<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>It is pretty amazing one game's quality can vary so much in the same game. My brief feeling of the three major story arcs: Fate (Saber/Arthuria) is awesome. Unlimited Blade Works (Rin Toukasa) is perfection. Heaven's Feel (Sakura Marou) is utterly worthless (but it is still better than about 90% of what counts as plot in RPGs). It's as if Heaven's Fell arc was supposed to be about Illyasviel Von Einzbern, obviously the most adoreable but surprisingly one of the most interesting characters as well, until someone realized that Ilya was obviously very underage and they'd run into trouble with the child pornography people, so instead you get Sakura and a whole lot of sex scenes with no meaning (I think she needs sex whenever after she uses any kind of magic or magic turns her on, or something).
The focus of this game, at least in the two well-developed game, is love. For an 18+ game it is rather surprising that most of the sex scenes have meaning. It works out Rin is 1/1, Saber is 1/2(or maybe 3, depending on how you look at the scene where she's captured), and Sakura is 0/lots (the extra one with Rin counts as hers too). Fate/Stay Night is a love story with some of the best scripted fights ever.
My revised analysis on the main characters:
Shirou Emiya (hero) - He is quite simply the best hero in a RPG. Or, actually, that honor should belong to Archer, but Shirou surpasses him in Unlimited Blade Works to earn the right to protect Rin Toukasa. In a world inhabited by superheroes and legends, he is merely an apprentice Magi and yet he always find the power to defeat his foes, and it's not just RPG hero dumb luck, either. If the non legend characters have a stat sheet, then he would certainly have an EX rating on the trait 'Mind's Eye' (ability to find a way to overcome the obstacles, however difficult they may be).
Rin Tohsaka (heroine) - There's no doubt in my mind Rin is the girl that should end up with Shirou. There is nothing not to like about this wonderfully developed character. Even the sex scene with her flows quite well. In some sense, Rin embodies perfection, and yet she does not feel boring at the same time. If you consider the 3 aspects of fighting this game, namely magic, martial arts/armed combat, and strategy, Rin is by far the best balanced overall.
Sakura Marou (heroine, not) - There is nothing to be said about this worthless excuse of pixels. I really do not understand why anyone would possibly like Sakura consider if you like perfection, you got Rin. If you like honesty, you have Saber/Arthuria, and if you like cute girls, there is Ilya. Also, her personality is completely worthless, and she's gets completely obliterated by Rin's Zietrich in the final showdown on her arc. At least Sakura should use the Dark Excalibur and maybe there would be a reason to take her story arc more seriously, or get good old Gilgamesh for a final boss battle.
Illyasviel Von Einzbern (Ilya) - Also the girl with a thousand different names. Ilya is almost never described by her name. She is without a doubt the most figuratively beautiful of all the girls. The snow that always accompanies her in the opening anime is a living symbol of who she is. Beautiful as snow, yet deadly as snow as well. Speaking of snow, there was never the scene in the entire game where she looks into the camera with those evil red eyes in a snowstorm, which further makes me think Heaven's Feel was supposed to be her story.
Ilya, however, is also the achille's heel of Fate/Stay Night, even more so than the worthless Sakura. It is easy to dismiss Sakura as a worthless add-on, but it is hard to ignore the fatal character hits Ilya received in Heaven's Feel. A key statement in Heaven's Feel's True Ending pretty much annihilated her image of innocence in a worse way than if she just had sex with Shirou (or tempt him, like Sakura always does). My suggestion is to ignore everything that happened in the ending of Heaven's Feel if you actually like Ilya.
That said incident not withstanding, Ilya is a great character. Innocent and merciless. An angel and a devil at the same time. In Fate, Ilya is the devil. In Unlimited Blade Works, Ilya is the angel, and she performs those two roles superbly. In Fate, there's no one I wanted to kill more than Ilya, and in Unlimited Blade Works she does a 180 and become the symbol of purity, and it actually all make sense. "Let your pain be my pain. Let my blood shed for your blood, Berserker." is one of the princess of figurative speech's most beautiful lines. Ilya also plays the role of an angel in Heaven's Feel but it is not as powerful as it was in Unlimited Blade Works, and I am sure I am not the only one who resent you have to lose Ilya to get Sakura back in the *good* ending of Heaven's Feel (or you can lose them both in the normal ending).
From a combat point of view, Ilya's magic immunity and seemingly unlimited supply of mana will make you really hate White Mages. She is certainly a worthy *boss* character in this series. The Raise abilities she possesses is just pure evil incarnate consider how hard it is to knock out her summon even once.
The Servants (heroes summoned to this world by the Magis)
Saber (Arthuria (corrected spelling)). She is the Shirou's Servant, and the forgotten hero of history. Her name is lost to legends because a girl was not supposed to have wielded Excalibur. Her personality is very pleasant and noble, and it makes her somewhat boring. After the Fate arc, Saber's role in the story diminishes greatly, since it is eclipsed by Archer, Shirou, Rin, and Ilya. However, she is certainly the most forceful character out of all the heroes, minus Gilgamesh. Her Excalibur effect is simply unmatched, considering she only has 3 frames of animation when she use Excalibur, but quality, not quantity, is what counts.
In Heaven's Feel, you get to fight an evil version of Saber. Although this is more worthless influence of Sakura, even when she's corrupted she's still her noble self, letting Shirou penetrate her attack with Excalibur so she would die so that the world would be saved. I do not understand why the author expect the reader to accept you have to give up Saber and Ilya to get Sakura back...
