Characters of Final Fantasy XIII

Promotional image of the six main playable characters of Final Fantasy XIII. From left to right: Sazh Katzroy, Snow Villiers, Hope Estheim, Lightning, Oerba Yun Fang, Oerba Dia Vanille

The thirteenth game of the Final Fantasy series, Square Enix's role-playing video game Final Fantasy XIII revolves around the focus to kill Orphan, which would result in Cocoon's demise. The story is told through the eyes of Lightning, a former soldier who seeks to save her sister from the fal'Cie Anima, but gets turned into a l'Cie herself after witnessing her sister being turned to crystal. The visuals of the characters were designed by Tetsuya Nomura and Nao Ikeda, while their stories were created by Motomu Toriyama and Daisuke Watanabe.

There are a total of six main playable characters in Final Fantasy XIII; Lightning, a former soldier who seeks to save her sister from the fal'Cie Anima; Snow Villiers, the leader of Team Nora and the fiancee of Lightning's sister; Hope Estheim, an exile who is angered by Snow's involvement in his mother's death; Sazh Katzroy, a former airship pilot who seeks the Pulse l'Cie to save his son; Oerba Dia Vanille, a l'Cie who is a Cocoon exile; and Oerba Yun Fang, a l'Cie who works for the Sanctum's Calvary branch. There are a few guest characters that join the party, including Team NORA, the resistance group led by Snow;. Other major characters who influence the plot of the game but are not playable characters include Serah Farron, Lightning's sister who is captured by Anima; Galenth Dysley, the leader of the Sanctum and the main antagonist of the game; Orphan, the fal'Cie that powers Cocoon; Jihl Nabaat, an intelligent colonel of PSICOM who serves as Dysley's subordinate; Cid Raines, a Sanctum Air Force Brigadier who questions the motifs of the Sanctum; and Yaag Rosch, a PSICOM Director who questions the Sanctum's motifs while maintaining order for the Sanctum's military; and Dajh Katzroy, Sazh's son who is captured by the Sanctum and branded a l'Cie.

The characters in the game have been the basis of several pieces of merchandise produced by Square Enix, such as statues, action figures, and jewelry. They have been subject to mostly positive reviews; observers favorably compared the characters to those in the previous games and praised the voice acting. However, some critics have stated that the plotline of the characters have been confusing when introduced.

Creation and influences

Most of Final Fantasy XIII's characters were designed by Tetsuya Nomura, who also served as the character designer for Final Fantasy VII, VIII and X. Nao Ikeda designed Jihl Nabaat and Gadot, Lebreau, and Maqui. The stories of the characters were created by Motomu Toriyama and Daisuke Watanabe. Toriyama wanted Lightning to be a new type of female character, with an athlete's body and a less feminine nature than some of the previous female characters of Final Fantasy.^[1][2] His guideline to Nomura was to make her "strong and beautiful", "someone like a female version of Cloud from FFVII".^[1][3]

Playable characters

Lightning

Main article: Lightning (Final Fantasy)

Lightning (ライトニング, Raitoningu^?) is a 21 year-old^[4] human, a former Guardian Corps soldier and the main protagonist of the game. She is 171 cm tall (5'7").^[5] Lightning wields a gunblade called the Blazefire Saber, known as Blaze Edge (ブレイズエッジ, Bureizu Ejji^?) in the Japanese version, which is a combination of a gun and a sword, one collapsing into the other. She can also manipulate gravity with a device on her thumb (though due to Sazh's interference, this device becomes damaged).^[6] In battle, Lightning is very agile and uses acrobatic moves. As a l'Cie, she can summon the Eidolon Odin to fight by her side in battle, who can assume a horse-like form that she can ride on.^[7] While riding, Lightning dual wields Odin's detachable sword. Her strongest unique special attack is called Scene Drive in the Japanese version ^[8] and Army of One in the international version.^[7]

