GATES OF HELL - Fate/Samurai Remnant - 22 - Rat Ending

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In today's episode of our Let's Play, walkthrough, and playthrough of Fate/Samurai Remnant, Iori and Saber's attempts to destroy the Waxing Moon Ritual are halted by Chiemon and Lancer, as literally hell is unleashed on Japan!
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GAME: Fate/Samurai Remnant
AUTHOR: Omega Force, Koei Tecmo
Fate/Samurai Remnant lets players play as Miyamoto Iori. The combat is hack and slash style with some similarities to musou gameplay, but it falls under the Action RPG genre with dodging and looking for openings as an important element. It features a wide array of stances, which the player character can switch between on the fly. Iori uses dual katanas, a widespread weapon for Samurai during the Edo period. Players can give commands to their servant, launching special attacks and combos. In certain situations, the game allows for full control of Iori's servant, as his weapons can't be used against other servants.
#fate #fategrandorder #playthrough

[@NicoB]

Lancer's a real one, putting up with Chiemon's crazy ass.

[@thebread-kingman8996]

Yeah...Jeanne D'Arc Alter(Jalter), is a favorite in the Fate Franchise.

[@michaeladams-burnett1238]

Patience of a saint fr.

[@mackenziemoisan5993]

Yeah she's a saint. heh.

[@donovanng8797]

Yeah, even corrupted, her good nature is just hardwired

[@blurb9319]

@@thebread-kingman8996This isn’t Jalter, just Jeanne turned emo

[@aneonfoxtribute]

You almost certianly forgot this from the last route, because it's kind of a throwaway thing. In the other route, Lancer is incapacitated because she took a hit for Chiemon during the fight with the bull. That's why things played out different this time, because Chiemon had Lancer with him. Last time, Lancer was resting and Chiemon came on his own, which is why he just ate shit and also why he didn't take Kaya in that route

[@peterwinter1962]

So for this ending, called 'Flames of Resentment', I feel like this is perhaps the closest to a 'good ending' conclusion to Iori's character considering all that NG+ reveals to us about him. As the new digressions and story bits serve to highlight the similarities between Iori and Chiemon, especially in how Chiemon was always able to see through Iori's facade and was basically a dark reflection of Iori for the entire ending. Showing him just what he would become if he decided to not destroy The Waxing Moon. One thing I think helps show Iori overcoming his mindset in this ending is actually the scene after the credits roll. It shows him carrying Kaya back home as dawn breaks, However the camera specifically draws focus to the charm she wears. Showing that it and the one Iori has on his sword are identical. Showing us that out of everyone in the world, Iori loves his sister deeply. Enough to set aside his wish and obsession in order to save her from a horrible fate. Regardless of what he may say about how he acts with other people's interests in mind in order to gain an advantage or win, this ending shows that Iori never saw Kaya that way. She is his one tie to the world that he is genuinely scared of losing (just look at his expressions and how he acts throughout this ending). This is also the only ending out of the two so far where we see Iori give a genuine smile at the end. Showing to us that, He may have regrets about not perusing his wish, yet he is still happy he was able to save the one person that means the world to him. And to him, that's more than enough.

[@goetiawasright6793]

In fact, I think the focus on Kaya and Iori's charms after Iori looked at Chiemon's corpse was very much to tell us something like "that was the difference between him and Chiemon" Had Iori not have Kaya in his life, he could have very likely ended up as the monster Chiemon saw in him

[@peterwinter1962]

​​@@goetiawasright6793 I think there's no doubt about that. Granted I think it also helps in this route that Chiemon went out of his way to kidnap Kaya as well, which focused Iori's attention more towards saving his sister than his own wish. Which in this route I think ends up being for the better. Between saving his sister who was in mortal danger and his own wish, he decided he'd rather let his wish disappear alongside The Waxing Moon than let his sister suffer. Which is pretty consistent with his character when you see how often he thinks about wanting his sister to live a happy and peaceful life.

[@DekuKurohi]

Here's an interesting fact about Chiemon as the Waxing Moon Monster. You can clearly see that his left arm is engulfed in light, contrasting his other arm (And entire body) being red covered in black clothing. This might look odd at first glance but anyone well-versed in Fate lore already know what this is referencing. Amakusa Shirou is the leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, an event where Chiemon have a deep connection to. He is a summonable Servant that has shown up a few times in person, yet doesn't make any physical apperance here. His Noble Phantasms are his two hands that represent the hope he represent for his followers. The Left Hand - Xanadu Matrix, and The Right Hand - Evil Eater. When activated, his right arm is engulfed in black flames, and his left arm is engulfed in light. The fact that Chiemon have something similar represents how he is a part of that rebellion, a remnant of it that survived to this day. An interesting theory popped up not too long after the game came out that the vessel for the Waxing Moon are actually hands of Amakusa Shirou, as the only prominent figure/relic of Chirstianity in Japan at the time and the Waxing Moon being a recreation of the Holy Grail, fans believed that his corpse was desecrated with the hands being used to create the vessel for the Waxing Moon, becoming another byproduct of the Shimabara Rebellion alongside Chiemon himself, and perhaps why he is so fixated on it aside from being an item that could achieve his wish for oblivion. Of course there is the fact that it's two right hands instead of left and right hand, but it is such a compelling theory I have to put it here.

[@yate0128]

Jeane is truly compassionate. Even when she knows Chiemon is destined for hell, she makes sure that he won’t be alone. But it’s really sad(at least minimally) that He is keeping his distance from Her so only he will be damned.

[@Riku-zv5dk]

Jeane: You may deserve to suffer, but you don't deserve to suffer alone. Chiemon: Yes, I do deserve to suffer alone. Probably his one redeeming trait.

