Lightning (Final Fantasy)
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character
and the main protagonist
of the video game Final Fantasy XIII
developed and published by Square Enix
. She was created by Motomu Toriyama
, the game's director and scenario writer, and designed by Tetsuya Nomura
. Her Japanese voice actress is Maaya Sakamoto
; in English, she is voiced by Ali Hillis
.
Lighting was born as Claire Farron, known as in the original Japanese language
version. Claire began using her code name of "Lightning" after losing her parents to escape the vulnerabilities and insecurities of her former self and to become a different person—strong enough to care for her younger sister Serah. However, this choice only causes rising tensions between them as she grew up to have a rather cold personality that has a tendency to look down upon others including comrades at most times during the start of the adventure.
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. His guideline to character designer Tetsuya Nomura
was to make her "strong and beautiful", "someone like a female version of Cloud
from FFVII
". Multiple designs were considered for her, including some designed by other staff members. Some of her original characteristics were blonde hair and Asian
-looking features. Nomura defines Lightning as "serious," "unforgiving," "relentless," and "a kind of individualistic person," in direct contrast with Snow Villiers' passionate nature. The final art was made less Asian-looking than originally conceived, while the silver hair color was given to Hope Estheim in favor of pink. She is 21 years old in the game.
Her pink hair color was made to reflect this more feminine side of her. Although Nomura explained that she is essentially a "cool character" and that "you can't have a cool character without anything inappropriate, 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. The game's producer Yoshinori Kitase
also commented on the difficulty of balancing Lightning's depiction, as she is both a woman and a professionally trained warrior, and also noted that Sakamoto's acting helped bring out Lightning's femininity.
Due to global demand and the development staff's desire to further Lightning's character, development began for a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII. The original game ended with a lingering question: "Is Lightning really happy?" The conclusion of the story in Final Fantasy XIII-2 will provide a clear answer to this question. The new armor worn by her was designed by Isamu Kamikokuryo
.
While her real name, Claire, 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 when Tetsuya Nomura
is the character designer, her alias of "Lightning" is the more proper representation of this tradition. The name was not chosen by Nomura, who was surprised by it, as he was thinking about stopping this naming tradition. Eclair, the romanization of her Japanese name, is French for "lightning." According to Toriyama, there is "a strong element of mystery about her character".
which was first used by Squall Leonhart
and Seifer Almasy, although the Blaze Edge is able to shoot bullets from a distance, as opposed to the other weapon, in which the trigger round causes the blade shaft to vibrate for quicker recoiling. Early in development, Lightning also had a Gravity Bomb device at her disposal, which could be used to generate an electrical shield in battle or manipulate time and gravity.
Early in the game, and like the other playable characters, Lightning becomes a l'Cie, a being magically marked by the "fal'Cie" creatures to do their bidding. Lightning's mark appears in the middle of her chest so it is always covered within the game; it grants her superhuman strength as well as a rose-shaped crystal which she can use to summon the Eidolon Odin. In battle, Lightning can command Odin to turn into a horse-like creature that she mounts, taking up his double-bladed sword for a short amount of time. Her strongest unique special attack is called Army of One, or Scene Drive in Japanese version.
s written by Jun Eishima, depicting the thirteen days leading up to Final Fantasy XIII. The first part of the series, titled "Encounter", sees Lightning opposing the engagement of her younger sister Serah to Snow Villiers, the leader of the rebel group NORA. Lightning realized too late that Serah has become a l'Cie on her 21st birthday. After resigning her position as a member of the Guardian Corps with the rank of sergeant
, she boarded a train holding Purge exiles, along with Sazh Katzroy, to save her sister.
