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 appears as a non-player character in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

He is a middle-aged man with an afro who works as an airship pilot. After his wife died three years prior to the events of Final Fantasy XIII, Sazh has been looking after their son, Dajh. Protecting his son is Sazh's main motivation. A pet chocobo lives in Sazh's afro, known simply as Chocobo Chick.

In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Sazh, Dajh, and the Chocobo Chick are consumed by a paradox and Sazh ends up in Serendipity where he needs to gamble to reclaim his son.

In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, a grief-stricken Sazh has isolated himself in the Wildlands.

Appearance
Sazh is a middle-aged man with an 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, 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, and he also retains this appearance in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

Personality
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. His selflessness is shown when he considers sacrificing himself to keep Dajh from becoming a Cie'th, a monster a l'Cie who fails his Focus becomes. He is silly at times, mostly when he is in near-death situations, but 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 as the voice of reason and interjects his opinion when someone is on the verge of letting their emotions get the best of them. He thinks of the rest of the party as "the kids", though seems to respect Lightning and Fang.

By the time of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Sazh has lost his cheerfulness for grief. He is quick to anger and perpetually frustrated with a frown on his face.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-
Sazh brings Dajh to Euride Gorge to see a Sanctum fal'Cie, one of the deity-like machines that constructed the floating shell of the world of Cocoon in ages past, and now watch over its inhabitants. He stops at a souvenir shop to buy a chocobo chick as a present for his son, and Dajh wanders into the energy plant unsupervised.

An unknown force rocks the facility, and when Sazh finds Dajh in front of the fal'Cie Kujata, he notices a strange mark on Dajh's hand. Soldiers from the security force take Dajh away for medical attention, and soldiers from PSICOM and their leader, Colonel Jihl Nabaat, take Sazh and Dajh to an Eden facility by airship.

Dajh is put into PSICOM custody for testing, and it is learned he has been branded a Sanctum l'Cie by Kujata, which means he has been chosen as the fal'Cie's servant to fulfill a Focus. Sazh despairs over his son's fate, as failure would transform him into a mindless monster: a Cie'th. Heeding the fal'Cie's request is not much better, however, as it means turning into a crystal.

Three days later, Colonel Nabaat tells Sazh the incident at Euride Gorge was caused by l'Cie from Gran Pulse, the hostile world below Cocoon, and Kujata branded Dajh in response to the threat. The following day, under the supervision of Nabaat, it is discovered Dajh has gained the ability to sense the presence of Pulse beings, but his Focus is unknown. Nabaat speculates Dajh's task is to discover lowerworld invaders and destroy them. Sazh begins to lose hope for his son, and feels he cannot trust Nabaat.

When allowed to see his son again, Dajh insists on going to the fireworks festival in Bodhum and Nabaat permits a PSICOM-supervised excursion to the coastal town. Two days later, on the way to Bodhum, Dajh shows interest in the local Pulse Vestige, a ruin of Pulse origin. This catches Colonel Nabaat's attention, and she sends a team to investigate.

Sazh wishes upon the fireworks for Dajh's salvation while Dajh wishes for his father to be happy again. The PSICOM team discovers a Pulse fal'Cie within the Vestige, implying Dajh had subconsciously reacted to its presence. After the fireworks, Dajh says he wants to go to Nautilus Park, but he is put back into PSICOM custody.

The day after Bodhum is quarantined and ordered to be Purged in fear the populace has been infected by the Pulse fal'Cie. 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 to benefit themselves. Returning to Eden, he agrees to cooperate and requests to buy a toy or book for Dajh from a shop in Palumpolum. Nabaat allows this, and offers him use of the military airships for faster travel.

Sazh made it up as an excuse for a chance to escape the PSICOM supervision. He makes his way back to Bodhum with the intention of destroying the Pulse fal'Cie to save Dajh. Waiting in line for the Purge train the following day, he approaches Lightning, another "volunteer," and the two ally in their quest to reach the fal'Cie.

Final Fantasy XIII
Sazh and Lightning derail the Purge train and set the Purgees free. The two fight their way through the Hanging Edge to the Pulse Vestige, where the Pulse fal'Cie Anima sleeps. When they reach Anima's Throne other wayward Purgees—Snow, Vanille, and Hope Estheim—unexpectedly join them. They find Lightning's sister Serah, a Pulse l'Cie, who enters crystal stasis after asking Lightning to save Cocoon.

