Mythology Gag / Fate/Grand Order

Think of how many Shout Outs that Grand Order has to other works, and imagine how many of them there are to works in the same franchise!

Servants

General

• Several Servants have special dialogue for other Servants that you have, referencing other Fate works or their own mythology.
• Servants' ascension costumes are based on other depictions of the characters, like Saber Alter's third outfit originating from an action figure of her, Karna using both his CCC and Apocrypha appearances, etc.
• Animation revamps of certain older Servants have references from their home series for pre-F/GO ones, or from newer titles they are featured in. Servants who are added after launch but hail from previous Fate media often have at least some of their moves from them incorporated into their attacks in this game:
  • Tamamo's attacks are based on her magic skills from EXTRA.
  • Karna uses the Eye Beam version of Brahmastra that he used in CCC for his Extra attack.
  • Several Servants like Saber Alter, Gilgamesh, EMIYA, etc. use animations based on their moves from Fate/unlimited codes.
  • Both versions of Ryougi Shiki have their NPs based on Shiki's special moves from Melty Blood.
  • Several of the updated Fuyuki Servants have their animations based on ufotable's anime adaptations of Fate/Zero and the UBW anime.
  • Several of the Fate/Apocrypha Servants such as Mordred and Siegfried have their animations based on the animated adaptation of their light lovel.
• In general, Rank Up Quests feature Servants that are in some way related to the recipient Servant of the upgrade (ex. EMIYA (Archer)'s first Rank Up Quest features a wave of Shadow Servants from the Extra series, followed by a wave of Shadow Servants from Fate/stay night, with Gilgamesh as the boss). They ultimately have no story, however, and can be thought of as simple coincidental training simulations.

Sabers

• Muramasa's sword punch Extra Attack animation in his First Ascension isn't only an attempt at copying Sigurd's techniques, it also harkens back to the final battle of the "Fate" route in Fate/stay night wherein Shirou dispatches Kotomine by punching a sword into his chest.
  • His max bond Craft Essence has exactly the same effect as EMIYA's, a nod to the Archer and his Pseudo-Servant container being the same person.

Archers

• Archer Altria's first swimsuit is similar to the swimsuit she wore in hollow ataraxia, a simple white swimsuit with blue ribbons. Her profile also references a detail from the game where it turns out that Altria never learned how to swim due to her ability to Walk on Water.
• Chloe's Interlude pits her against the enemies from Prisma Illya's first season: Medusa, Medea, Saber Alter, Hundred-Faced Hassan, and Heracles. Meanwhile, Illya's Interlude reveals that Young Gilgamesh remember his defeat against her in the 2wei arc and want a revenge match.
• EMIYA (Original):
  • His interludes, event appearances and My Room lines reveal that he is very Shirou-like in personality. He cooks and helps other Servants selflessly whenever they need a hand. This is such to an extent that Altria (as Saber) blushes and feels melancholic when talking about him in My Room, clearly remembering him more as his younger self from the Fate route.
  • In his first interlude, he accidentally attracts Amazon Warriors with his voice and he mentions being troubled by women because he is still Shirou, ex-eroge protagonist.
  • Despite claiming that he doesn't care who he gets teamed up with, he still requests not to be put on the same team with a blue Lancer (Cú Chulainn, with whom he formed a bitter rivalry in Fate/stay night) or a gold Archer (Gilgamesh, who despises him for being a "Faker"). Ironically, two of the women he had a romantic relationship with when he was still Shirou became Pseudo-Servants themselves, and they are a gold Archer (Ishtar/Rin) and a blue Lancer (Pārvatī/Sakura). The other potential love interest, Altria, whose main color motif is blue, can be summoned into the Lancer.
  • For the second Rank Up Quest, you fight his enemies from Fate/EXTRA (Drake, Robin Hood, Nursery Rhyme, and Gawain), in that exact order.
  • The animation update coinciding with Extella's launch has his attacks reference many previous Fate works:
    • The new version of Unlimited Blade Works has its appearance based on the version from the 2014 anime, with a blue flame border rather than an orange one and a similarly bumpy wasteland. The new attack he uses upon conjuring his Reality Marble, being a 360-degree dome attack rather than a standard Storm of Blades, was used by Gilgamesh both in that same anime and in Fate/strange Fake.
    • Chaining his Arts cards ends with him using Hrunting from Fate/unlimited codes, as an arrow that homes on and hits the enemy three times. His Extra Attack is also the version of Crane Wing Three Realm he used from that same game, complete with his Overedge swords.
    • His Buster attack is Caladbolg II, which has him leap into the air to fire it like in Fate/EXTRA, but it detonates as a scaled-down version of the Fantastic Nuke it was portrayed as in the 2014 anime.
  • Just like Nero and Tamamo, he remembers a bit about his Moon Cell adventures and the events of the EXTRA series in general. Those two also call him "Nameless", and he generally acts like an older brother to them.
  • His First outfit is ripped from Fate/stay night and Fate/EXTRA, while his Second Ascension outfit is taken from his fight with Shirou and Saber in Fate/hollow ataraxia, combined with the unkempt hairstyle he sported at the end of Unlimited Blade Works.
  • His role in "Saber Wars" is as a walking Mythology Gag since he obviously has a relationship with the blatantly-just-Altria-with-a-hat Mysterious Heroine X and EXTRA companions Nero and Tamamo. Him directly mentioning Spiritron computer life as "just one of those Extra things" was what attracted Tamamo to the group in the first place! But he also references another series he wasn't even a part of, talking about Astolfo as an example of a Servant able to live in the era they were summoned in as a human.
    "I once heard of a happy-go-lucky Rider... No, wait, that was an Apocrypha. Well, I guess that itself is a distant 'if.'"
• Alice Kuonji's Cock Robin shows up in Robin Hood's third and final ascension artwork.

