Snow Villiers

Snow Villiers is a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII who appears as a guest character in Final Fantasy XIII-2, and will make an appearance in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII as a non-playable character.

In Final Fantasy XIII, Snow is determined to save his fiancée, Serah Farron, from her fate as a Pulse l'Cie despite Serah's sister Lightning's disapproval of their relationship. He is turned into a l'Cie himself, and sets on a journey to save Cocoon and reunite with Serah.

In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Snow goes off in search of Lightning who has disappeared, being the only one to believe Serah's claims that her sister is still alive, once again becoming a l'Cie in the process.

In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Snow is the patron of the city of Yusnaan, and the last l'Cie in the world. Close to becoming a Cie'th, he awaits the time he can die and reunite with Serah.

Final Fantasy XIII


Snow has light blond hair, blue eyes, and a stubble beard. He wears a black bandanna, black gloves, large gray boots, a light blue vest over a black shirt, and a striped blue scarf hanging from a belt. He wears a beige trench coat with frayed hems that functions as his weapon as it is fused with Antimatter Manipulation Principle (AMP) technology. Snow wears a cat pendant, the logo of NORA. Snow's foot size is 33 centimeters (about a foot long). His l'Cie brand is on his left forearm.

Snow is a relentless optimist and a self-proclaimed "hero" who wishes to protect and help anyone in need. Although his heart may be in the right place, his naivety and optimism rub people the wrong way. He talks and acts before thinking, unintentionally causing trouble and putting others in danger. Lightning describes Snow as "arrogant and chummy from the get-go, thinks he's everyone's pal", and that his best quality is being "too stubborn to die". In Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-, Lightning compares Snow to her father as being easy-going and passionate, but unreliable.

Snow is hot-headed and fearless, not afraid to push his limits and has little regard for authorities. Snow hides whatever guilt he feels by acting optimistic, though doing so causes people to misunderstand him. Snow is defined by his love for Serah and even after learning about her becoming a Pulse l'Cie, he chooses to stand beside her and help her complete her Focus. His relationship with Serah puts him in conflict with Lightning, who at first believes him to be an irresponsible idiot unworthy of her sister.

Final Fantasy XIII-2


Snow's attire has a darker color scheme. He no longer wears his bandanna, vest or scarf, and has a shorter beard and slightly longer hair. He wears a dark red shirt under a dark gray trench coat with frayed hems. His hair is swept back and exposes his ears. He bears a new Pulse l'Cie brand from the fal'Cie Cactuar on his left arm, closer to his elbow than his original brand. It is in its fourth stage.

Director Motomu Toriyama has said Snow does not have a "jealous personality", and therefore doesn't mind Serah going off with Noel Kreiss to find Lightning. Being hot-headed and reckless as ever, Snow's overall personality has not changed since Final Fantasy XIII.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII


Snow has straight, layered, shoulder-length hair and a short beard. He wears a formal all-black suit. He wields a giant pole encased in ice to convey his change into a harsh and serious character. The l'Cie brand he had in Final Fantasy XIII-2 is in the same place, now hidden by his sleeve and advanced to its thirteenth stage, though it sometimes glows through his clothing. The only elements that have remained from his look in the previous games are his gloves, engagement pendant, and boots (albeit the latter are a darker color). When he transforms into a half-Cie'th his eyes turn red, his left arm is encased in ice or crystal, and the skin leading up from that arm turns black.

Though his desire to protect people remains, Snow has become the polar opposite of his former self: dark, jaded, brooding, and depressed. He speaks like a "broken man", and harbors the regret of failing to save Serah, locking himself away in his palace and reveling more in the city's nightlife as opposed to his duties as patron, gaining him the title of "Lord of the feasthall". During an interview, it was stated that despite his darkened attitude, Snow is still a good person, caring for the people of Yusnaan, as opposed to the more villainous Don Corneo from Final Fantasy VII. Snow appears to be either closely linked to or heavily infected by Chaos, causing him to gain the power of a Cie'th.

