face and saying nothing but "Hey there." He's clearly taking a leaf out of Fang's book.
• Character Development: With time and traveling alongside the party he goes from a young boy depressed by the death of his mother to a Determinator.
• Child Mage: (Eventually) the most powerful one; by end-game, the only magic class where he's weaker than Vanille is Saboteur, due to only getting the AOE versions.
• Crippling Overspecialization: He's entirely focused on magic rather than physical stats. As a result, he's easily the worst Saboteur in the game since he only learns "ga" spells, making him less effective at applying buffs to a single enemy, and a poor Sentinel due to his low HP and limited skillset.
• Cutscene Power to the Max: In Chapter 7, Hope unleashes a giant sphere of light magic from his body. It's powerful enough to throw Snow off the building their standing on and causes massive destruction to the area around them. This ability is never unlocked in the game, and there's nothing that would come even close to it in terms of the destruction Hope can actually cause with his magic.
• Death from Above: Hope's signature skill, Last Resort, smites enemies from the heavens with holy orbs.
• Declaration of Protection: Makes a mutual one with Lightning during Chapter 7, after he decided to abandon Operation Nora. It lasts throughout the whole trilogy.
  Lightning: (hugging him) You'll be okay. I'll keep you safe.
  Hope: Lightning. I- me too. I mean, at least I'll try. I'll try to watch out for you, too.
• Elemental Powers: The best Ravager in the game, learning all the elemental spells up to the -ga level.
• Expy: His revenge storyline with Snow also seems heavily inspired by Ken and Shinjiro's.
• Foil: To Lightning.
  • Both of them lost their family members (For Lightning, her sister Serah, while Hope lost his mother Nora) and blame Snow for it. But, Lightning's confidence and strength contrasting Hope's doubt and fear is the driving force of the plot.
  • Also prevelant in their roles, with Lightning being backed and challenged by Hope. Before the entire group rejoins, they become an Action Duo with Lightning teaching Hope how to fight while Hope is the person that Lightning opens up to.
  • Gameplay-wise, they foil each other in fighting style and ability with Hope being a long-range support character and Lightning an up-close damage dealer.
  • They have different meanings in their names: Lightning's real name being Eclair, which is French for 'lightning'. In the English localization, it was changed to Claire, which is French for 'light'. While Hope's name is frequently lampshaded in his character development.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Alexander aside, Hope inexplicably has a knack for machines, activating a few Mini Mechas the party finds during the game to help them out. He even manages to activate a group without touching them (or any concious thought at all, it seems).
• Gameplay and Story Integration: Unlike the others, Hope has no combat experience or direct connection to the Bodhum incident, and repeatedly states that he wants nothing to do with fighting the fal'Cie. But as the story progresses and he comes to terms with his circumstances, he's much more confident and ready to fight to save Cocoon. This is reflected with his Magikarp Power, he starts out weak due to his reluctance and inexperience, but become a magic powerhouse that eclipses Vanille once he gets his act together and engages in more battles.
• Gender-Blender Name: Hope is a traditional "virtue" name (like Faith and Charity) given to girls.
• Glass Cannon: He has the lowest HP of the party, but with some nice weapon upgrades and killer accessories, combined with having the highest natural magic stat in the game, he can slaughter enemies in seconds.
• Hammerspace: Where his boomerang comes from and goes to before and after battle, is mysterious. He apparently shoves it down the back of his pants and it gives him no trouble.
• Heroic BSoD: Hope has a huge one after Nora dies and he concocts his Roaring Rampage of Revenge plot against Snow. He quickly gets over it after reconciling with him by the time of chapter 7.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: The first half of his character arc, which he spends constantly complaining to the others that he never wanted to be in this mess and didn't deserve to be branded a l'cie.
• I Will Only Slow You Down: He tries to convince the others to leave him behind in Pulse after he collapses from his brand advancing, and his fear that he'll get them hurt is what summons Alexander. After he beats it with some encouragement from Lightning and Fang, he resolves to keep going.
• The Lancer: In a Kid Sidekick sort of way to the old veteran Lightning, though he takes a step back from this once the party links up.
• Leitmotif: "Hope's Theme", a slow, melancholic song played on an acoustic guitar. There is also an early piano version of it title "Hope_PfNer3" that was released as a bonus. Additionally, his theme has two other variants used in game for particular scenes involving him, "Sustained by Hate" and "This Is Your Home".
• Light 'em Up: His Last Resort spell looks like he's bombarding the enemy with light beams. It's also a direct Shout-Out to the Holy spell from previous entries (although it's a non-elemental spell, the light beams and pearly orbs are identical). Alexander's attacks in Gestalt Mode also showcase light effects, and target the enemy's weaknesses.
• The Load: Played with. How competent or not Hope is depends on how the player uses him, but in the story he knows he's much less capable than Lightning, Snow or Sazh, and if he wants to survive and confront Snow he has to toughen up and learn to not be this. With Lightning's help training him, that's just what he does.
