Type-Moon’s Fate franchise used to be, and still somewhat is, pretty close to my heart. I grew up with the series during my late childhood and teenage years, enjoying various significant facets it spawned, until the arrival of the gargantuan phenomenon, Fate/Grand Order.
Defining Background
Ever since I first learned about gacha games, I have loathed practically everything about them, as I believe that restricting parts of a player’s experience to random dice rolls and thereby incentivizing the spending of real-life money is irredeemable. This has all seemed worse to me, particularly with limited-time events gating content for future players and, above all else, relying on the game’s systems to be viable on a free-to-play basis, hoping that the difficulty doesn’t become artificially inflated to encourage the utilization of real-life currency. Then there’s also the fact that not playing since the day of the game’s launch means you have already lost rewards.
Anyway, I could go on and on about this topic; it’s evident that the genre just isn’t for me. The point here is that I tried to play Fate/Grand Order soon after its global debut as my first and only gacha game. I stuck with it for, I think, around half a year before calling it quits. I devoted almost all of my free time to the title, anxious about missing out on events and other content, which prevented me from absorbing the narrative or gameplay intricacies in any way.
I eventually gave up, which led to my affinity for the Fate IP and Type-Moon as a whole becoming irreparably frayed. I used to, and sometimes still do, long for the days of the franchise before Fate/Grand Order, since this game has become the cornerstone of both Fate and Type-Moon in general, becoming a defining force in its own right.
However, as the years have passed, a root of curiosity eventually formed regarding the positive reception the game’s story received. Unfortunately, reading wiki pages and watching playthroughs provides an inherently impersonal experience that can’t substitute for playing the game for yourself, so I was at a loss for what to do. There are also the anime adaptations that I have admittedly not looked into, but I sincerely doubt that they have covered every plot scene from the source material, so I have chosen to ignore them.
Eventually, I came up with an idea, a foolish idea, but an idea nonetheless. If I played Fate/Grand Order with the caveat of having to chronicle my experience, I’d be far more inclined to keep at it. Making it a loose obligation of sorts, rather than an attempt at an enjoyable pastime, ironically makes it more appealing.
I ultimately decided to undertake the project of playing through Fate/Grand Order, focusing solely on its main story, to see what all the fuss is about. Of course, I do have a rather negative bias against this game, which will probably seep through, and there may be points where the gacha elements make progression arduous.
Yet, above all else, these summations are ultimately for my benefit, so I have material I can read back on in my own words to refresh my memory.
With all that said, the following is my personal summary of the prologue of Fate/Grand Order, which helped me better absorb it than I would have had I just played it normally. I also share my thoughts on the events themselves.
Prologue Overview – Singularity F – Flame Contaminated City: Fuyuki
The narrative begins in an icy landscape, where the Security Organization for the Preservation of Humanity, Chaleda, is situated— the data center for humankind’s future. The protagonist, canonically named Ritsuka Fujimaru, awakens in the middle of the facility, meeting Mash Kyrielight and the animal-like life form Fou, as well as the mage who created the Near-Future Observation Lens known as Sheba, Lev Lainur. This telescope observes the pseudo-planet, Chaldeas, and doubles as a surveillance system for most of Chaldea. Chaldea’s role is to observe the future and ensure humanity’s survival for the next century.
We learn that Ritsuka is the last of the 48 candidates here, having been chosen via an emergency public selection for a crucial mission in 2017. A simulated practice battle left Ritsuka exhausted, but soon afterward, an orientation for newcomers took place at the Central Command Room with Director Olga Marie Animusphere.
However, Ritsuka collapses yet again, missing the meeting before encountering the head of the medical department, Romani Archaman, also known as Dr. Roman, in his assigned room. More lore is touched on here, namely the supercomputer known as the Pseudo-Spiritron Calculation Engine by the Atlas Academy, which bolsters the summoning technology system, Rayshifting. Individuals are housed within Klein Coffins, which allow them to use Rayshifting, essentially a form of time travel, temporarily transforming their bodies into particles known as spiritons during the process.