Early Life
Snow was an orphan raised in a Sanctum facility. He grew up with his childhood friends, Gadot and Lebreau, in the island town of Bodhum at the edge of Cocoon. He is the leader and founder of NORA, a group consisting of himself, Gadot, Lebreau, Maqui, and Yuj, that acts as a neighborhood watch group, protecting the populace from Bodhum's surrounding wildlife.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-
After NORA saves her from an aquatic ambush, Snow is overjoyed to meet his girlfriend's older sister, but Lightning is far from impressed. She had never approved of him or his group's unsanctioned activities and wants Snow to forget about dating her sister. Snow laughs away her demands and his flippant attitude does nothing but reinforce Lightning's original impression of him. Five days later, Serah tries to break up with Snow and shows him her l'Cie brand. After Serah runs off, Snow tracks her down and begs Serah to let him help her complete her Focus. Serah is scared of what the Sanctum will do if they find out, but Snow vows to help her regardless.

Three days later, while out shopping for Lightning's birthday present with Serah, Snow slips away to buy engagement necklaces; two metal sculptures of Cocoon, under the premise of giving Serah 'the whole world'. During the annual Bodhum fireworks display the night after, Snow proposes to Serah and she accepts. The next day, Lightning's 21st birthday, Serah reveals to her sister she has become a Pulse l'Cie and accepted Snow's marriage proposal. Thinking Serah is joking, Lightning does not listen and shuts her out, and Snow is determined to help Serah alone.

Snow plans to take Serah to the Bodhum Vestige to see Anima, the fal'Cie who branded her, in the hopes of revealing her Focus and getting Lightning to believe her. However, PSICOM had discovered the fal'Cie the previous night and placed the town under lockdown. Chased by PSICOM, Snow and Serah fly to the Vestige while under attack. Their airbike is damaged by enemy fire and Serah jumps onto a ledge on the Vestige. A silver liquid substance emerges from the Vestige and drags her inside as the fal'Cie's prisoner, while Snow escapes the situation unharmed. He goes to explain what happened to Lightning before rushing off to save Serah.

Final Fantasy XIII


Two days later, as PSICOM Purges the people in Bodhum to Pulse, the Vestige is taken to the Hanging Edge with the fal'Cie and Serah still inside. Snow makes his way to the Hanging Edge and engages PSICOM, leading NORA as a resistance force. Elsewhere, Lightning and her ally, Sazh Katzroy, derail their Purge train and Snow and NORA rescue the remaining Purgees. Some of them volunteer to help NORA fight against the Sanctum, including a woman named Nora Estheim. While the other Purgees are moved to another location, Snow leads NORA and the volunteers into battle. Nora saves Snow from a Havoc Skytank, but as it goes down, it destroys the bridge they are standing on and mortally wounds Nora.

As they hang from the bridge's edge, Nora begs Snow to "get him home" but is too weak to tell him whom she means. Nora dies and falls from Snow's grasp before he falls as well. Unknown to Snow, her son, Hope Estheim, is watching the scene from afar and blames Snow for his mother's death. Snow makes his way back to the rest of NORA and the surviving Purgees and uses an airbike to travel to the Vestige. Hope and his companion, Vanille, hijack an airbike and follow him. After saving them from a Cie'th ambush, Snow has Hope and Vanille stick with him for their safety. Snow makes his way to Anima's Throne to find Lightning and Sazh already there, along with Serah.

Serah tells Lightning to save Cocoon and crystallizes, and a tear-shaped crystal falls from her grasp into Snow's hand. This bewilders the group, as turning into crystal means a l'Cie has completed their Focus. Snow remains optimistic, sure his fiancée will wake up. Snow believes the legends that state l'Cie who complete their Focus gain eternal life, but Lightning believes Serah to be dead. Snow begs with Anima to return Serah, offering to become a l'Cie in her stead, but Lightning and Sazh - who has his own motives for hunting down the fal'Cie - attack it. Snow joins their plight only to be branded a l'Cie along with everyone else. As the PSICOM destroys the Vestige, it releases an energy wave that destroys the Hanging Edge and falls down to Lake Bresha, crystallizing it on impact.

