Fate/stay night Remastered Review – Revisiting an Iconic Visual Novel

An Iconic Genre-Defining Visual Novel

When Type-Moon comes to mind, you think of Fate. And when Fate comes to mind, you think of Fate/stay night. Such a rapid nanosecond association is common among many. Yet, perhaps from an outsider’s perspective, such a notion has been equally puzzling since the title itself has never received an official English release. Instead, this iconic visual novel has thrived thanks to fan translations, references, and other tangential material in the Fate universe, making its legacy readily apparent, even in the modern day.

So, the significance of an official English release two decades later should not be even remotely questionable. Hell, in an age where Type-Moon has launched Witch on the Holy Night and Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- in the West, Fate/stay night coming to modern platforms felt like the next step on the list. Still, I can’t deny how utterly impossible this reality seems.

Regardless, as unbelievable as it is, Fate/stay night Remastered has been released worldwide on Nintendo Switch and PC, making this debut entry of the Fate franchise more accessible than ever. And having revisited this near-origin point of Type-Moon proper, I’m thrilled to see this three-fold narrative instilled with meticulous quality, thanks to a strong script and excellent visuals.

A Classic, Established Premise

Fate/stay night Remastered mostly follows protagonist Shirou Emiya, a seemingly ordinary high schooler who, albeit vaguely, is acquainted with the world of magic. In this setting, where magic is veiled from the common folk, Shirou stands in a somewhat odd middle road. After surviving a tragedy in his boyhood days, his new father figure wasn’t much of a genuine mage instructor. As a result, in the years following his father’s death, Shirou secretly practices his sole actualization of the supernatural: strengthening.

However, one night, Shirou becomes unwittingly involved in the ritualistic Holy Grail War, a battle royale of sorts where the chosen human masters summon Servants, beings of myth and legend. Servants are categorized into one of seven classes, each embodying transparent boons and weaknesses.

Moreover, each Master and Servant pair is tasked with defeating every other pair, with the winning duo said to earn the coveted and titular Holy Grail, a magical artifact supposedly capable of granting any wish one desires. This reality clashes with Shirou’s lofty ambition of becoming a literal hero of justice, making him confront numerous inner and outward demons, so to speak.

I’m thrilled to see this three-fold narrative instilled with meticulous quality, thanks to a strong script and excellent visuals.

Fate/stay night features three routes that deviate beyond the common route, which sets the foundational stage for each of the three general paths. These three routes, Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven’s Feel, primarily focus on Shirou’s relationship with the heroines Saber, Rin, and Sakura, respectively. Rin is another participating Master in the Holy Grail War, and Sakura is Shirou’s close friend who is disconnected from the goings-on.

It’s no exaggeration to describe these three paths as full games of their own, with their narratives and avenues of character dynamics differing from the outset. It’s advised and required to experience the routes in the aforementioned listing of Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven’s Feel since their reveals, stakes, and scale are ever-increasing in that order.

Either way, now that the obligatory setup is done, what actually stands out about Fate/stay night other than its telephoned merits over the past twenty years? Put succinctly; it’s the versatile and thoroughly detailed in-universe rules coupled with the memorably multi-faceted cast. Especially for the time of its initial release, Fate/stay night broke new ground in the visual novel medium, putting Type-Moon on the map, elevating it beyond the praise already dished out for Tsukihime.

A Refreshingly Approached Protagonist

Still, this remastered release proves that those strengths haven’t waned over the years. In fact, amidst the developer’s varied lineup with the Fate IP as a cornerstone, seeing how remarkably strong the starting point is all over again is eye-opening in a sense. Throughout Fate/stay night Remastered, the anchor is, of course, Shirou, whose inherently well-meaning nature is explored in an inventive, exhaustive sense where he essentially undergoes an enforced character deconstruction.

Fate/stay night broke new ground in the visual novel medium.

His idealistic, naive, and childish dream of becoming a self-proclaimed hero of justice is distinctively genuine and by no means an exaggeration. This alone makes Shirou a still refreshingly approached pure protagonist of sorts whose apparent wholesomeness comes off as disturbing; it goes to an emphasized, absurd extent that you rarely see this generalized archetype pursued.

The other Masters, Servants, and supporting cast also receive moments of limelight, too. For instance, Shirou’s friends and acquaintances at school, while not necessarily frequent in their appearances, do, for the most part, successfully establish a status quo of normalcy that has already been obstructed from his lens. I do wish they were more present, though.

As for the other participants of the Holy Grail War, there are expectedly varied avenues of focus depending on the route you’re on, so you become familiar with each member. Granted, a handful aren’t explored as much as I would’ve liked, such as Caster’s Master and students at the school, but the lengths at which this vast cast is detailed are quite impressive. None of the Masters or Servants come across as obligatory fodder for the stage of the overall narrative.

