Fatal Frame III: The Tormented

Did You Know?

• The game was announced in Japan in March 2005 under the title Zero: Rei, at which time it was said to be 60% complete.
• A pre-order bonus campaign offered a DVD containing summaries of the first two Fatal Frame titles.
• The theme song 'Voice' was released as a single and as part of Tsuki Amano's album A Moon Child In The Sky on September 21, 2005.

Gameplay

Fatal Frame III: The Tormented is a survival horror game where players step into the shoes of three different characters: Rei Kurosawa, Miku Hinasaki, and Kei Amakura. They explore the haunted Manor of Sleep and battle hostile ghosts using the Camera Obscura, a recurring tool in the series. The game uses fixed third-person camera angles, but when using the Camera Obscura, the view switches to first-person. The action is divided between two settings: the Manor of Sleep, which exists in the characters' dreams, and the real world, where players control Rei in her apartment. In the real world, Rei investigates events with help from Miku and Kei, and later in the game, passive ghosts start appearing in her apartment. Inside the Manor of Sleep, players search rooms for items that help solve puzzles or reveal the story's background. There is a dedicated run button for movement. Healing herbs and film for the Camera Obscura can be found in the Manor. When players leave the dream, their health and standard film are fully restored. Progress can be saved at lanterns inside the Manor or by using the Camera Obscura in Rei's apartment. Combat builds on earlier Fatal Frame games: the Camera Obscura damages ghosts based on distance, shot angle, and the type of film used. These factors also determine the points earned per shot. When the lens flashes red during a ghost's attack, a Shutter Chance opens for a high-damage shot. Within that, a Fatal Frame can be triggered for extra damage and to stun the ghost. Combat points are spent at save points to buy items or upgrade the Camera Obscura with special lenses that boost damage or add abilities. Passive ghosts can be photographed for points and added to an in-game album. Each character has unique abilities. Rei is balanced, has more upgrade options, and can use a Flash move to push ghosts away. Miku has stronger attacks and can slow ghosts temporarily, but cannot use upgraded lenses; she can also slip through small gaps and crawl spaces. Kei has weak attacks but high health, can hide from stalking ghosts, and can move heavy objects to open new paths.

Synopsis

Freelance photographer Rei Kurosawa is still grieving her fiancé Yuu Asou, who died in a car crash she survived. To cope, she takes pictures of places rumored to be haunted, with help from her roommate Miku Hinasaki, whose brother Mafuyu was lost to supernatural events. While photographing the ruins of Kuze Shrine, Rei spots a vision of Yuu and chases him into a space that becomes known as the Manor of Sleep. She meets a hostile ghost of a tattooed woman there before snapping back to reality. That night, she dreams of the Manor and wakes up to find a tattoo spreading across her body. She starts looking into Kuze Shrine alongside Miku and Kei Amakura, a friend of Yuu and uncle to Mio, who lost her sister Mayu.

The truth comes out: Kuze Shrine once held a ritual where a chosen priestess received tattoos representing people's grief, then was impaled in a sacred chamber so her spirit could carry that grief into the afterlife. The final priestess, Reika, loved Kaname, the child of an earlier priestess. Believing he died in an earthquake, she volunteered for the role. When Kaname later visited her after the ritual to comfort her, the high priestess killed him for trespassing. This caused the tattoos' power to overwhelm Reika, destroying the shrine. Now Reika haunts the dreams of those mourning loved ones, luring them deeper into the Manor of Sleep, which is a manifestation of Kuze Shrine. Anyone who reaches the Manor's heart dies in reality and turns to ash.

Miku is pulled into the Manor by Mafuyu's spirit and falls into a coma. Kei initially thinks the ritual failed and tries to redo it in the dream, but Reika confronts him. Rei makes it to the Manor's heart and calms Reika, sending her and Kaname into the afterlife. This breaks the curse, letting trapped spirits leave. Yuu appears, takes the tattoo curse from Rei, and moves on. Rei and Miku wake up and choose to keep living despite their pain. Depending on whether certain key items are found during a second playthrough, Kei either dies from the curse or wakes up with Mio and introduces her to Rei and Miku.

Development

Fatal Frame III was made by Tecmo, the company behind the series. Makoto Shibata directed it, Keisuke Kikuchi produced it, and Kenishi Asami handled lead programming. Shibata came up with the idea while finishing work on Fatal Frame II, aiming for a stronger brand of horror. Because the PlayStation 3 was coming out soon, he decided this would be the last PlayStation 2 game in the series, wrapping up a trilogy. The game’s main idea was fear creeping out of ordinary life, and it used a dream world to add a sense of beauty. Shibata took cues from the Japanese horror film Ring and Daijiro Morohoshi’s manga Yōkai Hunter. Dreams also connected to Japanese folklore creatures like the baku. The team looked into old Japanese beliefs to make the supernatural events feel real. Kikuchi introduced a design idea he called “interactive fear,” where the main character’s growing terror shows as the curse unfolds. He wanted to try different kinds of fear and gameplay by using multiple characters. The dual setting, with a real-world location, was something new for the series. Each character’s play style came from how they looked and how they might be used in the game. There were fewer ghost fights, but each one was harder and more complex, meant to make the location feel fully controlled by spirits. Ghosts acted like they did in the first two games, moving and disappearing to keep players on edge. Kikuchi believed the final version included everything the team had planned.

Reception

Fatal Frame III: The Tormented launched to a fifth-place debut on Japanese sales charts during its first week. By the close of 2005, it had moved over 69,000 copies, placing it among the top 200 best-sellers for that year. Tecmo's February 2006 fiscal report stated the title met their internal expectations. Famitsu offered strong praise for the story's mood and atmosphere, while Electronic Gaming Monthly liked the setting but considered the narrative weak. Kristan Reed of Eurogamer highlighted the satisfying resolution of earlier series plotlines. GameSpot's Bethany Massimilla found the story compelling, noting that its central theme carried it forward even with an excess of narrative threads. Bryan Stratton of GameSpy commended the story's pacing and tone. IGN's Jeremy Dunham appreciated the clearer storytelling compared to Crimson Butterfly and how each character's personality influenced gameplay. Massimilla also praised the visual tone, and Electronic Gaming Monthly credited the graphic design for enhancing the atmosphere. Scott Sharkey of 1Up.com observed little graphical improvement over the two prior games. Dunham lauded the environmental designs and the expressive character faces. The music and sound design received widespread approval. Electronic Gaming Monthly found the gameplay and scares effective but pointed out repetitive level layouts. Massimilla liked the combat refinements but criticized the unwieldy controls. Stratton felt the gameplay relied too heavily on familiar elements and tedious puzzles, a sentiment Reed echoed by comparing it to the repetitive structure of earlier Resident Evil titles. Sharkey again noted a lack of gameplay innovations. Dunham enjoyed fighting ghosts but found the controls and puzzle design too outdated for easy enjoyment. Several critics also remarked on the game's heightened difficulty.