Final Fantasy XIII Characters

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 the fal'Cie Anima to help her sister; 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.