• Lonely Rich Kid: He's from a well-off family, as his father works for the Sanctum, and he's the least connected of the party to the others, since he was caught up in the entire affair completely by accident, while everyone else was connected to the incident in Bodhum. He's reluctant to engage with the other characters given his hatred of Snow, Lightning's intimidating nature, being put off by how friendly Vanille is, and acts shy around Sazh, as well as generally blaming the others for attacking Anima. As a result, he's left on his own at least once. Once the party develops into True Companions he averts this.
• Long-Range Fighter: As a Ravager he attacks with devastating magic from afar.
• 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, once he's fully developed his magic power ultimately outstrips Vanille's and he has access to a wide range of spells and abilities.
• Missing Mom: His mother, Nora, dies during the opening chapter of XIII.
• Momma's Boy: He was extremely close to his mother Nora. Her death at the beginning of XIII caused Hope to exact revenge on Snow for seemingly causing her death.
• Morality Pet: Lightning was a grouch and a sourpuss before circumstances made her take care of him. Then she becomes more earnestly heroic.
• Neverending Terror: As soon as he's made a l'cie he realizes that his normal, safe life is over. He tends to run away from bigger fights for the first half of the game, and the first half of his character arc involves him returning back home to that safe normal life. This is a turning point in his character, although he still notes that he's absolutely terrified of the situation and the future, he's much more willing to fight with the group.
• No-Sell: You wouldn't think Hope'd be the sort to be able to do this, but his Simurgh/Tezcatlipoca weapons can render him immune to physical attacks if its Synthesis ability is activated.
• Pre Ass Kicking One Liner:
  Hope [before using Last Resort]: I decide my fate!
• Precision-Guided Boomerang: Justified; Hope's boomerangs use civilian AMP technology that lets him direct it with hand motions, and presumably keeps it spinning and airborne until it comes back to him.
• The Red Mage: He falls under this school as a triple threat with the highest magic stat. He's the only character to learn all elemental attack spells up to the -ga level as well as all of the Ravager's passive skills. He learns all of the Medic spells and passives as well. His third primary, Synergist, allows him to vary between offensive support and defensive support via buffs as well as a bit of Time Magic with Haste.
• Replacement Sibling: Figuratively to Lightning, who finds him shortly after losing Serah.
• Revenge Before Reason: He blames Snow for his mother's death more than the PSICOM soldiers that actually killed her and the corrupt government that ordered her execution, despite that she joined Snow's revolt completely of her own volition. He does acknowledge that hurting Snow won't actually solve anything, but Snow is the one he can get to. Understandable in that he's still a kid who just suffered a series of traumatic experiences, but he does get better as his character develops.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: AKA Operation Nora is bringing Snow down for his role in Nora's death.
• Security Cling: Hope does this to Vanille three times. First, after Snow leaves for the Pulse Vestige and Vanille is examining an airbike, Hope insecurely grabs her arm. Later when the Vestige is being attacked by PSICOM, Hope grabs Vanille's hand as he cowers on the floor in fear. Then when the doors to Anima's Throne open, the scared Hope is seen holding Vanille's arm while cowering behind her.
• Short Teens, Tall Adults: Hope is 14, yet also only five feet tall. This is especially noticable when he's standing next to Snow, who is almost 2 feet taller than him.
• Squishy Wizard: By far outstrips the other characters in magic, having the highest Magic in the game and being the only character to learn all four Cure spells, all five Ravager "-ga" spells, and he learns all but four Synergist buffs. However, his HP is the lowest in the game.
• Status Buff: Probably the best one in the game, being especially good with defensive buffs and having the fastest casting speed between him and Sazh. It's compensated by being slower to learn offensive buffs.
• Strong Family Resemblance: He greatly resembles his mother Nora Estheim.
• Summon Magic: Hope's Eidolon Alexander, who takes the appearance of a Mini-Mecha not unlike the Giant of Babil from Final Fantasy IV.
  "We need your help, big guy."
• Sword and Sorcerer: Is the sorcerer to Lightning's sword in Chapters 3, 5, and 7 when they're an Action Duo.
• Tagalong Kid: He was in Bodhum for a vacation. In other words, the wrong place at the wrong time.
• Tragic Keepsake: The yellow bandana on his wrist, which he wears in all three games, was a gift from his mother early on during their vacation in New Bodhum.
• Uptown Boy: It’s quite clear that he comes from a rich family.
• White Mage: Out of all the playable characters, he comes closest to a traditional White Mage as two of his three primary role specializations are built around healing and buffing/cleansing debuffs. He starts with both Medic (healing) and Synergist (buffs). He's the only character to have this combination as both Lightning and Vanille have Medic as a primary but lack Synergist and Sazh has Synergist as a primary but lacks Medic. He even heals Fang with magic in a cutscene and is the only playable character to use healing magic in a cutscene. In terms of offense, his Last Resort skill also resembles the Holy spell from Final Fantasy X (Holy is traditionally the strongest offensive magic a White Mage gets), and his summon, Alexander, is a Light elemental in other games within the series, summoned here via creating a cross-shaped formation as a landing platform.
• You Killed My Father: He believes Snow was responsible for his mother's death. He gets over it eventually, but it keeps him going for a significant portion of the game.

