Heya everyone, it's Cloudman here again. Welcome back to my side series, the...
We're back yet again to cover the next installment of the Fatal Frame series, Fatal Frame III: The Tormented. Following the excellently crafted Fatal Frame, the second game, Crimson Butterfly, took steps backwards, softening the overall fear aspect of it, as well as making changes and adding features that overall harmed the design of it more so than improve it, with its only strong point, the story, falling flat as well.
So what would the Fatal Frame team do to remedy this? Well, they made a 3rd game. Does the 3rd title manage to tidy itself up for the camera, or does it take yet another bad picture?
Press that start button, will ya? ; )
Story
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented comes with a new tale, following the role of Rei Kurosawa, a photographer who has just recently lost her fiancé, Yuu Asou, due to a car accident. While on the job at an old manor, she sees him despite him being dead. As he begins to walk away, Rei follows after him. Upon doing so, she is whisked away to an unknown place with falling snow. It is here she meets the ghosts of this place, as well as the mysterious tattoed woman. She later finds herself back in the real world, lost and confused. Later that day, she develops the photos she took and confirms she indeed see her departed fiancé. Later in the night, she is seen asleeping, having a nightmare (also not sleeping with blankets, haha). As Rei, you find yourself back at this mysterious manor, known as the Manor of Sleep, where you can meet the dead, and are unable to escape it in your dreams...
Is it too late to turn back now...?
Gameplay
The gameplay remains largely unchanged in the third game. Your main weapon is again the Camera Obscura, the camera which allows you to capture and fight ghosts. The function of the camera though follows more closely to the first game, with the camera charging for more power, rather than only lighting up when the ghost comes closer. Perhaps the developers too felt the functions from the 2nd games didn't fare as well. The shutter chance and fatal frame also make a return, providing that faint moment when the ghost is at its weakest, to do maximum damage and push the ghost away, as well as initiating a chain of shots, which allows additional attacks.
Show our participants what they have just won, Rei : D
One noticable change is that you no longer have unlimited film, unlike the previous games. The first remedied this by allowing you to resupply yourself with type 17 at a save point once per play session, while the 2nd gives you umlimited type 07 film, although it is the weakest one. With all film being limited, this can become a problem in the game if you aren't careful.
New features have been added to the game, but are done in an interesting way: Unique abilities among 3 characters. Yes, a first in the series, you play among 3 characters in this story: Rei, Miku from the first game, and Kei, a new character and relative to the protagonists of the second.
Fatal Frame 3 Heroes, come on doown : D
They all have their own unique abilities. Rei's ability is to use a camera flash, which scares away ghosts, but has a limited use per chapter she is played. Unfortunately, I don't know how well this works, as I never used it. I often forgot about it, haha...
Miku has a few unique elements. She has the ability to slow down the speed of ghosts through the use of her sacred stone charm. This is very useful in catching a ghost's shutter chance to get a good hit in, as well as target in on quick ghosts. She can also charge the power of her camera twice through the use of her 'double' ability. It requires a bit of time to pull off, but you're able to do even more damage with it. And last, Miku is also to access certain parts of the manor, due to her small stature. These would be small crawling spaces which only she can fit in. Boy, Miku gets a lot of love in this game, huh.
Sorry, all I can find is Miku crawling... : X
Our 3rd protagonist, Kei Amakura, is an interesting one. For one thing, he is the first playable male character in a line of very attractive female characters ; ) (outside of Mafuyu. You only play him for a short time, okay? >: P ) He also has the ability to hide from ghosts through hiding. This is interesting as usually you are forced to battle ghosts, but this time, you can avoid them if you like. Sort of makes you think Metal Gear Solid, maybe...? ; ) Althought he does get a Camera Obscura as well, but his spiritual power is much weaker, which will cause problems later on. Aside from that, since Kei is a big strong man, he is able to move certain objects, such as drawers that block doors. Weak, cute girls can't do that. Just leave it to the big strong man... ; ) #sexist . Oh, he can also jump from roof to roof, so there is that...
Please don't see me please don't see me please don't see me....
