As for ancient Egyptian characters, we find mostly pharaohs such as Ramesses II, Nitocris, Cleopatra, and Ptolemy I Soter. Whereas Ptolemy I is portrayed in an eminently pseudo-Greek armor or with the tunic of an old, wise man (alluding to his supposed foundation of the Library of Alexandria), Ozymandias, Nitocris and Cleopatra’s designs include many Egyptianising traits.

In the case of Ozymandias we see traits such as the ankh, his divine scepter and his golden-lapis lazuli armor and golden eyes (he is called the Sun King). Nitocris, on the other hand, is heavily influenced by Lovecraft’s depiction as a magician who is able to resurrect the dead and who, when flustered, becomes the god Medjed, probably due to how popular this god is in Japan. She wears a white, revealing tunic, golden attributes, a scepter and a tiara that resembles the ears of the god Anubis. Cleopatra is an Assassin depicted with a huge snake, and she wears golden bracelets and a white tunic. All these allusions to both gold and popular Egyptian “features” help the player to identify these characters as Egyptian and to give the idea that they are ancient, solemn and wealthy. At the same time, the three of them are depicted with light clothes (especially the women) and as merciful but arrogant individuals, which connects with the orientalist idea of understanding ancient Egypt as a land filled with sensuality and ruled by tyrants.

When it comes to depicting Egyptian settings, Fate/Grand Order tends to use huge, Egyptianising structures. In the Sixth Singularity, Ozymandias summons a temple in the desert called the Ramesseum Tentyris: The Shining Great Temple Complex. According to the Fate/Grand Order wiki (https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Ramesseum_Tentyris) this huge structure is defined as follows:

Bodies of temple complexes composed out of several temples, such as the Great Karnak Temple Complex, the Great Dendera Temple Complex, etc., as well as by combining many great temples and mausoleums, such as the Ramesseum, the Great Temples of Abu Simbel, etc., it is transformed into a grotesquely large temple complex that cannot exist in reality.

The exterior of the temple is arranged with a huge pyramid, two obelisks and a dromos flanked by Osiride statues with a mixture of pharaonic crowns (nemes and the pschent), directly inspired by the statues of Deir el-Bahri. We also find identical symmetrical reliefs of two pharaohs with a deshret and an atef crown (see above). The internal side of the building is composed of a golden hall with a double colonnade separated by the same symmetrical image of a pharaoh wearing the hedjet crown. In the center of the room there is a staircase leading to a golden throne flanked by two crowned Horus statues and topped by a scarab.

The pyramid is a recurring motif. In Cleopatra’s first appearance in a Halloween event, she conquers and remodels a Slovekian castle by constructing an inversed golden pyramid on its top (and defending the beauty of the golden ratio). Last but not least, in the game, sphinxes of different types (with a lion-like body, wings and a golden mask or the head of a woman) may appear as enemies.

All these aspects, like the symmetry in reliefs, the monumentality of the buildings and its golden decoration, the reference to actual ancient Egyptian locations (such as Dendera or the Ramesseum) as well as the loan of some Egyptianising features such as the ankh, the different types of crown, the sphinxes, or architectural structures such as pyramids, statues or obelisks, allows the player to identify the setting with ancient Egypt and to associate Egypt with a land of wealth, megalomania, mystery and ancient power.

Author: Esperanza Ródenas Perea