She first appeared as a playable character and the main protagonist in the role-playing video game Final Fantasy XIII, in which she is a resident of the artificial world of Cocoon.

Lightning was created by Motomu Toriyama, the director and scenario writer of XIII, and designed by regular Final Fantasy artist Tetsuya Nomura.

Lightning has received mixed commentary from critics—much of it relating to her cold personality, which was compared to that of Final Fantasy VII's protagonist Cloud Strife.

Her role in Lightning Returns met with mixed reception: some critics saw her as underdeveloped and unlikable, while others found her better developed and more human than in previous games.

[4] Because of the graphical capacities of Final Fantasy XIII's prospective platforms, Nomura was able make Lightning's design more detailed than his previous work, hilighting her cape and facial features.

[10] Her weapon in XIII, the Blazefire Saber (known as Blaze Edge (ブレイズエッジ, Bureizu Ejji) in the Japanese version), mirrors the ability of the game's Eidolon summoned monsters to transform into animal-, human- and vehicle-like shapes.

[28][a] Toriyama wanted Lightning to be a type of female character previously unseen in Final Fantasy games, one with an athlete's body and a less feminine nature.

[30] Nomura compared the two shortly before the Japanese release of Lightning Returns, saying that he had "desired for her to be carefully developed and loved for a long time, like Cloud.

[33] Daisuke Watanabe, writer for the XIII trilogy, paid particular attention in the original game to fleshing out Lightning's non-romantic relationship with Snow, and to showing her development as a person while protecting Hope Estheim.

[35] Designer Yuji Abe elaborated that, because of her losses and newfound vulnerability, Lightning came across as darker, slightly numbed to her surroundings, and "like a puppet, like someone who doesn't quite have her real self inside".

[36] The decision to expand her personality in this way was originally suggested by producer Yoshinori Kitase, who was concerned that Lightning's coolness in previous games had made it difficult for players to bond with her.

Voicing Lightning was initially strange as she was used to gentler roles such as Aerith Gainsborough, a central character in Final Fantasy VII and its companion media.

[40] Hillis was given the role of Lightning after speaking a few of the character's lines during audition, and was then given a book about the Final Fantasy XIII universe, which she found a little "overwhelming" when she read it.

[48] Throughout the game, Lightning struggles to deal with her nature as a l'Cie, her anger at being made Cocoon's enemy, and her guilt at disbelieving Serah's story.

[54] Lightning chooses to stay in Valhalla and atone of the deaths she caused as a l'Cie by protecting the dying Etro from Caius Ballad, an immortal man with a grudge against the goddess.

[55][56] Lightning eventually asks Serah and Noel Kreiss to help her stop Caius from ending time, which he plans to do by releasing a supernatural energy dubbed "chaos" into the mortal world.

As the world is on the brink of ending, Lightning is chosen as the Savior, a spiritual guide for humanity, which has ceased to age due to the influence of chaos.

[92] Lightning appears in a live-action PlayStation commercial titled "Michael", alongside characters such as Nathan Drake, Kratos and Cole McGrath.

[100] While Final Fantasy XIII was in development, Todd Ciolek of Anime News Network was unimpressed by Lightning, whom he called a "businesslike blank".

[103] 1UP.com's Jeremy Parrish commented that, barring scenes in which Lightning shows a thoughtful side, she is "your typical, sullen [Square Enix] protagonist".

[105] Martin Robinson of IGN UK said that Lightning "instantly endears herself" in comparison with Hope or Snow, but that her generic backstory made her less relatable overall.

[114] Parish, writing for USGamer, stated that Lightning had become "downright apathetic", further noting that her lack of personality clashed with the in-game ability to dress her in costumes.

[115] By contrast, Parkin commented that certain side quests, such as herding sheep or retrieving a girl's doll, helped to humanize Lightning and make her likable.

[116] Similarly, Destructoid's Dale North found that the costumes and dialogue lighten her character: he argued that these elements make her less "flat and lifeless now, which is a big improvement".

[119] Matthew Prichard of The Escapist had mixed thoughts, finding her well written and escaping many common archetypes for female characters, but disliked the revealing nature of her costumes.

[120] In a VideoGamer.com list of the ten best Final Fantasy characters, Lightning was placed sixth; writer Yin-Poole found her interesting in her own right despite her similarities to Cloud.

[121] In 2011, IGN ranked Lightning among the best characters in the Final Fantasy series, saying that she demonstrated that "a delicate balance can exist between strength and tenderness, even in the midst of ... incredible acrobatic feats".

[129] In a Famitsu poll from 2017, Lightning was voted as the second most wanted character fans expect to be featured in Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts franchise, being surpassed only by Noctis Lucis Caelum from Final Fantasy XV.

[130] In the book The Music of Nobuo Uematsu in the Final Fantasy Series Richard Anatone describes Lightning's original theme as one that transcends gendered generalizations and helps to show her personality, making her stand out within the main cast even if none of them were the sole leading character.

[132] Interactive Storytelling for Video Games: Proven Writing Techniques for Role describes her as a mother figure trying to take care of her sister, contrasting against her initial stoic portrayal in the opening sections.