>>279801201Hi again, just got through the true end of HF. Apparently I got it on my first go, oddly enough.
Got to say I was disappointed by the battles. Rider going all out was a great idea, but the battle itself felt short and didn't use its full potential. Shirou using Archer's shield phantasm was great but it would've made for a greater cap-off if the buildup was longer and more dramatic.
Rin v Sakura might've actually been the worst battle in the VN as far as non-Servant stuff goes. Just endless "My super-duper-uber finger gun beats your super-duper invincible palm barrier!" type of attack with stuff that wasn't given proper suspense before the fight. In no way did it make up for the lull that was the route's pacing during its final quarter.
As for the dialogue, it was mostly great. Sakura's tantrums were absolutely carried by the CV firing on all cylinders, Zouken's last-second revelation was a nice send-off to what ended up being yet another Shirou foil, Ilya played her role, and Kirei did the bare minimum amount of coolness that was asked of him.
Appropriately, everyone was on their last legs. I think Nasu managed to thread the needle just right by making Shirou's final stand ridiculously weak but not too much to the point of him being strewn around by plot strings rather than plot armor. Not even UBW Shirou was as exhausted at the end as HF's was.
Also, Luvia being in Stay Night was unironically the single biggest plot-twist I experienced while reading it. Noone fucking told me that. Same with casual Rider. And Sakura. Her tits. Her hair. Her face. Jesus Christ. That epilogue was probably the best one out of all of FSN. Even if Wakame Man couldn't live to egg on Shirou another day
To summarize my messy thoughts, HF had the highest highs and the lowest lows. I can't get myself to call it the best, but I can at least understand why people do so outside of shit like waifu wars. Hassansin my beloved. Kikikikikikikiki.
PS: the ED song sucks.