Sazh Katzroy

Sazh Katzroy [sæz 'kæt͡s.ɹɔɪ] is a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII and in a downloadable episode of Final Fantasy XIII-2. He is a middle-aged man with an afro. After his wife died three years prior to the events of Final Fantasy XIII, Sazh looked after their six-year-old son, Dajh, before Dajh became a Sanctum l'Cie and was taken by PSICOM. Saving his son is Sazh's main motivation.

Appearance and Personality
Sazh is a middle-aged man with a distinctive afro in which he keeps an unnamed Chocobo Chick. He wears a long, olive coat over khaki trousers, a white button-down shirt, and black buckled engineer boots. His l'Cie mark is on his chest, and is half-hidden under his shirt. He keeps his two pistols in holsters strapped to his thighs. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Sazh is the only playable character from the previous game not to get a redesign.

Despite being physically the eldest of the Final Fantasy XIII playable party, Sazh has a youthful, carefree, and lively personality. Sazh is a goodhearted man whose relationship with his son, Dajh, serves as his drive and his selflessness is shown when he considers sacrificing himself to keep Dajh from becoming a Cie'th. He is silly at times, mostly when he is in near-death situations, but underneath his appearance, Sazh has a strong will of justice and is always willing to help his teammates. Through his friendship with Vanille, Sazh is revealed to be forgiving, and through his quest to rescue Dajh, generally (but not always) hopeful.

In contrast to the rest of the party, Sazh is more level-headed and mature, often serving a voice of reason to the others and interjects his opinion when someone is on the verge of letting their emotions get the best of them. He sometimes thinks of the rest of the party as 'the kids', though he seems to respect Lightning as a mature and capable individual.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-
Sazh brings Dajh to Euride Gorge to see a Sanctum fal'Cie. He stops at a souvenir shop to buy the Chocobo Chick as a present for his son, and Dajh wanders into the plant unsupervised. An unknown force rocks the facility, as the fal'Cie Kujata awakens and Dajh is found unconscious, having been branded a l'Cie.

As a Cocoon l'Cie, Dajh is taken into PSICOM custody for testing and it is found Dajh has gained the ability to sense the presence of Pulse beings, but his Focus is unknown. Sazh speculates his son's task might be to discover lowerworld invaders and destroy them.

Dajh wants to attend the Bodhum fireworks festival and Colonel Nabaat permits a PSICOM-supervised excursion to the coastal town. Sazh travels along but cannot stop worrying about Dajh's future. In Bodhum tradition, Sazh wishes upon the fireworks for Dajh's salvation. Meanwhile, the PSICOM team scouring the area discovers a Pulse fal'Cie within the local Vestige, implying Dajh had subconsciously reacted to its presence. After the fireworks, Dajh is taken back into PSICOM custody.

The town of Bodhum is ordered to be Purged and Dajh will be under PSICOM supervision for an indefinite amount of time. Understanding they do not have long to discover and complete his son's Focus, Sazh knows Dajh will become a Cie'th under PSICOM custody, who plan to use his powers with other intention. He agrees to co-operate and requests to buy a coloring book for Dajh from a shop in Palumpolum; Nabaat allows this, and offers him use of the military airships for faster travel.

Sazh has no intention of traveling to Palumpolum, he only needed a chance to escape his PSICOM supervision. He shakes them out in the crowds of Bodhum and boards the Purge train to reach the Pulse fal'Cie. Waiting in line, he approaches Lightning, another "volunteer", and the two ally in their quest to reach the Pulse fal'Cie.

Final Fantasy XIII
Sazh and Lightning derail the Purge train and set the Purgees free. The two head to the Pulse Vestige, where the Pulse fal'Cie Anima sleeps. When they reach Anima's Throne, Snow Villiers, Vanille, and Hope Estheim unexpectedly join them.

Lightning's sister Serah who had been branded l'Cie earlier enters crystal stasis after asking Lightning to save Cocoon. After confronting Anima, the fal'Cie retaliates by turning them all into l'Cie, before casting them down into the crystallized Lake Bresha.

When they awaken, Sazh prompts the others to determine their Focus and tries to remain positive, but their only clue is a shared vision of Ragnarok destroying Cocoon. After leaving Snow behind at Lake Bresha, the group of four continue through the lake and find an old airship, but once Sazh attempts to pilot them to safety they make a crash-landing in the Vile Peaks.

