Fate/stay night

[DB-ANN] Fate/Stay Night (TV Series, 2006)
[DB-ANN] Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (Movie, 2010)
[DB-ANN] Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (2014) (TV Series, 2014)
[DB-ANN] Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (2015) (TV Series, 2015)
[DB-ANN] Gekijouban Fate/Stay Night: Heaven`s Feel (Movie, 2017)

Description

----The one who obtains the Holy Grail will have any wish come true.

The Holy Grail War. A great ritual that materializes the greatest holy artifact, the Holy Grail. There are two conditions to participate in this ritual: being a magus and being a "Master" chosen by the Holy Grail.

There are seven chosen Masters and seven classes of Servants, beings akin to superhumans with incredible fighting abilities. There is only one Holy Grail. If you wish for a miracle, prove that you are the strongest with your powers.

Emiya Shirou is a high school student who has learned rudimentary magic from his father and uses it to fix objects. He finds himself engaged in the Holy Grail war as he gets attacked by a Servant. As he gets cornered, he somehow summons his Servant and manages to stay alive long enough to compete against the other Masters.

[Partially taken from mirror moon]

contentsexual contenttechnicalhide spoilersshow minor spoilersspoil me!summaryall

Insert Songs 3.0 Mage Protagonist 3.0 Sword Wielding Protagonist^S 3.0 Magic 3.0 Combat Capable Friends 2.9 Branching Plot 2.9 High Amount of Bad Endings 2.9 Hint Corner 2.9 Game Over 2.9 Sacred Treasure 2.9 Ending List 2.9 Character Profiles 2.9 Male Protagonist 2.9 Bad Endings with Story 2.9 Major Antagonist 2.9 Fighting Protagonist 2.9 Urban Fantasy 2.9 In-game Sexual Content Toggle 2.9 Skip Scenes 2.9 NVL 2.8 Duel 2.8 2000s 2.8 Bad Ending(s) 2.8 Superpowers 2.8 Built-in Encyclopedia 2.8 Enforced Playing Order 2.8 Under the Same Roof 2.8 Summoning 2.8 Energy Transfer via Sex^S 2.8 Mage Heroine 2.8 Multiple Endings 2.8 Unlockable Gallery 2.8 Sword Combat 2.8 Lots of Choices 2.8 Unlockable Routes 2.8 Sword Wielding Heroine 2.8 Orphan Protagonist 2.7 Fictional Modern Day Japanese Town 2.7 Modern Tsundere Heroine 2.7 Knight Heroine^S 2.7 Protagonist with a Face 2.7 Unlockable Hero(ine) 2.7 Fantasy 2.7 British Mythology^S 2.7 Descriptions of Violence 2.7 Magic/ESP Combat 2.7 Contemporary Fantasy 2.7 European Heroine 2.7 Life and Death Drama 2.7 Music Recollection 2.7 Protagonist's Kouhai as a Heroine 2.7 Student Heroine 2.7 Early Branching Plot 2.7 Tsundere Heroine 2.7 High Amount of Special Effects 2.7 Sex Under the Necessity^S 2.6 Unique Routes 2.6 Desperation 2.6 Heroine Based on a Mythological Character^S 2.6 Rape Victim Heroine^S 2.6 Orphan Heroine 2.6 Heroine with Zettai Ryouiki 2.6 Unlockable Event 2.6 Playtime Counter 2.6 Asian-style Manor 2.6 Death of Protagonist^S 2.6 Food Discussions 2.5 Secret Identity^S 2.5 Heroine with Armor 2.5 Unlockable Epilogue 2.5 Changeable Font 2.5 High School Student Heroine 2.5 Short Common Route 2.5 Pretending Heroine^S 2.5 Battle Royale 2.5 Varied Title Screens 2.5 Student Protagonist 2.5 Yangire Heroine^S 2.5 Unlockable Bonus Content 2.5 Death of Heroine^S 2.4 Unlockable Choices 2.4 Protagonist with Voice Acting 