Evidently I have a penchant for ignoring this dusty corner of my internet empire (more of an inconsequential fiefdom, really, but hey, we have Samuel Delaney and Paul Kinkaid’s occasional attention) for month-long stretches. You can stop your despairing, however, as I’ve finally gotten far enough into Fate/stay night that it’s hooked me (and hooked me good), and because my memory grows more and more sieve-like as tens of hours of gameplay come and go, it’s in my best interest to keep notes all along.
Incidentally, these are about the prologue (past this point), which happens to be sort of long.
Remember that we’re still in the mind of Rin Tousaka at this point — an altogether enjoyable place to be, though Shirou isn’t half bad, either. There’s room in my heart of hearts for cynics and idealists alike, as long as they’re multidimensional.
Again with people building gods (or, specifically, mythic heroes), though this time it’s a fantastical take on the idea. What’s interesting here is the acknowledgment that the ever-powerful servants are, without the aid of the Holy Grail (which is itself poorly understood), beyond human control. Indeed, this is basically what happens when we invent fictions (says I); they get away from us, become not just ours but everyone’s, influence future writings which in turn influence them back (says Eliot). Since Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I’ve had a tendency to read magic as a surrogate for art, especially writing, and Fate seems willing to meet me halfway on that matter.
Also note that “authenticity does not matter,” that “faith” brings the servants (an ironic name when “they cannot be controlled by humans,” eh?) into existence. Really, the fantasy here is only one remove from reality. I’m of the opinion that it doesn’t much matter whether any or all religions are true when religion results in tangible consequences, up to and including things like persecution and murder (alright, and charity, to be fair). God is real insofar as He inspires action; He’s as real as anything beyond the physical, empirical realm can be. In the Fate setting, “authenticity does not matter” is just a bit more immediate and dangerous a truth than it is on our Earth — just a bit.
Hello irony, my old friend! What these heroes do isn’t very heroic. At risk of getting ahead of myself, Lancer even makes a comment about that later on. I wonder if they’re meant to reflect the state of contemporary humanity (as it exists in the setting, anyway — it’s human will that grants the servants life, after all), or if the implication is that they were never all that heroic, that heroes as such don’t exist. Or maybe, insofar as the servants are essentially born of idealism, it’s a warning against uninformed idealism, or idealism taken too far. But is there a balance, I wonder? Is there a right way to be idealistic, or must we concede to postmodern cynicism? I suspect Shirou and Rin will ride that question out.
Here’s a more explicit comparison of the servants and their origin with religion. Maybe it’d be more apt to say that they’re like devils and angels.
All in all, I’m stricken by how much more similar the visual novel experience is to reading prose than it is to playing a video game, especially since visual novels originate in the tradition of games and anime (I think, don’t quote me on that). Fate’s occasional reader/player choices feel like formalities, though not so much so that the gamer in me doesn’t want to try to stumble through it sans guidance for now. I also have some thoughts on using Frye’s modes in a relative, text-specific way, but I’ll save that for when I write about whichever of Shirou’s arcs I end up in first.
The gameplay is relatively linear. You don’t have a choice of which route to go down first. You have to take the first route, then once that’s clear, you get to do the second route. And then once you’ve cleared the second, you get the third. The choice in this case tend to be more of a choice between life and death rather than paths to take. Although there are different ‘endings’ to the routes, but only two of them per route. And I hope I’ve not given you more information than you wanted.
Indeed! I was pleasantly surprised when I found out the prologue of the game was from the point of view of my beloved Rin :3
Not to worry, I’m fairly well spoiled on all three arcs anyway (I got curious when I watched the show, and figured I’d never play the game anyway), so there’s not much you can say that will really bother me. I don’t even mind getting a “bad” end, as long as it’s satisfying story-wise. I may just start consulting guides when I get past the first arc for the sake of avoiding repetition, but we’ll see.
I’m 100% positive that your install should have a Flowchart.pdf, which should make the overlapping days on UBW (but you get new content in days 1-3 in HF!) easier to avoid if you know where to save (something about the wheel changing, I think).
I honestly wish we could have more time spent inside her mind since I enjoy it so much personally. ^_^
She may be even more fun from Shirou’s point of view, actually. She has a way of making him look like an asshole despite (and probably in no small part because of) his good intentions.