Serah Farron

Serah Farron [sɛrə] is a supporting character in Final Fantasy XIII and the main protagonist in Final Fantasy XIII-2. She is Lightning's younger sister by three years, and Snow Villiers's fiancée. Lightning accuses Snow of failing to protect Serah and does not initially in approve of their relationship.

In Final Fantasy XIII, Serah is the first Pulse l'Cie in Cocoon and her destiny is one of the game's central plot points. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Serah sets off on a journey with Noel to find Lightning when all others believe her to be dead.

Final Fantasy XIII


Serah is an 18-year-old girl with the same pink tint of hair that Lightning has. She ties her hair into a ponytail on the left side of her head, much like how Lightning's hair is draped over her left shoulder. Serah has blue eyes like her sister, although Serah's are a darker shade.

She wears cat-shaped earrings representing NORA, a black armband on her right bicep like Lightning, red plaid pleated skirt lined with black lace, a white sleeveless dress shirt, a semi-transparent pink sweeper, an extra matching hair tie on her left wrist, black thigh-high stockings, ivory ankle boots, and a bandage on her left bicep, which she uses to cover her l'Cie brand. She eventually wears the engagement pendant she receives from Snow. Yoshinori Kitase describes Serah as "the cutest girl" in the game.

According to Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-, Serah is a straight-A student and one of her favorite subjects is history. Serah is depicted as mature and wise, deeply caring for those around her. Despite the grave circumstances, she stays positive and believes in a better future as long as she has her friends by her side.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Now 21 years old, Serah wears a revealing, form-fitting dress of white, reddish-pink, and gold. Her dress consists of a white top, pink sections on the front and back connecting the top to the skirt over black shorts, cut-out sides at the waist, criss-crossing pink straps on the sides of her torso, two straps that go over her shoulders into a cross-back shape, a storage pack on her right hip that hangs from her waist, pink and black thigh-high leggings, and purple ankle boots.

Serah retains her earrings and engagement necklace, and also wears a pink choker, short pink sleeves under gray gloves, and two gold armbands (one on each arm), one in the shape of a bird that rests on her left bicep, where her l'Cie brand used to be. Similar to Lightning's use of a gunblade that can switch between gun and sword, Serah wields a bowsword, though its true form is that of her new moogle companion, Mog. The symbol on the front of Serah's dress is also on Lightning's shield. In addition, Etro script is written on both symbols, the blades of Serah's weapon, the back of her dress under the symbol of Etro's throne, and her storage pack. The script on Serah's outfit translates to: Witness to Times Forgotten -- Restorer of Lines Disjointed.

In the three years that have passed, Serah retains her strong and caring personality, showing concern for Noel's well-being, sometimes offering him words of advice and encouragement, and willing to look out for him as he does for her. Serah is now a grade school teacher, and according to her students, is strict and has short temper; she does not tolerate tardiness or misbehavior of any kind, and can be scary when angered, hence her nickname, "Meanie Miss Farron".

Serah says she is strict because her own teacher was, and that Lightning must have "rubbed off on her". In the Sunleth Waterscape 400 AF, she uses her experience as a teacher to scare a pack of destructive Miniflan back in line. As noted by Snow in Episode Zero -Promise- and later by Noel, Serah resembles Lightning whenever mad or serious, appearing nice at first but can become intimidating in an instant. Serah shows she can hold her own in battle, with or without Noel, despite not having much experience in combat.

Downloadable Content Outfits
Serah has several alternate outfits released as part of downloadable content. "Summoner's Garb" was released on January 10th, 2012 in Japan and came as pre-order content in some countries and on March 16th, 2012 appeared as fully downloadable content; "Beachwear" was released on February 21st, 2012, in Asia and on February 28th, 2012, it was available worldwide; "N7 Armor", costume based on  ' s armor appeared on the net on March 27th, 2012, in Asia and the US, and the next worldwide; "Style and Steel", which was designed by Yuko Oshima, was downloadable from April 10th, 2012. "Style and Steel" is the only free DLC for Final Fantasy XIII-2. A White Mage costume was released on May 15th, 2012.