Lancers

• Elizabeth's stage 3 costume has her wear a hat with squirrel and pig decorations, referencing the nicknames she gave the female and male versions of the Fate/EXTRA protagonist, respectively.
• In Jaguar Warrior's Interlude, she drags Emiya and Ishtar to go clean up Fuyuki while Kiritsugu narrowly avoids being dragged along. None of these characters are quite who they seem to be, but the joke is still obvious.
• Parvati's Trial Quest had her face foes which would relate to the characters involved with her host body from Fate/stay night, Sakura Matou. The first battle pits her against Cursed Arm Hassan, whom she accused to be nothing more than an evil, ruthless Servant serving a bug-filled Master, which is a Call-Back to Cursed Arm Hassan's old characterization in the visual novel while serving Zouken Matou, Sakura's grandfather. The second battle pits her against Jaguarman, who is using the body of Sakura's homeroom teacher Taiga Fujimura. And for kicks, she also dragged in Ilya, her partner in the Taiga Dojo section. And finally, her final opponent is Medusa, formerly Sakura's Servant (and Medusa is not pleased to see Sakura's body being put in danger like that with Parvati merely existing as a Pseudo Servant)
  • Parvati's Dislikes similarly call back to Stay Night. No points for guessing why Sakura would have such strong feelings about seaweed.
    For some reason, I find seaweed repulsive. I do not like how it's slimy, flimsy, and salty. Humanity's greatest enemy: Wakame.
• In Enkidu's Interlude, Ishtar comments that if Chaldea weren't around, she'd use all her power to rip Enkidu to pieces. Enkidu responds that it's her host (Tohsaka Rin) both preventing her from being too offensive and preventing her from just jumping to that action. Both of these things are not present in Fate/strange Fake.
  • Later Enkidu comments that once Gilgamesh goes everywhere on Earth that it's possible to go, he'd head into Outer Space. Which he does in his ending of Fate/Extra CCC.
• Karna frequently talks about or makes references to Jinako, his master from Fate/EXTRA CCC. For example, he mentions her advice to talk more, talks about her shut-in habits, remembers her food preferences and explains the concept of video games to Arjuna.
• Lostbelt Percival named his horse, "Kundry."
• Scathách:
  • Her Noble Phantasm, Gáe Bolg Alternative, involves summoning two spears and utilizing each of Cú Chulainn's variants of the spear's technique - with the right spear, she uses a variant of the Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death to paralyze the enemy, and then throws the left spear as the Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death to run them through.
  • If you have Cú (Caster), she wonders where his spear went. If you have Cú (Lancer), she speculates about his growth as a man.
  • Her profile mentions that her temperament was close to that of a red eyed magus in Tokyo.
  • She has a My Room line for a fellow teacher of heroes, Chiron. Since their teaching methods are different, she's willing to fight him to prove her methods.
• Tamamo-no-Mae:
  • Her NP description says that Robin Hood is familiar with the technique as she uses it first against him in Fate/EXTRA CCC. Given their class affinity, Robin can suffer a lot from this attack in-game.
  • Her Extra Attack animation is exactly the same as one of Elisabeth's offensive skill in CCC; riding her spear sidesaddle like a witch broom while the spear flies into the enemy (Elisabeth eventually got this herself when she received her animation renewal).
• Yu Mei-ren for her summer version is a Lancer who keeps dying... where have we seen that before?

Riders

• Achilles:
  • If you have Chiron, Achilles remarks that remembering his climactic battle with his teacher is enough to give him nightmares.
  "Geh... so Teacher is here. Ah, ah... No, um, if he's an ally then it's fine. It's just that we fought once. That guy gave me a thorough beating, determined to break my joints... Just remembering it is enough to give me nightmares."
  • His golden armour in his Third Ascension was referenced back in the Apocrypha Material book as one of his cut Noble Phantasms; the famed armour made for him by Hephaestus.
• Altria Pendragon (Santa Alter): After encountering and battling Julius Caesar (who was supposedly going around posing as another "fake" Santa—understandably), she quips that she would have expected "another Roman emperor" doing that — presumably Nero, her rival.
• Altria Pendragon (Alter) (Rider) is a massive pile of references back to the famous eighth episode of Carnival Phantasm^note the one with "Saber at Work" as its main body, where she fills in at the Ahnenerbe Cafe as a meido waitress, loses her cool with Gil, rips off her ahoge and transforms into a Cute Gothic Lolita Maid Waitress, Sir! (and proceeds to dominate the cafe on sheer cute appeal), on top of being Alter trying to match normal Altria's Swimsuit version. And the bike she rides? Why, it's her bike from Fate/Zero with a black Palette Swap! And that doubles as a reference back to "Pseudo-Singularity I: Shinjuku" of GO itself!
• Astolfo:
  • One of his attack animations has him use his lance, the Trap of Argalia.
  • In Medea Lily's Interlude, he and Jeanne continue their rivalry from the Capsule Servant minigame (and Apocrypha as a whole).
• Ishtar (Rider):
  • Her pose in the final ascension is reminiscent of Rin's pose in Fate/hollow ataraxia.
  • Her Buster attack is Rin's strongest attack from Unlimited Codes, a beam made from 5 elemental gems. She also uses bajiquan for melee attacks.
  • The parts she briefly hands out during the final part of the prologue to the racers strongly resemble parts of a version of Gugalanna that PFALZ, a longtime Type-Moon collaborator and occasional artist for F/GO, once used in a doujin. PFALZ's Gugalanna design is then made full-bore canon at the end of the event.
  • The "I am a useless goddess" sign mentioned in Babylonia once again comes out, on loan from Gil, and this time we even get to see it in all its glory on Ishtar's story sprite. Unfortunately, untranslated for international audiences.
• Iskandar:
  • He has lines for two versions of Altria (he wants to tease Saber Altria and shocked at seeing Lancer Altria's growth in certain areas), Gilgamesh (he's delighted to fight on the same side with him), and Zhuge Liang (he sees some of young Waver in him).
  • One of his lines reveal that he's still an avid gamer and is quite eager to try out the new games that have come out since his time in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
  • In some events, Iskandar tends to get lumped together with the Egyptian pharaohs (Ozymandias, Nitocris, and Cleopatra) and are even referred to by them, despite not being usually identified with Ancient Egypt. That said, Iskandar is technically considered a pharaoh both by ancient Egyptians and even current historians, if only because he did conquer Egypt and was granted an Egyptian regal name: Setepenre-meryamun. In fact, his time in Egypt was what brought Cleopatra's family (the Ptolemaic dynasty) into power in the first place—and why she is fascinated by him in-game.
  • During the Fate/Accel Zero Order event, he rushes to the defense of Waver against the harsh words of El-Melloi II in a manner very similar to how he does against Kayneth during the events of Fate/Zero. El-Melloi II seems to realize the resemblance himself, as Iskandar's chastisements are some of the few times his cool nature cracks during the event.
  • For the Fate/Accel Zero event rerun, his animations are bumped to now include the Ionioi Hetairoi throwing spears as the fire attack of his Noble Phantasma. In Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star, Iskander's Noble Phantasm involves his soldiers hurling their spears at the enemy.
• While some specific elements of Martha's lore are reflected more by her other versions, in general her more aggressive and tomboyish tendencies can taken as an oddly appropriate extrapolation from her gospel appearances, where she and her sister Mary have a Sibling Yin-Yang thing going on. Martha is consistently shown as the more proactive, forceful sister and Mary the more passive, demure one, like in the story of Jesus raising their brother Lazarus from the dead. She goes to meet Jesus on the road while Mary stays at home crying, and she is the first to tell him off for not getting there sooner to heal Lazarus's illness.
• Medusa:
  • Before her animation updates, her Noble Phantasm was based on her use of Bellerophon during her fight with Altria Alter in the Heavens Feel route of her first appearance.
  • She warns you against trusting Medea, knowing her reputation as the Witch of Betrayal.
  • One of her biggest dislikes is seaweed, especially wakame; it makes her want to cut it up.^note Wakame is a nickname for Shinji Matou since his hair resembles that kind of seaweed.
  • If you have Stheno and/or Euryale, she'll basically sigh at the fact that she'll have to deal with their teasing antics yet again. And they really bully her whenever they appear together.
  • She cosplayed as a student of Homurahara High School to help promote the Heaven's Feel movies in a miniquest.
  • Her new Noble Phantasm animation comes from Fate/unlimited codes, and her Buster attack comes from Fate/Extella.
  • A rather darker one comes up during the trial quest for Pārvatī, as seeing Pārvatī Sakura makes her... nearly boil over with rage, because between the pseudo-Servant process and all the combat Chaldea engages in, Pārvatī is putting Sakura in tremendous amounts of danger, and Medusa will not tolerate that. She does eventually relent, but she's still unhappy about the situation because Sakura remains in danger.
  • Although she does acknowledge her past with Perseus, she doesn't hold it against him that he killed her, although she doesn't particularly want to talk with him either. Her Superpowered Evil Side Gorgon, on the other hand...
• If the player has Saber Nero, Mordred (Rider) gets irritated of Nero's whining about swimsuit, and then shows off her swimsuit which is basically just string which is her swimsuit back in Fate/Extra. Mordred called the swimsuit out and Nero an idiot.
• Odysseus: Back during April Fools 2013, before FGO even started, Medusa's sisters have a conversation (after the fight with Medusa) about how a robot horse that transforms would be cool.
• Ozymandias:
  • He attacks with his other Noble Phantasms; Mesektet as regular attacks and the Sphinx Wehem-Mesut as his extra attack. The other sphinxes from Abu el-Hol Sphinx appear as regular enemies in his territory on the Camelot singularity.
  • At Solomon's Temple, he meets Arash who isn't sure about his role as a humble, no-name hero in this grand conflict. Ozymandias goes out of his way to say that Arash is indeed a great hero and he must take pride in his status. This is a Call-Back to Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Sky Silver where Arash is the one who defeated him.
  • Before giving you his return gift for Valentine's Day, he reminisces about a past Grail War where he used his strongest sphinx against a knight in silver armor and a man with a red bow, referencing his final battle in Fragments of Sky Silver with Arash and Arthur.
• Regarding Quetzalcoatl, she's borderline-unstoppable deity who manifests as a blonde, cheerful and bubbly Cloudcuckoolander who ends up devoting herself to the protagonist, manages to be some of the strongest beings in her reality, and has a direct tie-in to an astral object. Quetzalcoatl isn't an Expy of her, but she's in many was similar to Arcueid.
• Rider of the Resistance's skill activation animation has him happily chomp on an egg, as a reference to the famous anecdote of Columbus's egg. His Valentine gift are a bunch of eggs which he uses to illustrate a point about how the protagonist needs to believe in pursuing his goals.
• Sima Yi (Reines El-Melloi Archisorte):
  • Part of the joke behind Sima Yi's possession is Reines always having the upper hand against Waver, which now includes her Servant class and Heroic Spirit, since Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang have been portrayed as rivals in media about the Three Kingdoms.
  • That Reines is a Rider means she's weak against Gray, who's an Assassin; in Lord El-Melloi II Case Files, Reines is a jerk to most everyone but Gray, who she teases affectionately while claiming it's part of her usual sadistic behavior.
• If you have Benkei, Ushiwakamaru's happy to see him, realizes he's a fake, and reprimands him.