Archer (identity secret) - Rin Tokuasa's Servant, the hero that is unknown even to the legends. More than any other Servant, he is Rin Toukasa's eternal guardian, willing to do anything to protect her. He sacrificed himself to hold off a full strength Ilya + Berserker in the Fate arc, who can probably defeat even Gilgamesh when they're both at full strength. While Unlimited Blade Works is the story of Shirou and Rin, it is also the story of Rin and Archer. He lives with the curse of being a hero, but he shoulders this eternal pain because this is the only way he can protect Rin. Rin/Archer, in a sense, is the series's ideal couple, even more so than Rin/Shirou (even though Shirou defeated Archer to earn the right to protect Rin).
Other 5 Servants skipped because while they're good characters, their roles vary significantly depending on which story you're playing.
Archer (Gilgamesh) - Not to be confused with the first Archer. Aside from Heaven's Feel, Gilgamesh is the final boss of this game. As a being of pure power, he does not have much of a personality to speak of, but he carries out his role as a being of absolute power quite well.
Aside: Both "Archers" do not actually use a bow. Archer refers to their ability hurl multiple weapons as projectiles.
Now the three stories that's contained in this game...
Fate (Saber)
This is Saber's story. As can be expected from a character like her, her story is pleasant, noble, and yet sad. Her relationship with Shirouk, not surprisingly, follows the same route. Rin and Archer has minimal impact in this story, which is a weakness since they're better developed characters than Saber. Ilya, however, does a good job of making up for their lost roles. Fate, from a fighting point of view, is a tour de force of Saber's Excalibur. Saber vs Rider, Saber vs Berserker, and Saber vs Gilgamesh are all incredibly well scripted battles. If we talk about the sheer impact of the battle, Saber vs Gilgamesh is clearly the best battle in the game. The effects on Saber's Promised Victory move and Gilgamesh's Genesis Star move (loose translation) are just some of the best you'll find anywhere, despite very limited frames of animation. Shirou's descrition of the battle: "Avalon... Saber's sanctuary, shall not be pierced by any weapon!" is probably the most powerful direct statement in the game.
The ending, once again, is quite predictable for her character.
Unlimited Blade Works (Rin Toukasa)
This is where the cast of Fate really shines. No longer is the story confined to just Saber, and we are given the freedom to meet the wonderful cast of Fate. Relegated to support character duty in the Fate story arc, Rin Tohsaka makes her commanding claim as the main female character in this story in Unlimited Blade Works with her vivid personality. Likewise, Rin's eternal champion, Archer, is simply unmatched as a character. Throughout Unlimited Blade Works, we see Shirou's growth as a character, to catch up to Archer so that he can protect Rin, until the climatic Archer versus Shirou (which is also the final boss music and uses the name of Archer's true name, and rightfully so) fight. While this fight do not carry the force of say, Saber's Excalibur duels, it is quite possibly the best fight in the game. Archer, a merely class C hero (Gilgamesh is EX, Arthuria is A++, etc), fights Shirou, the hero but only a mere apprentice Magi, to see who can have the right to protect Rin. The outcome, of course, is expected. After this battle, even the final battle of Shirou versus Gilgamesh loses its luster. As the reader you know that when Shirou defeated Archer, there was no other hero that can possibly stop him, not Saber, or even the mighty Gilgamesh.
In Unlimited Blade Works, as I mentioned earlier, Ilya's character takes a complete 180. Sure, you still fight her on the 3rd day, but with Archer on your side as well (in Fate you do not get Archer), even the strongest Magi/Servant pair cannot defeat Saber + Archer + Tohkasa. In the showdown in Ilya's castle, that is when you see the scene she shares her pain with Berserker, and you finally understand why she hates you so much for hurting her Servant. Ilya's death in the hands of Gilgamesh, in some ways, reminded me of Aeris's death. Cut off from the Servant she trusted more than anything, even the great priestess cannot withstand the power of Gilgamesh with her fragile body. Her death also gives an indication of what the last story ought to be. As Shirou, you will fight to protect Ilya, who always acted like your sister, even when she wants to kill you, in the next story.
Both endings of Unlimited Blade Works are great. The "TrueEnd" is sadder, but it makes more sense in the scheme of the story, as Archer finds Rin's smile the courage he needs to withstand his eternal suffering. "Smile always, Archer." The 'GoodEnd' is pretty happy-go-lucky, everyone lived happily ever after, which certainly isn't bad either. This, after all, is the only ending where Saber stays behind too.
Heaven's Feel (Sakura Marou)
Ug, where do I start with this. The main focus is on a character who seems to get turned on by magic so you've sex scenes every other day and in between those days you get these interludes on how Sakura's always molested as a child. Although this is supposed to be Ilya's turn to be defended, this gets messed up because Sakura's in the way. As I've said before, the ending doesn't fit her at all either. I can accept that Ilya sacrificed herself to Resurrect Shirou but it makes you ask the question why such a sacrifice has to be done in the first place. I guess a pure maiden needs to die for the mess up that Sakura caused?
Shirou versus Saber (corrupted) is a decent fight, though. Actually the fight is pretty plain for this game, but when you defeat Saber she thanks you for killing her before she can heal herself again, because she's already consumed in the darkness and will only bring eternal darkness to this world. Or, perhaps more strongly, if you choose to not kill her, she says, "For the first time in my life, Shirou, I hate you. Why do you wish to be killed by me?"