2.4 Infodumping 2.4 Heroine Based on Real Person^S 2.4 Heroine with Superpowered Side^S 2.4 Other Perspectives 2.4 Priest Support Character 2.4 Heroine with Ahoge 2.4 Lots of Event CGs 2.4 Twin Tail Heroine 2.4 Bonus Side Stories 2.4 Greek Mythology^S 2.4 Homunculus Support Character^S 2.4 Determinant Antagonist^S 2.3 Ethnically Diverse Cast 2.3 Female Ejaculation 2.3 Genius Heroine 2.3 Heroine with Big Breasts 2.3 Mayadere Heroine 2.3 Homemaker Protagonist 2.3 Female Protagonist for a Short Time 2.3 Combat with Exotic Weapons 2.3 100% Completion Bonus 2.3 Mesopotamian Mythology^S 2.2 Built-in Flowchart^S 2.2 In Medias Res 2.2 Non-Erotic Moral Corruption^S 2.2 Yandere Heroine^S 2.2 Royal Heroine^S 2.2 Mages Association 2.2 Combat with Spears 2.2 Multiple Route Mystery 2.2 Multiple Opening Movies 2.1 Parting Ending^S 2.1 Western-style Castle 2.1 Low Sexual Content 2.1 Identity Crisis^S 2.1 Cowgirl 2.1 Missionary Position 2.1 Hotblooded Protagonist 2.1 Irish Mythology^S 2.1 Unavoidable Heroine Rape^S 2.1 Combat Archery 2.0 Flashback 2.0 Drastic Character Development^S 2.0 Late Sexual Content 2.0 Low Fantasy 2.0 Non-twin Heroine Sisters^S 2.0 Reverse Cowgirl 2.0 Single Blowjob 2.0 Spontaneous Power-ups^S 2.0 Western-style Manor 2.0 Child Abuse^S 2.0 Doggy Style 2.0 Temple 2.0 Blowjob 1.9 Christian Church 1.9 Threesome^S 1.9 Church 1.9 Date Display 1.9 Mentor Support Character 1.9 Winter 1.9 High School 1.9 Heroine with Sexual Experience^S 1.9 Knife/Dagger Combat 1.8 Attempted Rape^S 1.8 Graphic Violence 1.8 Body Horror 1.8 Heroine with Small Breasts (Non-Loli) 1.8 Loli Support Character 1.8 Sexual Content 1.7 Multiple True Endings 1.6 Philosophy 1.6 Unarmed Combat 1.6 Narrating Others' Thoughts 1.6 Resurrection^S 1.6 Romancing a Family^S 1.6 Albino Heroine 1.6 Mystery 1.5 School Sports Club Member Heroine 1.5 Redemption 1.5 Archery Club 1.5 Cunnilingus 1.5 Protagonist with a Sprite 1.5 Kuudere Heroine 1.4 Forest 1.4 Alternate Dimensions^S 1.4 Long Sexual Scenes 1.4 Battle of Wits 1.4 Norse Mythology^S 1.3 Forced Auto-Read Sections 1.3 Defloration 1.2 Comedy 1.2 Group Sex of One Male and Several Females^S 1.1 Proactive Protagonist 1.1 Grotesque Body Modification 1.1 Threesome Ending^S 1.0 Amnesia^S 1.0 Psychological Horror^S 1.0 Depression^S 0.9 Interracial/interspecies Romance 0.9 ADV 0.6 Masturbation 0.3 Meaningless Choices 0.2 Donkan Protagonist 0.1 Lesbian Sex^S 0.1 Murder Mystery^S 0.1 Slice of Life Comedy 0.1

Mini reviews

By fullbuster on 2020-09-03Vote: 10

<report>Fate/stay night is a masterpiece. It makes great use of the route structure, with each instance building upon the former and adding to the overall character and thematic points that it wants to make. Shirou Emiya is an incredible protagonist, whose increasingly intriguing persona is further and further explored in a new, unique fashion as the story progresses. The romantic protagonists are also handled excellently. Every heroine has their own depth and complexity, and have agency outside of the main character. Almost every character parallels each other in some way, and this makes every interaction intriguing to watch unfold. Fate has become my absolute favorite piece of fiction and I recommend anyone to read it.

