Thanks so much for popping in guys! Here's the video from KelpHelp I mentioned in the video - th-cam.com/video/v5Fs9iwE41o/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Tuk4Wx9OgY47Z-dm
Fatal Frame never got as much love as it deserved. The first 3 games are some bangers from that classic fixed camera angle survival horror era from the mid 90s to the early 2000s.
Blame the people,they are many articles that ask people what games want from the past of ps2 era to come to ps store, people answer the same shit.San Andreas,Fifa,God of War, im so pissed off every time i read these . Fatal frame series is a masterpiece series
Having completed the game in hard mode, I learned the hard way that every ghost is unique and has a special strategy. Blind Woman is actually my favorite, as the strategy is tied to her story. Since she's blind, she can only hear you. Meaning you have to stand absolutely still while facing the most vicious enemy in the game. The trick to her is that you have to nail those zero shots every single time. If you attack her normally, she will always teleport right behind you for an unavoidable attack. As far as I remember, I didn't experience that problem with missing zero shots, as they are key to beating the game in hard mode, and I am far from a hardcore hard mode player. But I do feel hard mode is the way to truly enjoy this game. The secret ending is also a lot more satisfying. Completing the game in hard and finishing the ghost list will also give you some pretty powerful camera upgrades that will give you new rewarding ways to face combat. Also, special mention to how the game has random scares in different nights in a playthrough and even when starting a new game +, that will always keep you on edge. Overall, fatal frame, or project zero as it's known here in europe, is one of my all time favourite survival horror games, and I wish the series had a proper revival
Blinded and Broken Neck were my favorites from FFI because of how much they scared the heck out of me. That was especially true with Blinded constantly crying about her eyes and needing to be patient with the shots.
@kosmosfan01 yeah, Broken Neck was also pretty cool. She's also one of the hardest ghosts to get for your ghost sighting collection. Blinded is indeed a great test for your fears, you really need to go against every instinct to defeat her properly.
I was going to mention this, he references that the game has droughts of narrative but each enemy and location the ghost is in, is the narrative delivery. The notes and story context wants you to pick up on these details but its not how games generally deliver lore so it goes over many peoples heads
@theghostfacekza4549 yeah. It took me a minute to realise every ghost is actually a character, and you're not facing multiple copies of an enemy type, but the same character multiple times. There is only one Blinded, one Long Arms, one Broken Neck, etc, which you face multiple times until you figure out their curse and release them for good. It was very rewarding to figure out these poor souls' stories this way, and a very unique way to tell a narrative, where each enemy you face is actually is an integral part of the whole story. Only by completing the ghost lost and realising what each picture is telling you, will you grasp the overall story. Quite brilliant storytelling, if you ask me
@@AvalancheReviews like your Dino crisis one is the perfect example. I tried to play it when I was in my teenage years. Got to the first raptor and went "nope" and I wouldn't have learned about the bizarre mess that was DC3
I think you missed the point of the ending. Fatal Frame was not about sacrificing little girls, it was about upholding your duty. Her duty was to be the seal on the Gates of Hell to keep the darkness or whatever they called it, from being released and when she failed in that duty, her soul was split in two. One part was duty bound/wanted to fulfill her duty and assisted the player the other part turned vengeful at what she couldn't have. Hence why she went after the main characters brother since he was basically a copy of whom she fall for. I believe Japan heavily favors duty and conformity above all else
The series also deals with the idea of those forcing this "duty" upon others and not considering the effects it has on then and those they love. This is especially evident in FF2.
One of the BIGGEST losses of subsequent entries to Fatal Frame is the removal of the resolution battle in my opinion. In the first entry if you took each ghost's story to its conclusion it always culminated in one last battle against them which resulted in that ghost never spawning again along with you get a bonus scene to see how they died
You are right, the rituals are supposed to be a good thing. Because the alternative is their respective (simplifying) evil will eventually engulf the whole world. As horrific as they are, they are necessary evils to avoid an even greater evil. It’s kinda the subtext of the games. “Horrific ritual to prevent evil failed, you unwittingly must fix it”
I'm not sure if it's really considered "good", but rather as you say, necessary. Absolute service to morality can be seen as, itself, an evil thing. Traditions have purpose - rejecting them purely on the basis of one's morality is self-serving. It speaks to the sense of balance which is deeply ingrained in Eastern philosophies and religions. Even some in the West have these thoughts ("those who fight monsters should take care... the abyss also gazes into you...", "the needs of the many...", "...better it would be to be ruled by robber barons than by omnipotent moral busybodies..."). Sure, by reality's standards, the ritual is clearly horrific and unfathomably cruel. But if such things were real, it would be deeply evil to disrupt such a thing.
@@NormalPersonCommenting its "good" in the sense that not doing them will kill everyone in the world. its horrible, yet absolutely necessary for the greater good
I honestly feel like I'm on the other end of the boat. Eastern and especially Japanese horror fills me with so much dread while a lot of the more western horror/thriller stories just do not terrorize me nearly as much or to any similar degree. Kinda interesting how different everyone perceives what is scary and what is not, creates a large amount of variety in the genre.
@@conq1273 oof, that pun lit me up like a flash foto. You really took time to develop that image in your head, didn't you? I'm afraid I'll have to shutter this conversation down.
To comment on the whole "Japanese Ghost Stories" part from near the beginning: I think the primary thing that generally makes that stuff (along with other Easter Horror) more appealing to me than most Western Horror is the framing. Western horror tends to be more... outright visceral. Not in the sense that it's violent (though a lot of it is due to stuff like Japanese laws about violence in media), but more-so because Western horror is directed at a sort of fear that is birthed from a perspective largely dominated by Christianity's view on vengeful spirits and the occult. It's meant to make you feel like you're seeing something that shouldn't be possible, and it often bases itself in a more "demonic" view. It's trying to elicit a reaction of revulsion, at the bare minimum. Japanese ghosts (and generally all ghost stories from that part of the world, sans modern Chinese ones due to their laws) tend to be based around beliefs born from religions like the Shinto faith, among other Eastern religions, where the idea of "the afterlife" are very different, and the culture cares a lot more about being kind/respectful to the dead. Ghost stories in Japan, based on how much I've read/watched, tend to highlight some kind of moral or tragedy, rather than outright trying to scare you. Sure, it's horror, so it does try to scare you, but the stories are framed around relatable circumstances and tragic events, rather than being some kind of link to the idea of some Satanic possession type thing. They tend to place a lot of the "horror" in the darker side of human nature, rather than some outright evil monster-like spirit. Even stories where rituals go wrong and open the gates of hell and/or place a curse on the immediate area like Fatal Frame tend to also focus more on how *humans* are the ones who are at fault, and not the spirits themselves. Dark Water (the film used as an example in the video) is, to me, less of an outright horror story, and more of a tragic tale of a mother struggling to keep custody of her child after a divorce. You could make all of the horror elements of that movie stress based delusions the mother is going through because of all of the stuff that stems from the divorce (and part of her own past outside of that) and it'd still ultimately work as a movie. The ghost is more a means to an end, rather than being the reason the story is told. This is in stark contrast to most Western ghost stories, where the ghost is more likely front and center. Ultimately, I think J-Horror, especially the ghosts, is less about the ghost being spooky, and more akin to modern folktales that want to impart some kind of lesson on the viewer/reader/listener/etc. There's usually some kind of take away from them beyond the horror side of things, and there tends to be more of an effort to make it tragic, rather than going full Amityville or Exorcist. Sure, people die in those kinds of stories, but there's usually some kind of karmic irony involved.
