If you’re unfamiliar with the Fate/ franchise, you’ll certainly be forgiven; this long-running series from doujin developers Type-Moon started with a 2004 erotic visual novel (Fate/stay night), and has flown largely under the mainstream radar since, while steadily expanding into a massive media collection of RPGs, fighting games, anime, and manga. With an overarching story full of digital dystopias, reincarnated historical figures and alternate timelines, it’s an intriguing world, and the latest entry - Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star - took the series into hack and slash combat for the first time. EXTELLA originally released on the PS4 and Vita in 2016, but has now come to the Switch with all DLC and an exclusive costume included. Even if you’ve never touched a Fate title before, EXTELLA is well worth a look — this is a colourfully appealing character action title with fast-paced gameplay and an engaging, visual novel-like story.
If some games start in media res, dropping you right in the middle of the action, Fate/EXTELLA seems to start somewhere beyond that; ‘bewilderment’ is perhaps a good way to describe how we felt trying to follow the opening moments. EXTELLA’s story follows the events of Fate/EXTRA on the PSP (and the Japan-only EXTRA CCC), in which a massive conflict known as the Holy Grail War was fought inside the digital realm of SE.RA.PH. The Holy Grail War saw different pairs of ‘Servants’ — incarnations of historical and mythological figures — and ‘Masters’ — the humans controlling them — vying for control of the Moon Cell, a digital lunar lifeform that can grant its bearer any wish of their choosing.
When EXTELLA kicks off, this conflict is over; Nero Claudius (one-time emperor of Rome reborn in feminine form) and her Master have won the war, and alongside it the Regalia — a ring that can hold her Master inside it. But something’s not right, and it’s not long before an enemy appears inside SE.RA.PH to threaten their reign — wielding their own Regalia. If all that takes a re-read to cotton on, don’t fret; Fate’s story is winding, obtuse, and confusing, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to follow. As long as you don’t mind being a bit lost at times, and keeping up with a steady stream of new vocabulary, it’s actually quite an engaging adventure. It helps that the translation is top-notch, and the characters — especially the three main playable Servants — are very well drawn, and watching the relationships between them and their Masters unfold (more on that later!) kept us excited to play more.
In terms of gameplay, Fate/EXTELLA should feel much more familiar than the story. Organized into three main Stories, each starring a different Servant (starting with Nero) and giving parallel perspectives on events, EXTELLA is a battlefield action game, similar to Hyrule Warriors or other musou (aka ‘Warriors’) titles. That means you’ll control a single, massively powerful character from a third-person perspective as you hack and slash your way through hordes of largely harmless grunts, in an effort to draw out more powerful foes. Rather than achieving victory by defeating all enemies or making your way to the end of a level, in musou games territory is key. You’ll compete for control of the different ‘sectors’ which make up each map, and if you can manage to conquer enough for your side (by defeating the ‘Aggressors’ which show up when you fell enough low-level foes), you’ll earn the right to battle the boss. Beat the boss, and you’ll clear the stage.
In Fate/EXTELLA, this arrangement is codified through the ‘Regime Matrix’ system, where both you and the enemy army have a meter of fifteen keys to fill at the top of the screen. Each sector is worth a different number of keys, and that contributes to some strategic choices in play. It’s usually a good idea to go for (or defend) more ‘valuable’ sectors first, since they’ll do the most to fill up (or maintain) your Regime Matrix, for instance, but set pieces in each level — from mini-bosses to deal with and traps to disarm to enemy invasions to repel — often call your attention elsewhere. How you choose to balance those competing demands can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
On the ground, that involves a lot of targeted hacking and slashing from your Servant, and that core action gameplay in Fate is a blast. The left stick moves your character, ‘Y’ performs a fast, weak attack, ‘X’ takes care of the heavier (and slower) hits, and ‘B’ jumps. Different strings of weak and strong attacks, both on the ground and in the air, will trigger combos (with more unlocked as you level up), and there’s quite a variety in the movelists; we settled on a few bread and butter routines for each character, but still found plenty of room for experimenting with flashier chains in certain situations. Combat is fast, responsive, and has an excellent sense of flow — the perfect fit for a musou setup, which sees you overpowering huge groups of enemies in style.
And in the interest of overpowering those enemies, in addition to your regular attacks you’ll also have access to three different types of special attacks. There’s the ‘Extella Maneuver’ — executed by hitting ‘A’ when you have enough charge in the Extella Meter — which acts as a screen-clear super, hitting all enemies within a certain area around your character. You can also store several ’stocks’ in the meter, and chain them together with repeated hits of the ‘A’ button — a long chain can eradicate most everything aside from bosses, and it feels great to unleash that stored up fury.
