6. Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII / Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII)

As the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy evolved, Claire “Lightning” Farron is forced to inhabit several different roles. She goes from a member of the military swept up in the Fal’Cie’s petty squabbles, to a guardian of a god in Final Fantasy XIII-2, then ultimately, the savior of everyone in Lightning Returns. Throughout it all, she maintains a stoicism, much to the frustration of everyone who tries to connect with her. She is duty-driven and capable, but after literal centuries of fighting, Lightning Returns asks why she insists upon walling herself off from everyone who loves her.

In this game, we meet Lumina, the personification of every vulnerability Lightning once deemed too childish to hold onto. In the end, Lightning accepts that despite her stubborn need to handle everything from saving her sister, to moving an entire universe into a new world, she needs others. Lightning can be walled off, she can feel like she isn’t relatable because she tries so hard not to be. But she’s just as broken, lonely, and loving as the rest of us.