Fatal Frame
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Image:Thap fatalframe1.jpg Fatal Frame (known as Project Zero in Europe, Zero (零) in Japan) is a survival horror series, so far consisting of three games. The first and second games in the series were released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The third game is currently only available for the PlayStation 2. The series deals with exorcism, dark Shinto rituals, and most of all, ghosts.
Created by Tecmo, Fatal Frame is one of the more highly received survival horror games to date, largely due to the atmospheric music, dark and claustrophobic environments, emphasis on aesthetics and art design and the variety of spirits encountered during the course of the game. The main object of the game is to solve a mystery which is linked to old Japanese superstitions. The player's main enemies are ghosts; a few are friendly, but most are not. The only form of defense is a camera obscura, which allows the player to exorcise ghosts by taking a picture of them.
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Fatal Frame Series
The Fatal Frame series currently exists as a trilogy for the PlayStation 2, though a fourth game is expected on an unconfirmed date and on an as of yet unnamed console, according to Tecmo Games Producer Keisuke Kikuchi. [1]
Fatal Frame (2001)
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"I wonder how long it's been since my brother and I started to see things other people can't see."
On a dark September night in 1986, a young college student named Miku has come to the Himuro Mansion to find her missing brother, Mafuyu. Mafuyu went to the mansion to find his friend and mentor, a mystery novelist named Junsei Takamine, who went there previously to research a book with his editor, Koji Ogata, and a friend versed in the paranormal, Tomoe Hirasaka. Armed with only a flashlight, Miku enters Himuro Mansion, which has a long history of bloodshed, curses and horrific rituals. She later finds the mysterious camera that Mafuyu had brought with him, and that the siblings' mother passed down to them, that can capture/"kill" ghosts when she takes pictures of them.
Supposedly, the game is based around the true story and legends surrounding Himuro Mansion in Japan. The mansion is rumored to be the gruesome death site of a Japanese family and several of its associates a few decades ago. However, when asked, Makoto Shibata, the series producer, said the game was based on two old Japanese urban legends and ghost stories; he made no mention of the previous tales of the Himuro mansion murders, which brings into question the factuality of this previous 'basis' for the true story. It is also worth noting that the game was not explicitly advertised as being based on a true story in Japan, and that the "based on a true story" tag line was not used until Tecmo released the game outside of Japan.
A version of the game was released for Xbox as well. New features/ghosts were added to the game on this edition.
In the Japanese release of Fatal Frame (Zero), Miku was around 14. When the game was distributed to the US and Europe, she was aged and her appearance was altered to appeal more to western players. Alternative names: 零～zero～ (Japan) & Project Zero (Europe)
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (2003)
Image:Fatalframe2wika.jpg The second game in the series is actually a prequel, the prequel being in reference to two characters encountered in the first game, Ryozo and Yae Munakata. Twin sisters Mio Amakura and Mayu Amakura are visiting their childhood play spot when Mayu, who walks with a perpetual limp after a childhood accident, follows a mysterious crimson butterfly deep into the woods. Mio, concerned for her twin, follows Mayu, and the two girls are led to a lost village. This village has a dark past of rituals where they take a set of twins and has one kill the other in order to appease the gate to hell it sits on.
As they investigate, they discover the camera obscura and are set upon by ghosts. Separated from her sister, Mio becomes determined to save Mayu and escape before they meet the same cursed fate as the village's former residents. As it turns out, Mayu, the more spiritually aware of the twins, becomes possessed by the vengeful spirit of last murdered shrine maiden, Sae, who tried and failed to escape with her twin sister and now seeks to complete the horrifying ritual through the twins.
The game's aesthetic presentation was highly praised by both critics and fans alike. As the name would suggest, the dominant color for the game was a brilliant red, creating a very bold and striking contrast in comparison to much of the game's shadowed and nocturnal settings.
Originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2003, a Director's Cut edition was later released for the Xbox in 2004. The director's cut added in several updates to the gameplay, such as a first-person play mode, a survival mode, a new ending, and a greater number of alternate costumes to unlock.
The game also had a Japanese theme song called Chou (Butterfly) by the Japanese artist Amano Tsukiko, said to be Sae's (and possibly Mayu's) POV.