The Extella gauge fills quickly, but the other two special moves are used more sparingly; the first, Moon Drive, relies on a separate, slow-filling meter, and lets your Servant transform — Sailor Moon-style — into a powered-up version of themselves, complete with killer attacks and a brand new costume. The second, the Noble Phantasm, requires picking up three Phantasm Circuits, each of which is hidden in a different sector in each map, and activating it with a tap of ‘ZR’ will destroy everything in range with a cinematic flourish. This last attack was the one we used least on our playthrough, if only because actually hunting down Circuits often fell by the wayside in the face of more immediately important objectives. Transforming using the Moon Drive, however, felt great, and helped turn the tides in several boss battles.
Many of these aspects are relatively standard for musou-type titles, but Fate doesn’t feel like a standard musou, and we love it for that. There’s a real emphasis on speed, for one; your characters’ combos slice through enemy hordes with a satisfying sense of forward motion, the chainable dash move (mapped to the ‘R’ button) will send you zooming across the stage, and you can even air dash continuously — by far our favourite way to fly.
Beyond the speed, one of the biggest differences between Fate/EXTELLA and musou games like Hyrule Warriors is that the separate sectors aren’t linked by any corridors; rather, they’re discontinuous and connected with warp points. Hit ‘B’ at the jumping off point of a sector and you’ll rocket through digital space, following a twisting path of flowing data as it winds its way in and around the stage to your next destination. It’s seriously stylish, and it also gives the gameplay a distinct feel; since travelling between sectors is almost instantaneous and doesn’t involve meeting any enemies, you’re hacking and slashing for keeps at pretty much every moment — there are no unimportant spots on the map, and that makes for a thrilling, steadily high pace throughout.
Another aspect of Fate’s style that makes it stick out is its focus on relationships — not necessarily between characters, but between you and its characters. The ‘Master’, which can bear your name and be male or female (and changed at any time), feels like a player avatar, and the game starts right off the bat with the first Servant, Nero, already very much enamored with that Master. That romantic relationship continues to develop throughout — alongside others — through the lengthy visual novel scenes between battles, and that makes EXTELLA feel a bit like a dating sim, in tone if not explicitly in mechanics. There are a few branching conversational paths, and picking the right option at particularly important junctures will raise your ‘Rank’ with your Servant, but there’s also the one-on-one ‘My Room’ chats, the surprisingly steamy dialogue, and the literally steamy bathing scenes.
It’s all very well done, with XSEED’s typically stellar writing making the blush-inducing prose enjoyable rather than embarrassing to read through; if you like a bit of romance and winking wit in your action games, you’ll have a great time here. It’s also worth noting that you’ll get that ‘lovers route’ regardless of your Master’s gender, which is appreciated — we played primarily as a female avatar, and outside of a single terminological oddity (being called ‘Husband’, with a capital ‘H’, by a certain character) our gender made no difference to our admirers.
Finally, there’s something to be said for Fate’s recontextualization of historical figures as a stylistic point. It’s oddly satisfying to see Gilgamesh, Jean d’Arc, and Cú Chulainn share a battlefield, and we’d have never imagined a game could engender so much empathy for an arsonist emperor — but then, after seeing Hungarian serial killer Elizabeth Báthory reimagined as a tsundere pop idol, very little should feel surprising anymore. If you love catching references and can keep up with the worldwide spread, these little details add a ton of personality to the action. It makes Fate feel like a sort of mytho-historical All Stars meet-up — similar to Shin Megami Tensei in that sense, but with a brighter, more anime-influenced style.
And in fact, in terms of visuals, Fate/EXTELLA reminded us quite a bit of a Shin Megami Tensei stablemate: Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE. That’s true in two senses, one perhaps more complimentary than the other. First, in terms of raw graphical prowess, this does look like it could exist happily on the Wii U. Character models are nicely done and detailed, for instance, but they animate a bit stiffly in cutscenes, and in general this doesn’t feel like a showpiece for what the Switch can do — though it’s worth mentioning that slowdown was never an issue in our playthrough.
EXTELLA also draws very favourable comparison to Tokyo Mirage Sessions from another angle, however: its visual style. From the colourful character designs to its setting of brightly light neon dreamscapes, filtered through a cyber-futuristic lens, it’s an absolute treat to watch. Level backdrops include digiverse versions of Roman ruins, Japanese temples, and modern skyscrapers, all swirling with suspended platforms and dancing with data. As a complete graphical package, Fate/EXTELLA is undeniably slick.
