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 also make an appearance in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII although what his role will be is still unknown.

Snow is an orphan who was raised in a Sanctum facility. He is the leader and founder of NORA, a group that originally fought off Bodhum's wildlife and eventually became a group of rebels fighting against the establishment. He grew up with his childhood friends Gadot and Lebreau in the town of Bodhum at the edge of Cocoon, where they hunted stray monsters.

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. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, he goes off in search of Lightning who has disappeared, being the only one to believe Serah's claims that her sister is still alive.

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 long beige trench coat with frayed hems that functions as his weapon as it is fused with AMP technology. One of Snow's pendants has a symbol of a cat, which is 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 calls himself "The Hero". Although his heart may be in the right place and he wishes to help anyone in need, he talks and acts before thinking. Acknowledging Snow's flamboyant nature, Sazh calls him "one of the kids". 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".

Snow is hot-headed and fearless in the face of danger and has little regard to 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 being 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 no longer wears his bandanna, vest or scarf and now 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 of an unknown fal'Cie on his left arm closer to his elbow than his original brand.

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. Overall, Snow's personality has not changed from Final Fantasy XIII.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Snow has been confirmed to appear as a non-playable character in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII wearing a new outfit.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-
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.

Upon becoming a l’Cie, Serah tries to break up with Snow, but he is resolute that he will help her complete her Focus, whatever it may be.

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, Snow proposes to Serah and she accepts.

The next day, Lightning's 21st birthday, Serah reveals she has become a Pulse l'Cie and has accepted Snow's marriage proposal. Thinking her sister is joking, Lightning does not listen and shuts her out. Snow leaves, determined to help Serah alone.

Snow decides to take Serah to the Bodhum Vestige to see the fal'Cie who branded her, Anima, in hopes of revealing her Focus. They are chased by PSICOM and Snow and Serah fly to the Pulse fal'Cie within the Vestige while under attack. Their aero bike is damaged, and Serah jumps onto a ledge on the Vestige. 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 the situation to Lightning before rushing off to rescue Serah.

Final Fantasy XIII
As PSICOM purges Bodhum, the Vestige is taken to Hanging Edge with the fal'Cie and Serah still inside it. Snow makes his way to the Hanging Edge to track down the Pulse Vestige. Lightning derails the train carrying the Purgees with Sazh Katzroy, and Snow and NORA rescue the remaining Purgees who aid them in their fight against the Sanctum.

One of the Purgees, Nora Estheim, saves Snow's life from a Sanctum warmech, but after the bridge they were standing on collapses she falls from Snow's grip after begging him to get her son home. 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 surviving Purgees, but before Hope has a chance to confront Snow, Snow uses an aero bike to travel to the Vestige. Hope and his companion, Vanille, hijack an aero bike and follow him.

Wandering the Vestige, Snow makes his way to Anima's Throne to find Lightning and Sazh already there, along with an unconscious Serah. Serah awakens and tells Lightning to save Cocoon, but Snow intervenes and tells Serah he will save everyone. Serah crystallizes and a tear-shaped crystal falls from her grasp to Snow's hand. This greatly bewilders the group, as turning into crystal means a l'Cie has completed their Focus.

Snow remains optimistic, sure his fiancée will wake up from her crystal slumber. 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 - choose a more aggressive approach and attack it. Snow joins their plight only to be branded a l'Cie along with everyone else. As the PSICOM destroys the Vestige, it falls down to Lake Bresha, crystallizing it on impact.

Snow awakens with the rest of the group, unscathed, in Lake Bresha. After realizing they have become l'Cie, they try to work out their Focus from a hazy vision they saw, but they can only figure the legendary beast Ragnarok is somehow involved. For Snow, their Focus is clear: to save Cocoon just 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. Snow wants to free her but without tools they are helpless.

The others want to keep moving forward to stay out of the Sanctum's clutches, but Snow doesn't want to leave Serah. As the others leave him behind, Snow continues to dig Serah's crystal out of the crystal formation. When PSICOM attacks him Snow inadvertently summons his Eidolon, the Shiva Sisters. After taming them, he is apprehended by another l'Cie, Fang, and taken aboard the Cavalry airship, the Lindblum, along with Serah's crystal.

Aboard the ship, Snow meets the leader of the Cavalry, Cid Raines, who reveals his premise to free the world 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.

Lightning and Hope are tracked down in Hope's hometown of Palumpolum, where Snow and Fang intercept PSICOM's assault on them. They are forced to separate - Snow with Hope, and Fang with Lightning - though they remain in communication with a wireless device. The group decides on Hope's home in Felix Heights as a rendezvous point. As Snow and Hope travel through the town, Snow remains oblivious to Hope's hatred for him and inadvertently continues to fuel the boy's rage by inadvertently insulting his mother.

After finally confronting Snow about his mother's death Hope blasts Snow off the building's edge and approaches him with Lightning's knife, ready to kill him. A PSICOM missile attack hits the building and knocks Hope out, sending him falling over the edge. Snow catches him 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 his mother in danger and being unable to save her. Snow offers him a second chance to take revenge, but Hope refuses, having realized revenge is meaningless. A monster knocks Snow unconscious as he tries to protect Hope. Hope attempts to fight the beast alone but 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, Snow rests in one of the bedrooms while Lightning tends to his wounds, and the two make amends after Lightning apologizes to 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 and they all wish to save 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.

