The Fate series has covered quite some ground. It started off as a well-received visual novel and from there it spiraled in all kinds of things. Mangas, Animes, RPGs and more makes things pretty confusing to follow and despite all the exposure in different mediums, the series is still relatively underground. One example of this is Fate/Extella which is a sequel to the PSP game Fate/Extra. This game is an entirely different genre from the PSP game and is set in a different universe but does that mean it should be ignored?
Who is the true ruler of the Moon Cell?
The story of Fate/Extella begins not long after the holy grail war that transpired in Fate/Extra. There are three arcs in the story mode focusing on three different characters. The first one is Nero. After a very confusing event, Nero’s master awakes with no recollection of just about anything that has happened. Nero is now the ruler of the Moon Cell and as proof obtained a ring called the Regalia. Not soon after waking up, both Nero and the master discover that both the regalia and the master have split up into two with both the other master and regalia in possession of an old ally named Tamamo. With both her part of the master and the Regalia she declares war on Nero but soon after it becomes apparent that a more dangerous threat is coming.
The story is very plain and simple. There are no real interesting moments in its narrative but despite that its dialogue is very lengthy. The writing is closer to a visual novel which the series comes from. And for the most parts; it shows. The writing is sharp and nice but the problem is that most of the time there is no point to the dialogue. Sometimes characters tend to ramble on about trivial stuff that serves no purpose other than to extend playtime. A lot of the dialogue is exceedingly mushy and melodramatic. There are tons of line dedicated to how much the protagonist loves his or her servant with a burning passion. It’s very cheesy and can get grating at times. Most of these scenes are accompanied by some kind of fan-service but the fan service isn’t the real problem here. Characters fail to make the emotional connection they need to to make the “romantic” scene have any emotional value. Fate/Extella doesn’t offer much of an interesting story and while it’s writing is well-done for the most part most of it is just a waste of time that keeps the player from actually playing the game.
A lot of the dialogue is just padding and mush.
Internet Musou.
Fate/Extcella plays like a Musou game. Players will be dropped in a level which consisting out of areas that are connected by warp points. In order to win you will need to acquire a certain amount of keys to gain complete control of the area and then fight the boss. Every area has a value of keys that once conquered will reward the player with that amount of keys. In order to conquer an area, players will have to beat a certain amount of aggressors which will only spawn if enough regular enemies are defeated. Then there are plants which produce more aggressors and need to be taken down first before anything else.
There is a vast amount of characters to play, each with their own unique moves and attacks. You defeat enemies using mainly light attacks and heavy attacks. Blocking and dashing are also possible but these only feel like a necessity on the highest difficulty as enemies just tend to stand around waiting to be hit. Aside from a light and heavy attack players can use a super move called Extella Maneuver which can wipe out an entire army. To activate an Extella Maneuver player need one pip on the bar but they can choose to use more pips to deal extra damage. Then there are the Phantasm Circuits. There are three circuits marked on the map and collecting all three allows you to do a screen-clearing move. And if that’s not enough to deal with enemies players can also activate their Devil Trigger called Moon drive. This will power up your character immensely for a certain amount of time with the three main character in the game getting a complete transformation with new moves. It seems like the game has too much super powerful moves which can make the game very easy. Players can also equip their Master with robes that give them different kinds of perks. These buffs are called Code Casts and can heal, power-up, cure amongst other things. There are also RPG-like elements like leveling up and installing skill that do increase the effectiveness of your character considerably. While in the story mode there is more dialogue than gameplay you can battle at your heart’s content in the free mode. The combat itself is fairly mindless and it’s not really deep but the pacing of the levels is competent enough to avoid making the battles too tedious and make progress flow well enough. But even that won’t keep players busy for too long considering the free battle mode doesn’t really reward the players with enough incentives to continue playing.
Combat is standard fare musou fights.
Living in the digital world.
The game looks nice enough graphically. It utilizes a light Cell-shaded look and very vibrant colors. The thematic design of the game is mainly a digital look. a lot of vibrant blue and blacks are paired with each other by way of sharp lines and cubes. This world uses a digital recreation of other cultures and their respective elements and creates some neat looking environments with it. Giant wine barrels float in the sky creating wine waterfalls or floating trees with digital-looking roots make the game have a fairly unique looking world. For the most part the game keeps a consistent framerate but it can dip a bit when a lot of effects are going on on screen. But this never impacts gameplay. Character portraits and menu UIs look nice and clean. It keeps the digital theme consistent across the board. The music is also great. A mix of electronic and soothing sounds make up a majority of the soundtrack and fit every moment they’re in. The game manages to look nice and has some good music.
The game looks nice enough.
Closing Note:
Fate/Extella falls in that hard to write spectrum, it’s not really a great game but it’s not bad either. It’s just in this weird serviceable limbo. Fans of the series might enjoy themselves but considering the game takes place in a universe outside of the main series content, it’s hard to imagine fans finding a lot of value in the game. While its writing is sharp and well done it feels wasted on a lot of useless filler and cheesy romantic lovey-dovey lines. Its story or characters aren’t gripping in the slightest and players won’t be engaged in the slightest. The story mode is low on gameplay but there are side-stories and free battles which expand the characters and gameplay. But even then does the gameplay feel serviceable. Players will basically keep doing the same thing with combat that gets monotonous fast. Visually the game is good. It has a good cyber technological style with lots of blues and blacks. And on a performance level the frame dips happen on occasion but barely does it affect the game. Fate/Extella is inoffensive but it’s hard to recommend to anyone. There are better games on the platforms and in the genre for fans of the gameplay and fans of the series won’t find much to keep themselves busy with either. At it’s best Extella is serviceable.