Fatal frame is definitely a game that has a special place in my heart. This game got me hooked on learning more about Ghost stories and urban legends across many cultures and a fascination with the paranormal. Absolutely beautiful franchise. Definitely want to see more entries in this series. 💝💝💝💝 Interestingly, In the western release of the game Miku in Fatal frame 1 was edited alot prior to release to appeal to a western market. Her hair was lightened from a dark chocolate brown to a chestnut brown colour. Her eyes were also lighten and her complexion was rosier. Mikus face had changes made too. Noticeably, her eyes made smaller. They also altered her height and bust with. Her clothes were also altered. Her pleat skirt was niw a leather Aline skirt, her undershirt was now red and her scarf was removed and her choker was lightened to look like a necklace. Her boots are also slightly different. I think this was an attempt to make her look mature and westernised. Storywise I personally thought the besides the resemblance Mafuyu has to Kirie's boyfriend, he may have been the reincarnation of him or descendant. It's implied that Miku's family had ties to the Himuro mansion as her mother is found there. The mechanics you face that were difficult at the end of the game is definitely improved in later entries. 4 and 5 were brought to current consoles and 2 has been remade too.
Please never stop making these. Great for passing time at work and with a voice smooth and soothing enough to fall asleep to. These vids aren’t just amazing from a review standpoint but great for drifting off to sleep👍
Not sure if anyone else mentioned in their comments, but I figured it could be helpful for anyone hoping to play this going forward. Some of the battles you faced were random encounters you can run away from. There are cutscene designated boss fights you can't, but the torso, wandering monk and the long haired woman you encountered were optional. Usually leaving the room and running through a few other doors will stop them pursuing you further. Meaning you can save more health and film for later. Hoping someone can find that helpful and thank you for this review! I'm glad you kept going and liked it!
i think this game was single handedly responsible for me intense fear of ghosts when i was a kid. I never even considered them something to be afraid of until i played this game
I can't tell you how excited I am to see you doing a retrospective for this series as it deserves so much more love than it's gotten. I have such fond memories of this title, especially when my friend and I were playing at her house in the middle of the night where we were jumpscared by a random encounter with the floating head ghost and we ended up waking up her parents when we screamed! I'll cherish that memory forever. I appreciate that you battled through the jankiness of Fatal Frame 1's combat, you make a lot of accurate points of where the game was lacking. I can tell you that the jump from Fatal Frame 1 to Crimson Butterfly is an upgrade in every aspect as far as polish is concerned. You will encounter a much more balanced combat system, the best story of all of the titles and a lot of extras on the Xbox Director's Cut. My favorite additions are the Kasumi & Ayane costumes from Dead or Alive, Survival Mode, the fan-submitted ghosts from Tecmo Japan's contest and the ability to play the game in FPS mode in addition to its default third person. Jared, I beg of you... You have a good following and if by chance Tecmo comes across your retrospective, let them know that if they plan to remaster the trilogy, to give us the "Xbox" ports of the first two and not force the inferior Wii port of Crimson Butterfly on us.
I think what this game different that sticks out to me is how this game used silence to enhance the game's horror atmosphere. While many games always overuse loud noises and jumpscares, I recall some rooms in FF where it is dead silence and small noises like voices and falling doll heads suddenly come up. Also did you know that the game's cover boasted about being "based on a true story". It was debunked but I hear the publisher (Tecmo games IICRC) thought that would boost sales
@AvalancheReviews I was just at the castle. It's pretty sweet. Gonna try to get into that Kaiyukan aquarium tonight if I am allowed same day ticket ticket purchase and entry. Off to Hiroshima tomorrow. It's wild. While in Shinjuku I basically lived in that train station. Absolutely massive. A city under a city.
Finally - thank you! Fatal Frame 1 & 2 were *my* Silent Hill back in the early 2000s. My brother and I played them side-by-side, trading the controller back and forth when we got too scared. Silent Hill and Resident Evil I didn't play as a kid, but Fatal Frame...that's a franchise that is critically underrated. I still have my old XB disks and cover art :) A lot of those attacks on you looked so bullshit. Weird thing though, apart from a few times, I don't recall having any issues like that. Getting through the first game was not a big issue. I found SH infinitely more frustrating, and I'm no gaming wonder, lol. Your experience honestly sounds so bizarre to me.
@@AvalancheReviews I was watching your footage and going "dude, that should have hit!" But then you said the XB version seemed to be more forgiving, and that could be why...? I only ever played the first 2 on XB. Speaking of that though, do you like the PS or the XB box cover art better? For FF1, I honestly liked the PS2 box art better, but XB for FF2. I only noticed it was different while working at GS when we got the rare used copy in.
@@Kovitlac Later entries and ports were definitely a _lot_ more forgiving when it came to the Zero Shot. OG Project Zero wanted the player to be near-frame-perfect, and it was a mechanic I never engaged with because of how tight the window was for them.
Dude! About time! I knew you'd make a retrospective about this. I played through the entire series a while ago and loved it despite it's flaws. It has it's own brand of horror all it's own. Awesome content as always!
Wooo! Fatal Frame is my favorite horror series! I'm glad you are diving into it. I'm really excited to see how you do with the rest of the series, Fatal Frame 3 is my favorite! Looking forward to more vids!
As many people I came late to the party in regard of the Fatal Frame Series, started to play them last year and never thought that I could like it that much. Its truely something else with its folklore and tragic storylines. Thanks for tackling the Series in a Video Review!
I've replayed this one last year and I can't believe how hard it is. I remember playing it when I was a teenager and I even beated it on hard at that time, now it would be a nightmare to do. The combat becames a lot more fair in the next entries, my favourite is defenitely Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.
This series was always bittersweet. Yeah, the scares were good, the game was challenging and you had to actually LOOK at these awful things to fight. But at the end even if you grinded for the better ending subsequent games would always default to "bad ending is canon".
Fatal Frame as a franchise deserves praise for never jumping the shark unlike Silent Hill and RE (where you literally jump a shark in RE6, in fact). Every game remains distinctly survival horror. Every game has a tight narrative focus on Japanese cults. In fact they're so committed you don't even get a real jog feature until the 5th entry and they only did that because half the game occurs outside lol.
Looking at the brightness comparisons just gave me flashbacks to Thief Gold, waiting until it was *almost* bed time as a kid because I couldn't see anything but sun reflections any earlier in the day lmao
Getting a picture of all the optional ghosts gives you the alternative/perfect ending. It's basically a tiny bonus if you play NG+, and want to squeeze every last drop out of Fatal Frame/Project Zero. It's kinda interesting, spoilers: ... The maiden is so quieted by the ghosts moving on that she can keep the gate locked herself, and so that Miko actually gets to save her brother. Its kinda bittersweet, and not really worth it IMHO due to how hard all those ghosts are to find, but its a neat extra for super fans.
@@AvalancheReviews Yeah, it's OBNOXIOUS. Especially with PS2 loadtimes not being THAT bad but adding up. No joke, one of the first 100% attempts I just gave up on on pure tedium. Still love the game, but that super secret NG+ ending is way too hard for what amounts to almost the same cut-scene, but with slightly different dialogue.
Owning this series was my pride and joy as a teen, I hung around with other nerds at Smash Bros club and traded JRPG’s and J horror games. That’s how I played rule of rose, Lyon and silent hill games because I could cross lend and play due to me having all 3 fatal frame and still have em to this day. This brings me back with some fierce nostalgia.
Miku runs like I do when I need to get to the bathroom but im wearing my shitty at home pants where the elastic is no good and im trying to not have my pants fall down.
Great review! This series is called Project Zero in Japan. With it stealing your criticals, perhaps they should have called it Project Zero Shot. Just kidding, but capturing pics of the wandering jump scare spirits is what corrects this issue and is your reward.