Early Life
Serah was born three years after her elder sister, Lightning, and looks up to her as she is her guardian, since their parents died young.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-
Serah was about to attend the university in Eden when she fell in love with Snow during her summer vacation, much to her sister's dismay. Serah was interested in studying history, and the local landmark, the Bodhum Vestige, got her attention. One day, Serah noticed a door leading inside the Vestige had appeared and ventured into the ruins. While inside, Serah was chosen by the Pulse fal'Cie, Anima, that was entombed inside the Vestige. A while after falling unconscious within the Vestige, Serah awakens outside and notices a l'Cie brand on her upper left arm. She tries to rub it off to no avail, and her fear causes her brand to advance. Distraught over her fate, Serah leaves the area.

Serah had a dream of transforming into Ragnarok and destroying Cocoon, but initially did not realize it was her Focus. Four days later, Serah tells Snow they are breaking up because she had been branded a Pulse l'Cie. She tells Snow he is her enemy now, and runs off crying. Snow refuses to abandon her and offers to aid her in any way he can. Serah tells him she does not know what her Focus is and is afraid she will become a Cie'th, but Snow reassures her they will figure it out and that l'Cie are granted eternal life after completing their Focus.

Two days later, Serah meets Vanille after the latter scrapes her leg on the beach and Serah comes to her aid. Serah listens to Vanille's problem about wanting to apologize to someone but never being able to find the words to do it. Serah tells her that if things are too much to deal with at first, she should face it later because things are easier to judge from a distance. She tells Vanille about her nightmare of destroying the world, and how she tried to run away from it after it scared her. She says that due to Snow coming after her, she now knows she will get through the mission with help from her friends. Since it was her fault Serah was made a l'Cie, Vanille apologizes to Serah, but Serah, not knowing of Vanille's involvement, does not understand and tells Vanille she will soon find the words to tell her friend.

On the next day, Serah goes out with Snow to find a birthday present for Lightning. Snow slips away and buys engagement necklaces for them while Serah buys a survival knife to protect Lightning while she is on duty. The next night, Serah attends the fireworks festival where she and Snow discuss her unknown Focus. As she begins to despair about her impending fate, Snow shows her the engagement necklaces and proposes to her, which she accepts. Serah tells Snow she wishes she had the courage to tell Lightning she has become a l'Cie, but he tells her that their engagement is bigger news. Serah and Snow kiss amidst the fireworks display, and she begins to cry, silently thanking Snow.

The next day, Serah and Snow tell Lightning about her becoming a l'Cie, and their engagement. This infuriates Lightning who believes Serah is lying as an excuse to marry Snow. Shortly after this, Serah and Snow attempt to seek the council of the fal'Cie in the Bodhum Vestige. However, since PSICOM discovered the fal'Cie within the Vestige the night before, the town has been quarantined and the Vestige is off-limits, and so the couple is forced to evade the soldiers chasing after them. They escape on an aero bike and Serah jumps onto a ledge on the Vestige at Snow's request as he tries to steer the vehicle after it gets damaged. As Serah reaches out for Snow, she becomes trapped by a silver liquid substance that pulls her into the Vestige as the fal'Cie's prisoner.

Final Fantasy XIII
During the Purge, both Lightning and Snow make their way through the Hanging Edge to the Vestige to save Serah. When Lightning finds her unconscious outside Anima's Throne, Sazh attempts to kill her after seeing her l'Cie brand, but Serah awakes realizing that Lightning came for her. When Snow arrives, Serah takes his hand and asks if her hero has arrived. As Lightning scolds Snow for not protecting Serah like he promised, Serah tells Lightning to save Cocoon and subsequently crystallizes, leaving behind a crystal tear for Snow.

This phenomenon bewilders the group, as turning into a crystal means the l'Cie has completed their Focus. Snow believes that Serah will eventually awake, but Lightning believes her sister to be dead. As PSICOM launches its assault on the Vestige, both Snow and Lightning use their bodies to shield Serah from falling debris. The doors to the fal'Cie open and Snow tells Serah to hang on before he goes to confront Anima.

After the party is turned into l'Cie themselves, the Vestige falls into Lake Bresha, crystallizing it on impact. When the others eventually find her, Serah has become part of the crystallized lake. Lightning, Vanille, Hope and Sazh abandon Snow, who stays behind to try and free Serah. She is brought aboard the Lindblum along with Snow when he is captured by Fang and Cid Raines's troops. On the Palamecia, Barthandelus tells the group that Serah's Focus was to "assemble the tools for Cocoon's destruction", or lure them inside the Vestige to be branded l'Cie. This revelation cripples Snow, who until that point had believed their Focus was to save Cocoon just as Serah asked.

