As good as the Fate/ series is, those of us outside of Japan always ended up a bit left out. We’d get all these spin-offs and other adaptations, but the original story eluded us. Like imagine you started with City Slickers 2 instead of the original City Slickers. (Okay, that’s not such a bad idea, since The Legend of Curly’s Gold is the superior film.) But now Type-Moon and Aniplex announced Fate/Stay Night Remastered, obviously a remaster of the original game, with an English language option. And frankly? We deserve this.
As a refresher for those wondering why we didn’t see Fate/Stay Night in English before now, well, it had adult content! Because it was a “mature” game, it didn’t show up 20 years ago when it debuted on PCs in Japan in 2004. Because the anime and manga removed that content, companies like Crunchyroll, Sentai Filmworks, and Tokyopop picked them up.
However, we also have to remember that once the console versions of the game started appearing on the PlayStation 2 and Vita, it happened at a time when visual novels weren’t popular worldwide yet. Now if a visual novel tied to a popular series, such as Konosuba, we’re probably going to see it worldwide! Type-Moon’s Witch on the Holy Night only appeared in 2022 worldwide, and we’re getting the first part of the Tsukihime remake in 2024.
Do you know how many Fate/ series video games appeared in English worldwide before this Fate/Stay Night Remastered reveal? Seven. There was Fate/Extra (PSP), Fate/Extella (PS4, Vita, Switch, PC), Fate/Extella Link (PS4, Switch, PC), Fate/Grand Order (mobile), Fate/Samurai Remnant (PS4, PS5, Switch, PC), and Fate/Unlimited Codes (PSP), and Everyday Today’s Menu for Emiya Family (Switch). Think about that last one. We even got the Cooking Mama-like spin-off.
Frankly, once Fate/Grand Order launched worldwide and was shown to be a success, we should have seen Fate/Stay Night. To have it take this long boggles my mind.
Because really, this has been building for so long. People already know and love all the main Servants who are a part of this series. The Artoria Pendragon version of Saber is so recognizable, she’s essentially become a household name in anime circles. Fate/Grand Order remains one of the more popular mobile gacha games. The level of familiarity means the demand is there for us to finally get to play the game.
Most importantly is this one critical detail: we know Fate/Stay Night is good. This is a critically acclaimed game. It’s beloved. It’d have to be to inspire so many adaptations, tie-ins, and spin-offs. The Fifth Holy Grail War is a fascinating concept, the story is interesting, and the characters have genuine depth to them.
Fate/Stay Night Remastered will come to the Switch and PC in Japanese, English, and Simplified Chinese worldwide in 2024.
Published: Jan 30, 2024 12:00 pm