Casters

• All of Andersen's attacks in his updated animations reference a story that he wrote.
  • His 1st Arts attack has him throw a lit match from The Little Match Girl, his 2nd Arts attack has him summon the Nightingale to attack, his 3rd Arts attack summons the Snow Queen to freeze the enemy, his Buster attack summons Thumbelina to punch the enemy, his Quick attack replicates the fate of Karen's feet from The Red Shoes, his Extra Attack summons the Little Mermaid for an attack, and his skill animation draws upon Dryad.
  • In addition, his alternate versions of his Buster and Quick attack allude to his relationship with Kiara, as her thumb is the stand-in for Thumbelina and high heels serve as the Red Shoes stand-in.
• Cú Chulainn (Caster):
  • One of his death quotes states he misses his spear.
  • In the First Order anime, he asks Fujimaru to summon him as a Lancer for the next time they meet.
  • Also in the anime, his infamously poor luck stat as Lancer has apparently turned around completely. Completely unburdened by a scheming Master like Kirei, he is not only the only Servant to escape being corrupted by Saber Alter, but he also killed Rider and Assassin. His first meeting with the protagonists is saving their lives and proving instrumental in killing Lancer, too. In the climactic battle, he outwits and defeats Archer and Saber Alter.
    • This extends to his stats; Caster Cu has a D rank in Luck instead of E rank like every other Cu Chulainn.
  • In the anime adaptation of Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works], Lancer Cú Chulainn's spear Gáe Bolg manages to penetrate Archer EMIYA's shield Rho Aias, with EMIYA comparing the spear's power favourably to the original Gungnir, the spear of the Norse god Odin. Several years later in Fate/Grand Order story arc "Lostbelt No. 6", it's revealed that Caster Cú was none other than Odin operating as a Pseudo-Servant, with his Authority being what allowed Cú to change his class from Lancer to Caster without the requirement to have a version of Gáe Bolg or the skill Martial Arts Disciplining in the Shadow Country on him. Gungnir even implicitly appears in one of his updated animations as an attack where he throws a spear made out of light, which then seeks towards the opponent and explodes into a pillar of light on impact.
• Dress of Heaven (Irisviel von Einzbern):
  • She mentions Kiritsugu and Illya several times in My Room. She also calls out to either member of her family when she's killed.
  • If you have either EMIYA, she mentions them being incredibly familiar but also detects an unpleasant feeling surrounding them.
  • Her biggest dislike are priests who like incredibly spicy food, always look stone-faced, and use Bajiquan.
• When Gilles de Rais (Caster)'s encountered in the Prison Tower event, he declares that he'll offer up the ultimate COOL to God, referencing his partnership with Ryunosuke in Fate/Zero. He also sometimes yells COOL when activating his Phantasm.
• Illyasviel von Einzbern:
  • Calling someone "Master" reminds her of a certain red person that called herself that too. If you have Irisviel (Dress of Heaven), she'll mention hearing her mother's voice, but a lot classier than she's used to (Prisma's Iri being a goddamn weirdo compared to the Zero-based Dress of Heaven). She also comments on EMIYA (Archer), since he's stalking her.
  • She's wearing the summer version of her Homurahara Elementary School uniform for her first stage. Her second ascension is her Magical Girl outfit based directly from the anime adaptation of Prisma Illya. And her third ascension is the Zwei form, which she also transforms into as part of her NP animation.
  • Her third skill in Ruby's "suspicious potion" that was used in the 2wei Beach Episode, which gives the target random buffs.
  • Two of the event currencies are Mahou Shoujo Musashi DVDs (Illya's favorite show) and the expensive pudding that Kuro treated her with in the 2wei arc. The third is a plushie of Lion-go from Carnival Phantasm, which also appears in the one episode of the 2wei herz anime.
  • During the crossover event, she recognizes Medea (Lily) as the very same Caster Card she defeated before, albeit younger.
• Medea:
  • She warns you against Medusa, citing her as a monster.
  • She can't stand Heracles because of the sweltering heat of his musclebound body.
  • She still wants to bully and dress up Altria like how she wanted to in the UBW route of Fate/stay night. Mordred, though, comes across as a real disappointment because while she looks so perfect at first glance, but then her personality shows up, which is just no fun for her at all.
  • When talking about your likes, she makes a reference to model building, possibly alluding to her hobby of making Altria dolls and dresses in Carnival Phantasm.
  • Her updated attack animations are based on several actions she does in the original VN; she summons the dragon teeth warrior for Quick attacks and uses several kinds of magic for her Art attacks.
  • Her revised Extra Attack is her ultimate attack from Fate/unlimited codes, Machia Hecatia Graea.
• The people who Miyu Edelfelt (Sakatsuki Miyu) mentions in My Room are all people who are important to her in her home series:
  • The borderline Yuri relationship she has with Illya continues in FGO, with her requesting that Illya and her be housed together within Chaldea.
  • Her complicated relationship with Chloe is also mentioned, with Miyu stating that she sees her as a Rival (when it comes to Illya's affection).
  • She is shocked to see Irisviel, and is confused as to why she acts so differently/seriously in Chaldea.
  • Though their relationship could not be defined as close by any stretch of the word, she still recognises Kiritsugu as the man who adopted her, and is mildly surprised and happy to see him, commenting on seeing a nostalgic face.
  • Funnily, she has absolutely no idea that EMIYA (Archer) is actually an alternate version of her beloved brother, and merely sees him as a strange person that looks like Chloe who often stares at her. On EMIYA's side, he is intrigued and happy to meet the girl who completely changed his alternate self's life and ideals (and to whom he lent his power in order to rescue).
  • Her appearance and profile in FGO all openly reference Oath Under Snow, where her backstory was revealed. This ranges from her third ascension being her original appearance as a member of the Sakatsuki family, to the mere fact that she mentions that she has an older brother.
• Nero Claudius (Caster):
  • Her second Ascension outfit is her casual red dress from Fate/EXTRA CCC.
  • In a reverse example, Saber Nero's Swimsuit Costume in Extella Link is just Caster Nero's first outfit.
  • The statue from her NP is her "Venus" form in Fate/Extella. Her car also references Venus, and her profile asks you to please refer to Extella for details on why.
  • She mentions Slash Emperor in one of her attack voicelines, carrying on the Angel Notes reference from Extella.
• Paracelsus von Hohenheim's action in the Valentine event is similar to Gilgamesh's from Fate/EXTRA CCC since both of them were looking for an elixir to protect the protagonist from the effects of deadly cooking from a possible Lethal Chef.
• A reference to Skaði was made in Scáthach's material page, suggesting a connection between the two.^note Which is something that occurs in real-life, as Scáthach and Skaði do have some etymological connections, up to the point of being considered the same individual in some myths. Now Scáthach Caster appears, as the host for the goddess Skaði. Also, her costume has the leather straps adorned across it, similar to her Lancer incarnation.
• Sieg:
  • His Ascension material is a blood-stained leaf. This is the catalyst used to summon Siegfried in Fate/Apocrypha, which is the leaf that stuck on his back when he bathed with Fafnir's blood, creating his Achilles' Heel.
  • His Bond CE is a reference to a scene where he tried to save a nameless homunculus under rubble, but she died in his hands.
  • Even though he's no longer a Master and used all of his Command Seals during the Great Holy Grail War, his Remote Body still has his Dead Count Shapeshifter Command Seals.
  • In the Oniland Halloween event he's shown to be attending the park with Jeanne, following on from their relationship in Apocrypha... except he's with Jeanne Alter, who is not at all happy about the situation and insists that the two of them have no relation to each other.
• Thomas Alva Edison's Interlude is an extended gag for Emiya, Cú Chulainn, and Medea as part of the Fate/stay night crew, now all on the same side but still with their quirks and history. Edison tries to apply his Concept Improvement on Gáe Bolg combined with Rule Breaker (calling it Edison Bolg Breaker, with Medea noting that it isn't really practical for a Caster to get close to stab people) and then tests it versus the Noble Phantasm copier himself, Emiya. Medea even goes as far as to reference Emiya's true identity and past as Shirou.
• Xuanzang Sanzang:
  • She stated that Wukong's gender is confusing because Wukong can change his gender at will, just like Wukong's appearance in KOHA-ACE.
  • Saver briefly makes an appearance during her Noble Phantasm animation.
  • She seals the enemy in the Five Finger Mountain when using her NP which is where Wukong was sealed.
  • Her Extra Attack animation has her attacking with her companions' weapons, finishing with Wukong's head ring.
• Zhuge Liang (Lord El-Melloi II / Waver Velvet):
  • His Servant doodle artwork for April Fools' Day finally decks El-Melloi II with Zhuge Liang's iconic courtier hat and crane feather fan◊.
  • His Bond Craft Essence illustrates a piece of Iskandar's cape, the catalyst for the latter's summoning in Fate/Zero.
  • The F/GO 1st Anniversary update also updated his sprite and animations, carrying several references within them:
    • As the elder Lord El-Melloi II, he attacks using Zhuge Liang's crane fan and Taoist Bagua Mirrors.
    • As the younger Waver Velvet, he chooses to carry a copy of the The Odyssey—which is the same kind of literature Iskandar loves (the guy, after all, is a fanboy of Achilles himself). It's an exact copy of the version that Iskander had borrowed from the library◊.
    • His wind attacks came from the description of the famous Red Cliff battle where he conjured the east wind with Taoist rituals to screw with Cao Cao's navy.
  • Him being a Composite Character is Irony as it was the subject of the first Lord El-Melloi II Case Files volume.
  • During his third interlude, Waver mentions that one of the Gorgon sisters gave him a suspicious gift, insisting they'd met before at a cafe.
  • When Reines and Gray are introduced as Servants, they form a class triangle with him that reflects their relationships in Lord El-Melloi II Case Files: Lord El-Melloi II is a Caster, making him vulnerable to Reines as a Rider, who always has the upper hand over him; Reines in turn is vulnerable to Gray as an Assassin, Gray being the one person Reines treats with any measure of affection; and Gray is vulnerable to Lord El-Melloi II, her mentor.

