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.

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 left in existence. Now dangerously close to becoming a Cie'th, he is seemingly awaiting the time when 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 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.

In terms of personality, 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 sometimes rub people the wrong way. He also tends to talk and act before thinking, unintentionally causing trouble and putting others in danger as a result. Acknowledging Snow's flamboyant nature, Sazh Katzroy 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." In Episode Zero -Promise-, Lightning compares Snow to her father as being easy-going and passionate but not very reliable.

Snow is hot-headed and fearless in the face of danger 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 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's attire now has a darker color scheme. He no longer wears his bandanna, vest or scarf and now has a shorter beard and slightly longer hair. He now 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, and 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. Noted by Serah as still being hot-headed and reckless as ever, Snow's overall personality has not changed from Final Fantasy XIII.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII


Snow now has straight shoulder-length hair and wears an all black suit. He wields a giant pole apparently encased in ice. The l'Cie brand he had in Final Fantasy XIII-2 still appears to be in the same place, only now hidden by his sleeve and advanced to its final stage, though it sometimes glows through his sleeve. The only elements that have remained from his original look are his gloves, engagement pendant, and boots (albeit they are now a darker color).

Now the Patron of the city of Yusnaan, Snow is no longer the cheerful optimist he used to be, though his desire to protect people remains, as it is now carried over to his role as protector of the city. He is now the polar opposite of his former self: dark, solemn, and brooding. Now he speaks like a "broken man," and harbors the regret of not being able to save Serah, reveling more in the city's nightlife as opposed to his duties as a Patron, thereby gaining him the title as "Lord of the feasthall".

Early Life
Snow is an orphan who was raised in a Sanctum facility. He grew up with his childhood friends, Gadot and Lebreau, in the 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.

Upon becoming a l'Cie, Serah tries to break up with Snow five days later. After he asks her what's wrong, she shows him her l'Cie brand and runs off. Snow runs after her to the beach and begs Serah to let him help her complete her Focus. However, Serah is scared of what the Sanctum will do if they find out, but Snow is resolute about helping her fulfill 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 the night after, 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 argues with Lightning for not believing Serah, then leaves, determined to help Serah alone.

Snow plans to take Serah to the Bodhum Vestige to see the fal'Cie who branded her, Anima, in hopes of revealing her Focus and getting Lightning to believe her. However, PSICOM discovered the fal'Cie the previous night and quarantined the town. Chased by PSICOM, Snow and Serah fly to the Vestige while under attack. Their airbike is damaged by enemy fire, forcing Snow to have Serah jump 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 the situation to Lightning before rushing off to save Serah.

Final Fantasy XIII


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 it. Leading NORA as a resistance force, Snow makes his way to the Hanging Edge to track down the Vestige and save Serah. Lightning derails the train carrying the Purgees with her ally Sazh Katzroy, and Snow and NORA rescue the remaining Purgees, who volunteer to help them fight against the Sanctum, including a woman named Nora Estheim.

Nora saves Snow from a Sanctum Skytank, but as it goes down, it fires a shot that causes a huge explosion that destroys the bridge they are standing on and mortally wounds Nora. As Snow tries to drag Nora back to safety, the destroyed bridge tilts but Snow grabs onto the bridge's edge with Nora before they slide off. While hanging, Nora begs Snow to "get him home" but is too weak to tell him who she means. Nora dies from her injuries and falls from Snow's grasp. Unknown to Snow, her son, Hope Estheim, is watching the scene from afar and blames Snow for his mother's death.

After falling from the bridge himself, 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 awakens and tells Lightning to save Cocoon, but Snow tells Serah he will save everyone. Serah 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 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. 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. While the others believe their Focus is to destroy Cocoon, for Snow however, their Focus is clear: 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.

The others want to keep moving forward to evade the army, but Snow doesn't want to leave Serah. As the others leave him behind, Snow stays to dig Serah's crystal out of the crystal formation. When PSICOM attacks him, Snow's desperation causes his Eidolon, the Shiva Sisters, to be 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. Aboard the ship, 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 oblivious to Hope's hatred for him and continues to fuel the boy's rage with his optimism and by unknowingly insulting his mother and the events surrounding her death.

