Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ignis

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Episode Ignis is a downloadable extra episode for Final Fantasy XV. It takes place at the same time as chapter 9 of the main game and follows Ignis Scientia as he battles through the city of Altissia to find and protect Prince Noctis.

It released on December 13, 2017, and is available for purchase via the PlayStation Network store and the Xbox Live marketplace. The episode is also included in the game's Season Pass.

Gameplay

Gameplay

The player takes control of Ignis, who uses the Spelldaggers, which can be imbued with fire, ice and lightning elements. He has a unique ability named "Total Clarity", whose effect depends on which element Ignis has currently chosen. Ignis also has a damage multiplier, which is raised by attacking enemies in quick succession and resets if he is hit by an enemy attack. In the first chapter of the episode, Ignis has a hook arm he can use to "warp", similar to Noctis in the main game.

Ignis has access to three Techniques he does not have in the main game when Noctis is in the lead: High Jump, which acts similar to Aranea's Dragoon Dive at the cost of one tech bar; and Overclock, which increases the damage dealt by normal attacks for a short time based on one of three elements at the cost of two tech bars. It also increases the rate at which Ignis's damage multiplier rises; finally, after beating the Episode once, Ignis gains access to Quick Recipeh in the main game when he is in the lead, and after acquiring the necessary items from shops during subsequent playthroughs of the Episode. Quick Recipeh allows Ignis to cook a meal mid-battle, whilst being invulnerable to enemy attacks, and give himself buffs, such as boosting the rate "Total Clarity" replenishes. The technique, however, has a chance to fail, giving debuffs such as poison.

Ravus briefly joins Ignis as a guest party member. He has a Technique known as Last Rites, in which he empowers his artificial arm with electricity and releases a Thunder-elemental AOE attack at the cost of one tech bar.

"Episode Ignis" has its own set of achievements and trophies.

Synopsis

Characters

• Ignis Scientia
• Ravus Nox Fleuret
• Ardyn Izunia
• Noctis Lucis Caelum
• Prompto Argentum
• Gladiolus Amicitia
• Lunafreya Nox Fleuret
• Caligo Ulldor
• Regis Lucis Caelum
• Pryna
• Camelia Claustra
• Weskham Armaugh

Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Altissia in war.

As the city of Altissia is being devastated by the rampaging Titan and Niflheim forces in the wake of Leviathan's Revelation, Ignis worries for the safety of Prince Noctis. Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto are on evacuation duty as Leviathan is known for her wrath, but Ignis becomes separated from the others. He makes his way toward the Altar of the Tidemother, but is pursued by Brigadier General Caligo Ulldor and defeats his MA. Afterwards, he teams up with Ravus Nox Fleuret, Lunafreya's empire-serving brother. Ravus has given up his allegiance to the empire, but only teams up with Ignis as a means to get to Lunafreya, emphasizing that he still does not support Noctis.

Once they get to the altar, Ignis finds Lunafreya's dog Pryna dying. Pryna is a Messenger of the gods who delivers a vision of Noctis fulfilling the prophecy of the True King to Ignis, who learns Noctis must die to save the world.

Ardyn threatens to kill Noctis.

Ignis and Ravus find Noctis unconscious and Lunafreya dying. Ravus flies into a blind rage, blaming Noctis for his sister's death, but Ignis quells him. Ravus mourns how Lunafreya never got to live a normal life, and how even in death her spirit will not rest until the prophecy is fulfilled. Ardyn, disguised as Gladiolus, arrives, but Ravus sees through his cover and protects Noctis and Ignis from him. The Ring of the Lucii, a divine heirloom of the Lucian monarchy that only lends its power to the rightful ring-bearer, falls from Noctis's unconscious grasp, and Ignis takes it.

After Ardyn blasts Ravus away with his magic, he asks Ignis to either join him or be killed. If Ignis refuses to join Ardyn, he puts on the Ring of the Lucii and unexpectedly and temporarily gains the power of kings, but at the cost of his vision. Ignis defeats Ardyn, gains Ravus's respect, and his eyesight is permanently damaged, sustaining a huge scar across the left side of his face. When Noctis awakes days after his battle with Leviathan, he finds Ignis watching over him.

Ignis and Noctis talk.

Knowing Noctis's fate from the vision he had seen, Ignis asks Noctis to stop the journey. Noctis refuses, as giving up would make all the sacrifices others had made for him meaningless. Ignis accepts Noctis's answer, and promises to always support him. After Noctis returns from his ten-year slumber inside the Crystal, Ignis gets to have couple last moments with him before they will head off to Insomnia to fulfill the prophecy. The two talk on the precipice by the bonfire that marks the retinue's final meal, and Noctis laments how he could not have done the journey without his friends' support, and thanks Ignis for always being there for him. Ignis cries silently as Noctis takes his hand, holding it tightly.

Verse 2

If Ignis decides to follow Ardyn after facing him in Altissia, the latter takes him to Zegnautus Keep where the empire has imprisoned the Crystal. Lunafreya's voice guides Ignis to the Crystal, telling him how only the True King fulfilling the prophecy can save the world.

Ardyn reveals his true identity.

When Ignis finds the Crystal, he is apprehended by Ardyn, who reveals he lured Ignis there as bait for Noctis, whom he wants to inherit the Crystal's power. Ardyn reveals his true identity as Ardyn Lucis Caelum, who in ancient times was to become the king of Lucis, but considers the title stolen from him by his brother, the Founder King. Rendered immortal by the Starscourge that now inhabits his very soul, Ardyn has lived for two millennia, awaiting the time he can get his revenge on the Crystal that had discarded him. Ignis knows Noctis will die if Ardyn's plan succeeds, and declares that the world means nothing to him if it means losing his friend.

Ignis puts on the Ring of the Lucii and gains its power for the price of his own life. He defeats Ardyn, but is unable to kill him as Ardyn is immortal. Ignis doesn't lose his vision, as he sacrificed his life as the blood price instead. The dying Ignis is found by Noctis, Gladiolus and Prompto, who had been brought to the Keep by Ravus. In this version of the events, the train ride through Niflheim never happens, and Prompto is never captured.

Ignis healed by Lunafreya's spirit.

Noctis grieves how incapable he is to protect those close to him, and asks for the Crystal's power to save Ignis. Phantom sylleblossom petals appear around them, suggesting influence from Lunafreya. Noctis takes the ring and walks into the Crystal, and while he sleeps in its core for ten years, the others return to Lucis. Ignis meets with their various friends and they scout the royal tombs while awaiting for Noctis's return.

When Noctis returns, Ignis is there to welcome him back. They head to Insomnia, where Ravus bequeaths Noctis the Sword of the Father and joins them in facing Ardyn in the throne room. They appear to have succeeded in killing Ardyn, as light returns to the world. Noctis, having survived his battle against Ardyn, continues to rule Lucis from the Citadel where Ignis goes to see him. Whether this means the prophecy of the True King has been fulfilled, or if Ardyn's immortal soul still lingers and the Starscourge can yet return, is unknown.

Spoilers end here.

Music

Yasunori Mitsuda, known for his work on Square Enix titles Chrono Trigger and Xenogears, is the special guest composer for Episode Ignis, and has composed three tracks for the soundtrack: "Theme of Episode Ignis", "Ravus' Theme" and "A United Front". The tracks were performed by the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra.

The team started thinking on who to hire as composer for Episode Ignis in March 2017, Mitsuda topping the shortlist. When writing Ignis's theme, it was suggested to use a single instrument to represent him. Mitsuda composed the violin solo and used it for the main melody. Mitsuda was afraid it would be lost in the loud background, but came to think it fits the game in how it represents the quiet feelings Ignis tries to hide and how he carries himself in battle.

The rest of the music was composed and arranged by Tadayoshi Makino.

Development

When the development team decided on whether Episode Prompto or Episode Ignis would be the second of the episodes to be released following Episode Gladiolus, the team ultimately chose to save Ignis's tale for last due to its impact in the main story of Final Fantasy XV, and as such had a longer development time and polish compared to the other DLC episodes.

The episode was planned to be a strategy-based/"command" RPG (like Dragon Age). Final Fantasy Tactics was also taken into consideration. It was thought this would make battles boring, so it became action-based like the main game.

The multiple endings aspect was troubling at the beginning, and the team also debated over what should happen upon Ignis wearing the Ring of the Lucii. The team started developing from the idea that loss of vision was not just for fashionable/aesthetic reasons. Because the ending of the main game was deemed to already be good, the alternate ending was developed to effectively reject the reality of the true ending and the events that lead up to it.

Gallery

Key visual.

Key visual.

Gear menu.

Trivia

Ignis in an early key art.

• Segments of the episode appear inspired by some of the early trailers. Ignis swimming in the waters of Altissia and staying in contact with his friends throughout, may be inspired by the Final Fantasy XV E3 2013 trailer where Noctis approached Leviathan by swimming and the party kept in contact via video phone. Ardyn summoning the royal arms around himself and then hurling them towards Ignis who blocks them, may be inspired by the Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailers, where the Hooded Man confronted Noctis in a similar manner. Ignis's fighting style with elements also resembles an early key art of the party fighting imperials near Titan.
• Ignis's description of what happened in Altissia when Noctis awakens in the main game does not line up with the events of Episode Ignis.
• There are some version differences between different localizations.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

• • In the English version, when Ignis puts on the ring, he claims that if a glaive can harness its power, then so can he. In the Japanese version, he says that he had heard a glaive had sacrificed himself to use the power of the ring. This appears to refer to Nyx Ulric from Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, but where Ignis heard of it is unknown, as the only people who know about Nyx using the ring are Libertus, Lunafreya, General Glauca and the Lucii, and he had never met any of them before.
  • In the Japanese version of Verse 2, Ardyn doesn't say that no one ever called him "Your Majesty", but simply tells Ignis that he should refer to him as such from now on, to which Ignis retorts that he won't serve a false king.
  • In the German and Japanese versions of Verse 2, Ignis's sacrifice changing Noctis's fate is made more apparent, saying "Changing the fate of the king requires a sacrifice." In German, Ignis never says that the world means nothing to him, only that the blood price required of Noctis is too high because he has suffered enough. In the Japanese version, Ignis say he doesn't care what happens to the world as long as he can save Noctis. Instead of saying he wants to punish the Crystal and that Noctis getting caught up in it is incidental like in the English version, in the German version, Ardyn tells Ignis his plan is to have Noctis become the True King so he can kill him. The options for sacrifice in the German version is between taking Ignis's senses (eyesight) or life, whereas the options in English are risk life or sacrifice life. If the player loses against Ardyn in Verse 2 in the English version, Ignis laments he doesn't want to die "without him", whereas in the German version he says he doesn't want to die alone. In the Japanese version, he simply doesn't want to die.
  • Only in the English version does Ignis assume Ardyn was the Founder King upon hearing his full name. In the Japanese version, Ardyn is specified as the elder brother to the king who ascended the throne.

Spoilers end here.

References

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