Hope Estheim

Hope Estheim is a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII, who also appears in a major supporting role in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. He is the son of Nora and Bartholomew Estheim.

In Final Fantasy XIII, Hope chooses to journey with Lightning to become stronger, and avenge his mother's death. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, an adult Hope heads the scientific expedition team called the Academy and he helps Serah and Noel in their quest to save the future. Hope will return as a supporting character in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, as an advisor and faraway informant of sorts for Lightning.

Final Fantasy XIII
Hope has short silver hair and light blue-green eyes. Of all the playable characters he is the shortest and the youngest. He wears a short-sleeved orange and yellow jacket with a detailed green neckerchief over a black shirt, and black gloves with white palms. He wears green cargo pants with a black storage pack hanging from a black belt over his left leg, and green boots. His l'Cie brand is on his left wrist covered by his yellow wristband.

Hope is close to his mother, always confiding in her and relying on her for protection, but he has had a distant relationship with his father ever since he reached adolescence. In Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-, Hope describes himself as helpless since he always runs away from his problems instead of confronting them. As a victim of circumstance, Hope starts off as naive, insecure, and sensitive. Hope's speech is reserved but he makes outbursts of anger and frustration whenever his emotions get the best of him. His naivety makes him quick to blame others for his misfortunes, and he is easily affected by harsh words and rash actions, especially when they involve personal subjects.

Hope turns to Vanille for emotional support and also comes to depend on Lightning as a surrogate mother/big sister figure and tries to follow her example as a former soldier to gain experience in battle and knowledge of how to survive in the world. Due to his time under her tutelage, Hope matures into an efficient fighter and is able to speak in a more straightforward manner and control his emotions. Hope becomes willing to throw himself into harm's way for the sake of others, to show his sense of humor and comfort his friends. Hope gives his companions words of encouragement and wisdom, and remains positive in otherwise negative situations, ultimately living up to his namesake.

Final Fantasy XIII-2


Hope has straight and slightly longer hair. He retains his yellow wristband, but now wears an Academy uniform of a long-sleeved yellow and white coat with a light blue necktie. He wears light gray pants, black boots, and has black and red storage packs along the left shoulder and waist of his coat. Hope keeps his boomerang, but is not seen using it often.

With the skills he gained during his time as a l'Cie, Hope has grown into an intelligent and confident leader, admired by many, but continues to show moments of vulnerability whenever he reflects on his past.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-
Hope and his mother, Nora, are on vacation in the seaside town of Bodhum to see the annual fireworks show. His father, Bartholomew, is due to join them, but calls at the last minute to cancel much to Hope's relief. Hope and Nora visit the Euride Gorge, but with buzz still circulating about the incident four days prior, they return to Bodhum.

At the fireworks festival, Hope laughs at his mother's insistence on the wish-making tradition, since he believes it is for children. He is disappointed his mother wished for his father to be with them next time, and says they are better off without him. PSICOM discovers the Pulse fal'Cie, Anima within the Bodhum Vestige. The next day, Hope and Nora are caught within the subsequent quarantine of the town and forced upon the Purge train alongside a young woman they met in line named Vanille.

Final Fantasy XIII
The Purge train is derailed by Lightning and Sazh Katzroy. Hope, Nora, and the rest of the Purgees are rescued by the resistance group NORA and their leader, Snow Villiers. Some Purgees choose to fight alongside NORA and despite Hope's silent protest, Nora joins Snow's cause. From afar, Vanille and Hope watch a bridge collapse, and Nora fall to her death after saving Snow's life.

Vanille encourages Hope to confront Snow, but he hesitates long enough for Snow to leave for the Pulse Vestige. Vanille and Hope follow Snow until they are ambushed by a group of Cie'th. Snow saves them and takes Hope and Vanille with him out of concern for their safety. Hope witnesses Serah's crystallization outside Anima's Throne and the army attacks the Vestige. After Lightning, Sazh and Snow attack the sleeping fal'Cie, it awakens and everyone present is branded a l'Cie.

In the crystallized Lake Bresha, Hope blames Snow and Serah for his new fate. Everyone decides to work together to solve their Focus, even though they identify the legendary beast Ragnarok in a shared dream vision, they believe their Focus is to destroy Cocoon.

