Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (ufotable)

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Having watched Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (UBW) and read the visual novel(VN) it was based on before hand, I would like to give my own opinion on the final product which is that it should be renamed as Fuh Stuh Nut: The Adaptation of Wasted Potential. This is an adaptation of the popular Fate/Stay Night VN where one route has been adapted, namely the UBW route, by Ufotable. It has already been adapted previously by studio Deen into an animated movie that was of a lower quality. Despite this, I do believe that Deen had made good decisions that surpasses Ufotable in the former's adaptation when it came to certain scenes (not that it makes Deen's version any good. A turd is still a turd even if it is polished).

[Remember, this is just an opinion and not an objective fact. Feel free to disagree and be civil about it.]

Some will defend it due to the hype train or are able to overlook the problems while others will wish to burn it on a stake. In my case, all I felt was disappointment as some of the episodes are well-done to the extent allowed by the anime's narrative but the rest did not work well which I can list below. There was a gem lying here that could have been polished to match Fate/Zero but sadly it did not work in my opinion. The second half especially was a disappointment for me as a viewer with a decent amount of knowledge on the VN. Rather than provide my usual overview of what makes or breaks a piece of work, I will state things that could have have been done to improve the adaptation as a whole. I will not provide a review due to my own biased dislike of this series (not that I completely hated it, I just didn't like it as much as I hoped I could seeing as I was on the hype train that I fell out of due to a particular episode).

[Also, SPOILER ALERT! THERE WILL BE SPOILERS]

1) Portrayal of Shirou's Character

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As I have stated before in a previous post, Shirou Emiya is a peculiar character that has depth and complexity while being someone a normal person could not truly relate to. This adaptation choose to portray him as the average individual with a unique gift who is caught up in a situation that is FUBAR and has difficulty in keeping up. The problem is that he is portrayed as a typical shounen protagonist without the depth portrayed through monologues (not that I want every single monologue in the anime, that would be awful), complete with power-ups and the block-headed personality (though the VN Shirou externally has that personality) to go along with it. In the VN, the monologues show that behind that seemingly block-headed individual, there is an intelligent and competent individual who, while lacking the experience of a seasoned fighter, is capable of holding his own in a fight within reason while being a broken individual that lives to exist.

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Sadly, Ufo had not attempted to compensate for this lack of monologues to show Shirou as a unique protagonist and in action sequences, Shirou winds up acting more like a shounen protagonist who receives power-ups that makes him seem like Superman. Perhaps a small number of monologues and conversations with other characters could have given this some form of fleshing out, such as Kiritsugu's own monologues in Fate/Zero that showcased how his thought process functioned. If more of these were done in the first half of the series, the character arc's climax and resolution would have greater impact in the second half and we are left with an understanding that Shirou is an empty and distorted individual (see my post on Shirou Emiya) rather than a victim of survivor's guilt. As it stands, Shirou's character arc felt like a footnote in the series and that the series is actually about the Holy Grail War which is the opposite, in my opinion, of what Fate Stay Night is (the VN felt more like Shirou's story and the Holy Grail War was the site that allow for his character arc to commence (the arc referring to his evaluation of his ideals)). In addition, the sudden power-ups (that are hand-waved as the result of projecting (replicating) legendary weapons that grants him the skills of the original wielders) do not add value to him and merely make him seem like a protagonist with plot armor. What could have been done to avoid this is to make his fighting more realistic without acrobatic dodges and giant leaps into the air; merely showing that he is able to withstand and hold out against strong opponents while remaining within the realms of believable feats through the presence of human weakness in him (though when the time is right, the anime should show that his skills do exceed a normal human's skills and (remember the memory link) mirror that of his future counterpart). 

In a nutshell, greater attempt should have been made to portray Shirou as an intelligent and competent protagonist rather than a run-of-the-mill protagonist with a minor issue that is to be resolved before the story can proceed. It should make viewers understand that Shirou's character arc is a main part of the story rather than some footnote in a grand story. I am aware that Shirou's character in a visual scope would not be well-captured in a medium that shows the characters from a third person perspective since it prevents the viewer from seeing Shirou's thoughts and depth, I just think that brief monologues at moderately distant intervals would have shown that better.

2) Adding original sequences

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I know that when it comes to adapting works from one medium to another, the addition of original sequences or scenes can be a cardinal sin that comes with a sentence of complete condemnation but for a Fate Stay Night adaptation, this should have been done, at least in my opinion. While I do like it when an adaptation is almost completely faithful to the original works (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood comes to mind), I understand the need for alterations and additions due to the unrealistic nature of certain sequences, irreconcilable differences as a result of technological restrictions, incompatibility of narrative and the method of delivering exposition. Certain things such as Shirou's ability to project felt like random power-ups with no build-up while certain info-dumps and exposition that the VN had were left unsaid or brought in for a quick glimpse before being tossed out a window. This was a flaw of the original VN itself which I have acknowledged for a long time; it is filled with excessive info-dumps and exposition that clog up the narrative that is good for world-building and establishing setting but makes it extremely difficult to insert into an adaptation while clogging up the pacing with characters stopping to explain. Having additional moments such as a scene that shows Shirou practicing Projection to test his magic capabilities after a failed Reinforcement and the resulting painful consequences of a successful Projection would show that Shirou can use this particular magic and that he is reluctant to do so as a result of the strain it inflicts on him. In addition, having original moments could allow for stronger portrayal of characters in this show, such as Ilya who is only given a single episode to make us feel sympathy for her before killing her off in that same episode. Viewers of Fate/Zero and/or VN readers (along with Fate/Kaleid viewers) would probably feel a greater impact of her death than a viewer who watches only Fuh Stuh Nut (I say probably, I could be wrong). 

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Caster's back-story should be noted as an actual original sequence that was made but was not well-implemented with Caster being shown as a typical Jerk with a Heart of Gold that has to deal with a lousy master that is prejudiced against here. This is a rather shallow portrayal of Caster who is consistently shown as a pragmatic villain in the show and in terms of narrative, all it seems to do is pad out the episode without adding greater depth to Caster. I guess what they could have done is to only have Caster deciding to do the right thing only because she sympathized with the plight of the kidnapped children that suffer a similar plight to herself (being exploited by an individual who took them away from their homes and would be cast aside in the end) rather than immediately showing that she does not wish for them to suffer for a meaningless ritual. I guess that could have been implied but in the actual sequence, it felt like a footnote that appears and disappears rather than a sequence that adds a lot of depth. Here, it felt minimal at the very least. As a whole, I wish more time was spent adding more scenes that added depth to the story so that the adaptation could keep more of the VN's spirit in the works while improving on moments that have been left out.

