Ignis Universia: Awakening of the Erudite Empress is a tongue-in-cheek JRPG-inspired indie coming to PC

by Adam Vitale on 22 May, 2022

The 5th annual Indie Live Expo took place this past weekend, featuring hundreds of games from developers across the world. We here at RPG Site decided to quickly spotlight some of the RPGs shown in the stream.

Ignis Universia: Awakening of the Erudite Empress is a tongue-in-cheek JRPG/VN hybrid developed by Random Potion Oy, set to release for PC (Steam). A Kickstarter campaign ran in early 2022, raising more than €10,000 for the project. It is the developer's second game in the series, following the free Ignis Universia: Eternal Sisters Saga DX.

A gameplay trailer, description, and screenshot set can be found below, via Random Potion Oy. The official website is here. A demo is currently available on the Steam page.

The Chosen must rise or the world shall perish in darkness!
But they never ask - Chosen by whom exactly?
The end of the world is nigh and the Chosen Sisters must rise to the occasion, yet again! But as the four heroines set out on a new quest, another threat rears its ugly head and the very prophecy that chose them is crumbling apart. How will they weather the return of Galgatax and the rise of the Erudite Empress? And - most importantly - is there cake at the end? Chocolate, whipped cream with those colourful bits, and some nice jam, thank you very much.
Today we're serving an epic mix of JRPG and Visual Novel with a seasoning of tongue-in-cheek story and a hefty dose of loving homage (which must be good because it sounds like a cheese).

100% turn-based with no twitch-reflex gameplay.

Four Chosen Sisters with their own skills and special abilities.

All characters in the party all the time, no need to choose between the characters whom you like the most against who'd make the most effective combination.

Utilise the Friendship system to unleash super cute summons!

Not an angsty teenage protagonist boy in sight.

Only one of these bullet points uses an exclamation mark so you must know we're serious!
Fighting With Friendship
Nowhere is the cliché of all-conquering love and friendship more true than in the battle system of the Awakening of the Erudite Empress. By acting together, the Sisters can create combos and gain Friendship Points, which in turn allow them to summon powerful beasts such as the Derperus and Beavis the Hipster Beaver to their aid!
Combo Examples

Enemies with the Wet condition really feel the cold from Mordina's Freezing Fingers of Doom!

Silvanna really knows her Icy Stare! The opponent might not dare hit her at all, having to direct all attacks at Zena, who has her Defence Up and gets a counterattack from Eleanna's Flames of Love!

Unbalanced enemies have their stats decreased and can get tripped over and lose their turn!

Get those crits in with the Seize Soul spell and net a quadruple Chosen Sisters Super Combo with Triple Trick!
More than that, Friendship Points also accumulate in the Genesis Shards, allowing the Chosen to learn new special abilities to annoy their ever-increasing roster of opponents with.
The Genesis Shard System
At the heart of the character progression in the game are the Genesis Shards, which can be equipped to the Chosen Sisters and grant new abilities to their wielders. Each Shard is tied to a single element and has one or more abilities, each for a different Sister, unlocked by unleashing combos with the others. Play around with various combinations to find the best ability synergies!
Element Slots
The abilities available to the Sisters depend on a complicated astrological divination system of orbits, whims of the gods and a cryptic arcane matrix of Ley lines, foxes and prank calls (remember those?), but for simplicity's sake, let's just say there are six different elements, four of which are available in each battle. Each Element Slot gives a Sister access to the ability in the Genesis Shard of the same element AND determines the character's place in the turn order. After acquiring the Null Necklace, you can select the order of the Sisters before the battle - and they can also switch places during the fight.
If you're still not sure, check out the first game in the series, it's completely free!