Snow finds the crystallized Serah stuck in the crystallized lake and the others leave him behind. Hope tries to tell Snow about Nora, but Snow tells him to hurry or he will be left behind. In the abandoned ruins at the edge of the lake, the party finds an airship. Sazh attempts to pilot it, but it sustains damage from a PSICOM pursuit and crashes in the Vile Peaks.

Lightning leaves the group to outrun PSICOM and get vengeance against the Sanctum. Hope follows her seeing it as the chance to grow stronger and eventually confront Snow. The two are separated from Vanille and Sazh and decide to go through the Gapra Whitewood and Hope's hometown, Palumpolum, to catch a train to Eden. Hope takes control of a Pulsian Dreadnought and clears a path for them. Lightning's patience with Hope runs thin as he fails to keep up with her. She threatens to leave him behind and inadvertently summons her Eidolon, Odin, who attacks Hope. Lightning saves him and his aid in defeating the Eidolon persuades her to have faith in the boy and help him 'toughen up.'

In the Gapra Whitewood, Hope asks to take the lead, and Lightning teaches him how to fight; giving him her survival knife to boost his confidence. Hope reveals his hatred for Snow and conceives 'Operation Nora', his plan for revenge against Snow and Sanctum. To dissuade Hope from his goal of revenge, Lightning suggests they see his father and tell him about Nora.

To avoid the PSICOM troops stationed throughout Palumpolum, Hope leads Lightning underground into the Nutriculture Complex, where they see the fal'Cie Carbuncle, which provides Cocoon with its food. Upon hearing Hope talk about the fal'Cie treating humans like their pets, Lightning realizes fighting blindly to make up for doubt and confusion is not the answer and tells Hope to abandon Operation Nora. Returning to the surface, Lightning and Hope are ambushed by Yaag Rosch and his troops. Snow and Oerba Yun Fang arrive on the scene and Lightning forces Hope to escape with Snow. Making their way through the city, Hope asks Snow a series of personal questions to justify his belief for revenge, only to be further aggravated by Snow's answers.

After escaping an angry mob, they are attacked by a Ushumgal Subjugator. Then Hope confronts Snow about his past actions and blasts him off the building's ledge. As he prepares to kill Snow, a Sanctum airship fires shots behind Hope, sending him over the edge of the building. Snow catches him in midair and shields him from the fall with his body.

Hope awakens to find Snow had saved him. Snow apologizes for his part in Nora's death and Hope realizes he pursued revenge for the wrong reasons. The Ushumgal Subjugator returns and knocks Snow unconscious, prompting Hope to fight it alone until Lightning and Fang arrive to help. Hope returns Lightning's knife and ends Operation Nora. The reunited party travels the rest of the way to the Estheim Residence and meet Hope's father.

Hope tells his father what happened and the two repair their relationship. When PSICOM attacks the house, Snow confronts Yaag Rosch and Hope ties up his father to make him look like an unwilling accomplice. Hope promises his father to do whatever he needs to survive and complete his Focus. Rygdea and more of the Cavalry soldiers arrive, and Hope and the rest of the party leave with them, boarding the Lindblum.

They head to 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, who claims their Focus is to become Ragnarok and kill the fal'Cie Orphan, the source of all of Cocoon's power. They escape the Palamecia into the Fifth Ark, where the party's l'Cie powers are fully awoken. They are confronted by the Cavalry leader, Cid Raines, revealing himself as a Sanctum l'Cie branded by Barthandelus to help them destroy Cocoon. He turns to crystal despite going against his Focus, inspiring the party to do the same and resolve to save Cocoon. After Fang tames her Eidolon, Bahamut, Hope resolves to make his own decisions without influence from the Sanctum or the fal'Cie, and see what Gran Pulse is like for himself.

Using an old Pulsian airship, they exit the Ark out into Gran Pulse and create a base camp in the Vallis Media. The party searches Pulse for days but find no traces of human life. While Hope gathers food and supplies with Sazh's Chocobo Chick, his brand advances and he falls unconscious. Coming to later at night, Hope talks about Fang and Vanille's hometown of Oerba, and how it might have the answers they are looking for. He implores the others to go on without him but inadvertently summons his Eidolon, Alexander. After taming the Eidolon, Hope believes the Eidolons come to give l'Cie hope, not to end their journey through death. He says he will ask for help earlier next time and decides to continue on his journey with the others.

