Fatal Frame
From Desaiuniversity
Techmo survival horror game, also known as Project Zero Japan and Europe. Zero (零, "Rei", this is a pun; "rei" can also mean "ghost"). The first two Fatal Frame games can be found on the consoles Playstation 2 and XBox, however, the third is exclusively for Playstation 2. The premise of all three games can be summed up in exploring haunted envoriments and unraveling mysteries involving human sacrifice, in dark Shinoto and Buddhist sects, and naturally, exorcism. Fatal Frame heavily relies on Japanese superstions and lore, which can be lost on Western players at times.
It emphazies on the atmosphere surrounding the characters, to dilapitated houses, dark and unnerving mansions, and generally claustrophobic enviroments. One could say this is the strongest point of Fatal Frame, next to the controller's special ability to mimick a heartbeat. The difference is with Fatal Frame and regular games are the enemies, which are violent and vengeful spirits, that can add to the enviorment, considering there is such a wide variety of spirits within the game. And the only way to combat the spirits and solve clues, is Fatal Frame's unique gameplay that involves combat with a camera. It is scarier than it sounds. Only by using the camera, the player can exorcise spirits and take their energy as means of upgrading the camera against more powerful spirits as the game progresses.
Fatal Frame comes in the following three games.
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Fatal Frame (Project Zero), 2001
The story follows Miku Hinasaki, a girl who has recieved no word of her missing brother for a week, who was last seen in the haunted Himuro Mansion. Being the good sister she is, Miku Hinasaki follows her brother and his team of folklorists within the manor. Miku's physic abilities picks up on a malicious force -- in her visions, the malice comes in the form of a massive amount of hands, seen pulling her brother's boss into darkness. What Miku comes across is an old Hinasaki family heirloom, a camera that her great-great grandmother Yae Munakata had. This is the only way she can combat the spirits, as well as using her six sense, since it is apparent that Miku is also trapped in the mansion, stuck to unravel the sacrifice of the Rope Shrine Maiden. This game's XBox version has better graphics, smoother gameplay, and a few extras that it's Playstation 2 counterpart doesn't.
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (Project Zero: 零～紅い蝶～), 2003
This second installment of the game, and what some Fatal Frame fans consider the best of the three. The game follows two twins, Mio and Mayu Amakura, and a few minor characters from the previous games, Ryozo and Yae Munakata. While the twins are visiting a childhood hangout that is about to be buried by the soon-to-be damned, Mayu (the older twin), follows a crimson butterfly into the woods, having her twin sister Mio follow her. What happens next is that the twins are caught in some sort of time lapse(?), stumbling across the legendary lost village (All God's Village), that is said to pull those who are lost and wandering in the forest, forever stuck in the loop of time of one horrific night. Neither of the twins can escape.
The gameplay in this game is a bit of an upgrade -- instead of one character, you have two characters at times. Mio is the dominant of the twins, since her twin sister Mayu has a perpetual limp, causing her to be slow and a easy target for spirits. Twins play a crucial role in this storyline, as both twins learn of the horrible Crimson Sacrifice, where the 'older twin' kills the 'younger twin'. In qoutations, this means according to an old Japanese belief, the younger twin is said to let the older twin to be born first. So meaning, the older twin is actually the younger twin.
Throughout the game, the Amakura twins are mistakened as the Kurosawa twins, Yae and Sae, who attempted to escape the ritual. This attempted escape is also what cause the demise of the village, as it's documented the spirit of Sae Kurosawa had gone insane without her twin sister there to sacrifice her, luring in the lost travellers and scarring them with her laughter. It's learned that Sae's twin sister, is in fact Yae Munakata, who had fled during the escape process, leaving Sae behind to be sacrificed alone. The game's focus is around twin bonds and Sae's tragic turn of events.
Fatal Frame 3: The Tormented (Project Zero: 零～刺青の聲～), 2005
The more recent of the installments, Fatal Frame 3 centers around the first character of the Fatal Frame game, Miku Hinasaki, Kei Amakura -- uncle to the Amakura twins, and a new character, Rei Kurosawa, no realtion to Sae Kurosawa.
What differs from thes following games is the storyline. Rei is set as the main character, a young 23-year-old photographer who lost her fiancee (Yuu Aso) in a car accident that was caused by Rei herself. Because of this, Rei has a deep and heavy guilt for his death, managing to find herself in the Manor of Sleep, a place in the dreamscape that pulls in those similiar to Rei in regards of having deep regret and grief. The victims of the Manor of Sleep grow a snake-like tattoo, passed on by a topless woman that eventually consumes them and kills them. Rei isn't alone -- Miku Hinasaki is also pulled into the Manor of Sleep, facing her deep fears of the Himuro Mansion, seen following a vision of her brother. Kei Amakura is pulled in as well, as his neice Mio Amakura will not wake from her dreams, either, also having the growing tattoo.
Gameplay is largely the same as the following games, as in combat, clue solving, and massive amounts of unlocking doors. This game is different from the others, as the following three characters can switch off between the 'real world' and the 'Manor of Sleep', gathering clues to their tattoos. Also, the player as the game progresses will change with the playable characters. Miku, having a charm that's able to slow down spirits, as well as having the ability of crawling and squeezing in small spots due to her small frame. Kei is able to move large objects, jump across roofs, and has the wonderful ability of avoiding spirits -- unless it's the tattooed shrine maiden then he cannot avoid her. Rei's only ability is 'flash' and it can only be used for a number of times.
This game also has the interesting theme of changing colors to somber blue or to red, depending how you move out through the Mano of sleep. It's also one thing to note that the spirits tend to use more surprising tactics against the players, coming from unusal directions, including from the floor. Also, as Rei and the others gather more clues, the lines between the real world and the Manor of Sleep begin to blur -- in short, the spirits follow them from their dreams. Then anyone can wonder if any of the characters are dreaming or not.
Fatal Frame movie?
Was announced to be produced by John Roger's of Dreamworks in 2002, however, there isn't much information regarding the production and script of the movie. It's said to follow the first Fatal Frame storyline, following in as a Asian horror movie. Much news or information hasn't came through as of yet and there have been too many false reports of the movie's release. All fans can do is pray it isn't like the Resident Evil movies in most cases. To sum it up: don't get your hopes up.
External links
Beyond the Camera's Lens - Favored by Sae's mun for anything Fatal Frame-related. Includes ritual information, character profiles, discussion of Shinto traditions, and a great section of media. Highly recommended.
Fatal Frame Livejournal Community - Wanktastic at times, irrelevant discussions, but it's going up here for good measure.