Assassins

• Carmilla:
  • Her design is based on one of flashback illustrations about Elisabeth in 'Fate/Extra CCC.
  • An older version of a character with white hair who's bitter at her past innocent self with the two eventually duking it out with the younger version beating the older version? That sounds familiar...
• EMIYA (Emiya Kiritsugu):
  • His line before invoking his Noble Phantasm's name is, "Can you keep up with me?", Archer's iconic Dare to Be Badass line to Shirou in the Heaven's Feel route of Fate/stay night.
  • His final Ascension art is a reference to Fate/Zero's second opening.
  • The bulk of his Interlude is a tour of Servants in Chaldea who have had a role in either Fate/stay night or Fate/Zero as Jaguar Warrior and Irisviel try to get him to open up (AKA stalking him with the Master since earlier attempts to talk to him have failed). This EMIYA talks to the other EMIYA (Archer), Altria, Diarmuid, and Lord El-Melloi II to (partially) feign a social life to satisfy his stalkers. The PRISMA☆ILLYA girls Illya and Chloe also show up to spy on their not-quite-father.
• Gray forms a class triangle with her fellow Case Files Servants, El-Melloi II and Reines, reflecting their relationships in that series. As an Assassin, she's weak against El-Melloi II as a Caster, being his loyal apprentice, and strong against Reines as a Rider, being the one person Reines treats with any degree of kindness.
• Hassan of the Hundred Personas' Zayed the Base aspect is noted for his dancing skills by Nero and Mata Hari who both want to challenge him in a dance contest despite the fact that dancing is hardly his area of expertise. This is a reference to his dance-like dodging in the second episode of the Fate/Zero anime.
• Hassan of the Serenity's Interlude features Paracelsus retelling her role in Fragments of Sky Silver (but leaving out the ending to encourage her to find her own conclusion) and excusing it as a mere parable. Notably, he helps her question her attachment to the protagonist — if it is really love or simply an unhealthy attachment to a person she can touch without killing them. If the latter, then anyone would do, even a walking corpse. Arash, poison-proof as usual, had bumped into her earlier in the Interlude to trigger her sudden pensiveness, as she's forced to confront the idea that someone immune to her poison isn't a complete rarity.
• Li Shuwen (Assassin):
  • His version of No Second Strike is actually based on his Lancer version's "Fierce Tiger Forcibly Climbs a Mountain" Noble Phantasm technique from Fate/KOHA-ACE.
  • His Third Ascension has the exact same outfit he wore when he was summoned as a Lancer in Fate/KOHA-ACE (and subsequently its remake Fate/type Redline). His Second Ascension, especially without the shades, is the same outfit without the coat; the same configuration he would eventually wear during the final stages of the Imperial Capital Holy Grail War.
• Mysterious Heroine X:
  • In her last Interlude. She fights the "original Saber-face", Altria. She claims that by killing Altria, the dystopian future where she came will not happen. Maybe she got this idea from a certain red Archer.
  • Her archenemy is the Golden Great Emperor Cosmo Gilgames, since even in gag universes Altria and Gilgamesh can't get along.
  • Her partnership with Oda Nobunaga is a reference to Fate/KOHA-ACE where Altria is Nobunaga's Master.
• Jekyll and Hyde:
  • Jekyll’s Noble Phantasm’s name, Dangerous Game, is also the name of one of the songs from the musical adaptation of their story.
  • Mephistopheles, in the Japanese version of the Oniland event, mockingly calls Jekyll “O, poor Henry Jekyll!”, a reference to how in Japanese translations of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Gabriel John Utterson, Jekyll’s Heterosexual Life Partner and the viewpoint character, often has a tendency to refer to Jekyll as such in his thoughts to the point of Catchphrase (a quirk of translation, as most of these lines were worded differently in English).
• Kama's voice lines for Ganesha and Pārvatī that show she's still pretty bitter towards Shiva for killing his original life. Asking if Ganesha has any resentment towards her parents, being disappointed that he doesn't and asking that Pārvatī shoot Shiva with an arrow if she needs martial help while hoping she is killed by Shiva like he was. Her My Room line about her dislikes for her second and third ascensions repeats this where she states she hates both Pārvatī and Shiva.
• Okada Izou:
  • He wonders if he's met Medusa before in one of his My Room lines. This is a throwback to Koha-Ace where Medusa as "Major Reiter" was his Master.
  • His pose is an imitation of Musashi's pose, a reference to how Izou in his youth was inspired by tales of Miyamoto Musashi to become a swordsman.
• Okita's Summer version being an Assassin is a callback to a Drama CD of GUDAGUDA Order whereas after Nobunaga reminded that if Sabers are defined by good stats, Okita shouldn't be one because she has shit stats, and Medusa added that her stats would've fit an Assassin more.
• Osakabehime is surprised to see Miyamoto Musashi as a woman, referencing how, according to legend, she met the historical (male) Musashi.
• Ryougi Shiki:
  • At the event's Mission screen, she mentions her office, Garan no Dou, before quickly correcting herself.
  • Her final Ascension artwork is similar to her appearance at the first movie, Overlooking View after her loss against Fujou Kirie.
  • Her NP animation is based on her Arc-Drive from Melty Blood, and most of her other attack animations are based on her normal and special attacks from the same game.
  • She thinks that Tawara Touta sounds like her ex-classmate as they share the same voice actor.
  • Her My Room Dialogue has her commenting that something like this has happened before. She likes this place better.
  • She appears as an Optional Boss in SE.RA.PH as MONSTER after clearing all event missions, similar to her bonus boss status back in Fate/EXTRA. She turns into Saber Shiki after the first phase of the fight, paralleling how she had done so in Paradox Spiral after being sealed by Araya.
  • When seeing Fujino, Shiki remarks that she still can't stand her.
• Sasaki Kojirou's updated animation comes from Fate/unlimited codes with some of ufotable's UBW motions thrown in the mix (most notably his sword handle strike and NP animation).
• Jack the Ripper:
  • Her animation update alters her attack animations to be more in-line with her Fate/Apocrypha fighting style. Most notably, her Extra Attack has her grab her target from behind and slash at their throat, a move she attempted against both Mordred and her master during their brief fight in that series.
  • During the Inheritance of Glory event, Jack uses her mist to try and protect the group from Karna, only for the latter to blow the mist away with his Mana Burst. Jack complains that she hates fighting high-level servants because they always do that, again referencing her fight with Mordred in Apocrypha (as Mordred used the same trick to gain the upper hand against Jack).

Berserkers

• Cú Chulainn (Alter)'s Noble Phantasm is Curruid Coinchen. That in itself is monster which was slain in order to use its bones to make Gáe Bolg.
• Heracles:
  • During his first Interlude, the protagonist has two options to command him. One of them is "Get them! Berserker!" which is Illya's usual command on him back in Fate/stay night.
  • While genuinely trying to help his friend, Heracles has a tendency to grievously injure Jason during the latter's attack and Noble Phantasm animations. This has ties to how myths involving the demigod where he would attempt to (and sometimes succeed in) killing his sidekicks by accident or for perceived slights against him.
• Lancelot du Lac (Berserker):
  • Many of his weapons are a direct reference to what he used during the events of Fate/Zero.
  • His default weapon (first and second Ascension) is a street lamp pole empowered by Knight of Owner like he used against Altria during their first clash.
  • The guns he pulls out with his animation update are the very same ones he uses against Altria during their final battle.
  • His chain gun NP is the remnants of his jet plane after dueling Gilgamesh in an aerial battle. With his NP animation update, it becomes the actual jet with him ripping the chain gun out to fire it himself.
• Lu Bu is a famous Berserker-class Servant (who also qualifies for nearly every other class) that can't use his Noble Phantasm to its full potential and his combat skills because of Mad Enhancement, like another Berserker that we know.
• Morgan:
  • Her dialogue about Cu Chulainn indicates he associates her with the Morrigan, the goddess who he rejected thus she antagonized him and led him to his doom. She denies it but admits she will do the same thing if a warrior rejects her.
  • The spears she summons in her attack animations and Noble Phantasm originate from the early concept art of Lord Camelot, from back when the Shielder Servant who eventually evolved into Mash was going to appear in the original Fate/stay night. At the time, the walls of Lord Camelot would shoot spears at the opponent. The concept art was first revealed in Fate/unpublished material released in 2019.
  • Almost her entire story could be considered one to Saber Altria. Young girls chosen by fate to save Britain, only for it all to fall apart and both of them left understandably bitter about it all.
• Mori Nagayoshi:
  • In his Bond 1 line, he tells to you that he'll let you go with one arm for bossing him around since you're his Master. Back in Fate/KOHA-ACE, he cut off Major Matou's arm due of him trying to use his Command Seals to make Nagayoshi kill himself.
  • If the player has Assassin Li Shuwen, he confronts him only to realize he doesn't have a spear. He apologized by offering a cup of tea.
  • If the player has Okita, he'll eye her sword and tell her it looks familiar, like it pierced his chest once before. In fact, this is exactly how he died in Fate/KOHA-ACE
• Mysterious Heroine X (Alter)'s design is derived from the "Master Altria" design which is Altria, as a Master, wearing a Sailor Fuku.
• Oda Nobunaga (Berserker) and Heroine X forming a team for "Dead Heat Summer Race" is a reference to Nobunaga being Master Altria's Servant in Fate/KOHA-ACE.
• After Tamamo Cat's animation update, her Extra Attack closely resembles the startup sequence and final blast from Fate/EXTELLA's take on Tamamo's NP—she levitates while surrounded by several talismans, creates a miniature sun over her head, and throws it at the opponent. Though sometimes the sun is swapped for a giant plate of omelette rice.
• The pose in Vlad III's card art is the same pose Vlad had in his original character design which was made for the canceled Apocrypha online game.