The party crosses the Archylte Steppe to the Mah'habara Subterra. In the tunnels, Hope tampers with another Dreadnought and falls into the path of the incoming fal'Cie, Atomos. A group of Dreadnoughts saves him from getting crushed, and the party uses the fal'Cie as a means of transport to travel to the Sulyya Springs. Reaching the top level of Taejin's Tower, Fang and Vanille see their home village devoid of life and color, but Hope comforts Vanille by telling her to keep having faith.

They arrive in the dilapidated village, where the party is again confronted by Barthandelus, who claims he has appointed a revived Raines as Primarch and tricked the Cavalry into destroying Orphan. The party returns to Cocoon to foil his plan, interrupting a race on the circuit in Eden with their Eidolons. They fight their way through the city and make their way to Orphan's Cradle. Reaching the Nascent Throne, the party fights Barthandelus again.

Upon Barthandelus's defeat, Orphan is awakened and everyone except Vanille and Fang are transformed into Cie'th. Remembering everything they went through, the group reverts back to normal, believing it to have been another fal'Cie trick. They save Fang from her cycle of torture at Orphan's hands and say they now have a new Focus. Hope concludes that if they have the power to destroy Cocoon, they also have the power to save it, after which everyone's l'Cie brands turn white.

After Orphan's defeat, Cocoon loses power and falls from the sky. They witness Fang and Vanille sacrifice themselves to become Ragnarok and save Cocoon, and Hope is crystallized alongside the rest of the party at the base of Cocoon's crystal pillar. Soon after, they awaken from crystal stasis with their brands wiped clean. Though Serah and Dajh Katzroy also awaken, Hope is upset Vanille and Fang have not awoken, but remains positive with Lightning's support, remarking they have defied their fate before.

Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-
Hope sees a group of soldiers from the Cavalry, and runs off to meet them with the others in tow. He learns his father is still alive. Upon hearing about Bodhum sustaining heavy damage, Hope wonders how Lightning and Snow are handling the news since Bodhum was their hometown. After Sazh leaves with Dajh, Hope remains with Snow and Serah. Another soldier comes and tells Hope his father is arriving on the next cargo transport, and Hope leaves with the soldier to reunite with him.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments Before
After history has been altered causing Lightning to disappear, Hope finds her survival knife near the base of Cocoon's crystal pillar and gives it to Serah. Two years later, Hope's father and Rygdea create the Academy to replace the Sanctum. In 3 AF, Hope joins the Academy. Within the next two years, he skips several grades and becomes leader of the Academy when he is 19 years old.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Five years later, when Serah, Noel and Mog arrive in the Paddra Ruins of Yaschas Massif in 10 AF, Hope comes to their aid during their battle against Aloeidai. Hope is glad Serah remembers him and reveals Noel and Serah's appearance in the Bresha Ruins five years ago enabled the Academy to analyze the Time Gates and predict their arrival to the ruins. He says that within the last ten years Serah was not the only one who disappeared, but Snow, Sazh, and Dajh as well. Hope says the paradoxes started happening a few years ago and believes if he can solve their cause he could see everyone again.

Hope tells them how he joined the Academy as a way to atone for what happened to Lightning, Fang and Vanille, and to build a society using man-made power. He shows Serah and Noel the Oracle Drive, an ancient device that shows images of events considered impossible. The Oracle Drive shows images of the evens leading to the Day of Ragnarok and blurry images of Lightning's fight with Caius Ballad in Valhalla. He theorizes the paradox affecting the area might be affecting the Oracle Drive and gives an artefact to Noel and Serah so they can find the cause of the paradox.

After the paradox is resolved, Noel and Serah repeat the process of being welcomed by Hope in the alternate timeline at 1X AF, before he again uses the Oracle Drive to show them the now clear images of Lightning in Valhalla. When the Oracle Drive shows images of Cocoon falling at Caius's hands, Hope resolves to do what he can to prepare for the crisis while Serah and Noel continue to fix the timeline.