When the train carrying the Purge exiles crosses through the Hanging Edge area of Cocoon at the start of the game, Lightning fights her way through the cars with Sazh rallying the exiles to derail it as PSICOM sends its forces after the train. As the surviving exiles escape and are found by NORA, Lightning advances to Anima to save her sister. Joined by Snow, along with Hope Estheim and Oerba Dia Vanille, two of the surviving exiles, Lightning finds Serah and the party witnesses Serah being turned into crystal. Lightning and the party defeats Anima, and they are marked as l'Cie when PSICOM destroys the Vestige. They awake in Lake Bresha; frozen solid as a result of Anima's death. After the party finds Serah, Lightning, skeptical of Snow's faith to save her sister, and the others leaves Snow behind in a fruitless attempt to break Serah out of her crystal stasis. The party later separates following a brief airstrike. After she inadvertently summons Odin, her Eidolon, she trains Hope to fight against the Sanctum. From there, she learns of Hope's mother, Nora, and helps support Hope's assassination
attempt on Snow and the Sanctum. However, after meeting Oerba Yun Fang, Lightning realizes that she is misdirecting her anger and tries to persuade Hope to prevent his attempt on Snow.
During the course of the game, Lightning struggles to deal with her nature as a l'Cie while eventually realizing that she had hated herself for distrusting her sister, acknowledging Snow's relationship with Serah and his faith that they will restore her to normal as a result. After killing Orphan to save Cocoon, Lightning is allowed to continue her life as a human and ends the game reconciling with Serah, who has also been restored to normal.
In Final Fantasy XIII: Episode I, an epilogue chapter set after Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning leaves to find a way to save Fang and Vanille from their fate. Eventually, she finds herself in a dark void of sorts but decides to keep moving forward.
A direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII entiltled Final Fantasy XIII-2
, taking place after Final Fantasy XIII: Episode I with Lightning returning as the protagonist in a strange new world, was announced in January 2011.
In the fighting game prequel Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy
, Lightning is one of the Warriors of Cosmos during the 12th cycle of conflict. Regarded as a stern and capable soldier by the other heroes, the group is separated early in the game when new enemies, called Manikins, appear in large numbers. Another Warrior of Cosmos, Kain Highwind, attacks her, and Lightning fights her way back to Cosmos to report his treachery and that the Manikins are going to overwhelm them. The Warrior of Light tells her he and Kain have agreed to incapacitate the other Warriors of Cosmos to save them from being killed by the Manikins, but Lightning rejects this plan. With the other remaining heroes she leads an expedition to the portal the Manikins are emerging from, and the group sacrifices their lives to close it. Lightning bears three alternate outfits in the game, one based on her Yoshitaka Amano concept art, the second based on the female military uniforms seen in Final Fantasy XIII, and a bonus third alternate based on Aya Brea
from The 3rd Birthday
, made available as downloadable content by using a given password when purchasing The 3rd Birthday.
's writer Todd Ciolek expected Lightning's activities in the game to be similar to the ones from previous games, and found the baby chocobo to be more likable than her. In a game review, Ciolek commented that Lightning is initially "far too distant and cold, as though the writers were so intent on creating a tough, competent heroine that they forgot to make her at all compelling". However, he mentioned that after hours of playing the title, Lightning becomes a more appealing lead character. GameSpot
called Lightning a "likeable, strong-willed beauty" while commenting on her interactions with the other main characters of the game. Jeremy Parrish 1UP.com
commented that if it were not for Lightning's scenes in which she shows a thoughtful side, she "could simply be your typical, sullen Square protagonist". Videogamer.com simply referred to Lightning as the female version of the Final Fantasy VII
lead character Cloud Strife
. In a later article showing the best ten Final Fantasy characters, she was sixth with the writer finding her interesting in the course of the game despite still finding her similar to Cloud. UK IGN
stated that Lightning "instantly endears herself" due to the scenes in which she punches Snow whenever he gets full of himself. On the other hand, they commented that due to the fact her backstory "soon gets bogged down in generic swash", the character of Sazh became more appealing than her. Additionally, her backstory was deemed as regular by GamesRadar
who called Lightning as one of the most notable "as one-dimensional and boring" characters from the title. During February 2010, Lightning was ranked as the thirty-fourth most popular video game character from Japan in a Famitsu
poll. Lightning also ranked #2 in Afterellen's "25 Hottest Video Game Characters".