Snow awakens with the rest of the group in Lake Bresha, unscathed. They try to work out their Focus from a hazy vision they saw, but can only figure the legendary beast Ragnarok is somehow involved. While the others believe their Focus is to destroy Cocoon, Snow believes it is to save Cocoon as Serah asked. Now enemies of the state, they evade pursuing PSICOM troops by crossing the crystallized lake when they come across Serah's crystallized form lodged in a formation. While the others keep moving to evade the army, Snow doesn't want to leave Serah and stays to dig Serah's crystal out of the crystal formation. When PSICOM attacks him, Snow's Eidolon, the Shiva Sisters, are summoned.

After taming them, he is apprehended by Cavalry troops being led by another Pulse l'Cie named Fang. Along with Serah's crystal, Snow is taken aboard the Cavalry airship, the Lindblum, where Snow meets the Cavalry leader, Cid Raines, who reveals his premise to free Cocoon from the fal'Cie and the Sanctum's clutches. Raines claims the new l'Cie have been sentenced to public execution should they be caught. Fang and Raines need to track down the other l'Cie, and with Serah's crystallized form aboard the Lindblum, Snow has no choice but to comply and help them.

When Lightning and Hope are tracked down in Hope's hometown of Palumpolum, Snow and Fang intercept PSICOM's assault on them. They split up: Snow with Hope, and Fang with Lightning, and decide on Hope's home in Felix Heights as a rendezvous point. As Snow and Hope travel through the town, Snow remains optimistic and oblivious to Hope's hatred for him and unknowingly continues to fuel the boy's rage with every word he says.

When they see PSICOM rounding up more people to Purge, Snow tries to save them by announcing his l'Cie status and firing a gun into the air to make them scatter. His actions are misunderstood and they return as an angry mob. After escaping the mob to the Rivera Towers and fighting an Ushumgal Subjugator, Hope confronts Snow about his mother's death and blasts him off a building's roof. Ready to kill him, Hope approaches Snow with Lightning's knife in hand, revealing himself as Nora's son. Before Hope delivers the killing blow, a PSICOM missile attack hits the building and knocks Hope out, sending him falling over the edge of the roof. Snow catches him in midair and shields him with his body as the two fall to the streets below.

Despite being injured, Snow carries an unconscious Hope on his back to fulfill his promise to Nora to get her son home. When Hope wakes up, Snow apologizes for putting Nora in danger and being unable to save her. He returns Lightning's knife to Hope, giving him a second chance for revenge, but Hope hesitates and realizes he wanted revenge for the wrong reasons. The Ushumgal Subjugator from before returns and knocks Snow unconscious as he tries to protect Hope. Hope fights the beast alone until he is joined by Lightning and Fang, and the three destroy the monster together. Afterward, the group heads to Hope's home.

At Hope's apartment, Lightning tends to his wounds while he rests, and the two make amends after Lightning apologizes for how she treated him. Snow apologizes to Hope's father, Bartholomew Estheim, for his hand in Nora's death, which Bartholomew accepts upon learning of Snow fulfilling her dying wish. After Bartholomew exposes several flaws in the l'Cie's plan to take down the Sanctum, PSICOM attacks the apartment. Snow heads outside to face the troops, imploring them to realize he is a human like them and they all wish to protect Cocoon. He is rebutted by Yaag Rosch, who claims the l'Cie's lives are not worth the risk of sparing. The party are saved by Rygdea from the Cavalry and taken aboard the Lindblum.

With the Cavalry's help, the group heads to the PSICOM airship, the Palamecia, upon learning Sazh and Vanille are being held captive onboard. They fight their way through and reunite with the prisoners before facing Galenth Dysley in his true form, the fal'Cie Barthandelus. Barthandelus claims their Focus is to become Ragnarok and destroy Orphan, the fal'Cie that keeps Cocoon afloat. Snow is shocked to hear Dysley's claim that Serah's Focus was to assemble them to be made l'Cie and bring about Cocoon's destruction.

Under Barthandelus's manipulation, they escape the Palamecia to the Fifth Ark, where Snow remains in a state of shock and disbelief. While in the Ark, the group runs into Cid Raines, who is revealed to be a Sanctum l'Cie branded by Barthandelus, whose Focus is to help them destroy Cocoon. Determined to defy Barthandelus and save Cocoon, Cid attacks the party. Cid is defeated, but turns into a crystal anyway. Snow is inspired by Cid's sacrifice, realizing they can defy their fate and still fight to save Cocoon. After Fang tames her Eidolon, Bahamut, and the group finds an airship, they descend down to Gran Pulse in hopes of finding answers.