There are a few more, such as puzzles from all 3 games being present here, including new ones. There is one more new gameplay feature, but I'll not dive into that ; ) Let's just say, you'll need something to keep you safe from the one true horror... Anyways, let's move on to the goods
The Goods
It makes me glad to say the development teams returns Fatal Frame to its former horror glory. Gone is the village and its spacious environments. Gone is the annoying 2nd character following behind you. Gone are the bright colors of the previous game. It is back to it's former gritty, faded design of the first, with deterioring structures and sometimes unsettling decorations scattered across the manor, such as dolls facing you as if staring right at you. Perhaps they are...? I don't remember some of them looking at me at first glance... The setting also returns its dark and rather colorless environment, setting a good horrific atmosphere.
Welcome to the manor of nightmares : D
Another great improvement to the game are changes to the ghosts. Enemy ghosts have also been revamped, being the most lively and difficult kinds in the series. Several of the new ghosts act more wildly, swaying quickly from side to side, or charging straight at you. They often shift around and disappear, making it difficult to follow them at times. Ghosts appear a bit frightening, some becoming a bit more grotesque as you meet them face to face.It becomes more challenging, thus making for more challenging ghost fights and adds more to the overall intensity to the game.
This spooky image is brought to you by Gamespot... And cameras : D
Perhaps one of the best new additions to Fatal Frame 3 is the addition of a new location: Rei's house. This location serves as a sort of hub when you are not in the Manor of Sleep. It is here where you develop some photographs taken from the manor, ask Miku to find more information on said photographs, and simply advance the story. However, the best part about it is that the fear from the manor still lingers here. Something always feels off in the house, like you don't feel safe, even when you are in the comfort of your own home. There is still an ominous air that hovers in the house. What's even worse is that the ghosts slowly creep in from the dreams. It takes away the only safe haven presented to you and makes it a place of dread. Eventually, you'll feel too nervous to even leave your room, in fear of something appearing out of nowhere. Well, at least for me, haha. The game never gives you a moment to rest.
Maybe I'll sit and have a chat with Mr. Ghost...?
The Bads
While this game does well with its horror elements, the game itself suffers from questionable design choices. One of the first things that struck out to me was the removal of unlimited film. The previous game had this feature, which assured you never ran out. However, it was removed in this game. At first, I thought nothing much on it, but later, the issue rose when I was low on film and was required to fight some ghosts to continue. On rare occassions, I would run out and found I was no longer able to continue. At those times, I had to restart from my last save file and try again. Once I had to search for more film to have enough to battle the remaining ghosts. It really bothered me when it happened, and really had me question why the developers decided on this change.
Don't use it all in one place!
Another interesting challenge that become bothersome for me is the difficulty spike in enemy ghosts. The game does a great job in revamping the behavior in ghosts, with faster and irregular movements, making combat more difficult, but manageable at times. However, sometimes you are faced with the challenge of fighting 2 ghosts at once sometimes in closed spaces. Following their patterns while fighting them proves more difficult, but still doable. However, at rare times, it is taken even further, having 3 enemy ghosts at once, which breaks the pace the of the game and becomes very frustrating.
And 2 was already bad enough...
Possibly the biggest flaw in the game is the addition of the 3rd character, Kei. While it is great to have a male protagonist, the main issue with him is that he is a weak character. It is noted that Kei is not built to engage with ghosts, as he has the ability to evade them by hiding. Of course, combating ghosts wouldn't be an issue if they can be avoided, but the issue is, you can't. There will be moments in the game where you must engage with ghosts, and this is when you realize the incompetence of his character and see how it slows down the game, drawing out a fight much longer than it needs to be. Because battle will be required at a later point, it is recommended you fight with ghosts to accumulate points to strengthen Kei, but this only draws out the game even more, slowing the game to a crawl.
Kei, you're so weak! I hate you!!! >_<
Conclusion
While Fatal Frame 3 does suffer from some issues, it succeeds overall in making something strong in horror as well as an engaging story that, despite the game being scary, pulls you in enough to see it to the end. It did what Fatal Frame 2 was striving to achieve. If you want to enjoy a game with some real terror, you find plenty of it here.
Play it!
You can pick it up on the PSN on PS3 or on the PS2.
I'll be back to cover the last game before Fatal Frame 5, the exclusive that never made it...
See you then! And as always...
Thanks for reading!!! : )
You can also read on my other reviews here!
From Hero to Zero: Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
The Beginning of Nightmares: Fatal Frame
Dance my pretties!
The Official Art Thread - The Official Manga Thread - The Official Starbound Thread
Can't wait to read your review about the last Fatal Frame game that never released for NA. :[