With the blind woman IIRC you just don't move until you have a fully charged shot/fatal frame shot, and then you have a few seconds to reposition while she's stunned from the damage. And I wonder if your other issues with combat were based on the difficulty. The game gets a lot easier on NG+ and further when you have a fully powered camera. But if you started your first playthrough on a medium or high difficulty you're going to have a rougher time because your camera isn't as strong as it could be. I just had a very different experience, normally I struggle with combat in games but with FF it all felt great once I got a feel for the controls, but I always play on easy when it's available. This is one of the only games I continued into harder difficulties to unlock everything up to beating Nightmare mode.
OMG, what a great surprise to see you cover this game! Fond memory of me and my little brother shoving the controller into each other’s hand just to get the other person to walk the main character down the first corridor. and since our mum wouldn’t let us play the game we literally have to sneak downstairs in the middle of the night and played in complete darkness at the same time be mindful to not scream every time a shadow flickers. I am of Chinese background so I always have a weak spot for Asian horror due to all the urban legends and folklore I heard since I was a child. Definitely my most unique and scared gaming experience. Highly recommend the first two entries.😆
I don't know if it makes sense but I love hearing stories about people's first time with a game/movie/album and how they've connected their experiences with them during that period of their lives.
Thank you for covering this series!!! ❤ This is the only game in the original series (first 3 entries) that I played JUST ONCE, it keep beating my ass, over and over again XD So I just re-started a lot of times... and then kept two savefiles, so I could go back a chapter or two and hoard supplies to keep fighting, also I used and abused the lenses, particulary "slow" and "see". I didn't get too frustrated because I was loving the challenge, being used to actually fight nemesis every run in hard mode just for the rewards. BUT it was so hard, that when it was over, I put the game in my shelf like a hunt trophy and never played it again lol. I still loved it, but I wasn't up for that beating again (and also I was stuck with the ps2 version, so yeah). Still I have that game close to my heart, even if my fave in the series is the second one 🦋
I think the implication of the ritual in the original game, is that the ritual was corrupted by the cruel means of the people who implemented it. The fact that a single person can hold the Hell portal closed, shows that the cyclical nature of the ritual and the amount of innocent sacrifices made were not necessary and were a product of fear and cruelty. The girls who were sacrificed were inherently innocent, but they also lacked free will. Out of fear that nobody will willingly get trough the ritual if they know of the world, the priest corrupted it by striping the sacrifice of their own will. In the ending she can seal the portal forever because she chooses to sacrifice herself. Its a action she decides on out of love, compassion and duty, to the world. Basically the ritual is indeed sound, but it always requires a willing person to become a sacrifice. If anything the complicated choosing of sacrifice and her imprisoned is more of a critique on the roles of women in traditional Japanese society. How the girls of the household were seen as a resource to be expended rather than people capable of choosing their own destiny.
The first game took some time to get used to its controls, it was really rough around its edges but they made it's sequel a pretty different experience, be it with the exploration as well as its controls. They basically perfected the game in Crimson Butterfly that it became stagnant in the subsequent games. If you keep with the series you'll love the second one, just be mindful that you'll feel the games after the second one will get stiffer because they try new mechanics that weren't very well implemented.
This and the forbidden siren series felt like me and my friend's scary little secret as we didn't know anyone else who had them. Still 2 of my favourite series
The one thing that kept throwing me off in Fatal Frame was the sound design, especially the footsteps. Every now and then you can audible hear extra footsteps alongside your own, so it made me feel as if I was always being watched, even at the calmest moments.
i created some brand new core memories last summer at the house of my friend's mom after finding out they had a copy of this game and a ps2. so at 24, i played it for the first time ever, alone at night, in a house i wasn't familiar with. one of my favorite games of all time now.
It's a good day whenever Avalanche uploads. Thanks man 🔥 never played a fatal frame game before but I find them fascinating for sure. One day I'll play atlest one of these..
The title has me a bit worried as I don't get why people have issues with this game, but I'm glad you're doing this series. This is actually my favorite in the series. Only need to play 4 at some point.
This video basically nails how I feel about this game, and to a lesser extent the entire series. I really enjoyed the story, characters, general vibe and take on survival horror, but I found myself save scumming super hard on an emuator and getting frusturated on the exact moments outlined here. I found the sequel to be a massive step up, despite having some frusturating moments.
I remember playing these when these came out. These were absolutely terrifying games. I remember playing the first one, with my best friend. Just the 2 of us, in the dark, middle of the night. 😬
Glad we're finally on the Fatal Frame retrospective! 2 Best Friends introduced me to this series and I had to buy them all up and play them. The atmosphere and combat keep me coming back because I will chew the scenery in survival horror. The first one is rough around the edges, but they're all pretty good. I miss the survival horror being the primary focus because as good as the series is, 5's tagline was "Beautiful Horror" and really dialed the waifu up for some reason.
I’ve been obsessed with Fatal Frame ever since i watched my uncle play it as a 5 year old but i completely agree with you that the first game is such a chore to beat. I personally think that the 4th game is such a good entry into the series, especially now that it’s finally out of its Japan only prison. I’ll watch anything fatal frame, but i genuinely enjoyed your retrospective and what you had to say about the game!!!
The intent of the ending is more of what if the method we deem inhumane and imoral is actually working and might be the only ways to solve it. Think it as the different take of cabin in the woods. While in that movie, the protagonist rejecting the ritual and the world is destroyed, in this game when protagonist fulfilled the incomplete ritual it literally save the world. Which is different take of tragedy.
About the ending. I think the reason Mafuyu did what he did was not because of Stockholm syndrome. It’s more like he knew why he was kept there alive so when the ending happens he feels sorry for her and since he knows he looks like the guy she was in love with he chooses to stay with her so she doesn’t feel abandoned and alone again.
Okay, for your combat critique, I must say that every ghosts in the series always had a false window for a zero shot. The only time you should do one is when they are charging at you, any other time is a waste of film. You also weren't wrong with the shoot-and-run tactic, it's basically my go-to in all of the games as well. Admittedly it creates a slow combat experience but I believe it's a very intentional design. When you can see a ghost anymore, you have to run and re-orient yourself before readying another shot. Which sucks when you're stuck in a very small room, I agree on that part. Lastly, I think it's a common consensus that the first game is the hardest one so I understand your pain of almost dropping it. Funnily enough, I always like the gameplay for this one better than the rest. Hope you will have a better experience for the following games after this one.
Fatal Frame was definitely my horror franchise of choice just from the idea that they forced you to look at the enemies in first person. I loved the lore that developed from the games and was ecstatic when IV and V got ported, especially with how long IV had been unavailable unless you used the translation patch. Watching you talk about the zero-shot problems reminded me why I thought the paralyze function was king because it just stopped the ghost in their tracks XD
Dude the blind ghost was such a headache haha Loved the atmosphere and ghost designs The floating head scared the crap out of me first time I saw it I didn't expect it haha I hear the combat gets better in Fatal Frame 2 Hopefully you have a better time with it I plan on playing 2 after I finish FF7 Rebirth
Thanks for forgetting to tell me when there's a new Avalanche Review TH-cam! Clicked the bell AGAIN! But good news! I now have a Fatal Frame Trilogy of videos to watch! ❤
Great video, thanks for deciding on tackling this series. I trust you'll have a better time with the sequels, as I think that the combat was improved. The highlights for me are 2 and 4
One of my most random early memories was watching one of these tv shows that showcased new tech, consoles and stuff and watching a segment on the latest (at the time) game releases and them doing a special on Fatal Frame. It terrified me but left me curious for a looong time. I was probably about 6 or 7 maybe. They also did a cool segment on the tech used to create Final Fantasy Advent Children and i remember being super impressed with them adding individual hairs to the main character model.