After meeting Cid Raines and observing him entering crystal stasis despite going against his Focus, Snow's spirits rise and he vows to follow Serah's wish to save Cocoon until the end. In the Sulyya Springs, Vanille reveals to Snow that Serah saw the same dream of Ragnarok they did, meaning Barthandelus must have lied to the group about Serah's Focus. Vanille reasons that Serah beat her Focus by stating, "I think she beat it. She handed Cocoon over to us, and that's what made her turn to crystal."

In Oerba, Barthandelus uses Serah's guise to try and trick the party into turning into Ragnarok, but they see through the illusion. As the party goes through Eden, Barthandelus tells them he is holding Serah and Sazh's son Dajh hostage. In Orphan's Cradle, Barthandelus destroys an illusion of the crystallized Serah to unnerve Snow and Lightning, but Snow, remembering Serah's crystal at Lightning's insistence, realizes it was only another illusion.

After Orphan is destroyed and Vanille and Fang sacrifice themselves to keep Cocoon from crashing into Gran Pulse, Serah wakes up from her crystal sleep and reunites with Snow and Lightning. Serah forgives Lightning for not believing her, and Snow immediately begins to plan for their wedding, with Lightning congratulating the pair.

Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-
After reuniting with Lightning and the others, Serah contemplates seeing Cocoon from the outside for the first time, and what she can do now that she is back to normal. She and Snow talk about rebuilding on Gran Pulse and saving Vanille and Fang. Serah asks Vanille what she is dreaming about within the crystal pillar, revealing that she knows about Snow staying with her at Lake Bresha since he carried her crystal tear, enabling her to hear him and see what he saw. Serah theorizes that the dreams people have in crystal stasis vary since Dajh told her about his dream of playing with chocobos.

After saying good-bye to Dajh and after Hope runs off to reunite with his father, Serah decides to become a school teacher and educate children on why Cocoon fell. She also wants to tell them their side of the story, and help them grow up into adults who can think for themselves. Shortly after, she discovers that Lightning is nowhere to be seen and becomes worried.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Due to the corrupted timeline and Lightning being removed from history, only Serah remembers the original course of events. Two years after Lightning's disappearance, having yet to marry, Serah and Snow live together in the village of New Bodhum. Serah has learned to use magic and works as a grade school teacher. One day Snow leaves to search for Lightning, but a year goes by and Serah never hears back from him.

One night Serah has a dream about Lightning fighting a mysterious man within a strange world. A crystal meteor crashes outside of town and she awakens to find her clothes magically changed. The town is ravaged by monsters and Serah is saved by Noel Kreiss, a boy she saw in her dream. Noel gives Serah a moogle that can transform into a weapon and says Mog is a gift from Lightning, who now resides in Valhalla, and that she has asked him to bring Serah there.

The meteor is actually a Time Gate and the next day Serah and Noel search the town for an artefact to activate it. Serah, Mog, and Noel enter the Time Gate and travel through the Historia Crux, the crossroads of the time continuum, coming out in the Bresha Ruins at 5 AF. The ruins are affected by a paradox that causes a giant monster known as Atlas to appear in the area. With the help of an Academy scientist, Alyssa Zaidelle, Serah and Noel solve the paradox and the Bresha Ruins are restored. While activating another gate in the area, Serah has a vision of Ragnarok crystallizing Cocoon but hides this from Noel.

Their next destination, Yaschas Massif 10 AF, is darkened by a solar eclipse due to a paradox. They meet Hope Estheim who tells them a tribe of Farseers ruled by a seeress used to live in the ruins and the seeress named Yeul had the ability to see the future and foretold the nation's destruction. Hope shows them the Oracle Drive, which shows grainy images of Lightning in Valhalla. Hope believes the paradox affecting the area is also affecting the Oracle Drive, and gives Serah and Noel an artefact to help them resolve the problem.

After taking a gate to Oerba 200 AF, Serah, Mog and Noel find another Oracle Drive at an old schoolhouse that projects various images of Serah's reunion with Lightning. They are interrupted by Caius Ballad and Yeul, with Serah recognizing Caius as the man she saw battling Lightning in her dream. Yeul stops Caius from killing them, and warns them that changing the future also changes the past.

With the paradox in Oerba solved, Serah, Noel and Mog return to Yaschas Massif in 1X AF, an alternate reality in which the eclipse never occurred and Hope never met them. Yeul appears and gives Serah a cryptic message, saying that they are the same in how they can 'show others the way'. Serah and Noel repeat their introduction to Hope who shows the now clear images of Lightning in Valhalla with the Oracle Drive.