Oh yeah, the Ilya watching the falling snows is definitely my favorite CG in the entire game and can only be obtained in this part.
Oh well, 1 awesome and 1 perfect out of 3 isn't too bad.
<b>Spoiler Message:<b>
<span style="background: black; color: black;">It is pretty amazing one game's quality can vary so much in the same game. My brief feeling of the three major story arcs: Fate (Saber/Arthuria) is awesome. Unlimited Blade Works (Rin Toukasa) is perfection. Heaven's Feel (Sakura Marou) is utterly worthless (but it is still better than about 90% of what counts as plot in RPGs). It's as if Heaven's Fell arc was supposed to be about Illyasviel Von Einzbern, obviously the most adoreable but surprisingly one of the most interesting characters as well, until someone realized that Ilya was obviously very underage and they'd run into trouble with the child pornography people, so instead you get Sakura and a whole lot of sex scenes with no meaning (I think she needs sex whenever after she uses any kind of magic or magic turns her on, or something).
The focus of this game, at least in the two well-developed game, is love. For an 18+ game it is rather surprising that most of the sex scenes have meaning. It works out Rin is 1/1, Saber is 1/2(or maybe 3, depending on how you look at the scene where she's captured), and Sakura is 0/lots (the extra one with Rin counts as hers too). Fate/Stay Night is a love story with some of the best scripted fights ever.
My revised analysis on the main characters:
Shirou Emiya (hero) - He is quite simply the best hero in a RPG. Or, actually, that honor should belong to Archer, but Shirou surpasses him in Unlimited Blade Works to earn the right to protect Rin Toukasa. In a world inhabited by superheroes and legends, he is merely an apprentice Magi and yet he always find the power to defeat his foes, and it's not just RPG hero dumb luck, either. If the non legend characters have a stat sheet, then he would certainly have an EX rating on the trait 'Mind's Eye' (ability to find a way to overcome the obstacles, however difficult they may be).
Rin Tohsaka (heroine) - There's no doubt in my mind Rin is the girl that should end up with Shirou. There is nothing not to like about this wonderfully developed character. Even the sex scene with her flows quite well. In some sense, Rin embodies perfection, and yet she does not feel boring at the same time. If you consider the 3 aspects of fighting this game, namely magic, martial arts/armed combat, and strategy, Rin is by far the best balanced overall.
Sakura Marou (heroine, not) - There is nothing to be said about this worthless excuse of pixels. I really do not understand why anyone would possibly like Sakura consider if you like perfection, you got Rin. If you like honesty, you have Saber/Arthuria, and if you like cute girls, there is Ilya. Also, her personality is completely worthless, and she's gets completely obliterated by Rin's Zietrich in the final showdown on her arc. At least Sakura should use the Dark Excalibur and maybe there would be a reason to take her story arc more seriously, or get good old Gilgamesh for a final boss battle.
Illyasviel Von Einzbern (Ilya) - Also the girl with a thousand different names. Ilya is almost never described by her name. She is without a doubt the most figuratively beautiful of all the girls. The snow that always accompanies her in the opening anime is a living symbol of who she is. Beautiful as snow, yet deadly as snow as well. Speaking of snow, there was never the scene in the entire game where she looks into the camera with those evil red eyes in a snowstorm, which further makes me think Heaven's Feel was supposed to be her story.
Ilya, however, is also the achille's heel of Fate/Stay Night, even more so than the worthless Sakura. It is easy to dismiss Sakura as a worthless add-on, but it is hard to ignore the fatal character hits Ilya received in Heaven's Feel. A key statement in Heaven's Feel's True Ending pretty much annihilated her image of innocence in a worse way than if she just had sex with Shirou (or tempt him, like Sakura always does). My suggestion is to ignore everything that happened in the ending of Heaven's Feel if you actually like Ilya.
That said incident not withstanding, Ilya is a great character. Innocent and merciless. An angel and a devil at the same time. In Fate, Ilya is the devil. In Unlimited Blade Works, Ilya is the angel, and she performs those two roles superbly. In Fate, there's no one I wanted to kill more than Ilya, and in Unlimited Blade Works she does a 180 and become the symbol of purity, and it actually all make sense. "Let your pain be my pain. Let my blood shed for your blood, Berserker." is one of the princess of figurative speech's most beautiful lines. Ilya also plays the role of an angel in Heaven's Feel but it is not as powerful as it was in Unlimited Blade Works, and I am sure I am not the only one who resent you have to lose Ilya to get Sakura back in the *good* ending of Heaven's Feel (or you can lose them both in the normal ending).
From a combat point of view, Ilya's magic immunity and seemingly unlimited supply of mana will make you really hate White Mages. She is certainly a worthy *boss* character in this series. The Raise abilities she possesses is just pure evil incarnate consider how hard it is to knock out her summon even once.
The Servants (heroes summoned to this world by the Magis)
Saber (Arthuria (corrected spelling)). She is the Shirou's Servant, and the forgotten hero of history. Her name is lost to legends because a girl was not supposed to have wielded Excalibur. Her personality is very pleasant and noble, and it makes her somewhat boring. After the Fate arc, Saber's role in the story diminishes greatly, since it is eclipsed by Archer, Shirou, Rin, and Ilya. However, she is certainly the most forceful character out of all the heroes, minus Gilgamesh. Her Excalibur effect is simply unmatched, considering she only has 3 frames of animation when she use Excalibur, but quality, not quantity, is what counts.