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Tropes present only in XIII-2

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.

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• Adventure Archaeologist: He's re-introduced at an archeological dig by finishing off a boss monster that feigned defeat and tried to drag Serah and Noel into a rift.
• Authority in Name Only: In 4XX (and presumably 500) AF, he's still addressed as "Director", but acknowledges that he's largely seen as a "relic from the past" and tries to keep himself to the New Cocoon Project.
• Badass Bookworm: The head of the Academy research group and still a monster buster.
• 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.
• Big Good: A more mundane version than Lightning. The Academy researches paradoxes and temporal energy and so provide assistance and direction to Serah and Noel.
• Broken Bird: Hope tells Serah that everyone he cared about, has left him for most of his life.
• Call-Back: A very subtle and easily-missed example. In XIII, in an optional cutscene, Hope tells Vanille that her smile makes him happy. In XIII-2, during one of his Live-Triggers, one of the options is that he misses Vanille's smile.
• Emperor Scientist: As the Director of the 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. Downplayed come 4XX AF, where he mentions that the Academy mostly sees him as a relic of the past, and his authority is pretty much limited to the New Cocoon project.
• He Is All Grown Up:
  • Serah's surprised by his appearance; in 10AF he's not only taller, but also older than her.
  • Lightning discusses how she watched him grow up from a scared and angry boy into a confident young man from Valhalla.
• I Got Bigger: Upon seeing him for the first time in 10AF, Serah remarks on how tall Hope is.
• 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.
• I Will Find You: Poor guy has dedicated himself to bringing back Fang, Vanille, and Lightning. Don't think he's forgotten about his mother.
• Leitmotif: "Hope's Theme - Tomorrow's Dream -". It's a more upbeat rearrangement of his theme from the first game, but still mainly uses an acoustic guitar. It also doubles as a variant of XIII-2's main theme "- Wishes -".
• Living Emotional Crutch: It's strongly hinted that crutch the whole group, but most noticed with Lightning, Fang, and Vanille, because he basically dedicates his entire life to bringing them back, and takes a one-way trip into the future to do so.
• Lured into a Trap: The reason he's killed in the paradox timelines is that Alyssa lures him to the fal'cie in order to ambush him with a small army of AI duplicates. He manages to survive the trap in the end, due to Serah and Noel fixing the paradox that allowed Alyssa to live, therefore eliminating her from existence.
• Meaningful Name: Snow lampshades it in a paradox ending; "The Future is Hope".
• Mildly Military: The Academy is said to work closely alongside the military but in the climax, Hope himself leads the charge against Caius's army of monsters.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Hope's team builds Augusta Tower in order to create a manmade fal'Cie...which promptly kills him, his team, and proceeds to wipe out humanity hundreds of years in the future. Though it wasn't entirely his fault, as the fal'Cie traveled back in time to achieve this due to the appearance of a paradox.
• Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Archeology, engineering, computer science/design, temporal physics, magic...
• Our Presidents Are Different: As the Director he is President Action for the Academy.
• Refused by the Call: When the time gates started appearing, Hope tried several times to enter the gates, but they wouldn't open for him, basically telling him it's not his job to correct the timelines.
• Regent for Life: A benign version. After spending time in suspended animation Hope can come back in the future and still be unquestioned in authority. However, Hope limits himself to an adviser role, generally staying out of the way of much of the Academy's business in 4XXAF since he understands that others in the future see him as a relic from the past.
• Save This Person, Save the World: Lampshaded by Snow in "The Future is Hope" paradox ending. He points out that Hope will be assassinated very soon and tasks Noel with protecting him.
  Snow: "Without you[Hope], we might as well forget about having any kind of future. Without Hope, we're done for."
• Single-Target Sexuality: Despite having plenty of admirers, including his assistant Alyssa, Hope never enters a relationship as he was still in love with Lightning, even though she had Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence at the time. This continues through Lightning Returns and the epilogue novel.
• The Slow Path: The Time Gates wouldn't let him in, so he found a different means of traveling to the future; a 'time capsule' that put him and Alyssa in stasis until the Academy woke them up. The upside is that he gets to make absolutely sure that the New Cocoon project is completed. The downside is that it's a one-way trip.
• Supporting Leader: Leader of the Academy but the main spotlight goes to Serah and Noel.
• Static Stun Gun: His new boomerang has an electromagnetic pulse which stuns paradox creatures.
• 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. Even more obvious in Academia at 4XX AF where he travels into the future on a one way trip, remarking that there was no-one left for him in his own time after his father's death and so there was nothing holding him to that time and that the only people who know who he really is are Serah and Noel.
• Young and in Charge: When Serah and Noel meet him at 24 years old, he's revealed to be the unquestioned Director of the Academy (and basically all of humanity by default).
  • The prequel novel Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments Before gives more information; saying that Hope joined the Academy at 17 and became Director of it two years later at only 19 years old.

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Tropes present only in Lightning Returns

"Hope watches over Lightning from his base in the Ark, guiding the savior as she tries to carry out all-mighty Bhunivelze's divine mission. As Lightning's trusted partner, Hope provides key information throughout the quest. Mysteriously, Hope is no longer a grown man, but has instead turned back into the boy that Lightning first met."