Making a base camp in the Vallis Media, they search Pulse for days but find it devoid of human life. After Hope brings Alexander under his control, everyone decides to head to Fang and Vanille's old village of Oerba. They cross the Archylte Steppe, the Mah'habara Subterra and the Sulyya Springs, where Snow learns from Vanille she had met Serah. Vanille tells him Serah had the same vision of Ragnarok and must have overcome her Focus, meaning Dysley lied about it, but Snow tells Vanille he already knows. In the Skyreach, Lightning and Snow discuss Serah and promise to see Serah again together.

The party ascends the floors of Taejin's Tower and ride a capsule down to Oerba. The dilapidated ruins hold little answers for them until they reach a run-down bridge, where Serah appears reciting the legend of Ragnarok, telling the party to destroy Orphan and save the world. The party refuses to listen and Serah's form is revealed to be another of Dysley's illusions. After the second battle with Barthandelus, they resolve to protect Orphan and return to Cocoon, where Dysley has resurrected Cid Raines as the new Primarch and created utter chaos in the capital of Eden.

Sazh pilots an airship into the Eden Grand Prix. After saving a racer with the Shiva Sisters, Snow accidentally shows his l'Cie brand to the cheering crowd, causing chaos to break out. He and the others escape the circuit with their Eidolons and infiltrate the city, which is soon overrun by Pulsian machines and monsters from the Fifth Ark. Snow is briefly reunited with the other members of NORA, who scold him for leaving them behind. NORA says they will support Snow regardless if he has become a l'Cie, and leaves to help the populace. Snow and the others reach Edenhall and its heart, Orphan's Cradle.

In the Narthex Throne, Barthandelus shatters illusions of Sazh's crystallized son, Dajh, and Serah. Snow is enraged but through Lightning's help, remembers he has Serah's crystal tear, seeing through the illusion. Barthandelus is defeated and merges with Orphan. Orphan demands they turn into Ragnarok and Fang succumbs to its demands. Snow and Sazh try hold Fang back, but Orphan turns everyone but Fang and Vanille into Cie'th. Fang fails to destroy Orphan, and after Vanille refuses to follow Fang's example, Orphan explodes and sinks into a pool of silver liquid. Snow and the others return to normal claiming they have seen a new Focus. Lightning calls out their Focus is to save Cocoon and the party's l'Cie brands turn white. They defeat Orphan in its true form and Cocoon begins to descend.

As Orphan's Cradle disappears, the party is left hovering midair above Eden. Fang and Vanille become Ragnarok and save Cocoon by encasing it in crystal and forming a crystal pillar to support it above Gran Pulse. With their Focus completed, Snow is crystallized down on Pulse alongside the rest of the party. They awaken from their crystal stasis briefly after with their l'Cie brands gone. Serah and Dajh were released from crystal stasis as well, and Snow is reunited with his fiancée. As Lightning begins to apologize to Serah, Snow cuts in saying they have a wedding to plan. He promises to make Serah happy and Lightning congratulates the couple.

Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-
Snow recalls his vision of everyone laughing together, including Vanille and Fang, and knows it is not over yet. Snow proposes they build a city on Gran Pulse since they can find their own food and hunt monsters like back in Bodhum. Serah tells Snow she wants to become a teacher and tell people why Cocoon fell. He supports her choice and decides to build her the largest school she can imagine.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments Before
The timeline is altered, Lightning disappears, and Snow, along with the others, loses his memory of their reunion and believes she is in the crystal pillar with Vanille and Fang. No one believes Serah when she claims Lightning was there with them but simply vanished. Over the next two years, with the Cavalry's help, Snow and the members of NORA build the coastal village of New Bodhum. They help Bodhum's former residents adapt to life on Pulse and resume their original role of protecting them from the occasional monster attack. Snow and Serah live together, learn how to use magic, and in a matter of months, Snow delivers on his promise to Serah on building a schoolhouse for her.

