This is a story game.
You read words on a screen. You make choices to help the characters. The story has three parts. It is about a boy and his friends. Do you like stories?
This is a story game.
You read words on a screen. You make choices to help the characters.
The story has three parts. It follows a boy named Shirou. He joins a big battle between magic users.
He meets heroes from history. These heroes help him in the war.
Your choices change the story. You can win or lose. If you lose, you can try again.
This game is very famous in Japan. It even has books and shows.
Fate/stay night is a famous Japanese game.
It is a visual novel. This means you spend most of your time reading. You read thoughts and words on a screen. You must make choices when they appear. These choices change how the story goes.
The story follows a boy named Shirou Emiya. He enters a big battle called the Holy Grail War. In this war, magic users fight for a wish. They work with heroes from history. These heroes are called Servants. Shirou meets three different girls in the story. Each girl has her own path. These paths are named Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven's Feel. To see every path, you must play the game many times.
This game was a big success in Japan. It is a very important work for this kind of game. People have made many things based on it. There are anime shows and manga books. There are even movies. The game was first made for computers in 2004. Later, it came to many other devices like the Nintendo Switch.
This bridge was used as a model for a city in the story.
Fate/stay night is a famous Japanese visual novel. A visual novel is a type of game where you spend most of your time reading. You read the thoughts of characters or the words they say to each other.
The story follows a teenager named Shirou Emiya. He enters a secret battle called the Fifth Holy Grail War. In this war, magic users known as Masters fight for a wish. They work with legendary heroes from history called Servants. This game is a very important part of its genre. It was the highest selling visual novel in Japan when it first came out.
Playing the game involves making important choices. At certain points, the game pauses and shows you options on the screen. You might choose between two or three different answers. These choices change the direction of the plot. Because of this, there are three main story paths called routes. The routes are named Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven's Feel. To see all the stories, you must play the game more than once. Finishing one route will unlock the next one for you.
In the Fate route, Shirou works with a warrior named Saber. She is a powerful hero who keeps her true identity a secret. Shirou learns that the Holy Grail is actually cursed. He and Saber must face a priest named Kirei Kotomine and a hero named Gilgamesh. In the Unlimited Blade Works route, Shirou meets a student named Rin Tohsaka. She is a skilled mage and a Master of a Servant named Archer. This path explores the connection between Shirou and Archer. The third path is called Heaven's Feel and follows a girl named Sakura.
The game was first released on January 30, 2004, for Windows PCs. It was created by a group called Type-Moon. The writer, Kinoko Nasu, started the idea while he was in college. Later, an improved version called Réalta Nua came out in April 2007. This version moved to many devices like the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Vita. In August 2024, a remastered version arrived on the Nintendo Switch and Steam. This was the first time the game was released outside of Japan.
Because the story is so popular, many other things have been made from it. There are anime shows made by studios like Deen and Ufotable. Some stories became movies, including a film trilogy for the Heaven's Feel route. You can also read the story in manga books. These books were published in magazines like Shōnen Ace and Young Ace.
Even a spin-off game called Fate/hollow ataraxia was made in October 2005. The world of the game has grown very large since it first began.
Fate/stay night is a highly influential Japanese visual novel developed by Type-Moon. A visual novel is a genre of interactive fiction that focuses primarily on reading text. This text includes character dialogue, narration, and the internal thoughts of the protagonist.
The game is considered a defining work of its genre. At the time of its release, it was the highest-selling visual novel in Japan. The narrative centers on a teenager named Shirou Emiya. He becomes an accidental participant in the Fifth Holy Grail War. This is a secret, high-stakes tournament between mages.
Players interact with the story through specific decision points. During these moments, the gameplay pauses to present the player with choices. These options usually consist of two or three possible responses. The player's selections determine the direction of the plot. Because of these choices, the story is divided into three distinct paths, or "routes." To experience every part of the story, a player must complete the game multiple times. Finishing one route will unlock the next one for the player. The game also tracks an "affection meter" for the heroines. Providing answers that please them can lead to a "True Ending."
The three routes offer different perspectives on the war. The first route, titled Fate, focuses on the heroine Saber. She is a powerful warrior who serves as a Servant. In this path, Shirou learns that the Holy Grail is actually cursed. The second route is called Unlimited Blade Works. It features the heroine Rin Tohsaka, a skilled mage and Master of the Servant Archer. This route explores the complex relationship between Shirou and Archer. The third and final route is Heaven's Feel. This path follows Sakura, a longtime friend of Shirou. It reveals darker secrets regarding the Matou family and the nature of the war.
The history of the game began with writer Kinoko Nasu. He started writing the story while he was in college. Initially, he did not intend for it to become a game. He originally wrote only the Fate route. Nasu later decided to expand the concept into three separate storylines. In his early drafts, the characters were different. Saber was originally a man, and Shirou was a girl with glasses. These early ideas were eventually used in a separate project called Fate/Prototype. Nasu eventually co-founded Type-Moon with the artist Takashi Takeuchi. They transitioned from a dōjin group to a commercial organization after the success of Tsukihime in 2000.
Fate/stay night was first released for Windows PCs on January 30, 2004. The game saw many different versions over the years. An enhanced version named Réalta Nua arrived in April 2007 for the PlayStation 2. This version was later ported to Windows in 2011 and PlayStation Vita in 2012. It also reached Android and iOS devices in 2015. In August 2024, a remastered version was released on Nintendo Switch and Steam. This 2024 release marked the first time the game was available outside of Japan. The game's commercial success helped establish Type-Moon as a major name in the industry.
The popularity of the story led to many different adaptations. The series has been turned into several anime and manga works. Studio Deen produced a 24-episode anime series in 2006 based on the Fate route. They also released a film in January 2010. Later, the studio Ufotable produced a second anime series for the Unlimited Blade Works route. This series aired between October 2014 and June 2015. Ufotable also created a film trilogy for the Heaven's Feel route between 2017 and 2020. Manga adaptations have also been published in magazines like Shōnen Ace and Young Ace.
The franchise has expanded into many connected media. Type-Moon released a spin-off game called Fate/hollow ataraxia in October 2005. This game takes place eight months after the events of the original story. The various routes and characters have created a vast world of lore. This world connects different timelines and alternate universes. For example, the character Archer is actually an adult version of Shirou from another universe. These connections allow for deep storytelling across many different platforms. The legacy of Fate/stay night continues through its many fans and new releases.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (2)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.