"Tell me, do you really think your life is worth more than the lives of millions of Cocoon citizens?"

—Rosch to Snow

Lieutenant Colonel Yaag Rosch (ヤーグ・ロッシュ中佐, Yāgu Rosshu Chūsa^?) is a PSICOM officer and a major antagonist in Final Fantasy XIII. Though he had a hard time in the military academy, he graduated second in his class, just behind Jihl Nabaat, later becoming her right-hand-man and the director of PSICOM's elite division.

Rosch devotes the entirety of his life and career to the betterment of Cocoon and the protection of its citizens, and sees submission to fal'Cie guidance as being in humanity's best interest, even though their "benevolence" turned out to be a farce. He is voiced by Hiroki Touchi in the Japanese version and by Jon Curry in the English version.

DatalogEdit

Final Fantasy XIIIEdit

See also: Datalog/People.

Yaag Rosch is a PSICOM officer who graduated with results second only to his fellow trainee, Jihl Nabaat.

His leadership skills shown in joint missions with the Guardian Corps earn him the command of the anti-l'Cie operations in Palumpolum.

Despite feeling doubt over the fate of innocents during the Purge, Rosch views the brutal and thankless task of maintaining the overall stability of society to be a soldier's sworn duty.

Final Fantasy XIII-2Edit

See also: Fragment/Quiz Mastery.

Figures of Note

Colonel Yaag Rosch was an officer in the Sanctum's elite PSICOM Division.

Along with PSICOM officer Colonel Nabaat, he acted as one of the primarch's staunchest supporters. During the catastrophe, however, he chose to abort the operation ordered by the fal'Cie. Rosch redirected the military's efforts into evacuating citizens, and in doing so saved countless lives. His fate following those events is unknown, but it is assumed he was killed in action.

Appearance and PersonalityEdit

Yaag Rosch was designed by Nao Ikeda, supporting character designer for Final Fantasy XIII. His hair is silver and styled in thick, collar-length bangs spiked at the front and slicked down at the back, and a short ponytail tied with a black ribbon. He has sharp facial features, a thin scar running the length of his forehead, and blue-gray eyes. He wears the standard uniform of a male PSICOM lieutenant colonel and wears a military saber on his belt.

Rosch is a focused individual set on keeping Cocoon stable and protecting it from any threats or unclear influences except for the Sanctum. He dislikes the fal'Cie and would be happy to see them gone, but sees no good alternative to fal'Cie rule or practical way of removing them. He hides his true feelings on the fal'Cie, and rationalizes the situation to himself. All this makes him seem cold.

He is shown to be image-conscious and short-tempered when he tries to break the camera filming him while Snow and Fang are killing off his soldiers with ease, and when he gives a melodramatic, supposed to be rousing, speech to his soldiers.

StoryEdit

Final Fantasy XIIIEdit

"Who do you think it is terrified of Pulse and begging us to kill the l'Cie? It's not Sanctum. It's not us. It's the people."

—Rosch to Snow

Yaag Rosch is introduced giving orders to every soldier in Palumpolum to eliminate the l'Cie without mercy. He was given this post in part because he is thought to have a good relationship and experience with the Guardian Corps, who have been deployed in conjunction with PSICOM in Palumpolum. Rosch and his soldiers surround Lightning and Hope when they emerge from the underground, but Snow and Fang's arrival forces him to fall back.

Rosch declares Palumpolum under PSICOM jurisdiction, much to the Guardian Corps' dismay. His soldiers begin herding Palumpolum citizens, to be purged. When the l'Cie are trapped in Hope's residence, Snow emerges and tries to convince the soldiers what they are doing is wrong leading the soldiers to become uncertain about their orders; Rosch, however, argues in favor of the Sanctum, saying there is no other option.

During his speech, Rosch reveals he dislikes the fal'Cie, but follows his orders to prevent Cocoon from tearing itself apart. He and Snow argue regarding the safety of Cocoon's citizens, but are interrupted when one of Rosch's soldiers throws a smoke grenade and opens fire on his squad. Rosch is injured in the attack, and the l'Cie escape with the Cavalry's aid.

Later, the l'Cie infiltrate the Sanctum flagship, the Palamecia, in an effort to subdue Primarch Galenth Dysley and save Sazh and Vanille who are being held for a show trial and public execution. The Palamecia begins to sink due to damage caused by the l'Cie's efforts, but the l'Cie escape onboard Menrva, Dysley's rukh, which assumes the form of an airship. Rosch, pursues them in his personal airship, the Proudclad, and attempts to shoot them down. Menrva's powers protect the l'Cie, and allow them to bypass the shield surrounding the city of Eden while Rosch is denied access.

When Barthandelus begins sending creatures from the Fifth Ark to Eden to wreak havoc, Rosch assumes his duties as PSICOM Lieutenant Colonel, in addition to piloting the Proudclad in defense of the city. After tracking the party down in the city, he fights them once again. Defeated, Rosch retreats in a damaged Proudclad. He is later seen trying to protect Edenhall alone, despite seeing Sanctum fal'Cie turn his men into Cie'th. With a brief exchange he attacks the l'Cie, and is seriously wounded in the process.

The Proudclad is disabled, and the injured Rosch reveals that while he knew the fal'Cie were calling the shots, he did not realize their ultimate goal was to destroy Cocoon until it was too late. Finally seeing that the l'Cie are not the enemy, Rosch orders a halt to all of PSICOM and the Guardian Corps' l'Cie operations, and orders all troops to evacuate the populace. Shortly after the party enters Edenhall, Rosch meets a pair of Behemoth Kings. In a knowingly suicidal act, he detonates a powerful grenade to stop the creatures from pursuing the l'Cie into Edenhall.

Final Fantasy XIII-2Edit

Rosch appears as a "Quiz Rank: Lieutenant" entry for a Quiz Mastery fragment. He is noted for his actions against fal'Cie's orders by ordering the evacuation of the Cocoon society.

BattleEdit

Main article: The Proudclad

Rosch pilots his PSICOM machine The Proudclad, which is fought twice in Eden.

Other AppearancesEdit

Dissidia 012 Final FantasyEdit

Rosch makes a cameo in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as a tutor from the in-game manuals, explaining battlegen along with Jihl Nabaat.

GalleryEdit

Artwork of Rosch's saber.

Detailed artwork of Rosch's coat.

Rosch wielding his saber.

Close-up of Rosch.

Rosch standing amidst his fallen comrades and The Proudclad.

Rosch preparing to sacrifice himself.

16-bit Sprite of Rosch from Final Fantasy XIII online synopsis.

TriviaEdit

• Rosch shares his Japanese voice actor with Zhuyu Voghfau Byot from Final Fantasy Type-0.
• The official website previously stated that Rosch was Lightning's former instructor at the Academy. This information is not mentioned in the game, and it is unknown if this is due to a change in the story during development.
• "Final Fantasy XIII: The Lost Report" tells the story of Final Fantasy XIII from Yaag Rosch and Rygdea's perspectives.
• The engraving on Yaag Rosch's saber reads "RBTSKJRZZ" in the script of Cocoon. These letters are the romaji initials of the popular Buddhist mantra "臨 ・ 兵 ・ 闘 ・ 者 ・ 皆 ・ 陣 ・ 裂 ・ 在 ・ 前". The mantra means "Come warriors, fight as one, ready in formation, line up and take position in front".