Noel Kreiss

Noel Kreiss is a playable character and the male protagonist in Final Fantasy XIII-2. He is the last remaining human from 700 years in the future, and has traveled into the past hoping to change that fate. After meeting Lightning by chance, he saves Serah Farron from monsters and accompanies her on her quest to find her sister.

Appearance and Personality
Noel is a young man with unruly shoulder-length brown hair and striking blue eyes. He wears a black V-neck shirt designed with tribal patterns and a pair of angel wings on the back, along with a simple pendant. On his left arm is a metal bracer, while his right arm is wrapped with cord while he wears a ring on his right hand. He wears large blue -style pants with decorated hems, and low-cut sandal-like leather shoes. A green pouch and hunter's knife are attached to his belt in the back, which itself is adorned with small lavender ties made of cloth. Under the angel wings on the back of Noel's shirt and on his dagger, there are lines of Etro script. The sword Noel wields with his right hand has two blades stylized like red flames, while the sword he wields with his left hand is a simple yellow-brown blade similar to a gladius. His two-bladed sword is capable of holding his yellow sword within the hollow metal part of the hilt. Both swords are also capable of combining and forming a spear that also functions as a javelin.

Noel presents himself as a cocky, cheerful, confident but soft-spoken person. He is also a self-sufficient hunter and fighter. Due to the effects of a time paradox, Noel suffers from memory problems. Coming from a future where humanity was almost non-existent, he has some trouble with his speech, so he tends to speak in a straightforward yet fragmented manner, but he is always excited to go to new places and meet new people. Noel is also defined by his strong determination to protect his loved ones, evident by how he is strongly protective towards Serah despite hardly knowing her. He is also able of easily asserting himself to others, and remaining calm and collected when facing people with provoked anger such as the members of NORA. However, as a remnant from his time period, Noel strongly values life and is very reluctant to hurt other people unless forced too. This value also makes him have an initial dislike for Snow for his brash personality, always believing himself to be "the hero," and seemingly abandoning Serah and leaving her to fend for herself. In a similar manner to Lightning, Noel firmly stands by his beliefs and morals.

Noel will have at least two costumes as part of the game's downloadable content: his "Brave in Blaze" costume was released in January 2012, and his "Ezio Auditore" costume will be released at a later date.

Story
The last living human on Gran Pulse, Noel is burdened until he eventually meets and befriends Caius Ballad and Paddra Nsu-Yeul, becoming the latter's unofficial guardian. After killing a Behemoth, Noel is acknowledged by Caius to be strong enough to become the new guardian for Yeul. However, learning that it means that he would have to kill Caius, Noel refuses to go through it while intending to take Yeul to find other people so that she will not be lonely anymore. But once learning Caius's plan to have himself die so that the Goddess Etro would follow and the Chaos in Valhalla distorts all time, Noel is forced into a fight and defeated as Caius leaves for Valhalla to go through with his resolve and free Yuel from her fate.

After Caius vanishes, Noel finds Yuel praying at the shrine at the end of her life. Though she wished for a bit more time, a dying Yuel promises a tearful Noel that they will meet again before she disintegrates into light. Noel then embarks on a journey to find Valhalla and become a warrior worthy to be recognized by Etro, like Caius, and gain the power to change his fate.

Managing to find a way to enter the Historia Crux, Noel regains consciousness just as he falls out of Etro's Gate over Valhalla. He is saved by Lightning flying on Bahamut just before her aerial battle with Caius as Chaos Bahamut. Recognizing Noel from her vision, Lightning tells him to guide Serah to Valhalla and work together with her to change the future. She gives him a moogle named Mog to keep Serah safe before Lightning covers Noel's escape as Caius summons a large meteor over the shrine, crushing it as he barely reached the time gate. But in the process, Noel loses most of his memories.

Arriving on the time gate's meteorite form in 3 AF at New Bodhum, Noel comes to Serah's aid when she is attacked by monsters, handing her the crossbow for her to defend herself. After taking care of the monsters, they tend to an injured Lebreau before Noel introduces himself to Serah, and tells her that Mog is her new 'lucky charm' and gift from Lightning. After Serah asks Noel if he met Lightning in Valhalla, he asks her how she knows about that. Serah tells him that she saw them and Mog in a dream. As everyone goes to investigate the crystal meteorite that crashed earlier, an anomaly causes Cocoon to suddenly vanish, and a Gogmagog emerges from a rift. After defeating it and arriving at the crash site, Noel tells Serah they are seeing images from a bleak future. Then he tells her that he is from 700 years in the future and offers her to take Lightning before ending up in a minor confrontation with Gadot as the rest of NORA watches before Serah comes to his defense. Then Noel takes Serah's hand and places against the meteor, showing that it's actually a time gate. He says that Lightning is in Valhalla, waiting on the other side.

Later, he tells Serah and NORA his story, and tells them about artefacts, though some of them still remain skeptical of his claims. The next day, Serah remains slightly skeptical of Noel's claims. He tells her there is a lot that he does not understand himself, but if they find an Artefact, then they can both put their doubts to rest. Noel and Serah ask the locals for information, during which they find Serah's pet cat and Lightning's knife. She eventually tells Noel about Snow and his promise to find Lightning for her, causing Noel to ask Serah whether or not she is waiting for Snow in vain. She eventually uncovers the Artefact needed for her and Noel to use the time gate. Then Noel says to Serah that he can tell she still doubts him, and tells her to ask him anything she wants an answer to. She asks him what he wants, and he replies a future with people living in it. He reveals to her that he is the last human alive in his time, how he wishes to change that, and how Lightning gave him hope and the chance to do so. After fighting another Gogmagog, they make their way to the time gate. When Serah finally decides to join him, Noel asks her if she wants to say goodbye to the others in case of the chance of never coming back but she refuses, knowing how they feel about everything. The members of NORA appear to see them off though Gadot still expresses aggression towards Noel for Serah's safety, but Noel vows that he will protect Serah since this is for her sake.

They enter the time gate and fly through the Historia Crux, with Noel explaining to Serah that it's the crossroads of the time continuum. They come out into the Bresha Ruins in 5 AF, and Noel is in awe seeing how Cocoon looks from the inside for the first time. However, immediately upon arrival, they are attacked by a giant arm. Noel pushes Serah out of the way before it hits them and prepares to fight. The arm knocks him aside and Serah charges it, with Noel joining her. During the battle, Noel scales up the arm and strikes what he believes to be an invisible giant. Afterward, PSICOM warships fire upon the giant Atlas, causing it to retreat further into the Ruins. Noel and Serah are promptly taken into custody by PSICOM, but are soon freed by Academy scientist, Alyssa Zaidelle. Learning that she wants to learn about the gates and paradoxes, he explains to her that as long as Atlas is around causing trouble, the Ruins will be closed off and she will not be able to get any answers. Noel offers to stop Atlas with Alyssa helping him and Serah as their faraway informant.

At one point, they witness a defeated monster become a crystal. To both Noel and Serah's surprise, Mog speaks for the first time and says it is now under their control, causing Noel to remember Lightning having an army of monsters in battle with her. They go into the underground tunnels to find a machine that Alyssa claims is capable of controlling Atlas. Standing before a time gate, Noel gets concerned for Serah and asks her if she is having visions again. Upon finding the device, however, Atlas's hand appears and pulls them into the Temporal Rift. Solving the anomaly activates the machine, causing it to weaken Atlas, enabling Noel and Serah to defeat him by destroying the crystal on his head. With Atlas now gone, the Bresha Ruins are restored to their former glory. Upon finding a nearby graveyard, Alyssa appears and shows them the grave of a friend of hers who died during the Purge, revealing that she is a Purge survivor.

Noel, Mog, and Serah eventually re-enter the Historia Crux and travel to the Yaschas Massif -010 AF-. They see the area darkened by a solar eclipse and wonder if it's because of a paradox. Trying gain entry into the Paddra Ruins, an Aloeidai appears to challenge them. As the monster is sucking them into a vortex after its defeat, they are saved by the Academy leader, a 24-year-old Hope Estheim, who reveals to have full knowledge of Noel due to the events at Bresha five years ago. Noel and Serah also meet up with Alyssa, who is now Hope's assistant. After learning from Hope that a tribe of Farseers once lived in the ruins, Noel runs off in amazement as the others look on in confusion, looks into the sky and softly asks, "Can you see me now? Standing here in this place..."

Later, Hope and Alyssa talk more about how the Seers had the ability to see the future, and a priestess named Yeul, who had foretold the city-state's destruction. Noel uses one of Hope's tools, an ancient device called the Oracle Drive, and induces a vision of Lightning and the events leading up to Fang and Vanille's sacrifice to save Cocoon ten years before. Hope then uses the device and everyone sees grainy images of Lightning's battle with Caius in Valhalla.

At Oerba in 200 AF, Noel, Serah and Mog see the area being torn apart by a void. Mog says it's because of different time periods merging together. After restoring the village by solving some anomalies, Serah activates the Oracle Drive on the old schoolhouse, producing images of her reunion with Lightning. Noel and Serah are then confronted by Caius and his companion Yeul, who appears behind them saying that she has seen them. Noel grabs Yeul, saying her name but she tells him that she is not his Yeul. Caius tells them Yeul does not exist as a single person, and that he has come to punish them for tampering with time. After battling Caius, he tells them that they will pay for their crimes with blood and sends blades of magic towards them. Noel constantly pulls Serah out of the way to protect her before Caius manages to take them down. Noel tells Caius that he doesn't want to fight him but Caius does not listen. Before he can kill Noel, Yeul steps in, saying time has already been changed and she and Caius leave.

Returning to the Yaschas Massif in 10 AF, they see an alternate reality where the paradox is no more and the eclipse is over. Upon entering the ruins, Yeul appears to Serah and Noel, giving Serah a cryptic message before leaving. Noel tells Serah that in his time, the world fell into ruin after the fall of Cocoon. A panicking Alyssa asks Noel if Cocoon is going to fall soon but to her relief, he says that it will happen in a couple of centuries. Serah assures him that it does not have to be that way, and they could change the future and prevent Cocoon from falling.

In The Void Beyond, Noel says that the place resembles Valhalla. Serah asks if Lightning is here and he says that she is not since the area looks vastly different. As Serah begins to doubt the possibility of finding her sister, Noel tells her a legend about Etro that recites: "'Never give up, for the Goddess Etro watches always, and helps those who help themselves,'" and how thinking about those words helped him through hard times. Noel reassures Serah that they are one step closer to Lightning with each time gate they pass through. After he, Mog, and Serah arrive at the Sunleth Waterscape in 300 AF, they come across a trail of Miniflan. Seeing more of them appear out of nowhere, they guess that it is because of a paradox. Then Serah has another vision and Noel catches her as she falls unconscious. She knocks Noel down after coming to and frantically runs off. Noel follows her and they find Snow being attacked by a group of Miniflan. As he tries to protect Serah from Royal Ripeness, Noel comes to their aid. He tells Snow that he will handle things and that he should go, but Snow shoves him aside and the three of them fight the monster together. However, the Miniflan come together and reform the monster, causing the party to retreat at Noel's insistence.

Afterward, Noel criticizes Snow for wanting to stay behind and fight, telling him that people like him who do not know when to retreat don't live long enough. Snow rashly rubs off Noel's comment before the latter tells him to stop being full of himself, and that humans are weak and can die easily. Serah introduces Snow to Noel before the boy comments about how Snow is turning out to be a hothead after hearing everyone say that he was a great guy. After Serah explains why she and Noel are there, he demands to know why Snow left her and what he is doing in the future. Hearing Snow explaination about Lightning asking him to protect Cocoon's crystal pillar in a dream, Noel decides to put their differences aside and work with him. The three of them see the trail of Miniflan and decide to follow them in the hopes of finding an Artefact.

As the party follows the Miniflan, they come to a valley where Noel believes they should turn back when a giant Enlil appears. Snow tries to get its attention, causing a cautious Noel to tell him not to encourage the creature into attacking them. After Snow gets Enlil's "permission" to ride on its back, Noel warns him that Enlil can swallow him whole, but Snow disregards Noel's warning and jumps onto Enlil's back. Serah, Noel and Mog follow suit and they all manage to get through the valley. They soon find some Miniflan gathered around an Artefact. Defeating the creatures puts it in the party's possession. Noel asks Serah and Snow what a theme park is before learning that Fang and Vanille were similar to him in how they were also from Pulse, and found soon themselves in an unfamiliar world. Noel says he would get along with them and Snow says that he will introduce them to him someday. Coming at a gate, Noel tells Snow not to do anything stupid and wait for him and Serah to return.

In the Coliseum, Noel, Serah and Mog encounter the Arbiter of Time, who demands them to leave while mentioning an omen of sorts. Noel believes the omen to be an Artefact, and tries to bargain with the creature. He gestures Serah to stay back and tells the Arbiter of Time they will leave in exchange for the omen, and the creature vanishes leaving an Artefact behind. Serah says Snow is waiting for them and Noel replies that he is not waiting quietly. Serah compares Snow to Lightning, as they both like to charge ahead. Noel however replies "Charging ahead into an early grave." He says that Snow thinks he is everyone's boss, and is the type to charge into danger without thinking about what he does and abandons concern for their own safety. He says Snow is the type to believe that self-sacrifice will save everyone but ultimately gets innocent people killed. Serah tells Noel that he has risked his own life many times without a second thought to help her, causing an angered Noel to tell her that unlike Snow, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality and not to compare him to Snow, still believing that he abandoned her without considering how it might hurt her.

They return to Sunleth and use another time gate. Arriving in the Archylte Steppe in an unknown year, Noel saves Serah from nearly being trampled by a group of hunters riding Chocobos, and being a hunter himself, Noel believes they are chasing after prey. Learning that the cause of a storm in the area is a dragon sucking Miniflans thorugh its mouth, they figure that it's the cause of the anomaly in the Sunleth Waterscape. After Noel and Serah defeat Faeryl and resolve the anomaly causing Royal Ripeness to continue growing, Noel says they should hurry before Snow does something foolish. He tells Serah that he never thought about the fact that she is separated from someone important to her since he grew up in a world where people never knew when they would have to part, and they had to cherish every moment like it was their last. Returning to Sunleth, they find Snow not waiting for them as he promised. They find him on the ropes in front of the monster's reduced size.

After defeating it for good, Noel asks Snow why he continued fighting despite knowing he didn't stand a chance. Hearing his answer, Noel tells Snow that he hates people like him more than anything. Furious, Noel yells at him, accusing him of never truly saving anyone or thinking about how the consequences of his actions might hurt the people he is supposed to protect. Snow tells Noel that he has been looking after Serah, and he must have protected loved ones back in his own time. Noel says that he couldn't protect them all which is why he is now all alone. Then Snow says that Noel is right like he said before, about not being able to return to the people you have protected if you do not live long enough. Snow then entrusts Serah's safety to Noel and starts to glow and turn transparent. Noel thinks it is because Snow does not belong in this time and the paradox had been dealt with. Serah notices a Pulse l'Cie brand on Snow's arm before he fades away. As Serah despairs, Noel says that Snow might not had been transformed by force but may have asked for it. Serah says that no one would ask to be made a l'Cie but Noel says Snow probably did it for the power to accomplish a mission he could not normally do. He also says that people like Snow would become l'Cie of their own free will for the power to protect others. He says that he despises people like that but understands how they feel.

Back in the Void Beyond, Noel asks Serah if she has had any more dreams ever since they met, and she tells him that she has not had any more dreams. Serah asks Noel about Yeul and if she is also traveling through time like them and Snow. Noel believes that the Seer tribes had a girl with the same appearance and power, so the name Yeul must have been passed down through the generations. When Serah asks him how his era will change if they solve all the paradoxes, Noel believes it will be a future where he does not exist but is fine with it if that were the case, because they would not being suffering so much if they hadn't met to begin with.

They arrive at Academia in 400 AF, where people mysteriously transform into Cie'th as Noel, Mog, and Serah watch. Caius appears behind them, calling them enemies as they are contradictions in the timeline, giving him enough reason to kill them. He says that they unlocked the sealed history within a tower two hundred years ago and have appeared before him, a paradox in itself. Serah asks if it is an event that has not happened yet. Noel tells Caius that he has no intention of killing him, but Caius does not listen, summons a horde of Cie'th and leaves Serah and Noel to die.

They soon find Yeul wandering the streets alone and being attacked by Cie'th. Afterward, Noel helps her up but she is then grabbed and thrown by Zenobia, prompting the angered boy to charge it. Then Noel holds Yeul in his arms as she tells him about her vision of death, and how she is a contradiction to the timeline as long as she lives. Serah frets that their actions ultimately making the fate awaiting Yeul unavoidable. They use the Artifact given by Yeul to travel 200 years in the past, to the Augusta Tower

There, Noel and Serah learn that Hope had created a Proto fal'Cie to keep Cocoon airborne without its pillar. As they explore the tower, they notice there is something off about people, and also see Caius wandering around. Noel, Serah and Mog eventually meet an artificial duplicate of Alyssa. As they ascend the levels of the tower, a blurry video of Hope, Alyssa, and other scientists being attacked by machines plays. Then Alyssa disassembles into blocks of light and forms several machine monsters for Serah and Noel to fight. When she reappears, she tells them they just saw a paradox illusion of the incident that occurred in the tower 187 years ago: Hope and the real Alyssa were killed as they were in the way of the Proto fal'Cie Adam's A.I. The Alyssa replica disappears again leaving Noel and Serah to fight again. Afterward, she reappears, telling them they now know the tower's sealed history and therefore can never leave and disappears for good.

On the tower's top level, they encounter the same Yeul from Oerba, who gives them an Artefact and implores them to protect time. Then she reveals to them that Caius is immortal and retains memory of all timeline events. Yeul tells them that even before they had met, history had been changed in accordance to the changing future. She says that Lightning disappeared because the future had changed and if Serah and Noel solve the paradoxes, then the past will return to how Serah remembers it. Yeul also tells them the Caius from Academia was a copy made by the Proto fal'Cie Adam, the source of the paradox, then implores that they show her a new future. Noel, Mog and Serah emerge from a time gate and enter a battle against Adam, who unfortunately keeps returning whenever defeated until Serah manages to get it erased from existence by scolding Hope out loud for creating it in hope that it appears on the Oracle Drive. Grabbing her as she begins to fall over the platform's edge, Noel becomes concerned when has another vision of the future and fall unconscious again.

The trio then returns to Academia in 400 AF to find another alternate reality, where the city is peaceful and the Proto-fal'Cie gone. Hope and Alyssa appear with the former saying this is the future they had protected. Serah and Noel are cautious from the events of Augusta Tower, but their minds are promptly put at ease. At Academy headquarters, they learn that three years after their last meeting with Hope and Alyssa, Hope created the plan for the Proto fal'Cie but scrapped it after seeing Serah yelling at him through the Oracle Drive, and he and Alyssa went into the future in a time capsule. They have now devised a plan to build a "man-made" Cocoon that will be made airborne through the use of Graviton Cores. After finding the Cores, Noel and Serah get an Artefact from Alyssa. Before they leave through a new time gate, Hope and Alyssa come to see them off. Hope tells them how his friends saved him from being consumed by despair, and how Serah's wish for him and the others to save Cocoon motivated them to work together, and that to this day, Fang and Vanille continue to fulfill that wish.

After entering the Historia Crux, Noel becomes separated from Serah and Mog. In the Void Beyond, an overcome Noel kneeling on the ground is stabbed in the back by Caius. He falls as Chaos emerges from his body and disappears in a dream world based on his homeworld, reliving the highlights of his past without acknowledging Serah watching and following him.

However, when he is being pulled off the ground towards a light in the sky, Serah grabs hold of his arm and calls out to him, causing him to remember her. As they levitate, she tells him that he was in an endless dream born out of the kindest memories from his past. He thanks her, saying that all people have to wake up from their dreams sooner or later. Falling out of the sky together, they battle Gogmagog. Light is restored to the Dying World and Noel tells Serah that he has regained his memories. He tells her that a Seer's power to have visions of the future shortens their lifespan, and they therefore die young, just like how Yeul died at only fifteen years old. Despite now having full knowledge of soon dying from her cursed power, Serah decides to continue in their quest to change the future since it's what Lightning wants them to do. Activating the Oracle Drive at the shrine, making fun of Mog, Noel finally gets closure with Yeul and vows to settle things with Caius once learning that he is the one causing the paradoxes.

They emerge from a paradox and find themselves in what appears to be New Bodhum in 700 AF. The village is now converted into a wasteland, and Noel calls it similar to his own era. On the beach, Lightning emerges from a paradox before them, and says they are in a future that she could not save. After Lightning explains everything to them, she says that Caius plans to destroy Etro while she sleeps in Valhalla and unleash an immense amount of Chaos out into the world through an unseen doorway that opens for the souls of the departed. Hearing Lightning say the door would open wide enough if a large amount of people died all at once, Noel says that would be possible if Cocoon fell. Then Lightning says if that were to happen, then a world of Chaos would appear and time will become meaningless. After Serah says that world will essentially become like Valhalla itself, Lightning believes that it is Caius's plan to create a timeless world. Noel says that Caius wants to sacrifice countless lives and remake the world in order to save Yeul from her cursed fate. Serah asks Lightning if they will be together again when the fight is over. Lightning says "One thing at a time, Serah," and leaves as Noel watches.

Then in Academia at 500 AF, he, Mog, Serah traverse the city's floating block platforms. At one point, they hear Yeul's voice telling them not to fight Caius and risk killing Etro but Noel says they have made the choice to go onward. While approaching Academy HQ, Caius as Chaos Bahamut swoops down at them before flying off towards the new Cocoon. A horde of monsters appear to challenge them but Hope and a squadron of soldiers arrive to give them backup support. Atop a PSICOM warmech piloted by Sazh Katzroy, they fight Chaos Bahamut. He damages the airship but Serah saves Noel from falling over before Caius challenges them again in human form. When Caius is about to strike Serah, Noel intercepts him and protects her with Caius telling Noel he would have made a worthy guardian. When Sazh flips the airship vertically, he and Serah strike Caius in midair together, sending him flying. A wormhole opens in the sky and Chaos Bahamut flies into it. Another warship pulls up beside them with Hope telling them that they can catch Caius. Serah however implores Hope to go back and make sure Fang and Vanille are safe, which he does.

Noel, Mog, and Serah jump into the wormhole and come out in Valhalla. Odin saves them from their fall before they face off against Caius on the beach. Noel asks Caius if he believes causing destruction will make Yeul happy. He says that in her last moments, she always smiled because she believed that she would be reborn and be able to meet him again. However, Caius does not listen and Noel clashes blades with him before slashing him down. Caius eventually comes back to life in the form of Jet Bahamut. As he attacks them, Noel tries to cover Serah from the blast. As they fall into an bottomless abyss, they are saved by Lightning, who pulls them back towards the surface.

After the final battle, Noel tells Caius that he still does not intend to kill him, even for Yeul's sake. Caius tries to force Noel to kill him by saying that he defeated Lightning and sentenced her to an eternal sleep. As Noel still refuses to kill him, Caius threatens Serah, provoking Noel to take action. He stops himself from stabbing Caius at the last second, telling his former mentor he cannot have everything his way. However, Caius takes Noel's blade and forces it through himself while telling him to bear the eternal paradox. As Chaos slowly leaves Caius's body, Noel laments how Caius had been consumed by despair due to watching so many Yeuls die. But Noel only wants to be with the Yeul he knew, knowing that they will meet again someday. Taking Ragnarok, Noel places it in front of its owner as a grave marker while hoping Caius finds peace.

Noel, Serah and Mog leave Valhalla and return to Pulse in 500 AF to find Bhunivelze afloat. Serah thanks Noel but suddenly has another vision, dying in his arms. When Hope arrives from Academia to greet them, Noel silently tells him that Serah didn't make it as he continues to hold her. As Noel mourns Serah and how he failed to protect her, the world turns dark and Mog begins to weaken as he reveals that Etro is no more. Then Noel remembers Caius's words about the Heart of Chaos, realizing that he unknowingly played into Caius's scheme and killed the goddess as Grand Pulse is consumed by Chaos.

Abilities and Equipment


Noel fights with two swords as his weapons, which he can combine them into a spear to jab enemies, and throw it like a javelin. Noel also has the ability to capture and tame monsters, who then fight alongside him and Serah on their journey. Noel begins with the Commando, Ravager, and Sentinel roles. He majors as Commando, Synergist and Medic. Noel's Full ATB Skill is Meteor Javelin.

Weapons

 * See: Noel's Swords

Creation and Development
As with the other playable characters in Final Fantasy XIII-2, Noel's face was designed by Tetsuya Nomura, while his body and clothes were designed by Yusuke Naora. Noel was first revealed in screenshots and a teaser video from the 2011 E3 trailer of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Noel is designed as a newcomer character who knows little about Cocoon and Gran Pulse, because the developers wanted to have Noel in a similar position to a newcomer player to Final Fantasy XIII.

Developers also draw several differences between Noel and Snow. Toriyama describes Noel as "having a different type of chivalry from Snow", while Yoshinori Kitase describes Noel as "attractive and stylish", as opposed to Snow being "the tough guy type". Comparing him to Lightning, Toriyama calls Noel "a brave young man burdened by a heavy destiny – a different type of a protagonist to Lightning".

As said by Kitase, Noel was created as a male protagonist with a similar age to Serah as a counterpoint after she was named the main female lead. Noel's appeal as a character comes from the fact that he comes from a vastly different environment from Serah's, therefore making him "a protagonist well beyond his years."

Square Enix has collaborated with Ubisoft and this has allowed them to offer a downloadable costume for Noel. The costume is Ezio Auditore's appearance from the latest game in the Ubisoft franchise of Assassin's Creed - Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

Musical Themes
In Final Fantasy XIII-2, "Noel's Theme," composed by Naoshi Mizuta, is a slow, brooding, and acoustic orchestral variant of the main theme, "Wishes." It represents the loneliness that Noel feels due to being the only human left in his time, and his desire and determination to change the future.

He has another theme, titled "Noel's Theme ~Last Journey~," which is a lyrical version of his original theme with vocals performed by KOKIA. Variants of his theme include the main Battle Theme, "The Last Hunter," "Full Speed Ahead," and the melancholy orchestral version titled, "Memories for the Future." His theme is also heard in "Etro's Gate," "Endless Paradox," and the "Closing Credits."

Etymology
"Noël" is French for "Christmas," but originates, like other Latin-derived language forms for the word, from the Latin "Natalis," which means "Birth." In German, "Kreis" means "Circle"; the second "s" may be added purely for pronunciation.

Trivia

 * Noel Kreiss shares certain characteristics with Fang, who was originally designed as a male character, in the ways that he has a straight-forward cocky personality, has trouble remembering parts of his past, wears tribal clothing with a similar color palette and has a red double-bladed weapon that can also be used as a spear.
 * Noel appears on the 500th cover of Dengeki Playstation magazine with Lightning, Serah, Noctis, Machina Kunagiri, and Rem Tokimiya.
 * Yusuke Naora said that he based the colors of Noel's Flame Fossil sword, red and yellow, on those of the original nameless protagonist from Final Fantasy III in Yoshitaka Amano's artwork.
 * Along with Noel's sword design notes, it should be noted that most of the names of his swords are taken from Zidane Tribal's Thief Swords, such as Exploda, Rune Tooth and The Tower.
 * Aside from the angel wings on his shirt, the silver blade in the center of Noel's red sword also has angel wings.
 * In Noel's memories, it is revealed that he chose to fight with two swords because he wasn't able to best Caius with a single blade.
 * In a Live Trigger in New Bodhum -003 AF-, he proclaims that his favourite food is Adamantoise, even though they are not present in his hometown, a Dying World.
 * Coincidentally, Noel is one of the names randomly selected for pixie-type enemies in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift.