VN - Others - Completed - Fate/Stay Night [Final] [Type-Moon]

This VN needs no introduction. It's the OG Fate series that spawn multiple franchise and fanbase. Arguably one of the most important and influential VN ever created.

It's a story about a young boy surviving the Holy Grail War. A war between 7 heroic spirit divided by class called Servant and their Master bound by contract.

I recommend playing this following the route order (Fate>UBW>HF) and Bad End guide opened. Check out all the Taiga Dojo as well while you're at it.

This is a fantastic series and this ultimate edition makes it all the greater! Being able to toggle on or off the variety of features that all versions of this game have generated over the years is an absolute treat.

for me, this is the measuring stick for all other adult VN's.
it was one of the first i ever read and unlimited blade works is by far still the best i have read for my tastes.
the 3 different routes are all excellent and after a trilogy of movies and 2 anime series, i am clearly not alone to rate this VN so highly.

the plot is exceptional and the writing, though a little long winded at times, is great, but i would have liked a little more action or maybe just slightly extended battles. thats just preference though.

the art is fantastic the whole experience, once all 3 routes have been read, is very hard to top. nothing as yet has beaten it but a few have come close.

none of the rest of the series has come close for me and i consider all to be pale imitations. they just don't hook me as a reader the same way at all.

absolutely worth reading all 3 main routes as each is very different. sadly the 2 anime series went pg and kinda ruined the 'adult' side of things and the trilogy of movies for heavens feel are pretty hard to find and without being able to put my finger on why, are not as good as the written story.

a worthy inclusion in anyones top 5 all-time

It is genuinely up for debate if all the hype and fellating this game gets is justified. Considering how much there is, that should give you some idea of its quality.

Regardless of your opinions and perceptions on the game and the franchise it spawned, there's a few truths that still hold to this day:

1. It's a trio of very good, very well-written stories with a lot of reader interaction for something with no gameplay.
2. It's the best entry point for a franchise with a very large amount of high-quality content.
3. It's as unique as anything can be; there's very little out there that scratches the itch it does.
4. It's an interesting tale set in a fascinating world told by a modern master of the craft.
5. It can be a pain in the ass to set-up, which when paired with its length creates a great deal of trepidation about taking the plunge.

I recommend you ignore the hype, ignore the hate, and just try it for yourself and make your own conclusions.

Recognizing where we are, the sex is not very good and inserted where it wasn't needed to boost early sales, which is why the "best" version of the game replaces them altogether. Do not read it for a wank, you will be disappointed.

Warning there are very few H scenes and a lot of reading. A lot of people miss so much of story not paying attention.

Magus are not good and they aren't heroes, the traits required to master magic make it mutually exclusive and this is explained repeatedly yet a large part of fanbase still miss this entirely.

MC thinks he a super hero but he is a sexist, insane self delusional idiot that can't learn from mistakes that show his ideals flawed. So many people forgive his many flaws because they see his goal to protect as heroic but totally miss the selfishness of his goal and his glaring flaws that cause more suffering to everyone (sacrificing many to save one repeatedly, thinking women been assaulted ok to teach them their role, never admitting fault and only apolagising because dealing with emotional people to much of a bother, His obsessive compulsive nature means he simply cant handle any social situation where people act outside his sexist expectations. Every emergency worker knows the first person you protect in an emergency is yourself, not only can you not save anyone if you another casualty you become a burden on others. A true hero is someone who not only understands this but understands when its time to put it all on line and throw self preservation away.

When you understand the true nature of MC and Magus in general the story is much better and makes a lot more sense and way more enjoyable. It is a dark commentary on society in general and in Japan with ongoing latent sexism in social gender roles and expected femininity (It is not chance most of strongest characters Female).

Every character has depth to explore with both good and evil traits, so while some of scenes may seem pointless to storyline they are essential in revealing nature of characters and easily skipped in following paths.

the first visual novel i've ever played after hearing that fate was originally an eroge. joke's on me, because there was barely any h-scenes here. now i'm simping saber and shirou emiya years after i've first read it.

swords/5

This is a review only for the first route of the game (Fate), not taking into consideration the second route (Unlimited Blade Works) or third route (Heaven's Feel).

First of all: this is a very long story. Unless you binge it for a lot of hours or skip through a lot of the plot, completing even one of the routes will probably take at least a week of reading. So far, the only other VN I've read of similar length was Majikoi, and I'd have to recommend it over this game because Majikoi didn't feel nearly as bloated dialogue wise, the protagonist is much more likeable and the h-scenes are much more satisfying.

I unknowingly played through Fate without the h-patch installed correctly, but I did complete it, so I installed looking for a fap but stayed around for what is ultimately a good, but flawed story. After actually installing the h-patch correctly, I went back and skipped through to see what I missed, and honestly...

I think the best experience is to entirely forget about h-scenes when looking to dive into this game. Leave it unpatched and focus on the story.