3) Removing unnecessary moments

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Fate Stay Night was initially an eroge VN with a well-crafted setting, this must be acknowledged. As a result, the romances between the hero and heroine of the routes are present, whether one likes it or not. As mentioned above, I do advocate adding original moments only to improve the quality of the work. On the opposite coin, I also advocate the cutting or altering of unneeded moments from the original work. Fate Stay Night is about the Holy Grail War but one could be excused for assuming that it is a slice of life story from the first half alone. While it is done to establish characters (save that of Shirou Emiya), it drags on and prevents the explanation of plot devices along with elements of the setting due to a need to show that Shirou is a master chef who serves the women around him like a house-husband (please don't read deeper into that joking remark, I certainly won't). As a result, the tension and atmosphere that pervades a war is lacking here with the threats being too distant in terms of location in the plot to make one feel tense. Only the second half presents actual tension where the threat of other participants of the war are actually present. Fate/Zero's advantage here is the fact that the tension remained high with the War ever-present as a looming threat the characters would be forced to confront. Here, it doesn't feel like a war but a tournament that the characters are summoned to through the plot's alarm clock. Removing some of the relationship establishing moments or at least, introduce shorter moments that have greater depth while not dragging on would help in maintaining the tension and mood of the War while preventing the series from dragging on. It may even provide the gaps for original scenes that provides exposition so that it does not seem as rushed as the second half's explanations (especially with the explanation of Berserker and Gilgamesh's backstory and traits that are done in a single sentence (especially the former)). I fully acknowledge that I do not have film-making experience so what I say can be invalid but what I do say here are things that I think could have been done to improve what we have here.

4) Maintaining the mood of the moment

As I stated before, edits that either add or remove scenes could maintain the tensions and mood of a war. In addition to that, the problem faced by this adaptation (especially in the second half) were the awkward jump cuts made in major moments in the story. Moments like UBW, the Answer, Saber vs Assassin and the Final Battle were victims of these jump cuts whereby the flow is broken by jumping to a scene that may not even correlate to the moment and ruins whatever intensity said moments had. Perhaps these scenes should have been shown to its fullest before placing full focus onto the main moments though I do not recall if it was like that in the VN. If it was, then ufotable could have fixed this problem (even if it led to VN purists besieging the offices) and if it was not, the people behind the adaptation have made poor design choices. I guess the main bulk of this point is to avoid making awkward jump-cuts that ruin the flow of the moment even if it goes against the VN.

5) UBW (the ability, not the route name)

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When I was following this series, I was hyped for the unveiling of the titular ability of Archer. It was an impressive moment in the VN though short as it showed the true abilities of Archer and explains how Archer does battle. It was ufotable's portrayal of this moment that soured my opinion of Fuh Stuh Nut due to how underwhelming this moment felt. This occurred at the moment Shirou attempts to counter the small barrage Archer launches at him which is odd as each blade seems to come at him one at a time. Due to the lack of build-up of Shirou's capabilities (see portrayal of Shirou for some details), it would appear like an ass-pull to anime-only viewers for Shirou to be able to replicate the small barrage for the purpose of countering the barrage as hinted (implied) by the VN (or that's how I saw it when I read that part in the VN). So, Shirou instead becomes Fate/Zero's Berserker in the sense that he replicates the blade (one at a time barrage) and destroys it with the exact same blade, almost like how Berserker (Fate/Zero's) uses one Noble Phantasm to counter another. After doing this for a couple of blades, Shirou shouts and the scenes jumps straight to the aftermath. I remember banging my head on my poor desk at this scene. This was a prime example of a jump-cut that ruined the moment, where tensions were high and the moment felt intense. A clash was imminent that would be interrupted by a crumbling alternate reality that was crumbling at a rapid pace. The cut however ruined the moment for me. All that build-up and little pay off made me excited and eventually, disappointed. I guess what could have been done was to show Shirou slowly beginning to grasp remote Projections and countering the small barrage with his own weaker barrage that reduces the momentum of the former. However, due to their portrayal of Shirou, this may not work as well. As a whole, ufotable should have portrayed Shirou as a competent protagonist in the first place so that this would not seem like a complete ass-pull (like his first Projection in this adaptation).

6) The Answer

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Now this is where the main focus of the adaptation should be. This is where the climax resides for this route as the ideals of Shirou are challenged by an incarnation of a future self that shows him the destructive consequences of following his ideals. Here is where I can praise the second half of Fuh Stuh Nut. The first half of the Answer was well made with the way ufo's Shirou accepts his chosen path. The way it was shown visually was well done in a story-telling way with the way Archer's specter loomed behind him; symbolizing his doubts in following his path and yet, that specter lies behind him ready to be discarded as his faith in his chosen ideal is renewed. The way it was presented in the VN was a wall of text that while having deep meaning does not translate well into a visual medium. Having this imagery grants this moment impact and if ufotable had used VN Shirou for this moment, the impact would have been astounding, making all but the most stubborn critics hold their tongues for that moment. It made me regain some faith in ufotable that faded away due to how they portrayed UBW.

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Sadly, the second half came along, waking me from the good dream I had as a result of that first half and making me think that Miura (the director of this poor adaptation) is a lot like emo Pete as pictured above. The frequent jump-cuts and a lack of build up from Shirou due to his portrayal weakens the gravity of the entire Answer but what makes episode 21 feel weaker is several questionable decisions in making the scene. Ufo's Shirou being acrobatic and spry during the second half of the fight runs in contrast with the desperation and sheer determination that the VN Shirou had, whereby he was driven to overcome his doubts, made by his future self, through sheer determination alone and was barely alive for that fight. The desperation and subsequent lack of skill he has during that second half within the VN shows how driven he is by his re-established ideals and how close to death he is. He was on the verge of defeat but kept clashing blades with Archer, making the moment feel more powerful as this hopeless battle rages on. What adds to that is Archer's own desire to continue clashing against this Shirou as the VN is able to indicate that he feels the need to challenge Shirou despite being aware of Shirou's state at that moment and that he could finish the fight instantly. While Ufotable was able to pick up on the latter, there was a lack of clashes between the two and for the most part, Shirou was still able to challenge Archer with acrobatic flourishes (the transfer of skills excuse). For me at least, it weakened the moment immensely and removed the intensity of the moment as the clash of ideals with one side being solely driven to upholding it's validity even in his dying state was removed from the equation. It was still a one-sided battle (at least compared to Deen) but the intensity and sense of clash was not present for me. I only saw fancy moves and a lack of blades clashing together in combat. It didn't help that the moment where Shirou begins his final charge, he begins to deflect Archer's one-at-a-time barrage of swords which made it seem that Shirou was becoming too powerful for Archer to handle. While it can be argued that it showed that Archer was beginning to weaken in terms of his current resolve as his old ideals resurfaced in him, it lacked the intensity that a clashing of swords had. I think they should have had Shirou actually clashing blades with Archer in a near-death state (or at least, exhaustion seeing as how Avalon healed all his wounds in the anime) where no skill was being used in the fight, only sheer desperation and determination behind each clumsy swing that Archer felt obliged to clash against despite his instincts telling him otherwise (a short monologue like Kiritsugu's monologues would help here). One thing I will state is that the individual in charge of music or soundtrack for Fuh Stuh Nut should be suspended or given a harsh lecture by his mother-in-law for questionable decisions in that department with a full vocal song inserted in episode 20 seemingly to tell us to feel something (not that the song wasn't bad but it felt out of place in a moment of contemplation and realization, perhaps an instrumental piece would work here) while barely playing the EMIYA theme until that final charge (which already lacked intensity).

