Ignis Scientia

Ignis Scientia, previously known as Ignis Stupeo Scientia, is a companion of Prince Noctis and a party member in Final Fantasy XV. Although not directly playable, he can co-opt moves with Noctis and be issued orders. His name was originally given as Ignis Stupeo Scientia, but the middle name is no longer used in his official biographies.

He is Noctis's close childhood friend alongside Gladiolus and Prompto, acting as an adviser for the royal family. He is the group's driver and chef, taking the wheel of the party's car unless the player wants to drive manually as Noctis.

Appearance
Ignis wears a purple and black patterned dress shirt with his black suit and black shiny red-soled shoes with sequenced crystals at the tip. He wears shimmery silver driving gloves. He wears glasses and has short, light brown hair swept up at the front of his hairline and green eyes. Like all party members, he has some skull-motifs to his outfit, although more subdued than his comrades'. He also has a skull on his belt buckle.

His casual outfit is either a white long-sleeved dress shirt or a gray t-shirt. He wears gray trousers and has a storage pack attached to his left leg.

Ten years later, he largely had the same attire, although he has replaced his eyeglasses with dark visors and his hair has grown out on the top. He also gains a Kingsglaive uniform.

Personality
Ignis has a composed, serious, and cool personality to contrast Gladiolus and Prompto. Ignis has been friends with Noctis since early childhood. He received a special education for gifted children to work as a staff officer for Noctis and acts as the understanding consultant for him. He has a different accent from the others.

A more serious and nurturing character, Ignis can be seen as Noctis's right-hand man and the brains of the party. Ignis is loyal to his prince and would do anything for him, and tends to stay near him in battle. Because Noctis lost his mother when he was young, Ignis has filled some of those duties for him, such as trying to make Noctis eat a healthy diet. Though austere and intelligent, Ignis struggles reading people's intentions, especially when something is a joke. He is a perfectionist and tends to lose his composure when things don't go his way.

Ignis is a precise person who dislikes even the slightest ambiguity. Stemming from this, he often goes in-depth in details when explaining strategies. This is why he wears glasses even though his vision is passable without them. Despite his calm and serious personality, he has occasions where he jokes around, such as by making puns or sarcastic comments. He's also prone to gloat.

He takes great pride in his cooking skills, being offended when Prompto states he is looking forward to Iris's (or anyone else's) cooking.

Story
Ignis was raised alongside Noctis to be adviser to the heir apparent. An intensive education instilled in him the resourcefulness and composure required for the role. As told in Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV, while in high school Noctis struggled with his status as the heir to the throne as his father's health was worsening. Ignis tried to help by cleaning up after him, attending royal meetings for him to take notes, and reminding him of school work. As a child Noctis had a pastry he had liked while staying in Tenebrae, and after hearing of it Ignis had tried to re-create the treat, but never getting the flavor exactly right. Though Ignis at times was at a loss on how to best support the apathetic-seeming Noctis, King Regis had asked Ignis to take care of his son.

As told in Final Fantasy XV Prologue Parting Ways, Ignis's uncle works as an advisor in the Citadel. Ignis drives Noctis to the Citadel to meet the king in Noctis's new car, but the king is too busy to meet them. Instead Ignis packs Noctis's belongings from his room at the Citadel for the journey he is about to take. They reminisce of the times they used to sneak out of the Citadel as kids and Ignis had taken the fall if they got caught. Late at night, having been busy with duty all day, Ignis heads over to Noctis's apartment in the city where he had been taken earlier by Nyx Ulric of the Kingsglaive. Noctis's other friends, who are to accompany him on the trip, Gladiolus and Prompto, meet up at Noctis's apartment to clean it up as Noctis is moving out. When he would return he would be married.

Ignis accompanies Noctis and his friends on a road trip to Altissia where they are to meet Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, Noctis's fiancée. While driving through Leide, the Regalia—King Regis's car they are using—breaks down, and they push it to the nearest service station to have it repaired. When they get to Galdin Quay they discover the ship to Altissia is not running and the next morning Ignis delivers the grim news to the others: the royal capital has been invaded by the Empire of Niflheim in the event that was supposed to be a peace treaty signing, and the king has died. They try to return to the city but find it blockaded.

Noctis embarks on a quest to reclaim his kingdom by collecting the Royal Arms of his forebears, and forging covenants with the astral gods of Eos. Ignis supports Noctis through his endeavors, and they discover that King Regis has a ship in a secret harbor they can use to cross the ocean. Throughout their journey they are followed by the chancellor of Niflheim, Ardyn Izunia, who appears to lend them his help although the party remains suspicious of his true motives.

Ignis and Prompto accompany Noctis to a remote temple to find mythril to repair King Regis's boat. In Altissia Luna awakens the sea goddess Leviathan so Noctis can forge his covenant. Ignis is on evacuation duty as Leviathan is known for her wrath. During the ensuing battles Ignis's eyesight becomes permanently damaged, and he sustains 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, who tells him Luna has died. Ignis continues to accompany Noctis, now walking with a cane, although he struggles and can no longer cook for the party. Gladiolus disagrees with Ignis's decision to continue, but he insists he can keep up and no one wants to leave him behind.

The party continues toward Gralea, the Imperial capital where Lucis's stolen Crystal has been taken. Noctis, as the Lucian king, can use the powers of the Crystal with the Ring of the Lucii he had acquired from Luna just before her death. Ignis tells Noctis about the Starscourge, a plague that has worsened ever since Luna died, as she was an Oracle duty-bound to fight it. The nights are growing longer with daemons becoming ever fiercer. Ignis speculates that the Crystal has the power to stop it, as it had always kept Insomnia safe.

On their way the train they are on is attacked by Niflheim forces. While Noctis and Prompto fight off the magitek troops, Ignis and Gladiolus get the train moving again. A frantic Noctis calls Ignis to tell him Prompto has fallen off the moving train, and Ignis tries to calm him as they cannot stop to look for him. When Noctis later meets Ardyn, he learns Prompto is in Imperial hands, being kept by the Empire alongside the Crystal.

They enter the Imperial capital on train. They are attacked and drive the Regalia to the city until the car is destroyed. Noctis becomes separated from Ignis and Gladiolus and his magic is sealed, forcing him to continue alone with the Ring of the Lucii as his only weapon. Ardyn returns them their weapons and directs them through the laboratory of Zegnautus Keep. They then view security footage and find only one tape was not wiped from the console: the tape of Ravus confronting the daemon-transforming Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt, before being tossed into the Keep, and then killed by Ardyn disguised as Noctis. The two continue to follow Ardyn's directions through the Keep while fighting off daemons, before confronting the Foras which can speak and thirsts for the Crystal.

Ardyn eventually directs them to where Noctis has fallen into a trap, and they save him in a nick of time. The three rescue Prompto who takes them to the throne room where Noctis regains the use of his powers. As they are ambushed by a horde of daemons, Ignis and the others urge Noctis to go to the Crystal alone. Noctis reluctantly does so, but when he gets to the Crystal he is absorbed inside it. When his friends follow him they only find Ardyn gloating before the Crystal. The sun doesn't rise again and daemons take over the world.

Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto return to what is left of Lucis. Ignis becomes adjusted to being blind and stops using a walking stick and starts cooking again. Despite his disability Ignis hunts daemons, saying he is more used to the dark than most people. He doesn't want to burden others around him, and adjusted his combat style to throwing his lances and daggers. His ability to hit his enemies has reached pinpoint accuracy by the time Noctis returns.

Ten years later Noctis awakens from his crystalline slumber and returns to Lucis. He has absorbed the Crystal's power and is ready to become the True King and kill Ardyn, whose true persona is that of an immortal embodiment of the darkness. Noctis is reunited with his friends, and they prepare to return to Insomnia to where Ardyn has taken the Crystal. Ignis cooks for them for a final time, and Noctis struggles expressing his emotions to the others, knowing that he will have to die to bring light back to the world. They head to the ruins of Insomnia where countless daemons and magitek troops await them.

Noctis faces Ardyn, but Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto are incapacitated, and Noctis defeats Ardyn alone. After Ardyn fades away telling Noctis to met him "on the other side", Noctis sends his friends away in a manner similar King Regis sent them off to their journey ten years ago. Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto are with Noctis in spirit when he defeats Ardyn in the afterlife, and the sun finally rises.

Gameplay


Ignis is the supportive party member who often stays near Noctis, although he is also a strong fighter. He wields daggers and lances, and can be equipped with Elemancy. He can analyze enemies' strengths and weaknesses, heal the party, and bestow Noctis's weapon with the element his enemy is weak to, among other skills. He doesn't have as much HP and Strength as Gladiolus, but has more than Prompto.

Ignis will cook for the party at camp, and there are various ways for him to learn new recipes. Different dishes provide different buffs. He loses the ability to cook from Chapter 10 to 13. In Chapter 14, storywise, he cooks one final meal, and cannot cook again unless the player uses Umbra to travel to the past. The buffs will carry over to the present if the player uses Umbra to return to the present.

The player can also fight him at camp as training.

After Chapter 9, Ignis's combat ability and mobility become limited until Chapter 14, where he can run and fight, but his fighting style is adjusted to throwing daggers and lances rather than using them for closer quarters combat. He does get close to the enemy to perform a Deathblow if the player has learned it, but not as frequently as he used to use it.

During Chapter 14, Ignis will comment their enemies being "far less trouble than anticipated," contrasting what he often said in the past, "this is far more trouble than anticipated," showcasing their growth.

Creation and development
Ignis, like the other party members, went through a design overhaul. The original footage of him had him wearing a white dress shirt under a jacket, jeans and a dogtag pendant. This outfit was changed to a purple and black animal print dress shirt worn with a suit. He's also donned a pair of uniquely styled blue gloves. In a early gameplay trailer of the game when it was known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII he was playable and used a katana to attack and fired magic.

Ignis was redesigned by Yusuke Naora, the art director of Final Fantasy XV. Ignis had competitively few alterations despite improvement in technology. To emphasize he has protected Noctis since a young age, he was made more toned, especially enhancing the musculature around his neck. Care was taken to ensure to retain his intellectual image, so he appears slender under his clothes. Director Hajime Tabata has explained that black has historically been treated as a special color in Lucis. Thus the attire of the royal family, and those in occupations closely tied to it, wear black.

Due to the high hardware requirements for proper order-independent transparency, Ignis's glasses end up replacing the depth information in the area that they cover so that the glasses themselves would not be out of focus. The result is that even if rest of the background is.

Voice
Ignis's Japanese voice actor is Mamoru Miyano, who also voices from the  series.

He is voiced by Adam Croasdell in English. In the English localization he speaks with an English accent in comparison to the other party members, who speak with American accents, because Ignis is from a different region of the world. In the English localization of the Episode Duscae demo, he mainly referred to Noctis as "Highness", whereas he called him "Noct" in the Japanese version. This was criticized by some as too drastic a change of his characterization between the versions, but Tabata answered on the official forums to assure he was aware of the concerns and strove to ensure that Ignis's character was portrayed as intended in the localized versions. The lines from Episode Duscae were re-recorded for the final game, in which Ignis commonly refers to Noctis as "Noct".

Merchandise
Ignis is available as a Play Arts -Kai- figure that includes a pair of daggers.

Gallery

 * Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV

Etymology
Ignis's name was composed of three Latin words.

The three words form the full meaning of Ignis's original name: "I stun with fiery knowledge." This is not a literal translation, as ignis is the noun "fire," not the adjective "fiery," and it is not in the ablative [instrumental] case. A variation of it is possible, however: "I, Fire, stun/amaze with knowledge."

Ignis's middle name was later dropped.

Trivia

 * Early development of Final Fantasy XV saw Ignis use a katana as his main weapon, while daggers were used as sub/ability weapons. Due to this, and many design traits, he was affectionately called "Glasses Touchdown" due to similarities to No More Heroes series protagonist Travis Touchdown.