That’s reinforced by the soundtrack, as well — a pulsing collection of electronic tracks, fleshed out by a few welcome vocal selections that sound straight out of an anime opening. The full Japanese voice acting is also very well done, and goes a long way towards creating endearing characterizations of your partners; Nero’s VA is a particular highlight, but every Servant feels like a real personality thanks to their voices. One unfortunate aspect (also shared with Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE) is that there’s a notable amount of dialogue — in transformation sequences, special moves, and the like — that goes by without any subtitled translation; though as in TMS, you’ll certainly get the gist of it.
We had a great time with Fate/EXTELLA, but it’s not without its issues. Most immediately apparent is the lack of variety in enemy designs. That’s a common feature of musou-style games, perhaps, but it’s especially noticeable here; you’ll largely be laying waste to a single type of replicated grunt, by the hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands, and the Aggressors which guard each sector are palette-swaps of three or four different archetypes. It never particularly bothered us, and certainly reinforces the grunts’ role as sword-fodder to bring out stronger enemies, but if you thought Hyrule Warriors’ minions felt familiar after a while, Fate/EXTELLA’s single mass-produced foot soldier is almost comically repetitive.
Another grumble is with the AI on your army’s end, ostensibly there to aid you in your campaign. Each mission will see one or more allied generals holding down the fort in various sectors, but they never really seem to pull their weight; we hardly ever had companions actually take back contested territory, and it usually felt like they were there to slow the invasion rather than repel them. That could be a deliberate design decision — it certainly keeps things frantic, and blasting across the map to bail out allies under siege is satisfying when it works — but it also contributes to a bit of a ‘two steps forward, one step back’ feeling as you play.
Finally, for all its story and side content, Fate/EXTELLA is only meant for one Master at a time — there aren’t any multiplayer options to speak of. It makes sense in the Story mode, but we would’ve loved to have seen split-screen support in the Free Battle mode at least; Hyrule Warriors has taught us how much fun musou can be with a friend, and Fate’s fast-paced action would be a perfect fit for co-op.
Even without multiplayer to extend its legs, however, it’s worth reiterating how much content is here. Each of the three main Story modes feels like a small, self-contained game in its own right, and a beautifully paced set at that — the half-hour-or-so chapters in each Story are a perfect length to sit down and play through in a single session, and spacing them out helps keep things from feeling too repetitive. Progression is steady and addictive, as you’ll unlock new moves for your character, new customizable support options mapped to the D-Pad, and new passive skills that you can choose to slot into their builds, with bonuses for chaining similar types of abilities together. Having thirteen extra characters to play through smaller sections with in the Side Stories is a great bonus as well, and works wonderfully within the framework of the game’s nonlinear narrative, letting you learn more about different Servants’ backstories as you get a little rush of satisfying slash-‘em-up gameplay. If you get hooked on Fate, in other words, there’s plenty to keep you busy here.
Conclusion
A real treat for anime-action fans, Fate/EXTELLA is a lovably frantic hack-and-slash with a feeling all its own. Appealing characters and an irresistible sense of style draw you into its world, and addictive, satisfying gameplay and excellent writing keep things exciting throughout. It suffers from some common ails of the musou genre, like minimal enemy variety and subpar AI, and it’s far from a technical showcase for the system, but if you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced slash-‘em-up on Switch — or to seriously complicate your relationship with one of Rome’s most infamous sons — Fate is a perfect choice.
Comments 70
But do people die when they are killed?
I'll probably pick it up later.
@tabris95 This game is only official if Lancer dies horribly.
@tabris95
Humans are alive until they're dead. It's best to try not to die before you're dead
It is quite odd to stumble across an article dripping in Anime and Fate terminology over here in Nintendo Life...
And I love it. :3
I actually wanted to get this for the Vita but when I heard it is releasing for Switch I decided to wait. I cannot wait to play this next week when I get paid. I am actually watching the Fate Stay Night anime in the mean time while I wait.
Ordered my copy yesterday. Great review, I'm looking forward to giving this a go.
Yep i have it on vita, certainly worth a purchase for switch fans if you like Japanese niche games, it's not a 8 though, more like 6.5, it's just a decent playthrough that's all, nothing special,
How's the performance? is it at least stable at 30fps? don't want to go back to the nightmare that's DQ Heroes..
So, just to clarify, are there 3 physical games released on Switch in the UK today?
@olrodlegacy Only two. Cave Story is digital only over here (or exclusive store bullcrums). Least shopto nor amazon have a PAL copy.