In Heaven's Feel, you get to fight an evil version of Saber. Although this is more worthless influence of Sakura, even when she's corrupted she's still her noble self, letting Shirou penetrate her attack with Excalibur so she would die so that the world would be saved. I do not understand why the author expect the reader to accept you have to give up Saber and Ilya to get Sakura back...
Archer (identity secret) - Rin Tokuasa's Servant, the hero that is unknown even to the legends. More than any other Servant, he is Rin Toukasa's eternal guardian, willing to do anything to protect her. He sacrificed himself to hold off a full strength Ilya + Berserker in the Fate arc, who can probably defeat even Gilgamesh when they're both at full strength. While Unlimited Blade Works is the story of Shirou and Rin, it is also the story of Rin and Archer. He lives with the curse of being a hero, but he shoulders this eternal pain because this is the only way he can protect Rin. Rin/Archer, in a sense, is the series's ideal couple, even more so than Rin/Shirou (even though Shirou defeated Archer to earn the right to protect Rin).
Other 5 Servants skipped because while they're good characters, their roles vary significantly depending on which story you're playing.
Archer (Gilgamesh) - Not to be confused with the first Archer. Aside from Heaven's Feel, Gilgamesh is the final boss of this game. As a being of pure power, he does not have much of a personality to speak of, but he carries out his role as a being of absolute power quite well.
Aside: Both "Archers" do not actually use a bow. Archer refers to their ability hurl multiple weapons as projectiles.
Now the three stories that's contained in this game...
Fate (Saber)
This is Saber's story. As can be expected from a character like her, her story is pleasant, noble, and yet sad. Her relationship with Shirouk, not surprisingly, follows the same route. Rin and Archer has minimal impact in this story, which is a weakness since they're better developed characters than Saber. Ilya, however, does a good job of making up for their lost roles. Fate, from a fighting point of view, is a tour de force of Saber's Excalibur. Saber vs Rider, Saber vs Berserker, and Saber vs Gilgamesh are all incredibly well scripted battles. If we talk about the sheer impact of the battle, Saber vs Gilgamesh is clearly the best battle in the game. The effects on Saber's Promised Victory move and Gilgamesh's Genesis Star move (loose translation) are just some of the best you'll find anywhere, despite very limited frames of animation. Shirou's descrition of the battle: "Avalon... Saber's sanctuary, shall not be pierced by any weapon!" is probably the most powerful direct statement in the game.
The ending, once again, is quite predictable for her character.
Unlimited Blade Works (Rin Toukasa)
This is where the cast of Fate really shines. No longer is the story confined to just Saber, and we are given the freedom to meet the wonderful cast of Fate. Relegated to support character duty in the Fate story arc, Rin Tohsaka makes her commanding claim as the main female character in this story in Unlimited Blade Works with her vivid personality. Likewise, Rin's eternal champion, Archer, is simply unmatched as a character. Throughout Unlimited Blade Works, we see Shirou's growth as a character, to catch up to Archer so that he can protect Rin, until the climatic Archer versus Shirou (which is also the final boss music and uses the name of Archer's true name, and rightfully so) fight. While this fight do not carry the force of say, Saber's Excalibur duels, it is quite possibly the best fight in the game. Archer, a merely class C hero (Gilgamesh is EX, Arthuria is A++, etc), fights Shirou, the hero but only a mere apprentice Magi, to see who can have the right to protect Rin. The outcome, of course, is expected. After this battle, even the final battle of Shirou versus Gilgamesh loses its luster. As the reader you know that when Shirou defeated Archer, there was no other hero that can possibly stop him, not Saber, or even the mighty Gilgamesh.
In Unlimited Blade Works, as I mentioned earlier, Ilya's character takes a complete 180. Sure, you still fight her on the 3rd day, but with Archer on your side as well (in Fate you do not get Archer), even the strongest Magi/Servant pair cannot defeat Saber + Archer + Tohkasa. In the showdown in Ilya's castle, that is when you see the scene she shares her pain with Berserker, and you finally understand why she hates you so much for hurting her Servant. Ilya's death in the hands of Gilgamesh, in some ways, reminded me of Aeris's death. Cut off from the Servant she trusted more than anything, even the great priestess cannot withstand the power of Gilgamesh with her fragile body. Her death also gives an indication of what the last story ought to be. As Shirou, you will fight to protect Ilya, who always acted like your sister, even when she wants to kill you, in the next story.
Both endings of Unlimited Blade Works are great. The "TrueEnd" is sadder, but it makes more sense in the scheme of the story, as Archer finds Rin's smile the courage he needs to withstand his eternal suffering. "Smile always, Archer." The 'GoodEnd' is pretty happy-go-lucky, everyone lived happily ever after, which certainly isn't bad either. This, after all, is the only ending where Saber stays behind too.
Heaven's Feel (Sakura Marou)
Ug, where do I start with this. The main focus is on a character who seems to get turned on by magic so you've sex scenes every other day and in between those days you get these interludes on how Sakura's always molested as a child. Although this is supposed to be Ilya's turn to be defended, this gets messed up because Sakura's in the way. As I've said before, the ending doesn't fit her at all either. I can accept that Ilya sacrificed herself to Resurrect Shirou but it makes you ask the question why such a sacrifice has to be done in the first place. I guess a pure maiden needs to die for the mess up that Sakura caused?
Shirou versus Saber (corrupted) is a decent fight, though. Actually the fight is pretty plain for this game, but when you defeat Saber she thanks you for killing her before she can heal herself again, because she's already consumed in the darkness and will only bring eternal darkness to this world. Or, perhaps more strongly, if you choose to not kill her, she says, "For the first time in my life, Shirou, I hate you. Why do you wish to be killed by me?"