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Shirou's resolution here isn't as well done though (from what I recall from my readings of the VN) as this moment should have been the moment where Shirou has a firm grasp of his ideals. Yet, in the last episode, Shirou seems to have lingering doubts about his ideals and is stated to be able to end up following Archer's path. From what I have read, it would appear that as a result of this route, Shirou (while still willing to become a Hero of Justice) understands his limits and would never go the distance if it had the risk of completely destroying him while having Rin with him to ensure that he will never fall that far (I imagine that's why the ED sequence shows his UBW as a world with life in it). Here, it seems that he will try to go the distance with a smaller understanding of his limits (though it can be argued that his doubts here are merely doubts on how to pursue his goals without becoming Archer, so if you prefer that interpretation, ignore my comment on Shirou's resolution). Perhaps a better portrayal of that moment or a small self-monologue could clarify what Shirou wants here but as a result, this Shirou appears to have learnt little from the Answer sequence aside from knowing what he wants. As a whole, the Answer lacked intensity and deviated from the VN's portrayal of the moment while having questionable (though not entirely awful) decisions in terms of soundtrack and resolution. I guess what I wanted was what episode 20 did well and the presence of an actual clash where 2 individuals with differing ideals battling to the death and the protagonist in the battle winning this impossible battle due to his unwavering faith in the ideal's value. This sequence should have been the main highlight of the anime instead of the footnote that some could mistake it to be. Also, make the jump-cuts minimal to ensure that the mood can be maintained (even if it means deviating from the VN)

7) The Final Battle (UBW vs GoB) [WITH SABER VS ASSASSIN - the big f*ck-up]

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Before I proceed, I would acknowledge that this final battle was a lot better than Deen's version with Shirou actually using the UBW properly rather than having it act like a place that amps up his combat skills. With that said, it isn't much of an improvement. We have Gil constantly making long-winded explanations of his motives to pad out the episode and jump-cuts that, while aren't as awkward as the jump-cuts from the Answer, did weaken the flow and intensity of the moment. While there are many points I can nitpick against, I will mainly focus on the two main points I stated above, starting with the latter.

 

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The battle between Saber and Assassin was a chance for ufotable to show off amazing visuals as two master swordsmen of differing styles clash, with the latter being far more superior than the former in terms of skill alone. It was a highlight moment in the VN route and I still have a degree of fondness for that sequence. Here, it boils down to a clash followed by dialogue before clash and talk again with each dialogue taking longer times to finish (an accurate adaptation from VN to anime but did not fill in the gap between the lack of dialogue). As a result, there is barely a fight present and more of a presentation of Assassin's dilemma of being a fictional hero of little significance. I guess it was done to show more of Saber's dilemma as it is being resolved but I did not see it in that sequence. Instead, all I saw was a Powerpoint presentation being made by the two with the occasional sword clash to remind us that they are fighting (which was ironically worse than the opening sequence's fight scene). In the end, Saber and Assassin make a final clash with Assassin using his Noble Phantasm against Saber's boosted sword swing. Saber wins and Assassin is left to monologue before fading away. What was missing was the brief explanation on why Saber won the fight which is easily missed by the unaware viewer of the show. In the VN, a line is provided that stated that Saber's victory was a result of Assassin clashing his katana against her sword, damaging it along with bending it. This was a result of his desire to directly challenge a hero of immense fame. As a result, his own Noble Phantasm was inaccurate in precision due to that bend, allowing Saber an opportunity to evade the Noble Phantasm and defeating him. In the anime however, this is not explicitly stated and the damage shown on Assassin's sword could be misconstrued as Saber being strong enough to damage his sword which goes against the entire concept of the fight. It made Assassin look like the less skilled swordsman which is far from the truth. So, I guess a brief line should have been placed here to establish that Assassin's mistake had costed him the fight rather than Saber's skill being superior to Assassin and that the actual fight should have had more combat sequences of Assassin fending off Saber with minimal contact to ensure less damage until the pivotal clash. Ufotable's inability to properly portray this fight was what finally led me to write off this adaptation as a poor one rather than an average one.

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Back to the final battle, Shirou does not actually attempt to close the distance between himself and Gil when they do battle in the UBW though ufo did show that Shirou does use UBW's faster production rate to counter Gil's rain of swords from GoB (Gate of Babylon). In the VN, Shirou quickly closes the gap between Gil and himself to force Gil to face him in physical combat where Gil is slightly weaker in which the anime forgot about in order to make the sequence seem cooler. Gil in the anime barely appears to be challenged by Shirou in the fight with his growing anger appearing as a result of irritation rather than the confusion and loss of control over the situation in the VN. Once again in the VN, Shirou knows that Gil (being a wielder, rather than a master of his weapons) is weaker in close quarters and would be forced to clash against Shirou with a random Noble Phantasm he pulls from the GoB. Without being a master, he would be unable to use the retrieved weapon at its fullest potential and would simply wield it against Shirou in his flustered state. Shirou, being in the UBW, would be able to replicate the blade at a faster speed and destroy Gil's selected weapon immediately. As a result, Shirou would be able to summon weapons faster than Gil can retrieve, placing Gil at a disadvantage while ensuring that Gil does not have composure to think properly. By the time Gil retrieves Ea to be used properly, he does so out of desperation and with great hesitance as he is forced to use his personal sword against an unworthy foe (something Ufo was able to convey to their credit with Gil's clear hesitation shown in the fight). In the anime however, Shirou doesn't actually attempt to close the gap between himself and Gil; he merely irritates Gil by staying alive and lobbing shots at Gil with only one real instance of closing in for close quarter combat. I guess it was done to pander to Gil fans from Fate/Zero but this was something that could have been avoided by portraying Shirou as a character similar to the VN. Here, he wins by using the abilities granted by the replicated Noble Phantasms and uses Rho Aias like an aerial surfboard (not that I'm complaining about the latter, it's a creative application at least). As a result, the fight felt weaker for me and not the spectacle I could envision from the wall of text of the VN where strategy and understanding of the opponent along with exploitation of personal advantages won the battle rather than the opponent being frustrated into defeat and what looks like a sudden power-up by a protagonist. For this sequence, what I think should have been done was to adapt most of the actual VN's sequence but implement complications to it like Shirou being forced to adapt his strategy as Gil catches on (due to the 'brilliance; he is supposed to have according to Fate/Zero fanboys) and Gil being unable to even equip his armour due to the relentless barrage of Shirou's melee assault.