Man, I miss the joy of seeing video games on TV. It was like an entire ass event when one of the old FF7 commercials would come on while I was watching TV before school.
My biggest problem with the second half of the game, specifically the third chapter, was the seemingly random ghost encounters happening every few minutes while I was trying to find the next key. I didn't really have the same issues with the combat as you, I just wanted to be left alone for two seconds.
I cant wait for another collective 5 hours of Jared geeking over port differences and tech mumbo jumbo i dont understand. Something about hearing someone just spew over tueir interests even if i dont know what half of it is, is entertaining
Absolutely loved this essay. Two things though, a rule of thumb first: always go Japanese voice in Fatal Frame. Two, about the gameplay, here is all about timing - unlike RE & SH - if you are not good at it, just avoid trying to get only Fatal shots.
A lot of people seem to hate that ending but IDK I think it's right in line with most other J horror from the time. They don't tend to have very happy endings. I personally really like Mafuyu feeling empathy for a person in a horrible situation and doing what he can to ease her pain. It's never bothered me that they don't know each other like that because to me it just feels like a really selfless thing for him to do. He does it because he's a good person and that's really nice to me. I am kind of a softy about that kind of stuff tho. I also feel that the ritual being "the correct thing to do" in this story isn't like 100% accurate. The Malice is very real but we don't know that the rituals are the ONLY way to close it or even if a better solution wouldn't actually solve the problem more permanently than having to feed people to it in this system they have built. It was that system after all that led to them killing Kyrie's crush and the ending is her and Mafuyu choosing to keep it closed in a different way. Fatal Frame as a series is a lot of rituals gone wrong but I never get the feeling that the people performing these rituals are in the right. I get the feeling that it's all they know to do. Tradition that has worked but is ultimately unsustainable and that's a tragedy in its own way I think.
Fatal Frame is pretty tough. I've never beat it, but it did catch my attention enough to download 2 and 3 and I've recently picked up Mask of the Lunar Eclipse for the switch. Now, it's a series I haven't completely dove into but these retrospectives are probably gonna push me to do so.
This retrospective was so cathartic to watch. I felt the exact same when I played it for the first time last year. Really great atmosphere but extremely frustrating.
The 2nd game gave me nightmares as a wee lad. I got the game when it first came out and my father had a crazy sound system back in the day and a crazy Sony TV. The sound effects are crazy good if you have the equipment.
I've had this saved on my PS3 for a while now, and I admit, this did make me excited to jump in and play it. Especially with the challenge level xD I can't help but love that there's a tank control option despite it not being the default. Also, this is hard to quantify, but there's a certain something about early PS2 games that feels special
Loved the entire series! They have some REALLY clever scares in the series, ESPECIALLY in FF 3! FF 3 was probably my favorite. I loved how you returned to your home after 'missions' and it got progressively more haunted as the story progressed. It kind of reminded me of Silent Hill: The Room, but even better in terms of an escalating haunted house.
I owned the first three games around a decade ago along with a ton of other PS1/2 survival horror gems. Never got around to playing most of them and later had to sell almost every game I owned to make ends meet. I don't want to say it's tragic, but it's sort of tragedy-adjacent. Really glad you've covered this one. Voiceover sounds great too.
Thanks man!! I messed around with some EQ settings and the way I speak. Crazy how I've been doing this for so long, but then I can just stumble on some setting that retroactively makes all my previous videos sound like shit. HA!
Wild. I've played through this game a dozen times. It's easily my favorite of the series. I've never had any of the issues you had with combat or resource scarcity. Granted I've never bothered to play it on hard mode, but if we're talking the standard difficulty... combat should not be a barrier to completion. I'm sad you didn't have a good time with this one. It's been a favorite of mine since it first came out
AYEEEE THANKS MAN!! I always love your videos and i am glad you are covering the fatal frame series!! LET'S GOOOOO i wanna know your thoughts on 2 and 4 especially
I've already finished the scripts for every game n the franchise. So I should be able to pump these bad boys out pretty fast. You should have another one in less than 2 weeks.
I started the series with 2 after having cut my teeth in silent hill, RE and countless other horror. I had thought nothing could get to me anymore . Until Fatal frame...such an intense and unrelenting atmosphere. I played the first one only a few months ago and it remains as my fav of the series. It certainly lacks gameplay but my lord, the atmosphere was perfected on their very first attempt
Ff2 was my first time into the series. I had play RE2 religiously on the 64. When I got FF2 as a gift from my uncle I played it on a night when no one was home cause I wanted the spooky factor. I thought I was a tough kid at 13 years old. I am not gonna be scared by a video game. I was unable to keep the lights off by the time hour 3 hit haha. Great memories
I am now eagerly awaiting for the fatal frame II retrospective 😩😩😩😩 as it’s always fighting REmake (re1) and silent Hill 2 for my favorite survival horror game of all time.
Thanks so much for popping in guys! Here's the video from KelpHelp I mentioned in the video - th-cam.com/video/v5Fs9iwE41o/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Tuk4Wx9OgY47Z-dm
Thank you for all the hard work you put in these videos
Fatal Frame never got as much love as it deserved.
The first 3 games are some bangers from that classic fixed camera angle survival horror era from the mid 90s to the early 2000s.
They absolutely were
I missed out on these never seen the game until my friend baka chan showed me but never played.
Blame the people,they are many articles that ask people what games want from the past of ps2 era to come to ps store, people answer the same shit.San Andreas,Fifa,God of War, im so pissed off every time i read these .
Fatal frame series is a masterpiece series
Fatal Frame when Non Lethal Polaroid walks in
Having completed the game in hard mode, I learned the hard way that every ghost is unique and has a special strategy. Blind Woman is actually my favorite, as the strategy is tied to her story. Since she's blind, she can only hear you. Meaning you have to stand absolutely still while facing the most vicious enemy in the game. The trick to her is that you have to nail those zero shots every single time. If you attack her normally, she will always teleport right behind you for an unavoidable attack.
As far as I remember, I didn't experience that problem with missing zero shots, as they are key to beating the game in hard mode, and I am far from a hardcore hard mode player. But I do feel hard mode is the way to truly enjoy this game. The secret ending is also a lot more satisfying. Completing the game in hard and finishing the ghost list will also give you some pretty powerful camera upgrades that will give you new rewarding ways to face combat.
Also, special mention to how the game has random scares in different nights in a playthrough and even when starting a new game +, that will always keep you on edge.
Overall, fatal frame, or project zero as it's known here in europe, is one of my all time favourite survival horror games, and I wish the series had a proper revival
Blinded and Broken Neck were my favorites from FFI because of how much they scared the heck out of me. That was especially true with Blinded constantly crying about her eyes and needing to be patient with the shots.
@kosmosfan01 yeah, Broken Neck was also pretty cool. She's also one of the hardest ghosts to get for your ghost sighting collection. Blinded is indeed a great test for your fears, you really need to go against every instinct to defeat her properly.
@@roccondil5 No kidding lol
I was going to mention this, he references that the game has droughts of narrative but each enemy and location the ghost is in, is the narrative delivery. The notes and story context wants you to pick up on these details but its not how games generally deliver lore so it goes over many peoples heads
@theghostfacekza4549 yeah. It took me a minute to realise every ghost is actually a character, and you're not facing multiple copies of an enemy type, but the same character multiple times. There is only one Blinded, one Long Arms, one Broken Neck, etc, which you face multiple times until you figure out their curse and release them for good. It was very rewarding to figure out these poor souls' stories this way, and a very unique way to tell a narrative, where each enemy you face is actually is an integral part of the whole story. Only by completing the ghost lost and realising what each picture is telling you, will you grasp the overall story.