0 comments 13 points

By kagakuroe on 2020-09-06Vote: 9

<report>Pacing issues aside, this is an incredible piece of writing. One of the best visual novel protagonists out there. A significant step up from Tsukihime, and the start of a nightmare franchise. Would recommend.

1 comment 6 points

By shrapnelp2 on 2020-10-22Vote: 9

<report>Recommended for any newbie or veteran VN reader. The way this game uses the 3 different routes to build on top of each other is unique, fully utilizing the VN medium to its potential. I related to half the cast in some way or another, with themes that deeply resonate. The only reason I deducted 1 point was because of some of the "haremy" vibes I got from a lot of the SOL scenes. Even though I enjoyed them, the pacing tends to suffer in order to include them in, and I personally felt like they lowered the stakes a little. Other than that, the themes and endings to each route here are among the best and will probably give you some food for thought even when the excitement of the great action sequences will have died down.

0 comments 6 points

By tertyyy on 2020-10-16Vote: 9

<report>A classic visual novel that has aged really well. The different routes are extremely interesting and play off of each other extremely well and tell a continuing story while technically repeating the same time period. Has some of the greatest characters in the medium. Has some issues with pacing in the first half of each route but always manages to deliver later on. In addition even some of the slower moments have surprisingly subtle and well done character work.

0 comments 6 points

By OnkelGrape on 2023-10-10r428Vote: 10

<report>Please. If you want to get into the Fate franchise, start with this.
My favorite VN. Never felt as committed reading anything. I love how the 3 routes build upon each other and the VN contains many plot twists that I for one didn't see coming. Well done prologue too. Quite lore heavy game, but it takes its time to explain it well. Rather slow pace but never gets boring. It mixes action, mystery, urban fantasy, romance and comedy in a good ratio. The prose is by far the best I have read in a visual novel. This VN stands high above all other works in the Fate franchise for me. The plot is top notch and the characters are really well written and deep. Maybe an unpopular opinion but I really like the main hero. Made me become a slightly better person, I guess.

And the H-scenes are terrible.

11 comments 4 points

By ihateblueshell on 2022-07-21r34896Vote: 9.7

<report>fate route 6.5/10
Because fate is the first route of the game and because saber is the best girl i think i can tolerate it a bit. But overall it is the worst route of the game.

ubw route 8/10
If i have watched the anime adaptation of ubw i would give 1/10 or 2/10. Because without reading shirou's mind it would be like some noname shounen anime. This is the good part of visual novels.

hf route 11/10
Literally peak fiction. Other routes are just preparation for hf. Kotomine Kirei is literally me.

4 comments 3 points

By piewalker on 2022-05-01Vote: 10

<report>I have been reading visual novels for a long time now and only just decided to make this account, and now I am left to try to review a VN I read for the first time many years ago, yet sticks with me 'til this day.

Fate/Stay Night is classic, nostalgic, surprisingly insightful and jarringly raw. It is an experience where you are pulled along for a fantastical battle royal set in the modern day, yet the themes are often dark and the tone of this VN is very gritty and real. These two opposites shouldn't work together, yet somehow with its thoughtful worldbuilding and moments of slice of life to develop its characters, everything feels very real and grounded.

I have read this one several times and I enjoy it every time. Even though its old now, its still very enjoyable and holds up well.

0 comments 3 points

By Jigno on 2023-12-17r352Vote: 10

The best visual novel I have ever read and seen in my life, simply its writing, story, fights, music, everything fits, each route has slightly different stories but at the same time they correlate, simply the best novel.

This review contains spoilers, click to view.

0 comments 2 points

By cheekyman07 on 2021-12-07Vote: 9

<report>A great piece of work to read for a reader that is new to visual novels. This was one of my first and it has a bit of everything. I particularly loved the fight scene soundtracks, which made scenes really entertaining to read through. The only thing I wish there was more of is detail on the fight scenes, you have to use a bit of imagination but it only hurts it a little.

The side lore that you can read as you progress through the story is interesting as well, the dramatic scenes and twists will keep you on your toes and at times play with your heartstrings as they change your impressions and outlooks on the characters. All in all a solid story. Extra note to the amazing heroine Rin Tohsaka, one of my fave characters of all time.