Other Classes

• Shielder is called the "Stray Servant" because her original design was called that. She was a heroine candidate during the initial development of Fate/stay night who was left unused in the final version. She was considered along with Rider and Caster to be a possible heroine, but she was cut due to the plot beginning to stray so as to keep it manageable for the player. As Saber is a "Servant of the Sword", she was to be her rival as a Shielder, "Servant of the Shield". She would have been an "abandoned puppy" type heroine who killed her Master during the Fourth Holy Grail War and went on a rampage, surviving into the Fifth Holy Grail War in a similar manner to Gilgamesh.
• BB:
  • She remembers all her enemies from Fate/EXTRA CCC (Nero, Tamamo, EMIYA, Gilgamesh), and remarks that "Gilgilman" is as arrogant as ever.
  • She really hates Kiara and suggests that you should lock her in a room with a fairy tale author to annoy her.
• BB (Summer)
  • Her Noble Phantasm has a couple, as it has BB become gigantic and scoop out a piece of land with her enemies and crush them out of existence. This references the original draft of BB's Noble Phantasm animation from Fate/Extra CCC, which was cut due to being over-budget. It also has in the beginning mud falling from a dark hole in the sky, which references the end of Fate/Zero that has the remains of the destroyed Grail pouring cursed mud that caused the Fuyuki Fire. The shape it assumes briefly before transforming into giant BB is also reminiscent of the "shadow giants" Dark Sakura utilizes when trying to kill Rin during their big confrontation at the climax of F/SN's Heaven's Feel route.
  • Nyarlathotep's appearance best matches his form as the Haunter of the Dark, which is described to have a three-lobed burning eye.
• Jinako Carigiri ("Ganesha") has several lines referencing CCC:
  • If you have Karna, she says she's happy to see that he's healthy but is sad that he doesn't recognize her because of being fused with Ganesha.
  • She's freaking out if you have BB and wants to hide before BB turns her into a toy. She also thinks BB's the reason for her fusion with Ganesha.
  • She's not shocked that Kiara is a Servant since she's nice. In the game, Jinako escaped before Kiara did anything.
  • If you have any of the playable Servants - Nero, Tamamo or EMIYA/Nameless - she still badmouths them and says if needed, she can tag team with Karna for revenge.
• Yang Guifei:
  • In her line about Cleopatra, she says that pearls are a beverage, which references stories that she grounded up pearls and drank them as skin treatment. (It may also refer to Cleopatra doing something similar, dissolving a pearl in vinegar and drinking it, though in her case it was to win a bet.)
  • Her wish of marrying and living out her life with the person she loves references how the An Lushan rebellion forced her beloved Emperor Xuanzong to reluctantly order her death because his advisers thought she was the cause of the rebellion.
• Amakusa Shirou Tokisada:
  • To begin with, he's summoned with Shirou Kotomine's form, which means he experiences Apocrypha-verse's Third Holy Grail War and the Great Holy Grail War 60 years later. He also fights using Black Keys, the signature weapon of the Holy Church and wearing their ceremonial robes in stage 2.
  • He also remembers what went down in Apocrypha and comments on his enemies, Jeanne and Sieg in My Room. For Jeanne, he says that although they're on the same side now, he won't ever change his wish for the Holy Grail if he somehow can claim it. Otherwise they're actually getting along quite fine.
  • He also says that he can't tell you about the charm of a certain oldest poisoner. He popped up during the epilogue of the Valentine event to encounter said poisoner and makes several vague comments that implied their past partnership.
  • On stage 2-3, he uses a katana, like the one from Apocrypha, where Shakespeare enchants a katana for him to be of equal strength to a C-rank Noble Phantasm.
  • The Westernized design of Amakusa's Stage 3 outfit harkens the aesthetic of Takato Yamamoto's portrayal of him in his art (as seen here◊ and here◊).
  • In "The Little Santa Alter", he shows up as "Santa Island Mask" and pointedly interrupts Mash questioning his true identity (Amakusa Shirou) by bringing up the common misconception that he's related to any Emiya or Shirou just because he's "wearing red", a comment that wouldn't even make sense without his similar name being blatantly obvious.
• Astraea:
  • If you have Miyu, Astraea says her eyes tend to follow Miyu referencing how Luvia saw Miyu as a little sister in Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA.
  • She calls Emiya "Shero", her nickname for Shirou. Assassin Emiya meanwhile gets called "Kerry", like Shirley used to, and he's... visibly not thrilled about it.
• Jeanne d'Arc:
  • She has a comment for almost all characters from Fate/Apocrypha that are currently in the game and characters related to her which were added from the March 8 update.
  • She comments on Siegfried that she has several connections with him, even though they've rarely spoken to each other. When pressed further for clarification, she simply states that it's a secret. Prior to an update, she referred to Siegfried as Sieg-kun, aka the homunculus Sieg.
  • She also comments on Atalante, Shakespeare, and Amakusa: all her enemies from the Red Faction. She's still angry at Shakespeare after his Mind Rape in Apocrypha, and really glad that Amakusa's fighting on the same side as her.
  • For Gilles, she is sad seeing what become of Gilles (Caster) and reassured that Gilles (Saber) that she will always be there to pokes at his eyes, referencing the Einzbern Consultation Room OVA. And if she has an attack chain against either of them where the second or third attack is her Quick card, she does exactly that. While smiling
  • In Medea Lily's Interlude, she and Astolfo continue their rivalry from the Capsule Servant minigame and Apocrypha in general. She's also shocked at seeing another version of that pink-haired Servant.
• Saint Martha (Summer): In-universe she has a connection to water and the sea, which probably isn't just an excuse to have a version of her in a swimsuit as it does tie into her real-world lore.
  • Like her Rider and Santa versions she's classified as a "European Servant" despite being Middle Eastern in life, due to her legend's connection with France. According to this legend, she came to France in the first place after being exiled and set adrift on a boat from the Holy Land, as part of the early Christian persecutions. The Tarasque is a water-dwelling creature she encountered.
