Fate/Stay Night Remastered review: A fresh look at a timeless classic

Being a fan of the original visual novel, I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Fate/Stay Night Remastered ever since it was announced. As someone who has spent quite a huge amount of time nerding out on anything Fate-related, I was eager to see how the game that kick-started it all could fit into the modern gaming landscape.

I will get this out straight. I'm not an ardent visual novel enthusiast. But Fate is different. My journey started with me downloading and giving Fate/Grand Order a try (Yes, that was the hell I walked into), and I was immediately hooked by the entire concept of Singularity, Servants, and the Holy Grail War. After that I slowly consumed more related content, going deeper into the rabbit hole that is Fate.

Out of all the stories that I have experienced with this amazing franchise, Stay Night and its subsequent routes stood out the most apart from Grand Order. Now, after experiencing a chunk of the story in a new modern look, I can honestly form an opinion on whether you should give Fate/Stay Night Remastered a go.

How good is the game compared to its animated adaptations is a question that many of you might have. And I will say it outright; If you are a fan of the animated series, you should definitely play Fate/Stay Night Remastered. The reasons and how does it compare to the original? Let's dive straight into that.

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Fate/Stay Night Remastered: A fresh coat of paint on the classic Holy Grail War

The story and the routes: So As I Pray, UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!

"Are you my master?" (Image via Aniplex)

Fate/Stay Night follows the story of Shirou Emiya, a teenager living in the fictional city of Fuyuki. In a world where magic exists, he was adopted by a mage, Kiritsugu Emiya, after a fire destroyed much of Shirou's life. His adopted father teaches him the basics of magecraft before passing away, and on one fateful night, Shirou is thrust into a ritual called the Holy Grail War.

Mages in Fate's world can summon powerful heroes from the past, called heroic spirits, to command and fight against one another in a deathmatch called the Holy Grail War. The mage is termed a Master whereas the heroic spirit is called a Servant. The last surviving duo of Master and Servant can call upon a Holy Grail that will grant any wish they have.

A colorful cast of side characters supports the main heroes (Image via Aniplex)

This Holy Grail War forces Shirou to embark on a path that might change his idealistic nature and turn him into a complex character based on your choice. His naive dream of becoming a hero of justice is explored, and the game often challenges his ideals as it might ultimately be the cause that will spell doom for either him or his friends.

Don't sleep on the side characters though. While the core story is still about Shirou and Saber, much of the plot's strength comes from the other cast members, each with their own personality and motivations.

Some of them like Taiga also add the much-needed comic relief to an already dark plot, making the journey feel like a mix of shounen with a slice-of-life, rom-com approach.

Anyone familiar with the story of Stay Night knows that the game is divided into three routes; Fate, Heaven's Feel, and Unlimited Blade Works. Each route allows you to experience Shirou's connection to one of the three heroines, Saber, Rin, and Sakura.

Moreover, each path is quite distinct from one another, offering different narratives that change through the course of each of the routes.

Each of the heroines has an impact on Shirou's journey (Image via Aniplex)

All three have been included in the Fate/Stay Night Remastered version, allowing you to experience the growth of our protagonist, Shirou Emiya throughout each of these routes.

This is one place where the visual novel has an upper hand over the anime adaptations. None of the three adaptations were able to do justice to Shirou as a character. The closest we got to character development was the Heaven's Feel movies, animated by Ufotable.

On the other hand, the visual novel tells the story from Shirou's perspective. His heroic nature to save others at the cost of his own life stems from a deep-rooted trauma and survivor's guilt, offering a deeper look at his psyche.

Fate/Stay Night Remastered enhances this journey thanks to its modern visuals and audio, making it one of the most memorable stories that you can experience in the visual novel genre. It also makes Shirou more likable than the version you get in the animated adaptations.

Moreover, being a remaster of the Realta Nua version, the additional set of scenes that give more context to Saber's story and its conclusion is also available after you meet certain prerequisites. It is a beautiful and heartwarming scene and can leave you in tears.

