A season of Fate/Grand Order
"After the Incineration of Humanity, an unprecedented quest for the Holy Grail begins..." As all living beings inevitably compete, history is replete with winners and losers. Our present is determined by history's victors...choices made correctly leading to the proper prosperity in due course. This is called Proper Human History. The incorrect choices and incorrect prosperities are history's losers. Dead-end human histories that were deemed unnecessary and interrupted...discarded even from Parallel World Theory... These are called Lostbelts.
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I have always loved the Fate universe, and this game managed to bring it to life, featuring my favorite servants and a great story, everything a good gacha game should have, although it's kind of offensive to call this demon of a gacha game "gacha," isn't it? Hahaha, but with a little effort, you can gather a lot and get your favorite characters.
This review contains spoilers
Forgive me if this sounds incoherent but i need an outlet to vent about my feelings regarding this game and how i feel it's betrayed any and all sense of trust ive ever put into it
to get the basics out of the way, im a big fate fan. ive been playing the NA version of this since NA launched and made playing JP one of my main goals when i started studying japanese. Being able to read lostbelt 7 when it dropped was a magical experience i wouldn't trade away for the world. FGO has been a part of my life for the better part of 6 and a half years by now and despite everything i still regard it as a favorite of mine in the sense that it's been with me throughs some of my highs and lows
which is why it pains me to say that i've given up on FGO.
the current release cycle of the jp version has been in an incredibly abhorrent state for the last year and a half now. Piece-meal would be praise given how barren it's been for months now. not only did they decide to enter a fucking anime-ass filler arc in the MIDDLE of the the "lets go to the final part of the story!" section of the game, but they have the gall to set it up in such a way that its fillerness exists in this awful liminal state between being important and not mattering at all. As of this writing only the first of the (alleged) three ordeal call main story chapters have released, with OC1 being some of the most boring, pathetic, fan-pandering-with-no-purpose things ive ever had the displeasure to read, especially after an incredible story chapter that, while not as good as lostbelt 6, managed to make me think and cry with it through it all.
the second story chapter is supposed to drop in late spring, a full year after the last story chapter's release. frankly speaking, this is game-ruining for me. the pacing of the supposed "final chapter" of the second part of the story is gonna be this dragged out mess of a plot just so the game can trudge through the 10th anniversary and end part 2 then and there. it's pathetic.
this, in turn, has killed my entire motivation to play the game. for a while i was only in general log-in mode since that required less than 0 brain power to do, given there's barely any dailies in the game to do. nowadays i can't even bare to look at the app icon on my phone without feeling an immense despair at how this game has ruined 10 years of type moon works for the sake of NOTHING but dogshit managerial work that will be a stain on the game's reputation forevermore. when the samurai remnant event was running i tried playing it given i really enjoyed samurai remnant but i couldnt go more than 3 arrow nodes before quitting because i couldn't see the point anymore.
i dont know what im gonna do with this game anymore. maybe ill still log in for the main story stuff, maybe ill just have my friends tell me what happens before the ending; but as of right now i can't think of anything other than how much this game has wasted itself in the past year trying to hold on to pathetic branches while falling from the trees above.
to get the basics out of the way, im a big fate fan. ive been playing the NA version of this since NA launched and made playing JP one of my main goals when i started studying japanese. Being able to read lostbelt 7 when it dropped was a magical experience i wouldn't trade away for the world. FGO has been a part of my life for the better part of 6 and a half years by now and despite everything i still regard it as a favorite of mine in the sense that it's been with me throughs some of my highs and lows
which is why it pains me to say that i've given up on FGO.
the current release cycle of the jp version has been in an incredibly abhorrent state for the last year and a half now. Piece-meal would be praise given how barren it's been for months now. not only did they decide to enter a fucking anime-ass filler arc in the MIDDLE of the the "lets go to the final part of the story!" section of the game, but they have the gall to set it up in such a way that its fillerness exists in this awful liminal state between being important and not mattering at all. As of this writing only the first of the (alleged) three ordeal call main story chapters have released, with OC1 being some of the most boring, pathetic, fan-pandering-with-no-purpose things ive ever had the displeasure to read, especially after an incredible story chapter that, while not as good as lostbelt 6, managed to make me think and cry with it through it all.
the second story chapter is supposed to drop in late spring, a full year after the last story chapter's release. frankly speaking, this is game-ruining for me. the pacing of the supposed "final chapter" of the second part of the story is gonna be this dragged out mess of a plot just so the game can trudge through the 10th anniversary and end part 2 then and there. it's pathetic.