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and the main protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the video game Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII
is a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Released in 2009 in Japan and 2010 in North America and PAL regions, it is the thirteenth major installment in the Final Fantasy series...
developed and published by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
. She was created by Motomu Toriyama
Motomu Toriyama
is a Japanese game director and scenario writer who has been working for Square Enix since 1995. He is the director in charge of the main series Final Fantasy games developed by their 1st Production Department, which is managed by Yoshinori Kitase....
, the game's director and scenario writer, and designed by Tetsuya Nomura
Tetsuya Nomura
is a Japanese video game director and character designer working for Square Enix , best known for his work on both the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series.-Time before Square:Nomura was born in Kōchi, Japan...
. Her Japanese voice actress is Maaya Sakamoto
Maaya Sakamoto
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actress, and voice actress. She made her debut as a voice actress in 1992 as the voice of Chifuru in the anime series Little Twins, but is more well known for her role as Hitomi Kanzaki in the hit anime series The Vision of Escaflowne...
; in English, she is voiced by Ali Hillis
Ali Hillis
Alecia Deann "Ali" Hillis is an American film, television and voice actress.-Early life:At the age of six months, Hillis' moved with her family to Normal, Illinois and at age 3, to Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin and then to Charlotte, North Carolina when she was thirteen years old.Hillis performed in...
.
Lighting was born as Claire Farron, known as in the original Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
version. Claire began using her code name of "Lightning" after losing her parents to escape the vulnerabilities and insecurities of her former self and to become a different person—strong enough to care for her younger sister Serah. However, this choice only causes rising tensions between them as she grew up to have a rather cold personality that has a tendency to look down upon others including comrades at most times during the start of the adventure.
Concept and creation
Director Motomu ToriyamaMotomu Toriyama
is a Japanese game director and scenario writer who has been working for Square Enix since 1995. He is the director in charge of the main series Final Fantasy games developed by their 1st Production Department, which is managed by Yoshinori Kitase....
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. His guideline to character designer Tetsuya Nomura
Tetsuya Nomura
is a Japanese video game director and character designer working for Square Enix , best known for his work on both the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series.-Time before Square:Nomura was born in Kōchi, Japan...
was to make her "strong and beautiful", "someone like a female version of Cloud
Cloud Strife
is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Square's role-playing game Final Fantasy VII and several of its sequels and spin-offs. His original design was created by Final Fantasy VII character designer Tetsuya Nomura...
from FFVII
Final Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
". Multiple designs were considered for her, including some designed by other staff members. Some of her original characteristics were blonde hair and Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
-looking features. Nomura defines Lightning as "serious," "unforgiving," "relentless," and "a kind of individualistic person," in direct contrast with Snow Villiers' passionate nature. The final art was made less Asian-looking than originally conceived, while the silver hair color was given to Hope Estheim in favor of pink. She is 21 years old in the game.
Her pink hair color was made to reflect this more feminine side of her. Although Nomura explained that she is essentially a "cool character" and that "you can't have a cool character without anything inappropriate, 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. The game's producer Yoshinori Kitase
Yoshinori Kitase
is a Japanese game producer and former game director that has been working for Square Enix since April 1, 1990. He is mostly known for his work on the role-playing video game series Final Fantasy and is currently the manager of 1st Production Department....
also commented on the difficulty of balancing Lightning's depiction, as she is both a woman and a professionally trained warrior, and also noted that Sakamoto's acting helped bring out Lightning's femininity.
Due to global demand and the development staff's desire to further Lightning's character, development began for a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII. The original game ended with a lingering question: "Is Lightning really happy?" The conclusion of the story in Final Fantasy XIII-2 will provide a clear answer to this question. The new armor worn by her was designed by Isamu Kamikokuryo
Isamu Kamikokuryo
is a Japanese art director that has been working for Square Enix since 1999. He is mostly known for his work on the role-playing video game series Final Fantasy.-Biography:...
.