Summary:

Ufo should have portrayed Shirou better while making the occasional changes for the adaptation, maintaining the mood and tension throughout the series and making different decisions for the events stated above. Despite my own long fanboy rants here, I do not consider this adaptation to be awful but merely disappointing. Ufotable has tried to adapt the route but due to the VN biggest flaw (over-reliance on each route to make a cohesive story in each route), their faithful adaptation did not flow very well for an anime-only watcher. I could fill in gaps myself since I have read the VN and done some reading up of my own but I imagine that viewers can only maintain interest due to the graphical spectacle of Ufotable. As a VN reader, the changes here did not make sense at times and often, the Rule of Cool is implemented without following the VN's narrative and structure (with frequent uses of acrobatic flourishes in said anime). While it is nice that Fate got another adaptation even though Deen already made two adaptations, the adaptation we got here was wasted potential as the inability to adapt key moments properly into anime format weakened the show for me which could have been avoided by making better decisions (or keeping a steady budget).

I could recommend this show to fellow anime viewers but only after telling them to go in with low expectations and after watching the whole thing, recommending them to get the actual VN to see how the actual sequences went down. The graphics and animation look good but without a strong and cohesive narrative with flow to hold the spectacle up, it simply would not hold up without prior knowledge of the actual VN it was adapted from.

P.S: I firmly believe that an anime that attempts to completely adapt a VN, complete with all the monologues included, would be more terrible than the theoretical Tsukihime anime (not that such an anime even exists at all). I will not actually discuss the mana transfer sequence since there is no actual way to adapt that sequence without it coming across as ridiculously hammy. Also, this is my opinion on this anime so if the reader wishes to do properly debate with me, remember that both opinions of myself and the reader are valid as they are our own.

EDIT: Writing from 2021, my opinion of this anime has softened. UfoUBW is not an objectively poor adaptation and is probably one of the best ways a newcomer to the Fate franchise can be introduced to it (aside from Fate/Zero or even some dipping into Deen/Stay Night (albeit reluctantly). While I do disagree with some of the choices used for the adaptation, it would be wrong for me to say it was terrible as legitimately terrible anime especially for a newcomer. I would not rewatch UfoUBW but I would not re-direct people away from it either.

Why I love Silent Hill 2

While I am mainly a purveyor of role-playing games and the rare shooter with good storyline, I have a fondness for survival horror due to the immersion it creates through atmosphere and tension. While most horror games seem to operate solely on jump-scares (much to my chagrin due to my discomfort with sudden shock), I still glance over to the genre for gems that reach the level of one particular game. While the third game of the series made me more feel scared playing it, the game I consider the crowning gem when looking at survival horror is Silent Hill 2 (for PS2, PC - and ignore the HD Collection that ruined it with terrible design flaws).

[THERE WILL BE MINOR SPOILERS HERE! PLACE THAT POT ON YOUR HEAD AND KEEP IT ON TILL YOU REACH THE BOTTOM! Also, this entire post will be based on my own interpretation and what I can recall]

Firstly, I will acknowledge that Silent Hill 2 isn't a perfect game. There is no perfect game as there will always be some flaw that is linked to the very nature of the game itself such as genre limitations, technology or over-expectation of the gamers etc. In fact, I will address the main flaws of Silent Hill 2 here, namely its gameplay and camera that harkens back to the gameplay of older survival horror games that have faded away over time (the cameras were probably a change I could live with). The player character, James Sunderland, moves like a tank and fights in an inefficient way (though the latter can be justified since he is a normal man rather than some super soldier with combat training). In addition, the methods used to proceed past a locked door or certain puzzles can be rather ridiculous (using hair as string for a makeshift fishing line with a hook to scoop out a key from a drainage vent while ignoring the many items you had that could've used to pry the vent).

If that is the case, why did I state my feelings for this game in the title? I can give several reasons why: The story, the horror element, the atmosphere and the experience. In terms of story, it moves away from the cult-based horror of the first game that made the human antagonists seem like brain-dead fanatics (and may turn off some people who regard such fanatics as comic characters) and gives us a personal story. The town itself acts like a living entity that draws individuals with extremely negative emotions to it, presumably as a result of the cult awakening a strange force that was already present within the land of Silent Hill.

This story is about James Sunderland, a man who receives a letter from his beloved wife, Mary, after her death from 3 years ago who tells him to look for him at Silent Hill, the main setting of the series. He arrives to an abandoned town covered in fog and eventually encounters grotesque creatures that have distinctive features that appear to be referencing something linked to the character. James however travels alone into this town, in a constant search for his wife (fully justifying why he is unable to stop searching) and even when he encounters other individuals in the town, those individuals act in subtly off ways that hint at a darker nature underlying the individuals which keeps them from connecting with him. Add in a sexualized doppelgänger of his wife and a distinct and invincible creature that apparently seeks to torments him to complete the equation for a twist in the story. The twist in the story was a decent twist to a personal story involving a young couple and a second playthrough (or closer examination of the events in the game) will allow you to see the foreshadowing to the twist of Silent Hill 2. This is further aided by the symbolism throughout the game with frequent links to  punishment, drowning and sexualisation that appears throughout the game providing greater context and depth to James' lonely journey of torment into the town. The reason for this bare-bones explanation is to avoid major spoilers for any potential players. If you wish to be spoiled, you could watch a playthrough or play the actual game.

The horror in Silent Hill 2 isn't one completely based in the typical supernatural conventions of ghosts, mutants or zombies. The horror here is a psychological one based on the human condition where certain darker aspects of humans are laid bare through the characters (not to the extent that it completely reflects it but acts as a showcase for a story) and leaves a strong impact on the narrative. The horror here is also subtle with a constant tension maintained through the constant obscuring of perspective as per the norm of a Silent Hill game with fog in it. It is the atmosphere of the town, constantly covered in fog or darkness, that maintains the tension with barely any jumpscares that merely startle an individual. As a result, what you get is the fear induced by a lack of presence whereby the anticipation of something terrifying already creates the fear that is constantly kept to a high degree until you reach certain moments that allows it to relax. The atmosphere created by the setting creates the horror and enhances it through limiting one's perspective (though the camera is still something to criticize at times). This is one reason why the HD Collection is disliked as the fog is removed from the game, removing the horror element to the game. I can acknowledge that it is not that scary at times and that the horror is not that good in creating fear though it does leave a stronger impact on players than most horror games, for me at least.