  • There is also a legend in Villajoyosa, Spain that she saved the town in 1583 from Berber pirates by wiping the fleet out with a flash flood.
• Qin Shi Huang:
  • He's the same emperor Jing Ke failed to assassinate, and unlike in proper history, actually succeeded in achieving both immortality and world conquest.
  • Also, he's the same Servant the Kuruokas are trying to summon as Fake Rider in Fate/strange fake.
• Any Grail given to Aŋra Mainiiu for Palingenesis will install a dark purple icon on the top of his portrait instead of the usual golden one, indicating how he's "corrupted" it with his evil — a reference to his time spent indwelling the Greater Grail in Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night.
• Gorgon's reaction to seeing Perseus is to immediately come up with ways to kill him and make him suffer.
• The Command Code "Seal of an Immature Blue Illusion" that was released with Oda Nobunaga (Avenger) in "GUDAGUDA Final Honnouji" seems to be specifically designed to help Demon King Nobunaga to perform Critical Hits with her one and only Arts card which would also indirectly increase their NP Gain. This is a reference to Nobunaga's relation with Master Altria, her Master in Fate/KOHA-ACE.
• Space Ishtar:
  • Her black hair ribbons with red accents resemble those worn by Fate/EXTRA Rin.
  • "Astoreth" is the Northwest Semetic version of Babylonian "Ishtar".
  • "Astoreth"'s demonic look is because her name was the basis for Astaroth's name, one of the 72 demons summonable by Ars Goetia.
• Sitonai:
  • She is able to summon Illya's Servant Heracles in place of the mythological Sitonai's Canine Companion. In fact her very first scene in the story has her thanking Heracles for always protecting her, but telling him to stand down and let the player pass, and is so strong that he can block an attack from Surtr. If you have Heracles as a servant, one of her lines is saying he really is strong.
  • A single Alter Ego made up of three spirits, and who physically resembles a character from Fate/stay night? She is very similar in concept to the Sakura Five from Extra CCC. Her profile points this out as well, stating that she's less a Pseudo-Servant and more a High Servant, the same term used to refer to the Sakura Five.
  • Having a bear specifically as her pet is a reference to a bad ending in F/SN where Illya kills Shirou and makes a teddy bear from his remains.
  • She's quite annoyed if you have Gilgamesh summoned, angrily stating that she wants to rip his heart out, referencing Illya's own grisly fate at his hands in the Unlimited Blade Works route in F/SN. She's shocked by his Caster form though, amazed that he could be earnest.
  • If you have Emiya Alter, she's shocked by his appearance and wonders if Shirou became a delinquent.
  • If you have Ishtar and Pārvatī, she's mildly shocked that they - Rin and Sakura, respectively - are here too.
  • She's saddened to see what happened to Emiya (Assassin) but refuses to talk to him, thinking fate doesn't allow them to meet. She also wonders who had the sadder fate.
  • She doesn't recognize the Dress of Heaven as her mother though but wants to be like her when she grows up.
  • Her ascension materials and skill upgrades requirements are from the Caster (Prisma Illya) and Berserker (Heracles) classes.
• Summer Kama:
  • Summer Kama being an Avenger servant is a reference to Dark Sakura being the person who hosted the original Avenger servant in Fate/stay night. Within her first two Ascensions, some of her attacks as well as her Noble Phantasm summon what appears to be the tentacles of the Shadow and summon Shadow Giants respectively. Her swimsuit in story (not in Ascension) also appears to be made up of strips of cloth...which makes it have a huge resemblance to Sakura's tentacle dress.
  • One that also doubles as a Call-Back: Her 2nd Ascension's My Room lines for Senji Muramasa reveals she feels restless around him while also not wanting to be around him, likening him to Shiva. The former is a proper Mythology Gag, as Muramasa is a Pseudo-Servant hosted by Shirou Emiya, the potential love interest of Kama's host in Fate/stay night. The latter feeling is a Call-Back however, as it was with a Muramasa blade that Munenori cut down most of her Beast duplicates in the Ooku event. Kama has good reason to fear Muramasa's swords.
• Caren C. Hortensia:
  • Her God's Bazooka is directly stated to operate via the same principle as her Morning Star from Fate/Tiger Colosseum in that it's stronger the more "Love" it has. And since God's Love is infinite...
  • She takes a bit of time to congratulate Erice on her amazing fashion sense, a fashion sense she grew because she idolizes her own world's Caren in the first place. And Erice's brief mention of said Caren being Caren Fujimura causes utter confusion for both Caren and the Prillya girls.
  • She acknowledges knowing Cú Chulainn from her time in Fate/hollow ataraxia dispite the fact she herself knows she shouldn't know due to the nature of the game.
• Super Bunyan:
  • Rider and Assassin are voiced by the same actors as Mash and Olga Marie, who were their original Masters in Learning with Manga!.
  • In her Third Ascension, one of Rider's attacks has her recreating her "Terror of the Croconado" Composite Noble Phantasm, which she created using Archer's tornado-handling powers and Mary Anning's prehistoric creature.
• Archetype: Earth:
  • Many of Archetype: Earth's animations are similar to her moves in Melty Blood. Her Extra attack for example is based on her "The End" Last Arc.
  • Arcueid comments that you commanding her on the backline reminds her of the time she teamed up with a mage to defeat a Dead Apostle. In the old canon, Len's old master helped Arcueid to defeat Einnashe in exchange of having Arcueid watch over Len after he dies.
  • Arcueid's appearance as White Berserker in Fate/EXTRA is referenced by Archetype: Earth using Berserker pieces and gems for ascension and skill levelling.
• Lady Avalon:
  • Lady Avalon claims to be Merlin's little sister. While she's obviously just Prototype Merlin under a different name, Merlin actually does have a sister in several Welsh legends: her name is Gwenddydd, and she's usually depicted as being a skilled prophet like her brother.
• Rasputin/Kotomine:
  • While his NP is the summoning of All The World's Evils as expected, his pose specifically recreates his ending from Fate/unlimited codes.

