Fate/stay night REMASTERED Review – A Modern Myth

Fate/stay night REMASTERED Review

Fate/stay night REMASTERED is a remaster of the 2004 Type-Moon visual novel. The original Fate/stay night changed the visual novel industry forever and created the blockbuster multimedia Fate franchise. And now, for the very first time, the censored Realta Nua release is available in English. It’s a great time to be alive.

Before I delve into the review proper, I have a few comments to make. This game is 20 years old and it does show. The art style is more than a bit dated and the cinematography pales compared to the recent Tsukihime remake. However, Fate/stay night is a classic for a reason. If you enjoy landmark moments in gaming, complex stories, or the Fate franchise, you owe it to yourself to play this.

That said, let’s start with the elephant in the room: the PC port of Fate/stay night REMASTERED has a bunch of graphical bugs. I set my computer to Japanese locale immediately in hopes of avoiding these errors. Aside from a few transparent images, it seemed to work.

The city of Fuyuki is the site of a secret magical ritual known as the Holy Grail War. Seven mages, dubbed Masters, participate and summon seven heroes of antiquity, dubbed Servants. These pairs then fight until only one Servant remains, and the victorious pair can claim the Holy Grail and have their wish granted.

As the Fifth Holy Grail War dawns, hobbyist mage and would-be hero Shirou Emiya witnesses a clash between legends. In short succession, he’s killed to keep the conflict secret, brought back from the verge of death, and hunted down once more. At the very last minute, he successfully summons Saber, the strongest Servant, to protect him. But he’ll have to make the right choices if he wants to survive the Holy Grail War, much less save anyone.

Clash of the Titans

In an attempt to save people the way he was once saved, Shirou resolves to join the Holy Grail War. He doesn’t have a wish. He simply wants to stop others, including his own Servant, from getting hurt. But his selfless desire to be of service clashes with the cutthroat nature of the hidden death tournament.

The seven Servants have come back from death itself to have their wishes granted. And between them and their ruthless Masters, Shirou’s dreams of heroism are about to take a beating. With the disaster of the Fourth Holy Grail War looming behind him and a future of pointless violence ahead, Shirou must come into his own. One way or another.

Fate/stay night asks what it means to be a hero, and whether it’s better to live forever in people’s hearts or live happily right now. This question is easier asked than answered.

Like other Type-Moon protagonists, Shirou Emiya is a deeply traumatized boy whose narration is unreliable. And the game’s cast is full of memorable and messed-up characters who reflect its turbulent themes. Its tone ranges from chill slice of life to heart-wrenching tragedy to high-octane clash of ideals. And at times, it becomes a full-fledged horror story.

Fate/stay night REMASTERED Asks What Heroism Means

Despite appearances, Fate/stay night is not a power fantasy. It’s an exploration of why we write power fantasies and an attempt to restore the humanity to mythological heroes and visual novel archetypes alike. The result is a game that, while showing its age, still deserves acclaim.

At its core, this is a story about heroes. Each of its three routes, Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven’s Feel, takes a different approach to dissecting heroism. The result is a game that builds on itself with each route. These narrative paths are defined by more than the heroine Shirou pursues during them.

Saber on the Fate route personifies the heroic ideal Shirou yearns for. Unlimited Blade Works disrupts that ideal and places an emphasis on his troubled relationships with fellow Master Rin and her Servant, Archer. And Heaven’s Feel openly challenges the assumptions built up over the previous routes while starring the deliberately ordinary girl next door, Sakura.

Is this a dating sim? No. Is it a love story? Not always. Every relationship in Fate/stay night, romantic or otherwise, is related to its underlying themes. This game asks what it means to be a hero of myth, both in the modern day and in the distant past. The Servants run the gambit from genuinely saintly to bloodthirsty to vengeful to downright evil. But they all carry their own regrets, just like the living humans around them.

Immortality Through Mythology

Fate/stay night REMASTERED has more of a traditional visual novel presentation than its successors. However, it’s still a gorgeously cinematic game. There are a ton of CGs and the game is very good at using them cleverly to convey the intensity of its action. It also uses differing sprite sizes and close-ups to convey movement and closeness. Though there are a ton of particle effects and flashing lights, if you’re sensitive to that.

Every relationship in the game is important and fascinating, especially the non-romantic ones. However, some of the romances do suffer a bit as a result. Shirou’s attempts to stop Saber from fighting on the Fate route also have not aged well.

As with every Type-Moon visual novel, this game features a ton of worldbuilding and exposition, and sometimes slows down to lecture you. The world of Fate is complicated and Fate/stay night was the introduction to its brand of magic. And the complexities of the Holy Grail War allow for a lot of plot twists as each route develops. Get ready to do a lot of reading, and it will be on the test later.

Speaking of pacing, this is a very long visual novel. Shirou’s story plays out through images, text, and sound, and the player chooses his actions in certain situations. Depending on those choices, the game may come to an abrupt end. Fate/stay night is a fairly linear title, but it has a ton of bad endings to collect.

The game offers Japanese voice-acting only. It’s a very good cast, but the protagonist’s voice is muted by default. I have no idea who thought this was a good idea. The soundtrack is frankly spectacular and the narrative is easily the game’s greatest strength. Sadly, I found a number of typos in an otherwise solid translation.

All in all, Fate/stay night REMASTERED is a flawed masterpiece landmark title in gaming. If you’re a fan of visual novels, fantasy, or want to start the Fate franchise at the very beginning, this is your chance.

***PC code provided by the publisher***