One day, Snow tells Serah that despite his initial doubts, he now believes her memories about Lightning. Though Serah wants to go with him, Snow does not want to expose her to danger, telling her to stay for the sake of her students. He departs to look for Lightning, leaving his engagement necklace with Serah as a promise to return. The exact course of the events is murky, as it is implied in a dialogue choice during a second playthrough of the Sunleth Waterscape in Final Fantasy XIII-2 in 300 AF that he lied about these things to make Serah feel better.

After leaving New Bodhum, Snow meets up with Sazh and Hope, who each confess their unease about Lightning's true fate, though are too busy to help him. Snow visits Rygdea, who asks Snow to help him search for the remnants of PSICOM to see whether they are planning an armed reprisal. Traveling to the Archylte Steppe, he encounters a herd of Cactuars. Snow tries to encourage a lone Cactuar it to join the rest and it attacks him, but stops when Snow tells it to. The herd takes off, leaving Snow with the one left behind, which stays with him instead of following the herd. Feeling guilty for distracting the Cactuar, Snow vows to help it get back to its friends. During the next few days, Snow has multiple adventures with Cactaur: being attacked by an Amphisbaena, getting caught in an old monster trap, and encountering former PSICOM soldiers in their makeshift village.

When Snow and Cactuar help them fight off Behemoth Kings, Cactaur, apparently without fully realizing it, defeats the monsters using powerful magic. It reveals a crystal on its forehead, and Snow realizes it is a Gran Pulse fal'Cie. Snow is drawn into the realm of the gods, where the fal'Cie Anima sent him to become a l'Cie. Realizing what is happening, and that Cactuar probably planned to do this ever since they met, Snow attempts to escape the alternate dimension. Before it can complete its task, Cactaur loses its strength, allowing Snow to return to Gran Pulse. The next morning, Snow resolves to find a way to not only help Lightning but Fang and Vanille as well, and continues on his journey with Cactuar.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After
After returning to Cocoon and meeting up with Rygdea in Palumpolum, Snow boards an airship, smuggling Cactuar on board. The ship is attacked by monsters that escaped from the Fifth Ark when the Cocoon fal'Cie went dormant and Eden fell on Bodhum on the Day of Ragnarok; the ship is surrounded by a strange black mist. Snow takes a hoverbike from the hold and, with Cactaur's help, lures the monsters away from the airship. The two end up above the remains of Bodhum and Eden and are surrounded by the same black mist that came with the monsters and get trapped in an incomplete Time Gate.

They fall into the Historia Crux and emerge in the Coliseum, briefly encountering the Arbiter of Time. Cactuar remembers it is a fal'Cie, regaining its powers and knowledge of its task. It tries to make Snow a l'Cie but Snow refuses on the grounds it would not make Serah happy. The Arbiter of Time says that though Snow is not meant to be there yet, he would return. Snow and Cactuar end up in a looped time distortion and witness events from different times and locations. While most of it is a blur, Snow hears the final battle in Academia between Serah and Caius Ballad, sees Serah's death, and a vision of New Bodhum as a desolate wasteland.

Desperate to save Serah, Snow asks Cactuar to brand him a l'Cie and is given the Focus of finding Serah and fighting by her side at the fated battle. Now out of the distortion, Snow and Cactuar are back by the Ark. The now-complete Time Gate appears and they go through the Historia Crux, passing by Sazh along the way. Snow emerges in the Sunleth Waterscape in an unknown period and has a dream of Lightning telling him about the Miniflan converging into Royal Ripeness, and how it threatens to wear down Cocoon's crystal pillar. She urges him help Serah by protecting Cocoon's pillar, and in turn Vanille and Fang. Finding a Time Gate, Snow goes to the Sunleth Waterscape in 300 AF to take on the threat, with Cactuar staying behind, later being driven away by an attack from Royal Ripeness.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Having had a vision of Snow in danger, Serah arrives to his aid with Noel. The three defeat Royal Ripeness, but the Miniflan reform the monster, forcing them to retreat. After Noel confronts Snow about his recklessness, Snow tells them of his mission to protect Cocoon's crystal pillar and how Royal Ripeness will wear down the pillar and cause Cocoon to fall.