While her real name, Claire, 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 when Tetsuya Nomura
Tetsuya Nomura
is a Japanese video game director and character designer working for Square Enix , best known for his work on both the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series.-Time before Square:Nomura was born in Kōchi, Japan...
is the character designer, her alias of "Lightning" is the more proper representation of this tradition. The name was not chosen by Nomura, who was surprised by it, as he was thinking about stopping this naming tradition. Eclair, the romanization of her Japanese name, is French for "lightning." According to Toriyama, there is "a strong element of mystery about her character".
Abilities
Lightning's weapon is a Blazefire Saber, known as in the Japanese version, a fictional cross between a gun and a sword used by experimented soldiers. It has sometimes been called a gunblade by the gaming press in reference to the weapon which appeared in Final Fantasy VIIIFinal Fantasy VIII
is a role-playing video game released for the PlayStation in 1999 and for Windows-based personal computers in 2000. It was developed and published by Square as the Final Fantasy series' eighth title, removing magic point-based spell-casting and the first title to consistently use realistically...
which was first used by Squall Leonhart
Squall Leonhart
is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII, a role-playing game by Square . He was designed by Tetsuya Nomura, with heavy influences coming from game director Yoshinori Kitase. Squall has appeared in several other games, such as the Kingdom Hearts series, where he appears under the name ;...
and Seifer Almasy, although the Blaze Edge is able to shoot bullets from a distance, as opposed to the other weapon, in which the trigger round causes the blade shaft to vibrate for quicker recoiling. Early in development, Lightning also had a Gravity Bomb device at her disposal, which could be used to generate an electrical shield in battle or manipulate time and gravity.
Early in the game, and like the other playable characters, Lightning becomes a l'Cie, a being magically marked by the "fal'Cie" creatures to do their bidding. Lightning's mark appears in the middle of her chest so it is always covered within the game; it grants her superhuman strength as well as a rose-shaped crystal which she can use to summon the Eidolon Odin. In battle, Lightning can command Odin to turn into a horse-like creature that she mounts, taking up his double-bladed sword for a short amount of time. Her strongest unique special attack is called Army of One, or Scene Drive in Japanese version.
Appearances
Final Fantasy XIII: Episode Zero: Promise is a series of web novellaNovella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
s written by Jun Eishima, depicting the thirteen days leading up to Final Fantasy XIII. The first part of the series, titled "Encounter", sees Lightning opposing the engagement of her younger sister Serah to Snow Villiers, the leader of the rebel group NORA. Lightning realized too late that Serah has become a l'Cie on her 21st birthday. After resigning her position as a member of the Guardian Corps with the rank of sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
, she boarded a train holding Purge exiles, along with Sazh Katzroy, to save her sister.
When the train carrying the Purge exiles crosses through the Hanging Edge area of Cocoon at the start of the game, Lightning fights her way through the cars with Sazh rallying the exiles to derail it as PSICOM sends its forces after the train. As the surviving exiles escape and are found by NORA, Lightning advances to Anima to save her sister. Joined by Snow, along with Hope Estheim and Oerba Dia Vanille, two of the surviving exiles, Lightning finds Serah and the party witnesses Serah being turned into crystal. Lightning and the party defeats Anima, and they are marked as l'Cie when PSICOM destroys the Vestige. They awake in Lake Bresha; frozen solid as a result of Anima's death. After the party finds Serah, Lightning, skeptical of Snow's faith to save her sister, and the others leaves Snow behind in a fruitless attempt to break Serah out of her crystal stasis. The party later separates following a brief airstrike. After she inadvertently summons Odin, her Eidolon, she trains Hope to fight against the Sanctum. From there, she learns of Hope's mother, Nora, and helps support Hope's assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
attempt on Snow and the Sanctum. However, after meeting Oerba Yun Fang, Lightning realizes that she is misdirecting her anger and tries to persuade Hope to prevent his attempt on Snow.