However, an emergency fire breaks out in Chaldea, an act of apparent sabotage, leaving no survivors. Ritsuka and Mash then get caught in a Rayshift, sending them to Fuyuki, Japan, on January 30, 2004. The device also confirms that no human survivors have been detected in a century. The transport officially starts the Prologue in Singularity F.
The duo awakens in a burning Fuyuki, with Mash a Servant and Ritsuka a Master. Roman is able to contact them via Sheba. Mash has fused with the Servant that was present at Chaldea during the explosion, with a contract containing the stipulation that in return for the abilities and Noble Phantasm of a Heroic Spirit, she would eliminate what caused the Singularity.
This fusion between a Heroic Spirit and a human has made Mash a Demi-Servant. Still, she does not know this Spirit’s True Name or what manner of Noble Phantasm she was imparted with. Fou is here, too, I guess.
Later, they encounter Olga Marie, who also successfully Rayshifted here and elucidates that no other human has managed to Rayshift here. Essentially, the devices the others were in have functionality that shuts down power if Rayshifting has less than a 95% chance of success. With her now in the group, Mash uses a nearby Leyline Terminal, where magical energy converges, to contact Chaldea. They do so, resulting in a confrontation between Marie and Roman, with the former angrily demanding Lev’s presence.
However, Roman reveals that less than 20 of the Chaldea staff survived the catastrophe, with 47 Masters in critical condition, and over 80% of the facility’s functionality lost. Roman sets out to cryopreserve the Masters’ bodies to ensure their survival and restore Rayshifting. Meanwhile, the three in Fuyuki set out to discover the cause of the anomaly in Fuyuki that has made it a Singularity.
On the way, flashbacks of the orientation and scenes with Marie and Mash take place in Fuyuki. These terms are also just mentioned:
Observation Cyber Daemon, Laplace.
The Global Environmental Model, Chaldeas.
The Heroic Spirit Summoning System, Fate, and the launch of the Spiritron Calculation Engine, Trismegistus.
Chaldeas is described as a miniature Earth containing planets, categorized as beings with souls, illustrating mankind’s state in 100 years, with survival communicated as a glow. Laplace is used to compile past records, gathering data on secretive history. Yet, the Chaldeas’ dimness suggests that civilization may become extinct, with signs pointing to 2018. After extensive research, it was concluded that Singularity F in Fuyuki, as documented in 2004, has an unobservable zone that did not exist prior to 2017, potentially tied to humanity’s extinction.
Back in the Singularity, the essentials of Fate lore that I’m already familiar with take the helm, such as the Mages’ Association, the Holy Grail Wars, what Heroic Spirits are, as well as the meaning of True Names. Although the mission of Chaldea is emphasized as an organization with national backing made to prevent humanity from reaching a “bad end.” In the version of 2004 that Marie and the organization are familiar with, the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki 2004 ended without incident, with Saber’s victory. However, this destruction and fiery state are a result of the anomaly.
Marie is given further background, too, as a former Master Candidate who was forced to take over Chaldea after her father, the previous director, passed away three years ago. Making matters worse, it was discovered that she had no actual aptitude for being a Master, despite being from a noble family, leading to severe inner strife.
Eventually, the group encounters several malignant Servants before being saved by a Caster form of the Servant Cú Chulainn. He reveals that the Holy Grail here has become something else, causing the humans to vanish. Saber defeated Archer, Lancer, Rider, and Berserker, corrupting them, leaving Caster as the sole unaffected one. Assumedly, via applying conventional Grail War logic, Caster and Saber being defeated would end the War. The targets reside at the Greater Grail, a tool made by the Einzberns, a prominent family in other Fate media.
Along the way, Caster provides reckless training of sorts to Mash so she can learn her Noble Phantasm, concluding in a battle against Caster himself. It ends up sort of working, with her able to use her Noble Phantasm, though its True Name and the associated originating Heroic Spirit are still unknown. Marie, delighted by this development, decides to name it Lord Chaldeas.