[@yate0128]

@Riku-zv5dk absolutely. I love when characters are written trying to help each other, much to each others detriment

[@Scazura]

So, the main reason Chiemon was trying so hard to open the gates to hell, and drag Edo down with him? It was to reunite with the mother he lost in those flames. Everything he's done, basically becoming a walking corpse bent on vengeance, he pretty much did not knowing he was just seeking his own death to finally be with his loved ones. At least, that's how I look at Chiemon! And it makes his relationship with Lancer so much sadder, because you have someone who wants to save, versus someone who doesn't want to be saved.

[@shuichisaihara53]

I think this is what they intended also

[@animewatcher102]

I think a perfect summation of this game is something Yui said "They say that troubled times are over. Yet why is there still so much wrong?." Most of the masters are here to grant a wish after being left behind by this great age of peace. Takao Dayu and the women of Yoshiwara were stuck in a dehumanizing prostitution system, all the Ronin that Yu taught had nowhere to go, any dissenters were brutally put down like the Shimabara Rebellion that Chiemon survived, Zheng being on the losing side of a war is looking for any way to turn the tide while people around him are ready to give in, and Iori is just someone who would thrive in a time of war and conflict. Oddly enough Dorothea who just joined the war for a little more leverage and doesn't have to win the war has the best mindset out of all of them which is, if the straightforward approach doesnt work try a different way. Though I do find it ironic that the other way Zheng thinks of is to take over the island that Dorothea's father was governing. Dayu and Iori in these endings also find an answer by slowly working toward their goal to accomplish it.

[@MEGAmangaman]

So along with the new update, they actually added some new developer interviews to the game's offical website. The most interesting ones were from the man himself: Kinoko Nasu. I'll post them here cause they're not too long: Why did you choose Yamato Takeru as the Servant of the protagonist Iori? The story takes place in the city of Edo and Miyamoto Iori, our protagonist, is a real person in history. I intuitively felt that the main Servant should be a mythical figure that all Japanese people know, and both heroic and tragic at the same time. Furthermore, they would be a top-ranked "Saber". That left me with only a few candidates, and Yamato Takeru shined the brightest among them. But as someone so well-known, I felt nervous that "we are finally going to tackle Yamato Takeru...". We believed that if we're going to do this, we must create a character that everyone will be satisfied with. What did you have in mind when depicting Yamato Takeru for "Fate"? Yamato Takeru in this title is multifaceted. They are a heroic spirit who is at the same time a hero that shines in legend, a fighter who kills both humans and gods, and also a tragic prince. In the story centering on the Waxing Moon, they are not only Iori's partner, but also another protagonist. Of course, it is important to establish a character who bears these elements, but I kept in mind to portray them as a living person, or, more precisely, as a being who was once a living person, when writing and rewriting the story. Even though they have supernatural abilities and speaks in a detached manner, they are portrayed as a human being who has a heart just like us and knows about tears and love. So yeah nothing too mind blowing but it does give a bit of insight into how Nasu writes his characters which I think is pretty neat. Also since next part is the finale, as one of the people who suggested you play this game for the channel, I just wanna say thank you so much for giving this game a shot. I know there's always a bit of a risk when it comes to tackling a new series on this channel and I was also a bit nervous myself because I didn't know if you were going to like it or not, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this playthrough very much. Seeing you react to the craziness that is fate has been really fun and it makes me so happy that you ended up really liking the characters and story because that's where I believe the true strength of Fate as a franchise lies. It was also fun talking about Fate lore with the other Penguins and seeing their reactions as well. So again, thank you. You've given me something really special to end the year on. And hopefully one day I'll get to experience Fate with you and Penguins again in the future. P.S: Don't forget to check the character profiles after the NG+ exclusive ending!

[@Cyclonestorm8]

I find it really funny he describes Takeru as this well-known figure they've been waiting for a good chance to show, when western fans (like me) had never even HEARD of this figure until the game.

[@animewatcher102]

I should note that Yui generally has less lines in this route Chapter 5 hinting to her backstory and ideals. The snake route is more her route.

[@victordesena9763]

So fun fact about Chiemon's final form. It is a reference to the leader of the rebellion that caused the massarce Chiemon was a part of. A figure who hands could create miracles and was executed by the Shogunate. This figure's hands is implied to what have created the Waxing Moon Vessel, and it is what they giant form alludes to. As for more details on this figure, well he shows up in other fate properties to say the least. So yeah fun fact indeed

[@tylercharles4587]

I did not know that about the Waxing Moon......

[@diegomendez8201]

Wait, Amakusa's hands were used to make the Waxing Moon!?!!?

[@apossiblyhereticalalphaleg3595]

@@diegomendez8201 It is a popular fan theory, yes.

[@aneonfoxtribute]

Musashi is not a prpminent character in the series. Shes a prominent character in FGO specifically

[@emperior5710]

As you probably know, with Caster being the snake in the Snake ending, Chiemon is the “Rat” of the Rat ending. Typically, Rats are seen as disgusting and lowly creatures, which both reflects how Chiemon would be seen by the people of Japan for being a Christian in a time when they were seen as a threat to Japanese culture , as well as Chiemon’s actual status and Hygiene (with his dischevled hair, Scar and bandaged covered body, as well as his torn clothing and lack of foot ware. Hell, it’s implied in the digressions that he doesn’t even own a house.) Rats are also seen as diseased, which from a poetic standpoint, you could say that Chiemon’s disease is the hatred he holds for Edo because it leads him down a path of self destruction. Rats are also seen as a symbol of preservation, which could be seen as Chiemon’s perseverance in remaining to live in Edo, as well as within the holy grail war until the very end for his chance to reunite with his parents, and to bring Hell to Edo.

[@nathanbozec779]

Very late for this, just discovered the channel, but actually the Snake and Rat refer to Assassin and Tsuchimikado respectively. The split is based on which one you choose to pursue, Snake being Assassin for very obvious reason. Tsuchimikado is a bit weirder because it's not something that is ever really mentionned in story, but he is characterized as a filthy little rat of a man, small and frail, that struggles to survive (tying back to his motivation of restoring his family's honor before the rival family whose name I've forgotten beats them). He's also explicitely called a rat in the booklet that came with the special edition: "That's how far Yasuhiro had been driven. No matter how poised he appeared to the shogunate, no matter how much contempt he sowed to his ennemies, there was nothing that could soothe his heart. Like a rat pursued by a cat, he was inconsolably restless and agitated."

