Sony Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly

[GwJumpman]

Just beat this with my friend over the weekend as my first Fatal Frame game and it was pretty sick. Survival horror with a camera instead of a gun is a nice change of pace and it felt nicely gamey the way we upgrade the camera like it's a JRPG or something. All the ghosts were awesome and just like out of some Japanese horror movies and even though we were pretty confused about what was going on in the beginning, it was pretty clear as we were rolling up to the ending how things got to where they were; so the story in that sense was coherent enough for me to be good and maybe one day I'll replay the game on Hard mode so I can play that additional Abyss section.

Do other Fatal Frame games share a continuity with each other or are they all separate?

 

[Raine]

As a total chickenwuss, Fatal Frame was always something that sounded cool on paper but I knew to steer super clear of. Nothing says "oh hell naw" quite like staring at a horrifying ghost as a means of combating them.

An actual fan could weigh in, but, I'm at least not aware of any strict overarching narrative/continuity as a casual observer of discussion threads over the years. Probably some nods here and there.

 

[Kat]

I've only played the second one, so I can't answer about the rest. That game was SO SCARY though! I could only play it in short bursts or it'd give me nightmares. Also it was frustratingly difficult because I didn't realize you could walk while you had the camera out until the very end of the game. It never even occurred to me to try it, I only realized at all because I accidentally bumped the joystick.

I agree the story was engaging and interesting. I don't remember specifics, but it takes a lot of positives to get me through a horror game to the end (I'm a wuss). I also really like the camera instead of a gun. I suppose it's not too different mechanically, but you feel more vulnerable with a camera IMO. It's a nice touch in the setting.