Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, known in Europe as Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water, released on October 22, 2015 for the Nintendo Wii U. Over a year after its initial release in Japan, those in the west were finally able to get their hands on this game and snap pics of ghosts for the first time in a decade. I beat the game today, so I'm just gonna share my thoughts...and stuff.
The gameplay of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water will be familiar to those who have experienced the series before. You take control of several characters, using what's known as the Camera Obscura to take pictures of ghosts and absorb their energy. Taking the right shot just as an enemy attacks will allow you to perform what is known as the Fatal Frame, which increases your damage within a given time frame. A unique addition to this game is the utilzation of the Wii U Gamepad, which functions as the camera itself. The TV screen shows the perspective of the character, while the gamepad shows the view of the camera lens. This can be operated either with motion controls+analog stick, or just the analog stick by itself. I found this to be very intuitive and it made performing certain maneuvers very satisfying.
Throughout the game, certain collectibles can be picked up. This includes camera film, healing items, documents and recordings. Each document gives insight into the lore of the game, and allows for the player to have a better understanding of the events of the game, which makes exploration to find such items more encouraged. Additionally, due to the story, there is a gameplay mechanic revolving around water. The more wet a character gets (as a result of enviornment exposure), the stronger their spirit power, which increases their attacks with the camera. However, there is also a downside to this as they become more vulnerable to ghosts and their defence is lowered. Players can choose to let the wetness guage deplete on its own, or use an item known as the Purifying Flame to instantly lower it.
In terms of pacing, I didn't really have a problem with this game. There is, for the first time in a Fatal Frame game, a sprint feature, so there's no need to walk slowly everywhere. Additionally, there is Psychometry, which allows the character to focus on an object touched by them to reveal their shadow and eventually find them. Essentially, this functions as the game's "Where do I go?" button, which can be useful if you're lost.
There are several problems I had with this aspect of the game. Firstly, there is no manual save feature. Which can be a bit of a problem. Sometimes I would go for 30-40 minutes at a time without anything being saved, which is like the majority of a chapter. Dying and having to go back all that way, while not being a frequent issue of mine, is nervewracking nonetheless and an option outside of autosave would've been greatly appreciated. Furthermore, the amount of backtracking in this game was surprising. I found myself going back to the same areas and doing the same things a number of times, and after a while it started to wear on me. Finally, the controls (notably the movement of the character) felt archaic at times. Not quite as tank-like as old Resident Evil games, but still occasionally awkward. Just don't expect this to control like most modern games, because it's more like older horror games in this sense.
Graphically, this game can look stunning at times. While clearly not the technical showcase for the Wii U or any current gen system by any stretch of the imagination, it certainly does have some visually appealing enviornments, lighting and character models. The moody atmosphere and surroundings definitely contribute to the game's spook-factor, and I found them to be a highlight of the game as a whole. One thing I would knock, however, is the use of low-quality textures throughout the game. It's not even consistent either, they just appear occasionally. They didn't bother me a lot, but they definitely looked out of place when compared to other things in the game.
I do feel that the water in this game deserves some recognition though. It looks absolutely beautiful, reflecting off lights with impressive character interaction. I was always glad to stumble upon water, because I really just enjoyed looking at it.
However, I do need to stress that the framerate in this game is extremely inconsistent. Sometimes it'll be fine, other times it'll dive when there's a lot of activity, and sometimes it just stutters briefly for almost no reason. Was definitely clear to me the whole way through, and I wasn't a fan of it.
The game centers around Mt. Hikami, a fictional location in which the three main protagonists are drawn to as a result of the supernatural events that occur. The mountain is a hot-spot for suicides and water-related spiritual happenings, which make the rate of paranormal activity extremely high. Historically, shrine maidens would guide people to a peaceful passing, but over time they became too distraught to perform their duties, thus being sacrificed as Eternal Flowers to prevent a power known as Yomi from reemerging. The story follows three different protagonists; Yuri Kozukata, who possesses the ability to bring back people from the shadow world into the real world: Ren Hojo, a friend of Yuri, and an author who visits the mountain to research for his new book: and Miu Hinasaki, the daughter of recurring Fatal Frame protagonist Miku Hinasaki (who was prevalent in the original Fatal Frame, as well as Fatal Frame III: The Tormented).
Overall, without spoiling anything, the story was definitely the backbone of the game and one of the main motivators for its completion. Each character has their own arc and antagonist of sorts, which allows for each to have their own sense of closure by the end. The game's heavy focus on suicide and personal despair really drove home the game's dark mood, rightfully earning its M-rating. In fact, whenever you defeat some enemies, you can perform an action known as a "Fatal Glance," which allows you to see the mortal life of their spirit, and what caused them to haunt the living. I found many of these to be greatly disturbing, especially since they're shown in a more old-school fashion.
Depending on your actions in the final chapter, you can get good or bad endings for each character as well. Personally, I got good endings for two characters and a rather neutral ending for another. When everything was said and done, I felt relieved at the end and walked away satisfied with what I had accomplished, making the story a success for me.
In terms of music, there isn't much in Maiden of Black Water (aside from the wonderful piece that plays at the end, entitled In This Cage). However, that's not to say that the sound direction in this game isn't amazing...because it is. From the moans and shrill screams of the ghosts, to the creaking of the floors and doors, to the ebbs and flows of the local water bodies, this game nailed it in terms of sound.
Well...except for the English dub. That was awful, aside from several well-delivered lines. From what I can tell, the original Japanese voice acting is superior, and it's also included in the game with subtitles. So that's a good thing.
I wouldn't say that this game is necessarily exploding with content, but it definitely isn't lacking either. There are 14 chapters, an additional bonus chapter with Dead or Alive character Ayane, rankings for each chapter based on performance, objects to collect and outfits to unlock. Somehow, I beat this game in 24 hours without replaying anything. It kind of seems like an outlier, since the HLTB shows about 13.5 hours for this game. Don't really know how that happened, but I did generally take my time exploring the environments. Plus I kinda sucked for the majority of the game...so yeah.
In general, I would say the game has enough content for sure and I'm satisfied with what I got out of it.
Despite my notable gripes with this game, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit and would play it for hours on end, just because I wanted to. The game's creepy atmosphere, dark story, enjoyable gameplay mechanics and appealing graphics made this a fun (but spoopy) ride for me, and considering its Free-to-Start status on the eShop, I advise anyone with a Wii U and an interest in horror to at least give it a try. Although the chapters in the trial aren't the best of the game, they give a general idea of the game's controls, story and gameplay.
TL;DR:
+Intuitive gameplay mechanics
+Engaging story
+Rich atmosphere and appealing graphics
+Excellent sound design
+Satisfiable content
-Excessive backtracking
-Lack of manual save
-Clunky controls
-Some poor textures and inconsistent framerate
Overall Score: 8/10
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