Story Elements

• The date set for the rayshift to Fuyuki is January 30, 2004, the release date of Fate/stay night.
• The name of Goetia' plan to eradicate the Human Order is Retrogression Canal Genesis Light-Year, which is the name of Aoko Aozaki's Arc Drive in Melty Blood. Nasu outright stated in an interview that this little reference was explicitly aimed for fans of Aoko.
• In Septem, the young Alexander fights alongside the older Zhuge Liang (Waver) as a Dual Boss, flipping their roles as allies in Fate/Zero.
• In America, Medb summoned Clan Calatin, the 28 warriors that she sent to kill Cu Chulainn in her legend, who instead manifest as 28 Demon Pillars.
• In Camelot, the Lion King's main motive, creating an eternal kingdom where her people may suffer no more, is borrowed from Arthur's wish for the Holy Grail in Fate/Prototype.
• The final fight in the Temple of Time culminates in a desperate physical fight between two tired and exhausted characters, the protagonist whom is overloading themselves physically to keep up with their physically superior opponent while the antagonist is dying the entire fight from a mortal injury received prior. The exact same scenario plays out for the climax of Part 1 of FGO as the one of Heaven's Feel, with Shirou and Kotomine replaced by the Protagonist and Goetia.
• The brutalities done by the citizens of Agartha towards the slaves made Astolfo temporarily remember his time being stuck with an abusive, sadistic Master in his original debut, but he quickly brushed that aside.
• Senji Muramasa, who appears in the Shimousa chapter of Epic of Remnant and later in Cosmos in the Lostbelt:
  • His red and black igote is most likely a reference to Shirou's use of the Shroud of Martin in the Heaven's Feel route.
  • His ultimate fate in Shimousa, that he immediately dies/fades away after unleashing Tsumugari Muramasa, is a clear call-back to the Normal End of Heaven's Feel where Shirou himself dies after tracing Excalibur one last time to destroy the Greater Grail.
  • In Lostbelt 5, it's mentioned he gets along pretty well with Rasputin, but feels a sense of unease around him and avoids him at times. This is naturally alluding to the fact that Shirou develops a form of respect towards Kirei due to being not so different in Heaven's Feel, while still remaining fundamentally opposed to him as in all other routes.
  • In Lostbelt 6, he spends a lot of time interacting with Altria Caster, ala Saber and Shirou's interactions in Fate. His Heroic Sacrifice to forge her an actual Excalibur to unleash her full potential both invokes the Normal End for Heaven's Feel mentioned previously as well as well as how Shirou gave up Avalon for Saber's sake to fight Gilgamesh in Fate.
• Galahad is a white-haired Servant who questions the protagonist's choices and actions within the narrative — much like Archer did to Shirou in the original Fate/stay night.
• There are a few times where Goredolf Musik namedrops Toole as his childhood tutor. In Fate/Apocrypha Material (and as seen in the Apocrypha anime), Toole was a homunculus who became the Musik son's tutor after the Great Holy Grail War was over. Even though this is a different timeline, it looks like that still happened. In fact, he mentions a "Toole IV" (the original Toole's lifespan was 3 years), implying they made at least 3 more after the first.
• Kotomine Kirei's pose is exactly the same as his pose in stay night.
• In Lostbelt No. 2, Ophelia riding Surtr's shoulder and almost being consumed by him is very similar to the third Hakuno riding the Sephyr Giant and being consumed.
• The final shot of the trailer for the Indian Lostbelt is a scene of Karna standing on the ground while Arjuna flies over him in the sky, showing the difference in power between the two. The shot is almost identical to one from Karna vs Sieg in the Fate/Apocrypha anime, only this time Karna is the weaker one on the ground instead of the stronger one in the sky.
• In Lostbelt 4, the so-called "God's Skyrock" is built like a strange black cube that likely seems familiar to veterans of the Moon Holy Grail Wars. By the end of the Lostbelt, it becomes clear that there is a very good reason for that: Ganesha/Jinako Karigiri built the strongest protection she could imagine for herself for her nearly eternal wait - naturally, she envisioned the Moon Cell itself.
• In Lostbelt No. 5: Atlantis, Achilles and Chiron are once again on opposite sides. Only this time, he's on the protagonist's side, while Chiron is on the villain's. They also face each other again, except this time, Achilles is the one who's defeated.
• In the sixth Lostbelt, Avalon le Fae, most of the time that Muramasa (using Shirou's body as a vessel) and Grimr the Sage (aka Caster Cu Chulainn) share the stage is spent bickering between the two — just like every time Shirou (though moreso EMIYA) and Cu Chulainn have dialogue with each other.
• In the Japanese script of the sixth Lostbelt, the wording the protagonist uses to summon Altria Avalon in the climax against Oberon ("Come, Caster!") is a callback to the command used by Shirou Emiya ("Come, Saber!") to summon Altria Pendragon in Fate/stay night. For added emphasis, both moments happen in scenes highlighting the summoners performing their duties as proper Masters.
• In the Traum Singularity, the figures from the seven standard Class cards are used as the main look for all three armies' Mooks.
• In the final battle of the Paper Moon, Ayus, ready and determined to win the duel, takes the occasion to borrow Illya's catchphrase.
  Ayus: By my command spell, I order you. GET 'EM, BERSERKER!^note Though in her case, the Berserker part is given the Alternate Character Reading of "my dumbass big brother".