Guessing the giant flan to be a paradox, the trio decides to work together to stop it. After finding two artefacts and coming at a Time Gate, Snow tries to enter it, but since the gate is not his, a forcefield denies him access. Noel and Serah tell Snow to wait for them to come back and not do anything rash. Despite promising Serah and Noel he would wait, Snow continues to fight.

After Noel and Serah resolve the anomalies in the Coliseum and the Archylte Steppe at ??? AF, stopping the mass number of Miniflan to appear in the Sunleth Waterscape and compose Royal Ripeness, they return to find Snow on the ropes in front of the monster at its reduced size. Together they defeat it for good, and after asking Noel to keep looking after Serah, Snow vanishes. Noel believes Snow disappeared because they resolved the paradox and he does not belong in this time.

Sometime after his departure, Snow finds his own gate and enters the Void Beyond. Hearing about the Coliseum, he resolves to find it by using Shiva. Snow worries what Caius is planning and once in the Coliseum, he encounters many of the residents of the world before Serah and Noel arrive. Snow battles Noel and Serah as the latter wishes to show him how she has matured during her journey with Noel. After the Arbiter of Time allows the two to leave, Snow reveals he is bound to the Coliseum by chaos and promises to be with Serah again once the matter is dealt with. Until the Day of Reckoning, Snow decides to hang out with Gilgamesh, Ultros, Typhon, and the Pupu.

In the paradox ending, "The Future is Hope," Snow appears with the Guardian Corps in Academia 4XX AF, and stops Alyssa Zaidelle from tricking Noel and Serah into falling into Caius's trap. He reveals Caius is the one who caused the paradoxes before flying off with Mog and Serah on Shiva in Gestalt Mode to find thirteen crystals scattered throughout time, while Noel remains behind to safeguard Hope, whom Snow said would be assassinated in three days.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
After escaping the Coliseum, Snow, Hope and Noel make a pact to find a way of saving the world. During his travels, he happens upon the city of Yusnaan, where he helps its people, eventually becoming the patron of the city by popular acclaim. Snow has since been the ruler of Yusnaan for five centuries, although nowadays he spends his time locked up in his palace and his only active role is watching over the festivities. As a l'Cie, he is charged to protect the sole remaining fal'Cie that supports Nova Chrysalia through its final days. As the years go by, he harbors growing regret over having been unable to save Serah and utter impotence at being unable to do anything about the world's decaying state, eventually getting to the point where he is willing to die to free himself from his guilt.

When Lightning arrives in Yusnaan during the middle of a celebration, she fights her way into Snow's palace and confronts him in the ballroom, with Snow recognizing her as the savior. As an outburst of Chaos and several Anubyses drive the partygoers away, Snow and Lightning destroy them before engaging each other in combat until Lightning overpowers him. Snow asks if she is going to kill him and "save his soul". She coldly offers to help him, which angers him. Lumina appears, breaks Lightning's blade, and drops the chandelier above the room. Snow halts its descend by freezing it, creating a structure reminiscent of the crystallized Cocoon, then spies something behind Lightning and comments that no one will stand in his way, even if it means fighting the savior. Snow flees with Lightning in pursuit and although she almost catches up with him, Lumina blocks her path with a monster, giving Snow the chance to disappear inside a Chaos Infusion within the palace.

When Lightning later returns to Snow's palace, she uses Serah's pendant, kept by Snow through the years, to make her way into the centre of the palace, where he is waiting for her. Once there, he reveals to her that his earlier attitude towards her was a test to make sure she was the real Lightning. He then shows her the Chaos Infusion within the palace, that he was keeping locked away for years, not going against it fully since he still had his duties as the Patron. With Lightning here, he finally proceeds to enter the Infusion, absorb it into himself and transform into a Cie'th hybrid that Lightning must fight. After the fight, Lumina appears and speculates that his act of self-sacrifice was driven by his want for Lighting to kill him and escape his despair. Lightning refuses to kill him, instead managing to reach out and convince him that Serah wants to be with him again and that he must help guide her to him.