When they see PSICOM rounding up more people to be Purged, Snow tries to save them by firing a gun into the air to make them scatter. However, his actions are misunderstood and they later 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, revealing himself as Nora's son. Hope blasts Snow off a building's edge and approaches him with Lightning's knife in hand, ready to kill him. A PSICOM missile attack hits the building and knocks Hope out, sending him falling over the edge. 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, and Hope 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, Snow rests in a bedroom while Lightning tends to his wounds, 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 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.

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 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. He reveals the fal'Cie's intention 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 fly back to Cocoon, where Dysley has resurrected Cid Raines as the new Primarch and created utter chaos in the capital of Eden.

Sazh pilots the airship into the Eden Grand Prix. After saving a racer with the Shiva Sisters, Snow announces himself and 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 the 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 at first, 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 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 descend.

As Orphan's Cradle disappears, the party is left hovering midair above Eden and beginning to crystallize. 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 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 Before


The timeline is altered, Lightning disappears, and Snow, along with the others, loses his memory of their reunion and believes she must be in the crystal pillar with Vanille and Fang. He, like the others, does not believe Serah's statement that Lightning vanished somewhere. Over the next two years, with help from the Cavalry, 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. During this time, Snow and Serah are living together, becoming among the few people who 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 each are too busy to help him. After this, Snow visits Rygdea, who asks Snow to do him the favor of helping search for the remnants of PSICOM to see whether or not they were planning an armed reprisal, to which Snow agrees. Traveling to the Archylte Steppe, he encounters a herd of Cactuars. Noticing a lone Cactuar, he tries to encourage 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 their journey, Snow starts to truly believe Serah, and that Lightning vanished because she sensed something very wrong. 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 then reveals a crystal on its forehead, making Snow realize that it is a Gran Pulse fal'Cie. Snow is then drawn into the realm of the gods, where the fal'Cie Anima sent him to become 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, and continues on his journey with Cactuar.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After
After returning to Cocoon and meeting up with Rygdea again 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 also surrounded by a strange black mist. Snow takes a hoverbike from the hold and, with the help of Cactaur, lures the monsters away from the airship. Escaping the monsters, the two end up above the remains of Bodhum and Eden. They are then surrounded by the same black mist that came with the monsters and get trapped in an incomplete Time Gate. Snow is originally afraid of the black mist, but he relaxes when he realizes it does not have any wish to harm him.

They fall into the Historia Crux and emerge in the Coliseum, briefly encountering the Arbiter of Time. While there, Cactaur remembers that it is a fal'Cie, fully regaining its powers and knowledge of its task in the process. It tries to make Snow a l'Cie against his will again, but Snow refuses on the grounds that it would not make Serah happy, and that's all he ever wanted for her; Cactaur concedes. Before leaving, the Arbiter of Time says that though Snow is not meant to be there yet, he would return later. Snow and Cactuar then 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, then sees Serah's death, and a vision of New Bodhum as a desolate wasteland.

Desperate to save Serah, Snow asks Cactaur 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 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 Sunleth in 300 AF to take on the threat, with Cactaur 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 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. 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, 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 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 happens upon the city of Yusnaan. He tries to help its people, eventually becoming the Patron of the city following popular acclaim and has since been its ruler for five centuries, but nowadays his only active role is watching over the festivities. He is also, as a l'Cie, charged to protect the fal'Cie who continue to support Nova Chrysalia through its final days. He harbors regret over having been unable to save Serah, and wonders if he will see her again upon his own death. When Lightning arrives in Yusnaan, she pursues Snow, but he manages to escape her. Lightning eventually reaches Snow in his castle and challenges him to a battle, although the reason for their rivalry is yet unknown.

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 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.

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.

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. 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 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.

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.

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.

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.
 * Strangely, 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 some form of protective barrier magic. This gag is continued in Final Fantasy XIII-2 when Snow is unable to use a Time Gate to accompany Serah and Noel.
 * In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Serah and Maqui describe Snow as "tough like a behemoth"; Serah in a Live Trigger scene in Archylte Steppe's Year Unknown and Maqui in the Innocence's Sacred Sphere fragment.
 * 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 in the Lightning Saga to be a l'Cie in all three games. Along with this, he has the most active role in the stories as a l'Cie.