this, in turn, has killed my entire motivation to play the game. for a while i was only in general log-in mode since that required less than 0 brain power to do, given there's barely any dailies in the game to do. nowadays i can't even bare to look at the app icon on my phone without feeling an immense despair at how this game has ruined 10 years of type moon works for the sake of NOTHING but dogshit managerial work that will be a stain on the game's reputation forevermore. when the samurai remnant event was running i tried playing it given i really enjoyed samurai remnant but i couldnt go more than 3 arrow nodes before quitting because i couldn't see the point anymore.
i dont know what im gonna do with this game anymore. maybe ill still log in for the main story stuff, maybe ill just have my friends tell me what happens before the ending; but as of right now i can't think of anything other than how much this game has wasted itself in the past year trying to hold on to pathetic branches while falling from the trees above.
Le doy 5 estrellas únicamente por la lostbelt 6, quien diría que un gacha de teléfono pudiera conta una historia tan especial
Lostbelt 6 solos
Part 2 of FGO is a noticeable improvement in terms of consistency. There really isn't many straight up bad chapters unlike certain parts of Parts 1 and 1.5 (maybe Heian-Ko but that's one chapter of eight released in EN so far), with the worst of the chapters just pretty slow and boring at points, unlike utter embarrassments like Septem and Agartha were. Part 2 is just a solid romp through some conceptually interesting scenarios, with a pretty interesting moral dilemma with what happens to the worlds left behind after each chapter is completed.
Nothing mind-blowing is present, but the best aspects of Part 2 are the really entertaining and fun characters that are just a blast to read the interactions and dynamics of. Lostbelt 5.1 Atlantis was a standout due to how fun and dynamic the ensemble cast was with each other, the highlights being Jason and Mandricardo. Shoutout to Wodime too for having an incredible backstory and motives, that was unfortunately locked to a pretty inconsistent chapter. Part 2 is mostly very enjoyable to read, but nothing as amazing as some other Type Moon works can get (Mahoyo, Hollow Ataraxia, TsukiRe, etc.)
UNTIL LOSTBELT 6 ROLLS AROUND AND HOLY SHIT, NASU REALLY WROTE AN ENTIRE FANTASY EPIC THAT'S AS LONG AS A VN, FOR A GACHA GAME????????
Avalon le Fae is an incredible piece of writing that is unfortunately trapped behind a giant time commitment that is playing Fate/Grand Order. Nearly all the complaints I have about the story are because of FGO as a game itself (bad VN presentation, Ritsuka is literally a plank of wood for a main protagonist, lack of descriptive prose whenever the perspective is on Ritsuka).
Nearly everything quality aspect from the "main" Type-Moon VNs and works is present. Compelling main characters, that all have amazing dynamics and parallels with each other that reinforce the themes of the story. There's even direct thematic parallels to the original Stay Night VN! The central characters stand with the best of the Nasuverse characters, with characters like Artoria Caster, Oberon, and Morgan standing alongside some of my other favorites in the series (Shirou, Angra Maiyuu, Ryougi, Ciel, etc.) Incredibly detailed world-building that make the setting feel so lived in and authentic. A wide variety of side characters that almost all have depth much deeper than most other side characters in FGO have. A level of introspection and narrative depth present that is equivalent to Nasu's bigger works, due of the reintroduction of lots of descriptive prose during key moments of the story. Many of the new songs in the chapter were great, which is surprising considering FGO's music is mediocre to bad. So many staples from a quality Type-Moon work come back in such a triumphant way here, which is unexpected for a story written for a gacha game of all things. And the best part is that most of the story is amazing on a stand-alone level, and not chained to needing to keep up with the overarching story of FGO.
More needs to be said about the sheer sense of scale and scope in Avalon le Fae. There are so many intersecting and seemingly disconnected parts that reconnect and are recontextualized in unexpected, yet impactful ways. One of the main themes of the chapter is finding your star and how this simplistic line applies to so many characters and relates to why the central conflicts and tragedy that can occur in the world happens is the core to the story. Artoria Caster as a character and how she parallels and contrasts with the Artoria from Proper Human History transforms what could be a very typical hero's journey into a tragic, yet hopeful introspection on duty and responsibility, and the ways they can be overcome. She stands among the best of the best of characters in the Nasuverse.
To elaborate on some flaws with the story briefly, they are alleviated a bit by having Ritsuka serve as a supporting character to the real protagonist of the chapter, Artoria Caster. Having to shove in some battles for the sake of having actual gameplay made some story segments a bit awkward to read through as well, but it is nowhere near as bad as it was with chapters like Camelot did it in Part 1. Some characters had depth still, but could have been even better if given more time to have been fleshed out, but it is understandable that Nasu would not want to make the chapter too long for a gacha game (even though the chapter we have now is like 30 hours long lol).
