Our protagonist goes by the codename "Lightning". Ex-Guardian Core, she has a personal vendetta against the Pulse Fal'cie. She achieves her vengeance only to wind up chosen to be a l'Cie. L'cie are fated to take down Cocoon.

Snow is the leader of a fighting team called Nora. Initially set up to keep monsters out of town, the group gets spurred into action by the Psicom Purge. Due to personal circumstances he seeks after the Pulse Fal'cie and becomes a l'cie as well.

Vanille was one of a group of people being "purged" from Cocoon. Before she could be sent down to Pulse she (along with Hope) was saved from exile by Snow and Nora's intervention. Encouraging Hope to speak with the Nora leader about his mother she leads the boy into the Pulse Vestige where they are both chosen as l'cie.

Sazh follows Lightning onto a Purge ship curious to what she was planning and also self-interested in reaching the fal'cie. He keeps a pet baby chocobo that lives inside his afro. He is a father figure in the game and usually produces reasonable arguments and a mature grasp of their situation once they become l'cie.

Hope is a young boy who was first seen with Vanille during the Purge scene. His mother helped fight off the PSICOM soldiers with Snow and died in battle. Her dying wish was for Snow to protect Hope. Hope holds Snow responsible for his mother's death and hates him.

Fang is a mysterious l'cie that is helping a branch of Cocoon's military. Her l'cie brand is white and does not progress like the other l'cie. Originally from Gran Pulse, Fang remembers her childhood but has forgotten all that had transpired in regards to her mission and focus. She is unaware of why her brand is white but is truly conscerned that Vanelle not become a cie'th

Serah is Lightning's sister and is a l'cie. She is also engaged to Snow. She plays a central role in the story and is featured prominently in the 7 minute trailer released at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show.

NORA is the resistance group that Snow leads. They were responsible for the hijacking of the Purge train that Vanille and Hope were on. The organization, aside from Snow, is composed of four members.

Maqui is a young blonde man in a flamboyant pink getup wearing goggles. He is not playable. He is the groups mechanic and idolizes Snow.

The second team member is Lebreau, a stunning woman with black hair and a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder. She runs a local bar to support NORA financially.

The last team member is Gadot. He is a large man with orange hair. He wears a chain with 'posse' engraved on it. He is also one of the founders of NORA and not above putting Snow in his place when necessary.

Yuj is a young blue haired boy. He is one of the younger members of NORA. He is highly interested in fashion.