Sazh vows not to allow Vanille continue on her own after they get separated from Lightning and Hope. The two stumble across an old power plant and after getting it up and running Sazh and Vanille rest for the night. The next day they continue their flight without a destination in mind, leading them to the Sunleth Waterscape. When they see warships passing overhead towards Palumpolum, Sazh worries for Lightning and Hope's safety. Vanille persuades Sazh to keep running - in the opposite direction, to the city of Nautilus. While crossing the Waterscape, Vanille asks Sazh about his family.

Sazh tells Vanille what happened to Dajh and reveals his motives for boarding the Purge train: he had hoped to destroy Anima, in case Dajh's Focus would be complete with the fal'Cie's death. Sazh wonders if Dajh's Focus would be to destroy all Pulse l'Cie, which would mean Sazh and his companions must die to spare Dajh's fate.

In Nautilus, the pair attends the Eidolons' parade, the Pompa Sancta. Sazh reveals he wishes to surrender to PSICOM to see Dajh one last time even if it means his own execution. Vanille tries to dissuade him by telling him who is responsible for the Euride incident, but before she can reveal the culprit, the army attacks from above. Despite his earlier wishes to be captured, Sazh protects Vanille and aids her escape.

They are chased through the Mall to the Fiendlord's Keep, until Dajh appears from the clock tower. Their reunion is short-lived as Dajh crystallizes in his father's arms. Nabaat arrives with her troops, and the boy's Focus is revealed: to capture the servants of the lowerworld fal'Cie. Nabaat shows him a security recording from Euride Gorge, which reveals Vanille and Fang were the Pulse l'Cie who disturbed the fal'Cie Kujata, who turned Dajh into a l'Cie to protect itself. Vanille flees deeper into Nautilus and Sazh pursues her as Nabaat is curious as to how much data they could collect watching two l'Cie fight.

When Sazh finds Vanille at the Fiendlord's Keep, he aims his pistol at her while Vanille begs him to shoot her. Sazh is furious she thinks he will forgive her once she is dead and his Eidolon, Brynhildr, materializes from an orb of flame. Seeing Vanille is willing to protect him, Sazh tames the Eidolon with her.

After Brynhildr vanishes, Sazh places the pistol to his head but is unable to take his own life. They are captured by PSICOM and Nabaat taunts Sazh with the prospect of putting Dajh's crystal up for display as a monument in Eden before rendering Sazh unconscious. Vanille and an unconscious Sazh are taken into an airship by Nabaat's regiment.

Upon the airship Palamecia, Sazh is imprisoned with Vanille as they are transported to be publicly executed in Eden. Sazh learns about Vanille's past and her recent awakening from crystal stasis. Vanille's story sparks a flicker of hope in Sazh for his son, hoping that Dajh, too, could awaken one day.

With a new reason to fight, Sazh helps Vanille overpower the guards. They break out of the cell, retrieve their weapons, and reunite with Lightning, Snow, Hope, and Fang, who have come to rescue them, and go on to confront Primarch Galenth Dysley, who is also on the ship. After he reveals himself to be the fal'Cie Barthandelus, Dysley claims the party's collective Focus is to become Ragnarok and destroy Cocoon by killing the fal'Cie Orphan. Sazh attempts to guide an airship off the Palamecia, but an unknown force drives it towards the Fifth Ark instead.

The party travel through the Fifth Ark and at the end find a Pulse airship which Sazh pilots to the world below, though they are forced to ride Fang's Eidolon Bahamut when a wyvern destroys the ship. The party sets up a base camp in the Vallis Media, and searches Gran Pulse for a week but find no signs of human life, and decide to head for Oerba.

In the Archylte Steppe, Fang apologizes to Sazh for her involvement in Dajh's fate. He accepts her apology and admits his fault in letting Dajh out of his sight.

In Oerba, the party finds Dysley has caused utter chaos in Cocoon, and decide to return there. During the Eden Grand Prix, Sazh rides Brynhildr in her Gestalt Mode. Dysley uses the Fifth Ark to release Pulse monsters and weapons into Eden and cause mass panic. At Orphan's Cradle, they confront Barthandelus, who conjures and shatters Dajh's and Serah's crystals hoping to kill their morale, but Sazh presses on in the knowledge it is another of the fal'Cie's illusions.