Oh yeah, the Ilya watching the falling snows is definitely my favorite CG in the entire game and can only be obtained in this part.
Oh well, 1 awesome and 1 perfect out of 3 isn't too bad.</span></div>
The focus of this game, at least in the two well-developed game, is love. For an 18+ game it is rather surprising that most of the sex scenes have meaning. It works out Rin is 1/1, Saber is 1/2(or maybe 3, depending on how you look at the scene where she's captured), and Sakura is 0/lots (the extra one with Rin counts as hers too). Fate/Stay Night is a love story with some of the best scripted fights ever.
My revised analysis on the main characters:
Shirou Emiya (hero) - He is quite simply the best hero in a RPG. Or, actually, that honor should belong to Archer, but Shirou surpasses him in Unlimited Blade Works to earn the right to protect Rin Toukasa. In a world inhabited by superheroes and legends, he is merely an apprentice Magi and yet he always find the power to defeat his foes, and it's not just RPG hero dumb luck, either. If the non legend characters have a stat sheet, then he would certainly have an EX rating on the trait 'Mind's Eye' (ability to find a way to overcome the obstacles, however difficult they may be).
Rin Tohsaka (heroine) - There's no doubt in my mind Rin is the girl that should end up with Shirou. There is nothing not to like about this wonderfully developed character. Even the sex scene with her flows quite well. In some sense, Rin embodies perfection, and yet she does not feel boring at the same time. If you consider the 3 aspects of fighting this game, namely magic, martial arts/armed combat, and strategy, Rin is by far the best balanced overall.
Sakura Marou (heroine, not) - There is nothing to be said about this worthless excuse of pixels. I really do not understand why anyone would possibly like Sakura consider if you like perfection, you got Rin. If you like honesty, you have Saber/Arthuria, and if you like cute girls, there is Ilya. Also, her personality is completely worthless, and she's gets completely obliterated by Rin's Zietrich in the final showdown on her arc. At least Sakura should use the Dark Excalibur and maybe there would be a reason to take her story arc more seriously, or get good old Gilgamesh for a final boss battle.
Illyasviel Von Einzbern (Ilya) - Also the girl with a thousand different names. Ilya is almost never described by her name. She is without a doubt the most figuratively beautiful of all the girls. The snow that always accompanies her in the opening anime is a living symbol of who she is. Beautiful as snow, yet deadly as snow as well. Speaking of snow, there was never the scene in the entire game where she looks into the camera with those evil red eyes in a snowstorm, which further makes me think Heaven's Feel was supposed to be her story.
Ilya, however, is also the achille's heel of Fate/Stay Night, even more so than the worthless Sakura. It is easy to dismiss Sakura as a worthless add-on, but it is hard to ignore the fatal character hits Ilya received in Heaven's Feel. A key statement in Heaven's Feel's True Ending pretty much annihilated her image of innocence in a worse way than if she just had sex with Shirou (or tempt him, like Sakura always does). My suggestion is to ignore everything that happened in the ending of Heaven's Feel if you actually like Ilya.
That said incident not withstanding, Ilya is a great character. Innocent and merciless. An angel and a devil at the same time. In Fate, Ilya is the devil. In Unlimited Blade Works, Ilya is the angel, and she performs those two roles superbly. In Fate, there's no one I wanted to kill more than Ilya, and in Unlimited Blade Works she does a 180 and become the symbol of purity, and it actually all make sense. "Let your pain be my pain. Let my blood shed for your blood, Berserker." is one of the princess of figurative speech's most beautiful lines. Ilya also plays the role of an angel in Heaven's Feel but it is not as powerful as it was in Unlimited Blade Works, and I am sure I am not the only one who resent you have to lose Ilya to get Sakura back in the *good* ending of Heaven's Feel (or you can lose them both in the normal ending).
From a combat point of view, Ilya's magic immunity and seemingly unlimited supply of mana will make you really hate White Mages. She is certainly a worthy *boss* character in this series. The Raise abilities she possesses is just pure evil incarnate consider how hard it is to knock out her summon even once.
The Servants (heroes summoned to this world by the Magis)
Saber (Arthuria (corrected spelling)). She is the Shirou's Servant, and the forgotten hero of history. Her name is lost to legends because a girl was not supposed to have wielded Excalibur. Her personality is very pleasant and noble, and it makes her somewhat boring. After the Fate arc, Saber's role in the story diminishes greatly, since it is eclipsed by Archer, Shirou, Rin, and Ilya. However, she is certainly the most forceful character out of all the heroes, minus Gilgamesh. Her Excalibur effect is simply unmatched, considering she only has 3 frames of animation when she use Excalibur, but quality, not quantity, is what counts.
In Heaven's Feel, you get to fight an evil version of Saber. Although this is more worthless influence of Sakura, even when she's corrupted she's still her noble self, letting Shirou penetrate her attack with Excalibur so she would die so that the world would be saved. I do not understand why the author expect the reader to accept you have to give up Saber and Ilya to get Sakura back...
