Line #44 VideoGame/FateUnlimitedCodes


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fate-unlimited-codes_7145.png]]
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3	''Fate/unlimited codes'' is a FightingGame spinoff of the ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' series, first released for Japanese arcades in June of 2008, followed by an UpdatedRerelease on the Platform/PlayStation2 in December of the same year, and then ported to the [[Platform/PlayStationPortable PSP]] in June of 2009. The PSP version made it to North America and Europe as a downloadable title later that year.
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5	The game takes place during the Fifth Holy Grail War from the perspective of several characters, including Shirou Emiya and Saber. Cameo appearances consist of [[VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia Bazett Fraga Mcremitz]], Saber Alter, Leysritt and [[Literature/FateZero the Lancer from the Fourth Holy Grail War]].
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7	On June 12, 2012, the game was removed from the PSN store due to an expiring digital license. In the two weeks leading up this, the game was available at a discount of half its usual price.
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10	! Tropes used in ''Fate/unlimited codes'':
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12	* AnimalBattleAura: Saber Alter can shape her prana into the form of a dragon's head to bite opponents.
13	* AscendedExtra: Saber Lily was created as an alternate costume for normal Saber, with Takeuchi and Urobuchi saying they pictured her as a version of Saber who sided with Caster in ''Unlimited Blade Works'' and embraced her femininity. ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' gives her the backstory of being a younger, more naive Saber before she became King.
14	* AwesomeButImpractical:
15	** Getting Archer to trigger Unlimited Blade Works requires ''NINE'' magic gauges. Long story short, most matches don't even last half that long. The super moves that activate based on counterattacking the enemy are also this, given their window of opportunity for being struck before countering is ''very'' short. Both, though, have situational subversions. Archer's chants can be used as cancels (resetting a combo), making getting all six for UBW almost incidental, and certain super counters (Archer's Rho Aias, Bazette's Fragarach, and Saber's [[spoiler:Avalon]]) have lenient enough timing that you can watch an opponent start a super, burst, and use the counter in plenty of time.
16	** Gilgamesh's ultimate counts, too. Unlike the other ultimates, Gilgamesh's requires a full combo chain that has to be fully hit correctly. A single mistake causes him to stop. However, it's also able to mess up and do one of the two versions, but both are still cool.
17	* BadFuture: Saber Alter's and Dark Sakura's story modes are darker takes on the "Heaven's Feel" route.
18	* BarbieDollAnatomy: Instead of bothering with panties, Rider just has this under her skirt. Not surprising, given how little it covers.
19	* BittersweetEnding: A few (surprisingly [[DyingMomentOfAwesome badass]] ones).
20	** Lancer [[spoiler:avenges Bazett's death by killing Kotomine and dies afterward]].
21	** Assassin [[spoiler:kills Caster when she uses her last Command Spell and then defeats Berserker singlehandedly before dying himself]].
22	** Caster [[spoiler:avenges her master's death by killing Gilgamesh, then defeats the other servants one-by-one (finishing with ''Berserker''). She then sacrifices herself to manifest the Holy Grail and wishes for Kuzuki's revival with her last breath]].
23	** Leysritt [[spoiler:fights on Illya's behalf after Berserker is killed, fights and defeats Saber Alter and Dark Sakura, but then dies. ({{Subverted}} slightly: Illya apparently receives a new Leysritt later, and develops the same relationship with her]]).
24	** Rider [[spoiler:manages to save Sakura by defeating her dark side, and then vanishes as Sakura calls out her name]].
25	* CatFight: Luvia's Mission Mode mini-game is a slap-fight against Rin.
26	* ChoiceOfTwoWeapons: Archer can switch between sword and bow. Gilgamesh has two separate fighting styles, one that uses his sword, and another involving [[ChainPain magical chains]].
27	* ComboBreaker: Combos can be broken.
28	* CompetitiveBalance: ''Fate/unlimited codes'' puts CompetitiveBalance on all the fighters, which consist of both Servants (who have their own power rank differences) and human characters (who ''have'' all taken on and defeated Servants, but only under good circumstances). Berserker, for example, is a LightningBruiser in the VisualNovel, but instead here is a MightyGlacier, as is Kotomine, all for the sake of balancing.
29	* CompositeCharacter: Generally speaking, all of the playable characters incorparate all the routes into their movesets to diversify their abilities. For example, Shirou projects Caliburn, uses the Wings Crane attack, and Nine Lives Blade Works, while his general fighting style is his UBW incarnation.
30	* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: [[spoiler:For abandoning her and leaving her to fight the Grail War on her own, Rin turns Archer into a chibi and makes him her "mascot character".]]
31	* CorruptTheCutie: Gilgamesh does this to Saber in his Ending, turning her into Saber Alter.
32	* CounterAttack: A few characters, such as Caster and Saber, have super moves that only activate if your opponent attacks you while you use them. The most devastating one? [[spoiler:Bazett's Fragarach, as it nullifies most supers and inflicts massive damage; just be careful [[MutualKill if your opponent is Lancer]].]]