[@apossiblyhereticalalphaleg3595]

@@nathanbozec779 I'm pretty sure it's meant to be both. The first, initial, more obvious connection and then the final connection you make at the end of the route, a bit more subtle, but still obvious if you look at the themes.

[@nathanbozec779]

@@apossiblyhereticalalphaleg3595 I personally don't really believe in that, if only because the sections that are called Snake and Rat are ONLY those that directly results from who you chase. It's only Chapter IV Section 2, the one where you chase either Assassin or Tsuchimikado, and Chapter V Section 2, the part where Rider's identity is revealed and you recieve help from either Saber or Dorothea based on which one you saved. The final chapters, Flames of Resentment, Ray of Light and Entreat the Darkness don't have those names despite Entreat the Darkness having different cutscenes based on which route you're on. For Snake specifically I see no reason to say it refers to Caster. I get that him contracting with Zheng after sweettalking him into accepting makes you think he's a snake, but the issue is that it does that everytime, not just in the snake route. Entreat the Darkness shows that he's still alive and contracted to Zheng, no matter if you've done the Snake or Rat route. None of what he says to Zheng is a lie, Koxinga never did manage to reinstate the Ming dynasty, and he never betrayed any of his Masters, so calling him a snake ends up being unaccurate. He also has no direct connections to snakes, as opposed to Assassin, who did lie and betray his Master

[@apossiblyhereticalalphaleg3595]

@@nathanbozec779 Actually (though I am in the middle of watching Nico finish Entreat the Darkness from Rat's starting point), it is implied that in Rat, Caster is not contracted to Zheng, given he says "all these people I've had to consume". In Snake, Caster only consumes one person and then contracts himself with Zheng, saving himself before needing to eat anyone else.

[@nathanbozec779]

@@apossiblyhereticalalphaleg3595 Huh you're right actually, I thought the only difference in the Caster/Chiemon fight was that Snake version showed you Zheng and Rat didn't, but after checking them again Caster says he needs Chiemon's magical energy to sustain himself whereas Snake says the opposite. Still not convinced Snake refers to him though, he's thematically too honest as a recorder and doesn't betray anyone

[@victordesena9763]

So in other stories that Musashi shows up, she is actually the one who is most often the rookie and student, who hasn't even completed her final move until a specific story beat. Its not that Musashi isn't a master but due to their circumstances how they appear here is very much a reflection of their younger self, compared to the old master we see in flashbacks. The Musashi we see in this game is after all this development so they take more of a master role like they would have originally

[@joaogabrielwillerding4093]

Last time i did the math Female Musashi was in her early 20s. So Iori is tecnicaly older than her here.

[@shuichisaihara53]

Chiemon has been such a compelling antagonist, i wish the same could be said for Tsuchimikado

[@weirdguy1495]

It really is the Malos effect with Chiemon for sure.

[@sarafontanini7051]

tsuchimikado would probably be a compelling villain if the game would stop killing him anticlimatically all the time

[@Ozzieapologist]

It’s kind of a shame because, he was a fine enough antagonist before the “final showdown”. Taking control of contracted servants is quite a feat, and that switching the leylines-thingy he did at one point was kinda neat. And all in all, him being a bit generic doesn’t drag down the narrative that much. He’s clearly meant to be a stepping stone for the other, much cooler antagonists, and he serves that role decently. But yeah, I also wish he at least had a bossfight or something.

[@antoniohumberto5510]

20:10 well Nico, to answer your question about if there are other disciples of musashi in other fate stuff, the answer is no. You seen to be under the impression that musashi shows up a lot in other fate stuff, but she actually doesn’t, before the release of samurai remnant, her only appearances were in FGO (mobile and arcade).

[@IrfanFakhrianto]

Definitely check out the logbook entry update from this ending at the start of the next episode btw, and after you've done the NG+ ending, check what the logbook has to say about it too before finishing the episode. About the digression percentage, yeah the update lowered the percentage total even tho you got the trophy for finishing all digressions, at the time of making this comment theres been no new ones found yet either, so maybe they're prepping to add new ones with upcoming dlcs?

[@Drekal684]

Don't mind me, just gonna briefly manifest on Nico's shoulder while dressed as the devil. *whispers* "Fate Stay Night has an even better story than this one." *vanishes*

[@stingerredshock3418]

Based

[@linkfan6555]

Nah, I disagree, Stay Night is the worst story in the franchise imo. I like pretty much all fate stuff except the stuff that has to do with Fyuuki as a major focus.

[@shuichisaihara53]

​@@linkfan6555Stay night has the worst story in the entire franchise??? 💀💀💀 Blud has not seen Agartha, Septem, or Orleans 💀💀💀💀

[@shuichisaihara53]

Based. I hope if Nico does read the fsn vn he will shed tears like many of us have lmao

[@raphaelpulmano2212]

Hope he covers both the VN and the anime at the same time.

[@weirdyakuzafan]

I can already imagine Nico's finale intro... Nico: And now back to feeding my new- *phone notification noise* *cut to live action* Nico, pulling out his phone: What the hell is that? Random spokesperson: We here at *Insert random figure making company* would like announce we're making figures of Iori and Saber from Fate/Samurai Remnant! The cost? An arm! And if you're overseas, a leg too! We know you suckers will buy it regardless, so what are you waiting for? Buy now! *Nico slowly looks off to the side, revealing there to be a comically large cleaver, the camera slowly zooms in on Nico's face while a low droning noise plays, then cuts to black*

[@sbfh014]

And now back to: *cut to the sound of fgo starting on nicos phone*

[@wchan39]

And don't forget the part where Nico's also getting the 'anime crazy eyes'.