Archer (identity secret) - Rin Tokuasa's Servant, the hero that is unknown even to the legends. More than any other Servant, he is Rin Toukasa's eternal guardian, willing to do anything to protect her. He sacrificed himself to hold off a full strength Ilya + Berserker in the Fate arc, who can probably defeat even Gilgamesh when they're both at full strength. While Unlimited Blade Works is the story of Shirou and Rin, it is also the story of Rin and Archer. He lives with the curse of being a hero, but he shoulders this eternal pain because this is the only way he can protect Rin. Rin/Archer, in a sense, is the series's ideal couple, even more so than Rin/Shirou (even though Shirou defeated Archer to earn the right to protect Rin).
Other 5 Servants skipped because while they're good characters, their roles vary significantly depending on which story you're playing.
Archer (Gilgamesh) - Not to be confused with the first Archer. Aside from Heaven's Feel, Gilgamesh is the final boss of this game. As a being of pure power, he does not have much of a personality to speak of, but he carries out his role as a being of absolute power quite well.
Aside: Both "Archers" do not actually use a bow. Archer refers to their ability hurl multiple weapons as projectiles.
Now the three stories that's contained in this game...
Fate (Saber)
This is Saber's story. As can be expected from a character like her, her story is pleasant, noble, and yet sad. Her relationship with Shirouk, not surprisingly, follows the same route. Rin and Archer has minimal impact in this story, which is a weakness since they're better developed characters than Saber. Ilya, however, does a good job of making up for their lost roles. Fate, from a fighting point of view, is a tour de force of Saber's Excalibur. Saber vs Rider, Saber vs Berserker, and Saber vs Gilgamesh are all incredibly well scripted battles. If we talk about the sheer impact of the battle, Saber vs Gilgamesh is clearly the best battle in the game. The effects on Saber's Promised Victory move and Gilgamesh's Genesis Star move (loose translation) are just some of the best you'll find anywhere, despite very limited frames of animation. Shirou's descrition of the battle: "Avalon... Saber's sanctuary, shall not be pierced by any weapon!" is probably the most powerful direct statement in the game.
The ending, once again, is quite predictable for her character.
Unlimited Blade Works (Rin Toukasa)
This is where the cast of Fate really shines. No longer is the story confined to just Saber, and we are given the freedom to meet the wonderful cast of Fate. Relegated to support character duty in the Fate story arc, Rin Tohsaka makes her commanding claim as the main female character in this story in Unlimited Blade Works with her vivid personality. Likewise, Rin's eternal champion, Archer, is simply unmatched as a character. Throughout Unlimited Blade Works, we see Shirou's growth as a character, to catch up to Archer so that he can protect Rin, until the climatic Archer versus Shirou (which is also the final boss music and uses the name of Archer's true name, and rightfully so) fight. While this fight do not carry the force of say, Saber's Excalibur duels, it is quite possibly the best fight in the game. Archer, a merely class C hero (Gilgamesh is EX, Arthuria is A++, etc), fights Shirou, the hero but only a mere apprentice Magi, to see who can have the right to protect Rin. The outcome, of course, is expected. After this battle, even the final battle of Shirou versus Gilgamesh loses its luster. As the reader you know that when Shirou defeated Archer, there was no other hero that can possibly stop him, not Saber, or even the mighty Gilgamesh.
In Unlimited Blade Works, as I mentioned earlier, Ilya's character takes a complete 180. Sure, you still fight her on the 3rd day, but with Archer on your side as well (in Fate you do not get Archer), even the strongest Magi/Servant pair cannot defeat Saber + Archer + Tohkasa. In the showdown in Ilya's castle, that is when you see the scene she shares her pain with Berserker, and you finally understand why she hates you so much for hurting her Servant. Ilya's death in the hands of Gilgamesh, in some ways, reminded me of Aeris's death. Cut off from the Servant she trusted more than anything, even the great priestess cannot withstand the power of Gilgamesh with her fragile body. Her death also gives an indication of what the last story ought to be. As Shirou, you will fight to protect Ilya, who always acted like your sister, even when she wants to kill you, in the next story.
Both endings of Unlimited Blade Works are great. The "TrueEnd" is sadder, but it makes more sense in the scheme of the story, as Archer finds Rin's smile the courage he needs to withstand his eternal suffering. "Smile always, Archer." The 'GoodEnd' is pretty happy-go-lucky, everyone lived happily ever after, which certainly isn't bad either. This, after all, is the only ending where Saber stays behind too.
Heaven's Feel (Sakura Marou)
Ug, where do I start with this. The main focus is on a character who seems to get turned on by magic so you've sex scenes every other day and in between those days you get these interludes on how Sakura's always molested as a child. Although this is supposed to be Ilya's turn to be defended, this gets messed up because Sakura's in the way. As I've said before, the ending doesn't fit her at all either. I can accept that Ilya sacrificed herself to Resurrect Shirou but it makes you ask the question why such a sacrifice has to be done in the first place. I guess a pure maiden needs to die for the mess up that Sakura caused?
Shirou versus Saber (corrupted) is a decent fight, though. Actually the fight is pretty plain for this game, but when you defeat Saber she thanks you for killing her before she can heal herself again, because she's already consumed in the darkness and will only bring eternal darkness to this world. Or, perhaps more strongly, if you choose to not kill her, she says, "For the first time in my life, Shirou, I hate you. Why do you wish to be killed by me?"
Oh yeah, the Ilya watching the falling snows is definitely my favorite CG in the entire game and can only be obtained in this part.
Oh well, 1 awesome and 1 perfect out of 3 isn't too bad.
