Fate/stay night

Fate/stay night (フェイト／ステイナイト) is a Japanese visual novel game created by TYPE-MOON, which was originally released on January 30, 2004. It is TYPE-MOON's first commercial work, following its transition from a doujin soft visual novel group.

Setting
Fate/stay night takes place in 2004, and its beginning happens at around the same time as the events of Tsukihime end. Fuyuki City is the setting for a secret and violent war among competing magi. For the past two centuries, seven magi were gathered and engage in a Battle Royale, each gambling his or her own life to obtain the Holy Grail, a legendary chalice capable of granting wishes. The past four Holy Grail Wars have typically occurred every sixty years, but the fifth war has eerily started prematurely, only ten years after the fourth war.

Each magus, better known as a Master, is aided by one of the seven summoned spiritual familiars known as Servants, who are the reincarnations of legendary souls from all across time. These resurrected Heroic Spirits possess superhuman characteristics and wield powerful artifacts or abilities called Noble Phantasms. A Noble Phantasm's hidden abilities may be released by invoking its true name, but casual brandishing of a Noble Phantasm is best avoided, for symbolic Noble Phantasms usually belie a Servant's identity, diminishing their competitive advantage. Specific legends may be summoned with the aid of catalysts, which are artifacts, ideas, or experiences similar to or of value to the desired Servant. Only one Servant can be summoned in each war from one of seven classes: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Berserker, Rider, Assassin, and Caster.

The Holy Grail is a spiritual artifact, so only astral entities, such as Servants, are capable of touching it. This forces Masters and Servants to cooperate with each other against rival pairs, even if a situation entails fighting to the death. A Master can control a Servant with three Command Spells, which are crystallized miracles issued by the Holy Grail that manifest on a Master's hand. When activated, a Command Spell permits the Servant to accomplish an incredible feat, or permits the Masters to issue an irrevocable and absolute order to the Servant. In the event of a Master's demise, a Servant may choose to bind him or herself to another Master. If a Servant is slain, a Master may ally with a wayward Servant, or pursue sanctuary with the Holy Grail War's impartial supervisor, who is traditionally a delegate of the Church.

Plot
Fate/stay night chronicles a two-week period in the life of Shirou Emiya, an amateur mechanic who attends a school called Homurahara Gakuen in Fuyuki City.
 * "I have a secret I haven't told you... I'm a magi."
 * Five years after the death of his foster father, strange events begin happening in town, and he finds himself drawn into a battle between the magi called "Masters."

Ten years ago, Shirou was caught in a massive fire that incinerated his parents and consumed a large portion of the city. As he was dying, an enigmatic man named Kiritsugu Emiya discovered, saved, and adopted him. The two maintain a distant relationship because of Kiritsugu's frequent departures from Fuyuki City.

One moonlit night, Kiritsugu and Shirou have a discussion outside their home, and Shirou learns that Kiritsugu was actually a mage. Through this conversation, Shirou learns of Kiritsugu's failed ambition to become a "Hero of Justice" (正義の味方), a guardian of mankind who could protect the weak and innocent. Touched by Kiritsugu's conviction, Shirou decides to achieve that distant ideal, much to Kiritsugu's chagrin. To do this, Shirou pleads with a begrudging Kiritsugu to teach him magecraft, but Shirou makes no progress in almost any the fundamental magecraft disciplines.

Kiritsugu warns his son that the life of a magus that leads to destruction, but if he is truly set on benefiting people, he should apply his knowledge and hone his craft in secret. After Kiritsugu dies, Shirou becomes frustrated with his progress, feeling inadequate about his good deeds through magecraft. Shirou becomes unsure how to orient his future.

