Snow Villiers

Unreleased

Snow Villiers is a playable character in the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII. He has blond hair and a stubble beard, and he wears a black bandanna and a long white coat. His foot size is a gargantuan 33 centimeters (about a foot long). He is a very strong character and is capable of running at full speed while carrying two people. On his left arm there is a tattoo which is a mark of the l'Cie. Through that he can summon the embodiment of his heart, the Shiva Sisters.

Story
Snow is the leader of Team Nora, a group of rebels fighting against the Sanctum. He grew up with his childhood friends Gadot and Lebreau in a small town at the edge of Cocoon, where they hunted stray monsters under the moniker of Team Nora. However, their peaceful life was interrupted by PSICOM occupying their town and taking away the people they believed to be contaminated by Pulse. This flared the resistance in the three youths' hearts, and they used the back Team Nora to fight back. They were later joined by Maqui, who idolizes Snow.

Team Nora sets out to rescue those being exiled, but Snow's strength fails him during the mission: when he and Hope Estheim's mother were hanging from the edge of a destroyed highway, her hand slipped from his and she fell off the cliff, presumably dying in the process. He falls, too, but wakes up unharmed near the Pulse fal'Cie, where Lightning and Sazh Katzroy are. Together with the two, along with Oerba Dia Vanille and Hope Estheim, they seek consul from the fal'Cie, and get turned into l'Cie.

In the past, he was engaged to Serah Farron, Lightning's sister, but something bad happened to her that Snow couldn't prevent, and he swears to never let it happen again. However, this event has caused a rift between him and Lightning, as she isn't willing to forgive him easily.

Abilities
Unlike the fast and agile Lightning, Snow focuses more on strength. From the most recent trailer, it is shown that Snow fights with his bare hands and Ice magic. In the demo released with Advent Children Complete he retains this fighting style, furthering this notion. His weapon is a special coat developed by the government which can alter the strength of the wearer. His Eidolon is Shiva, which splits into two sisters. Their names are Styria and Nix. Styria is the dark-skinned one who is the elder sister, while the white-skinned Nix is the younger. They are not limited to just the Ice element but can apparently wield many of them. They are also capable of forming together to make a motorcycle for Snow to ride on during combat.

Trivia

 * Before his official name was revealed, Snow was referred to as "Mr. 33cm", referencing his large foot size.
 * According to the April 2009 edition of Famitsu (page 50), Nomura based Snow's bandanna on an unused design that was originally planned for Kingdom Hearts coded.

Etymology
"Villiers" is a common French toponym and a surname ultimately derived from the Latin word villa, "country-house, estate". It is also the name of a fairly well-known motorcycle company, which is referenced in his summon's Gestalt mode.

Snow Villiers