The remastered visuals support an already incredible plot

The upscaled cutscenes increase the quality of the story (Image via Aniplex)

One of the key upgrades for the Fate/Stay Night Remastered release of the game is the upscaled scenes and cutscenes. The switch from the old 4:3 to the more modern 16:9 resolution breathes new life into the game, making it a more immersive experience.

Every scene looks better and has more clarity when compared to the previous version. The most noticeable are the character models during fight scenes in Fate/Stay Night Remastered, which look excellent and have no jagged edges, unlike the ones in the original and the 2012 Realta Nua release.

After the successful release of Tsukihime and Witch on the Holy Night, the expectation for a good translation was eagerly anticipated and Fate/Stay Night remastered delivered on that

The QoLs improve the experience in Fate/Stay Night Remastered

An extensive settings menu (Image via Aniplex)

The experience that Fate/Stay Night Remastered offers is easily an upgrade over many visual novels out there. You have a highly customizable menu, allowing you to change the Text speed, voice-overs that you want to mute, and various sliders to increase or decrease each character's voice.

Moreover, the save and load feature allows you to quit the game whenever you like and is not restricted to your progression.

The gameplay is quite simple; you read through each scene and make the occasional choice that will take you to the next act. The Flowchart system however is a big improvement and a much appreciated mechanic in any visual novel.

As stated in our Tsukihime review, your choices can take you to the wrong endings. The Flowchart allows you to revert those choices and keep track of the endings that you have completed. It is a useful tool and I'm glad to see Fate/Stay Night Remastered retains this excellent feature.

If you get a bad ending, Taiga and Illya will break the fourth wall, and add a comedic tone, offering you insight on where you went wrong. This is undoubtedly one of the best features and at times can reduce the frustration that you might experience on receiving a bad ending.

Audio and voice-overs improve the overall experience

Being an enhanced edition of the Realta Nua release, Fate/Stay Night remastered has voice-overs, which have been greatly upgraded thanks to modern technology. Whether it is Ayako Kawasumi as Saber, Kana Ueda as Rin, or Jouji Nakata as Kirei, each voice actor has done a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life.

Furthermore, the remastered version greatly improves the audio, making the experience more immersive.

The music is also phenomenal, and while it may not compare with Grand Order's excellent scores, it is still iconic. Each scene is balanced with the perfect track that fleshes out the mood; whether it be cheerful music playing during the slice-of-life sections or a somber track reflecting the darker moments of the story.

Similar to the voice-overs, each one of the music tracks has also been enhanced to reflect the modern release of Fate/Stay Night.

A few shortcomings of an excellent visual novel adventure

Great game, yet not without its flaws (Image via Aniplex)

Fate/Stay Night Remastered is an excellent game and a great visual novel experience but it is not without its flaws.

One of the biggest game-breaking bugs I faced was losing my progress whenever I re-launched my game and the Save option not working. This led to several frustrations, with me resorting to playing through the long prologue over and over.

This has been seemingly fixed alongside the other bugs. However, if it reappears try re-installing the game. That did the job for me and hopefully can fix the issue if you face it.

The Conclusion

You should definitely give Fate/Stay Night Remastered a try (Image via Aniplex)

If you are a newcomer to the Fate series and want to know the perfect way to start it, I suggest picking up Fate/Stay Night Remastered. It is available on PC and the Switch, making it more accessible than before.

Despite a few nitpicks that I had with the game, it is still one of the best visual novels out there. The developers have seemingly fixed all of the bugs that initially had me frustrated, and it is a great story that you should definitely experience.

While many may not like the Fate/Stay Night Remastered or Realta Nua versions due to the removal of the infamous erotic scenes, I don't think that's a major issue. The game still delivers a fantastic narrative experience, and those scenes felt like fan service without adding much to the overall plot.

Fate/Stay Night Remastered offers over 100 hours of playtime, especially if you are a completionist and want to get every achievement. It is an absolute treat and offers a bang for your buck.