Quite brilliant storytelling, if you ask me
I absolutely cannot handle horror games and movies but spend so much time watching videos on series like this
Word! The hope is that these videos are entertaining outside of the game I'm covering. So I guess that's a success.
@@AvalancheReviews like your Dino crisis one is the perfect example. I tried to play it when I was in my teenage years. Got to the first raptor and went "nope" and I wouldn't have learned about the bizarre mess that was DC3
I think you missed the point of the ending. Fatal Frame was not about sacrificing little girls, it was about upholding your duty. Her duty was to be the seal on the Gates of Hell to keep the darkness or whatever they called it, from being released and when she failed in that duty, her soul was split in two. One part was duty bound/wanted to fulfill her duty and assisted the player the other part turned vengeful at what she couldn't have. Hence why she went after the main characters brother since he was basically a copy of whom she fall for. I believe Japan heavily favors duty and conformity above all else
The series also deals with the idea of those forcing this "duty" upon others and not considering the effects it has on then and those they love. This is especially evident in FF2.
One of the BIGGEST losses of subsequent entries to Fatal Frame is the removal of the resolution battle in my opinion. In the first entry if you took each ghost's story to its conclusion it always culminated in one last battle against them which resulted in that ghost never spawning again along with you get a bonus scene to see how they died
You are right, the rituals are supposed to be a good thing. Because the alternative is their respective (simplifying) evil will eventually engulf the whole world. As horrific as they are, they are necessary evils to avoid an even greater evil. It’s kinda the subtext of the games. “Horrific ritual to prevent evil failed, you unwittingly must fix it”
I'm not sure if it's really considered "good", but rather as you say, necessary. Absolute service to morality can be seen as, itself, an evil thing. Traditions have purpose - rejecting them purely on the basis of one's morality is self-serving. It speaks to the sense of balance which is deeply ingrained in Eastern philosophies and religions. Even some in the West have these thoughts ("those who fight monsters should take care... the abyss also gazes into you...", "the needs of the many...", "...better it would be to be ruled by robber barons than by omnipotent moral busybodies..."). Sure, by reality's standards, the ritual is clearly horrific and unfathomably cruel. But if such things were real, it would be deeply evil to disrupt such a thing.
@@NormalPersonCommenting its "good" in the sense that not doing them will kill everyone in the world. its horrible, yet absolutely necessary for the greater good
Necessary evils and all that.
I honestly feel like I'm on the other end of the boat. Eastern and especially Japanese horror fills me with so much dread while a lot of the more western horror/thriller stories just do not terrorize me nearly as much or to any similar degree. Kinda interesting how different everyone perceives what is scary and what is not, creates a large amount of variety in the genre.
Horror is similar to comedy in that way.
actually same. I just finally decided to play this game and the whole game I played almost holding my breath. Constantly anxious.
Fatal Frame will always be in my memory as: "That one horror game my first girlfriend was obsessed with".
Cool girlfriend
Where can i find her?😂
@conq1273 bit weird to ask that, no? It's been almost 15 years and she cheated on me for months while I worked to attend the same college as her.
@@l0rf Sorry bro. Was just a joke. Guess she fatal framed your relationship
@@conq1273 oof, that pun lit me up like a flash foto. You really took time to develop that image in your head, didn't you? I'm afraid I'll have to shutter this conversation down.
To comment on the whole "Japanese Ghost Stories" part from near the beginning: I think the primary thing that generally makes that stuff (along with other Easter Horror) more appealing to me than most Western Horror is the framing. Western horror tends to be more... outright visceral. Not in the sense that it's violent (though a lot of it is due to stuff like Japanese laws about violence in media), but more-so because Western horror is directed at a sort of fear that is birthed from a perspective largely dominated by Christianity's view on vengeful spirits and the occult. It's meant to make you feel like you're seeing something that shouldn't be possible, and it often bases itself in a more "demonic" view. It's trying to elicit a reaction of revulsion, at the bare minimum.
Japanese ghosts (and generally all ghost stories from that part of the world, sans modern Chinese ones due to their laws) tend to be based around beliefs born from religions like the Shinto faith, among other Eastern religions, where the idea of "the afterlife" are very different, and the culture cares a lot more about being kind/respectful to the dead. Ghost stories in Japan, based on how much I've read/watched, tend to highlight some kind of moral or tragedy, rather than outright trying to scare you. Sure, it's horror, so it does try to scare you, but the stories are framed around relatable circumstances and tragic events, rather than being some kind of link to the idea of some Satanic possession type thing. They tend to place a lot of the "horror" in the darker side of human nature, rather than some outright evil monster-like spirit. Even stories where rituals go wrong and open the gates of hell and/or place a curse on the immediate area like Fatal Frame tend to also focus more on how *humans* are the ones who are at fault, and not the spirits themselves.
Dark Water (the film used as an example in the video) is, to me, less of an outright horror story, and more of a tragic tale of a mother struggling to keep custody of her child after a divorce. You could make all of the horror elements of that movie stress based delusions the mother is going through because of all of the stuff that stems from the divorce (and part of her own past outside of that) and it'd still ultimately work as a movie. The ghost is more a means to an end, rather than being the reason the story is told. This is in stark contrast to most Western ghost stories, where the ghost is more likely front and center.
Ultimately, I think J-Horror, especially the ghosts, is less about the ghost being spooky, and more akin to modern folktales that want to impart some kind of lesson on the viewer/reader/listener/etc. There's usually some kind of take away from them beyond the horror side of things, and there tends to be more of an effort to make it tragic, rather than going full Amityville or Exorcist. Sure, people die in those kinds of stories, but there's usually some kind of karmic irony involved.
Wooo! Was waiting for a new retrospective series to drop. Thanks, Jared!
My pleasure!
Fatal frame is definitely a game that has a special place in my heart. This game got me hooked on learning more about Ghost stories and urban legends across many cultures and a fascination with the paranormal. Absolutely beautiful franchise. Definitely want to see more entries in this series. 💝💝💝💝
Interestingly, In the western release of the game Miku in Fatal frame 1 was edited alot prior to release to appeal to a western market. Her hair was lightened from a dark chocolate brown to a chestnut brown colour. Her eyes were also lighten and her complexion was rosier. Mikus face had changes made too. Noticeably, her eyes made smaller. They also altered her height and bust with. Her clothes were also altered. Her pleat skirt was niw a leather Aline skirt, her undershirt was now red and her scarf was removed and her choker was lightened to look like a necklace. Her boots are also slightly different. I think this was an attempt to make her look mature and westernised.
Storywise I personally thought the besides the resemblance Mafuyu has to Kirie's boyfriend, he may have been the reincarnation of him or descendant. It's implied that Miku's family had ties to the Himuro mansion as her mother is found there.
The mechanics you face that were difficult at the end of the game is definitely improved in later entries. 4 and 5 were brought to current consoles and 2 has been remade too.
As someone that's been curious about this series for years it's nice to see you go through each version in detail. Very helpful.
Hey that's what I'm here for
Please never stop making these. Great for passing time at work and with a voice smooth and soothing enough to fall asleep to.
These vids aren’t just amazing from a review standpoint but great for drifting off to sleep👍
Goodness, how much I loved this era of horror. The Ring/Ringu, Juon, Fatal Frame and more.
Man me too. Kairo and Shutter too speaking of cameras.
Not sure if anyone else mentioned in their comments, but I figured it could be helpful for anyone hoping to play this going forward.
Some of the battles you faced were random encounters you can run away from. There are cutscene designated boss fights you can't, but the torso, wandering monk and the long haired woman you encountered were optional. Usually leaving the room and running through a few other doors will stop them pursuing you further. Meaning you can save more health and film for later.