Born as Claire Farron, or Éclair Farron (エクレール・ファロン, Ekurēru Faron^?) in the original Japanese language version, she lost her parents when she was 15 years old. Claire took on her codename of Lightning to help her younger sister Serah, only to cause tensions between them as a result. Soon after, she joined the Guardian Corps, rising to the rank of Sergeant, a position that she holds at the start of the game. Lightning inadvertently caused Serah to be captured by the fal'Cie Anima after she was told that Serah has become a l'Cie. Desperate to save her sister, she resigned as a Guardian Corps soldier. Lightning, along with Sazh Katzroy, infiltrate the train carrying the Cocoon exiles and derail it at the start of the game during the battle between Cocoon and PSICOM. Eventually, they witness Serah turn to crystal while finding Anima and is branded as a l'Cie after defeating it, along with Snow Villiers, Oerba Dia Vanille, Hope Estheim and Sazh. After the party leaves Snow behind and separates following a brief PSICOM ambush, Lightning and Hope continue with their Focus to destroy the Sanctum. However, she inadvertently summons Odin in anger and trains Hope to fight against the Sanctum before she gives him the knife that Serah had given her on Lightning's 21st birthday. After meeting up with Oerba Yun Fang, Lightning realizes that she had misdirected her anger and tries to persuade Hope to not take revenge on Snow. In a discussion with Snow, Lightning reveals that she had loathed herself for distrusting her sister after becoming a l'Cie.^[9] Lightning acknowledges Snow's intentions to restore Cocoon and eventually makes her way to Orphan in Orphan's Cradle to end it. Lightning ends the game reuniting with her sister and reconciling with her.

During the events of Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning, having resolved to save Fang and Vanille from their fate, disappears from Gran Pulse and is trapped in an unknown world, believed by many to be dead. During her journey to free Fang and Vanille, Lightning ends up in confrontation with a mysterious purple-haired man considered to be her fated rival. She also serves as the narrator character of the story.

Multiple designs were considered for Lightning, including some designed by other staff members.^[3] Some of her original characteristics were blonde hair and Asian-looking features.^[3][10] Nomura defines Lightning as "serious", "unforgiving", "relentless" and "a kind of individualistic person".^[11] The final art was made less Asian-looking than originally conceived, while the silver hair color was given to Hope in favor of a pinker color.^[3][10] Although Nomura explained that she is essentially a "cool character" and that "you can't have a cool character without anything inappropriate," ^[3] it was also stated that Lightning's cool aspect was transferred to Oerba Yun Fang when the latter character's design changed from being a male character to a female.^[10] While her real name is only loosely related to the weather or skies (Claire means "clear," which can tie in with clear skies), which is a common tradition of naming Final Fantasy protagonists that began when Nomura became the series' character designer, her alias of "Lightning" does continue this tradition. The name was not chosen by Nomura, who was surprised by it, as he was thinking about stopping this naming tradition.^[3] Eclair, the romanization of her Japanese name, is French for "lightning." Lightning is voiced by Ali Hillis in English and Maaya Sakamoto in Japanese. She was voted 2nd in Afterellen's "25 Hottest Video Game Characters" (October 2010).^[12] She appears in the crossover game Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy for the PlayStation Portable.

Snow Villiers

Snow Villiers (スノウ・ヴィリアース, Sunou Viriāsu^?) is a 21 year-old human. He stands at a tall 200 cm (6'7"),^[5] and has light blonde hair under a black bandana.^[13] Snow proposed to Serah Farron two days prior to the start of the game. Snow is the leader of NORA, a resistance group. During the Purge, his team engages in a battle between PSICOM soldiers and the Cocoon citizens. Snow, along with Oerba Dia Vanille and Hope Estheim, follow Lightning to see Serah being crystallized and gets branded as a l'Cie afterwards. While trying to save Serah from her crystallization after staying behind, he is captured by the Sanctum, where he meets Cid Raines and Oerba Yun Fang.