During the course of the game, Lightning struggles to deal with her nature as a l'Cie while eventually realizing that she had hated herself for distrusting her sister, acknowledging Snow's relationship with Serah and his faith that they will restore her to normal as a result. After killing Orphan to save Cocoon, Lightning is allowed to continue her life as a human and ends the game reconciling with Serah, who has also been restored to normal.
In Final Fantasy XIII: Episode I, an epilogue chapter set after Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning leaves to find a way to save Fang and Vanille from their fate. Eventually, she finds herself in a dark void of sorts but decides to keep moving forward.
A direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII entiltled Final Fantasy XIII-2
Final Fantasy XIII-2
is an upcoming console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is being produced by Square Enix's 1st Production Department...
, taking place after Final Fantasy XIII: Episode I with Lightning returning as the protagonist in a strange new world, was announced in January 2011.
In the fighting game prequel Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
is a 2011 fighting game published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable as part of the Final Fantasy series. It was developed by the company's 1st Production Department...
, Lightning is one of the Warriors of Cosmos during the 12th cycle of conflict. Regarded as a stern and capable soldier by the other heroes, the group is separated early in the game when new enemies, called Manikins, appear in large numbers. Another Warrior of Cosmos, Kain Highwind, attacks her, and Lightning fights her way back to Cosmos to report his treachery and that the Manikins are going to overwhelm them. The Warrior of Light tells her he and Kain have agreed to incapacitate the other Warriors of Cosmos to save them from being killed by the Manikins, but Lightning rejects this plan. With the other remaining heroes she leads an expedition to the portal the Manikins are emerging from, and the group sacrifices their lives to close it. Lightning bears three alternate outfits in the game, one based on her Yoshitaka Amano concept art, the second based on the female military uniforms seen in Final Fantasy XIII, and a bonus third alternate based on Aya Brea
Aya Brea
Aya Brea is a player character in the Parasite Eve video games by Square.-In the Parasite Eve series:Aya Brea was born in Boston, Massachusetts on November 20, 1972. She is of mixed ethnicity: her father , who is a journalist, was of European descent, her mother was Japanese...
from The 3rd Birthday
The 3rd Birthday
is an action role-playing game develpoed HexaDrive and published by Square Enix. The game was made for the PlayStation Portable and marks the third entry in the Parasite Eve series...
, made available as downloadable content by using a given password when purchasing The 3rd Birthday.
Reception
Lightning's character has received mixed reviews. When Final Fantasy XIII was still in development Anime News NetworkAnime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
's writer Todd Ciolek expected Lightning's activities in the game to be similar to the ones from previous games, and found the baby chocobo to be more likable than her. In a game review, Ciolek commented that Lightning is initially "far too distant and cold, as though the writers were so intent on creating a tough, competent heroine that they forgot to make her at all compelling". However, he mentioned that after hours of playing the title, Lightning becomes a more appealing lead character. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
called Lightning a "likeable, strong-willed beauty" while commenting on her interactions with the other main characters of the game. Jeremy Parrish 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
commented that if it were not for Lightning's scenes in which she shows a thoughtful side, she "could simply be your typical, sullen Square protagonist". Videogamer.com simply referred to Lightning as the female version of the Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
lead character Cloud Strife
Cloud Strife
is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Square's role-playing game Final Fantasy VII and several of its sequels and spin-offs. His original design was created by Final Fantasy VII character designer Tetsuya Nomura...
. In a later article showing the best ten Final Fantasy characters, she was sixth with the writer finding her interesting in the course of the game despite still finding her similar to Cloud. UK IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated that Lightning "instantly endears herself" due to the scenes in which she punches Snow whenever he gets full of himself. On the other hand, they commented that due to the fact her backstory "soon gets bogged down in generic swash", the character of Sazh became more appealing than her. Additionally, her backstory was deemed as regular by GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
who called Lightning as one of the most notable "as one-dimensional and boring" characters from the title. During February 2010, Lightning was ranked as the thirty-fourth most popular video game character from Japan in a Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
poll. Lightning also ranked #2 in Afterellen's "25 Hottest Video Game Characters".