According to director and scenario writer Motomu Toriyama, Final Fantasy XIII will not have one prominent main character. In a similar vein to Final Fantasy VI, the story will focus equally on the cast, though Lightning is the protagonist. The main playable characters are all l'Cie.

Main Playable Characters

 

Lightning (ライトニング Raitoningu) — The protagonist of the game, Lightning is deemed an adversary of humankind, having been chosen by the fal'Cie to bring about the end of the world. She is an agile fighter, who wields a sword that can transform into a gun, called "Blaze Edge". She is described as a female version of Cloud Strife.
 


Snow Villiers (スノウ・ヴィリアース Sunou Viriāsu) — Leader of Team Nora and a l'Cie, Snow Villiers is a sturdy man whose mannerism is reputed to resemble that of a cowboy. He is blonde and has a well-built body. Snow uses his bare hands to fight, but his weapon is actually his coat. In battles, patterns will appear on his coat.

• Oerba Dia Vanille (ヲルバ=ダイア・ヴァニラ Woruba Daia Vanira) — A young and spirited girl, Vanille is a citizen of Pulse and ostensibly a subject of great interest to both the Sanctum and the resistance group led by Snow Villiers. She carries a heavy burden she is not initially aware of. She wears a savannah-style outfit, and her weapon is called the Bind Rod, which has a head piece that looks like a pair of antlers. Its body contains four long wires with hooks that deal damage to enemies by latching on and pulling.

• Sazh Katzroy (サッズ・カッツロイ Sazzu Kattsuroi) — A middle-aged man with dark skin and afro hair. He owns a baby Chocobo that lives in his hair. He is described as a gentle person who is easily reduced to tears. He fights with two pistols that can be combined into a rifle.

• Hope Estheim (ホープ・エストハイム Hōpu Esutohaimu) — A young boy with silvery-blonde hair who along with his mother belonged to the group of exiles carried in the train that Lightning stopped. He blames Snow for his mother's death. He wields boomerangs in battle.

• Oerba Yun Fang (ヲルバ=ユン・ファング Woruba Yun Fangu) — A wild-looking dark-haired woman with a large tattoo on one arm and a mark of the l'Cie on the other. She initially works for the Sanctum, and uses spears as her weapon of choice.

 

Sanctum Officials

Jihl Nabaat (ジル・ナバート Jiru Nabāto) — An intelligent but cruel woman with glasses and blonde hair reaching all the way down to her knees, who is a lieutenant colonel of the Sanctum.

Jihl Nabaat	Yaag Rosch

Yaag Rosch (ヤーグ ロッシュ Yāgu Rosshu) — A blue-haired man who is also a lieutenant colonel of the Sanctum and Lightning's former superior during her military service. He desires peace for all citizens in Cocoon, and as such, sees Lightning and her allies as threats.

• Cid Raines (シド・レインズ Shido Reinzu) — The Cid of the game. He is a Brigadier in the Sanctum, and is shown speaking to Snow while he is in captivity. Cid calls himself "a slave of the fal'Cie". He appears to be much younger than most previous Cids. He wields a sword-gun in battle like Lightning.

• Rygdea (リグディ Rigudi) — A captain working for Cid. He is an ally of Lightning and the rest of the party, lending them supplies when needed.

• Galenth Dysley (ガレンス・ダイスリー Garensu Daisurī) — The leading figure of the Sanctum.

Unveiled at the TGS 2009 trailer in September 2009, Hope's father is a brown-haired bespectacled man who works for the Sanctum. Despite his position, he chose to hide his l'Cie son from the officials.

Supporting Characters

• Serah Farron (セラ・ファロン Sera Faron) — A teenage girl who wears a red skirt, a white top and her strawberry blonde hair tied in a ponytail. She is Lightning's sister and Snow's fiancée. As a l'Cie marked by the first fal'Cie of Pulse, she's crystallized since the early part of the story. Her destiny is one of the main plot points in the game.

• Gadot (ガドー Gadō) — A member of Team Nora and Snow's childhood friend. He is a dark-skinned man with orange hair and teal clothes. His design is based on NBA and hip hop fashion. In the playable demo, he uses a machine gun in battle.

• Lebreau (レプロ Reburo) — A woman who has black hair tied in a ponytail and a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder. She is also a member of Team Nora. Her outfit is based on volleyball players, wearing short shorts and a tanktop like shirt with puffy sleeves. She uses a rifle in battle in the playable demo.

• Maqui (マーキー Mākī) — A young blond man with goggles. He wears black and pink clothes and a pair of goggles, in the style of snowboarders. Like the two characters above, the youngster is a member of Team Nora.

• Dajh Katzroy (ドッジ・カッツロイ Dojji Kattsuroi) — Sazh's sweet six-year old son, who sports a similar afro to his father's, and much likes chocobos. The fal'Cie Kjata marked him as a l'Cie by accident. He was crystallized during the game.

• Yuge (ユージュ Yūju) — A member of Team Nora shown briefly in the demo.

Also revealed was Hope's mother. She and Hope were exiles involved in the Purge. She volunteered to fight with Snow and Team Nora, but lost her life in the process.