Snow later meets up with Hope, who unsuccessfully tries to murder him for his part in Nora's death and reconciles with him soon after. Lightning and Snow resolve to see Serah after finding Orphan. After the destruction of Orphan, Snow and Lightning reunite with Serah and plan his wedding. However, in Final Fantasy XIII-2, Snow mysteriously disappears into an unknown world. He was nicknamed "Mr. 33 cm" by the development team of Final Fantasy XIII in reference to his shoe size.^[14] He uses his fists to take down opponents, focusing on brute force compared to the fast and agile Lightning.^[15] Snow bears the mark of the l'Cie on his lower left arm, through which he has the power to summon the twin Shiva Sister (シバシスター, Shiba Sisutā^?) Eidolons, Nix (二クス, Nikusu^?) and Stiria (スティリア, Sutiria^?), who can combine into a motorcycle form for Snow to ride while toting a large gun. Unlike most grapplers, Snow changes his runes on his coat rather than buying new gloves. Snow is voiced by Troy Baker in English and by Daisuke Ono in Japanese.

Snow has been confirmed for Final Fantasy XIII-2, having left prior to its events to find Lightning. In the newest trailer, he is seen saving Noel and Serah from a Flan-collective fiend. However, it is unknown if he will be playable.

Sazh Katzroy

Sazh Katzroy (サッズ・カッツロイ, Sazzu Kattsuroi^?) is a 32 year-old human former airship pilot. His son, Dajh, was taken by the Sanctum in the aftermath of him becoming a Cocoon l'Cie three days earlier when Sazh bought a chocobo chick. The bird resides in his hair since then. Along with Lightning, he derails the train carrying the Cocoon exiles at the start of the game. After the party splits up in Lake Bresha following Anima's defeat, Sazh runs away with Vanille to Nautilus as he tells her about his son. Sazh bears the mark of the l'Cie on his chest.

However, Jihl Nabaat reveals Vanille's part in his son becoming a l'Cie before summoning the Eidolon Brynhildr. He attempts to kill Vanille, but fails and tries to commit suicide by pointing one of his guns at his head which it also fails. Sazh and Vanille are then captured by Nabaat, who detains them aboard the Palamecia. Before Lightning's party rescues Sazh and Vanille, he reconciles with Vanille for her role in Dajh's fate. After escaping the Palamecia and traveling to Pulse, Sazh eventually forgives Fang for what happened to Dajh. After Vanille and Fang transform to Ragnarok and prevent Cocoon from colliding with Pulse, Sazh is reunited with Dajh. Sazh is voiced by Reno Wilson in English and by Masashi Ebara in Japanese.

Hope Estheim

Hope Estheim (ホープ・エストハイム, Hōpu Esutohaimu^?) is a 14 year-old human who is a Cocoon exile at the start of the game. Two days before the start of the game, he and his mother, Nora, visited the town of Bodhum on vacation. However, they are evicted to Pulse. Nora falls to her death during the battle in the Hanging Edge while trying to protect Hope. Angered by the death of his mother, Hope and Oerba Dia Vanille, a fellow exile, follow Snow to the Pulse Vestige. However, he becomes a l'Cie, along with Lightning, Sazh Katzroy, Snow and Vanille. After the party leaves Snow behind and splits up following an ambush, Hope follows Lightning in their journey to obliterate the Sanctum. However, after witnessing Lightning's summoning of Odin, he begins training to fight the Sanctum with her. While traveling to his hometown of Palumpolum through the Gapra Whitewood, he plots his assassination attempt on Snow and is given Lightning's knife.

Later, despite Lightning's objections not to go through with revenge, Hope tries to kill Snow once he gets him alone. However, his plan is foiled when he is injured in an air strike. Hope and Snow reconcile and regroup with Lightning and Oerba Yun Fang. When Hope returns to his father, Bartholomew, he tells him what happened to Nora. On Gran Pulse, he tells the others to go on to Oerba without him, but inadvertenly summons Alexander while visiting Gran Pulse, having fulfilled his promise to visit it. Before the party confronts Orphan, he reveals that Galenth Dysley is turning citizens into Cie'th to cause them to lose faith and transform into Ragnarok. After the defeat of Orphan, Hope tells Lightning that Fang and Vanille had changed their fate by fulfilling their Focus of transforming into Ragnarok to prevent Cocoon from colliding with Gran Pulse rather than destroying it. Hope is voiced by Vincent Martella in English and by Yūki Kaji in Japanese.