@Godsent Been playing the game most of yesterday. Have had no framerate issues (at least not noticed anything) even when there are tons of enemies and effects on screen.
Only played it undocked so far however.
Nope. The Fate anime was horrible for me, too long and too slow to progress. That holds me back from the manga and the games too... I'm happy with Splatoon and will rather replace Fate with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 if it is good enough
An 8!? Tbh, this quite surprises me. Had it preordered but canceled it because all those NINE amiibos releasing today ain't cheap. Might pick this up once I take a break from Splatoon 2. Already halfway through Hero Mode! Prob touch online this afternoon as my Bayonetta Amiibos don't seem to be arriving at the shop today.
Love that picture with Gilgamesh. Its just so him.
@Yasaal have you tried the newer anime (UBW and Zero) or just the old one?
I didn't like the old one either, but especially Fate/Zero is really good (although confusing in the first few episodes)
got it yesterday & been enjoying it.
This reads like the kind of convoluted Japanese action game with unscrutable storyline that I've been quite done with. The fact that it is described as being in the musou genre is the final nail in the coffin and makes me realize that this is sadly 100% not for me.
@XenoShaun isn't the switch region free?
Preordered. Looking forward to trying a new series (for me, at least). Nice review
@XenoShaun Great, thanks. That's good to hear, I may pick it up this weekend.
Another 8. SHOCKER!
Can't wait for this one! This will fill the hunger gap for hack & slash until Fire Emblem Warriors comes out
Not a priority for me, as I'm not hugely interested in the Fate franchise.
take a full point off for that NintyLife Score and you get the real score this game actually is. I love the Japanese hacky Slashies, but Don't Believe in False ones. No I Won't.... Plus a Little Tooo Much Weeb in this one.. Looks Super Cringe.
@Samus7Killer It's a musuo game. Some people love them and some don't. The PS4 version has scores as high as 95 and as low as 40 on Metacritic. And even if it IS actually a 7, that is still a good score deserving of a purchase.
Looking forward to it. Not that I have any understanding at all what is going on with it, but because my mobile internet decided to rearrange itself and can't play online anymore, Splatoon is now a single player campaign game only for me so this is the replacement for its former hype
Glad it reviewed so well!
I'm glad this a hit, now I had confident in buying it. I too was waiting for FEW but since that won't be coming til later, this will do.
@SonOfVon Yeah but importing tends to cost more, and a company like Nicalis doesn't deserve the cash.
@J0eycasco if you like these kinds of action game eight is appropriate.
@NEStalgia I play Minecraft with my kids on the Switch during my breaks at work through my mobile hotspot. I haven't tried anything else so I don't know if Splatoon 2 will be effected. I hope you are able to find a solution.
@Indielink hmmmmm, i'll keep this one under consideration then for the future. Also, physical version could become rare for a game like this.
Never played Dynasty or Hyrule warriors, not sure if I'll like the button mashing. Especially with Splatoon out today - but I really like the art style on this.
@zionich Yeah, I'd been using it quite a bit for Arms, I actually activated it (had it sitting around since using it a few years ago) for Arms and Splatoon on the go where I'm mostly playing right now. It's worked beautifully. Then suddenly last week it's always a NAT-type-D and can't connect. I think they changed something on their end and it's game over after a few months of working flawlessly. Verizon may well be the only carrier that you can actually game reliably on, so I'll have to look into that...but those prices!!
Surprised NL didn't drop another 10/10. I mean, why not?
Looks cool but its waaaaaaaaay too expensive.
Looks like a lot of fun, more so than the fire emblem warriors one.
Even with the horse backflip.
@Naim_NL This is probably the best information in life. Everyone take note!
@NEStalgia I remember seeing a little bit of that comment section. Did not realize it was a recent change. That is messed up.
I better check mine now lol
My body is ready.
I'm a huge Fate fan, been looking forward to this for awhile.
That's so high! But honestly if it was just a dull hack 'n slash I'd still buy it. Love Fate so much!
I enjoyed this a fair bit on the PS4 as a rental, so I'll get the Switch version eventually.
Dang, first there's Disgaea 5 Complete, then there's Fate/Extella for me to keep an eye on. I don't even know which game to get first once I get a break in finances
I've already got the Japanese Dragon Quest Heroes double pack, so I feel kind of covered in Musou goodness until Fire Emblem Warriors releases.
I have it on Vita! It's an awesome game, my only gripe is it took too long to unlock certain characters! By the way Dark Eliza is the best!
@Kirgo I watched the Studio ufotable ones. They're the most updated version and have taken over the old Studio Deen anime
New Switch game? 10/10!
