My wishlist for a Fate Route remake
I love what ufotable have done with the Fate/Stay Night Saga. They have given us incredbile adaptations of the Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel Routes, as well as blessing with beautiful tragedy that is Fate/Zero. However, if there's one criticism I have for it, it's that it's incomplete. 17 years later and we're still missing the one that started it all; the Fate Route.
Despite being the face of the franchise, Saber/Artoria hasn't managed to have her moment to shine properly since Fate/Zero and even then, it's very bittersweet. The Fate Route also gave us the lovely Shirou x Artoria romance, which many consider as the definitive ship of the saga. I do think we are way overdue for a Fate Route remake and I think it's best if it happens sooner rather than later. Not only will it give Artoria her much needed spotlight again, but it's also a good jumping on point for newcomers to get into the series. However, what I want isn't a simple retelling of the VN or the 2006 anime with better animation, I want a full remake that actually changes and fixes the issues of both. These include:
Expanding Saber's character more- with the remake, Saber's character development should be a major focus here and that includes her past as King Artoria. One way that can help flesh her out is to add in flashbacks that adapt Garden of Avalon. Not only that, but it would also give some much needed expansion on the knights too.
Expanding on Shirou and Saber's romance- we all know why Shirou loves Artoria so much, but we need to see why she loves him so much. Just like how UBW showed Rin falling for him and HF showed Sakura falling for him, Fate needs to do the same. More scenes should be shown where Artoria starts to question if her relationahip to Shirou is simply Master/Servant or if she truly likes him. A few more date scenes should be added too.
Changing Shirou's characterisation- UBW and HF really did a lot with Shirou's character and they're his best depiction, imo. The Fate Route, however, doesn't really do that. There are times when he comes across as kind of an idiot and he doesn't have as much of proactive role as he did in the later routes. Give those moments to Fate-Shirou, show him getting better at fighting and show his arc about him becoming that great hero he aspired to be.
More Archer moments- I know Archer essentially had his time to shine in UBW, but I think he was severely underused in Fate. Even HF, where he did still die early, had him more of a presence. Maybe we can even see a rematch between him and Saber right before the battle with Berserker.
Caster fight- for all its flaws, Deen's Fate/Stay Night did give a very good fight scene with Caster. This should be implemented in the remake as well and it gives both Caster and Kuzuki a proper send off.
Shirou vs Gilgamesh- since Shirou isn't fully realised yet, he can't have the exact same battle with Gil as he did in UBW. But they should still fight at least once, maybe have Gil overwhelm him before Artoria takes over.
Shirou vs Kieri- have this one be a similar fight to the one from Fate/Zero between Kirei and Kiritsugu. Have him utilise his martial arts skills more and Shirou makes use of his improved projection magic.
A new ending- the Fate true ending is something that fans do want and I think it would be a beautiful way to wrap up the saga. But honestly? I want a happily ever after ending instead and to have Artoria become a human and marry Shirou. I know it's controversial but after everything Artoria had been through, she deserves a happy ending and a chance to finally be selfish for once.
And that's my wishlist for the Fate Route remake.