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• Act of True Love: Hope gives up a reborn life with his parents and a chance to relive his childhood as normal to rescue Lightning from being trapped in the Chaos and be reborn with her as an adult.
• Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: He was taken by Bhunivelze to watch over "the Ark", the place where all the saved souls are kept.
• Big Damn Heroes: Saves Lightning at the endgame, pulling her out of Chaos and leading her to everyone else's souls.
• Break the Cutie: He spent 169 years being tortured and had his emotions destroyed so Bhunivelze could possess him. Even before that, Bhunivelze spent a few centuries breaking down his sanity with illusions of Lightning. Just... damn.
• Broken Bird: Becomes one even further after the events of the second game.
• Cessation of Existence: This is the fate Bhunivelze ultimately has in store for him. Because his soul won't be saved, he will be destroyed with the rest of the universe, and everyone will forget about him.
  Hope: "But now the last day is here, and God doesn't need me anymore. I'll just... disappear."
• Crucified Hero Shot: Bhunivelze puts his soulless body in one at the end of the game, right before destroying it.
• Death of Personality: After his 169 year torture stint, Hope is left with only his memories, as Bhunivelze stole his soul from his body.
  Lumina: "It looks like Hope, and it talks like Hope, but it isn't Hope anymore."
• Demonic Possession: 169 years prior to the final game, Bhunivelze kidnapped him, tortured him, and reverted him back to his "innocent" form in preparation for serving as his vessel. Lightning frees his soul during the final battle.
• Determined Defeatist: Hope knows that he's not going to live through Bhunivelze's plan, as Bhunivelze already has him as a puppet and eventual host. However, Hope continues to make every effort to help Lightning see what's actually going on, with the hope that she will be able to stop him if she figures out the truth.
• Disappears into Light: When Bhunivelze discards him.
• Distressed Dude: Although Lightning and the player don't know it initially, Hope is being held hostage and has been made into an unwilling spy for Bhunivelze. When Lightning does find out what's going on, she promises to set him free.
• Driven to Madness: The novel states that Bhunivelze used an illusionary Lightning to mentally torment Hope for centuries, to the point he couldn't tell the difference between reality and fantasy.
• Dying as Yourself: During the final day, Bhunivelze discards his body; freed from his Demonic Possession, Hope has enough time to say goodbye to Lightning before fading away.
• Emotionless Boy: He has all his memories, but he's emotionally disconnected to them and the events of the world below. The only time he ever really shows emotion is around Lightning.
• Fountain of Youth: He has regressed to his fourteen year old appearance. This is because Bhunivelze wanted to return him to his "innocent" form in preparation for serving as his vessel.
• Futile Hand Reach: He reaches out to meet Lightning's hand only for his hand to go right through hers.
• Hallucinations: While the initial ilusion is Bhunivelze's doing, Hope began to identify that illusion with Lightning and hallucinated her presence and voice constantly before he was finally kidnapped.
• Hearing Voices: As part of being driven mad by Bhunivelze, Hope would hear Lightning's voice in his head. At first it was only isolated moments, but it progressed to the point he was constantly hearing it.
• Hope Bringer: Prior to his ascension to the Ark 169 years previous, Hope was the shining beacon of humanity that kept reason and order throughout Nova Crystalia. This attracted Bhunivelze who took him and groomed him as his vessel and used the anarchy that his absence caused to establish the Order of Salvation.
• I Got Bigger: Inverted. Lightning knew he had grown up, but when she first sees him (after 500 years), he's short and physically 14 again.
• Implied Love Interest: For Lightning. Although it roughly starts in the second game, the love interest bit is heavily expanded upon in Lightning Returns, to the point there are confirmed feelings on Hope's side.
  • A few of the optional quests in the game involve the two teasing each other, and Hope gives up a future life with his parents in order to save Lightning from her Self-Sacrifice Scheme. He also gives her his own promise similar to Squall's promise to Rinoa.
    Hope: "Don't worry Light. Even if the entire world hates you, I'll always be by your side."
  • Then there's Bhunivelze using an I Have Your Wife gambit, with Hope as leverage, to control Lightning.
  • In the end, everyone is paired up, and when Lightning and Serah prepare to go to the New World, it is Snow (Serah's fiancé) that pushes Hope towards Lightning. A bit later, Lightning gives a Meaningful Echo to Hope's last line, "We'll be together". The epilogue novel goes a step further and implies it is Hope that Lightning is referring to with that sentence.
• Leitmotif: "The Ark", which doubles as the location theme for the Ark. It's a rearrangement of "Hope's Theme - Tomorrow's Dream -" substituting piano for guitar as a way of showing his connection to Bhunivelze.
• Love Hurts: The novel all but flat-out states that he's been carrying a torch for Lightning for the past 500 or so years, and that it brought him nothing but pain. The highlight is Bhunivelze using his feelings for Lightning to kidnap, torture, and possess him.
• Meaningful Appearance: His scarf, which is now a black-and-white checkerboard pattern. It indicated his connection to Bhunivelze, who has a checkerboard motif in both his design and in areas that worship him.
• Meaningful Name: It's been brought up before in the games, but Hope served as a significant source of this to humanity over the time Lightning was in stasis.
• Mission Control: Hope helps Lightning with her duties though wireless communication from the Ark.
• Not Afraid to Die: In the conversation on the last day, Hope will quote this trope, stating how because of Lightning, he has the courage to face anything, even death. And it's not just your average death, he's walking away knowing his soul is going to be erased from existence, eliminating any chance for him to be reborn.
  Hope: "As long as you were with me, Light... I didn't have to fear anything. I'm not scared. Not even now. Because you're here."
• Not Himself: It's subtle, but there are several clues that Hope is not quite Hope during the game. Most notaly, the fact that he's lacking emotions (but so is Lightning). Then, there's the conversation with Lightning where Hope fails to finish their personal motto which is the moment she realizes something is wrong.
• Older Than They Look: Despite his physical appearance, Hope is still 27 years-old. In the epilogue, he returns to his 27-year-old body.
• Power Echoes: His voice gets noticeably reverb and a tone or two lower when Bhunivelze possesses him, giving him the power of a god.
• Radio Voice: His voice has a slight techno filter over it whenever he talks to Lightning through her earpiece. It's even more noticeable in places with high amounts of Chaos, as it interferes with the connection.
• Ship Tease: He gets a lot of teasing with Lightning in this game. See the entries under the Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII page for more details.
• The Soulless: Because Bhunivelze stole it, even though he still has his memories and is able to experience emotions to an extent due to his link with Bhunivelze. Lightning gets it back at the end of the game.
• Take My Hand!: To Lightning when he pulls her both from the chaos and from the mindset that she has to do everything herself.
• Vocal Dissonance: Hope's voice is noticeably distorted when Bhunivelze uses him as a mouthpiece to communicate with Lightning. This is especially jarring for Lightning after hearing his normal voice for so long and after he "died".
• Voice with an Internet Connection: He contacts Lightning over a communicator throughout the game, though he's often interrupted due to significant concentrations of Chaos.
• Walking Spoiler: It's impossible to say anything about the reasons behind Hope's current state without giving away heavy end-game spoilers.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Once he's done with him, Bhunivelze tosses Hope aside like a piece of trash.
  Hope: "I was just a pawn, and pawns are meant to be discarded."
• Your Days Are Numbered: Once Lightning is brought out of her 500 year coma, he knows he only has 13 days to "live". In other words, 13 days before his soul is erased from existence.