I don't like territory defense gameplay, and I'd rather just wait for "Fire Emblem Warriors" to get my hack 'n slash fix, anyway.
Great to see this - I'd imagine that this kind of kind is a load of fun on strong portable hardware, as I found playing Hyrule Warriors Legends on my New 3DS even more enjoyable than its cousin on the Wii U. I'll certainly consider picking this game up at some point.
@Godsent I only played for some hours, but feels like a smooth 60fps. And look as good as the PS4 version!
@Sveakungen It's definitely NOT 60FPS. It does however looked like a locked 30.
Cant measure it, but it feels great when your playing!
I always felt Musou-type games were quick fan-service games...not much to them, but at least they're pretty and remind you of something else you like, that sort of thing. That "Emporer's New Clothes" tagline fits really well, in that when it's not featuring characters and worlds I already adore, I usually can't get into it. It's just really repetitive and there's just nothing to it - no challenge and no real sense of progression. Simply put: I'm not a fan of the Fate series, and I'm pretty sure I'd get bored of it in less than an hour, seeing as I certainly got tired of watching the gameplay footage. Plus, I just hate Type-Moon's writing, so it's not like I'm gonna spend much time with the story. Oh well, at least others are getting into it.
If I wouldn't have gotten to try this game myself at E3, I would probably have never given it a second thought. Now I know it is a pretty decent game. Thanks E3!
I'm glad ppl here is excited. Hopefully this sells well.
hopefully gets a bit cheaper, looks awesome though
Great review, but can all of you at Nintendo Life please stop with the "we" pronouns in your reviews? They're written by an individual person anyway, and using "we" is just distracting, unless multiple people played through, reviewed, and wrote this piece together (in which case, there should be multiple authors credited)
8... pfff. Every game is 'great', right?
Wow, gotta love how this has turned into a slagging-off of NL for their review scores. I mean, it's just an opinion right? Make your own bloody mind up if you are that bothered.
A great man once said "Opinions are like ***holes; everyone has one, but that doesn't necessarily mean that one stinks more than the other".
I will be buying
I wonder if we'll get a port of Hyrule warriors on the switch, I'd buy that for a third time.
Maybe Hyrule warriors 2 would be better at this point (Hyrule warriors 1 included with 2 would be amazing... ).
Nice review, have this on preorder and can't wait to try it.
@ricklongo Hold that horse. I would be inclined to agree with everything you say but i have this on PS$ and actually love it. Its faster, slicker looks beautiful and somehow feels different within the same style. Hard to decribe without you playing it but im not a fan of the genre but this one is rather good.
@zipmon Thanks for your review Morgan, really enjoyed it, i will definitely be adding this game to my 'to buy' list, just not sure when i'll get around to getting it, there's too many good games coming out ! haha
@Galenmereth I literally said in my comment that if that was the case, I'd like them to make that clear lol
Probably grabbing this, due to lack of Hyrule Warriors on the Switch. Still not sure i want FE Warriors or not, so this should hold me over for now.
I really want to get this for the Switch but it's £59.99 and only £21 for the PS Vita so leaning towards getting it on there now.
My copy just arrived... popping it in now! Came with a full color manual too. This game in tabletop at work is gonna rock (and is a small taste of what is to come with Fire Emblem Warriors). Was gonna buy for Vita a while back but forgot about it... it's all about the Switch now though. Doesn't pay to have a game on a 2nd handheld I never use anymore.
@DVM
Man, you guys need a Gamers Club membership like we have here in the US via BestBuy. $47.99 and another 5% off for using their CC, so like $45.49 day one, never a cent more (and that's before counting the reward points earned, not to mention the fact they are doubled for video games so another 4% back there as well... so $43.57). And of course big games like Mario Odyssey, NBA 2k18 and FIFA 18 get another $10 back as special preorder incentive (so $33.57 day one for those)...
It kills me seeing you guys in EU talk about £59.99. I know there's no memberships like we have, but, at the very least, don't retailers adjust their MSRP in competition? Keep hearing about games being £39.99 day one (or even less) at specific UK retailers. As a gamer, it's crucial to find the cheapest, reliable source possible...
I just played the first 20 minutes of this game and I like it so far!!! The battle feels fluid and it seems like a game I would play more. Just need to stop playing and go to the gym for a bit
>New comers to the Fate world are always welcome
Also rember there a Exetlla 2 is under way!
@Arngrim you won´t go unhappy it amazing game also give FE Warroirs a shot it shapeing out to be some awsome.
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