Hope has been confirmed for Final Fantasy XIII-2. He is first seen in the new "Quest for Lightning" Trailer. There, he is seen saving Noel and Serah from a fiend in the Yaschas Massif. However, it is still unknown if he will be playable.

Oerba Dia Vanille

Oerba Dia Vanille (ヲルバ＝ダイア・ヴァニラ, Oruba Daia Vanira^?) is a 19 year-old l'Cie from Gran Pulse.^[16] who was awakened with Oerba Yun Fang thirteen days before the start of the game. When she was with the Purgees of Cocoon along with Nora and Hope Estheim during their exile, she is rescued by Snow Villiers' group, NORA. However, after Nora dies, she encourages Hope to follow Snow to the Pulse Vestige and they are branded l'Cie after killing the fal'Cie Anima. After the party splits up, Vanille, along with Sazh, intend to run away from their fate by going to the city of Nautilus through the Sunleth Waterscape. However, both she and Sazh are captured by Jihl Nabaat in Nautilus and detained aboard the Palamecia. After Lightning and the party rescue the two, Vanille reunites with Fang. In Mah'habara Subterra on Pulse, Fang regains her memory and remembers it was she who became Ragnarok, and not Vanille, despite Vanille's insistence. In her state of emotional distress, as she realizes her friend has finally discovered her deepest lie, her l'Cie brand begins to glow, initiating the start of her battle with her Eidolon Hecatoncheir.

After the defeat of Orphan, she and Fang transform into Ragnarok to prevent Cocoon from a collision with Pulse and awakens the remaining members of the party. Vanille is also the narrator character of the story, as she tells of the party's adventure throughout the game. Vanille's personality is best known for being sweet, happy, and childish, a character described as being the cheer bringer and she deeply cares for everyone; however, she carries a dark burden throughout the game regarding her and Fang's pasts. Therefore, her cheerful character is only a cover, under which she conceals her past. She has red hair and wears a tropical pink halter top with a multi-colored skirt decorated with colorful ornaments. Vanille is voiced by Georgia van Cuylenburg in English, in which she has an Australian accent, and by Yukari Fukui in Japanese. She was voted 19th in Afterellen's "25 Hottest Female Video Game Characters" poll. ^[12] Vanille will also appear in Final Fantasy XIII-2

Oerba Yun Fang

Oerba Yun Fang (ヲルバ＝ユン・ファング, Oruba-Yun Fangu^?) is a 21-year old l'Cie from Gran Pulse who is awakened thirteen days prior to the start of the game along with Oerba Dia Vanille. Eight days before the game's start, they inadvertently caused Sazh's son Dajh to be branded a Sanctum l'Cie. After she helped Vanille escape, she began serving as Cid Raines' subordinate in the Cavalry. She eventually meets Snow at Lake Bresha and becomes his partner as part of Cid's plan to find the remaining l'Cie. She later befriends Lightning while fighting off the PSICOM soldiers in Palumpolum. The two meet up with Snow and Hope at Bartholomew's house. After rescuing Sazh and Vanille on board the Palamecia, she and Vanille reunite. On Gran Pulse, despite Vanille's protests, Fang reveals that she was responsible for scarring Cocoon centuries earlier.

Despite the party's pleas for Fang to not transform into Ragnarok, Fang eventually transforms and fights Orphan alone, but gets tortured as a result of her failure, only to be saved by Lightning's group. After Orphan's destruction, Fang and Vanille complete their Focus by becoming Ragnarok to save Cocoon from crashing into Gran Pulse. Fang was originally scripted to be a male character during the early stages of development, but was turned into a female when the character's design changed.^[10] Fang is voiced by Rachel Robinson in English, in which, like Vanille, she has an Australian accent, and Mabuki Andou in Japanese. She was #3 on Afterellen's "25 Hottest Female Video Game Characters" poll.^[12]