There was actually a short dispute about this game being a prequel set 30 years prior to the events in the original. In all actuality, the Amakura twins set upon this village a year and a half after the events of the original Fatal Frame, essentially meaning that the game itself took place in 1988, but the village itself was stuck in time. So in reference, the game is both a prequel and a sequel. It goes back and tells about the bizarre rituals that took place in All God's Village, but the timeline the twins set foot in the village itself takes place after the first game. The link to the article of proof is right here.
Alternative names: 零～紅い蝶～ (Japan) & Project Zero II: Crimson Butterfly (Europe)
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented (2005)
Image:Zero300.jpg Fatal Frame III follows Rei Kurosawa, a 23 year old freelance photographer. While on a freelance assignment taking pictures of a supposedly haunted mansion, the image of her deceased fiance appears in the photographs. What is also terrifying, is a strange tattoo that is beginning to appear over Rei's body, and that the ghosts that haunt her dreams also don the same tattoo.
Accompanying Rei Kurosawa is Kei Amakura, a friend of her deceased fiance and nonfiction writer, as well as Miku Hinasaki, our heroine from "Fatal Frame I", now Rei's assistant.
"Fatal Frame III" is very similar to FF2, in which the player will control the character of either Rei, Miku or Kei and use the Camera Obscura to capture and hunt down the ghosts. Rei enters the so-called House of Sleep through dreaming. She sees a figure resembling her dead fiance and follows him into the house, where she encounters various ghosts and mysteries to be solved. After solving the mysteries and fulfilling the mission of each chapter, Rei will wake up in her house, and the blue tattoo will gradually cover more and more of her body.
In some chapters, the player will play as Miku or Kei. They have different special abilities from Rei, making each of their play styles unique. Rei is capable of using the camera's flash to scare off some spirits, but can only use it a limited number of times. Miku has a special charm that decreases the speed of spirits when used. Kei, with his greater physical strength, can perform actions such as moving a bookcase or jumping from the roof of one building to another. Moreover, he can sit to avoid being seen by some spirits.
The central antagonist is a female ghost with a blue tattoo covering her body. She appears throughout the game, but cannot be confronted until the end of the game. Unlike the previous game, the dominant contrasting color throughout the game is a luminescent but somber blue, signifying and setting the tone for the theme of dreams and ethereal slumber.
Mio, one of the main characters from "Fatal Frame II" and Kei's niece also appears briefly. Moreover, the red flying butterflies also recur from the previous episode.
This game also had a Japanese theme song called Koe (Voice) by the Japanese artist Amano Tsukiko, about a woman who goes insane after the death of her lover, even forgetting his voice.
Alternative names: "零 ～刺青の聲～" - (Japan) & Project Zero III: The Tormented (Europe)
Fatal Frame: The Movie (2006)
A movie was announced to be made by John Rogers of Dreamworks SKG in 2002. The movie has slated to start filming in 2006 in Japan and many fan sites have tipped Courtney Webb to play the lead heroine. No other casting annoucements have been made.
Story background and history
Throughout the series, references are made to Kunihiko Asou, a fictitious Japanese "Occultist" that lived during the late nineteenth century. Using western technology, he developed inventions that would allow him and others to make contact with spirits in the "other world." His inventions include the Camera Obscura, the primary weapon used to defend against ghosts throughout the series, the spirit stone radio, introduced in Fatal Frame II as a means to listen to the thoughts and memories of spirits that had been stored in special crystals, and a projector capable of displaying ghostly images captured on film that motion picture cameras could not see. According to Fatal Frame III, Asou's various inventions were eventually scattered about Japan and are sought after by collectors. The Camera Obscura used by Miku in the first game had once belonged to her mother, and Mio finds a different Camera Obscura while exploring the lost village. It's likely that the broken Camera Obscura Rei finds (sent to her fiance by Mio's uncle Kei) is the same camera that Mio used in the second game.
External links
Official websites
Fatal Frame
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
Unofficial websites
General information
Reference
- Beyond the Camera's Lens - A Fatal Frame fansite devoted to unraveling the fact and fiction within the Fatal Frame. It has up to date news on the game series and everything relating to it.
Reviews
- Interlaced - Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly review.
- Zero Shot - A Fatal Frame fansite, with news, fanworks, information, hints, tips, and more.
- Asplera Blog's Review - Fatal Frame 3: The Tormented review with screenshots.
- Gamer Within Project Zero 3: The Tormented (Fatal Frame) review.
Misc
- Fatal Frame: the Card Game (fourhman.com) - A free card game (you print out the cardset yourself) based on "Fatal Frame II."ko:제로