The Oracle Drive shows images of Cocoon falling at Caius's hand, and Noel says Cocoon fell centuries before his birth, and the world fell into ruin. Serah says they must change the future and Hope decides to help them with everything he and the Academy do in the present time. Serah and Noel use the gate in the Pass of Paddra and emerge in the Void Beyond. As Serah begins to doubt of them ever finding Lightning, Noel reassures her that they are one step closer to Lightning with each Time Gate they pass through.

Traveling to the Sunleth Waterscape 300 AF, Serah clutches her head in pain and recites Yeul's prophecy about Cocoon's fall as though possessed. She has a vision of Snow about to be killed by a giant flan. Serah finds Snow half-conscious, Noel comes to their aid, and they fight off the giant flan together.

As the monstrous flan reforms itself after its defeat, Serah pulls a resistant Snow to safety. She introduces Noel and Snow to each other before explaining to the latter why they are there. Snow says Lightning appeared to him in a dream telling him to protect Cocoon's crystal pillar from the giant flan and Serah and Noel decide to help him by resolving the paradox that makes the flan grow.

After Noel and Serah defeat the faeryl in Archylte Steppe and stop Royal Ripeness from growing, they return to the Sunleth Waterscape and find Snow nowhere in sight despite his promise to wait for them. They find him struggling in front of the giant flan and after defeating it for good, Noel yells at Snow for being reckless. After Snow entrusts Serah's safety to Noel he begins to glow, as he is doomed to disappear after the paradox affecting the area has been resolved. Serah tries to hold onto him and notices a Pulse l'Cie brand on his arm before he fades away. Noel theorizes that Snow asked to become a l'Cie to protect people. Serah decides it is her turn to save Snow and make sure they meet again someday.

Back in the Void Beyond, Noel asks if Serah has had any more dreams and explains the Farseer tribes had a girl with the same appearance and power who is always called Yeul. In Academia 400 AF, Serah, Noel and Mog witness numerous citizens transform into Cie'th. They are confronted by what appears to be Caius, who threatens to kill them for tampering with the timeline. Caius says they were killed as a result of learning a forbidden history sealed within a tower two hundred years in the past and have now appeared before him alive, a paradox in itself.

Serah and Noel find Yeul under attack by Cie'th. After dispatching the Cie'th, Noel holds Yeul in his arms and Serah despairs, because her and Noel's actions have determined the fallen Yeul's fate. Yeul dies and leaves behind an artefact that enables Noel, Serah, and Mog to use a nearby Time Gate. Yeul said Caius wasn't in the city, leading Serah to wonder if she and Noel met an imposter.

In Augusta Tower, 200 years before the events at Academia, Noel and Serah learn that Hope had created a Proto fal'Cie to keep Cocoon airborne without its pillar. They meet an artificial duplicate of Alyssa and learn that Hope, Alyssa, and other scientists were killed in the tower 187 years ago at 13 AF, and duplicates of them were created to hide the truth.

On the tower's top level they find Yeul, who gives them an artefact and implores them to protect time. She reveals Caius is an immortal Guardian and retains memory of all timeline events and says Lightning disappeared because the future had changed and if Serah and Noel solve the paradoxes the past will return to how Serah remembers it. Yeul tells them the Caius from Academia was a deception made by a sentient machine within the tower, then implores that they show her a new future.

Noel, Mog and Serah enter a battle against the Proto fal'Cie Adam who keeps reviving itself whenever defeated. Serah charges Adam while shouting at Hope about his machines "driving her nuts" and just before she impales Adam's crystal, the fal'Cie disappears into thin air. Serah has another vision of the future and blacks out.

Through the next Time Gate, they emerge into an alternate Academia in 4XX AF where the city is peaceful and the Proto fal'Cie was never created. They meet Hope and Alyssa and learn Hope scrapped the idea for the Proto fal'Cie after seeing Serah yelling at him through the Oracle Drive. Hope had devised the New Cocoon Project before he and Alyssa went into the future in a time capsule he invented.

Hope explains his man-made Cocoon will be made airborne through the use of Graviton Cores. After bringing Hope the cores needed, Alyssa gives Serah and Noel an artefact to open a new gate in the city. Promising to meet Hope and Alyssa again in the future, Serah, Noel and Mog enter the Historia Crux but get separated.