Hoping someone can find that helpful and thank you for this review! I'm glad you kept going and liked it!
i think this game was single handedly responsible for me intense fear of ghosts when i was a kid. I never even considered them something to be afraid of until i played this game
I can't tell you how excited I am to see you doing a retrospective for this series as it deserves so much more love than it's gotten. I have such fond memories of this title, especially when my friend and I were playing at her house in the middle of the night where we were jumpscared by a random encounter with the floating head ghost and we ended up waking up her parents when we screamed! I'll cherish that memory forever.
I appreciate that you battled through the jankiness of Fatal Frame 1's combat, you make a lot of accurate points of where the game was lacking. I can tell you that the jump from Fatal Frame 1 to Crimson Butterfly is an upgrade in every aspect as far as polish is concerned. You will encounter a much more balanced combat system, the best story of all of the titles and a lot of extras on the Xbox Director's Cut. My favorite additions are the Kasumi & Ayane costumes from Dead or Alive, Survival Mode, the fan-submitted ghosts from Tecmo Japan's contest and the ability to play the game in FPS mode in addition to its default third person.
Jared, I beg of you... You have a good following and if by chance Tecmo comes across your retrospective, let them know that if they plan to remaster the trilogy, to give us the "Xbox" ports of the first two and not force the inferior Wii port of Crimson Butterfly on us.
I think what this game different that sticks out to me is how this game used silence to enhance the game's horror atmosphere.
While many games always overuse loud noises and jumpscares, I recall some rooms in FF where it is dead silence and small noises like voices and falling doll heads suddenly come up.
Also did you know that the game's cover boasted about being "based on a true story". It was debunked but I hear the publisher (Tecmo games IICRC) thought that would boost sales
Oh hell yeah! Watching this on the shinkansen rn. Tokyo-Osaka.
Dude fuck yeah!!! I still haven't checked Osaka out.
@AvalancheReviews I was just at the castle. It's pretty sweet. Gonna try to get into that Kaiyukan aquarium tonight if I am allowed same day ticket ticket purchase and entry. Off to Hiroshima tomorrow. It's wild. While in Shinjuku I basically lived in that train station. Absolutely massive. A city under a city.
Finally - thank you! Fatal Frame 1 & 2 were *my* Silent Hill back in the early 2000s. My brother and I played them side-by-side, trading the controller back and forth when we got too scared. Silent Hill and Resident Evil I didn't play as a kid, but Fatal Frame...that's a franchise that is critically underrated. I still have my old XB disks and cover art :)
A lot of those attacks on you looked so bullshit. Weird thing though, apart from a few times, I don't recall having any issues like that. Getting through the first game was not a big issue. I found SH infinitely more frustrating, and I'm no gaming wonder, lol. Your experience honestly sounds so bizarre to me.
It's 100000% possible the combat or strats just weren't clicking with me. Looking back on the footage, I keep thinking, "that didn't look so bad".
@@AvalancheReviews I was watching your footage and going "dude, that should have hit!" But then you said the XB version seemed to be more forgiving, and that could be why...? I only ever played the first 2 on XB. Speaking of that though, do you like the PS or the XB box cover art better? For FF1, I honestly liked the PS2 box art better, but XB for FF2. I only noticed it was different while working at GS when we got the rare used copy in.
@@Kovitlac Later entries and ports were definitely a _lot_ more forgiving when it came to the Zero Shot. OG Project Zero wanted the player to be near-frame-perfect, and it was a mechanic I never engaged with because of how tight the window was for them.
Dude! About time! I knew you'd make a retrospective about this. I played through the entire series a while ago and loved it despite it's flaws. It has it's own brand of horror all it's own. Awesome content as always!
Thanks!!!!!!
Wooo! Fatal Frame is my favorite horror series! I'm glad you are diving into it. I'm really excited to see how you do with the rest of the series, Fatal Frame 3 is my favorite! Looking forward to more vids!
As many people I came late to the party in regard of the Fatal Frame Series, started to play them last year and never thought that I could like it that much. Its truely something else with its folklore and tragic storylines. Thanks for tackling the Series in a Video Review!
My pleasure!!
Glad you’re back. Found you a while back when looking up S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Great job on all your videos.
I've replayed this one last year and I can't believe how hard it is. I remember playing it when I was a teenager and I even beated it on hard at that time, now it would be a nightmare to do.
The combat becames a lot more fair in the next entries, my favourite is defenitely Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.
This series was always bittersweet. Yeah, the scares were good, the game was challenging and you had to actually LOOK at these awful things to fight. But at the end even if you grinded for the better ending subsequent games would always default to "bad ending is canon".
Hi just wanted to say I'm really enjoying your Retrospective series. Keep up the great work. I look forward to the next one.
Really glad you like it!!
Thank you avalanche reviews thank you... for taking us right back to the pique of... that era
My favourite video essayist thanks for another awesome video
When I have the confidence to play/ beat this, I'll come back and watch
Fatal Frame as a franchise deserves praise for never jumping the shark unlike Silent Hill and RE (where you literally jump a shark in RE6, in fact). Every game remains distinctly survival horror. Every game has a tight narrative focus on Japanese cults. In fact they're so committed you don't even get a real jog feature until the 5th entry and they only did that because half the game occurs outside lol.
YASSSSSS
Thank you for covering this series
My pleasure
Looking at the brightness comparisons just gave me flashbacks to Thief Gold, waiting until it was *almost* bed time as a kid because I couldn't see anything but sun reflections any earlier in the day lmao
Getting a picture of all the optional ghosts gives you the alternative/perfect ending.
It's basically a tiny bonus if you play NG+, and want to squeeze every last drop out of Fatal Frame/Project Zero.
It's kinda interesting, spoilers:
...
The maiden is so quieted by the ghosts moving on that she can keep the gate locked herself, and so that Miko actually gets to save her brother. Its kinda bittersweet, and not really worth it IMHO due to how hard all those ghosts are to find, but its a neat extra for super fans.
You would have to save so often in case you missed a ghost sighting!!!!
@@AvalancheReviews Yeah, it's OBNOXIOUS. Especially with PS2 loadtimes not being THAT bad but adding up.
No joke, one of the first 100% attempts I just gave up on on pure tedium.
Still love the game, but that super secret NG+ ending is way too hard for what amounts to almost the same cut-scene, but with slightly different dialogue.
Owning this series was my pride and joy as a teen, I hung around with other nerds at Smash Bros club and traded JRPG’s and J horror games. That’s how I played rule of rose, Lyon and silent hill games because I could cross lend and play due to me having all 3 fatal frame and still have em to this day. This brings me back with some fierce nostalgia.
Miku runs like I do when I need to get to the bathroom but im wearing my shitty at home pants where the elastic is no good and im trying to not have my pants fall down.
The old at home pants
Great review! This series is called Project Zero in Japan. With it stealing your criticals, perhaps they should have called it Project Zero Shot. Just kidding, but capturing pics of the wandering jump scare spirits is what corrects this issue and is your reward.
Fatal Frame finally delivers on the survival horror promise of evil residents.
HA!
With the blind woman IIRC you just don't move until you have a fully charged shot/fatal frame shot, and then you have a few seconds to reposition while she's stunned from the damage.
And I wonder if your other issues with combat were based on the difficulty. The game gets a lot easier on NG+ and further when you have a fully powered camera. But if you started your first playthrough on a medium or high difficulty you're going to have a rougher time because your camera isn't as strong as it could be. I just had a very different experience, normally I struggle with combat in games but with FF it all felt great once I got a feel for the controls, but I always play on easy when it's available. This is one of the only games I continued into harder difficulties to unlock everything up to beating Nightmare mode.