33	* DeathOrGloryAttack: Each character has a super-powerful "Holy Grail Special Attack" which can only be used when their [[ManaMeter magic gauge]] is full and they are reaping the benefits of the Holy Grail. Hit or miss, the attack can [[ItOnlyWorksOnce only be used once per round]].
34	* DefeatMeansFriendship: Luvia's ending has her and Rin fight each other to a draw after both of them exhaust themselves going all out. Having got the fight out of their systems, they begin to veer towards becoming VitriolicBestBuds based on their conversation.
35	* DownerEnding: There are several of these, as well.
36	** [[spoiler:Saber Alter]]'s, for one: in the end, she personally killed [[spoiler:Shirou]] and also somehow killed [[spoiler:a physical manifestation of her un-corrupted side to allow Dark Sakura to take over the world/kill everything/whatever her objective would be after Shirou is dead]].
37	** [[spoiler:Kotomine]]'s ending is just as bad.
38	** [[spoiler:Sakura]] has one, as well.
39	** [[spoiler:Bazett]]'s is a ShootTheShaggyDog [[TearJerker story]].
40	** Dark Sakura's ending, [[spoiler:which has her fully succumb to Angra Mainyu]].
41	* DubNameChange: Sella is now Sarah, and Projection is now Gravitation Air.
42	* EarnYourHappyEnding:
43	** Despite the majority of the characters having {{Downer Ending}}s or {{Bittersweet Ending}}s at best, [[spoiler:''Archer'']] of all people actually gets a much better ending than in ''Fate/stay night'' canon: specifically, [[spoiler:he ends up teaming up with Rin to fight demons together]], and if their [[ShipTease flirty dialogue]] is any indication, they become a BattleCouple.
44	** Saber's story ending, as well. Although she fades away like in ''Fate/stay night'' canon, she acknowledges that she should be proud of what she accomplished during her tenure as Arthur, and that she can finally move on from that hill. The fact that she does ''not'' fall in love with Shirou in this continuity takes most of the sting out of her disappearance, though it's still sad to see her go as she considers him a very dear friend.
45	* EasterEgg: Pushing any button during the credits will trigger a longer version of Berserker's EX mission to help pass the time. It can be skipped entirely, though.
46	* FieldOfBlades: Archer's Unlimited Blade Works is in full effect in this game, complete with [[{{Invocation}} incantation]].
47	* FriendlyEnemy: A meta-mythological example. Lancer and [[Literature/FateZero Zero Lancer]], both figures from Myth/CelticMythology (namely, [[spoiler:Cù Chulain and Diarmuid]]), have special fight dialogue when they [[CrossOver face each other]]. Their win quotes also reflect this; Lancer comments that Zero Lancer's reputation as a fighter is more than deserved ([[HoYay just like his beauty]]), but chides him on [[HypocriticalHumor fighting too impulsively]], whereas Zero Lancer gushes on [[ItHasBeenAnHonor what an honor it was]] to fight a match against ''the'' premier Celtic badass.
48	* FullContactMagic: Luvia's fighting style, with some [[WrestlerInAllOfUs wrestling moves]] mixed in.
49	* GameplayAndStoryIntegration:
50	** When you "activate" a character's SuperMode with a full mana bar, you get an extra boost that often references one obscure skill that said character possesses. For example, Berserker gains [[ImmuneToFlinching 12 hits of armor]] - a reference to his "God Hand: Twelve Labors" skills that grants him 12 lives.
51	** Assassin's Tsubame Gaeshi is unblockable if it hits the opponent point-blank. In canon, the technique is unblockable, and Assassin uses it at very close range.
52	** Bazett's Fragrach can "rewind" an enemy super (nullifying it) and launch an unavoidable counterattack. However, [[spoiler:Lancer's Gae Bolg is immune to the "nullify" part. The end result is that [[VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia both attacks will land]].]]
53	* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
54	** Gilgamesh is the strongest Servant in the series, and a prominent presence in the background even when he's just observing events around him; therefore, he's a prime candidate for the FinalBoss in pretty much any Servant's Arcade run (especially since his fighting style in this game makes him an SNKBoss on higher difficulties, which ties nicely into his in-universe power level). However, his importance is very diminished in most of the Arcade modes, where he's either encountered as a random fighter or he's taken out and Berserker is the final boss for most of the story mods. In fact, out of all the Servants' final boss battles, he's only fought by Saber, Archer, and Berserker, whereas Caster kills him as a MiniBoss.
55	** There's also the fact that Gilgamesh's default fighting style has him use Ea, his favored and strongest sword, and only puts away the weapon in favor a fighting style based around his more iconic StormOfBlades after a player input. In-story, he's extremely reluctant to use Ea against those he deems unworthy of the weapon (and amongst the entire cast of the game, only Saber is deemed worthy).
56	** Kotomine is a LightningBruiser in the original visual novel and is unquestionably the strongest human character in the game. Here he's a MightyGlacier with some mild use of his black keys, which were vital parts of his moveset.
57	* GuideDangIt: None of the English walkthroughs or websites that have information on the game seem to be able to agree on exactly how the extra characters and other secrets are unlocked.
