Fate Watch Order: The Best Order for Zero, Stay Night, Heaven's Feel and More, in order

Why? Answer: it's a prequel, it's self-contained, and it makes everything after it hit harder. Fate/Zero covers the Fourth Holy Grail War. The Fifth Holy Grail War, the main Fate/stay night story, happens about ten years later. Think of it as hearing a band's origin story before you play their first album.

After Zero comes Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, the 2014 version, which runs in two parts. Then the three Heaven's Feel films. Heaven's Feel is a different route of the same story, so events play out differently, and it makes more sense once you've seen Unlimited Blade Works.

There are older versions too. The 2006 Fate/stay night series and the 2010 Unlimited Blade Works film adapt the same material. They're marked optional or skippable because the newer versions are the ones this order points you to. The recap specials are skippable as well.

Everything else is a separate story: Fate/Apocrypha, Fate/Extra: Last Encore and Fate/strange Fake. They're optional and can be watched in any order. Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn is included below.

Fate/Grand Order has its own page on Lifehaki. Spin-offs like Prisma Illya and Lord El-Melloi II aren't part of this order.

At the end: Zero, Unlimited Blade Works, Heaven's Feel, then wander the side stories at your own pace. Holy Grail Wars are messy. This list doesn't have to be.