At the end though, playing this game was a fantastic experience for me as I immersed myself into a personal story that was filled with psychological horror and left me thinking about the ending and entire story for a couple of days. The symbolism and motifs along with the many possible interpretations often left me standing still in a shower, thinking about their links to the main story. It had a profound impact on me as the game showed me an example of gaming being used to convey a story and how the interactive nature of gaming enhances the experience in a way that motion pictures, books or artwork are unable to. Even now, I look back fondly at my time with the game which I have done for few other games such as the Baldur's Gate Trilogy, Planescape: Torment, Deus Ex, Morrowind and several other I do not remember.

I know this looks like I'm simply a fanboy of Silent Hill 2 but I would like to point out that this is a post about why I liked this game with minimal amount of spoilers in it. If I did an actual review, I can point out flaws and can admit defeat should a superior survival horror experience creep up to me. For the record, I do acknowledge that Silent Hill 1-4 were well done horror games though 2 was the one that had the adequate amount of elements that made like it more. 3 is still the scariest for me though...

P.S: The soundtrack is good, coming it at the right moments to convey the mood of the moment with an opening theme that I still listen to on certain occasions. It isn't enough to make a short paragraph about but it should still be noted

Jurassic World

Having recently watched Jurassic World, the fourth instalment of the Jurassic Park franchise, a couple of hours ago, I have one thing to say: It certainly is worth the ticket price.

My own opinion: It was an entertaining flick that delivers the minimal amount of quality to be considered a decent flick but not exemplary or amazing like the first. The writing for the human characters especially weren't too impressive and to me, felt clichéd. Overall, one should watch this movie with lowered expectations as comparing it to Jurassic Park will devalue Jurassic World in one's eyes.

What makes it:
The Indominus Rex (I-Rex) is the closest thing the dinosaur world will probably have to a serial killer due to its abilities. Most scenes where it appears are entertaining to watch as long as you can maintain a suspension of disbelief at certain intervals. The I-Rex is probably the best antagonist of this movie (if compared to the human antagonist) and easily beats out the Spinosaurus of Jurassic Park 3 as a dinosaur antagonist though not reaching the level of the T-Rex from Jurassic Park 1 (who. I am glad to say, does appear in this movie)
The action was present and served their purpose. I won't give this aspect too much credit, seeing as this movie seems to act more like a monster movie, but if you come in hoping to see dinosaur rampage, there is enough of it to keep you satisfied.
The last section of the movie is probably where you will get your money's worth. Without wishing to spoil, the sequence alone is probably the part you will remember the most after the movie ends and is, for me, the one reason why I had such a positive opinion of the movie.
The special effects and soundtracks work fine, nothing too grand like the first (which had the advantage of being cutting edge at the time) but they don't clash with the actual visuals. The occasional music that harkens back to JP 1 was a nice touch and only played when it was relevant.
The actors also work fine with none of them being too bad to notice but also aren't breaking new ground. I only note this as a formality and add that this does not apply to the characters they portray as.

What breaks it:
The characters, to me at least, did not seem to be realistic humans and are more akin to cartoon characters. Each one fits into a cliché or niche that can be summed up in a single sentence each(not going to do it here to avoid spoilers) with special focus on the human antagonist who has the most laughably bad motive in this movie. I chuckled every time this motive is mentioned and more critical individuals will probably cringe at this character's insistence on such an unreasonable idea. Another example of cartoon-like characters is the main female character of this movie with her footwear. When watching this movie, note what kind of shoes does she wear throughout the movie (That is all I will say about her). None of the characters felt realistic or had shades of realism to them, the main characters at least.
The writing itself is not ground-breaking and has leaps of logic at times. The fact that there is a world that allows for the creation of a new Jurassic Park despite 2 (3 if the third movie is considered) reported incidents involving dinosaurs that led to human deaths already places the movie's setting at risk of sounding ludicrous (at least to me). Once again, the human antagonist's motive has to be acknowledged as an example of a leap of logic as it is one of the most cringe-worthy villain motives I've seen in a while due to an inherent lack of logical reason in said villain (not gonna mention what it is but if I were to compare said villain to someone, I would compare said villain to the Umbrella Corporation from Resident Evil). This is why the I-Rex was the better villain since it did not have such a dumb motive (not gonna actually mention what the I-Rex's possible motives were for fear of spoiling) which in hindsight, doesn't actually sound like credit. Also, for the curious, the Pteranodons from JP 3 were never mentioned here so don't bother waiting for any post-credit scenes.

Summary:
While not having the plausible logic of the original Jurassic Park, Jurassic World is a decent watch for that final sequence alone though the decent execution of the above aspects does help. There are problems in this movie that do hang over it like a bad smell but as a movie to watch for the sake of entertainment, this movie is worth a watch. Just lower your expectations and see it as a monster movie, not a ground-breaking film that has some plausibility.
What makes it: I-Rex, Action, LAST SEQUENCE, Special effects and soundtrack, Actors
What breaks it: Characters, Writing

EDIT: Note that this is a subjective opinion and my opinion may not reflect your own.

Fallout 3

With the announcement of Fallout 4, the hype train has come once more and grabbed a few more passengers. The success of the Bethesda-produced Fallout game, and the solid New Vegas by Obsidian Entertainment, probably helped with the pre-orders the game is receiving despite the very distant release date for Fallout 4.