[@plinfan6541]

The Screen suddenly glitches and it cuts to Nero singing Jingle Bells

[@ShadeKetchum]

Chiemon's plan is working this time because Lancer wasn't struck by lightning like in the other route. In the Snake route, Lancer is injured by the lightning and thus wasn't present to help Chiemon when he tried to get the vessel. Whether they were just too injured to help or outright died is unclear, but they certainly vanished sometime after Chiemon was killed, why is why they don't appear after that. Lancer isn't injured in this route, so Chiemon is able to execute a better plan with their help.

[@maybedennis]

Just a clarification that may have already been mentioned. In the Rat route, Lancer was not struck by lightning for some reason so she was able to support Chiemon in this route instead of him approaching Iori alone. Why was she struck by lightning in the other route? I have no idea. Another note for the next episode. Please let me know if this is spoilers and I'll remove this part of the comment. The ending where you choose to not destroy the grail are extremely similar to each other in the rat route and the snake route. However, there are VERY slight differences that show up in cutscenes so if you might find that you are not 100% on the Completed Story section, that's the reason why. In order to do this, you need to replay the snake route and choose not to destroy the grail which is a lot of work and up to you if you think it is worth it. It's nice to see you having fun with this game and we in the fate fandom patiently await you trying another work from the Nasuverse.

[@lionofavalon]

So the update yesterday also caused my save file to go from 100% digression completion to 88%; I haven't found any new digressions myself, I haven't seen anyone else find any, and the patch notes make no mention of new digressions, so my best guess is that the framework for two new DLC digressions was accidentally left in the update ahead of the first paid DLC pack, as 14 (current number of digression sets) divided by 16 is 88% when rounded. As far as routes go, saving focus of certain characters for different characters is very common across the Fate series (when it has routes). In this game for example, the "upper" routes focused more on Yoshinaka and Chiemon while the "lower" routes instead focused more on Caster, Dorothea, and Yui (as well as Arjuna and Shuwen to a lesser degree, as their digressions are only on Snake). It's even more pronounced in the original Fate work (Fate/stay night), where you only find out a few Servant identities on each route for example. Adding on to the last comment of the day, Tomoe's Saber variant is a gag swimsuit alt, an actual Saber version of her would be far more traditional and probably not too dissimilar from Yoshinaka himself. Lastly, as Yoshinaka's letter said, oni (ogres) are not inherently evil, and both man and oni can become demons; considering what we've seen of Iori in NG+, this has some interesting implications.

[@jadendobson9614]

Its not that Chiemon was being stupid trying grab Iori, its that by that point Lancer had died(or significantly weakened) protecting him from Ushi Gozen, so it was his last ditch effort. Which surprisingly would have succeeded if not for Shusetsu

[@letsreadtextbook1687]

Man, what would we do without Nico's editor valiantly pointing out things he didn't realize?

[@joelhagdahl5769]

... but who is Nico's editor 🤨

[@hamzahax]

The Fate Rabbithole is pretty deep Nico You just need a leap of faith Hehhehe DO IT!

[@Gestrid]

Sai coming in clutch with these "this line is new" edits.

[@troublemaker001]

Random Fate Trivia #20 We've talked about other Class Skills before so now we delve deep into another! This time, we'll be talking Item and Territory Creation, both Class Skills for the Caster Class. The two Skills are usually hand-in-hand with each other, which is why most, if not all, Casters are summoned with both. With Territory Creation, they are able to manifest a Territory (or at higher ranks, a Temple) for use to gather mana, doubling as a hideout, and to go along with the other Skill, creating magical items. It also is advantageous for the Caster and their Master as they have an area where they basically have more free control over the leylines already without the need for an external help or item. This can range from a standard Workshop for Mages, or other things like a fucking floating city or like...an actual civilization. Yeah, it can get pretty wild. As for Item Creation, the higher ranking your IC is, the better quality items or potions you can produce. So at the highest known rank of A, these Servants are capable of creating "pseudo-immortality" items, which is actually insane if you think about it. The catch is of course gathering the materials and mana to actually make these items. But hey, if you can make the Elixir of Life, what's really stopping you from trying to create it right? Having a Workshop helps in this case as if you can just summon the Servant's work space, they might already have the items they need right there, all they would need is the mana for it if they need to.

[@deathcon6261]

Chiemon is techanically entirely original to this game. However Chiemon's status as a survivor of the Shimabara rebellion, combined with his unhealthy pallor and noticeable scar around his neck, has led some fans to believe that he may actually be a reanimated Amakusa Shiro, the teenage leader of the rebellion, who was executed via beheading.

[@sarafontanini7051]

okay but that raises more questions!

[@harryrinaudo5525]

We see him as a child during his flashbacks, with him being protected by his parents. He also looks nothing like Amakusa in Apocrypha, so he's probably just a random survivor.

[@crazybagel9979]

Thank you Sai for highlighting the new text for us, I wouldn’t have noticed it on my own so thank you very much for that.

[@BulletBillSoilder]

Technically, Yoshinaka debuted in a flashback in the Shimousa Pseudo-Singularity's manga adaptation, this is his first actual proper appearance though. The Saber Tomoe thing is also because she's a Summer Variant Servant. Fate/Grand Order does Summer and Santa Servants every year giving pre-existing Servants (or the exception of one Servant who debuted as a Summer Servant) Swimsuit and Santa variations. Most of the time its just the Female Servants who get these alternate versions though, with the male Servants rarely getting a Santa variation and their Summer Variations are costumes and not another version with different skills and noble phantasms. The santa's are usually welfares however (and are one per event), meaning if you complete the event they're apart of you get them for free and if you don't you miss out on them and have to grind materials in-game to get them instead, while with the exception of one Summer Servant every year that's a welfare, there's tons more Summer Servants every year and a majority of them are apart of the gacha banners you need to roll on. Also: the Todoroki thing is false, you just need to do Rat Route, I got Rouge Saber in my rat route playthrough despite doing the same path I did in my first playthrough. That said according to the Season Pass' description, it'll be three additional story episodes and at least three new playable characters (If I had to make a guess, probably Aria or Ushi-Gozen, Gilgamesh and Hieda).