Oerba Yun Fang

Oerba Yun Fang

Voiced by: Mabuki Andou (Japanese), Rachel Robinson (English)

"Let Cocoon get what's comin' to them! They hate us for being l'Cie. What's it to me if they die? Better that than watch a friend go Cie'th!"

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 Bahamut.

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• Always Save the Girl:
  "I'd tear down the sky if that's what it took to keep Vanille safe."
• Ambiguously Gay: She and Vanille are both openly very touchy-feely and comfortable with each other, to the point where Vanille can nonchalantly rest her hand on Fang's breast with neither one batting an eye. There's also the fact that the game ends with the both of them performing a Heroic Sacrifice together, transforming into crystal statues locked in an eternal embrace with Intertwined Fingers.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: Fang's skills are very offensively minded. She even trades normal Synergist spells for stronger versions that don't last as long.
• Blood Knight: It's not extremely obvious, but she seems to really enjoy kicking her opponents around:
  • If she's leading the party, she'll occassionaly open battle with "Too late to beg!"
  • One of her battle quotes is, "You're gonna squirm!"
  • She seems audibly excited when casting debilitating spells as a Saboteur.
• Can't Catch Up: Downplayed in that it only occurs under certain circumstances. Fang only joins the party in the middle of Chapter 7 (of 13). With Stage 5 of the Crystarium having been unlocked at the end of Chapter 6, the first four stages of Fang's Crystarium for her primary roles consist of 0-cost nodes, but she only starts gaining CP around when the player takes control of Snow in this chapter. In contrast, the other five members of the party will all have gained the same amount of CP starting in Chapter 3. If the player has been Level Grinding throughout the past four chapters, it's entirely possible for Lightning, Hope, and Snow to have their Crystaria maxed out to Stage 5 while Fang is just getting started, putting her at a sizeable disadvantage compared to her compatriots.
• Crutch Character: Contrariwise, if the player has been dodging non-mandatory encounters for Chapters 3-6 (or is doing a Low-Level Run and just not spending any of their CP), Fang's four stages of 0-cost Crystarium can easily put her respectably ahead of the rest of the party, statistically if not ability-wise. As point of comparison, Vanille and Hope have Magic stats of 35 when first branded, and Snow has 32 Strength and 500 HP; Fang joins the party with 750 HP, 145 Strength, and 90 Magic.
• Cutscene Incompetence: Downplayed example completely justified by Rule of Cool. Normally, flinging her Eidolith into the air is sufficient to summon Bahamut, but when the party is falling towards Gran Pulse, she has to have Lightning shoot it after doing just that.
• Deadpan Snarker:
  • "Who ordered the battalion?"
  • Upon seeing two rather powerful monsters duking it out: "Wow. Look at 'em go."
• Early-Bird Cameo: You can spot Fang at the bar right at the start of the day 11 flashback.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: Just like Vanille, she was frozen centuries pre-game.
• Fluffy Tamer: "What a sweetheart!" in regards to Bahamut.
• Glacier Waif: She's the biggest tank amongst the party and has the highest damage-dealing capacity. Her summon is Bahamut, which adds to the badass factor. 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.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Fang is crystallized at the end of the game to save Cocoon.
• Land Downunder: Gran Pulse, a challenging world with unique wildlife? Check. Fang using an appropriate accent? Check. Devotee of Deadpan Snarking? Check.
• Leitmotif: "Fang's Theme", a rousing orchestral piece that symbolizes her boldness and confidence.
• Ms. Fanservice: Her outfit appears to be a sari over a bikini, leaving much of her body on view.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: Slightly more built than Lightning, but her arms and legs are still surprisingly thin despite all the physical feats she can accomplish.
• 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.
• No-Sell: The straightest example; while not as resilient as Snow, she can reduce damage quite a bit as a Sentinel, and has access to Dragoon Lance/Dragonhorn and Shamanic Spear/Heretic's Halberd, which can make Physical and Magical attacks respectively completely ineffective; she's the only one who can nullify both.
• Really 700 Years Old: She's chronologically 521 in the game, but physically 21.
• Sixth Ranger: The final cast member to join the party. Before then, her allegiance appeared to be ambiguous - searching for someone unnamed, and later capturing Snow for a Sanctum unit. It's only after she meets Lightning that she says she doesn't fully trust Cid and that her goal is to save Vanille.
• Slasher Smile: Has a habit of flashing these before boss battles start.
• Stance System: As with all of the party members, though Fang's poses are particularly different from one another, accentuated by her spear.
• Status Effects: She's easily the second best Saboteur in the game, learning all of the basic abilities and specializing in restrictive abilities as opposed to the stat-lowering abilities Vanille specializes in.
• Statuesque Stunner: She's 5'9".
• Stone Wall: The other specialist Sentinel in the party, she initially learns more practical skills than Snow's basic ones but trades it off for slightly lower HP.
• Summon Magic: As a Dragoon, it's only fitting that Fang's Eidolon is the king of dragons Bahamut himself.
  "Rain down hell!"
• Superpowered Evil Side: Like Vanille, she is capable of becoming Ragnarok and has even done so once in the past when she attacked Cocoon.
• 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.
• Unkempt Beauty: Her hair looks like it's between the "blowdryer" and "brush it out" stages.
• 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: Fang's hair is constantly wild, contrasting significantly with her sari.
• Younger Than They Look: Completely ignoring that she's five centuries old Fang has the physical attributes of someone several years older (with her features, demeanor, and height- not to mention the scars on her right arm- would you believe she's only 21?).