After cleaning his school's kyudo (archery) dojo late one night, Shirou stumbles upon two Servants, Archer and Lancer, battling in the school courtyard. To preserve the secrecy of the war, Lancer chases Shirou and pierces him in the heart with a spear. Shirou's classmate Rin Tohsaka finds him bleeding and near death, and she uses an heirloom filled with concentrated magical energy to resuscitate him. Shaken and dazed, Shirou goes back to his home, but Lancer attacks him again. Shirou weakly defends himself but is overwhelmed by the powerful Servant's attack. Shirou falls into a storage room, and being cornered, he prepares for the worst. But before Lancer can inflict a fatal blow, a young woman in armor blocks Lancer's spear. She drives Lancer away, introduces herself as Saber, and greets Shirou with the words: I ask of you, are you my Master?

Characters
As with Tsukihime, the character base in Fate/stay night is extremely comprehensive and expansive, with characters possessing varied and extraordinary abilities.


 * Shirou Emiya
 * Shirou is the main character of the story. He is a serious yet helpful, hardworking, and honest teenager. His hobbies include fixing a variety of broken things, from VCRs to stoves, as well as cooking and cleaning. He has some slight talent with magecraft, though he was discouraged by his foster father Emiya Kiritsugu from improving his gifts. He is initially confused about the Holy Grail War and attempts to irrationally shield others from danger, including his own Servant, Saber.


 * Saber
 * She is Shirou's Servant, an agile but powerful warrior. Loyal, independent, and reserved, Saber acts coldly but is actually suppressing her emotions to focus on her goals. Her class is considered the "Most Outstanding", with excellent ratings in all categories. Since her Master cannot effectively provide her with magical energy, she minimizes her activity to preserve what she has. Saber is frustrated by Shirou's "protective" tendencies, believing his erratic and reckless behavior will jeopardize her chances of winning the Holy Grail War.


 * Rin Tohsaka
 * A model student and idol of Shirou's school who is secretly a magus and Master in the Holy Grail War. She is a descendant from a long line of magi, and though she lacks a formal magecraft education, she is extremely powerful in her own right. Her father was killed in the fourth Holy Grail War, and she has trained since his death to succeed him. She is perceptive, resourceful and avidly competitive. She tried to summon a Saber-class Servant, but she accidentally called Archer instead.


 * Archer
 * His true identity is that of Shirou Emiya of an alternate timeline from that of Fate/stay night who made a contract with the world and became the Heroic Spirit EMIYA. He acts as a Counter Guardian for the world as payment for the contract. He is summoned because he still has the jewel pendant that Rin used to save his life after Lancer stabbed his heart. He considers Shirou Emiya (his past self) a target to eliminate in the hope he can erase his existence and escape his fate as a Counter Guardian.


 * Illyasviel von Einzbern
 * A young German aristocrat, she traveled to Japan to participate in the Holy Grail War as a Master. Illyasviel has an angelic appearance and an unsurpassed degree of magical power. She lives in a castle on the outskirts of Fuyuki City, accompanied only by her Servant and two maids. Illyasviel asks those she feels comfortable around to simply call her "Ilya".


 * Berserker
 * The Servant of Ilya, who appears as a swarthy giant with adamantine skin and gross brawn. He wields a colossal stone axe-club, and is capable of causing massive destruction with the mere backlash of his swings. As a Berserker, he is stripped of his sanity and reason, acting feral and animalistic in combat. Berserkers are praised as members of the "strongest" class, though they are difficult to control and always turn on their Masters. Ilya appears to have little trouble managing him.


 * Sakura Matou
 * A student in her first year of high school, sister of Shinji Matou, and Shirou's underclassman. After Shirou's father Kiritsugu died, Sakura often visited Shirou's home to help him with his daily chores. Though Shinji is from a family of magi, he asserts that she has no knowledge of her family's craft or history. Sakura is outwardly shy and timid, but possesses great inner strength. She has a long standing and obvious crush on Shirou Emiya.


 * Shinji Matou
 * Sakura's older brother, and a long-time friend of Shirou. Shinji is very popular as vice-captain of the archery dojo despite being chauvinistic and a narcissist. Like Rin, he is of a distinguished lineage of magi, though the Matou blood has thinned and no longer produces heirs naturally capable of magecraft. Shinji feels uncomfortable with his sister's daily visits to Shirou's home. He has an open crush on Rin, but she does not return his favors.


