Borrowing its gameplay the likes of the Dynasty Warriors series, and then restyling it with anime inspired graphics, Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star a little underwhelming when it release on Playstation 4 earlier this year. That was particularly true of the graphics, when you consider the PS4’s power, while the Switch version that’s out today manages to be a step better. Well, sort of.
As you’d expect, given the Dynasty Warriors inspiration, the game is full of fast paced action as you battle through levels cluttered with hordes of enemies. However, this sheer volume of characters is made possible by the noticeably low detail in the design of standard enemies. It’s certainly not the prettiest game around, but I do also feel as though this issue is more relevant for the PS4 version than for the Switch
The game doesn’t look or run bad at all on the Switch. The fact the Switch is less powerful means that hectic gameplay sequences feels much more spectacular in many ways – especially in handheld mode. The low detailing for enemies that I mentioned wasn’t too much of an issue as the game’s performance is top notch. The only little hiccups in frame rate come from panning the camera during huge boss battle sequences. I’d go as far to say as this port is very well done.
While it feels a better fit technically on Switch, the story and dialogue problems with Fate/Extella are still worth mentioning loosely. For the most part, the story is littered with text-based dialogue over still images and background which take attention away from the action in each chapter. It feels like a chore reading for five minutes before each opening sequence for the chapters and the story isn’t too great either.
An offshoot from the Fate series, Fate/Extella shares a world with Fate/Extra and Fate/Extra CCC on the PSP, where the magical combat has been recreated in a computer simulation. There’s a distinctly Japanese sense of humour and very suggestive sexual lines between the Master and Servant couple who are married. At best it had me in stitches, rather than caring for anyone of the characters in the game. I love anime, but it just felt a step off from what the gameplay was trying to achieve.
There is a cult of gamers that enjoy this niche in the market, and there’s currently a big opportunity for publishers on Nintendo Switch that makes Fate/Extella’s port make a lot of sense. This game us a taste of the fast-action games that are nearing Switch in the future and definitely holds up well when compared to its previous release. With the Switch’s library seemingly growing at a swift rate, and with Fire Emblem Warriors looking to satisfy the appetites of Dynasty Warriors fans later this year, Fate/Extella is currently the only one of its kind on the Switch currently. It’s definitely great to see Japanese games getting a western release for Nintendo’s platform and it’s a good sign of things to come whether you like this game or not.