The group heads to the PSICOM airship, the Palamecia, upon learning Sazh and Vanille are being held captive onboard. They reunite with the prisoners, and face Galenth Dysley in his true form, the fal'Cie Barthandelus. Barthandelus claims their Focus is to become Ragnarok and destroy Orphan, making Cocoon fall from the sky. Snow is shocked to hear Dysley's claim that Serah's Focus was to assemble them to 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. 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 finding an airship, the group descends down to Gran Pulse in hopes of finding answers.

They rest for days in their Vallis Media base camp but find Pulse devoid of human life. Snow's optimism fades as he sees Hope struggle, but after Hope faces his Eidolon Alexander, they decide to head to Fang and Vanille's old village of Oerba.

As they travel there, they cross 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 must have lied about it. 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. Snow suspects something is wrong and pushes Serah away, as she tells the party to destroy Orphan and save the world. Serah's form is another illusion of Dysley's. After the second battle with Barthandelus, they resolve to protect Orphan and fly back to Cocoon, where Dysley has resurrected Cid Raines and created utter chaos in the capital of Eden.

Upon arriving in Eden, Sazh pilots the airship into the Eden Grand Prix. Snow accidentally shows his l'Cie brand to the cheering crowd and chaos breaks out. They escape the circuit and infiltrate the city. Snow and the others are briefly reunited with the other members of NORA, who scold Snow for leaving them behind. NORA say they will support Snow no matter if he has become a l'Cie. 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 Lightning asks him to remember where the real Serah is. Snow remembers he has Serah's crystal tear, and sees through the illusion. Barthandelus is defeated in his final form and he merges with Orphan. Orphan's goal is the same as Barthandelus's: to destroy Cocoon to summon the Maker.

Orphan demands they turn into Ragnarok and Fang decides to become Ragnarok to grant Orphan's wish. Snow and Sazh try to 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 break down and 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 pillar to support it above the ground. With their Focus completed, Snow is crystallized down on Gran 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. As Serah looks at Cocoon, Snow proposes they build a city on Gran Pulse since they can find their own food and hunt monsters just 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 After
Lightning has disappeared. Snow says she must be in the crystal pillar holding up Cocoon with Vanille and Fang, but Serah objects that Lightning was just with them. However, nobody else remembers Lightning returning with them.

After two years of living with Serah, Snow tells her he believes her about Lightning still being alive. Snow departs to look for Lightning and to find a way to help Fang and Vanille, leaving behind 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 Sunleth Waterscape in Final Fantasy XIII-2 300 AF that he lied about these things to make Serah feel better.

After Snow gains a Cactuar fal'Cie as a traveling companion, he meets with Rygdea in Palumpolum before boarding an airship with Cactuar. The airship falls under attack by monsters from the Fifth Ark that escaped after Eden fell on Bodhum on the Day of Ragnarok. They escape the monsters but are surrounded by a mysterious black mist 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. Snow and Cactuar end up in a looped time distortion and witness events from different times and locations. At the end, Snow sees Serah fall to the ground lifeless, New Bodhum completely destroyed, and Cocoon is nowhere to be seen.

Desperate to save Serah Snow asks Cactuar to brand him a l'Cie again, and is given the Focus of finding Serah and fighting by her side at the fated battle. Now out of the looped 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 ends up in the Sunleth Waterscape at 300 AF 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.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Having had a vision of Snow in danger, Serah arrives to his aid with Noel. The three defeat Royal Ripeness in a combined effort, but the countless 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.

The party comes to the conclusion the giant flan is a paradox and begin to look for an artefact in the Sunleth. 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 tells 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 stopping the mass number of Miniflan to appear in 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 Ballad is planning and once in the Coliseum, Snow encounters many of the residents of the world before Serah and Noel arrive.

Snow battles Noel and Serah after she decides to show him how much 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 in Academia 4XX AF and stops Alyssa 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.

Final Fantasy XIII


Snow has similarities to 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 in keeping with his namesake, 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 only 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. Additionally, he doesn't help other party members to fight their Eidolon.

Weapons
Snow's weapon uses Antimatter Manipulation Principle 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.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
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 as well; 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.

Boss


Snow is part of a post-release downloadable content, in which 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 is successful with taming his crystal, Snow will join as a Sentinel with the highest HP any monster can achieve.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy


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

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 in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game 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.

Creation and Development
Snow's original design was made by Nao Ikeda, as revealed in a Dengeki PlayStation interview. According to the April 2009 edition of Famitsu (page 50), Tetsuya Nomura based Snow's bandanna on an unused design that was originally planned for Kingdom Hearts coded.

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 entitled "Perpetual Battlefield". Alongside the existing part of the episode in the Coliseum, there would have been a separate 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 in Serendipity.

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. It is a patriotic song that reflects Snow's involvement with NORA.

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.

Etymology
"Villiers" is a common French and a surname ultimately 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 cat NORA gave Serah after his departure in Final Fantasy XIII-2 is named after him.
 * Strangely, 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'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-scene.
 * As a running gag in Final Fantasy XIII, before each battle with Galenth Dysley, Snow attempts to attack him but is knocked back by some form of protective magic. 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.