Visual Novel Spotlight: Fate/Extra CCC

A little over a year ago, the much awaited sequel or side story to Fate/Extra was released. Fate/Extra CCC, something like the Heaven’s Feel route of the Extra series, brings a fair few changes to scenarios and plot but still comes away feeling like the first game, perhaps with a little more fanservice.

 

As like every story in the Fate universe, Fate/Extra CCC opens with a problem with the Holy Grail War. This time, everyone from Fate/Extra has been copied to the Far Side of the Moon Cell, where a rampant Sakura AI clone (BB) has gained enough power to reconstruct the world and call upon super-powerful Servants. Recognising that BB is probably something of a problem, the old Fate/Extra Masters team up with new characters to explore the Sakura Labyrinth. This does involve shrinking Masters so they can explore mazes inside the NPC Sakura, yes.

 

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Of course, the biggest question about Fate/Extra CCC is if it’s still a Rock-Paper-Scissors simulator with your choice of recoloured Saber. While the sequel ditches the premise of competition, there are still boss fights at every chapter and the game still relies on the boss/major character per chapter formula. To ease this somewhat, CCC encourages exploration – removing the dungeon time limit, offering regular save points, and making grinding less… grindy (but just a bit). The game also focuses much more heavily on story, giving you about 40 hours of a journey involving four versions of Sakura.

 

If Sakura isn’t your cup of tea then you’re out of luck, really, but the old Masters and some of the old Servants are given much more attention as well. Rin, Rani, Leo and the old Servants band together to form the student council of your secret fantasies while new characters keep the game from seeming like a rehash. Not killing everyone per chapter invites a lot of great scenes, from Rani making you take your underwear off to pass an obstacle, to Archer cooking you food, to Gilgamesh stripping down to his golden glory. CCC’s central theme could really be “pushing the line”, and not just in the fanservice sense; everything’s all fun and breasts until things get serious.

 

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On the presentation side, CCC uses the same system that brought you hard-to-see distant sprites, but a lot of effort has been put into making it flow better. Battle animations change with attack combinations and new clothing options give you something different to look at (or your give you the chance to finally play as a girl wearing knee socks and glasses with a swimsuit). It’s clear there’s been a lot more love (or money) poured into the game, and thankfully it was used to just expand what could have very well been Fate/Extra’s story.

 

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Fate/Extra CCC mixes all your secret desires with a slightly refined system based off Fate/Extra. While sticking to the initial game’s formula, CCC expands on its world and story, becoming much more of a visual novel than its predecessor. Although screenshots make the game look like a fanservice fest, as always, there’s a serious plot at work. Everything is more drawn out, giving you a longer version with the heart and general craziness that was in Fate/Extra.

 

Fate/Extra CCC is available for all regions of PSP and can be bought from PlayAsia and other stores. The screenshots above are just a part of a silly April Fool’s joke and the game has not been announced for localisation.

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