 * Rider
 * The Servant of Shinji, first seen scouting around Homurahara Gakuen. Rider is silent, sultry, and vigilant, never hesitating to shield her Master from harm. With Shinji incapable of lending magical energy to her, she is forced to seek alternative means to augment her abilities. To compensate for her weakness, Rider employs covert battle tactics and takes full advantage of territory around her. Her weapon of choice is a pair of long iron nails fastened to opposite ends of a single chain, which she effectively thrusts from distances.


 * Caster
 * The Servant of Souichirou, she is a crafty woman who's appearance is much like a sorceress; donning a hooded cloak and a dress. She has a gift in using Divine Words that surpass regular magecraft; therefore, her prowess is beyond the capabilities of modern mages including Masters of Servants. She's bitter from her life experiences and her treatment from her previous Master, which warranted her cynical personality and tactics.


 * Souichirou Kuzuki
 * Assassin
 * Lancer
 * Kirei Kotomine
 * Gilgamesh
 * Zouken Matou
 * True Assassin

Gameplay
The gameplay of Fate/stay night requires little interaction from the player as most of the game's duration is spent on reading the text that appears, representing either dialogue between the characters or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Often, players will come to a "decision point" where they are given the chance to choose from options displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. The time between these decision points is variable and during these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction. There are three main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. To view all three plot lines, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points to progress the plot in an alternate direction.

Fate, Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel are the three branching stories found within the game. Each diverge at certain points, and depending on the player interaction, will end in one of several possible ways. The Fate scenario features Saber as the main heroine. In Unlimited Blade Works, Rin Tohsaka is the main female lead, but the plot focuses on her Servant, Archer. Heaven's Feel expands on the dark history of Sakura Matou and her family.

There are forty bad endings that can be reached within the game, and each has a section called Tiger Dojo (タイガー道場) following it. It features alternate versions of Taiga Fujimura and Illyasviel von Einzbern elaborating on the endings and how to avoid them. The majority of the content has little to do with the actual endings, instead focusing on the skits performed between the two of them. Einzbern Consultation Room is a prequel story that ends with Taiga preparing to establish her own dojo to avoid all the bad endings.

Development
Before Kinoko Nasu wrote Fate/stay night, he claims he was a big fan of the  manga, which involved battles between dead historical figures from around Japan. Nasu first began writing 'Fate/stay night in college and had not intended it to be a game. Initially, Nasu only wrote what would become the game's Fate storyline however the game went on to have three storylines, the Fate scenario being one of them.

In his early drafts, Saber was a man, and the protagonist was a girl with glasses. This early draft was embodied in the short original video animation (OVA) Fate/Prototype, which was released with the final volume of the Carnival Phantasm OVA series. Nasu set aside the project and went on to found TYPE-MOON with artist Takashi Takeuchi.

After the success of their first visual novel Tsukihime in 2000 TYPE-MOON transitioned from a dojin soft organization to a commercial organization. Nasu and Takeuchi decided to turn the old Fate story into a visual novel as TYPE-MOON's first commercial product. In the beginning, Nasu was worried that because the main character was a girl, the story might not work as a bishōjo game. It was artist Takeuchi who suggested switching the genders of the protagonist and Saber to fit the game market.

There were originally to be four heroines with four routes. Saber and Rin would have comprised the first half, met in the middle of the story, and then it would have split into four routes from there. Their stories were written in one go, so Nasu felt he needed to "flip the story over." Within the theme of Fate/stay night, Saber's route is posing a question, Rin's is the answer, and Sakura's is a practical application. Ilya was one of the heroines originally, and would have been part of the practical application with Sakura. Rather than only choosing to become Sakura's hero or fulfill his ideals as an Ally of Justice on the ninth day of Heaven's Feel, Shirou would have also had an option to become Ilya's hero instead.