Three years later, while overseeing the construction of Augusta Tower, Hope and his assistant, Alyssa, devise the Proto fal'Cie Project as a means to keep Cocoon airborne without the crystal pillar. Acting on its own from the future, the Proto fal'Cie Adam arrives to that moment in time to reprogram the tower's AI and slaughter Hope, Alyssa, and all the Academy members to maintain the time and order it is thriving in. Back in 1X AF, Hope catches a glimpse of Serah and Noel's fight with Adam in Augusta Tower in 200 AF, with Serah yelling at him for building the fal'Cie through the Oracle Drive, and abandons the project, negating his and Alyssa's future deaths. Hope begins the New Cocoon Project to build a new man-made Cocoon.

In 13 AF, Hope learns about the Thirteenth Ark through the Oracle Drive, and invents a time capsule for him and Alyssa to enter suspended animation and reawaken 387 years later in Academia 4XX AF, where the Ark is supposed to appear. Welcoming Serah and Noel to "the future they saved", Hope invites them to Academy headquarters where he tells them that after investigating the Thirteenth Ark, the Academy discovered it floats through the use of a Graviton Core. After Noel, Serah and Mog bring him the Graviton Cores, Alyssa gives them an artefact to open a new gate in the city. Hope and Alyssa go see them off.

In Academia 500 AF, Hope and a squadron of soldiers provide Noel and Serah with backup as they are attacked by Chaos Bahamut. Serah tells Hope not to follow and make sure Fang and Vanille are safe, which he does. After Caius is defeated by Noel and Serah in Valhalla, Hope learns from Sazh that Vanille and Fang have been safely removed from the crystal pillar. Cocoon falls and the new Cocoon, which Hope christens "Bhunivelze", rises.

Learning that Noel, Mog, and Serah have returned from Valhalla, Hope takes an airship to greet them only to find Serah has died. As they mourn over her, Noel reveals Serah was a seeress and was killed by her visions of the future. The world darkens and Hope catches a weakening Mog in his arms. Mog tells them the goddess Etro is gone. Etro's seal appears in the sky and Bhunivelze and everything on Gran Pulse is consumed by chaos and the world merges with Valhalla, forming the world of Nova Chrysalia.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Five hundred years later, Lightning comes out of her crystal sleep and awakens in Nova Chrysalia. Hope will aid Lightning by sending her messages via wireless communication.

In Battle


Hope's strength lies in his magic power; out of the six playable characters in Final Fantasy XIII he is the only one to learn all elemental spells as a Ravager up to the -ga level, though he lacks the -strike skills, meaning he cannot physically attack in the role. Hope's Full ATB Skill, Last Resort, deals non-elemental magic damage to random targets.

Hope is the most supportive-oriented character. As a Synergist, he is more proficient with defensive buffs, learning the Bar-Spells early, and he also learns the entire family of Cure spells as a Medic. Hope is the only character with only one offensive primary paradigm role, and is the only playable character in Final Fantasy XIII that may acquire every -ga leveled spell in all of the roles.

Hope fights with boomerangs that, thanks to Antimatter Manipulation Principle and design, he can throw once and hit multiple enemies without having to throw it again. In the Commando role, when performing multiple physical attacks using his boomerang, Hope moves his hand as if to throw it again, even though it is not in his hand. Hope is the only one able to cast Ruin without holding his weapon; this can be accomplished by choosing Attack first and stacking Ruin after.

Stats
Hope has the lowest HP of all the playable characters, but he has the highest Magic.


 * Base Statistics

Eidolon


Alexander is a non-elemental Eidolon who turns into a fortress in his Gestalt Mode. When Hope calls for Alexander, he is launched from an even larger fortress in the sky.

Hope is the only member of the main party whose Eidolon is the same gender as their l'Cie partner.

Weapons
Hope's weapons have inscriptions with the names of mythological birds; Hope's initial weapon, Airwing, has an inscription that reads "Phoenix". In Final Fantasy XIII-2 his weapon has an inscription reading "To the heavens soars the phoenix". In Final Fantasy XIII, Hope is the only character whose default weapon has a passive ability.

Hope puts his boomerang it away as his victory pose, but if seen from behind, the boomerang vanishes. Cutscenes avoid showing where he pulls it from with camera angles cutting it offscreen. It is never implicitly stated where Hope received his first boomerang; the first scene it was shown was during the scene where Vanille receives her weapon, but she did not give the boomerang to Hope. It is left unclear as to whether or not he had it with him in Bodhum.