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Tropes present only in Lightning Returns

After Sazh rescued her and Vanille from the Crystal Pillar at the finale of XIII-2, Fang reappears in the Desert Dunes of Nova Chrysalia, now the leader of a brigade of thieves called Monoculus.

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• Guest-Star Party Member: She and the Angel of Valhalla are the only party members who fight alongside Lightning in battle.
• The Leader: She's the leader of a group of thieves.
• Leitmotif: "Fang's Theme ~The Boss~" a much more rigid piece symbolizing Fang's singular purpose in sacrificing everything to find a way to save Vanille.
• Limited Wardrobe: Unlike Lightning and Snow, who seem to get a different wardrobe each game, she's got the same attire as she did in XIII and XIII-2.
• Outlaw Town: As he leader of Monoculus she also runs the only settlement in Desert Dunes. Nothing happens there without her approval.
• Really 700 Years Old: Chronologically speaking she's 1521 years old. Lampshaded in-game when she states she "did the math" and notes this means she's "the oldest hag on the planet" (beating out Vanille by two years).

Eidolons

As a Whole

Eidolons are servants of the goddess Etro, sent to l'Cie when they begin to falter on their path - not necessarily their Focus, mind.

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• Ambiguous Robots: They look mechanical, and their Gestalt Mode transformations are more "reconfiguration" than "shapeshifting", but side material and fragments describe Eidolons as being sentient, Serah claims they have "human thoughts and emotions", and Twilight Odin is considered a biological monster by his Crystarium requirements.
• Arc Number: Including Stiria and Nix as separate characters, the Eidolons bring the main party count to 13.
• Armor-Piercing Attack: All Eidolons (except Bahamut and Alexander) have Penetration, which allows them to deal normal damage with their elemental attacks regardless of an enemy's elemental resistances. Bahamut and Alexander have no need for it by virtue of all their attacks being Non-Elemental.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Eidolons follow the law of Valhalla that dictates the weak must serve the strong; their defeat earns their l'Cie the right to summon them.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Act as an extreme version of this, bringing lethal force as soon as their l'Cie starts to falter. The main party has varying reactions to this.
  Lightning: This cannot be happening.
  Fang: What the hell is he doing here?
• Healing Hands: All Eidolons have Arise, which revives their fallen summoner and fully heals them and their allies, and all except Hecatoncheir have Curaga, a single-target massive-healing spell.
• Implacable Man: Eidolons are unable to be stunned by anything thrown at them, by l'Cie or monster.
• Mercy Kill: If they're sent to a l'Cie, and the l'Cie fails to defeat them, this is the end result. Sure, they're dead, but that means they're not Cie'th.
• My Rules Are Not Your Rules: Unlike the party members, who are limited in their actions by their current Paradigm role, Eidolons have a selection of abilities that don't really fit into a single niche. Even when they do possess abilities shared by their l'Cie, they often come with notable differences (like Odin's Thundara and Thundaga only costing one ATB gauge segment, compared to the Ravagers needing two and three segments, respectively.
• Summon Magic: Final Fantasy XIII's take on summons, being absolutely devastating with the right use.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Can enter Gestalt Mode on command, causing them to take different forms that allow their l'Cie to ride them.

Shiva

Snow's summon, Final Fantasy's classic ice summon manifests as a pair of Twin Sisters, Stiria (the dark one) and Nix (the light one). The first Eidolon to appear, they manifest in Lake Bresha to save him from a horde of PSICOM soldiers before turning on him for the trial.

Their Gestalt Mode turns the sisters into a motorcycle, which spreads ice when Snow burns rubber.