Manipulated by Caius, Alyssa gave a booby-trapped artefact to Noel and Serah, betraying them to save herself from disappearing due to being a paradox herself. Caius uses the Time Gate to separate Serah from Noel into different areas of the Void Beyond, with Mog's soul removed from his body. Finding several apparitions of Yeul, Serah learns she is a seeress chosen by Etro and how on the Day of Ragnarok the goddess released her and the others from crystal stasis. The last Yeul warns Serah that she brings herself closer to death the more she changes the timeline before transforming into Caius who reveals it was the miracle Etro gave to Serah and the others that condemned Yeul. Caius stabs Serah through her back, spilling chaos from her body.

Serah awakens in New Bodhum wearing her old clothes, surrounded by NORA. When she finds Snow, he claims Lightning never disappeared and has been living with them ever since they got married. Serah finds Lightning on the pier who says that Serah changed history, making it possible for her to come back. Serah almost believes her but remembers the real Lightning is fighting in Valhalla and needs her help, and that she can't abandon Noel and her friends. Serah refuses to comply and Lightning is engulfed in chaos.

Vanille and Fang are able to contact Serah as they are all trapped in a dream, and help Serah escape her dream world by opening a portal where Serah can find Noel. Serah emerges in a desolate world under a red sky and finds him, but he does not acknowledge her. Realizing she is in Noel's dream, Serah follows him as he interacts with Caius and Yeul along, and witnesses a duel between Noel and Caius where the latter emerges the victor, and sees Yeul die in Noel's arms, leaving him all alone. As he is being pulled off the ground towards a light in the sky, Serah grabs hold of his arm and he remembers her.

Noel tells Serah if they change history in a big way it will cost Serah her life, but Serah chooses to continue onwards as it is what Lightning wants, and if they fix the timeline quick enough she won't have to see the future for long. Mog's soul is freed from the Void Beyond and he brings new information from Lightning about Caius. Caius used to be a Pulse l'Cie tasked with the Focus of protecting Yeul and was saved by Etro and made immortal, watching over the seeresses for centuries, and is using his knowledge of their visions to warp the timeline as he pleases.

They come out of a spacetime distortion into New Bodhum at 700 AF that is now a wasteland. Serah opens a portal on the beach, and Lightning emerges before them, saying they are in a future she failed to save. After Lightning explains everything to them, Serah theorizes that Caius's plan is to turn the world into a timeless world like Valhalla. Lightning says they will need to go to the year 500 AF where Caius plans to destroy both the old and new Cocoons. She has Mog reveal a new Time Gate and as Lightning leaves, Serah asks if they will be together once everything is over, but Lightning only says, "One thing at a time, Serah."

In Academia 500 AF they fight Caius as Chaos Bahamut. Caius warns Serah that even if she saves the future, she will not survive to see it. Serah tells Caius she knows each change in the timeline threatens her life but she doesn't care. A wormhole tears open the sky and Caius flies into it, Serah, Noel and Mog following close behind.

They fall out into Valhalla and engage Caius on the beach. After Noel strikes him down, Caius transforms into Jet Bahamut and fires an attack upon them and they are sent falling into an abyss of light under Valhalla's waves of chaos. Lightning saves them by pulling them towards the surface for the final battle. Afterward, Noel repeatedly refuses to obey Caius's demands to kill him. When Caius says that he killed Lightning Serah is shocked, but Noel tells her Caius is lying. Caius stabs himself with Noel's blade and as Caius's body fades away, Serah believes he had wanted to return to Valhalla to die so he could end Yeul's cycle of rebirth.

A series of gates appear throughout Valhalla and Mog says the final paradox has been resolved and that he doesn't sense Lightning anywhere in Valhalla. Serah worries Caius had really killed her, but Noel reassures Lightning will be with the others since they fixed the timeline.

Serah, Noel and Mog return to Gran Pulse at 500 AF, where they see the new Cocoon named Bhunivelze afloat in the sky and the gate to Valhalla close. With their journey now over, Serah thanks Noel but has another vision of the future and dies in his embrace.

After her death, Serah's spirit is bound by chaos before Etro's throne in Valhalla as Lightning helplessly watches. Disembodied spirits of Yeul tell Lightning that Serah will remain with them until the end of time and fade into darkness. While Lightning mourns her sister's death, Serah's spirit appears to her on Etro's throne. Serah explains she was aware of her eventual death yet continued on her journey because she made a promise to herself she would not stop until they were together and has no regrets. Within a void full of light, Serah embraces Lightning. As she fades away, Serah asks Lightning not to forget her, and promises they will see each other again.