[@sarafontanini7051]

i imagine whenever chiemon yells something at Lancer her response is always "okay, that was always allowed."

[@DenZero]

11:40 Yes Nico, Fate/Grand Order fans also want to skip NP animation for the longest time hahaha

[@animewatcher102]

The reason Lancer wasnt there the other route was that Lancer was struck by lightning while protecting Chie fighting for the ley lines around the big "goat" thing

[@Sleepyduo38]

Nico, you forgot in Kill Assassin route, Jeanne got hurt during the fight with Ushi Gozen, that is why she could not kidnap Kaya.

[@JackDout]

"-new difficulty just dropped." "Sigh, guess I have to go fight Samson again..."

[@azon7458]

I do think that another reason why Chiemon hates Iori, is because he can see Iori has the nature of the people who slaughtered his family and village. At least after watching that flashback from when his parents get killed, that's what it shows to me.

[@kristofferbeer3011]

Nico there is a Shop in Chiemons old Base that sells a lot of Workshop Materials in Bulk.

[@rainbowdragoon5998]

It's true that Fire and Void are by far the best stances, and I found myself mostly using those at the end of the game as well. However, most of them have some level of use even into endgame, with maybe Wind Stance being the one exception to that rule. As you've noticed, if you play on a difficulty higher than normal, enemies start doing a fuckton of damage, which means that Earth Stance's Fortitude becomes quite important (probably even moreso on the new "Fatal Sword" setting, since you can't heal via rice balls - although I think you can still heal with spells). It also makes it safer to try and go for Ripostes without dying. Water Stance is a bit more situational - first of all, as you've said, you usually don't have Rogue Saber until the tail end of the game, so the improved dodge is only available in water stance, making it almost necessary to safely avoid some attacks, especially in the Gil fight. But also, if you can get the Water afterglow, it gives attack speed - which makes the already fast Fire and Void stances even more broken when you switch into them, and opens up attack windows for longer combos. I definitely agree that some enemies in this game are too tanky. I played on the hard difficulty on my first playthrough, and Gil with his armada of Shell Gauges is extremely tanky on top of almost one-shotting you with most of his attacks - and starting that fight over again is really painful. That said, things get a bit less spongy when you reach high levels in endgame, since the damage you deal catches up with the enemy defenses a bit. Though ironically, some of the hardest fights in the game are the digressions where you play as Lancer or Assassin - you really start noticing that their attacks are slow as molasses, and they have no skill tree to upgrade. I wanted to play without using healing items (similar to how Fatal Sword is) but Assassin VS Rogue Archer made me give up on that - maybe some extra levels would've helped, but without healing, any damage you take is permanent. I really hope they rebalanced those fights in the update...

[@barneypurple3435]

There is now an update where you can play any playable Servants when you do Battle Recollections.

[@nullrubybradshaw9254]

Too late

[@albertsetiawanie5808]

1:04:13 I like what the Editor did here 🤣

[@EmiyaYukidoh]

Maybe someone else already pointed it out, but a detail I love for its meta-narrative aspect is the level growth between Iori and Saber. I think it happened this episode, that Iori's level surpassed Saber's after being the same for a bit, when at the start of the game Iori's was quite inferior. Iori in real life is known to not be good at fighting, and maybe the Fate version would have ended the same way if it wasn't for this war. It does make me wonder, though, because real life Iori is thought to be Musashi's nephew that he adopted, while here there doesn't seem to be any blood relation. On that topic, it's very likely that from Musashi's POV, this story took place right before a certain event in Grand Order where she's a Berserker (in a swimsuit) calling herself Miyamoto Iori for seemingly no reason. That event happened many years ago btw, this game has been in development for a while, even though it got announced last new year's eve. Anyways, I'm not that big of a fan of this ending due to it feeling like the basic ending, but Chiemon and his relationship with Lancer is really nice. I think it shows that in the end his goal was never actually revenge. Chiemon had massive survival's guilt due to his parents sacrificing their lives to save him, and he seems himself as deserving of hell. Very Christian of him. And so, Jeanne decided to be evil with him just so she could at the very least join him in his hell so he wouldn't be alone.

[@Christian_Kim]

Good timing for the LP Nico. They just released an update for an easy and harder difficulty and you can now use other Servants for Battle Recollections! Glad you got to see it at least once before this LP ended, so at least until we see if we come back if the DLC has anything significant.

[@MEGAmangaman]

Well someone commented without watching the video...

[@arnoldoaad]

BTW Important to remark in Fate this is like the 3rd time that Castle Edo has been partially if not totally destroyed though just the first time that the gates of hell have been open so far.

[@winterwind321]

"Give us the ability to skip the noble phantasm" Thus, Nicole voiced words spoken by most players or FGO, as well as a semi cannon part joke side comic to fgo that has one of the nowt cursed premise

[@zeroknight1311]

Again, I know this isn't the end of the LP. But here is a recommendation for what Fate Media you should look into. The anime adaptions of Fate/Stay Night's Fate and Unlimited Blade Works routes. Despite having the same characters, the stories are different. Plus, UBW has the Prologue of the visual novel adapted into its Episode 0. And if you're wondering, there is a third route. Heaven's Feel. But it's been adapted into a movie trilogy.