NORA

NORA (ノラ, Nora^?) is a resistance group led by Snow Villiers. The team consists of Gadot (ガドー, Gadō^?), Snow's childhood friend; Lebreau (レブロ, Reburo^?), Snow's childhood friend who runs a local bar for gathering monetary resources; Maqui (マーキー, Mākī^?), a teenager who provides mechanical assistance; and Yuj (ユージュ, Yūju^?), a young man obsessed with fashion. Gadot and Lebreau join as guest characters when Snow is leading NORA to battle the PSICOM soldiers. Eventually, they meet up with the party before they enter Orphan's cradle. The group will also appear in Final Fantasy XIII-2

Gadot, Lebreau, and Maqui were designed by Nao Ikeda, who based their clothing on the athletic clothing styles of basketball, beach volleyball, and snowboarding, respectively.^[17] Gadot, Lebreau, Maqui and Yuj are respectively voiced by Zack Hanks, Anndi McAfee, Daniel Samonas and Jeff Fischer in English, and by Biichi Satō, Yū Asakawa, Makoto Naruse and Wataru Hatano in Japanese.

Major characters

Serah Farron

Serah Farron (セラ・ファロン, Sera Faron^?) is an 18 year-old human from Cocoon. She is Lightning's younger sister, and in the introduction to the game is turned to crystal after completing her Focus. After their parents died years prior to the start of the game, Claire raised Serah but this caused tensions between them. Eventually, Serah became engaged to Snow days prior to the start of the game, and Claire, now called Lightning and in the employ of the Guardian Corps, strongly objected to their relationship. Serah eventually revealed to Snow and Lightning that she became a l'Cie. However, Lightning became skeptical of Serah's revelations, and inadvertently caused Serah to be captured by Anima.

During the game, Snow attempts to free her alone after the party splits up in Lake Bresha. However, he is captured by the Sanctum's Calvary branch, who has Serah taken as well. After a discussion with Snow, Lightning decides to reconcile with Serah while maintaining their Focus.^[9] After the party defeats Orphan at the end of the game, Serah, along with Dajh, resumes her life as a human. Serah reconciles with Lightning, who accepts her relationship with Snow afterwards.

In the events of Final Fantasy XIII-2, Serah is a teacher in the village of New Bodhum. However, when New Bodhum is invaded by monsters, she is saved by Noel, a man from the future and a Moogle that morphs into a shape-shifting bow/sword weapon for Serah's use in battle. After Serah accepts Noel's offer to be brought to Lightning, the two embark on a journey to find her sister.^[18] Serah is voiced by Laura Bailey in English and by Minako Kotobuki in Japanese.

Galenth Dysley

Galenth Dysley (ガレンス・ダイスリー, Garensu Daisurī^?) is the Primarch of the Sanctum government, as well as the main antagonist of the game. Dysley's true form is Barthandelus, known as Baldanders (バルトアンデルス, Barutoanderusu^?) in the Japanese version, lord of the Cocoon fal'Cie. Dysley's ultimate goal is to use Ragnarok to destroy Cocoon and Orphan for the Maker, the creator of Pulse and Cocoon, to return to their world. He even goes so far as to stir fear and anti-Pulse propaganda to the citizens of Cocoon. In the battle of Cocoon at the end of the game, Dysley manipulates Cid to cause a coup d'etat in Cocoon. When confronted by the team in Orphan's Cradle, Dysley plays on their emotions with illusions of Serah and Dajh before being mortally wounded by the party, causing his body to be assimilated into Orphan. Dysley is voiced by S. Scott Bullock in English and Masaru Shinozuka in Japanese.

Orphan

Orphan (オーファン, Ōfan^?) is a wheel-like, sun-elemental fal'Cie who in a state of unbirth and serves as the power source of Cocoon, holding the small planetoid in its preternatural orbit above Pulse. Both Orphan and the Cocoon fal'Cie had been planning its demise in order to reunite with their creator in the aftermath of the resulting mass genocide of every human in Cocoon. After Dysley is mortally wounded, he is assimilated into Orphan. Orphan transforms the Cocoon-based members of party into Cie'th during the confrontation before proceeding to torture Fang and Vanille to invoke Ragnarok. However, Lighting and the others gain a new focus for a peaceful world and force Orphan into its true form. After a battle with the player, which is the final battle of the game, Orphan is killed. Orphan's shell is voiced by Julia Fletcher and S. Scott Bullock in English and by Masaru Shinozuka in Japanese, and his true form is voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas in English and by Hiro Shimono in Japanese.