<b>Spoiler Message:<b>
<span style="background: black; color: black;">It is pretty amazing one game's quality can vary so much in the same game. My brief feeling of the three major story arcs: Fate (Saber/Arthuria) is awesome. Unlimited Blade Works (Rin Toukasa) is perfection. Heaven's Feel (Sakura Marou) is utterly worthless (but it is still better than about 90% of what counts as plot in RPGs). It's as if Heaven's Fell arc was supposed to be about Illyasviel Von Einzbern, obviously the most adoreable but surprisingly one of the most interesting characters as well, until someone realized that Ilya was obviously very underage and they'd run into trouble with the child pornography people, so instead you get Sakura and a whole lot of sex scenes with no meaning (I think she needs sex whenever after she uses any kind of magic or magic turns her on, or something).
The focus of this game, at least in the two well-developed game, is love. For an 18+ game it is rather surprising that most of the sex scenes have meaning. It works out Rin is 1/1, Saber is 1/2(or maybe 3, depending on how you look at the scene where she's captured), and Sakura is 0/lots (the extra one with Rin counts as hers too). Fate/Stay Night is a love story with some of the best scripted fights ever.
My revised analysis on the main characters:
Shirou Emiya (hero) - He is quite simply the best hero in a RPG. Or, actually, that honor should belong to Archer, but Shirou surpasses him in Unlimited Blade Works to earn the right to protect Rin Toukasa. In a world inhabited by superheroes and legends, he is merely an apprentice Magi and yet he always find the power to defeat his foes, and it's not just RPG hero dumb luck, either. If the non legend characters have a stat sheet, then he would certainly have an EX rating on the trait 'Mind's Eye' (ability to find a way to overcome the obstacles, however difficult they may be).
Rin Tohsaka (heroine) - There's no doubt in my mind Rin is the girl that should end up with Shirou. There is nothing not to like about this wonderfully developed character. Even the sex scene with her flows quite well. In some sense, Rin embodies perfection, and yet she does not feel boring at the same time. If you consider the 3 aspects of fighting this game, namely magic, martial arts/armed combat, and strategy, Rin is by far the best balanced overall.
Sakura Marou (heroine, not) - There is nothing to be said about this worthless excuse of pixels. I really do not understand why anyone would possibly like Sakura consider if you like perfection, you got Rin. If you like honesty, you have Saber/Arthuria, and if you like cute girls, there is Ilya. Also, her personality is completely worthless, and she's gets completely obliterated by Rin's Zietrich in the final showdown on her arc. At least Sakura should use the Dark Excalibur and maybe there would be a reason to take her story arc more seriously, or get good old Gilgamesh for a final boss battle.
Illyasviel Von Einzbern (Ilya) - Also the girl with a thousand different names. Ilya is almost never described by her name. She is without a doubt the most figuratively beautiful of all the girls. The snow that always accompanies her in the opening anime is a living symbol of who she is. Beautiful as snow, yet deadly as snow as well. Speaking of snow, there was never the scene in the entire game where she looks into the camera with those evil red eyes in a snowstorm, which further makes me think Heaven's Feel was supposed to be her story.
Ilya, however, is also the achille's heel of Fate/Stay Night, even more so than the worthless Sakura. It is easy to dismiss Sakura as a worthless add-on, but it is hard to ignore the fatal character hits Ilya received in Heaven's Feel. A key statement in Heaven's Feel's True Ending pretty much annihilated her image of innocence in a worse way than if she just had sex with Shirou (or tempt him, like Sakura always does). My suggestion is to ignore everything that happened in the ending of Heaven's Feel if you actually like Ilya.
That said incident not withstanding, Ilya is a great character. Innocent and merciless. An angel and a devil at the same time. In Fate, Ilya is the devil. In Unlimited Blade Works, Ilya is the angel, and she performs those two roles superbly. In Fate, there's no one I wanted to kill more than Ilya, and in Unlimited Blade Works she does a 180 and become the symbol of purity, and it actually all make sense. "Let your pain be my pain. Let my blood shed for your blood, Berserker." is one of the princess of figurative speech's most beautiful lines. Ilya also plays the role of an angel in Heaven's Feel but it is not as powerful as it was in Unlimited Blade Works, and I am sure I am not the only one who resent you have to lose Ilya to get Sakura back in the *good* ending of Heaven's Feel (or you can lose them both in the normal ending).
From a combat point of view, Ilya's magic immunity and seemingly unlimited supply of mana will make you really hate White Mages. She is certainly a worthy *boss* character in this series. The Raise abilities she possesses is just pure evil incarnate consider how hard it is to knock out her summon even once.
The Servants (heroes summoned to this world by the Magis)
Saber (Arthuria (corrected spelling)). She is the Shirou's Servant, and the forgotten hero of history. Her name is lost to legends because a girl was not supposed to have wielded Excalibur. Her personality is very pleasant and noble, and it makes her somewhat boring. After the Fate arc, Saber's role in the story diminishes greatly, since it is eclipsed by Archer, Shirou, Rin, and Ilya. However, she is certainly the most forceful character out of all the heroes, minus Gilgamesh. Her Excalibur effect is simply unmatched, considering she only has 3 frames of animation when she use Excalibur, but quality, not quantity, is what counts.
In Heaven's Feel, you get to fight an evil version of Saber. Although this is more worthless influence of Sakura, even when she's corrupted she's still her noble self, letting Shirou penetrate her attack with Excalibur so she would die so that the world would be saved. I do not understand why the author expect the reader to accept you have to give up Saber and Ilya to get Sakura back...