OMG, what a great surprise to see you cover this game! Fond memory of me and my little brother shoving the controller into each other’s hand just to get the other person to walk the main character down the first corridor. and since our mum wouldn’t let us play the game we literally have to sneak downstairs in the middle of the night and played in complete darkness at the same time be mindful to not scream every time a shadow flickers. I am of Chinese background so I always have a weak spot for Asian horror due to all the urban legends and folklore I heard since I was a child. Definitely my most unique and scared gaming experience. Highly recommend the first two entries.😆
I don't know if it makes sense but I love hearing stories about people's first time with a game/movie/album and how they've connected their experiences with them during that period of their lives.
I guess that's a happy coincidence, because I like talking about mine.
Thank you for covering this series!!! ❤
This is the only game in the original series (first 3 entries) that I played JUST ONCE, it keep beating my ass, over and over again XD
So I just re-started a lot of times... and then kept two savefiles, so I could go back a chapter or two and hoard supplies to keep fighting, also I used and abused the lenses, particulary "slow" and "see". I didn't get too frustrated because I was loving the challenge, being used to actually fight nemesis every run in hard mode just for the rewards. BUT it was so hard, that when it was over, I put the game in my shelf like a hunt trophy and never played it again lol. I still loved it, but I wasn't up for that beating again (and also I was stuck with the ps2 version, so yeah). Still I have that game close to my heart, even if my fave in the series is the second one 🦋
Honestly, it's nice seeing other people had a rough time with it too.
These games are peak childhood to me. Love it, thank you!
That's what I'm here for
YAY I so happy you are going to do this franchise as a retrospective I sooo happy I look forward to your opinions and experience with this franchise!!
I think the implication of the ritual in the original game, is that the ritual was corrupted by the cruel means of the people who implemented it.
The fact that a single person can hold the Hell portal closed, shows that the cyclical nature of the ritual and the amount of innocent sacrifices made were not necessary and were a product of fear and cruelty.
The girls who were sacrificed were inherently innocent, but they also lacked free will. Out of fear that nobody will willingly get trough the ritual if they know of the world, the priest corrupted it by striping the sacrifice of their own will.
In the ending she can seal the portal forever because she chooses to sacrifice herself. Its a action she decides on out of love, compassion and duty, to the world.
Basically the ritual is indeed sound, but it always requires a willing person to become a sacrifice.
If anything the complicated choosing of sacrifice and her imprisoned is more of a critique on the roles of women in traditional Japanese society. How the girls of the household were seen as a resource to be expended rather than people capable of choosing their own destiny.
you really don't know how much I waited for this. years.
This is definitely one of my most requested series
@@AvalancheReviews well, there is no need to stop now, chop chop survival horror tank control pre rendered backgrounds boy.
OGs remember this being "based on a true story," what a time to be a naive kid playing this game lol
The first game took some time to get used to its controls, it was really rough around its edges but they made it's sequel a pretty different experience, be it with the exploration as well as its controls. They basically perfected the game in Crimson Butterfly that it became stagnant in the subsequent games.
If you keep with the series you'll love the second one, just be mindful that you'll feel the games after the second one will get stiffer because they try new mechanics that weren't very well implemented.
This and the forbidden siren series felt like me and my friend's scary little secret as we didn't know anyone else who had them. Still 2 of my favourite series
Been waiting to see you review this series for awhile now.
You have no idea how long I've waited for you to cover this series.
It was finally time to give the people what they want.
@@AvalancheReviews can't wait for Crimson Butterfly next.
The one thing that kept throwing me off in Fatal Frame was the sound design, especially the footsteps. Every now and then you can audible hear extra footsteps alongside your own, so it made me feel as if I was always being watched, even at the calmest moments.
Love these games. Great vid man🤘🤘
Thank you very much dawg!!
in regards of getting consistent zero shots, i found that playing on a CRT definetly helps. you know, lower input latency... still tough tho
I figured that was the case. Even with the Tink 4k's pretty low lag, it was rough.
i created some brand new core memories last summer at the house of my friend's mom after finding out they had a copy of this game and a ps2. so at 24, i played it for the first time ever, alone at night, in a house i wasn't familiar with. one of my favorite games of all time now.
The red flash is not only for zero shot. It also means the ghost is about to attack
I think in my version of the game it was part of the tutorial
Man oh man, I have been looking forward to this! Great to see you again!
I figured this series would have a lot of people stoked
Indeed, the blind ghosts can sit it out though lol. They were the worst.
HE RETURNS WITH A NEW VIDEO OBSCURA!
It's a good day whenever Avalanche uploads. Thanks man 🔥 never played a fatal frame game before but I find them fascinating for sure. One day I'll play atlest one of these..
Let's hope this video kick starts you actually playing a FF title.
The title has me a bit worried as I don't get why people have issues with this game, but I'm glad you're doing this series. This is actually my favorite in the series. Only need to play 4 at some point.
I think you'll at least see where I'm coming from.
@@AvalancheReviews I did yes, though that's usually my experience with most games lol
This video basically nails how I feel about this game, and to a lesser extent the entire series. I really enjoyed the story, characters, general vibe and take on survival horror, but I found myself save scumming super hard on an emuator and getting frusturated on the exact moments outlined here. I found the sequel to be a massive step up, despite having some frusturating moments.
I remember playing these when these came out. These were absolutely terrifying games. I remember playing the first one, with my best friend. Just the 2 of us, in the dark, middle of the night. 😬
Glad we're finally on the Fatal Frame retrospective! 2 Best Friends introduced me to this series and I had to buy them all up and play them. The atmosphere and combat keep me coming back because I will chew the scenery in survival horror. The first one is rough around the edges, but they're all pretty good. I miss the survival horror being the primary focus because as good as the series is, 5's tagline was "Beautiful Horror" and really dialed the waifu up for some reason.
I’ve been obsessed with Fatal Frame ever since i watched my uncle play it as a 5 year old but i completely agree with you that the first game is such a chore to beat. I personally think that the 4th game is such a good entry into the series, especially now that it’s finally out of its Japan only prison. I’ll watch anything fatal frame, but i genuinely enjoyed your retrospective and what you had to say about the game!!!
Nice! I should have the next one out really soon. Hope you like that one too.
The intent of the ending is more of what if the method we deem inhumane and imoral is actually working and might be the only ways to solve it.
Think it as the different take of cabin in the woods. While in that movie, the protagonist rejecting the ritual and the world is destroyed, in this game when protagonist fulfilled the incomplete ritual it literally save the world. Which is different take of tragedy.
We're so back
The backest we've ever been
About the ending. I think the reason Mafuyu did what he did was not because of Stockholm syndrome. It’s more like he knew why he was kept there alive so when the ending happens he feels sorry for her and since he knows he looks like the guy she was in love with he chooses to stay with her so she doesn’t feel abandoned and alone again.
Camera Obscuras are a real thing used for an entirely different purpose and I love that.
Been waiting for you to cover this one!
Yeah "Fatal frame when???" is one of my most popular comments when I put a video out.
Okay, for your combat critique, I must say that every ghosts in the series always had a false window for a zero shot. The only time you should do one is when they are charging at you, any other time is a waste of film. You also weren't wrong with the shoot-and-run tactic, it's basically my go-to in all of the games as well. Admittedly it creates a slow combat experience but I believe it's a very intentional design. When you can see a ghost anymore, you have to run and re-orient yourself before readying another shot. Which sucks when you're stuck in a very small room, I agree on that part. Lastly, I think it's a common consensus that the first game is the hardest one so I understand your pain of almost dropping it. Funnily enough, I always like the gameplay for this one better than the rest.