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• An Ice Person: As ever, Shiva is Ice-elemental and packs plenty of Blizzard magic.
• The Dividual: The two sisters are in fact one Eidolon, and therefore share SP and Gestalt gauges.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The melee-oriented full-offensive Nix is light-skinned, while the magic-oriented healer Stiria is dark-skinned.
• Cool Bike: Become one in Gestalt Mode.
• Cool Helmet: They both wear large helmets designed like a bike's wheel wells.
• Finishing Move: Gestalt Mode finishes off with Diamond Dust, where Snow drives Shiva into about a dozen and one donuts and rips up an icy hurricane.
• Improbable Weapon User: Nix uses a wheel for her melee attacks.
• Palette Swap: Lightning has forged a pact with them by XIII-2; they seem to have a pink tint to them, although Nix is also missing her visor.
• Spectacular Spinning: Nix's wheel is constantly spinning, and Snow likes to ride Shiva into a lot of turns in Gestalt Mode.
• Stripperiffic: Stiria takes up Shiva's classic outfit of An Ice Suit. Averted with Nix, who wears a corset-looking thing that nonetheless covers a great deal more.
• Support Party Member: Stiria spends most of her time floating out of the way and casting Curaga on Snow to keep him healthy.
• The Worf Effect: They appear in the opening to XIII-2, apparently having made a pact with Lightning. Caius manhandles them, which is your first big warning what kind of threat this man poses.

Odin

Lightning's summon, and Valhalla's Strongest Creature. Final Fantasy's knightly summon comes brandishing a massive two-bladed sword when Light starts to forsake her allies in Vile Peaks, making to strike Hope down before she intervenes.

His Gestalt Mode turns Odin into a horse, whereupon Lightning takes up his Gagnrad and mounts him.

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• BFS: His Gagnrad is almost as tall as he is when the blades are joined. Even moreso when Lightning grabs it, given that he's almost twice as tall as she is.
• Bifurcated Weapon: Gagnrad separates into two swords. Odin usually only does this for Crushing Blow, but Lightning mainly wields them separated.
• Cool Horse: Becomes one in Gestalt Mode.
• Double Weapon: Gagnrad has two arced blades facing opposite directions.
• Draw Aggro: Valhalla's Call has a 100% chance to provoke enemies when he attacks them.
• Finishing Move: Gestalt Mode finishes off with Zantetsuken, where Lightning leaps from Odin's saddle and performs a few spinning slashes to cut down foes.
• Gold and White Are Divine: Trades out Odin's usual 'dark knight' motif for a blinding white and gold.
• Knight In Shining Armour: Looks - and fights - like a straight-up paladin in this game.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Carries Ullr's Shield, which becomes his saddle in Gestalt Mode. It decreases damage done to him while his ATB Gauge is charging.
• Something about a Rose: Lightning Eidolith takes the form of a crystal rose, Odin scatters rose petals during his summoning, and they trail in his every hoofstep in Gestalt Mode.
• Shock and Awe: Odin acts as this game's Lightning-elemental summon, bringing Thundara and Thundaga.

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Tropes present only in XIII-2

Although Lightning is no longer a l'Cie, she manages to forge a new pact with Odin upon arrival in Valhalla. Meanwhile, the memory of their first battle influences a paradox in Vile Peaks, leading to the manifestation of Twilight Odin.

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• 11th-Hour Ranger: Twilight Odin is attainable as soon as Academia 4XX is reached, which is immediately before everything goes to hell. Possessed of the strongest stats in the base game and the only 999%-sync Feral Link, he earns his place as combatant for those without the Coliseum DLC and recruiter for those with.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Odin is the strongest being in Valhalla, and therefore all its creatures bow to him. He bows to Lightning, so all the creatures in Valhalla are at her beck and call once she shows up.
• Fastball Special: Throws Lightning at Caius' meteor at the end of the prologue.
• Limit Break: In lieu of Gestalt Mode, Twilight Odin uses Zantetsuken himself as a Feral Link ability.
• Mounted Combat: Odin's primary role while Lightning is in Valhalla is to serve as a steed during her war against Caius. He's only briefly seen in his normal form; once after tanking a Megaflare to the face, and once when Lightning summons him at the end of the prologue.
• Palette Swap: The paradox that manifests in Vile Peaks takes the form of a black-and-green version of Odin. Serah strikes it down and claims it as an ally.

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Tropes present only in Lightning Returns

After the end of XIII-2, the Eidolons no longer had anywhere to reside. However, Odin manages to make an appearance... The Angel of Valhalla, a white-and-green chocobo that roams the Wildlands, is the form he has taken.

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• Badass Adorable: Chocobos are kind, fluffy creatures. This one is Odin. He brought a Chocobo Eater to 10% of its maximum health on his own, though the battle left him severely injured.
• Forced Transformation: The strongest creature in Valhalla is now a bright chocobo.
• Morphic Resonance: The Angel of Valhalla has a tattoo of Gagnrad above one eye.
• The Red Mage: As the Angel of Valhalla, possesses Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Aero, and Cure magic.
• Support Party Member: The Angel of Valhalla is one of only two characters to fight alongside Lightning, the other being Fang.
• Undying Loyalty: This guy is so loyal, that he reincarnated itself to fight alongside Lightning again.
• Walking Spoiler: The identity of the Angel of Valhalla is a significant spoiler for one of the main missions of the story.

