Fate/unlimited codes is a fighting game planned by Cavia, developed by Eighting, and published by Capcom. It was released in Japan for arcades on June 11, 2008, and for the PlayStation 2 on December 18, 2008. An enhanced port was released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan on June 18, 2009, and was subsequently released digitally on the PlayStation Store in North America and Europe on September 3 and 10, 2009, respectively.
Based on the visual novel Fate/stay night, the player is given option of playing as each of its characters during battles. The idea of a fighting game existed since 2003, but it faced multiple issues until its release in 2008. Kinoko Nasu and other staff members from the visual novel worked alongside the developers to retell its events in the form of fights as seen between mages known as Masters and spirits known as Servants. This game also marks the first appearance of the Servant Saber Lily based on a design from Saber used in the visual novel during its Unlimited Blade Works storyline. The soundtrack of the game was performed by Basiscape.
The game was received with positive sales in Japan and obtained generally positive critical response in Western regions, earning a 72 out of 100 in Metacritic. Reviewers praised the balanced gameplay mechanics but criticized its presentation as it might confused newcomers to the franchise. The game was often compared with the game Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny.
Gameplay
As in other games of the genre, the game process of Fate/unlimited codes is built on a battle between two characters, using combinations of strikes to lower an opponent's health points to zero. A player conducts a series of battles up to two or three (depending on the value set by the player) one-on-one victories with computer opponents or with another player. The timing of individual rounds may be limited or unlimited, depending on the player's settings. Depending on the combinations used and the damage inflicted with their help during the round, points are used that are used to statistically calculate the success of the game in certain modes.
The game is a three-dimensional fighting game based on the use of the width and height of the playing field with the possibility of moving into the arena only for evading attack. Manage character attacks by using a customizable three-button gamepad system; the fourth button is used to cancel your own started combinations and block enemy attacks. When using attack buttons, two types of energy scales are accumulated - magic energy and the energy of the Holy Grail. The scale of magical energy is divided into three cells, allowing you to enhance and supplement the standard types of attacks (English Magic Burst). The cells are filled individually for each player, after applying the energy reserve must be replenished. The accumulation of the energy of the Holy Grail occurs simultaneously for both opponents and opens up the possibility of using "super receptions", which consumes magical energy. The strength and type of super-reception varies depending on the amount of magical energy expended to activate it. Some of the characters (Kotomine, Bazett and Rin) also have a limited and unrecoverable number of special items needed to conduct unique remote attacks. There are four levels of difficulty that can be adjusted between matches.
Characters
Production
The idea of developing a fighting game genre based on the setting and characters of Fate/stay night belonged to Type-Moon co-founder and illustrator Takashi Takeuchi. During the last preparations for the release of a visual novel in late 2003, he was with screenwriter Kinoko Nasu was fond of the fighting game Gotcha Force. Capcom's production and, under the impression of the gameplay of this game, decided to take up the idea of translating the basic principles of Fate/stay night into the form of confrontation between two opponents behind a game console. In 2007, Type-Moon together with the company Cavia Russian under the auspices of Capcom, a comedy fighting game in the Tibi-style Fate/tiger colosseum was released. Then these companies started planning a new game scenario of the same genre for the Namco System 246 gaming machines, followed by porting to the PlayStation 2, which received Fate/unlimited codes name. On the publisher's side, Kazuhiro Tsuchiya was appointed producer by Type-Moon, and Takeuchi personally supervised the project. However, at the stage of primary game design in the summer of 2007, Cavia, due to financial difficulties, was forced to cut staff and temporarily suspend the development of all new projects, including Fate/unlimited codes.