The group then finds the cave housing the Greater Grail after defeating a corroded Archer. Then, Saber joins the fray as the Alter form of the iconic Artoria Pendragon. After defeating her, she states that “Grand Order – the battle to obtain the Holy Grail has only just begun” before vanishing alongside Caster, as both have fulfilled their purposes.
Marie is taken aback by the term being known by that Servant, which has not yet been detailed. And as the three aim to grab a nearby crystal to resolve the Singularity, Lev appears as a not-at-all shocking twist villain. He was behind the explosion at Chaldea, and he reveals that Marie’s body died long ago, with Trismegistus having transferred her into this land after she became residual thoughts. You can’t teleport, or Rayshift, while inhabiting a physical body, meaning she only gained this aptitude after her death. Consequently, returning to Chaldea would cause her consciousness to vanish.
Marie, initially elated by her obsession with Lev, is brought to a horrific death by the current form of Chaldeas, now burning crimson, signaling the end of human survival. Her collision with Chaldeas causes her to disintegrate at the molecular level, and Lev formally introduces himself as Lev Lainur, Flauros, aiming to dispose of humanity. The red of Chaldeas indicates that all will be wiped from the universe should 2018 pass by, and anything outside of Chaldea will become similar to this Fuyuki.
Lev leaves, and the Singularity collapses in on itself, followed by Ritsuka waking back in Chaldea and briefly meeting the Heroic Spirit, Da Vinci. The group reconvenes in front of Chaldeas, confirming that Lev’s claims about the outside world appear to be true, and that seven singularities have formed during pivotal points in human history. The new, overarching goal becomes Chaldea’s last, yet original mission, The Grand Order; Rayshifting into these seven Singularities to get history back on track.
The next, and labeled First Singularity, will be the Orelans, the Hundred Years’ War of the Evil Dragons.
Reflection & Thoughts
As an opener, this prologue does a serviceable job of introducing the central players who’ll likely remain constant presences. Marie was the absolute highlight, though, as she was unexpectedly multifaceted in ways I didn’t expect, and her death hit the severe coldness of Lev at home. Granted, his comically evil facial expressions made it difficult to feel genuinely intimidated.
Further, the rapidity at which circumstances go wrong in Chaldea took me out of it a bit. It’s a mobile game, not a full-on visual novel, so I suppose we couldn’t have spent hours here before things went wrong. Still, getting to know Marie and Lev in their collective status quo more, as well as meeting other Masters before the tragedy, would have made it significantly more impactful. The ending, between Lev’s heel-turn and the sudden return to Chaldea, was also quite rushed.
Numeric ratings don’t matter here, but if I were to rate this prologue, it’d probably be around a 6/10 or so.
Gameplay-wise, there’s not much to say about combat, as this is the start. And I honestly doubt I’ll comment on it much at all to begin with. The menus are needlessly contrived with banners upon banners upon banners, and, as I expected, obtaining Servants from pulls does not impart any sense of fulfillment or excitement since they’re only obtained via chance and not meaningfully via story progression. Making matters worse is that you can only choose one free five-star Servant from a vast selection as a new player. Cú being granted after cleaning the Singularity is an appreciated gesture, I suppose.
Again, I have an obvious disdain toward gacha games, so, of course, nothing related to gameplay was going to draw me in. Still, I am surprised by how overwhelmingly absurd the menus are, as they actively make me want to avoid engaging with any of it. If I hadn’t given myself the task of writing down the narrative, my motivation would have been sapped fairly quickly. So, my plan seems to be working, especially as the playing and writing together only took around three hours. Of course, future Singularities and story content will be much longer, I’m sure, but I don’t intend to rush this project.
My only fear is that I may reach a point in the main plot where my ignorance and aversion to engage with the systems intricately will result in me getting stonewalled. At most, I’m just doing the free quests and empowering my Servants when able.
I’ve been having fun writing down my thoughts and organizing my information intake, and I intend to keep at it.