Hope you will have a better experience for the following games after this one.
Fatal Frame was definitely my horror franchise of choice just from the idea that they forced you to look at the enemies in first person. I loved the lore that developed from the games and was ecstatic when IV and V got ported, especially with how long IV had been unavailable unless you used the translation patch.
Watching you talk about the zero-shot problems reminded me why I thought the paralyze function was king because it just stopped the ghost in their tracks XD
Dude the blind ghost was such a headache haha
Loved the atmosphere and ghost designs
The floating head scared the crap out of me first time I saw it I didn't expect it haha
I hear the combat gets better in Fatal Frame 2
Hopefully you have a better time with it
I plan on playing 2 after I finish FF7 Rebirth
Off topic here but with the current direction of the RE series we need Ark Thompson more than EVER!!!
This is a 100% true statement
Thanks for forgetting to tell me when there's a new Avalanche Review TH-cam!
Clicked the bell AGAIN!
But good news! I now have a Fatal Frame Trilogy of videos to watch! ❤
And a 4th one on the way
@@AvalancheReviews 😍 too kind!
Great video, thanks for deciding on tackling this series. I trust you'll have a better time with the sequels, as I think that the combat was improved. The highlights for me are 2 and 4
I definitely did have a much better time with the sequels. They're all flawed in other ways, but they really improved on combat.
One of my most random early memories was watching one of these tv shows that showcased new tech, consoles and stuff and watching a segment on the latest (at the time) game releases and them doing a special on Fatal Frame. It terrified me but left me curious for a looong time. I was probably about 6 or 7 maybe. They also did a cool segment on the tech used to create Final Fantasy Advent Children and i remember being super impressed with them adding individual hairs to the main character model.
Man, I miss the joy of seeing video games on TV. It was like an entire ass event when one of the old FF7 commercials would come on while I was watching TV before school.
My biggest problem with the second half of the game, specifically the third chapter, was the seemingly random ghost encounters happening every few minutes while I was trying to find the next key. I didn't really have the same issues with the combat as you, I just wanted to be left alone for two seconds.
I cant wait for another collective 5 hours of Jared geeking over port differences and tech mumbo jumbo i dont understand. Something about hearing someone just spew over tueir interests even if i dont know what half of it is, is entertaining
Absolutely loved this essay. Two things though, a rule of thumb first: always go Japanese voice in Fatal Frame. Two, about the gameplay, here is all about timing - unlike RE & SH - if you are not good at it, just avoid trying to get only Fatal shots.
A lot of people seem to hate that ending but IDK I think it's right in line with most other J horror from the time. They don't tend to have very happy endings. I personally really like Mafuyu feeling empathy for a person in a horrible situation and doing what he can to ease her pain. It's never bothered me that they don't know each other like that because to me it just feels like a really selfless thing for him to do. He does it because he's a good person and that's really nice to me. I am kind of a softy about that kind of stuff tho.
I also feel that the ritual being "the correct thing to do" in this story isn't like 100% accurate. The Malice is very real but we don't know that the rituals are the ONLY way to close it or even if a better solution wouldn't actually solve the problem more permanently than having to feed people to it in this system they have built. It was that system after all that led to them killing Kyrie's crush and the ending is her and Mafuyu choosing to keep it closed in a different way. Fatal Frame as a series is a lot of rituals gone wrong but I never get the feeling that the people performing these rituals are in the right. I get the feeling that it's all they know to do. Tradition that has worked but is ultimately unsustainable and that's a tragedy in its own way I think.
I don't have a problem with any of the endings. I think they only start getting ridiculous in 2.
Fatal Frame is pretty tough. I've never beat it, but it did catch my attention enough to download 2 and 3 and I've recently picked up Mask of the Lunar Eclipse for the switch. Now, it's a series I haven't completely dove into but these retrospectives are probably gonna push me to do so.
Hey that's the goal
@@AvalancheReviews well it's working. Lol
This is the one survival horror series i never got around to playing, but now i can live vicariously thru jared and lusten to him suffer in my stead 😊
Listen*** it wouldn't let me edit lol
Hey, that's what I'm here for. Concentrating an entire playthrough of a game into about an hour's worth of a video.
Thank goodness it wasn't only me having issues with that blind lady
This retrospective was so cathartic to watch. I felt the exact same when I played it for the first time last year. Really great atmosphere but extremely frustrating.
What the hell are the odds of us both finding this game at a video rental place, with no prior knowledge of it! Freaky!
Great minds rent videos at the same shop
If there's a place to find stuff that you had no prior knowledge of, it's a rental place.
The 2nd game gave me nightmares as a wee lad. I got the game when it first came out and my father had a crazy sound system back in the day and a crazy Sony TV. The sound effects are crazy good if you have the equipment.
Oh god FINALLY I'M SO HERE FOR THIS
I've had this saved on my PS3 for a while now, and I admit, this did make me excited to jump in and play it. Especially with the challenge level xD
I can't help but love that there's a tank control option despite it not being the default.
Also, this is hard to quantify, but there's a certain something about early PS2 games that feels special
Loved the entire series! They have some REALLY clever scares in the series, ESPECIALLY in FF 3! FF 3 was probably my favorite. I loved how you returned to your home after 'missions' and it got progressively more haunted as the story progressed. It kind of reminded me of Silent Hill: The Room, but even better in terms of an escalating haunted house.
Yep, I agree, FF3 is the best one
The long armed man is the one that creeped me out
I literally just got back home from Japan last night. So glad I saw this post!
I love how many people are visiting here lately.
@@AvalancheReviews seriously thinking about moving there actually. It's a fantastic place!
I owned the first three games around a decade ago along with a ton of other PS1/2 survival horror gems. Never got around to playing most of them and later had to sell almost every game I owned to make ends meet. I don't want to say it's tragic, but it's sort of tragedy-adjacent. Really glad you've covered this one. Voiceover sounds great too.
Thanks man!! I messed around with some EQ settings and the way I speak. Crazy how I've been doing this for so long, but then I can just stumble on some setting that retroactively makes all my previous videos sound like shit. HA!
Wild. I've played through this game a dozen times. It's easily my favorite of the series. I've never had any of the issues you had with combat or resource scarcity. Granted I've never bothered to play it on hard mode, but if we're talking the standard difficulty... combat should not be a barrier to completion. I'm sad you didn't have a good time with this one. It's been a favorite of mine since it first came out
AYEEEE THANKS MAN!! I always love your videos and i am glad you are covering the fatal frame series!! LET'S GOOOOO i wanna know your thoughts on 2 and 4 especially
I've already finished the scripts for every game n the franchise. So I should be able to pump these bad boys out pretty fast. You should have another one in less than 2 weeks.
I started the series with 2 after having cut my teeth in silent hill, RE and countless other horror. I had thought nothing could get to me anymore . Until Fatal frame...such an intense and unrelenting atmosphere.
I played the first one only a few months ago and it remains as my fav of the series. It certainly lacks gameplay but my lord, the atmosphere was perfected on their very first attempt
Couldn't agree more
Ff2 was my first time into the series. I had play RE2 religiously on the 64. When I got FF2 as a gift from my uncle I played it on a night when no one was home cause I wanted the spooky factor. I thought I was a tough kid at 13 years old. I am not gonna be scared by a video game. I was unable to keep the lights off by the time hour 3 hit haha. Great memories
i was wondering when Beard man was gonna get to Fatal Frame
It took me a little while
I am now eagerly awaiting for the fatal frame II retrospective 😩😩😩😩 as it’s always fighting REmake (re1) and silent Hill 2 for my favorite survival horror game of all time.