Lightning - Final Fantasy
Lightning was originally born as Claire Farron and is the protagonist of the Japanese role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII . This game was developed by Square Enix and was released for the Sony PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and other platforms. The game takes place in the fictional floating world of Cocoon, where a government called the Sanctum persecutes civilians who have come into contact with Gran Pulse, the much-feared world below. She acts as the narrator and temporary playable character in the sequel, Final Fantasy XIII-2, a game that builds on the events of Final Fantasy XIII: None.
Lightning was designed by Tetsuya Nomura , a veteran character producer of the Final Fantasy series, and created by Motomu Toriyama. Lightning has inspired a range offan art , made appearances in spin-off games , given rise to merchandise , and has been recreated in a number of different figure versions. Since her first appearance, Lightning has also made appearances in Dissidia Final Fantasy , Opera Omnia, Theatrical Rhythm, Record Keeper, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius , Final Fantasy XIII-2, and other titles. Lightning has been well received in public polls and is one of the most well-known Final Fantasy characters.
Appearance and personality
Lightning is a young woman with wavy, light pink and blue eyes. In Final Fantasy XIII , she wears a variation of the Guardian Corps outfit and a red cape tied behind her back that goes down to her ankles. She has a large leather pouch attached to her left leg. She has a necklace with a lightning bolt symbol on it and always carries her pistol blade with her, which rests in a black holster that can be found hanging from her belt. Lightning also wears an off-white jacket with brown suspenders and a high collar, brown shorts, and blue and yellow fingerless gloves. She also wears a pair of dark boots with a piece of armor attached to them to help protect her lower legs.
Lightning is a determined, serious, and independent character. At first, she can appear harsh and unwelcoming, sometimes even distant and unsociable. She seems to care only about her own well-being. She draws much of her motivation from the desire to protect her younger sister Serah and is often violent and aggressive towards the Sanctum, the fal'Cie, and the Snow Villiers. Eventually, as the game progresses, Lightning meets Hope Estheim and begins to show a more caring side, allowing her to open up emotionally to the other characters and people around her. Hope acts as a kind of surrogate sister who treats Lightning as a role model and mentor. Through their adventures together, Lightning realizes the mistakes she made with Serah and begins to improve as a person.
Background story
Lightning and her sister Serah inhabit Cocoon, an artificial world floating above a planet called Gran Pulse. These regions are controlled by a group of fal'Cie, a race of god-like beings. The fal'Cie of Cocoon are called the Sanctum, and the fal'Cie who inhabit Gran Pulse are called the Pulse, with these two groups being in conflict with each other. In the novel Fantasy XIII: Episode Zero: Promise, it is revealed that Serah and Lightning's parents died when they were young, and Lightning promised to care for Serah, a promise she was unable to keep.
Lightning eventually resents Serah and Snow for their romantic relationship, as well as the rebellious behavior of Snow's group, NORA. Lightning eventually learns that Serah becomes a l'Cie (a person granted incredible powers in exchange for completing missions called Focuses) thanks to the Anima fal'Cie Gran Pulse. At first, Lightning believes Serah is using this as an excuse to run away and marry Snow. Serah is imprisoned by Anima, prompting Lightning to resign from the Guardian Corps and volunteer for the Purge (a forced relocation of people believed to have come into contact with Anima) in order to save her sister.
Lightning is joined by Sazh Katzroy and reaches Anima with Hope, Snow, and Oerba Dia Vanille. They find Serah, and she transforms into crystal, but Lightning and the rest of her group are labeled l'Cie when PSICOM, Cocoon's main military force, destroys Anima. Lightning abandons Snow and Serah, who are later rescued by Oerba Yun Fang and the Cavalry, a section of the Guardian Corps that is actually a rebel group beneath the surface. Now traveling with Hope, Lightning inadvertently summons Odin and unknowingly aids Hope's plan to kill Snow while protecting and training him. Throughout the game, Lightning struggles with her role as a l'Cie, her guilt over how she treated Serah, and how she became Cocoon's enemy. In the end, she accepts Snow's relationship with Serah and they kill the Sanctum orphan fal'Cie to save Cocoon and everyone except Vanille and Fang can return to their normal lives.
