In the beginning of June, a curious project saw the light of day on the indie publishing platform itch.io. A user called Milbunk, who is part of a doujin group called Witch on a Mountain, had uploaded their fan-made project where they converted Gen Urobuchi’s infamous Fate/Zero light novel into visual novel form. Fans of TYPE-MOON’s Fate universe likely have already consumed this part of the canon storyline through the 2011 anime adaptation by Ufotable or by reading the light novels. However, seeing the latter turned into a visual novel is some “heroes we didn’t know we needed” kind of ordeal, so we just had to report on this!
While Kinoko Nasu’s original Fate Stay/Night visual novel contained the bulk of the story around the Holy Grail Wars, a lot of background story and flashbacks have been alluded to throughout its runtime. Nitroplus‘ affiliated prolific author Gen Urobuchi, known for works like Kikokugai, Saya no Uta, Phantom of Inferno, Thunderbolt Fantasy and probably most famously Puella Magi Madoka Magica, sat down in 2006-2007 to create his interpretation of what he thought the back story of Fate Stay/Night might have been like. Nasu is said to have acknowledged Urobuchi’s vision and gave him complete freedom for 90% of the novel, in particular the characterization of protagonist Emiya Kiritsugu. Typical for Urobuchi, the story contains anti-heroes and doesn’t spare you with cruelty and gruesome fates.
The light novel has never received an official translation by a western publishing house, but an English fan translation by members of the TYPE-MOON fansite Beast Lair and Baka-Tsuki exists and they have released all four volumes into various languages already. Some of these translations were actually made from the Japanese as well as Chinese scripts, depending on the translators involved. This visual novelization uses the community-approved English fan translation.
Story
War of the Holy Grail – Pursuing the power of the “Holy Grail” which grants a miracle, this is a contest in which seven magi summon seven Heroic Spirits to compete for it. In that battle whose conclusion was postponed three times, now, the fourth war commenced again. Entrusting their dearest wish of victory, the magi joined the battleground called “Fuyuki”, but amongst them, there was a man who was always alone, and could not find out the meaning behind his fights. His name was Kotomine Kirei. Not comprehending the guidance of fate, Kirei was lost, and had kept questioning. Why someone like his was given the Command Seals. However, the fate of his fights crossed Kirei’s path with a nemesis by chance. That person is – Emiya Kiritsugu. A man who was sterner than anyone else, more merciless than anyone else, and who sought the miracle of the Holy Grail.
Merely recited in fragments in Fate/Stay Night, this is the Fourth War of the Holy Grail 10 years ago. The truth which unfolded behind the battle between Shirou’s foster father, Rin’s father, and the younger Kotomine Kirei, is finally revealed…
According to the creator, this is their first project and thus it might still contain bugs. It’s recommended to report everything to them so they can polish their craft. You can get the game here!
