Fatal Frame (video game)

Did You Know?

• Each part of the mansion includes a map, and levels are rendered in real-time instead of using pre-rendered backgrounds.
• A Hollywood film adaptation was announced in 2003, with Steven Spielberg brought in to polish the script; it was re-announced in 2014.

Synopsis

The story is set in 1986 and follows orphaned siblings Miku and Mafuyu Hinasaki, who share the ability to perceive supernatural events. When Mafuyu disappears in the haunted Himuro Mansion while searching for his tutor Junsei Takamine and his assistants, Miku goes to the mansion. As she explores, she finds rope burns on her wrists and ankles, manifestations of a curse on anyone who enters. She learns of a dark ritual: a chosen Rope Shrine Maiden was torn apart by ropes, and the blood-soaked ropes were used to seal the Hell Gate, a portal to the afterlife that keeps a dark force called the Malice from escaping. The last sacrifice, Kirie Himuro, fell in love with a visitor before her death; the Himuro family head had the man killed, and Kirie's attachment to the mortal world meant her sacrifice did not seal the Hell Gate. Kirie's spirit haunts the mansion in a splintered form: a child version who helps Miku, and an adult version corrupted by Malice. Mafuyu was captured by Kirie because he resembles her dead lover. Miku confronts Kirie's adult form at the Hell Gate and cleanses her spirit with the Holy Mirror. Kirie then willingly becomes the Rope Shrine Maiden and seals the Hell Gate permanently. The ending diverges by difficulty: in Normal Mode, Mafuyu stays with Kirie; in Hard Mode, Kirie convinces Mafuyu to escape; an Xbox-exclusive ending shows Kirie's lover returning while Miku and Mafuyu escape.

Development

The concept for Fatal Frame came to director Makoto Shibata after he finished work on Tecmo's Deception: Invitation to Darkness, inspired by his own dreams and encounters he felt were supernatural. Development began when the PlayStation 2 hardware was introduced to Tecmo, under the codename Project Zero. The team drew inspiration from the positive reception of polygon characters in the Silent Hill series and aimed to create as frightening an atmosphere as possible. Multiple developers from the Deception series worked on the game. Character designer and CGI director Hitoshi Hasegawa stated that the key colors were black and white, representing fear and hope, with red representing life. The music was composed by a team including Ayako Toyoda and sound director Shigekiyo Okuda, who used stereophonic sound to reinforce the atmosphere. The team settled on Arnis Sound Technologies for sound tools.

Release

The game was announced in July 2001 under the provisional title Project Zero for a winter release. The Japanese title was inspired by the nature of the enemies as beings of nothingness and could be read as zero or ghost. Initially dated for December 7, Tecmo shifted the date to December 13. Promotional giveaways included headphones and a trial version through Japanese media store Tsutaya, and a novelization from Mafuyu's perspective was published by ASCII Media Works. The North American release was confirmed for March 8, 2002, but made available on February 27. It was marketed as being based on a true story, though elements were based on real haunted locations and local legends, such as a haunted mansion and a legend of a woman who hanged herself from a tree. In Europe, Wanadoo published the game as Project Zero on August 30, 2002. An expanded Xbox port titled Fatal Frame Special Edition was released in North America on November 27, 2002, in Japan on February 6, 2003, and in Europe on May 2, 2003. It featured graphical upgrades, new ghosts, a redesigned camera interface, bonus costumes, and a Fatal difficulty mode. The game was re-released on the PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 in North America on April 9, 2013.

Reception

Fatal Frame sold just over 42,000 units in Japan during 2001, ranking among the top 300 best-selling games that year. The PS2 version sold 12,000 copies in Europe. According to an interview with Kikuchi and Shibata, the game was an unexpected success in North America and Europe, attributed to the popularity of Japanese horror films like Ring. The PS2 version received mixed or average reviews on Metacritic, with a score of 74 out of 100 based on 22 critic reviews. Famitsu praised the use of the Camera Obscura in creating tension. IGN's David Smith noted difficulties with controls but praised the atmosphere and gameplay. Chris Baker of 1UP.com praised the atmosphere and enjoyed the gameplay, noting its late-game difficulty spike. GameSpot's Miguel Lopez was generally positive despite faulting some textures and particle effects. Rob Fahey of Eurogamer called the game compelling and utterly addictive, citing parallels with Ring. GamePro was less enthusiastic, saying it did not hold up alongside Silent Hill. Chris Hudak of Game Revolution praised the atmosphere but faulted the Camera Obscura's targeting and some familiar elements.