Jihl Nabaat

Jihl Nabaat (ジル・ナバート, Jiru Nabāto^?) is a Lieutenant Colonel of the PSICOM branch who also serves as Galenth Dysley's subordinate, commanding the airship Palamecia. Days earlier, Nabaat took Dajh from Sazh so the Sanctum can determine his focus. Later, using Dazh to lead her to Sazh in Nautilus, Nabaat plays on Sazh's emotions by revealing Vanille's part in his son becoming a l'Cie with the intention of killing Vanille. Nabaat's attempt fails, however, and she captures Vanille and Sazh. Nabaat enrages Sazh by her intent to use Dajh as a memorial before detaining them aboard the Palamecia. Lightning's group later infiltrates the Palamecia and rescues Sazh and Vanille, much to Nabaat's dismay. When the party confronts Dysley, Nabaat confronts them to cover Dysley's escape. Dysley states that Nabaat has now outlived her usefulness, and mercilessly kills her by using his fal'Cie magic from his staff.^[19] Nabaat is voiced by Paula Tiso in English and Mie Sonozaki in Japanese.

Yaag Rosch

Yaag Rosch (ヤーグ・ロッシュ, Yāgu Rosshu^?) is a Lieutenant Colonel of the Sanctum who serves as the director of the government's military branches and pilots his personal fighter, the Proudclad. Despite questioning the Sanctum's motives, he follows their orders for the sake of Cocoon's people. He meets Lightning's party in Palumpolum, resulting in a fight that he loses. The party escapes with the help of the Calvary. When the party escapes from the Palamecia, Rosch attempts to attack piloting the Proudclad, but fails as a result. Rosch is confronted again by Lightning's party in Eden, but he survives the fight and escapes. He and his troops go to Edenhall to defeat Orphan, only for his troops to be turned to Cie'th. He confronts the party once more while there, and loses once again.

After the battle, Rosch reveals to the party that he knew the fal'Cie were in control the entire time, feeling their guidance and anti-Pulse proganda was the best for Cocoon without realizing their true intentions.^[20] Rosch orders the Sanctum troops to suspend l'Cie operations and allows the party to enter Orphan's Cradle to save Cocoon before sacrificing himself by using a grenade, unleashing an explosion which annihilates him and the monsters pursuing the party.^[21] Rosch is voiced by Jon Curry in English and Hiroki Tōchi in Japanese.

Cid Raines

Cid Raines (シド・レインズ, Shido Rainzu^?) is a Sanctum Air Force Brigadier and leader of the Sanctum's Calvary branch. Like Rosch, Cid has doubts about the Sanctum in its current state and that Cocoon should be run by its people. Recruiting Fang after she got separated from Vanille, Cid has her and his subordinate Rygdea capture Snow and use him to find the other l'Cie under the impression that the Calvary would back them up as he helps the party escapes from Rosch in Palumpolum and then stage a rescue mission on the Palamecia to save Sazh and Vanille.

However, it later turned out that Cid is actually a Cocoon l'Cie, aiding the group under orders from Dysley before acting on his own to kill them for the safety of Cocoon's people. Defeated, Cid returns to Dysley to replace him as Primarch under orders to create chaos in Eden. After being confronted by the Calvary when the party invades Eden, Cid tells Rygdea to kill him and end his misery. A character named Cid appears or is mentioned in every main Final Fantasy. He made his debut appearance in Final Fantasy II, and this appearance is the second Final Fantasy game to feature a Cid character as a villain, after Final Fantasy XII. Cid is voiced by Erik Davies in English and by Yuichi Nakamura in Japanese.

