Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, a.k.a. Project Zero 2, is a single player survival horror game that took a unique twist on what the supernatural means in gaming. It was released in the United States in 2003 on the PlayStation 2, the Directors Cut was released for the Xbox (original) in 2004, and was made available on the PSN in 2013. There is also a remastered edition of the game for the Wii called Project Zero: The Deep Crimson Butterfly that was released only in Japan and Europe.
You play as the twins Mio and Mayu Akamura who end up being trapped in an endless night in the Lost Village. The girls start seeing visions of horrors that occurred in this village and as they begin to explore a way to escape the village, they learn about what happened on the night the village vanished. There are many aspects to this game that make the discovery of this tragedy more terrifying. The main weapon of choice in the game is the real hard hitter. The Camera Obscura has a deep history in the Fatal Frame series. Invented by Dr. Asou, the camera captures things that the normal human eye cannot see. This item of the occult is the key to conquering the spirit realm and there is nothing more terrifying than bringing up your camera and BAM! Spooky ghost IN YOUR FACE. There are different types of film that are used that vary in strength, type-07 is the weakest type zero is the strongest. There are also different filters and lenses that are used to boost the strength and functioning of your camera so that you can kick some ghost ass.
Near the beginning, you come across the spirit radio, another one of Dr. Asou’s paranormal toys. With this radios you collect gems, which hold the final memories of the victims in the village. This bumps up the creepy factor as you learn what they experienced as they were dying. There are also journals and diaries you come across that explain of the ritual performed to protect the village, what went wrong, and information about previous rituals performed.
The two main players for the antagonist is the Kusabi, which is a ghost of a rope man that was cast into the Abyss to appease the evil bellow while the ritual was being prepared, and Sae. Sae is the woman in the white kimono with a red band and has blood spatter across the skirt portion. She laughs hysterically and is seen with a murderous smile plastered to her face. This woman is one of the most terrifying things ever (at least for me).
NOW! I recommend this older horror game for anyone who likes a good scary and a Japanese folklore type story. I bought this game when I was 14 because my mom and I were on the hunt for a thrill. We saw the cover and thought it would be a good idea. We got home, turned out the lights, and began the scariest thing I have ever played (at that time). We played for about 20 minutes but got so scared that we couldn’t continue (I ended up giving my mom the controller because I couldn’t handle the pressure). We went to bed…two hours later I wake up because I feel a presence and look up and there is a dark figure standing above me. Shrieking, my mom said she couldn’t sleep because they were talking about ghosts on the radio. NEEDLESS TO SAY, it was a freaky night all starting with that game. I put my man panties on the next day and conquered my fear and played the game that would lovingly haunt me forever. And is permanently etched on my body, I really love this game.
Will you escape the village with your sister? Or will you move forward and discover the mystery of how an entire village vanished in one night? That is up to the player. Ghosts are spooky. Here is a link to my entire playthrough on my YouTube Channel.
A review by Meghan Rodriguez (Twitter: @collins_m81)
