Saber, Archer, Lancer, Caster, Assassin, Rider, and Berserker. A familiar, also known as a servant belonging to one of these seven classes, would be yours to command in the magical ritual known as the Holy Grail War. For many, the world of magic is just an imaginary place seen in fictional movies and books, but for the characters within the universe of the Fate series, it was a genuine scenario.
First being introduced by Type-Moon in 2004 as the visual novel, Fate/Stay Night, players followed the path of Emiya Shirou as he was abruptly thrown into battle to the death for the coveted wish-granting device: the holy grail. This introduction into the Fate universe revealed many iconic characters who would continue to make appearances into later additions to the franchise in some shape or form. Additionally, it’s still one of the best visual novels to date thanks to its story and the numerous routes you can take. (Warning, most of those routes lead to bad endings!) The visual novel is so famous that it has been ported to new consoles over the years with the latest being on Playstation Vita.
Ever since the visual novel was released 15 years ago, the lore and characters within the Fate universe have grown at an incredible rate. There was the prequel, Fate/Zero, which was released as a light novel in 2006 and as an anime in 2011 and a spinoff title which shows what happens if Fate/Zero ended differently, Fate/Kaleid Liner PRISMA✩Illya. These are just a couple of titles out of over 50 that are all connected to the same universe!
In case you’ve never heard of the Fate series before, there’s one special thing you should know about these servants you can summon at your command: all the servants are based on historical figures, mythical creatures, and even gods! You’ll find characters like Astolfo, one of the paladins belonging to the legend of Charlamagne; Nursery Rhyme, a book of songs personified; and Atalanta, a Greek hero part of the legendary group known as the Argonauts.
In 2015, a new addition was made to the extensive lineup of light novels, anime, and manga already added to the Fate series. The mobile game, Fate/Grand Order, was released in Japan and was soon published in North America 2 years later. With this new game, more servants than you could imagine were gradually brought to life, including a plethora of other things like events both in-game and in real life! Introducing a brand new story to follow, amazing original characters, and moving dialogue with servants in little side-stories have moved players all around the world! The mobile game is so popular that there’s even an arcade game based on it!
In the original visual novel Fate/Stay Night, there were three main routes: Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven’s Feel. Currently, the Fate and Unlimited Blade Works routes have seen multiple adaptations as an anime, manga, and a movie. Heaven’s Feel is probably the most crucial route among the three and is the longest route of them all. There is so much content that the movie adaptation had to be split into 3 movies! In the two years since the release of the first movie in the trilogy, an incredible amount of merchandise has been released to celebrate the debut of the movie!
Other than Heaven’s Feel there are many different adaptations currently in production including a movie and anime adaptation of two chapters from Fate/Grand Order as well as an anime adaptation of the light novel The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II.
With so many different stories being told within the Fate universe, it’s not hard to figure out that there would be a lot of amazing products released for all of these stories. Whether it’s a pocket watch or a nesoberi from Fate/Apocrypha, keychains or illustration books from Fate/Extra, or maybe you’re like something cute and squishy like these adorable little mascots from Fate/Grand Order. Just like a large number of servants that currently exist in the Fate universe, ZenMarket has just as many Fate products available for you! There’s a character for everyone, and we can help you find just the right thing with your favorite characters on it.
So that's our Peek Into The World of Fate. What is your favorite thing about the series? Let us know via our social networks below. We can't wait to hear from you.