Creation and Development
Hope was designed by Tetsuya Nomura in Final Fantasy XIII and Hideo Minaba designed his clothes in Final Fantasy XIII-2. Lightning was originally designed as a silver-haired character, but when the decision was made to make her pink-haired, the silver hair was transferred to Hope.

For Final Fantasy XIII-2 the game's director, Motomu Toriyama, felt keen to portray Hope as a more mature person; that's why he returns to the story as a grown-up who works as a leader of the Academy. The Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega producer and director interview reveals scrapped plans for a Hope DLC scenario episode, in the vein of Sazh's, Snow's and Lightning's episodes. Originally, a DLC was planned involving Hope and a journey through the Augusta Tower. Players would have ventured through the tower, completing a number of Live Triggers. The aim of DLC was to stop Alyssa from killing Hope and based on player's Live Trigger choices, player would have either continued the game or receive a game over.

There are some hints that point toward Hope being planned as a playable character for Final Fantasy XIII-2 at some point during development. He seems to have some combat data and even a chocobo riding animation, but it is unknown if these were meant for his scrapped DLC episode. A young version of Hope is found in the game data, which is not the same model as used in Final Fantasy XIII although it has the same clothes and otherwise similar appearance. It is unknown why a model of a young Hope was made for Final Fantasy XIII-2, which was never used.

Final Fantasy XIII
In Final Fantasy XIII, "Hope's Theme", composed by Masashi Hamauzu, is a melancholy tune composed with acoustic guitar representing his sensitive and vulnerable nature, as well as the emotions he goes through while coping with the loss of his mother.

There are two variants of his theme: the orchestral version is titled "Sustained by Hate", and the slow, acoustic version called "This Is Your Home".

Final Fantasy XIII: Original Soundtrack PLUS
A piano version of his theme titled, "Hope_PfNer3", is included on the album as the sixth track.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
In Final Fantasy XIII-2, "Hope's Theme - Tomorrow's Dream -" is a calm, mellow, rustic, and jazzy rearrangement of his original theme, and a variant of the main theme, "FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 ~Wishes~". It is composed with acoustic guitar, violin, and piano. While it hints at his vulnerability like his original theme, it also symbolizes his wish to bring back the people who are dear to him.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy


Hope appears as a purchasable character in the iOS version of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Hope makes a cameo appearance in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as a tutor in the in-game manual. He teaches the player about Assists alongside Fang.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Hope is featured on three cards as part of the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. One of his cards depicts a FMV shot of him in the Hanging Edge, another is his Final Fantasy XIII CG render, and the other is his Final Fantasy XIII-2 CG render. Alexander's card depicts him with Hope alongside him. Hope's cards appear within the "Wind" set.

Etymology
It is possible the name "Hope" was chosen for him, because he was somewhat "hope" for Cocoon, to free it from the control of the fal'Cie. Est is Latin for "is", whilst Heim is German for "home". Concluding, his full name means "hope is home". This is also somewhat alluded to by Lightning in Chapter 7 in Palumpolum's Nutriculture Complex, when she says he needs to find out what hope he was named for by going home and talking to his father.

Trivia

 * While Hope sometimes refers to Lightning as "Light" in the English version, he calls her "Light-san" for the rest of the game after she tells him to in the Japanese version. Presumably a minor error, Hope will sometimes call Lightning "Light" in battle shortly before the cutscene in which she tells him to do so.
 * Hope's eidolith is in the shape of a star, almost resembling the crystal in the Final Fantasy IX [[Media:FfixLogo.jpg|logo]].
 * Hope's crystal is used for the "Instrument of Change" trophy/achievement.
 * The animation sequence for Hope's full ATB skill, Last Resort, greatly resembles the White Magic spell Holy in previous Final Fantasy games. Furthermore, Alexander is the series' main Holy-elemental summon.
 * In Episode Zero -Promise-, it is revealed Hope once visited the Sunleth Waterscape on a school field trip and that Sazh was the pilot of his class's transport.
 * According to the datalog in Final Fantasy XIII-2, Hope is a favorite among the people of Academia.
 * Hope shares his Japanese voice actor, Yūki Kaji, with Ace from Final Fantasy Type-0.