Interesting gameplay and dark atmosphere make up for Fatal Frame's minor problems.
- Silent, creepy atmosphere
- Unique use of a camera
- Impressive graphically
- Great cutscenes
- Fun playing it alone at night
Negative
- Camera can cause problems
- Controls can make you lose orientation
The Fatal Frame series is now known for its creepy and tense atmosphere, unique use of camera and gameplay. If played the future installments of the series, you will realize that Fatal Frame keeps that from here, just some minor improvement but still impressive from almost every angle.
My Fatal Frame experience started from the present to the past; Fatal Frame 3, then 2 and now here I'm writing the first of them all. If you did like me, Fatal Frame is still incredibly familiar to its future sequels. But let's say you're new, this game is a horror one. The game pits you in a haunted manor with nothing more than a camera. This camera has the power to capture ghosts. All you need to do is capture and defeat the ghosts before the spirits kill you. Throughout the game several items can be found such as herbal medicine which restores you health, film types which are used to photo the enemy and spirit orbs.
You start as Mafuyu, which went into the manor after hearing that a reporter and two other people went missing. Decided to go looking for them enters the mansion with the camera in order to find them. A few days later his sister, Miku goes look for him. Most of the game will be played as Miku though.
The camera obscura needs to be upgraded to deal more damage. Finding spirit orbs is not enough; you need points when killing ghosts. Delivering a fatal frame at the right moment just before the ghost hits you, you earn more points. It's risky but more damage is dealt that way. Normally items are lying around the mansion. There will be also information and notes from people who have been here before. Tapes can be listened and one can read notes too.
Fatal Frame's story might seem linear, but not very straightforward. Some puzzles really kill the pace, those which involve Japanese letters and symbols are a bummer sometimes. Also the game's camera (not the camera obscura) is fixed making it difficult at times. Especially in small quarters, which at times makes it impossible to avoid ghosts. Thanks to this, the controls feel more wonky than they should.
But those who can pass these little problems will certainly find that Fatal Frame offers dark and creepy atmosphere. There's little music, but the little there is sounds creepy. For a 2001 game, this one looks great. Character models are excellent, environments are a bit better. Normally the colors you are most likely to encounter here are dark ones since the game takes place at night hours. Therefore making it fun to play all alone at night.
Seeing this made me realize how little improvement Tecmo made with Fatal Frame which isn't a bad thing. Fatal Frame is a great horror game, which is most likely enjoyed by those who love horror games or looking for something scary. Despite being 8 years old, it's still worth time and money.
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Graphics = 8.4
The atmosphere is just right with excellent character models and environments.
Sound = 7.9
Light on sound but the sound effects are awesome. Voice acting is fairly good though.
Presentation = 8.7
Dark, creepy atmosphere again which is low on production values but make the cutscenes look incredibly good. Load times aren't a problem.
Gameplay = 8.9
Using a camera instead of a gun or weapon as Resident Evil and Silent Hill do, but doesn't lack blood. There are some scary moments and it does get repetitive over time. The biggest problems are the puzzles, which most of them are heavy and difficult to figure out immediately.
Camera / Controls = 7.6
The camera is fixed but not always bad. Although it can hide some items. Thanks to that the controls feel a bit fishy when the camera changes angle.
Story = 8.2
Miku's search for her brother isn't the only thing involved here. Many notes and tapes add interest.
Difficulty = Variable
Catching ghosts varies in difficulty but the puzzles can be annoying. I suppose there are multiple difficulties but this doesn't crush the game.
Overall = 8.3 / 10
An interesting game hurt but the fixed camera and puzzles. But if you're a person that doesn't mind these, and you just happen to like horror games then you are most likely to enjoy Fatal Frame, all of them. It came only difficult to recommend if one isn't patient enough to sustain the whole experience.