As they confront Anima the fal'Cie turns the group into l'Cie before they are cast down into the crystallized Lake Bresha. When they awaken, Sazh prompts the others to determine their Focus, but their only clue is a shared vision of the mythical beast Ragnarok destroying Cocoon. After leaving Snow behind with Serah's crystal, the group of four continues through the lake and finds an old airship, but once Sazh attempts to pilot them to safety they are shot down by PSICOM and crash-land in the Vile Peaks.

After Lightning and Hope continue on to throw off pursuit, Sazh vows not to abandon Vanille. They find Hope by himself further ahead after he was left behind by Lightning. Promising to get Hope back home to his father in Palumpolum, Sazh and Vanille have him travel with them until Lightning rejoins the party.

When Lightning reveals her plan to go to Eden and destroy its namesake fal'Cie, Sazh is outraged for her wanting to "snuff out Cocoon" now that everyone hunts her down, though Lightning assures she only wishes to take down the Sanctum. She leaves with Hope chasing after her, leaving Sazh and Vanille behind. They decide to run in the opposite direction to stay out of Lightning's way and escape their fate.

Sazh and Vanille continue their flight to the Sunleth Waterscape and while crossing it, Vanille asks Sazh about his family. Sazh explains what happened to Dajh, revealing his motives for boarding the Purge train. 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.

Waiting for a ship to Nautilus, Sazh tells Vanille he didn't always hate Pulse and found the Sanctum's claims about incoming attacks from the lowerworld suspicious. He believes the trouble started because Dajh detected Anima in Bodhum, but Vanille implores him to place the blame elsewhere: onto the Pulse l'Cie responsible for the Euride incident.

In Nautilus, the pair attends the Eidolon parade, the Pompa Sancta. Visiting the Chocobo Corral, 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 divulging who is responsible for the Euride Gorge 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 Clock Tower where Dajh appears and crystallizes in Sazh's arms. Nabaat arrives with her troops, and the boy's Focus is revealed: to capture servants of the lowerworld fal'Cie. Nabaat shows Sazh a security recording from Euride Gorge, which reveals Vanille and her friend Fang were the Pulse l'Cie who disturbed the fal'Cie Kujata, and caused it to turn 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, under the assumption that Sazh will kill Vanille.

When Sazh finds Vanille at the Fiendlord's Keep, he aims his pistol at her while Vanille begs him to shoot her for all the suffering she has caused him. Sazh is furious she thinks all will be forgiven once she is dead, and his anguish summons his Eidolon, Brynhildr. Seeing Vanille is willing to protect him, Sazh tames the Eidolon with her.

After Brynhildr vanishes, Sazh points his pistol back at Vanille but realizes killing her will not change anything. He 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 the unconscious Sazh are taken into an airship by Nabaat's regiment, and imprisoned on the Palamecia to be transported to Eden for a public execution.

Upon the Palamecia, Sazh learns about Vanille's past and her recent awakening from crystal stasis. Vanille is a Pulse l'Cie from hundreds of years ago who had entered crystal stasis alongside Fang. The pair's crystals had been placed inside the Vestige that had ended up in Bodhum when Cocoon had looted Pulse for raw materials. When the two had awoken they had found themselves in Cocoon. After being separated from Fang in the wake of the Euride incident, Vanille has been running from her fate.

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 teamed up to rescue them. The reunited l'Cie confront Primarch Galenth Dysley, the head of the Sanctum government, who is also on the ship.

After he kills Nabaat and reveals himself as the fal'Cie Barthandelus, Dysley claims the party's collective Focus is to become Ragnarok, a mythical beast of destruction, and destroy Cocoon by killing Orphan, the fal'Cie that keeps Cocoon afloat. Sazh attempts to guide an airship off the Palamecia as it descends, but an unknown force drives it towards the Fifth Ark hidden beneath Eden instead.

The party travels through the ark and their l'Cie powers are fully awoken. Deeper inside the party encounters the Cavalry leader Cid Raines who had helped Lightning, Snow, Fang and Hope save Sazh and Vanille under the pretense the l'Cie must help him liberate Cocoon from fal'Cie rule. Raines reveals himself a Sanctum l'Cie branded by Barthandelus with the Focus of helping them destroy Cocoon, but he is willing to sacrifice himself to defy it and attacks the party. The party defeats Raines who turns to crystal despite having defied his Focus, inspiring them to do the same. After Fang tames her Eidolon Bahamut, a path to the ark's lower levels is revealed. They party finds a Pulsian airship and a gate leading to Gran Pulse, where they hope to find answers on how to remove their l'Cie brands.