This final plea reverses Snow's transformation, and Lightning leaves him with a final task of continuing protecting Yusnaan. Despite still feeling he is unworthy of Serah, he decides to continue hoping, and his emotional burden is finally lifted. Snow sees Lightning again, when her allies converge on the Luxerion cathedral and destroy the Clavis, killing the priestess of the Order and saving Vanille. Soon after this, Bhunivelze appears and captures Snow. When Lightning calls for aid in launching a final assault on the deity, Snow, among Lightning's other allies, answers her call. With the aid of her friends and the Eidolons, Lightning severs Bhunivelze's hold on the souls of humanity and afterward Lightning and her reunited allies bare witness to the death of Nova Chrysalia and the creation of a new world free of gods.

Final Fantasy XIII


Snow resembles the Monk class of past games by fighting bare-handed, dealing high damage and having high HP. Snow's primary strength is in his defensive abilities and he has the third highest Strength. He excels in the Sentinel role, and has the highest HP growth out of the six characters, and weapons which provide bonuses to defense and Sentinel abilities. As a Ravager, he learns all Ice and Water spells, but can also learn Wind magic up to the -"ra" level. Snow's Full ATB Skill is the Commando ability, Sovereign Fist, which clears the enemy's stagger gauge when executed.

Snow is the only character in the party who has two exclusive skills: the Hand Grenade usable in the first two chapters, and his Full ATB Skill, Sovereign Fist. Snow is the only character whose Crystarium automatically updates at the end of Chapter 3.


 * Base Statistics

Eidolon


Snow's Eidolon is the Shiva Sisters, Stiria and Nix. Stiria is the dark-skinned elder sister, and the white-skinned younger sister is called Nix. Nix attacks the enemies with mostly physical attacks, while Stiria wields powerful ice and healing spells. They can combine into a motorcycle for Snow to ride on for their Gestalt Mode.

Snow is the only playable character who fights his Eidolon alone and he doesn't help other party members to fight their Eidolon.

Weapons
Snow's weapon uses AMP technology to enhance his powers. Although it changes the appearance of his coat when in battle, the coat itself is not the weapon. The coat enhances the wearer's strength depending on which emblem set is sewn onto the back (the emblems only appear during combat). Snow's weapon is the only weapon that cannot subtract or change forms.

There is a glitch in the game that renders Snow's weapon outside of battle, letting him have a "different" coat on the field. If the player kills a beast on a mission with another character's Eidolon and the summoning is executed while the beast is attacking Snow, Snow's weapon stays on him, even on the field.

Guest
Snow is a guest character in the Sunleth Waterscape 300 AF. He has no HP bar, and thus cannot be knocked out. He is immune to status ailments and certain buffs are ineffective; he can, however, gain any of the En- spells if cast by a Synergist monster.

Snow functions as a full-time Commando using Attack, Ruin, Blitz, and Launch. He is feeble when it comes to magic, which puts him at a disadvantage when pitted against flan enemies, the main enemies in the Sunleth Waterscape. His main use is to keep the enemies' stagger gauges from depleting.

Paradigm Pack
Snow can join the player's Paradigm Pack as a Sentinel. He has by far the highest HP of any monster in the game, which can rise well beyond 20,000 if Vitality Crystals are used in his development and the HP: +30% passive ability is infused into Snow. One drawback is while he has high HP, he does not have any innate resistances, meaning he would be no better than other Sentinels with 10,000+ HP that can halve all attacks, abilities aside.

Boss


Snow is part of a post-release downloadable content, where he can be found in the Coliseum and fought against as a boss.

He can perform the Sovereign Fist as his instant kill move which he will use only if he attacks the same target for too long. If the player tames his crystal, Snow will join as a Sentinel with the highest HP any monster can achieve.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Snow is fought as a boss.

Creation and Development
According to the April 2009 edition of Famitsu, Tetsuya Nomura based Snow's bandanna on an unused design that was originally planned for Kingdom Hearts coded. Snow was given a passionate and impulsive attitude to contrast Lightning's cold and harsh mannerisms.

Before his official name was revealed, Snow was referred to as "Mr. 33cm", referencing his foot size. In an early E3 trailer Snow was seen using AUG role, which presumably stands for "augmenter", bestowing positive statuses on the party. The role's color was the same as is Synergist's, implying that at some point during development Snow might have been intended to have Synergist as one of his main roles.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega reveals scrapped plans for an extension to Snow's DLC scenario episode titled "Perpetual Battlefield". Alongside the existing part of the episode in the Coliseum, there would have been a minigame in which players would play as Snow riding through the Archylte Steppe. The player's objective would have been to try and kill 30 monsters using Snow's skillset – which included being able to spin, drift, jump and use a water-based spell. Once this part of the DLC was scrapped, this minigame was used as a base for the Chocobo Racing minigame.