Abilities and Equipment


Serah starts with the Commando, Ravager, and Sentinel roles and majors in Ravager and Saboteur, but is also a good Medic, even if she can't learn Cura and Curaja, due to her high Magic stat and faster casting speed than Noel. Serah is not a proficient Synergist as she learns only a few spells for that role.

While her stats can be customized in the Crystarium, Serah's natural stat growth emphasizes high Magic.

Serah has an agile fighting style, jumping while firing her bow and performing backflips, demonstrating a fighting style similar to Lightning's. Serah's Full ATB Skill is Ultima Arrow, a Ravager skill that quickly fills the target's chain gauge with a barrage of attacks.

Weapons


Serah fights with a bowsword and depending on what form she has it and the target's distance, she will use the appropriate model: the bow for ranged combat and the sword for melee. As a Commando, when the paradigm is set to 'Cross', Serah mainly uses her weapon as a sword. Serah's original weapon has an inscription in Etro's script that translates to: The light that pierces the enveloping gloom of time and illuminates the truth.

Serah has several weapons which can be downloaded as part of her bowsword weapon set. There is the Seraphic Wing which restores HP as it damages the monster, the Genji Bow which increased the ATB gauge by recharging its rate and the Azrael which is useful to increase chain bonuses.

Development
According to the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega, Serah was originally planned as a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII, but issues during development led to the decision of turning her into a non-playable character. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Serah's facial structure underwent some changes from the predecessor, and her hair was made a darker shade of pink and her nose was made smaller.

In an interview in Famitsu, it was revealed Serah's clothing from Final Fantasy XIII-2 was designed by Yusuke Naora, based on plugsuits from , as requested by director Motomu Toriyama. Isamu Kamikokuryo, the art director of Final Fantasy XIII-2, has said that the character designs are built from the scenario and setting and the new designs for Lightning and Serah are reflected within the environments where they begin their journey. For Serah, he said that she was cute and girly in Final Fantasy XIII, but that she is a little more tough and battle-ready in Final Fantasy XIII-2.

Kamikokuryo has also said that the balance between making a female character appealing for both genders of gamers was a challenge. The designers did not necessarily strive for a look that would appeal to both male and female gamers, but more of what design would end up the most memorable in players' eyes and mindset. With Serah being more active in Final Fantasy XIII-2, the designers wanted to maintain her feminine qualities, while still making sure she looks like she is ready for a battle. According to issue 219 of Game Informer, Serah was given a bow able to transform into a sword to "preserve her femininity".

, member of AKB48 and leader of the JUDGE 13 test players, was asked to design two alternate costumes for Serah, one of which would become an official DLC by votes from fans in a contest starting on November 15th, 2011. The first DLC costume, called "Exposure and Defense", was designed when the AKB48 idol was wondering whether it is really possible for Final Fantasy female characters to fight with so much showing. Oshima thought that by adding pointed shoes and a shield, Serah would be more ready to fight.

The second, unnamed option, was based on a concept of "Little Red Riding Hood". Oshima thought the idea of mixing red and white together defines a character transitioning into an adult, as Serah seems to do in Final Fantasy XIII-2. On December 3, 2011, the voting closed with "Exposure and Defense" winning by a large margin. Oshima wore this costume at the Final Fantasy XIII-2 launch event.

Musical Themes
Serah is the first non-playable, and then playable character to have vocalized leitmotif. Main characters' themes from previous games generally draw their leitmotif's melody from the respective games' main themes, but "Serah's Theme" doesn't alter the melody of the main theme at all.

Final Fantasy XIII
In Final Fantasy XIII, "Serah's Theme" is a vocal version of the game's main theme, "The Promise", composed by Masashi Hamauzu with lyrics performed by Frances Maya. It often plays when Serah is featured or mentioned in the story, mainly during cutscenes that show flashbacks of her life before the Purge. "Serah's Theme" is played during the fireworks festival in English-translated versions, in place of "Eternal Love", which was played in the original Japanese version.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
In Final Fantasy XIII-2, "Serah's Theme ~Memories~" is a vocal piece played to the melody of "The Future", a variant of the game's main theme, "Wishes". The lyrics tell of how Noel's arrival and his strength give Serah hope towards the chance of reuniting with Lightning, and alludes to her fate of dying in Noel's arms and her reunion with Lightning after her death. A non-lyrical orchestral version of her theme is heard during the "Closing Credits".