To commemorate Fallout 4's announcement, I will be looking at Fallout 3 (PC/X-Box 360. PS3). Once again, this is my own opinion (subjective) and feel free to disagree. In my own opinion, Fallout 3 was a decent game, not great but pretty good for anyone wishing to try out RPGs and not wanting to delve into a strong RPG series with too much back-story to catch up with.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/83/Fallout_3_cover_art.PNG

What makes it:
The open world to explore is the first thing to come to mind. After the tutorial sequence, you are thrust into a wide open world that demands to be explored with a trusty gun at your side. Bethesda's greatest strength is the creation of an open world that is filled with events, items and people to find and experience whereby a first-time player would probably enjoy (though repeated playthroughs will make the world feel stale over time). The Capital Wasteland is filled with events and quests that can be interacted with upon finding them. As a result, new players, seeking to find new and interesting things, will probably enjoy this game for the thrill of exploration and veteran players might have fond memories when playing again (the latter players may be using mods though)
Gameplay in Fallout 3 is vastly different from previous Fallout games which had turn-based combat and RTS-like view for the entirety of said games. That said, Fallout 3's gameplay (having been simplified to the typical 1st/3rd person view and combat in real time with the option to use an aiming system that kinda acts like a turn-based system) is easier to get into for both new PC and console players as the mechanics that made previous games complicated have been trimmed out. As a result, it allows new players to experience the game without having to spend hours understanding what it means to raise a skill level to 200% or figuring out how to read the map.
The side-quests being interesting is a staple to Fallout games and Fallout 3 does have a good amount of variation to the narrative of each side-quest ranging from superheroes to a dying village filled with adolescents with very little experience living outside their original homes. While the journey to resolving these quests are similar to each other (due to gameplay that involves either shooting, sneaking or talking), the results can vary and as a result, you feel a sense of accomplishment for having solved the problems of the common folk.
The impact of the player in the game's world is something most players wish to see, especially with RPGs (role playing games). The debacle surrounding Mass Effect 3's original ending shows us what happens if you neglect having an epilogue to show the impact a player has in the game's world. Fallout 3 uses the slideshow display to do so and does so in an acceptable manner (though if comparing to New Vegas' own slideshow, it is the equivalent of a shallow pond compared to New Vegas' ocean). Outside the endings, the fact that I could return to these quest locations and see the results of my actions really gave a sense of accomplishment that most RPGs should have to show impact.
Graphics and sound design are acceptable though the former is dated (it is an old game by today's standards though can be fixed with mods) while the latter is able to convey a desolate track that makes it worth it to explore a desolate Wasteland where life is scarce but present. Credit is due to Liam Neeson playing the protagonist's father, James, but probably would not win you over since he disappears for a majority of the game as part of the main quest (an odd trend of Bethesda can be seen here whereby they find big-name voice actors to play a role in the main quest only for them to disappear). The music on the radio tracks are appropriate for the retro theme that the Fallout series uses.

What breaks it:
Token attempts to incorporate Fallout elements in Fallout 3 can be seen from the lack of relevant factions (NCR, Khans etc.) mentioned, the lack of attempt to make characters with great depth and a setting that is too far to be affected by the established lore. Fallout 3 makes very little effort to be part of the Fallout universe as a whole as the NCR (New California Republic) along with the Followers of the Apocalypse and many elements from previous games do not even pop up. While the lack of factions can be justified due to canonical distance in game, the factions within the game are merely one-dimensional in alignment with one faction being good (with vague hints of being more lawful neutral) and another being evil (with vague hints of having a slight amount of decency). As a result, the factions are within the game are capable of being replaced by any faction one could conceive of in a post apocalyptic setting and after sorting them out as per their alignment, slip them in without changing too much (save for aesthetic elements).
Low re-play value is often the bane of an open world sandbox game. After completing an entire playthrough, it becomes difficult to return for a second playthrough. In Fallout 3's case, the multitude of things to find (as I said before) will become stale when playing it a second time unless you play it differently than your previous playthrough. As a result, the exploration becomes more predictable and you lose interest in the game (unless you mod the game as per most Bethesda games). This can take place in Fallout and for me at least, I wound up playing with a check-list mentality rather than curiosity (plus playing the bad guy in Fallout 3 was too comically and excessively evil to even consider trying out).
Moral ambiguity is very lacking in this game whereby the karma meter and the long term effects always seem to be positive for all actions (save for one that I will not mention to avoid spoilers). As previously mentioned, many of the factions (save for a small number) are either good or evil, black or white and rarely have a shade of grey to add complexity. While playing, I could immediately tell which people were good or evil simply by the karma meter that ended up guiding how I played the game and removed my need to ponder my actions. New Vegas, with solid writing (within the DLCs) and morally ambiguous situations, made it a challenge to pick sides as you'd have to think of the long-term consequences of a decision whereby blindly obeying a faction like the NCR or the actual Brotherhood of Steel would actually be a more harmful decision to the general populace as a whole. Even the obviously evil Caesar's Legion have positive traits that does not paint them as completely evil (at least until you read deeper into their lore and backgrounds). The DLCs also added onto to this with Honest Hearts (in New Vegas) having a more positive ending if you picked a different route than the seemingly good ending whereas Fallout 3 did not really have this for all but one DLC (and that one doesn't even confirm the result of it). This would make it seem that the writing is basic textbook level in terms of depth which is a shame for a series known for strong writing and the ability to portray moral ambiguity.
The main quest has always been a weak point for most Bethesda games as the writing often seems basic in terms of narrative (motivation, conflict, sudden escalation, grand situation that affects world, climax, conclusion that is open-ended). While the game starts out with a personal quest that gives some form of motivation, it becomes less interesting as time goes on and eventually it becomes a typical save-the-world (or region) story where the level of investment can vary (at least for me). This is a staple of most Fallout games (at least that's what I have noticed) and level of investment can vary. The problem here is the danger of losing interest with a story that does not provide investment and in my opinion at least, New Vegas was able to avoid this problem with sidequests and characters linked to the factions that expresses the values of each faction and helps you decide how important each faction is to the region(the DLCs especially play this role well). Fallout 3 does not have this due to a lack of depth to it's story, at least from what I recall, and most of my investment involved imagining character motivations with a check-list in mind.
As per any open-world game, bugs will exist. No matter how skilled or large a game company is, one or twenty bugs will slip by on release and depending on the company, may not be patched quickly. While some bugs can be hilarious to see, some can be game-breaking or problematic. For me, I ran into a graphical bug that prevented me from looking at certain areas due to the textures going berserk. Official and unofficial patches do exist for Fallout 3 that could fix this but if you lack an Internet connection, you may be frustrated by a game-breaking bug that you may not be able to resolve.

There are more things that could make or break this game but right now, I can't recall them and since I'm writing based on what I can recall from a playthrough from six months ago, this list is incomplete. I had fun with Fallout 3 despite my complaints and thanks to it, I was introduced to the rest of the series which I had a great time playing through (Fallout 2 and New Vegas being my personal favourites due to refinement of previous game elements and overall entertainment). My hopes for Fallout 4 is a collaboration by Bethesda and Obsidian to provide a vast but interesting world to explore and strong writing that creates intrigue while adding depth to the main story.

Summary:
What makes it - open world, decent gameplay, variety of sidequests, impact of player's action, acceptable graphics and sound design
What breaks it - token attempts to incorporate Fallout elements, low re-play value, lack of moral ambiguity, main quest, bugs

EDIT: Now that I think about it, Fallout 3 was a poor Fallout game. Not a bad game but not a worthy installment to the Fallout franchise. I recommend New Vegas instead.