After Barthandelus is defeated, it merges with the fal'Cie Orphan and Fang succumbs to Orphan's demands and decides to become Ragnarok and everyone but Fang and Vanille turn to Cie'th. They relive the memories of their journey together and turn back into human just in time to save Fang from the exploding Orphan's clutches. Sazh says their transformation was "more fal'Cie smoke and mirrors" and that they have witnessed something that resembled a new Focus. As Orphan has revealed its true colors as an enemy of Cocoon, the party band together to defeat its final form with the hope that with the power to destroy Cocoon, they also have the power to save it.

After Orphan has been defeated and Cocoon has been crystallized by Fang and Vanille's Ragnarok, Sazh is crystallized on Gran Pulse along with the rest of the party. They shortly awaken and Dajh and Serah appear from Cocoon. Father and son are reunited, and both of their l'Cie marks have been wiped clean.

Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-
After reuniting with his son Sazh offers to help evacuate the rest of Cocoon's citizens with Dajh by his side. He says his goodbyes to the others, saying they'll be going on a long trip.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
After the Day of Ragnarok, Sazh and Dajh started their lives anew on Gran Pulse. While piloting an airship on a clear day, Sazh and his son were sucked into a vortex caused by paradox. While floating through Historia Crux, Sazh was spotted by Snow. Finding himself in Serendipity, Sazh meets the realm's owner, who reveals Sazh and Dajh are between life and death while explaining Sazh can improve his fortunes in the casino by amassing enough Fortune Medals to be reunited with his son. During his misadventure, momentarily appearing before Serah and Noel as a paradox-based phantom in the Vile Peaks, Sazh encounters Chocolina before learning of her true identity.

Once reunited with Dajh, Sazh learns from Serendipity's owner the timeline is being distorted. Wanting to make a difference, Sazh convinces the owner to send him and Dajh somewhere in time they can help. Ending up in Academia 500 AF, Sazh helps in the city's evacuation while aiding Serah and Noel with his airship to pursue Caius in his Chaos Bahamut form and helps save Fang and Vanille's crystal from the core of the crystal pillar before it collapses. After Serah and Noel return from Valhalla back to 500 AF, he is the first to greet them.

In the fragment "Father's Song", it is revealed Sazh was contacted by Lightning in a dream and that's how he learned of Caius.

Final Fantasy XIII


Sazh uses a pair of pistols that can transform into an assault rifle. He can shoot with his guns from a range. As a Ravager, he has access to fire and lightning-elemental attacks (magical and physical) as opposed to Snow, who specializes in the elements of ice and water. Sazh's true strength is in his role as a Synergist, giving boost and support to his allies.

As a Synergist, Sazh is more proficient in offensive augments such as Bravery, Haste and En- Spells, learning them the earliest. He works well as a Commando, due to his Blitz ability, which is the strongest attack in the game the player can control. It differs from the Blitzes of other characters, which are one spread hit, whereas Sazh unleashes a barrage of multiple bullets vastly increasing overall damage against multiple enemies. It is best utilized if enemies are standing close together and/or are large in size. Sazh cannot launch enemies as a Commando like the other Commandos can.

Sazh can be helpful as a Saboteur, as he learns all single-target spells, making him potentially one of the best characters to be used in active party, even though his Magic stat is low.

Out of all six playable characters, Sazh has the shortest Crystarium expansion, and he is the only character to start with only one role: Ravager.

Despite having low stats during the main storyline, Sazh's battle efficiency increases in the post-game sidequests, as his pistols offer a range of useful passive abilities such as Augment Maintenance and Stagger Maintenance. Sazh has the second highest max HP by the end of the game. His Full ATB Skill, Cold Blood (Desperado in Japanese version), is a series of explosive shots that increase the enemy's chain gauge.


 * Base Statistics

Eidolon


Sazh's Eidolon is Brynhildr, a female, fire-elemental valkyrie, who can turn into a race car in her Gestalt Mode. Brynhildr has multiple abilities that can be used effectively with Sazh's Synergist role that easily allow for a change of elemental damage.

Sazh, along with Snow, is one of two characters who doesn't help others claim their respective Eidolons.

Weapons
See Sazh's Pistols. Because he has two weapons, Sazh gets double the attacks in number for a single Attack command used. If Sazh performs a series of attacks, he combines the pistols into a single rifle for the last shot, which hits only once. Sazh's attack power is divided between his weapons, however, so he won't get an advantage over the other characters even if his attack always hits twice.