Sazh pilots the airship to the world below and it is attacked by a wild wyvern. After an emergency landing, the party sets up a base camp in the Vallis Media. They search Gran Pulse for days but find no signs of human life, and decide to head for Oerba, Fang and Vanille's hometown.

In the Font of Namva in the Archylte Steppe, Fang apologizes to Sazh for her involvement in Dajh's branding. He accepts her apology and admits his fault in letting Dajh out of his sight. The group travels through the Mah'habara Subterra and hitches a ride on the fal'Cie Atomos to the Sulyya Springs. They reach the top of Taejin's Tower and ride a capsule down to Oerba were the party finds Dysley has incited a civil war in Cocoon to bring it down, and decides to return there.

Sazh pilots the airship Dysley had left for them to the Eden Grand Prix, where he rides Brynhildr in her Gestalt Mode. Dysley uses the Fifth Ark to release Pulsian monsters and weapons into Eden and cause mass panic. At Orphan's Cradle the l'Cie 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 but another of the fal'Cie's illusions.

After Barthandelus is defeated, he merges with the fal'Cie Orphan. 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 revert in time to save Fang from the exploding Orphan's clutches. Sazh voices his belief that their transformation into Cie'th was "more fal'Cie smoke and mirrors" and that they have witnessed something that resembled a new Focus.

The party bands together to defeat Orphan's final form with the hope that with the power to destroy Cocoon, they also have the power to save it. After declaring saving Cocoon their true Focus the party's l'Cie brands burn out. After Orphan is defeated, Orphan's Cradle disappears and the party is left floating above Eden as Cocoon falls. As Sazh, Lightning, Hope, and Snow float away and start to crystallize, Fang and Vanille become Ragnarok to crystallize Cocoon and erect a crystal pillar to support it over Pulse. Sazh is crystallized on Gran Pulse along with the rest of the party. They shortly awaken and find their l'Cie brands wiped clean. Dajh and Serah approach them from Cocoon as its people evacuate, and father and son are reunited.

Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-
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 Fragments Before
Two years later, Sazh is working on Pulse piloting airships on a Gran Pulse-Cocoon commuter flight route, and he brings Dajh to work with him. They are paid a visit by Snow after he leaves New Bodhum on his journey to find Lightning, who has gone missing. Sazh tells Snow his doubts about what happened to her and that he can't help him out since he is too busy.

Final Fantasy XIII-2


While piloting an airship on a clear day, Sazh and his son were sucked into a vortex caused by a 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 the mysterious woman 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. He ends up in Academia 500 AF when Cocoon's crystal pillar is about to wear out. He helps in the city's evacuation while aiding Serah and Noel with his airship to pursue Caius Ballad in his Chaos Bahamut form, and saves 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, Sazh is the first to greet them. Their victory against Caius is short-lived as Serah dies from her Eyes of Etro and Caius's death also signified the death of the goddess Etro. Without her Valhalla's chaos enters the living world and infects Gran Pulse, merging the two worlds into Nova Chrysalia.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
As revealed in Final Fantasy XIII: Reminiscence -tracer of memories-, in the aftermath of the release of Chaos and the creation of Nova Chrysalia, Sazh attempted to help Hope, Snow, and Noel in protecting the populace, and was among the first people to explore Nova Chrysalia on an airship. When Dajh fell into a coma with his soul scattered in fragments across the land, Sazh took his son to live in the Wildlands in the ruins of a crashed airship and isolated himself.

Over the years of searching for Dajh's soul, Sazh lost his cheerful outlook and is nearly driven mad by desperation. Lumina gave him the coffer of souls that can restore Dajh's soul when the fragments are found. Lightning helps gather the fragments, but when they are collected, Lumina reveals that Sazh's current mental state has made Dajh frightened to wake up despite having his soul returned. Faced with this revelation and provoked by Lightning, Lumina and the chocobo chick, Sazh regains his cheerful outlook and Dajh wakes up.

On the final day, Lightning calls for help in her struggle against the god Bhunivelze and Sazh and Dajh answer her call. After Nova Chrysalia's destruction Lightning and all of her old companions travel to a new world where they can start their lives anew free of gods and Chaos.