0 comments 2 points

By Dogidogi on 2024-03-24r745Vote: 10

<report>It's good.
It's long.
Masterful prose even on the fanmade translation.
Amazing ost (listening to dis as im writing link)
Also it's fully voice acted with some of the best seiyuu cast i have seen on a visual novel, Noriaki Sugiyama is an actual god and Type Moon were extremely based by giving the protagonist full voice acting.
Great art especially on Heaven's Feel, also the best route with the best ending.
What else do you want on a visual novel? Nasu gets a bit caught up describing cooking but i forgive him.
Don't watch the anime unless you just want visuals since the VN is superior in literally every aspect

0 comments 1 point

By Godyssey on 2023-11-25Vote: 8

<report>Good stuff, especially when you make it to Heaven’s Feel. Certainly a bit overrated though, however Shirou successfully became well-written AND well-executed by the end so that’s cool. Onto Hollow Ataraxia now

0 comments 1 point

By himejoshi on 2021-01-01r62346Vote: 9

<report>Masterpiece soundtracks, magnificent fights, good comedy,
funny characters that is so enjoyable to talk with, such unforgivable endings.
it was such a story to be telling, I really love the way it's written and described.

Now coming to what kind of let me down
There were two soundtracks that I freaking love yet I heard them once in the whole VN.
The fighting scenes were less than I would expected, they were good enough to let me want more.

Fate route's end was perfect . that's it.

0 comments 1 point

By ber on 2022-05-19Vote: 10

<report>There's so much to love in this vn that I'm not even going to try to cover it all. All I'm going to say is that this is pretty much a perfect vn. Long, epic, with a great plot, endearing but also deep and complex characters, great music, superb atmosphere, very interesting topics covered throughout the three routes, a wonderful protagonist, maybe an even better villain, and the list goes on. It's also a great choice for a first vn.

Despite all this, and what I said in the first paragraph, it's by no means perfect, in the sense that it does have a few flaws. But the amount of good makes you pretty much forget about the bad. Once you finish it, you'll be thinking about it for a long time. I read it a year ago, and still think about it a lot. Definitely a must read.

0 comments 1 point

By baconcat on 2024-02-05r85584Vote: 10

<report>Formative in my growing up, this novel is, in my opinion, a masterpiece. The writing is sloppy, wooden, and wordy, but it has such an enthralling and deep story to tell that it makes up for its shortcomings. As an eroge, this might be seen from the outside as cheap fiction, but there is a reason that this novel single-handedly formed a huge multi-media franchise. Love this god forsaken game.

0 comments 0 points

By Revabot on 2024-01-16r85584Vote: 10

<report>This here is my first proper VN that I have played and the game that started it all (Came from FGO) and because I really enjoyed the story of FGO I decided that maybe trying Fate/Stay Night where the whole franchise had come from sounds like a really good idea to appreciate the story even more because before playing this I did not know much about FGO despite it being a very popular franchise with many people and man was it a fun ride my favorite route has to definitely be Heavens feel as the tones for that route are extremely different then the other routes and some moments were really nice especially during a certain scene in heavens feel anyway yes this was my entry VN and I'm happy to have played it.

0 comments 0 points

By KitchenCoach on 2023-12-17Vote: 10

<report>i personally think that UBW is the worst one by far (the amount of plot hole, inconsistencies, characters breaking their characterization just for the plot and bullshit that the story put out of its ass make my brain hurt).

HF is muy personal fav simply becuse i think the characters were more consistent with the plot and there was a better development of the narrative overall, is not perfect in any way, it has plot conveniences and plot hole as well, but is not nerly as horrible as UBW.

0 comments 0 points

By AngeVNs on 2021-08-26r27641Vote: 8

<report>Fate/Stay Night was my first visual novel I read. It introduced me to how story-based VNs could go... and the concept of H-scenes in an otherwise serious story. It's interesting how the series has become such a money printing machine. Sakura/Heaven's Feel is my favorite.