Event Elements

• In the Da Vinci event, Jeanne Alter quotes Shirou in his battle against Gilgamesh from UBW:
  "There is no rule that says an imitation cannot defeat the original!"
• Fate/Accel Zero Order (predictably a pit of Fate/Zero references as a crossover event):
  • Big Bad Justeaze being mistaken for a darkened version of Irisviel won't exactly come off weird when you remember that in the climax of Fate/Zero, Iri's corpse was possessed by Angra Mainyu while the Grail's contents were spilling out and causing destruction, and it later impersonated her while conversing with Kiritsugu and Ilya.
  • Justeaze's Noble Phantasm also causes high-level damage (as well as a chance of instant death) to any Servant she fights — in contrast to Dress of Heaven's healing buffs. The difference is pretty similar to the dichotomy between Jeanne and Jeanne Alter.
• The first summer event, "Chaldea Summer Memory/Heat Odyssey":
  • Two of the three options for a large building on your tropical island in the first half are the Einzbern Castle and the Emiya residence. After building either one, Altria and Cu Chulainn both feel that they seem familiar somehow. And in the second half, you can build the Fuyuki bridge.
  • Three of the male companions on the island are members of the YARIO band: Cu Chulainn, Karna, and Diarmuid with new members: Fionn, Blackbeard, and Kojirou.
  • Diarmuid and Fionn once again meet their end via giant demonic boar (Twrch Trwyth).
• The Fate/EXTRA CCC crossover event Abyssal Cyber Paradise: SE.RA.PH:
  • The Superboss for this event is the superboss from Fate/EXTRA, MONSTER AKA Ryougi Shiki.
  • Kiara Sessyoin's (Beast III/R)'s battle start text is "Sword, or Death" (translated in the English release of Fate/EXTRA as "Live or Die by the Sword"), the same message that preceded every major Servant battle in Extra and CCC.
• The end of the third Nero Fest is a mini-reunion of the Fate/Prototype Servants centered around Brynhild, as she goes berserk due to Amakusa and Archer of Shinjuku's meddling. Ozymandias and Arash in particular are well-aware of the threat of the rogue Valkyrie, while Arthur makes a rare, still-hooded cameo to intervene.
• In "Valentine 2018 ~The Bountiful Chocolate Gardens of Valentine", Semiramis eyeballs Prisma Illya's Kaleido Ruby and comes up with "Jeweled Blade Chocoretch" for summoning chocolate from other dimensions. Jeweled Sword Zeltrech was a Mystic Code first mentioned in Heaven's Feel as a weapon that summoned mana from other dimensions, then in Ataraxia it's shown that Zeltrech "helped" Rin use the Sword by giving her Kaleido Ruby which then showed up in Prisma Illya.
  • Choco Grail-kun is from Carnival Phantasm
• The final fight with Amakusa Shirou Tokisada in "Inheritance of Glory" involves fighting a team of Shirou, David, Benkei, Berserker Kintoki, and St. George, the later four being Servants cut from the original Fate/Apocrypha.
• The Count of Monte Cristo can perceive the time loop during the "Servant Summer Festival!" He claims it's a class feature to Avengers and wonders if his predecessor created this resistance, a nod to Aŋra Mainiiu's four day loop from Fate/hollow ataraxia.
• "Saber Wars 2":
  • Astaroth Origin's status as a palette swap of Space Ishtar's third Ascension form is similar to the case of Heroine Z of the previous "Saber Wars" event.
  • Jaguar Warrior being a teacher of Queens Academy within the Servant Universe references Taiga's job as a teacher herself within past games within this franchise.
• In "Chaldea Thriller Night," after the two groups merge and the two Yu Mei-rens fight to determine the true version, they lampshade how it's "pretty much impossible to fight yourself and win." Emiya, who has experience in this area, has what the narrative describes the "pained expression to end all pained expressions."
• ServaFes 2023:
  • When most Servants end up on a Hawaii vacation again, Bazett is found selling popsicles on the beach, just like in Prisma Illya.
  • Speaking of Prisma Illya, when Illya gives the giant Chloe a slice of life doujin starring the Fuyuki crew, said doujin is clearly recognizable as a real Fate/stay night doujin published by Kalmia (Prisma Illya author Hiroshi Hiroyama's own doujin circle) all the way back in 2007.

Others

• The supporting cast of Kara no Kyoukai and Prisma Illya appeared in event CEs.
• Tactical Rock–Paper–Scissors makes Riders strong against Casters while being weak against Assassins. Meanwhile, in the original Fate/stay night, in the second route, Medusa was completely beaten and suffered anti-climatic death by Medea and her master (though he might pass as an Assassin class), while in the third route, she completely curb-stomped Hassan.
• In turas realta, Mash as a Pseudo-Servant first appears in the ruins of the shed where Shirou first met Saber in Fate/stay night.