Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star

Come with me back in time, as I review a game from January of this year. Hey, I wasn't doing this blog back then.

Okay, first things first, this is a game in the mould of Koei-Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors, so if you know those games you will have an idea of what the gameplay is like. It's also based on the “Nasuverse”, a franchise which spans across multiple media including anime, manga, and videogames. Specifically, The Umbral Start is a part of the Fate/Stay Night series, and functions as a direct sequel to Fate/Extra. That said, you do not need to have seen previous entries in the series to follow the story, or the bare basics of it at least.

Time for a quick overview of the series; the main thrust of the series that several magus become “Masters” and summon a “Servant” each, in order to compete for the holy grail, which will grant any one wish. The Servants are all historical or legendary figures, such as King Arthur, Alexander the Great, or Jeanne d'Arc. What follows his a battle royal as these legendary figures face-off against each other for the grand prize.

A word of warning, do not expect any of these characters to resemble their real-world counterparts, some are significant departures from their traditional selves. That's is not to say that the characters are bad, but they can be very different from what people may expect going in.

As a sequel the story to this one goes that you were the victor of a version of the previous tournament, and thus now have ruler-ship over the “Moon Cell”. Your task in to conquer enemy territory in order to solidify your rule, and eventually you must triumph over an evil entity known as the Umbral Star.

My description of the story is a little bare-bones, but I do not want to spoil anything, as it contains a few twist and turns. Some will no doubt find these twist annoying, but I enjoyed them, along with the general craziness of the plot. The plot may seem a little ridiculous at first glance, and it kind of is, but it has a consistency within itself.

The characters are all distinct, and it's a good thing too, because there are quite a few of them. Each character clearly expresses their own ideals, motivations, and quirks. For example, Nero is full of energy and bombast, whether in combat, or not. However, she also displays rather serious, and romantic, sides to her personality when the situation is right. There is another character that comes across as harsh and unyielding, but has a more complex personality behind it. The main three Servants at least, are all complex in their own ways.

Then there are the secondary characters, who whilst not quite as complex, still shine in their own way, and still have enough differences to make each of them distinct. For example, contrast Nameless's stoicism, with Elizabeth Bathory's hyper-activeness.

The exception to this would be the “main character”, who is meant to represent the player, to the point where the player is able to select their gender. The character never speaks aloud, but we do get internal narration, so there is still some level of characterisation present.

Graphically the game fares well enough, it does not have the best graphics on PS4, but they still look good. Little details are included, such as the engravings on a character's weapon or armour. It also manages to keep everything clear even when there are a lot of enemies on screen, which is important given that's about ninety percent of the time.

Personally, I found the overall aesthetic pleasing. Extella uses an anime art-style, in keeping with the rest of the stories set in the Nasuverse. Character designs can be elaborate, though never overly so; and the special moves are appropriately over-the-top, and cinematic. The colours are bright and vibrant, and it retains this sense of vibrancy, even when it switches to darker colours in order to fit the changing tone of the story.

Gameplay is, for the most part, you standard Dynasty Warriors affair. With the player controlling a single character as they fight through thousands of enemies, the idea being to make you feel like you are a legendary one-man-army straight out of myth. For some people this works, and they feel like a mythical figure, others find it to be repetitive and boring. Although, each character has a set of combo's to learn, each creating a different attack pattern, so there is some variety to be had.

Extella also manages to put a little bit of it's own spin on things, by bringing in the “noble phantasms” from the main series, and introducing the regalia. Firstly, the regalia has a metre that you build up, and when it is full you can have your character transform, briefly giving them increased stats. The noble phantasm is a finishing move that you can generally use only once per fight, and in order to access it you must acquire three specific items from around the battlefield. That's not as tedious as it sounds.

You also have access to “code-casts”, which are special skills that you can equip for use on the battlefield. For example, it is possible to equip the ability to heal up to three times, just in case you get into a tight spot.

Another interesting mechanic is what the game does with its continues. You get three continues per level, but the game actually gives you the ability to use up one or more of your continues, in order to temporarily boost your character's power. Of course, this means that if you still die, you'll have no continues to bring yourself back with. It's a nice little addition of risk versus reward.

On the whole, whilst it is a good game that works to set itself apart from others in the genre, it is unlikely to sway anyone who wasn't already a fan of Warriors-style games. Although, I still recommend it.

Until next time,

PhoenixAct.