58	* HamToHamCombat: Gilgamesh vs... [[MirrorMatch Gilgamesh]].
59	* HealingFactor: The character who lands the hit that fills up the Holy Grail is able to regenerate lost health as long as it's active. Doing a normal mana burst (as in, not as an attack cancel or ComboBreaker) will also heal a character; in a ShoutOut to the original game, [[GoodThingYouCanHeal Shirou heals more quickly than anyone else (and is the only character who will also heal during an attack cancel burst)]].
60	* ImprobableUseOfAWeapon: Gilgamesh's usage of Ea in this game. Ea is an OddlyShapedSword that lacks an edge of any kind, and has only been used once in ''Fate/Zero'' to stab an enemy that was already immobilized - the rest of the time it's appeared in the franchise, it's been used to create a devastating SwordBeam or WorldWreckingWave, and nothing else. Here, Gilgamesh uses Ea as if it were an ordinary sword, even using it to chop and slash with its round edge rather than stab with its tip, only saving his SwordBeam use of it for a super move. While he ''does'' sometimes make Ea spin in the middle of a swing, which cloaks the sword in red energy and makes its usage in melee combat plausible, more often than not he's just whacking people with his Anti-World Noble Phantasm as if it were a glorified baseball bat.
61	* JigglePhysics: Of the distractingly unrealistic ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' variety. You have to wonder how Sakura, Rider, or Luviagelita can fight without snapping their backs in half.
62	* JustFriends: Interestingly, Saber's story mode follows the "Fate" plotline, but she and Shirou do not fall in love with each other here. Her last words to him in her ending are that she is glad she met him, she cares deeply about him, and to wish him the best and may all his dreams come true.
63	* LoopholeAbuse: Some of the "inflict X amount of damage" missions can be cheesed by using a super with some manner of delayed hit, since you get the meter you spent on it back before the attack actually connects.
64	* LuckBasedMission
65	** Gilgamesh's EX mission.
66	** Some of the "Inflict X amount of damage in a single combo" missions can feel like this. Fortunately, there are options to watch the CPU pull it off. The "Land X number of hits in a single combo," however, lack a demonstration option, so be ready to put on your thinking cap.
67	* MagicSkirt: All characters in ''Fate/unlimited codes'' have some kind of black hole under their skirts. It's a bit distracting in Rider's case, as it looks like she's got tar or something on the top of her legs no matter what angle the camera's at. If it's not black, it's just Barbie Doll Anatomy (see above) under their skirts. No detail at all, to keep the rating as it is.
68	* MaximumHPReduction: [[spoiler:Zero Lancer's Gae Buidhe special]], which in-universe deals a WoundThatWillNotHeal, is represented as such in the game.
69	* MiniGame: Completing most of the character-specific missions allows you to take part in a mini-game. Some, like Shirou's and Kotomine's, are quite silly.
70	* MightyGlacier: Berserker and Kotomine.
71	* NintendoHard: Unlocking the Ultimate difficulty level, which requires 32 wins in Endless Survival. The first 16 aren't too bad, but then there's a difficulty spike right up to Ultimate for the rest of the mode.
72	* PinballProjectile: Bazett's Fragarach super move. It does very little damage by itself, but if she lays down metallic spheres before using it, it will bounce off the spheres before hitting its enemy, dealing more damage. [[spoiler:Fragarach can be used to its full effect if you bring it up as a Super CounterAttack, but again, watch out if your opponent is Lancer.]]
73	* SecretCharacter: [[spoiler:Leysritt, Saber Alter, and [[Literature/FateZero Zero Lancer]]]]. [[spoiler:Zero Lancer]] is the only character without any story-specific cutscenes. [[spoiler:Saber Lily]] is an unlockable half costume/half standalone charcter. She's selected like a costume for [[spoiler:normal Saber]] and plays as such (including story mode route) but has a unique name in her health bar, unique profile picture on the select screen, and her own set of (two) images in the gallery.
74	* ShoutOut: ''Fate/stay night'' puts a much different spin on UsefulNotes/SasakiKojiro's Tsubame Gaeshi attack than the normal "really fast downward strike, followed by really fast upward strike." However, Assassin uses that "normal" Tsubame Gaeshi for two regular attacks.
75	* SuperMode: "Activation" mode, which generates a shockwave, gradually heals you, and allows youto seamlessly chain various attacks and use Reflect Guards for free. There's various different variations of this ability:
76	** Using it while you're being attacked acts as a ComboBreaker, but costs more mana.
77	** Using it while you're attacking acts as a LagCancel, but sacrifices the shockwave and healing effects.
78	** Using it at maximum mana grants you a bonus depending on which character you're using.
79	** Finally, using it at maximum mana ''and'' while claiming the Grail allows you one use of your LimitBreak.
80	* TheUnintelligible: Berserker. Illya does all of the speaking for him, and his roars are written as [[TheUnpronounceable unpronounceable gibberish]].
81	* ThemeMusicPowerUp
82	** Archer finishing the Unlimited Blade Works chant switches the stage's BGM to a remixed version of "Emiya".

Context VideoGame / FateUnlimitedCodes