Merchandise
Action figures of Serah have been released as part of the Play Arts KAI series. Serah's pendant has been sold as official merchandise in Square Enix's online shop, although it differs slightly from the pendant seen in the games, as it has a blue crystal in the middle.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Serah appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game depicted in her Final Fantasy XIII official render. She also appears in her Final Fantasy XIII-2 attire.

Final Fantasy Brigade
Serah appears as a Legend in Final Fantasy Brigade in her Final Fantasy XIII-2 attire. She uses the abiliies Thundaga, Wound, and Woundga to assist the player.

Kingdom Hearts
Serah does not make an actual appearance in the Kingdom Hearts series, but she is available for the Avatars in Kingdom Hearts Re:coded.

Serah is also a collectible Kingdom Hearts mascot cellphone strap appearing alongside the other characters of Final Fantasy XIII.

Etymology
Serah is a variation of "Sarah". The Italian word Sera means "evening". The name "Sera" in Latin means "Heavenly" or "Winged Angel". In Biblical terms, the Seraphim are the highest order of angels.

There is also a tradition of naming important female non-playable characters (usually princesses) "Sarah" in Final Fantasy. This is likely because the name comes from Hebrew word for "princess".

Trivia

 * Serah's engagement pendant resembles Final Fantasy XIII's [[Media:Final Fantasy XIII Logo.jpg|logo]]. A matching pendant is also worn by Snow Villiers.
 * Her crystal is in the shape of a tear drop that Snow holds onto for most of the story in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Serah, Dajh, and Cid Raines are the only l'Cie that do not show their summons, and it is unknown if they have any. In the case of Serah and Dajh, this could be because they complete their respective Foci in such a short period of time, giving them little opportunity to reach the state of despair that calls forth the intervention of an Eidolon.
 * Serah is a better cook than Lightning, who in turn is better at home-improvement work, as mentioned in Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-.
 * In Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-, it is revealed that Serah bought Snow's NORA pendant.
 * Serah shares her English voice actress, Laura Bailey, with the Cloud of Darkness in Dissidia Final Fantasy, and Belle in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.
 * Art director Isamu Kamikokuryo consistently draws Serah and Lightning with blonde hair in concept art, despite their more "official" appearance. Additionally, Kamikokuryo's Serah concept art for Final Fantasy XIII-2 looks noticeably older and less skinny than her in-game appearance, and a few details on her outfit are different (such as a different choker).
 * Serah appears on the 500th cover of Dengeki Playstation magazine with Lightning, Noel, Noctis, Machina, and Rem.
 * In her CG render for Final Fantasy XIII-2, Serah's ponytail is held by a pink band matching her outfit, but in-game, she retains the black band she wore in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Serah's bowsword shares a similar design with Rosso's double-bladed gun from Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-.
 * When Serah is defeated during battle, Mog hovers over her body worriedly.
 * Serah's first bowsword model, the Starseeker, is also the name of a recurring Keyblade in the Kingdom Hearts series.
 * Serah's initial Paradigm roles in Final Fantasy XIII-2 are the same as Snow's initial roles in Final Fantasy XIII: Commando, Ravager, and Sentinel. Her 'ultimate' weapon (but not the most powerful) also emits white feathers upon hitting enemies like Snow's did in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Unlike Noel, Serah's official render isn't used in the menu screen in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and instead an alternate render - seen in her official artwork with Lightning - is used.
 * A model for Serah in crystal stasis exists as dummied content in Final Fantasy XIII-2. It is unknown why this model exists.
 * During one scene in Valhalla's shadow, Serah and Caius are seen back to back, similar to a moment with him and Lightning in Valhalla.
 * Serah being frozen in time by Caius while fighting is reminiscent of the fight between Squall and Ultimecia in Dissidia Final Fantasy.
 * Serah's Crystal Tear is used as the icon for the Master of Time Achievement/Trophy in Final Fantasy XIII-2 - the final Achievement/Trophy which, in the PlayStation 3 release, makes the game Platinum and awards the player with a Lightning theme.
 * While in Final Fantasy XIII, Vanille's narration was heavily directed towards Serah, in Final Fantasy XIII-2, Serah's narration is directed heavily towards her sister, Lightning. The only time where Serah's narration is directed towards Vanille is in the paradox ending in Oerba in an unknown year.