Dajh Katzroy

Dajh Katzroy (ドッジ・カッツロイ, Dojji Kattsuroi^?) is the 6-year old son of Sazh Katzroy who lost his mother when he was 3 years old. Four days prior to the start of the game, Sazh visits a store to get a baby Chocobo for his son. After Dajh becomes a l'Cie, Jihl Nabaat captured him and used him for sensing "Pulse" to track down other l'Cie before he was turned to crystal after completing his focus. Dajh, along with Serah, returns to normal after the defeat of Orphan and is reunited with Sazh. Dajh is voiced by Connor Villard in English and by Shōtarō Uzawa in Japanese.

Cultural impact

Merchandise

In conjunction with the game's release, Square Enix has produced a lineup of merchandise including jewelry, action figures and other goods related to the characters. Most of the merchandise are released in Japan. The items produced include Lightning's necklace, Snow's necklace, a l'Cie-themed lighter and a l'Cie-themed card case. Three full-colored action figures of Hope, Fang and Odin have also been displayed in the Square Enix Japan merchandise page, along with character posters.^[22]

Critical reception

The characters of Final Fantasy XIII have received mixed and positive opinions from reviewers. Praises were given by Ben Dutka of PSX Extreme, who said that the voice acting for the characters are "interesting" and it also stated that the cast was "a competent one, even if some characters can begin to chafe after a while." He also said that the player "might grow tired of Lightning’s gruffness and Vanille’s bounciness in the early goings but they begin to show new emotions as [the player] progress[es]."^[23] 1UP.com's Jeremy Parish applauded the characters as "the best-defined group of protagonists the series has ever seen" and also praised them for their development in the story. Parish also commented that the characters "worked through their differences and demons and feel like comrades" during the story's development.^[24] IGN editor Ryan Clements drew a favorable comparison to the characters of Final Fantasy VI and enjoyed the characters' multi-story approach and the flashbacks in the storyline.^[25] Adriaan den Ouden of RPGamer said the characters were "fantastic" and also praised the voice acting. However, Ouden said that in the introduction to the game, the characters "lacked any kind of development for the first few hours [of the game], and the result is a confusing plotline with uninteresting characters that leaves a terrible first impression"^[26]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Luke Smith (June 7, 2006). "FFXIII Interview: Nomura, Kitase, Hashimoto and Toriyama". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3151333. Retrieved October 24, 2009. 
2. ^ Shane Bettenhausen (July 16, 2009). "E3 2008: One More Final Fantasy XIII Interview". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168827. Retrieved October 25, 2009. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "1000号記念スペシャル表紙プロジェクト" (in Japanese). Famitsu (Enterbrain) (1001): 42–45. February 8, 2008.  Translation.
4. ^ Jun Eishima (September 28, 2009). "Part I: Encounter, Chapter 7" (in Japanese) (Flash). Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-. Square Enix. p. 48. http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fabula/ff13/. Retrieved October 25, 2009.  Translation.
5. ^ ^{a b} (in Japanese) Final Fantasy XIII Scenario Ultimania. Tokuma Shoten. 2010-02-01. ISBN 4757527756. 
6. ^ Orlando, Greg (2008-06-26). "Final Fantasy XIII". GamePro. http://www.gamepro.com/article/previews/195468/final-fantasy-xiii/. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Final Fantasy XIII Paradigm Shift Interview". GameTrailers. 2010-02-12. http://www.gametrailers.com/video/paradigm-shift-final-fantasy/61834?type=flv. Retrieved 2010-02-13. 
8. ^ "New Final Fantasy XIII Shonen Jump Scan - Final Fantasy XIII: News, Trailers & Screens ~ Final Fantasy-XIII.net". Final Fantasy-XIII.net. http://finalfantasy-xiii.net/2009/12/02/new-final-fantasy-xiii-shonen-jump-scan-2.html. Retrieved 2010-01-11. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ ^{a b} Lightning: It was too much. / Snow: Hm? / Lightning: What happened to Serah. All I could think about was, 'What could I have done?' I hated myself for not trusting her. It hurt too much. I couldn't face it. Square Enix. Final Fantasy XIII. (Square Enix). PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. (2010-03-09)