Three Extensive Routes

Regarding the routes, this collective subject has been met with plenty of debate for years upon years. So, first and foremost, it’s worth emphasizing that while I and everyone else have their preferences, none of these routes are poor; there is no excruciating low point or such. Go in with an open mind and try not to let others’ preconceived notions, or any of the adaptations, cloud your judgment of how this source material handles itself. Personally, my favorite route has always been Unlimited Blade Works, followed by Heaven’s Feel, with Fate not having much of a hindsight presence.

Fate is what many would say is arguably the weakest of the three routes, but upon replaying it, its strengths, notably the relationship between Saber and Shirou, as well as the focus on elements that are sidelined or taken in different directions than in other routes, make me appreciate substantially more. Experiencing the Fate route specifically will be a first for many franchise fans, too, since unlike Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven’s Feel, it has not received a dedicated adaption. The 2006 Studio Deen-produced Fate/stay night anime mixed several route elements, so that wasn’t a direct interpretation.

To be entirely honest here, the Heaven’s Feel route, while terrific, is now probably my least favorite of the three. The pacing near the second half is rather haphazard, coming across as simultaneously rushed and drawn-out, contrasting the more natural pacing of Fate and Unlimited Blade Works. No route-ruining flaws mar Heaven’s Feel, really; I just felt like I was along for a ride that was more compelling in concept.

New Features, Removals, and Quality-of-Life

Now, there are a couple of talking points regarding this remastered release, the first being the launch itself. For those unaware, Fate/stay night Remastered hosted a broken English build when it was first released on Switch and PC. The backgrounds and character sprites did not appear as they should, making it a humorous, if borderline incomprehensible, experience. Thankfully, this issue was corrected in less than a day. This development is worth mentioning since the bugs were making themselves known all across social media, so the exceeding swiftness at which this was addressed may have sped by passersby.

Go in with an open mind and try not to let others’ preconceived notions, or any of the adaptations, cloud your judgment of how this source material handles itself.

The other talking point surrounds the elephant in the room. Unlike the original PC release, this version of Fate/stay night is based on the subsequent console ports, which have removed the adult scenes. Only a few of these scenes were present originally, occurring at select points across the three routes. But to be entirely candid, you’re really not missing out on much. Despite being justified for the narrative, they were present for lustful purposes above all else and, at least personally, weren’t really arousing. Some fans feel particularly passionate about this, though, so just know that there are alternative avenues to witness these climaxes.

Fate/stay night Remastered also features a plethora of customizable options and newly enhanced 16:9 visuals. The latter are genuinely gorgeous, making this release the most recommendable one by far. Within the settings, there are several ways to modify text display, audio balancing, auto-save timing, and more; it’s quite comprehensive. There are even separately listed control types, though I don’t believe you can freely remap your buttons. This is a tad strange, but given that it’s a visual novel, this isn’t an impediment by any means.

The main menu also eventually unlocks weapon and Servant options, letting you view profiles and descriptions of the cast’s stats and armaments. It’s not entirely necessary, but it is a significant boon for those heavily invested. Additionally, hitting up on the d-pad lets you rapidly switch to other scenes on the same day, so there is no shortage of conveniences here that make this the ideal package.

Another notable menu is the Gallery, which includes what you would expect: a music player, a flow chart for transparency on branching decisions, and an ending list. Regarding the lattermost, players of Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- will see a familiar implementation of bad ends in the vein of Teach Me, Miss Ciel.

In Fate/stay night, the characters Taiga and Ilya speak to the player beyond the fourth wall via the Tiger Dojo whenever a bad ending is achieved. These sequences embrace comedy more than anything, with tips on progression being the less important of the emphases. Still, if you’d rather avoid the Tiger Dojo altogether due to how inherently disparate its tone is from the main story, you can just skip them entirely.

None of the Masters or Servants come across as obligatory fodder for the stage of the overall narrative.

One last subject worth delving into is the script. Considering how old this title is, the treatment of its official English translation was always going to be a major question. Well, at least somewhat. Based on the patched English release of Witch on the Holy Night and the launch state of Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-, there was already a fairly positive precedence in place, and it has been retained.

While select fans may have critiques for certain names and terminology, the actual grammatical structure of the text is excellent, sans typos you can easily not notice. There isn’t anything to worry about here in the realm of quality.

Note: Before concluding, I should mention that for whatever reason, Shirou’s voice acting is made entirely silent by default. You can adjust this in the sound settings within the main menu.

Even though Type-Moon has been making a marked, respectable effort to make its major releases readily accessible to global players, the existence of Fate/stay night Remastered is going to do unparalleled work in attracting countless prospective fans.

Besides containing a three-sided masterful narrative boasting layers upon layers of lore intrigue, enthralling character dynamics, and gripping battle sequences made more immersive by cleanly interwoven in-universe rules, the actual remastered effort is substantial. The enhanced 16:9 visuals and various quality-of-life features make this official English debut the definitive way to experience this classic.

Not all of the characters receive as much focus as would be ideal, and the Heaven’s Feel pacing can be off-kilter. Still, these are minor blemishes on a must-experience adventure, regardless of your acquaintanceship with Fate or the visual novel medium as a whole.