An opinion on Shirou Emiya

After feasting upon the hatred and rage of people in Fate/Stay Night forums like Jeremy Irons in Dungeons and Dragons, it got me thinking about Shirou Emiya's character as a whole and how different he is from wish-fulfilment protagonists. Once again, this is my own opinion that I came up with in a shower and may not be accurate.

[SPOILER ALERT! PLACE A POT ON YOUR HEAD AND BANG IT TILL YOU PASS OUT!!!]

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/typemoon/images/c/c0/Emiya_shiro.png/revision/latest?cb=20151103200553

This is a boy who wishes to save lives and be a hero but unlike most aforementioned protagonists (Kirito of Sword Art Online is a big example that I feel obliged to point out), this is portrayed in a negative light as he is consistently indicated to be a distorted individual, unable to feel any form of happiness of his own creation and has to derive it from the happiness of others he aids. This is an individual so machine-like that he is able to think of strategies and tactics to survive in a dangerous situation even if he has been nearly sliced in half despite being in a world in pain and in accordance with that, can even estimate the amount of pain he can endure to continue fighting whereby a normal person would go "OH GOD WHY?!" Shirou is ultmately a distorted person who will always put others over himself without even seeking meaning or happiness for himself and ultimately, a normal person would find it difficult to relate or emulate him due to his distorted self.

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/typemoon/images/d/d4/Projection_magecraft.png/revision/latest?cb=20151006080423

Yet, I still like him as a protagonist since the story of Fate/Stay Night is a story of his development whereby he is allowed to witness the flaws and the origin of his distorted self. Each route then shows the results of this which is divided into three results; a strengthening of his resolve that turns him into the very heroes of legend, an understanding of his own limits in pursuing those ideals, and a withdrawal from those ideals to protect the individual he has come to care for more than the masses he seeks to aid.

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/typemoon/images/8/8d/YoungShiro.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141031002505

To understand what creates such a man, his back-story has to be examined. As a young boy, Shirou was caught in the Great Fuyuki Fire (a result of the destruction of the corrupted Grail's external body) that wound up killing his whole family and nearly killing him, leaving him to die in a place that someone in his shoes would describe as Hell. At this point, he is a bare shell of a person, the fire having destroyed whatever individual had been due to the extreme trauma experienced while he had been fruitlessly begging to be saved over the countless screams and pleas for help. He is then rescued by Kiritsugu Emiya, who inadvertently caused this destruction by destroying the corrupted Grail. Kiritsugu himself had fallen into absolute despair as his choice to destroy the Grail in order to prevent it from materialising a being capable of destroying all human life (the details are way more complicated) had resulted in an equivalent amount of destruction and death to his own eyes which came at the cost of his hopes to become the idealized hero of justice that could finally save the world from whatever aliment that ails it. Having saved one person finally gave him some form of justification for his actions, leaving him with tearful joy like a drowning man receiving a lifebuoy at the very last second. The image of this man left a mark on Shirou as he watched his savior's joy in saving one person's life and made him believe that the capability of being able to save others was truly amazing. He is eventually adopted by Kiritsugu and learns of Kiritsugu's status as a magus. Despite this, the guilt of being the individual saved over the countless others that died around him along with his own self-perceived selfish desires to be saved over the rest weighs on him and distorts him, leaving him unable to feel any form of joy or desires of his own. On the day Kiritsugu died, Shirou learns of Kiritsugu's original ideals (that was altered by Kiritsugu into the ally of justice, an individual that would aid justice at the detriment of himself and the individuals to benefit the masses - almost utilitarian in that aspect) of being a hero of justice that was capable of saving others from harm no matter what. The ideal, in its bare and unaltered form while unrealistic, was a beautiful and meaningful ideal that appealed to Shirou and due to the influence of Kiritsugu's act of saving his life, he took that very ideal as the ideal he would dedicate his entire life to as it would allow him to do what Kiritsugu had done for him. At the same time, he would be able to atone for his act of surviving over the others who died instead of himself and give meaning to his empty personality. In a nutshell, his desire to save people, while similar to most shounen protagonists, is one created from a combination of traumatic events and an empty individual that clutched onto the only positive act he found (not discounting his short but content life with an adopted father that truly cared for him).

https://i1.wp.com/i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/001/593/peopledie.jpg and
https://thelimitlessimagination.wordpress.com/tag/emiya-shirou/

Much of his unpopularity comes from the Fate route's version where he initially acts misogynistic towards Saber (his Heroic Spirit, a special kind of servant used to battle in the Holy Grail War and usually against other Spirits, most consisting of heroic figures of myth from every possible time), coming close to telling her where women should be. What some do not acknowledge is Saber's near-death at the hands of Berserker (another Heroic Spirit) which hits rather close to home as another person would die for his own survival once more and stereotype-based perceptions on his part. Over time, this actually dies down and he becomes a better individual though overshadowed by his Unlimited Blade Works self who becomes powerful enough to take on Gilgamesh. the King of Heroes (a very powerful Heroic Spirit) through his understanding of his own abilities while never reaching the level of misogyny of Fate Shirou. Heaven's Feel Shirou is a mixed bag as he abandons his ideals entirely for a single individual (Sakura Matou) which makes him selfish and ironically, the most human of the three in terms of motivations while his own determination to save Sakura makes him admirable though the extent he goes at it would be horrifying to a normal person.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tBUcxnT5XQk/maxresdefault.jpg and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBUcxnT5XQk

As I mentioned before, Shirou Emiya develops in each route that improves his established ideals or develops them beyond the naive notions surrounding said ideals. Veneration of these ideals rarely crop up (unlike the Akame ga Kill anime where killing is always justified and seen as an act of justice despite the fact that the law does not impose the sentence on the criminals and glorified, self-righteous assassins would consider themselves as fully justified despite the ramification of vigilante justice) except for the basic notions and intentions behind them.

http://i.imgur.com/5MrNk.jpg and
http://forums.nrvnqsr.com/showthread.php/180-Fate-stay-night-Fate-Route