Brynhildr

Sazh's summon, a flaming woman of war with a massive double-edged weapon. An original summon to Final Fantasy XIII, Brynhildr manifests in Nautilus after Sazh learns that Vanille is responsible for Dajh being branded as a Sanctum l'Cie.

Her Gestalt Mode turns Brynhildr into a sports car, with Sazh at the wheel to deploy caltrops and bombs.

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• Badass Cape: Has a long, cage-like cape that becomes the hood of the car in Gestalt Mode.
• Cool Car: Becomes one in Gestalt Mode.
• Combat Stilettos: Inexplicably has high-heeled feet.
• Elemental Powers: Sazh's En- spells change the name and element of her magical attacks.
• Finishing Move: Gestalt Mode finishes off with Múspell Flame, where Sazh drives Brynhildr into circles to generate enough hellfire to throw him from the cockpit.
• Playing with Fire: Brynhildr acts as the game's fire-elemental summon, and can maintain fire-elemental attacks without enhancements.
• Sinister Scythe: Her Valkyrian Scythe is some badass combination of a sickle, an axe, and a gun.

Bahamut

Fang's summon, Final Fantasy's recurring dragon shows up with a humanoid structure to strike foes down with. Bahamut manifests in the Fifth Ark when the party intends to defy their fate, in response to Fang intending to follow their Focus alone.

In Gestalt Mode, Bahamut takes a wyvern-like form better-suited to letting Fang ride him.

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• Blow You Away: Whirlwind generates a twister around him as he attacks, though it's not actually wind-elemental.
• Casting a Shadow: Umbral Vise has Bahamut create a pair of energy spheres in his hands and slam them together to create a burst of darkness.
• Dragon Rider: Lets Fang become this in Gestalt Mode.
• Finishing Move: Gestalt Mode ends with Megaflare, where Fang directs Bahamut to unleash a positively massive blast centered on her target.
• Mythology Gag: When summoned, he dives through several circles of Instant Runes like his counterpart from Final Fantasy X does, shattering them as he goes.
• Playing with Fire: Has flame attacks called Inferno and Ignis, although they're not technically fire-elemental.
• Non-Elemental: Doesn't have the same elemental powers as the other Eidolons. Consequently, he has the highest damage output to make up for it.
• Technicolor Fire: Ignis is a blue fireball that explodes into more blue flames on impact.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Unlike the other Eidolons, Bahamut takes on Gestalt Mode other than at his summoner's command; he first emerges from the summoning sigil in his wyvern form.

Tropes only present in XIII-2 and Lightning Returns

Bahamut is the only Eidolon allowed to enter Etro's temple in Valhalla. Unfortunately, one of those who have summoned the dragon is Caius Ballad, who can perform an Incarnate Summon to manifest Bahamut in his own body.

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• Heel–Face Turn: Subverted; an Eidolon can manifest in multiple places at once, as Caius and Lightning indicate by respectively incarnating and summoning Bahamut simultaneously in the prologue.
• Palette Swap: Caius' summon is known as "Chaos Bahamut", and is darker with more subdued tones to differentiate it from Fang's. Lightning has also forged a pact with Bahamut, who takes a pink hue when she summons him.

Alexander

Hope's summon, Final Fantasy's big holy tower takes the form of a massive humanoid in gold and white. Alexander manifests in the Vallis Media on Gran Pulse when Hope starts to despair about his seeming worthless to the rest of the party.

In Gestalt Mode, Alexander takes the form of an extending wall covered in guns that Hope climbs atop to command.

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• Attack Its Weak Point: If an enemy has a specific weakness, Alexander can attack it.
• Draw Aggro: Lofty Challenge provokes enemies to keep them off of the fragile Hope.
• Finishing Move: Gestalt Mode ends with Divine Judgement, where Hope directs Alexander to fire a wave of light so powerful it sends the Eidolon into the air.
• Golem: His rotund figure combined with the mechanical appearance of Eidolons gives off this vibe.
• Launcher Move: Soaring Uppercut throws a staggered enemy into the air.
• Mage Tower: He turns into a tower in Gestalt Mode from which Hope can launch magic attacks.
• Mighty Glacier: Not exactly the fastest among the Eidolons, and his Gestalt Mode is stationary, but he hits like an oretoise and has the largest SP gauge.
• Rocket Punch: His Blast Punch fires his fist to hit the enemy from range.

Hecatoncheir

Vanille's summon, a hundred-handed giant born out of the earth. An original summon to Final Fantasy XIII, Hecatoncheir manifests in the Mah'habara Subterra when Vanille is trying to deceive Fang about their previous Focus to become Ragnarok.

In Gestalt Mode, Hecatoncheir takes the form of magitek armour that Vanille mounts to fire off.

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• Attack! Attack! Attack!: He automatically attacks anything that gets within spitting distance.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Trades out the Curaga that most Eidolons have for Quake.
• Finishing Move: Gestalt Mode ends with Gaian Salvo, where Hecatoncheir drives his cannons into the ground and generates a massive earthquake hard enough to get Vanille screaming.
• Hurricane Kick: Literally the name of one of his attacks.
• More Dakka: His Getsalt Mode has chainguns that can be fired off thirty times in a row if the player wants.
• Mini-Mecha: Becomes this in Gestalt Mode.
• Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Pummel punches an enemy with all of his hands in succession.