Due to the length, they thought to release Saber and Rin as Fate/stay night and Sakura and Ilya in a separate release titled "Fate/other night", but they thought it would have been too expensive. IIya's route was instead combined with Heaven's Feel because they decided to include Sakura's route in Fate/stay night. There was also a Caster route in development, but it was discarded entirely with the exception of the plot regarding the cooperation with Rider that is continued in a portion of the actual game. While not present in-game, the script files contain a joke about Shirou teaming up with Shinji. The Unlimited Blade Works (route) was written in the preview section of the 2001 winter booklet.

While Nasu was designing parameter rules and various attributes in Fate, he was hoping to make another game similar to a wargame like Romance of the Three Kingdoms would be interesting.

Release History
Fate/stay night was released in Japan on January 30, 2004 for Windows PCs. The game was originally released on 3 CDs, but was later re-released on DVD in 2006. The 1st edition of the game came with a visual data book.

The game was extremely popular, and became one of the best-selling galgame in 2004. In October of 2005, a fan disc titled Fate/hollow ataraxia was released, and as with its predecessor, the fan disc broke sales records.

Fate/stay night [Réalta Nua] (Irish for "new star") is a PS2 port of the original Fate/stay night. All 18+ materials were taken out, new features include all-new CG and plots (including a secret ending titled Last Episode), voice acting, and other improvements.

On December 9, 2011, a PC version of Réalta Nua was announced. Three days later, TYPE-MOON announced that the new PC version, which will be updated and will feature new CGs and more, will be released as three separate games, each containing one of the game's routes ("Fate," "Unlimited Blade Works," and "Heaven's Feel"). During TYPE-MOON Fes. in summer of 2012, a PS Vita port of Réalta Nua was announced and later released in November of the same year. In May of 2015, the "Fate" route of Réalta Nua was made available for free on iOS and Android platforms until the end of June.

TYPE-MOON Fes. announced a PlayStation Vita port of Réalta Nua released in Japan on November 29, 2012.

On 30 January 2014, TYPE-MOON released a special bundle for Windows PC, only available until the 29th January 2015, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Fate franchise. The bundle comes with Fate/stay night, Fate/hollow ataraxia, Fate 10th Anniversary Art Book「Fate/Art Chronicle」 and Fate/side material.

Réalta Nua
In 2007 Type-MOON released a CERO C-rated version of Fate/stay night. This version provided voice acting but the sex scenes were removed due to censorship, and the target audience. The updated re-release also provided the true ending to the Fate route. The PS2 theme was performed by Number 201 feat.MAKI - Ougon no Kagayaki (黄金の輝き).

The PlayStation Vita port of Réalta Nua received a new opening animation by anime studio Ufotable. Earthmind provided three themes for each route:
 * Fate - "Arcadia"
 * Unlimited Blade Works - "Horizon"
 * Heaven's Feel - "Another Heaven."

Studio DEEN


A 24-epidosde anime adaptation of Fate/stay night by Studio DEEN that aired from January 6 to June 16, 2006. While the anime took elements of all three routes from the visual novel, the main storyline followed that of the Fate route.

The adaptation was animated by Studio DEEN and produced by Fate Project, a group composed of Geneon Entertainment, TBS, CREi, TYPE-MOON, and Frontier Works Inc.
 * The Holy Grail War Begins! Ten years ago there was a secret war fought by master mages and their servants to obtain the Holy Grail, and the result was devastating to everyone. Today, the Holy Grail War is beginning again with new masters.
 * One such master, Shirou, must now come to grips with the reality of the secret world of war mages and their summoned servants when he unknowingly summons his own servant, Saber, said to the most powerful servant of them all. Perhaps Shirou will be the one to prevent the destruction that had marked the first war...