Sazh's guns or their holsters are not rendered while he is on the field; only the straps that hold the holsters are present. The guns are only rendered if they are required for a cutscene. At Sunleth Waterscape, Sazh doesn't have his pistols at the beginning of the cutscene where he tells Vanille about Dajh, but after the flashback, his guns have suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Most of Sazh's guns are named after stars and star clusters, similar to those of Final Fantasy XII.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Sazh appears as downloadable content in the form of a "Recruitable Monster", who joins Serah and Noel after completing the downloadable episode "Heads or Tails?".

Sazh joins the party as Synergist and can learn most of the spells available from the Crystarium. If given Potent or Vitality materials, his HP can rise over 9,000, making him a useful addition to any Paradigm Pack. His Feral Link is Cold Blood; his Full ATB Skill in Final Fantasy XIII and functions exactly the same as in the original.

Creation and Development
Early concept art of Sazh greatly differs from his final look. The concept depicts him as a white-skinned man with shoulder-length brown hair and a military uniform with various mechanical mounts on his coat for his equipment; e.g. the artwork has a mount on his shoulder for a small cannon and a mount on his arm for a shield. His name was originally "Baz".

In an interview with the Shonen Jump magazine, Yoshinori Kitase stated Sazh is modeled after the American singer, while Motomu Toriyama claimed Sazh's inspiration was "a character that would appear in an American comedy – like Eddie Murphy" in OPM UK magazine. In OPM UK, Toriyama went on to say "as for Sazh, we wanted a character that was mature".

Musical Themes
"Sazh's Theme" is a funky number in an unusual, alternating 5/4 to 6/4 time signature, heavily featuring piano, percussion, brass, and acoustic guitar. "Can't Catch a Break" is also often played in scenes involving Sazh.

Both pieces have an improvisational jazz style unusual for the music of the Final Fantasy series. "Daddy's Got the Blues" is another piece on the soundtrack associated with Sazh, referring to his relationship with Dajh. The piece features an acoustic guitar and a harmonica.

A prototype version of "Can't Catch a Break" is included on the Final Fantasy XIII: Original Soundtrack PLUS album, called "Sazh B+ Prototype".

In Final Fantasy XIII-2, "Win or Lose" combines elements from the two themes.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest


Sazh is an exclusive character only available from the Premium Character Shop as a random downloadable content, he uses the Pyroburst ability during battle.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Sazh is present in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game with Fire-elemental cards. One depicts a shot of his face from a FMV of Final Fantasy XIII, and the other displays his render. The Brynhildr card also features Sazh.

Kingdom Hearts Mobile
Sazh appears as an avatar in Kingdom Hearts Mobile. He, Vanille, Serah, Snow and Lightning are the characters from Final Fantasy XIII to appear in the game.

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
Sazh appears as an avatar, featuring his chocobo in his hair.

Trivia

 * Sazh's crystal is the shape of a chocobo feather.
 * Sazh's crystal is used as the icon for two trophies/achievements: Loremaster in Final Fantasy XIII, and Scarlet Medal in Final Fantasy XIII-2.
 * Sazh has the most lines in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * The Japanese name of Sazh's ATB full skill, Desperado, is named after Laguna Loire's Limit Break in Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Tetsuya Nomura has stated in an interview he would choose Sazh over Lightning to appear in a sequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy to represent Final Fantasy XIII. However, Lightning was selected as Final Fantasy XIII's representative for the prequel, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.
 * Though the subject of naming it is frequently mentioned, Sazh's chocobo chick remains unnamed during the course of Final Fantasy XIII. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, it is revealed, through collecting fragments and "Heads or Tails?" episode, that the chick is female and Dajh has named her "Chocolina".
 * In Chocobo's Crystal Tower, the player can purchase a head accessory called the Afro for 350 Chocopoints. It features an animation where a baby chocobo would occasionally pop out, referencing Sazh.
 * There is an item in Final Fantasy XIII-2 that can be obtained as a rare drop from the chocobo. It is called the Yellow Chick In Afro, referencing Sazh's chocobo chick and his hair. Similar items drop off other colored chocobos, each with the same color chick.
 * In Final Fantasy XIII-2 it is revealed in a Brain Blast quiz a vidshow called 'The Katzroy Files' was made after Sazh that had an unlucky detective who kept a chocobo chick in his hair as the lead character. The name 'The Katzroy Files' may be an allusion to the real world show The X Files.
 * In one of the trailers for Final Fantasy XIII-2, Sazh is present in Academia 4XX AF, but this actually doesn't happen in the game as the trailer just served as a confirmation of Sazh's appearance in the game.