[@lionofavalon]

There's no reason not to just read the VN though

[@thebread-kingman8996]

Little bit of a hot take:I like this portrayal of Jeanne D' Arc Alter(Jalter, her nickname) in this Universe than her Fate/Grand Order. Just for context: Jeanne D'Arc & Jalter, while being the same person, they're also different enities(Jeanne:the pure holy virgin that's commonly known & Jalter: the aspect of former that had resentment of being humiliated & burned at the stake), and yes it's possible for them to exist at the same time. Ordinarily Jalter would be an Avenger-Class Servant(Servants summon into this class are in a constant fit of rage & anger similar to Berserkers) but here as a Lancer-Class Servant she's more mellowed out than her Grand Order counterpart. While on the outside it looks like Jalter is going with whatever Chiemon wants, but it's more of a form of empathy seeing how they have similar tragedies. In Fate/Grand Order Jalter was able get revenge on the people who caused her to be burned at the stake, however that wasn't enough to satisfy her revenge, in the end she wanted to destroy all of France much like how Chiemon wanted to destroy of all Edo. While I do understand this ending seems a bit lackluster, it does adds another side to Jalter's character; wanting to save a kindred spirit, however knowing what an avenger truly wants is unable to do so. Servants don't usually retain memories of their past summons, but I wouldn't be surprised if this Jalter had some memories from the Grand Order timelime. Side note:If Chiemon actually managed to summon Jalter in the Avenger class, the Waxing-Moon Ritual could have ended in Chiemon's favor, seeing how Jalter would been more aggressive & played a more active role in Chiemon's quest for vengeance.

[@AusSP]

So, the DLC: Starts release before the end of April, and all of it will be out by the end of September. The additional episodes will feature a new story, new Servants, new skills, new areas, new enemies, new Mountings, etc. So, at least a bit substantial, but there's no telling to what degree.

[@roninwarriorsfan]

Wouldn't Nico be playing P3 Reload & FF7 Rebirth by that point?

[@AusSP]

@@roninwarriorsfan I want to say that he played the Xenoblade 3 DLC on release... but it took him that long to beat the base game in the first place.

[@sethvatamaris2675]

A running theme of the Nasuverse is asking the question “What Is a Hero?” Now what a concept of what a “hero” is has changed over the course of history, Kratos from God of War for example would almost be considered a great Ancient Greek hero, his only disqualifier is killing the gods no matter how justified he may be. The morals and differences in values are constantly shown and challenged. Even bythe Servants themselves. The majority of them came from times of war and famine where being kind will get you killed, in those times nice guys didn’t end up in the history books, and family was another word for potential enemy. 1651 Japan where this takes place is only relatively peaceful compared to the constant wars in the last several centuries, plus the Waxing Moon Ritual made things worse with demonic beasts and those murders you saw earlier were probably done by Servants, maybe that’s unclear. Fate Grand Order currently has 400 Servants though that’s vague given a number of factors but the point is the vast majority have tragic stories to which you can count on your hand how many lived a relatively fulfilling life and weren’t killed or had their dreams crushed. Them as Heroic Spirits means that his is the whole of their being saved, a Servant is just a aspect of their life manifested, they even change depending on the Class. Berserker is an obvious one as it’s the worst moment of their life. Musashi is an exception to that, which moving on despite being hailed as the greatest swordsman in Japan both the male and female were abandoned by their father and they lived as glorified murderhobos the male dies of lung cancer without ever having touched tobacco. Female Musashi makes the best of never being able to return to her world by living in the moment. Yamato Takeru then known as Osu murdered his brother not out of any greed or malice but because he horribly misinterpreted his father’s order to admonish his bother over a minor slight, though Osu’s form of punishment was dismembering his brother; having no genuine idea why this shocked his father who just kept sending him on quests to just die. Osu was given the name Yamato Takeru which just means Brave of Yamato by the bandits he was sent to kill, and that was during the massacre. Takeru now has distanced themselves from their past having gone through life with a realization of their actions through love and loss, represented by how they go by this identity. Arjuna as the game never explains anything has the single most complicated backstory to the point he can either be seen as the hero, anti hero or villain of his own tale, even he doesn’t know himself. He fought a gruesome generations long war because neither side wanted to admit they were wrong and kept committing more atrocities in response to the escalation. His half brother and rival Karna is pretty much the reason for his internal rage, not because they killed each other’s sons but Arjuna hates Karna for living a more honest life than him. Li Shuwen (1864-1934) was Kiryu in a way, everywhere he went he just kicked ass but he admits that he’s no hero and what he does isn’t righteous nor who’s side was right in the Chinese Civil War, as he’s left a trail of bodies in his wake, it eventually caught up to him and he was poisoned by one of his many enemies. Sasaki Kjirou is interesting as he doesn’t even know if he really exists, he’s a combination of multiple stories of Musashi’s greatest opponent (who was killed in their duel) but before Fate Grand Order he was seemingly fictional in universe. His way of thinking is also of note as despite his chosen profession he believes killing is evil, thus he is also evil if only by technicality. Ushi Gozen is the Mister Hyde to Minamoto-no-Raikou which is another mess. Being a Oni they have a morality that isn’t compatible of what humans see as right and wrong. Raikou had an incredibly abusive childhood to the point she internalized a Joker Backstory to have different and contradicting reasons to why she acts the way she does. Zhou happens to have an identity crisis of his own as he’s both the historical one and the fictional one, he doesn’t believe he deserves the credit of actions he never done. Tamamo Aria being a aspect of Tamamo-no-Mae is a sadist like the rest of them deep down, she’s just more a mischievous scammer which is far better than 90% of what completed Tamamo allegedly did. So far the original Tamamo tires to be a wife to her Master while Tamamo Cat is fine being a maid on an infinite sugar rush.

[@shuichisaihara53]

Cool comment and all but wouldn't you say this comment is better saved for fsn if Nico covers that?

[@nickroberts501]

And the good ending was achieved! Well done!

[@colt1903]

I really hope this version of Jeanne returns in a future installment. She's genuinely the most interesting version of her we've seen up to now, which is kinda wild given she's arguably one of the least explored Servants in this game.

