Project Zero 2: Wii Edition
A Wii remake of the 2003 survival horror classic.
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition is a 2012 survival horror game developed by Tecmo Koei Games and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is a remake of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (2003), following sisters Mio and Mayu Amakura in a ghost-filled village. The game features new endings and an on-rails first-person minigame, and was released in Japan and PAL regions but not in North America.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Tecmo Koei Games
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Director
- Makoto Shibata; Toru Osawa
- Producer
- Keisuke Kikuchi; Toshiharu Izuno
- Designer
- Tomo Matayoshi
- Takanori Murakami
- Shingo Suzuki
- Hisanori Takeuchi
- Programmer
- Toru Osawa; Toshiharu Izuno
- Composer
- Riichiro Kuwabara
- Series
- Fatal Frame
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition is a survival horror game where the player controls Mio Amakura searching for her twin sister Mayu in the haunted Minakami Village. Basic gameplay carries over from the original: Mio explores the village, solves puzzles, and fights hostile ghosts using the Camera Obscura, a recurring series weapon. When ghosts appear, the game switches to a first-person perspective for taking photographs that damage them; greater damage is dealt at close range, during a ghost's attack, or when multiple ghosts are in the same shot. The Camera Obscura can be upgraded with found lenses and points earned from defeating ghosts or photographing non-hostile ones. Unlike the original's fixed overhead camera, this remake uses an over-the-shoulder camera similar to Resident Evil 4. Controls are adapted for the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, with motion control for the Camera Obscura and a torch in early sections. A feature from Mask of the Lunar Eclipse requires holding the action button to interact; a ghost hand may randomly appear and attack while the button is held, requiring Mio to break free. The new "Haunted House" mode is a first-person on-rails experience with stages unlocked through story progression, accessed via the friendly ghost Kureha. Stages may require photographing ghosts, collecting dolls while pursued by a spirit frozen when looked at, or keeping the Nunchuck still when a ghost appears.
Synopsis
The story follows twins Mio and Mayu Amakura, who return to a forest that will soon be submerged by a dam. When they were young, Mayu hurt her leg permanently while trying to keep up with Mio, creating a rift between them. A red butterfly guides them into Minakami Village, a location known for trapping anyone who enters. There, they are attacked by ghosts, most notably the spirit of Sae Kurosawa, who starts to take control of Mayu. Long ago, Sae and her twin Yae were meant to be sacrificed to calm a force called the Hellish Abyss beneath the village. The ritual required one twin to strangle the other, fusing their souls into a red butterfly. Yae escaped, and when Sae was sacrificed alone, the Hellish Abyss destroyed the village, turning Sae into a vengeful spirit. She now wants to repeat the ritual using Mio and Mayu. The game offers six different endings. Four are from the original game and its Xbox version, while two are new and unlocked by watching cutscenes about the twins’ past. Other ways to unlock endings include playing on different difficulty settings or finishing the final fight within a set time. In the new endings, Mio either chooses to die in the village with Mayu so they can stay together forever, or she is killed by a deranged Mayu after driving Sae away and refusing to complete the ritual.
Development and release
After completing Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (2008) for the Wii, series creators Makoto Shibata and Keisuke Kikuchi decided to remake an earlier game in that style. The team had leftover ideas not implemented in Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, allowing them to expand and improve their new systems. Production began in 2010 after Tecmo Koei Games settled on production goals. Shibata and Kikuchi returned as lead director and producer; Nintendo's Toru Osawa and Toshiharu Izuno served as co-director and co-producer, respectively, and co-programmers. The team polished the "Touch System" (holding a button to pick up items) to make it more unsettling. Due to the camera angle change, the environment was fully redesigned. The Haunted House mini-game, a series first, was included at Shibata's suggestion, evolving from a story-tied mode to a self-contained bonus mode; early plans for player-created maps with set scares were scrapped in favor of random events in preset areas. Lead characters Mio and Mayu were redesigned as older and less "cute" under Kikuchi's guidance, with the camera angle in mind since Mio would not be seen much from the front outside cutscenes. A new ghost character, Kureha, was originally intended for mini-games. New music was composed by Riichiro Kuwabara. Tsuki Amano, who created the original ending theme "Chou", returned for a new ending theme "Kurenai"; she had some trouble creating it, reusing the strong motif from "Chou", and described the song as a "little sister" to the original theme.
Reception
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition sold just over 28,000 units in its debut week in Japan, reaching seventh place in sales charts, and sold over 46,700 units in 2012, becoming the 215th best-selling game in Japan that year. Review aggregation site Metacritic gave it a score of 77 out of 100 based on 32 critic reviews. Famitsu praised its atmosphere and gameplay. Eurogamer's Johnny Minkley described it as a welcome return to an earlier survival horror style compared to Dead Space and later Resident Evil titles. IGN's Maes Hughes lauded the gameplay changes and graphical improvements as one of the few Wii remakes worth getting over the original. Tom Sykes of Computer and Video Games praised the new additions and horror elements but disliked the lack of additional gameplay elements. GameSpot praised its use of atmosphere and pacing alongside combat, despite noting its linear structure and lack of complex puzzles. Mike Mason of Nintendo Life lauded the atmosphere and gameplay updates but faulted the controls and over-reliance on cutscenes. Nintendo World Report's Andrew Brown called it "an incredibly fun and spooky experience" despite control issues, praising its translation as superior to the original. Chris Scullion of Official Nintendo Magazine praised the environmental design, atmosphere, and scares. Reagan Morris of NZGamer felt players would enjoy the gameplay and atmosphere if they could adjust to the controls. The camera perspective change was generally praised for improving scares and atmosphere, though some faulted visibility and movement. Many critics found the Wii controls difficult to adjust to or awkward. The Haunted House minigame was generally seen as uninteresting. Added story elements were appreciated, while the English dub was criticised as poor or out of place.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Project Zero 2: Wii Edition released?
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition was released on 28 June 2012 in Japan, on 28 June 2012 in Australia and on 29 June 2012 in Europe.
Who designed Project Zero 2: Wii Edition?
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition was designed by Tomo Matayoshi, Takanori Murakami, Shingo Suzuki and Hisanori Takeuchi.
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