Final Fantasy XIII: Reminiscence -tracer of memories-
Reborn in the new world alongside Dajh, Sazh became a pilot-mechanic and works on a top-secret prototype plane. Meeting Aoede, a reporter investigating people who have memories of living in "another world," Sazh tells his side of the story.

Sazh relates that during the first years on Nova Chrysalia he helped protect its populace with his friends Snow, Hope and Noel, but isolated himself in the Wildlands after Dajh fell into an unexplained coma. Sazh mentions a letter he had received from Hope prior to the youth's abduction by Bhunivelze, but does not say what was in it. Sazh doesn't know why he can remember his past life so clearly, and claims to not know where Lightning and Snow are.

Gameplay
Sazh wields a pair of pistols that can transform into an assault rifle. He can shoot from a range, but has slow animation speeds. In Final Fantasy XIII Sazh's primary paradigm roles are Ravager, where he specializes in fire magic and has the full ATB skill Cold Blood, Synergist, where he first learns offensive buffs and Haste, and Commando where he has a unique Blitz; it is the strongest attack in the game the player can control. Sazh cannot launch enemies as a Commando.

In Final Fantasy XIII-2 Sazh appears as downloadable content in the form of a "recruitable monster" who joins the party as Synergist. His Feral Link is Cold Blood.

Creation and development
Sazh's early concept art 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 OMP UK, producer Yoshinori Kitase said the character was intended to be both sympathetic and a piece of comic relief in the story.

Musical themes
"Sazh's Theme" is a funky number in an unusual 11/8 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.

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

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

Other appearances
Sazh has appeared in the following games throughout the Final Fantasy series:
 * Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia as a playable character.
 * Pictlogica Final Fantasy as a playable character.
 * Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade as a Legend and a playable character.
 * Final Fantasy Artniks as a series of cards.
 * Final Fantasy Record Keeper as a playable character.
 * Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a playable character.
 * Mobius Final Fantasy as an ability card.
 * Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as a series of cards.
 * Triple Triad as a series of cards.

Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances
Sazh has made key guest appearances in the following non-Final Fantasy media:
 * Kingdom Hearts series as an avatar.

Merchandise
Sazh has a Play Arts action figure for Final Fantasy XIII, and figures from the Final Fantasy XIII Trading Arts Vol 1 series and from Suntory Elixir promotion.

Gallery

 * Final Fantasy XIII

Trivia

 * In the novella Final Fantasy XIII Side Story: A Dreaming Cocoon Falls into the Dawn it is revealed the airline where Sazh worked at had a fellow pilot named Cielo who had admired Sazh and his piloting skills. When Sazh outmaneuvered PSICOM during their escape from Lake Bresha, Cielo watched the spectacle from afar, albeit ignorant the mystery pilot was Sazh.
 * Sazh's eidolith is the shape of a chocobo feather.
 * Sazh's eidolith is used as the icon for two trophies/achievements: Loremaster in Final Fantasy XIII, and Scarlet Medal in Final Fantasy XIII-2.
 * A replica of his crystal is also an adornment for monster allies in Final Fantasy XIII-2.
 * Sazh's crystal also appears as an adornment for Lightning in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Sazh has the most lines in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Sazh shares the quote "Nothin' to it" with Vaan from Final Fantasy XII.
 * 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 the Final Fantasy XIII representative for the prequel, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.
 * Though the subject of naming it is frequently mentioned, Sazh's chocobo chick remains unnamed during 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, referring to Sazh.
 * There is an item in Final Fantasy XIII-2 that can be obtained as a rare drop from the chocobo: the Yellow Chick In Afro, referring to Sazh's chocobo chick and his hair. Similar items drop off other colored chocobos.
 * In Final Fantasy XIII-2 it is revealed in a Brain Blast quiz a vidshow called The Katzroy Files was made after Sazh with an unlucky detective who kept a chocobo chick in his hair as the lead character. The name may be an allusion to the real world show .
 * In one of the trailers for Final Fantasy XIII-2, Sazh is present in Academia 4XX AF, but this doesn't happen in the game as the trailer just served as a confirmation of Sazh's appearance in the game.
 * As revealed by Brain Blast, Sazh used to be a train conductor before becoming an airship pilot.
 * Sazh has a peculiar rivalry with the Gigantuar Mark. During Paradigm Shift, Sazh also takes the iconic "running" pose of Cactuars from the Final Fantasy series.
 * Different colored pilot's badges and chocobo chicks in afros can be obtained as adornments in Final Fantasy XIII-2. They also appear in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.