In the Fate route, having access to Saber's memories allows him to see a girl who abandoned her humanity to become a king that would dedicate herself to protecting her kingdom as King Arthur (her name being Arturia/Altria) and the intensity of her regrets as she constantly blames herself for its downfall to the point where she even seeks to erase herself using the Grail (not knowing it was corrupt) for her failings as a king. His disagreements with her extreme regret over the past slowly allows him to realise that his own pursuit of his ideals had been motivated by his own regret and guilt of being the one who did not die and that he had been seeking to atone by being a hero. At the end, he acknowledges that the past can never be changed and that what matters is the present and future therefore, there is no need to constantly regret and atone for the actions long passed. He cannot save those that died that day but he can live to save the survivors and stop future disasters. Even if he cannot save the victims of a disaster, he can save the survivors. He develops an unbreakable will as a result of his trials, one that could face the curse of All the World's Evils and withstand it long enough to summon the one thing that it could not affect. At the end, he is left with an unbreakable resolve and an affirmation of his ideals, albeit improved and having meaning (a reunion with Saber in Avalon (the ever-distant utopia) who had finally accepted her failings and no longer regrets them). At the end, his unwavering resolve to pursue his ideals to be worthy of Avalon allows him to become a being of legend that is worthy of Avalon upon his death. As a result, he is finally reunited with Saber who had waited for him in this afterlife and both are allowed an eternity to be together.

http://pm1.narvii.com/5847/23941edb870618d8552c115e433eef0ca65b0305_hq.jpg and
http://aminoapps.com/page/anime/1516898/the-7-wonders

In the Unlimited Blade Works route, Shirou faces Archer, an alternate future version of himself and a a possible culmination of his ideals. Archer's existence as a Counter-Guardian (a guardian of the Earth, not it's inhabitants) shows Shirou the dangers of his ideals as they are borrowed ideals that do not have true meaning to him. To him, he saw them as a beautiful ideal that would allow him to derive joy through the act of saving and as a result of his emptiness, he had no other passions or desires beyond his ideals. A blind pursuit of these ideals that naivety creates would lead him to a life of eternal torment and despair that persists even past his death as Archer indicates. Despite this difficult truth, Shirou still embraces his ideals, reasoning to his future self that even if he faces Hell, the ideals he followed were not mistaken ideals that deserve to be trampled upon. The very act of saving people and being a hero is not a bad thing, only blind adherence to those actions would be bad. As a result, this Shirou, while retaining these ideals, understands his limits and can probably retire from being a hero when the time comes. With the help of Rin Tohsaka (the main heroine of this route and a major character in all routes along with Saber and Sakura), he may never become Archer.

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/typemoon/images/5/51/Shirou_Archer_Arm.png/revision/latest?cb=20100726222455

In the Heaven's Feel route, Shirou comes to love and care for Sakura to the point where he abandons his ideals to protect her. This crops up when it is revealed that Sakura (through a long plot device that take too long to explain) would harm others as a result of her magic, Shirou chooses to protect her and stay with her even if others would be harmed, a vast departure from the hero that will save those in jeopardy. He becomes selfish as he dedicates his empty self to caring for Sakura and in this route, his counterpart (and a main antagonist of each route), Kirei Kotomine, is featured prominently as the latter is an empty person who can only derive pleasure through the suffering of others and yet possesses a moral compass (that disappeared due to the events of Fate/Zero). His determination to protect Sakura results in a more bloodier conflict that results in much harm to himself and nearly destroys him but ultimately, he triumphs through the aid of others who care for him and Sakura, achieving a happy ending of sorts (I am aware that this is not a complete happy ending due to the extensive damage done to Shirou).

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/typemoon/images/4/44/Shiroubw.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100903223040

Thus, we see that Shirou's ideals are improved upon rather than developed from scratch, where a capable and intelligent boy gains the wisdom to pursue, or abandon, his ideals to become a man that either becomes a hero or is able to live a relatively normal life. Out of these three, I am of the opinion that Fate Shirou is the strongest of the three. This is based one key aspect, will. While UBW and HF Shirou have access to the titular ability (Unlimited Blade Works - a mental world that can be manifested in reality while allowing him to Trace with a low cost and high speed, along with telekinetic control over the weapons produced by said Tracing) and a special form of Tracing (Projection - the ability to reproduce copies of weapons that are nearly equivalent to the legendary weapons that Heroic Spirits use), Fate Shirou still has access to these abilities though these will have to be learnt over time and will be the same as the others. The other two have the advantage of early lessons through a mental link to a future self (in UBW) or (in HF) having the arm and access to the abilities of said future self (save for the UBW). Either ways, each Shirou will be same. What makes Fate Shirou the strongest is his unbreakable will as a result of his trials in the Fate route, a will that could face every curse of mankind and yet, remain unbroken. This will makes him most unlikely to become Archer as he would not fall into despair from failing to save others (having fixed this through an improved restructure of the ideals) and has an ultimate goal to achieve (though the presence of a multiverse could allow for this Shirou to still fall and become Archer). The fact that he could reach Avalon in the Last Episode (VN version) to the Fate route shows that he could (and probably would) succeed in becoming a hero worthy of being declared as legendary and achieving the status of mythological heroes by the public of a modern age.

Once again, this is just my opinion on Shirou Emiya. It is a subjective opinion capable of discussion and there is nothing wrong with differing opinions. I just wrote this piece since I forgot to make a post on Wednesday.

EDIT: Since I decided to update this post to reformat the walls of text I made, I've made a new evaluation of the best incarnation of Shirou. Fate is still up there but there is another far superior to him:

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/vsbattles/images/c/c1/Prisma_alter_shirou2.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160520060516

Miyu Edelfelt's brother, Shirou Emiya, from Fate/Kaleid Prisma Ilya 3rei, is my favorite incarnation of Shirou so far. He is similar to the Shirou of Heaven's Feel but where he differs is his skill with his particular Magecraft, his motivations (that I feel are more justified since he is attempting to save Miyu, a sister he has cared for throughout his life) and his unyielding determination to save his sister despite the costs. 

I once described him as the amalgamation of each Shirou Emiya from the three routes and it would seem to be the case: 

Firstly, this Shirou is protective of his loved ones and has an unbreakable will like the Shirou of the Fate route without the superficial misogyny that people tend to unfairly attribute to this Shirou. 

Secondly, this Shirou is a skilled combatant and has enough mastery over his unique Magecraft that he can match stronger opponents using skill and pragmatism in his tactics like the Shirou of the UBW route without the sudden plot assisted advancement of the anime.

Lastly, this Shirou has chosen to sacrifice his ideals to protect his loved ones even if the cost becomes too high for the world and will never stop until he succeeds in doing so like the Shirou of the Heaven's Feel route with a stronger and more reasonable justification than Heaven's Feel Shirou in my opinion.

The reason why I am following the manga series at the moment is to see his own campaign in the Ainsworth Holy Grail War and how he ultimately succeeds in rescuing Miyu from them. I leave the reader with this blurry picture from the recent manga chapter:

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/typemoon/images/4/45/UBWPrisma.png/revision/latest?cb=20160624191915

EDIT: For newcomers to this old blog, this is 2021 me. My opinion on Miyuverse Shirou still strong but that is it, it is my opinion. You do not have to agree with me and are free to disagree.