[@hassanico9999]

Honestly, it's really good that you did this route second / in NG+. Waxing Moon Monster is by FAR the tankiest thing in this game both in terms of HP and Shell gauges, maybe even more than Gilgamesh's fight. Facing him on a base game file or harder difficulty is a long, arduous fight where his 2nd phase's bombardments can easily kill you. And in the 1st phase, if you don't break both arms within a short time frame of each other (like 15 seconds), he IMMEDIATELY regenerates the broken one's shell gauge! I don't even want to imagine this fight on the newest difficulty.

[@van_guard722]

Chiemon : ok lancer we gonna need some plan before meet that iori. Lancer : yes master. Chiemon : first go find his sister and bring her along put her down nearby then wait until they drop their guard use your shockwave attack and then pick her up and walk along side me. Lancer : yes master. They done thier plan during Musashi fight while Aria watching iori's house

[@harryrinaudo5525]

so, about Musashi. While she is an important and fan favorite character, she only actually appeared in Fate/Grand Order before this game. Iori had been mentioned before, but Samurai Remnant is the first time we get to see him.

[@StriderBlade7711]

I'm wondering if the 88% digressions completed might be leftover data for the upcoming DLC

[@nicolefernandez92]

🎄Happy Holidays everyone ⛄

[@colt1903]

"Kaya, let's go home." **Tokyo Ghoul Root A Flashbacks**

[@ariels8227]

I'm sorry Nico, but I gotta disagree on you when you get Rogue Saber as an ally. It makes perfect sense to me on why you didn't get him earlier to me, dude was hellbent on chasing down Ushi Gozen that was his one goal and him suddenly popping up whenever you wanted in order to fight some random jobbers would've created some story dissonance in my opinion. Also, I think the reason he only joins if you pick Todoroki and then confronting Tsuchimikado is because he builds some respect towards Iori when he fights alongside him in Todoroki though of course I don't know this for sure.

[@Halex_11]

I realy hope that the final "now back to" is Nico just unboxing a figure or at least him buying one

[@KeeperOfUntoldDreams]

I'll only play on the hardest difficulty if it has more to offer than simply a challenge.

[@TheGrimangel95]

Nico: "Man they really need to implement a skip Noble Phantasm button." FGO Players: "That would be nice."

[@ShadeKetchum]

To answer your question about the DLC, it does indeed add new story content. So it might be worth checking out if you're interested.

[@godzilla4189]

the Thumbnail reminds me of the "Face me Now, Bitch!" Face that Xie Yan makes towards the main villain of the Martial Arts world from the Manhua "I am an Evil God." I highly recommend it. Its one of, if not the be best Chinese webcomic I've ever read, and one of the best Webcomics from Asia in general, above even some of the best Korean Webtoons, In my Opinion.

[@roninwarriorsfan]

So, can someone help me out here? There's 2 pairs of servants per class in this game, right? Lancers are Cu Chulainn & Janeen De Arc Then we have Archer & Rouge Archer Circe & Tsuchimikado's caster for caster class Samson & Miyamoto Musashi for Berserker Assassin & Rouge Assassin Rider and Aria for rider Yamato Takeru & Rogue Saber And finally Boss who is the ruler class, that's all 15 servants, so why is there a 16th in Otachibana?

[@Felnal]

Gilgamesh was actually the 16th Servant serving as a red herring for the 15th Servant. In Chapter 2, Yui's Servant detector thing indicated the 15th Servant was just summoned near Saber, which doesn't match up with Gilgamesh since he was around in Chapter 1, but does match with Ototachibana-hime appearing for the first time to heal Iori.

[@icetweiz]

Nico: If only you had a way to skip Noble Phantasms FGO players: Same, Nico. Same....

[@PetelProduction]

According to Fate Wikia, Musashi only appears in this game and in Fate/Grand Order.

[@hamzahax]

Unleash the Demons!

[@user-vp8gq6zk8g]

Well I wish dlc appears before Nico finish next episode but I doubt on this

[@ChairLeeSama]

Personally i liked wind stance buff into void or vice versa. Fire stance was when i didn't want to fully chesse the fight by healing 24/7 and trying to end it.

[@Thebrawlbro]

I think both endings are good, though story wise I'd probably say the Snake ending works better. It gives a proper conclusion to all the other masters. In the rat route, Zheng and Shosetsu just kinda leave once their plot is done, and Dorothea basically dies off screen. In the Snake route, we get to see the proper conclusion to all their character arcs, even if it does come at the cost of Chiemon getting basically nothing. You are correct though that the final boss of Rat is much better then Snake, can't beat a literal flaming demon crawling out the gates of hell.

[@silvershade313]

I will say while the void and fire stance are very good, I honestly like the other stances more just due to some of their specialization and moves, specifically any of the magic moves in wind stance are so good in my opinion. Not to mention unlike both fire and void, they aren’t depending on hp levels being at somewhat specific ranges, anyways that’s my comment I get it if you don’t agree that’s just how I feel cause I like the single sword styles a bit more

[@MozillaVulpix]

I think the digression percentage completion got glitched after the new update? Or maybe there's going to be some new digressions added when they officially add the DLC and that's what the rest of the percentage is for? I'm not sure. I definitely recommend going back to look at Chiemon and Lancer's profiles now you've done their ending, it gives a bit more insight into their motivations overall.

[@franknova987]

Bruh, Samson suplexing Lancer tho xD

[@Mariner797]

Nico, one of the key fun things about Fate stories is the Butterfly Effect of seemingly insignificant actions or consequences resulting in massive changes in history/timeline. I don't think you will ever get into the Fate Grand Order mobile gacha game (I really do not recommend it even though the story is excellent in the latter half), is how someone doing or not doing something resulted in, say, an entire world being destroyed.

[@shuichisaihara53]

I am with you on this one. I've been playing fgo for more than 4-5 years imo it's kinda an L game to have a lp on especially with how mid early fgo was. If anything I think Nico should probably play the fsn vn or other nasuverse works like mahoyo or tsukire. I would love it if he dips into the extra verse too but the gameplay isn't the best

[@TrivatorGaming]

This game was everything I wanted in a Fate RPG and more so much so I'd be ok with a Rpg ver of Stay Night

[@Yami-no-Raiden]

Once you complete the final ending, you'll unlock the last bit of bios in the game (that aren't tied to the Snake route's version). I highly recommend you start yet another NG+ path afterwards so that you may read them. (Assuming that the mods haven't already let cha know.)