In 2010, the TV series was recompiled into two 60-minute special edition DVD/Blu-ray volumes to mark the theatrical release of Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works. Fate/stay night TV reproduction I and II featured re-edited and re-compiled content as well as new opening and ending sequences. Studio Deen went on to make an animated film based on the "Unlimited Blade Works" route from the visual novel. The film is produced by Studio DEEN, and featured the same staff from the anime TV series. The film premiered in Japanese theaters on January 23, 2010 and earned 0.28 billion yen at the Japanese Box Office.

ufotable
ufotable made an anime adaptation of the Unlimited Blade Works route. The first season premiered December 27, 2014, and the second premiered on April 4, 2015. Takahiro Miura directed the series, and Atsushi Ikariya, Tomonori Sudou, and Hisayuki Tabata adapted Takashi Takeuchi's original character designs. The storyline features original content scripted by Kinoko Nasu, the original writer of Fate/stay night. The series was originally planned to adapt the  Fate route, but it was changed to Unlimited Blade Works after production began. For the first season, Mashiro Ayano's "Ideal White" was the opening song and 's "believe" was the ending song. For the second season, Aimer's "Brave Shine" was the opening song and Kalafina's "Ring Your BelI" was the ending song. The Realta Nua visual novel version of Fate was instead set to be released for free on IOS and Android devices afterward.

ufotable also announced they would be making a movie adaptation of the Heaven's Feel route. will be the composer. During the AnimeJapan 2016 it was announced it would be composed by three films. The first film was released on Oct 14, 2017.

Sequel
On October 28, 2005, TYPE-MOON released a sequel to Fate/stay night, titled Fate/hollow ataraxia. Its plot is set half a year after the events of Fate/stay night and features new characters such as Avenger, Bazett Fraga McRemitz, and Caren Hortensia, alongside returning characters such as Shirou Emiya, Saber and Rin Tohsaka

Prequel
On November 22, 2006, TYPE-MOON announced a new installment in the Fate/stay night franchise, titled Fate/Zero. A novel prequel detailing the events of the 4th Holy Grail War 10 years prior to the 5th one told in Fate/stay night. In contrast to Fate/stay night, Fate/Zero is a series of light novels instead of a visual novel, and is told in a third person narrative that follows the actions of multiple characters.

The series is a collaboration between TYPE-MOON and a fellow developer, Nitroplus. The first volume was released on December 29, 2006. The second volume was released on March 31, 2007. The third volume was released on July 27, 2007. The fourth and final volume was released on December 29, 2007, along with the Fate/Zero Original Image Soundtrack "Return to Zero."

Related media
Fate/stay night was the beginning of a whole franchise of various media. Important related products include:

Manga

 * The Fate/stay night manga illustrated by Nishiwaki Datto, began serialization in the manga magazine Shōnen Ace, published by Kadokawa Shoten, on December 26, 2005. Although it is titled to be an adaptation of the Unlimited Blade Works route, it is more of an adaption of a combination between the Fate and Unlimited Blade Works routes while pooling some elements of the Heaven's feel route. The English manga has been translated by Viz Media and available digitally on BookWalker Global.
 * On 3 April 2015 A second Fate/stay night manga has been announced. The manga is based on the Heaven's feel route and is illustrated by Task Ohna, who also illustrated the manga.
 * Himuro's Universe - Fate/school life is a comedy 4-koma manga revolving around the normal life at school of the minor characters of Fate/stay night and Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, specifically the character Kane Himuro, classmate of Fate/stay night protagonist Shirō Emiya. It is serialized Manga 4-koma Kings Palette and currently three volumes have been published by Ichijinsha.
 * Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA written and illustrated by Hiroyama Hiroshi it was first serialized in Comp Ace in 2008 and later release into two bound volumes. A manga featuring alternate-universe Illya as a protagonist.
 * Anime adaptation by Silver Link. Directed by Shin Ounuma.

Games

 * Fate/tiger colosseum, a 3D fighting game for the PlayStation Portable featuring the Fate/stay night and some Tsukihime cast
 * Fate/Unlimited Codes, a 3D fighting game for arcades, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable featuring the Fate/stay night and Fate/hollow ataraxia cast
 * Fate/Extra, an action RPG for the PlayStation Portable set in an alternate reality from the F/sn story and featuring redesigned Fate/stay night characters along with some new ones
 * Fate/Extra CCC, an action RPG for the PlayStation Portable in continuation of Fate/Extra