Voice
Snow is voiced by Daisuke Ono in Japanese and by Troy Baker in English.

Troy Baker talked about taking up the role of Snow at Sakura Con 2010, where he commented on how Snow appears as such a tough and strong character, and how many thought Baker's image wouldn't match that of the character he was voicing.

Musical Themes
In Final Fantasy XIII, "Snow's Theme" is a rock tune played with electric guitars portraying his heroic personality. "The Warpath Home" has elements of his theme and Final Fantasy XIII's prelude.

Orchestral variants of his theme are "Forever Fugitives", "To Hunt l'Cie", and "Atonement", while "No Way to Live" is a rock variant, much like his original theme.

"Snow's Theme" returns in Final Fantasy XIII-2.

Final Fantasy XIV
Snow's costume and weapon will be included in the game as a bonus item in one of the in-game events. Lightning will appear in the same event.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy


Snow is a playable sub-character obtained by collecting eight White Crystal Shards by defeating Dark Note bosses. He appears in his Final Fantasy XIII attire.

Snow has the highest HP at Level 99 and has many defensive support abilities, making him useful for tougher songs in the Chaos Shrine. The rest of his stats are average.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest


Snow is an exclusive character only available from the Premium Character Shop as a random downloadable content. He uses the Ice Ramp ability during battle.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Snow appears on four different cards. One of the them depicts him in his CG render from Final Fantasy XIII, one from an in-game scene, one from Final Fantasy XIII-2, and one in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

Kingdom Hearts
Snow appears as an avatar in the Nintendo DS  game, along with Serah, Lightning, Sazh and Vanille.

Merchandise
Snow has a Play Arts action figure, as all permanently playable Final Fantasy XIII characters do. Snow has also appeared in Elixir cans. Snow's NORA pendant, and Snow and Serah's engagement pendants of Cocoon have also been released as official merchandise, although the Cocoon pendant has a zircon stone in the middle, unlike in the game.

Glico, the snack company has been working with Square Enix to promote Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII in Japan. Lumina appears on Pocky box along with Lightning and Snow.

Etymology
"Villiers" is a common French and a surname derived from the Latin/Italian 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" refers to his affiliation with the Ice and Water elements, and may have been a counterpoint to Lightning whose name is also weather-related.

Trivia

 * Snow is one of the tallest playable characters in the Final Fantasy series at 6'7", under the hulking Umaro of Final Fantasy VI, Kimahri Ronso of Final Fantasy X or Ward Zabac of Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Snow's eidolith crystal is in the shape of a heart.
 * Snow's crystal is used for the "L'Cie Paragon" trophy/achievement in Final Fantasy XIII and the "No Retreat" trophy/achievement in Final Fantasy XIII-2.
 * A calico cat that NORA gave Serah after his departure in Final Fantasy XIII-2 is named after him.
 * In Snow's official CG render he is not wearing his NORA necklace or his engagement pendant, though they are present in his render on the Final Fantasy XIII summary website.
 * Snow wears his engagement pendant in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, despite it not being given back by Serah in Final Fantasy XIII-2 despite having several chances to do so.
 * Snow's official CG render for Final Fantasy XIII was the only one not used for character bios in the instruction booklet included with the game. Instead, his Gestalt Mode render is used for the guide, as well as for the save screen.
 * Despite having a CG render for his appearance in Final Fantasy XIII-2, Snow never appears in a FMV cutscene.
 * As a running gag in Final Fantasy XIII, before each battle with Galenth Dysley, Snow attempts to attack him but is knocked back by a protective magical barrier. This gag is continued in Final Fantasy XIII-2 when Snow is unable to use a Time Gate to accompany Serah and Noel.
 * Snow, Lightning, Sazh, Hope and Noel appeared as models for the Showcase Prada 2012 Men's Spring/Summer Collection.
 * Snow is the only main character to be a l'Cie in all three games of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy.