[multipage=Characters]Lightning – A 21 year old former sergeant of the Guardian Corps , Lightning sought the Pulse fal'Cie, Anima, in order to ask it to save her sister Serah, whom the fal'Cie had turned into a l'Cie. However, much to her dismay, Lightning was turned into a l'Cie herself. Her l'Cie mark is in the center of her chest. Lightning has long pink hair and is 171 cm tall (5'7").

Snow Villiers – Before becoming a l'Cie, Snow is the 21 year-old leader of Team Nora, a resistance group fighting against the government of Cocoon He stands at a tall 200 cm (6'5"), and has light blonde hair under a black bandanna. Snow bears the mark of the l'Cie on his lower left arm

Oerba Dia Vanille - A 19 year-old mysterious but upbeat young girl with orange-brown hair worn in pigtails. Her name stands for "Vanille of the Dia clan, from the village of Oerba," with "Vanille" being French for vanilla. Originally residing from Oerba Village located on Gran Pulse, Vanille is a Cocoon exile at the start of the game and is subsequently rescued by Team Nora. She has a childlike innocence and is shown to be very compassionate, but at times she can also be very stubborn, and has a tendency to cry whenever she regrets a mistake.

Sazh Katzroy – A 40 year-old former airship pilot of the Military, Sazh wields dual pistols (which can be combined to form a collapsible rifle), and his strong point is striking enemies from a distance. His l'Cie mark is on his chest. He has a six-year-old son named Dajh with whom he is very close. When Dajh inadvertently became a l'Cie and was taken by Sanctum, saving him became Sazh's main motivation.[ Sazh has a pet baby chocobo that lives inside his afro. Sazh is described as having good judgment and moral discernment. He has a gentle personality and is easily moved to tears, and joins the party early in the game.

Hope Estheim - A 14 year-old boy with silvery-blonde hair and orange, yellow, and green clothing. He uses collapsible boomerangs in battle. During the Purge, his mother, Nora, offers to help Snow and Team Nora fight off PSICOM. She falls to her death during the battle, and though Snow honors her final request to protect her son,
Hope nonetheless despises Snow in a grief-induced rage for his connection to his mother's death. His l'Cie mark is on the back of his left wrist

Oerba Yun Fang - A raven-haired 21 year-old woman who comes from Oerba Village, donning clothing resembling the traditional Indian sari adorned with tribal accessories, and bearing the mark of a l'Cie on her right shoulder. Her name stands for "Fang of the Yun clan, from the village of Oerba." Though she is a l'Cie from Pulse, she originally works for the Cocoon Sanctum under Cid. It later turns out she is one of the two l'Cie given the focus to summon Ragnarok. She wields a spear that can transform into a sansetsukon in battle