The artwork is good but the scenarios that result in sex feel weird and out of place when you consider the tone of the rest of the story and the personalities of the characters. I was left with the impression that the raunchiness detracts from the characters and their situations rather than complimenting them in any way. The version without h-scenes manages to be suggestive but keeps the story flowing much more smoothly.

That said, the plot is a good but is held back for me by two major factors:

1. There are too many bloated conversations where characters are painfully drawing out plot points and other details that could be expressed way more concisely. The breakfast scenes are particularly bad about this crap, but it felt like it was present in most scenes that aren't battles.

2. The protagonist is admirable in his own way but mostly a naive idiot. There are so many situations where he throws himself into harm's way unnecessarily or has some idea in his head that doesn't correspond with reality. Other characters point this out to him in various ways, so it's definitely an intentional character trait, but a lot of the time it's just frustrating to read. He also has the quintessential virgin personality where being within two feet of an attractive woman makes him sputter and freak out. That's pretty common for a VN protagonist but again, it gets frustrating to read after a while.

Regardless, it still deserves at least 4 stars because of the overall idea of the plot and the battle scenes. The characters, despite their flaws, are developed nicely and their personalities compliment (or clash) with one another in interesting ways. The action, sound & special effects are really nicely done and add a lot of immersion. The translation is virtually flawless. There are a lot of choices that lead to bad ends and most of them are really grotesque and bloody, which could be a negative for some, but I found it to be one of the more enjoyable aspects of the game because it made everything feel much more harrowing and dangerous.

TL;DR: A time sink of a VN that isn't worth it for the h-scenes but is worth it for the plot.

When I went to Japan, this is the only thing I bought and brought home with me. I can honestly say this is the very best VN anyone could ever play.

Beautiful visuals, great and recognizable audio, fantastic characters you'll love and/or love to hate, an unbelievably good story, impossibly well done plot twists, multiple endings, heart-wrenching Pyrrhic victories and sad goodness as only the East knows how to deliver...

Man, occasionally you just want to replay and revisit your old friends in FSN. I have that with very few other games.

One of the few VNs that anybody who's interested in this genre of games should play, next to Clannad and Steins;Gate. Besides being the VN that essentially started it all, it's also a masterclass-case of storytelling that things like anime and movies may not be able to fully capture, having to skimp out on details that may be crucial for players and fans alike to know. The only real beef that people may have with this game is that the writing can be kinda strange, especially in the sex scenes, and the real thing being that this game, next to FGO, are the definitions of "time commitment". Prepare yourselves should you wish to tackle this game, but in the end it is very much worth it if you enjoy this series.

This VN has three routes that are practically 3 full games. I have watched the anime for the first two routes and played the third. Story-wise this is a very good VN. Sex-wise it has next to no sexual content.

This review will be based on mostly the third route (Heaven's Feel) since that's what I've played at the time after watching the anime.
EDIT: I played Fate Route (first) too.

Spoiler-free Long story short about Heaven's Feel: This is a DARK route. You may have heard that this is darker than the other two but it's a gross underestimation. Personally I nearly dropped the game twice in this route. You can call me a pussy if you want, but the suffering of heroes (that you've come to love from anime\other routes) in this route is ... next to bottomless.
The author is a cruel, sadistic bastard that made loveable characters, made us care for them and without warning about how different this route would be, bathes us in horror and darkness waaaaay too incompatible with the much lighter (at least in the anime) other routes.
The WORST part about it IMO, is that it "poisons" the other routes. Without going to spoilers, it shows you that if Shirou doesn't betray his ideal, horrible people would survive and horrible sufferning will continue to happen as Shirou never finds out about those. The good ends of the other routes? Not as good after playing this route.

I would recommend playing Heaven's Feel route if you want to see another version of the very good story and you're ready for some heart-twisting suffering.

I would recommend to not touch this route if you are a sane person with a heart that isn't made of stone. Stay with the other two routes that tell a compelling, at times tragic but ultimately heroic, story.


Regardless: 4 stars out of 5 because of a very good story but little smut and because the author probably laughs alone in the dark cellars of his castle thinking of all the "God! Nooooooo! " that this VN caused.

EDIT: The First route is very nice... aside of near lack of sex. Still, I would recommend it. -However- the main heroine of that route seems like a 14-years old girl which is kinda creepy for me. She is -NOT- a 14-years old; her body was "frozen" at that age.

The best VN I have played. It has issues for sure. But overall it's hard to beat.

If you are going to play this, just realize that it does have the same problems most Japanese VNs do, in that it is overwritten. I don't know what it is with the Japanese and VNs, but it's like they won't say something in one paragraph that they could say in seven instead. Even with that ceveat I highly recommend this game. Not for the H, though that varies from hot to meh, but for the story and characters. They are amazing. The world building in the game is also top notch, as are the production values, especially in the RN version, which at this point is the only real way to play.

Have fun y'all.