Hope Estheim

Hope Estheim is a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII. He is a fourteen-year-old boy with silver hair who wears a yellow and orange coat. He is insecure and has a short temper, and often acts childish. On the other hand, he comes from a high-class family, which also reflects on his attitude. He is first seen in the game demo wearing the same Purge attire as Vanille.

Story
Hope and his mother got involved in the Purge during their vacation, meaning that the Sanctum wanted to send them to Pulse claiming that they are tainted by it. They were among the group that was saved by Snow Villiers and Team Nora. Hope's mother volunteered to fight with Snow, but lost her life after saving him from a cannon blast and then falling off the destroyed motorway. Since Snow got her involved in the fight and could not save her (despite his efforts to do so), Hope holds a grudge against him (even more so when he discovers that Snow's team shares a name with his mother) as Vanille, who comforted him, encourages him to follow Snow into the Pulse Fal'Cie, where he ended up becoming a l'Cie.

He travels with Lightning, who saw him as a hindrance at first but came to care about him. After he and Lightning are rescued by Snow and Fang, Lightning gives him to Snow while she goes off with Fang. Soon afterwards, Hope confronts Snow about his mother. When Snow says that all he can do is go forward and find answers, Hope objects and tells him that he is running from what he deserves. Snow tells Hope to tell him what he deserves, and Hope says the same fate that his mother suffered: death. He uses his l'Cie power to blow Snow off a high ledge. As Hope is about to kill Snow with the weapon Lightning gave him, a Sanctum airship fires a shot behind him and, just as what happened to his mother, sends him over the ledge. Snow jumps off after him, catching him in midair and shielding him from the fall.

While with Lightning, Hope is confided with her past as seen in the TGS 2009 trailer.

Hope's father was unveiled in the TGS 2009 trailer. He is a brown-haired man with glasses who works for the Sanctum. During a scene from the trailer, he is shown speaking with his son whilst the party were staying in his house. The party were leaving because Hope wanted his father to be safe, anyone harboring l'Cie would suffer a horrible fate, but Hope's father protested, saying that he did not care that Hope was a l'Cie, he was his son, and that was his home. Hope's father is seen again with his son, hiding while Snow stands wounded and bandaged before an entire platoon of soldiers led by Yaag Rosch.

In the final Japanese trailer, Hope is seen with Lightning about to enter the Gapra Whitewood, telling her to let him take the lead. Lightning asks him if he can do it but Hope says that it wasn't about whether or not he could do it. Lightning smiles at him, gives him the nod to go ahead, tells him to look forward and that she will guard his back. Later, Hope is being comforted by Snow and Lightning, with the latter telling him that they were all comrades sharing the same burden and smiles at him. Hope tells Lightning that he hated getting hurt by people and hurting them back. Hope's l'Cie mark begins to glow, initiating his fight against Alexander. He and Vanille are nearly thrown out of a damaged airship. Hope is seen holding onto Vanille's free hand while she uses the other to keep them anchored on part of the airship's frame. Later, Hope summons Alexander on a highway in Eden.

Abilities and Equipment
Hope fights with boomerangs that work differently from normal boomerangs thanks to futuristic technology and design. His weapons make him good at dealing long-ranged damage. His Eidolon is Alexander, which has the ability to turn into a fortress in battle. An interview in the July 2009 Famitsu revealed that there are times that Hope might even run from battle, and that it is up to the player to train him to become a brave warrior.


 * Sky Thrasher
 * Ninuruta
 * Tjuta
 * Hawkeye
 * Eagle claw
 * vuizohunil (ヴィゾフニル)
 * Hræsvelgr
 * Arikanto
 * Charadrios
 * Simurgh
 * Yezcatlipoca
 * ochiruvuani (オチルヴァニ)
 * urubutsuin (ウルブツィン)
 * Malphas
 * Naberius
 * Nue

Trivia

 * Hope calls Lightning "Miss Light," and is apparently the only character she allows to do so.
 * Hope's full-ATB skill, Last Resort, greatly resembles the animation of white magic Holy in FFX

Hope Estheim