10. ^ ^{a b c d} John Tanaka (September 23, 2009). "TGS 09: Final Fantasy XIII Update". IGN. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/102/1027527p1.html. Retrieved October 24, 2009. 
11. ^ Jonathan Gordon; Samuel Roberts (August 20, 2009). "GC09: Final Fantasy XIII Interview". NowGamer. http://www.nowgamer.com/features/394/gc-09-final-fantasy-xiii-interview. Retrieved October 25, 2009. 
12. ^ ^{a b c} Sarah Warn (August 20, 2009). "25 Hottest Female Video Game Characters". AfterEllen.com. http://www.afterellen.com/column/good-game-25-hottest-characters?page=0%2C0. Retrieved June 10, 2011. 
13. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2006-11-08). "Final Fantasy XIII Update". IGN. http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/744/744822p1.html. Retrieved 2006-11-10. 
14. ^ "Final Fantasy XIII". GamePro. 2007-07-17. http://www.gamepro.com/article/previews/123108/final-fantasy-xiii/. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
15. ^ Morcos, Antoine (2008-10-15). "Final Fantasy XIII: His name is Snow". Gamekyo. http://gamekyo.com/newsen29267_final-fantasy-xiii-his-name-is-snow.html. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 
16. ^ Vanille: My name is Oerba Dia Vanille. I am a l'Cie from Gran Pulse. And to everyone on Cocoon... ...evil. Square Enix. Final Fantasy XIII. (Square Enix). PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. (2010-03-09)
17. ^ "FFXIII: Sporty Nora Members & The Short Demo". PS3Hyper. 2009-03-09. http://www.ps3hyper.com/news/ffxiii-sporty-nora-members-the-short-demo/. Retrieved 2009-04-16. 
18. ^ "First Final Fantasy XIII-2 Screens, E3 Details". News. Final Fantasy Network. June 2, 2011. http://www.finalfantasy.net/xiii-2/final-fantasy-xiii2-screens-e3-details/. Retrieved June 2, 2011. 
19. ^ Dysley: Why don't you leave, Jihl. Or rather, take your leave. Humans have no business here. Square Enix. Final Fantasy XIII. (Square Enix). PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. (2010-03-09)
20. ^ Rosch: I believe their rule was best for Cocoon's present and future prosperity. But it seems that I have misjudged their benevolence. If this is my punishment, I accept it. Square Enix. Final Fantasy XIII. PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. (2010-03-09)
21. ^ Rosch: This is...this is PSICOM Director Rosch. Attention all PSICOM and Guardian Corps units. Suspend l'Cie operations. I repeat, suspend l'Cie operations. All units should focus their efforts on evacuating the civilian population. I do not issue this order as an absolute. You are free to make the choice. [...] I'll trust in your humanity, l'Cie. The fate of Cocoon is in your hands. This is my end. The end which I have chosen! Square Enix. Final Fantasy XIII. PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. (2010-03-09)
22. ^ "Square Enix Shop: Merchandise, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest". Square Enix. https://ssl.square-enix-shop.com/SqEx/jp/ShowProducts.action?sid=1281011508105UjSoNlMQmo&categoryId=27&site_id=1&pageNo=1&per=12&orderby=&searchCategory=. Retrieved 2010-05-23. 
23. ^ Dutka, Ben (2010-03-12). "Final Fantasy XIII". PSX Extreme. http://www.psxextreme.com/scripts/reviews2/review.asp?revID=508. Retrieved 2010-08-05. 
24. ^ Parish, Jeremy (2010-03-05). "Final Fantasy XIII Review". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?pager.offset=1&cId=3178230&p=. Retrieved 2010-08-05. 
25. ^ Clements, Ryan (2010-03-08). "Final Fantasy XIII Review - PlayStation 3 Review at IGN". IGN. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/107/1075772p1.html. Retrieved 2010-11-23. 
26. ^ Ouden, Adriaan den. "Final Fantasy XIII - Staff Review". RPGamer. http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff13/reviews/ff13strev1.html. Retrieved 2011-07-09. 

External links

• Final Fantasy XIII Official Japanese website
• Final Fantasy XIII Official North American website
• Final Fantasy XIII Official European website