It is EXTREMELY hard to elaborate why Avalon le Fae is such an incredible experience without spoiling anything, but it is just a shame that more people can't read it due to the giant accessibility barrier of playing a long-running gacha game. If you are down the hole of consuming lots of Type-Moon/Fate media, or just want to commit to another gacha game, Avalon le Fae will pay your commitment in spades, rewarding you with one of Nasu's best narratives. Really hope Lostbelt 7 can maintain at least some of the quality of Lostbelt 6.
Nothing mind-blowing is present, but the best aspects of Part 2 are the really entertaining and fun characters that are just a blast to read the interactions and dynamics of. Lostbelt 5.1 Atlantis was a standout due to how fun and dynamic the ensemble cast was with each other, the highlights being Jason and Mandricardo. Shoutout to Wodime too for having an incredible backstory and motives, that was unfortunately locked to a pretty inconsistent chapter. Part 2 is mostly very enjoyable to read, but nothing as amazing as some other Type Moon works can get (Mahoyo, Hollow Ataraxia, TsukiRe, etc.)
UNTIL LOSTBELT 6 ROLLS AROUND AND HOLY SHIT, NASU REALLY WROTE AN ENTIRE FANTASY EPIC THAT'S AS LONG AS A VN, FOR A GACHA GAME????????
Avalon le Fae is an incredible piece of writing that is unfortunately trapped behind a giant time commitment that is playing Fate/Grand Order. Nearly all the complaints I have about the story are because of FGO as a game itself (bad VN presentation, Ritsuka is literally a plank of wood for a main protagonist, lack of descriptive prose whenever the perspective is on Ritsuka).
Nearly everything quality aspect from the "main" Type-Moon VNs and works is present. Compelling main characters, that all have amazing dynamics and parallels with each other that reinforce the themes of the story. There's even direct thematic parallels to the original Stay Night VN! The central characters stand with the best of the Nasuverse characters, with characters like Artoria Caster, Oberon, and Morgan standing alongside some of my other favorites in the series (Shirou, Angra Maiyuu, Ryougi, Ciel, etc.) Incredibly detailed world-building that make the setting feel so lived in and authentic. A wide variety of side characters that almost all have depth much deeper than most other side characters in FGO have. A level of introspection and narrative depth present that is equivalent to Nasu's bigger works, due of the reintroduction of lots of descriptive prose during key moments of the story. Many of the new songs in the chapter were great, which is surprising considering FGO's music is mediocre to bad. So many staples from a quality Type-Moon work come back in such a triumphant way here, which is unexpected for a story written for a gacha game of all things. And the best part is that most of the story is amazing on a stand-alone level, and not chained to needing to keep up with the overarching story of FGO.
More needs to be said about the sheer sense of scale and scope in Avalon le Fae. There are so many intersecting and seemingly disconnected parts that reconnect and are recontextualized in unexpected, yet impactful ways. One of the main themes of the chapter is finding your star and how this simplistic line applies to so many characters and relates to why the central conflicts and tragedy that can occur in the world happens is the core to the story. Artoria Caster as a character and how she parallels and contrasts with the Artoria from Proper Human History transforms what could be a very typical hero's journey into a tragic, yet hopeful introspection on duty and responsibility, and the ways they can be overcome. She stands among the best of the best of characters in the Nasuverse.
To elaborate on some flaws with the story briefly, they are alleviated a bit by having Ritsuka serve as a supporting character to the real protagonist of the chapter, Artoria Caster. Having to shove in some battles for the sake of having actual gameplay made some story segments a bit awkward to read through as well, but it is nowhere near as bad as it was with chapters like Camelot did it in Part 1. Some characters had depth still, but could have been even better if given more time to have been fleshed out, but it is understandable that Nasu would not want to make the chapter too long for a gacha game (even though the chapter we have now is like 30 hours long lol).
It is EXTREMELY hard to elaborate why Avalon le Fae is such an incredible experience without spoiling anything, but it is just a shame that more people can't read it due to the giant accessibility barrier of playing a long-running gacha game. If you are down the hole of consuming lots of Type-Moon/Fate media, or just want to commit to another gacha game, Avalon le Fae will pay your commitment in spades, rewarding you with one of Nasu's best narratives. Really hope Lostbelt 7 can maintain at least some of the quality of Lostbelt 6.
One of, if not the best gaming story of all time