Archer (identity secret) - Rin Tokuasa's Servant, the hero that is unknown even to the legends. More than any other Servant, he is Rin Toukasa's eternal guardian, willing to do anything to protect her. He sacrificed himself to hold off a full strength Ilya + Berserker in the Fate arc, who can probably defeat even Gilgamesh when they're both at full strength. While Unlimited Blade Works is the story of Shirou and Rin, it is also the story of Rin and Archer. He lives with the curse of being a hero, but he shoulders this eternal pain because this is the only way he can protect Rin. Rin/Archer, in a sense, is the series's ideal couple, even more so than Rin/Shirou (even though Shirou defeated Archer to earn the right to protect Rin).
Other 5 Servants skipped because while they're good characters, their roles vary significantly depending on which story you're playing.
Archer (Gilgamesh) - Not to be confused with the first Archer. Aside from Heaven's Feel, Gilgamesh is the final boss of this game. As a being of pure power, he does not have much of a personality to speak of, but he carries out his role as a being of absolute power quite well.
Aside: Both "Archers" do not actually use a bow. Archer refers to their ability hurl multiple weapons as projectiles.
Now the three stories that's contained in this game...
Fate (Saber)
This is Saber's story. As can be expected from a character like her, her story is pleasant, noble, and yet sad. Her relationship with Shirouk, not surprisingly, follows the same route. Rin and Archer has minimal impact in this story, which is a weakness since they're better developed characters than Saber. Ilya, however, does a good job of making up for their lost roles. Fate, from a fighting point of view, is a tour de force of Saber's Excalibur. Saber vs Rider, Saber vs Berserker, and Saber vs Gilgamesh are all incredibly well scripted battles. If we talk about the sheer impact of the battle, Saber vs Gilgamesh is clearly the best battle in the game. The effects on Saber's Promised Victory move and Gilgamesh's Genesis Star move (loose translation) are just some of the best you'll find anywhere, despite very limited frames of animation. Shirou's descrition of the battle: "Avalon... Saber's sanctuary, shall not be pierced by any weapon!" is probably the most powerful direct statement in the game.
The ending, once again, is quite predictable for her character.
Unlimited Blade Works (Rin Toukasa)
This is where the cast of Fate really shines. No longer is the story confined to just Saber, and we are given the freedom to meet the wonderful cast of Fate. Relegated to support character duty in the Fate story arc, Rin Tohsaka makes her commanding claim as the main female character in this story in Unlimited Blade Works with her vivid personality. Likewise, Rin's eternal champion, Archer, is simply unmatched as a character. Throughout Unlimited Blade Works, we see Shirou's growth as a character, to catch up to Archer so that he can protect Rin, until the climatic Archer versus Shirou (which is also the final boss music and uses the name of Archer's true name, and rightfully so) fight. While this fight do not carry the force of say, Saber's Excalibur duels, it is quite possibly the best fight in the game. Archer, a merely class C hero (Gilgamesh is EX, Arthuria is A++, etc), fights Shirou, the hero but only a mere apprentice Magi, to see who can have the right to protect Rin. The outcome, of course, is expected. After this battle, even the final battle of Shirou versus Gilgamesh loses its luster. As the reader you know that when Shirou defeated Archer, there was no other hero that can possibly stop him, not Saber, or even the mighty Gilgamesh.
In Unlimited Blade Works, as I mentioned earlier, Ilya's character takes a complete 180. Sure, you still fight her on the 3rd day, but with Archer on your side as well (in Fate you do not get Archer), even the strongest Magi/Servant pair cannot defeat Saber + Archer + Tohkasa. In the showdown in Ilya's castle, that is when you see the scene she shares her pain with Berserker, and you finally understand why she hates you so much for hurting her Servant. Ilya's death in the hands of Gilgamesh, in some ways, reminded me of Aeris's death. Cut off from the Servant she trusted more than anything, even the great priestess cannot withstand the power of Gilgamesh with her fragile body. Her death also gives an indication of what the last story ought to be. As Shirou, you will fight to protect Ilya, who always acted like your sister, even when she wants to kill you, in the next story.
Both endings of Unlimited Blade Works are great. The "TrueEnd" is sadder, but it makes more sense in the scheme of the story, as Archer finds Rin's smile the courage he needs to withstand his eternal suffering. "Smile always, Archer." The 'GoodEnd' is pretty happy-go-lucky, everyone lived happily ever after, which certainly isn't bad either. This, after all, is the only ending where Saber stays behind too.
Heaven's Feel (Sakura Marou)
Ug, where do I start with this. The main focus is on a character who seems to get turned on by magic so you've sex scenes every other day and in between those days you get these interludes on how Sakura's always molested as a child. Although this is supposed to be Ilya's turn to be defended, this gets messed up because Sakura's in the way. As I've said before, the ending doesn't fit her at all either. I can accept that Ilya sacrificed herself to Resurrect Shirou but it makes you ask the question why such a sacrifice has to be done in the first place. I guess a pure maiden needs to die for the mess up that Sakura caused?
Shirou versus Saber (corrupted) is a decent fight, though. Actually the fight is pretty plain for this game, but when you defeat Saber she thanks you for killing her before she can heal herself again, because she's already consumed in the darkness and will only bring eternal darkness to this world. Or, perhaps more strongly, if you choose to not kill her, she says, "For the first time in my life, Shirou, I hate you. Why do you wish to be killed by me?"
Oh yeah, the Ilya watching the falling snows is definitely my favorite CG in the entire game and can only be obtained in this part.
Oh well, 1 awesome and 1 perfect out of 3 isn't too bad.</span></div>