[@ianlynam6935]

Before you start the finale, I've got a suggestion for how to know you already saw all of a cutscene. If there's dialogue where you need to press a button, you can press R2 (or RT in this case) to fast forward previously read text. This option WILL NOT fast forward through an entire cutscene until there's unique dialogue and it obviously doesn't work in animated cutscenes, so you'll need to pause in the beginning of every animated cutscene.

[@Sleepyduo38]

The shell gauges justify why normal people can't beat them.

[@adam-dn3hi]

ok so now you have the third ending aka the true ending that you need to do to get that ending all you need to do is to choose to NOT destroy the waxing moon

[@Fat3dEncounter]

Since this will be the last time I can say it, let me say this. Playing through the Kawasaki Daishi route is essential if you want to complete the FINAL final chapter for 100% as it has different scenes depending if you go down the Snake or Rat route (for reasons which seem evident at the end of Chapter 4). Personally I would recommend it, if you wish to see all the different scenes and cutscenes that final chapter has to offer. (It makes the ending hit that much harder.) Also fun fact for the Snake Route. None of the Digressions seems to change upon the second playthrough, except for one, Rogue Archer's of all people. Going down the Snake route, Rogue Archer will have digression that is only available if you fight him at Katagawa Port during the Spirit Font battle going south. The last scene of that Digression changes slightly to reflect the "change" that has taken place from the first to the second route.

[@Notteboy97]

lol even Niko is complaining about not being able to skip NPs lol. For context in Fate Grand Order (FGO) one of the most common complaints is not being able to skip NPs lol

[@BlackfangDragon]

I can tell you right now Nicob some servants can literallly NOT be guessed on who they are just by looking at them. Some of these are absurd. One is even a character pretending to be a Tamamo and cosplays as one of Arias sisters! What she actually is 100% not predictable nor what their “true form” would really be.

[@ChairLeeSama]

Ill have some fate anime reactions now pls :3

[@GoldenDragon007]

Nico: Man, the Noble Phantasm animations take way too long. I wish there was a way to skip them. F/GO Players: First time?

[@bentheherod3373]

So I have a question for everyone here who knows about the Fate series cause I only know it from cultural osmosis. I was talking to my friend about the game and when I started talking about Jalter (Jeanne Alter) he corrected me and said this game doesn't have Jalter and the Jeanne in the game is supposed to be the normal Jeanne and was corrupted by Chiemon and I'm curious if this is accurate or not. The main thing that confuses me is I thought Jeanne was supposed to be unalterable and uncorruptable due to her position as a saint (even Jalter only existing from a Grail Wish) so I am curious is my friend wrong, my limited knowledge of fate wrong or is this another effect of the waxing moon being the Holy Grail we have at home and it allowing a traditionally uncorruptable character to start going through a post mortem goth phase?

[@saike406]

He is right, Jalter was created by Giles wish, this Jeanne is corrupeted. Yes, this was supposed to be impossible, but in Fate, is only a mere of time to something “impossible” to happen.

[@hsemicolonc]

Dude I so agree with Nico on the high difficulties that just crank up enemy's stats & do nothing else. Like that's not more challenge, that's just annoying. High difficulties that genuinely tweak parts of the game like Critical mode in Kingdom Hearts where it makes both Sora & the enemies stronger to balance things out & the Boss Cell system in Dead Cells where the levels are almost completely overhauled every time you crank up the difficulty. There's Devil Msy Cry's higher difficulties that tweak enemy placements & allows them to use DT, Dishonored makes the enemies more alert. There's just so much more you can do with a high difficulty than just "big number & permadeath/no items" & I'm dissapointed a game this good plays into that.

[@vantasethatsit9903]

I don't think this will be a spoiler but, though people said the next ending you'll see as the "bad" Ending, in my eyes the previous ending is neutral ending, this one is good ending and the next one is the true one just because how much more flesh out it is.

[@sarafontanini7051]

Chiemon: fnally i have the power of HELL!!! *gets swallowed by weird goop hands and turns into a skelly man in a portal of fire* chiemon: oh shit! I'm on fire! ahhh! it burns! THIS WAS A BAD IDEA! LANCER WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP ME!? Lancer's Ghost: * appears in the sky above him and gives a thumbs up* chiemon: GODDAMIT LANCER YOU AREN'T HELPING!!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, IORI! Iori: oh hey chiemon. You want some milk?

[@FullMetalElric]

Nico being kinda slow is always lol.

[@moredelvalle7928]

# 968 comment of the day The end....again

[@kristofferbeer3011]

Tanky AND FASTER. The Wind up animationes+ Attack Animation for Fatal Attacks are at least 2 Times faster to Normal Difficulty in Sword Demon and the Boss Enemy's beginn spamming those nearly every second you are not in Range for normal Attacks. You have no Room for Mistakes with insta kill Attacks and every other nearly kills you so you actually run the Risk of completetly depleting your healing Items in just a couple of Battles.

[@LucasF25]

*Ew, get away from me, Lancer!! Servants have cooties,all of them!*

[@stingerredshock3418]

Why is everybody in this war so goddamn EDGY or have some tragic shit going on? Is Boss the only one who is just a chill goofball? Boss: I respect women’s rights BUT

[@lionofavalon]

he *really* doesn't respect women's rights lol

[@shuichisaihara53]

Read the fsn vn bro does NOT respect women's rights 💀

[@shuichisaihara53]

​@@lionofavalonBro will flip out when he sees the shit he said to Saber especially in the fate route 💀

[@BironBironBiron]

As a man who demand any woman in his Kingdom need to spent their first night with him... Yea, no way