Fatal Frame II: Crimson Zero Shots

 Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly handles it's narrative in a way that makes me reflect on the characters in this game that is reminiscent of the original Fatal Frame. All God's Village is stuck in a loop caused by a calamity much like Fatal Frame's Himuro Mansion. A tragedy caused by the malicious traditions of elders sacrificing the younger people and children to appease malevolent forces. There is a big difference that separates All God's Village from the Himuro Mansion group. 

This distinction involves the utilization of Twins born in the village. The idea being that they are one soul split between two people. And having one of the Twins kill the other would combine them and appease the Hellish Abyss. This tradition persisted until Sae Kurosawa and the Kusabi (Rope Man) returned from the Hellish Abyss and enacted the Repentance. Wiping the village off the map and causing the events of the game to be set into motion. 

You play as Mio Amakura, a young girl who has wandered into All God's Village with her sister Mayu. I think Mio is an interesting contrast to Miku from the first game because Mio and her sister just stumble into the nightmare. Whereas Miku came to it with a bit of knowledge. Not much, but enough to have an idea of a connection to events initially. Like both games, there is a reason these girls were chosen. A random Japanese spirit doesn't just pick Twins in the forest for a a ritual. There is a very interesting reason as to why Mio and Mayu have found themselves here. 

The narrative in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is compelling and heart-wrenching. The characters are just as good as the first game, if not better. I think what really helps this game in that regard is the usage of family and the bonds that are severed by the ritual. Yae and Sae Kurosawa, Itsuki and Mutsuki Tachibana, Akane and Azami Kiryu, and even Chitose Tachibana. All of these characters go through the hardship of losing their sibling in one way or another. That makes the impending battles that much more interesting. 

Every Boss encounter was reminiscent of the Folklorist group from the first game. Wonderfully written characters that have been tragically involved in this Hellish Nightmare. The one that stood out to me the most throughout my playthrough were the Kiryu Twins.  

The love that Akane and Azami had for each other was ever present as the ritual left Akane with deep mental trauma and despair. In order to appease his daughter, Yoshitatsu made an accurate doll of Azami. While morbid, the act was done out of love for Akane who was struggiling deeply with the loss. Yet, that gift would warp, as a baleful spirit would inhabit the doll. This would lead to the downfall of the Kiryu family, torn apart by a ritual that was supposed to save the village. 

This ended up paring nicely with the gameplay loop. As the fight against Akane and the Azami Doll was quite interesting. There are two of them and you fight both at the same time. Their method would involve a lot of staggered flanking maneuvers, You have to guess which Twin is approaching you. Which is difficult in its own right. But there is a tell that I found in my final encounter. It involved the face. Akane would show her face more when attacking, whereas Azami Doll would be drooped down more. It was better late than never figuring that out. 

This helped quite a bit because now I'm not wasting special shots with my lenses on a doll that won't take damage. A creative fight that makes you think on the fly about the best approach. That's the most favorable way I can describe my praise on this game's combat. A step down from the first game because you could not really get anything done without hitting Zero Shots. Given that some of the angles for attacks were weird, this made for frustrating combat design. Having to wait and counter every hit is annoying, especially when in tight corridors. 

Not to mention the ridiculous amounts of healing items and ammunition. For a game that wants you to fight and doesn't really contain any random encounters, it baffles me how much different the combat was. I felt the limited resources of Fatal Frame made the encounters meaningful in contrast to the more slow-paced Fatal Frame II. I guess that's the tradeoff when the storytelling is just so good.  

My only other gripe would actually come from the end of the game lacking in a fulfillment that I thought was assured. I was expecting the payoff being similar to the Kirie fight in the first game, but I was met with something less than satisfactory. You may or may not understand without either playing or watching the game first. To sum it up, I wanted to fight the villain of the game and not the random ghost who came to the village at the wrong time. Regardless, the ending was fantastic, even with a lackluster entree.

That is not to say that the gameplay was lacking. The openness of Fatal Frame II benefits the game heavily and leads into interesting puzzle design that takes you all over the village. Each building feels distinct and only mildly confusing. 

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is a great sequel and I enjoy playing these games. Mio is great in her own right and works as a great protagonist in a great game. I'm hoping that my Fatal Frame III playthrough continues to go smoothly. I just wish these games were actually accessible on something other than PS3 and overpriced copies. The atmosphere and tension is top notch. A fairly dormant franchise that would benefit from this Horror boom.