0 comments 0 points

By sho52 on 2022-05-01Vote: 8

<report>Guess I was too upset at the fact that Kinoko didn't manage to finish the Illya route. So happy that Hiroyama drew Priya. Also I was never able to be fully on board with the seemingly contrived dichotomy of "to save one person he had to become the enemy of the world". Muv-Luv Alternative IMO handled the related theme much better ("the highest form would be to combine your personal, private motivations with the grand, public motivations"). The way HF ended and Sakura was written just didn't feel right to me, and I'm glad that in Priya Sakura actually did something for the others for once and sacrificed herself instead of dragging everybody down with her in a purely negative victim role as far as I saw the story (I might have missed something of course).

0 comments 0 points

By TvoyOtets281 on 2023-10-23Vote: 9

<report>A good vn with good hentai. The second route, however, is a garbage dump. But the first and second are great. By the way, I don’t understand the whining about this franchise. As for me, apart from this VN and at a stretch Fate/zero, nothing else exists in this franchise and I can easily live with it

2 comments 0 points

By osgood on 2021-04-21Vote: 4

<report>I started this without any previous knowledge and read it because it was so popular and highly rated.

- The pacing is all over the place
- Slice of life parts are boring and occur too often.
- I don't think I've ever disliked a MC this much in any media ever. Especially the voice acting where he grunts every first word of a sentence. I cringed every single time.
- The sex scenes are very bad.
- The differences in the 3 routes do not make sense based on the choices made even if there are some revelations about the previous routes.

Parts of the story and characters are interesting and the last 2-3 days of every route can really drag you in, but it was too much of a chore to get there.
I don't understand why this is so popular or rated so highly and I recommend to avoid this VN.

0 comments 0 points

By devon432 on 2020-12-06r22128Vote: 1

<report>The writing is horrible, the pacing is even worse, expositions not only are torture, with them being way too long, you will get them even at the final parts of the VN, only for them not to matter because the rule that was established is immediately broken afterwards because of some stupid reason. It's the worst kind of chuuni, the one that takes itself too seriously (at least outside bad end segments), a complete waste of good concepts and the reader's time.

11 comments 0 points

By freysaku on 2020-09-03Vote: 2

<report>Too long, didn't read: This is dangerous kusoge, do not read.

Longer version: Fate/Stay Night is a considerable downgrade to Nasu's previous work, Tsukihime. Boasting worse art, a bad translation, as well as an extremely bland MC which ends up making the SoL scenes, which is a majority, extremely stale. The heroines don't help, as Saber is quite boring and does nothing but grind against Shirou sometimes, Rin is fine but forgettable and not a great "tsundere", and Sakura does nothing, so she becomes the best one automatically. Every other character exists to simply not do anything, characters like Lancer that disappear immediately, Assassin which exists for a few scenes and fights, etc. The best thing I can say about it is that Archer is really good, but its not worth reading this.

5 comments 0 points

Full reviews

By aristocrat on 2023-09-23Vote: 10

<report>These days, the name Fate brings to mind the gacha game, the ridiculous amount of fanart, anime adaptions, spinoffs, doujinshi, and all the other paraphernalia, before the visual novel where everything came from in the first place. Faced with this behemoth of a franchise, it can be quite a challenging task figuring out where to start. Nevertheless, my answer to this question as a Fate fan has always been the following:

PLAY THE VN.

Yes, it is worth it. No, the anime adaptions are not as good (even though Ufotable does a good job with their animation).

To briefly summarise the premise, it features a young Magus called Emiya Shirou who is forced into a life or death tournament of sorts... Read more »

0 comments 2 points

By periah250 on 2023-07-21Vote: 8

<report>Fate as a franchise need no introduction, anyone reading this is likely well familiar with this work, however I'll look at this without taking into account the juggernaut the franchise has become.

To preface the review I have a dose of bias toward this novel which I will elaborate on further down, these bias will be ignore for the sake of the review as they are problems of a personal quality, but the issues are very likely something that will affect others.

