Fate Extra, Extra, Extra!

Ladies and gentlemen, gamers of all ages, it has become my habit to check out a dozen professional critic reviews before daring to purchase a game. Wouldn't you do the same if the starting screen was so plain it makes you want to do something else? Or maybe that's just Fate Extra's way of luring us into a false sense of security.

 

The plot of Fate Extra takes place in a virtual reality where people and their 'Servant' partners duke it out for the Holy Grail. No, it is not a cup. Yes, it does grant any wish you've got, but only if you kill off every opponent pit against you. The rules are very strict about that. That's why the ever silent protagonist (namely you) finds him/herself stuck in a world where you are forced to fight and kill for the Holy Grail like everyone else.

 

There's been some people saying that Fate Extra is a lot like SMT: Persona 3 due to its high school setting, but worry not, players, that's just appearances. Fate Extra definitely holds it own with deeply philosophical prose and a visual novel style...meaning there's so much deeply philosophical prose, ranting, and talk of politics to read, you might not have a clue what half the characters are saying. Thankfully you won't care. Besides a skip text button at your disposal, there are enough unique characters, mini-dramas, twists, and different path choices to keep anyone occupied with seeing what happens. This all leads to the surprising conclusion of: Fate Extra really does have a high level of replayability! I was shocked, I tell you, shocked. That bland starting screen really had me fooled.

 

In other words this game is not to be judged by its cover, but by its contents and what glimpses of text you catch when you realize you've been holding the skip text button for too long. I've already played Fate Extra three times and am likely to do so again. It's nice to see a bland, NPC-like protagonist grow, interact, and view how different kinds of people deal with death and motivation. It's also pretty impressive that such a bland (the game characters' words, not mine) protagonist remains at the forefront when there's so many other interesting, actually speaking characters around. Usually such protagonists tend to blend in with the background and become unnecessary to the game as a whole.

 

Of course...half the game's text IS written from the protagonist's point of view, so you can't exactly ignore the protagonist then, now can you?