RPG Talk: Final Fantasy XV - Episode: Ignis

Unlike the other Final Fantasy XV party member DLCs, Episode: Ignis is flawlessly integrated with the main game, so at no point do you feel something was missed or rushed. It takes place at a time when Ignis is naturally away from Noctis, during the attack on Altissia, because all the party members are separated from him. This also means that unlike Gladio and Prompto's episodes, it's harder to see where his story is going or what it's going to cover.

In some respects, that's a good thing. Episode: Ignis's most dramatic moments are ones we had no idea existed, and make perfect sense given that Ignis is not the type of guy to toot his own horn. But on the other, Episode: Ignis is not really a self-contained story. It covers things we didn't see in the battle of Altissia, and heck it even fleshes out Ravus and Ardyn's motivations in ways the original game neglected, but even though Ignis makes for a compelling protagonist, the story told is not about him in the same way it was for Gladio and Prompto.

Rather, Episode: Ignis is a showcase for Ignis's dedication to Noctis.

Imperial forces are still swarming Altissia after Noctis's battle with Leviathan ends, and in the main game we just skip to everything being over and Noctis waking up in a hotel room to discover Lunafreya left the Ring of the Lucii to him and that Ignis has been blinded by an injury. Episode: Ignis covers everything that happened after the moment the battle with Leviathan ended.

Surprisingly, Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto are all together at the start of the DLC, since it was implied that they split up (and Prompto is even flying solo during part of Chapter 9 when he picks up Noctis to try to bring him closer to Leviathan). When the three try to retrieve Noctis following his victory over Leviathan, the fighting with the imperials destroys the bridge they're on and Ignis is separated.

What follows is Ignis desperately battling his way through the city to reach Noctis. He's largely on his own, because the evacuation must continue, and it's a little funny when other people are the ones telling him not to do something stupid since he's usually the party's voice of reason. Combat aside though, the first half of Episode: Ignis is pretty light on story, though we do get to see the return of one of the side characters. If you wanted to see the demise of Caligo (the imperial officer the party fails to kill in the Chapter 6 base infiltration) he finally meets his ignoble end here.

The second half sees Ignis partnering with Ravus so they both can rescue the people they care about most; Noctis for Ignis, and Lunafreya for Ravus. This gives us better insight into Ravus and his nonsensical hatred for Noctis. We still don't entirely understand why he joined the imperial army in the first place, but now it's extremely obvious why he's slated for execution in later chapters. Not only does he call back all the imperial soldiers over the course of the battle, but he ends up attacking Ardyn, the imperial chancellor, after he and Ignis find Noctis and the dying (or possibly already dead) Lunafreya.

Episode: Ignis might not flesh out Ignis's backstory as much as Prompto's did, but it makes it explicitly clear just how devoted Ignis is to his prince. It's not to say the rest of the bros aren't, but we get to see Ignis at his most desperate, knowing that he might not be able to reach the prince before something happens to him. This forces him to cooperate with Ravus, who he has reason to distrust (given that Ravus is a general for the other side), and once the unlikely pair reach Noctis and Lunafreya, they are forced to confront Ardyn, who as usual, appears to hold all the cards in his hand.

This DLC visually shows Ignis's gradual loss of control through his hair and his outfit. So he begins the storyline in his usual Crownsguard uniform, but after the bridge collapses, he's dunked into the canal and loses his jacket. After his boat is blown up by Caligo he's soaked and some of his immaculately coiffed hair comes down. By the time he's apprehended by Ardyn's escort, he's lost his glasses and his hair is completely plastered wet around his head.

When it looks like Ardyn is going to kill Noctis right in front of Ignis, you can feel his despair. We know Ignis isn't capable of fighting Ardyn alone and Ravus has been restrained as well, but there is a tiny light of hope in that the Ring of the Lucii has landed next to Ignis, leading to one of the ballsiest moves in the game.

Ignis puts on the ring, and since he's not of royal blood it starts to burn him from the inside out, but because he's fighting to protect Noctis, the Lucian kings allow him to use it just long enough to go toe-to-toe with Ardyn and drive him off, allow the rest of the gang to eventually catch up. This gave him the injury that permanently blinded him in the main game. It's a really awesome moment, and a powerful sacrifice, but unfortunately it could have been better telegraphed, and even as I was reveling in the moment, I wanted it to be better.

There are two things that bring me up short. The first is that Ignis and Ravus get to be a bit of a break midway through their battle through the city, and it's possible to ask Ravus about his prosthetic arm. At this point I don't remember if it was in secondary media or later in the main game, but Ravus lost it because he tried to put in the Ring of the Lucii, but was declared unworthy. Ravus does not mention this when asked about his arm, so it's possible the player will not know ahead of time what the penalty is if a non-royal puts it on.

The second is that Ignis mentions that if a Glaive can manage wearing the ring in service of the king, he should be able to as well. This is a problem because it's a reference to the Kingsglaive movie (which the player might not have seen) and also because Ignis should not have any knowledge of the events in that movie since he was not in Insomnia when the relevant Glaive made that sacrifice. The only character in the main game who knew about the Glaive putting on the ring was Lunafreya, who Ignis only catches up with when she's already dead/dying.

If Ignis and the player were both on the same page, I think it would have made the event that much more powerful. Because Ignis gives up more than his eyesight.

When he nears Noctis and Lunafreya earlier in the DLC, he meets Pryna, Lunafreya's otherworldly dog, who gifts him a vision of the future. So when Ignis reaches Noctis, he already knows that the prince is destined to sacrifice himself in the future. After the battle, when Noctis is recovering, Ignis visits him and asks if he would reconsider his journey. Noctis refuses, since it would mean throwing away everyone else's sacrifice, including Ignis's, and Ignis does not further try to dissuade him. It feels very much in character for Ignis to not bother telling Noctis how he lost his sight, or what the future has in store for him. Ignis asking Noctis not to continue is a selfish request, and when Noctis is not interested, he backs down.

But for those who would prefer Ignis to have made a different decision, there is an alternate ending!

The alternate ending splits from canon when Ardyn has captured Ignis and Ravus, and jokingly offers a chance for Ignis to come work with him. Canonically Ignis continues fighting (and it's the only option you can take on first playthrough), but the player can choose to play along instead, which leads to Ardyn leaving Noctis and taking Ignis all the way to Gralea.

Though Ignis is supposedly playing along, it narratively doesn't hold up very long before he and Ardyn start fighting again so Ignis can preserve Noctis's future. Ardyn makes it clear that he has nothing personal against Noctis. He's just really bitter about not being selected by the Crystal as the first of the Lucian kings. It's not much revelation into his character, but it's still something and clearer than it was in the main game.

This battle sees Ignis once again use the Ring of the Lucii to make him Ardyn's equal, and from a storytelling standpoint it does something cool. When he puts on the ring he's given the choice of doing so with the understanding he will risk his life for his king, or that he will sacrifice his life for his king. "Sacrifice" makes him the strongest, but puts up a timer after which Ignis will burn out and die, no longer being able to control the ring's power.

But this is the toughest fight in the DLC and you have limited healing items, so more fumbly players (like me) are probably going to want to choose "risk" a couple times before the game forces the "sacrifice" option to extend the duration of the fight without killing Ignis. While I needed the extra time, it just didn't feel quite as heroic, since Ignis is ranting about how he does not want Noctis to die and he will do anything to prevent that.

And it looks like he beats Ardyn well and good, possibly permanently since Ardyn dematerializes and it seems involuntary.

Noctis and friends catch up shortly, since Ravus defected to help them, and Noctis goes into the Crystal voluntarily this time to reach his full power so he can better protect his friends. This leads to an alternate ending where it seems the long night has come, but Noctis does not sacrifice himself to end it. Instead, he gets to rule as king, making for a happier ending.

Episode: Ignis doesn't give itself the time to explain the particulars about how this works though (probably because it's an alternate ending). As the credits roll we see people going about doing things in daylight, but then we also see Ardyn lurking around the empty throne in Insomnia (is he dead or a ghost?). It's nighttime when older Noctis and friends return to the Citadel, but instead of leaving his friends behind to face an army of daemons while Noctis goes up the steps to sacrifice himself, he meets up with older Ravus, who gives him his father's sword, as he'd meant to do in the main game if he'd lived long enough.

And then from there we see daylight and all seems well again.

Ardyn wasn't the root cause of the eternal night, but was tied to the daemons that came with it, so it makes sense that they wouldn't go away with his death. But it's not clear how or why Noctis doesn't need to die this time around, other than somehow Ignis's sacrifice allowed Noctis to forgo his own.

For these reasons I don't find the story in Episode: Ignis quite as put together as Episode: Prompto. It fills in some nice gaps, has some cool scenes, and presents an alternate ending, but it doesn't feel entirely well thought out. This is probably because it's trying so hard to contribute to a larger story that even though Ignis is unquestionably the star, it doesn't feel like the story is about him. There's not even really a plot per se. It's just a chapter we didn't get to see in the main game. In the end, it's still about Noctis and not a personal story that belongs to Ignis himself.

The canon DLC storyline even bookends the story with Noctis as a child taking Ignis's hand, and then Noctis (post-timeskip) doing it again just before they head to Insomnia, in gratitude for everything that Ignis has done for him. And I suppose that was done to give a better sense of conclusion since there is otherwise no character arc for Ignis. He goes in much the same man as he comes out.

I came here expecting I'd like Episode: Ignis the most, since he's been my favorite of the bros and this DLC was well reviewed, but I actually liked Episode: Prompto more.