Fate/stay night centers around Shirou in modern day Japan, magic exists but is heavily concealed. his adoptive father was a mage of sorts and he has a special talent for understanding items and strengthening them. He is unwittingly... Read more »

0 comments 1 point

By kanjieater on 2023-08-20r62346Vote: 8.1

<report>Undoubtedly this was one of the best visual novels, until Type Moon's later works like Tsukihime Remake & Mahoutsukai no yoru surpassed it. It lays a strong foundation for strong story telling in each route with a bare minimum of redundant content between the routes. Coming from reading Type Moon's later works first, I would have expected more over the top action scenes, as that's what I've begun associating Nasu's works with - however, while I found them to be engaging, it wasn't quite on the same scale of my spoiled expectations. I was also skeptical on the whole concept of a Holy Grail war, but was pleased find that this was almost a Lovecraftian, cosmic horror level of development... Read more »

0 comments 0 points

By RoyMustang264 on 2024-02-11r62346Vote: 7

<report>A solid narrative dragged down by its tail end

You're a mostly average dude, Shirou Emiya, dragged into a dangerous supernatural world: a "Holy Grail War" where eight magi fight to the death to obtain the ability to make any wish come true. You progress through three routes, each focusing on a different girl: in order, those are Fate, Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel. The first two routes are good, but the third one is pretty bad.

The first one, FATE, focuses on Saber, the ancient hero summoned by apparent accident to protect your life in the Holy Grail War. Her identity is initially unknown and later revealed and it's really dumb, but the VN's explanations managed to make me buy... Read more »

0 comments 0 points

By SomeDude on 2022-09-13r428Vote: 8.5

<report>FSN was both the first anime I ever saw, and the first VN that I ever read. With that in mind... it's been quite some time since I read it, though the UBW anime refreshed the memory of my favorite route quite a bit. Yes, I fall under "Team Unlimited Blade Works" rather than "Team Heaven's Feel."

Back in the day, I would have rated this game an easy 10, as it very much impressed me and got me interested in visual novels. However, looking back, I can see that while it was very well written, it wasn't perfect. Among other things, it feels like they cut routes and made it incomplete. And I actually disliked the Heaven's Feel route quite a lot.

The artwork, while dated now, was very good for... Read more »

1 comment 0 points

By emoasyou on 2023-05-04r83965Vote: 10

<report>I truly love everything about this VN the art design is incredible, The story is unique, The writing often gave me goosebumps or made me cry more then any other story ive seen or read. The characters are so well done and Nasu often as parallels between his characters. Often I would think about what I thought was happening and it would come true but the reason this does not bring this VN down is that this is all by design. Everything written by Nasu thats gives away something is there so it does exactly that none of this is done by accident. Finally I truly think the Saya No Uta soundtrack is breathtaking but as much as I do, Fate/Stay Nights soundtrack hits me differently then anything else... Read more »

4 comments 0 points

By Remi-Eternal- on 2022-05-31Vote: 7

Fate is quite good. I liked some aspects of it, and hated some aspects of it.
If you asked me why I think it's good or why I like it, I won't be able to answer. I can't put what I think and feel into words. I can't say what I like, but I can say where it's kinda disappointing or bad.

I will only write my reviews on the bad sides of it as I can't properly put into words what I like.

I hate the left behind character threads and unsatisfying answers I got from characters.

Fate Route - not much here but,.

I hate the glutton charasteristic of Saber. I hate when she doesn't act like a King aside serious moments

Unlimited Blade Works - ah this one well, as I described it, "Two kids... Read more »

This review contains spoilers, click to view.

0 comments 0 points

By japanication on 2022-10-19Vote: 6

<report>2024 edit: Wow, what a HUGE difference having a decent translation is.
Actually, I'm reading it in Japanese now that I can, and it's way better than the English story I read a few years back. But also the new updated English translation is so much better (I did a few paragraphs worth of comparisons), finally you can properly enjoy Fate guys. I'll have to update this score in the future after I finish reading it, because now I actually want to read it!!

I believe I got 9 hours into this. It was a year ago so I'll probably be vague.
TL;DR It seems somewhat fun but wasn't very interesting so I dropped it.
The characters were deep and likable enough. The battles were cool enough. But I didn't... Read more »

3 comments 0 points