'They sat side by side in forward-facing seats, and her mother settled deep into the seat and fell into a slumber. Nagase tried to look out the window at the night-time landscape along the tracks, but the only thing she could see in the window was her own reflection against the dark background.'
     – Kikuko Tsumura, Potosu raimu no fune, 2009 (tr. Kendall Heitzman).

Played with BertKnot, in preparation for my upcoming video essay on the Sumida River and urban watercourses. This game and review evoke situations of suicide, incest and sexual violence in postwar Japan. Reader discretion is advised.

Japanese horror stories have historically been dominated by vengeful spirits (onryō), whose death or tragic circumstances of life cause them to return to haunt the world of the living. Often women, they come to embody the failure of individuals to live up to their moral obligations of respect and altruism (on) to others. The onryō has a special place in this system of obligations, as women are frequently in a subordinate position in the Japanese hierarchy; their revenge is thus associated with an implicit critique of the structural injustice of Japanese society. Female spirits are metaphysical intermediaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead, embodying the faults of the former. It is no coincidence that Japanese horror films have historically been shown during the summer: the Obon festivals, celebrated in August, are considered times when the dead return to family altars to communicate with the living, who must then pay their respects.

     Mountains, water and forests: to die among the trees in Japanese fiction

Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water explores common themes in Japanese horror, overlaying them with a Shintō aesthetic in which women are the catalysts for harmony between human civilisation and the natural environment. The player is invited to follow Yuri Kozukata, Ren Hojo and Miu Hinasaki, all three of whom are irresistibly drawn to Mt. Hikami. The site exerts an uncanny attraction, playing on their mental instability. Although Mt. Hikami is a place with traces of urban modernisation, it is best known as a convenient place to commit suicide. The forest in the game is reminiscent of Aokigahara, which is notorious for its high suicide rate. The depiction of Aokigahara is heavily influenced by its description in Seichō Matsumoto's Nami no Tō (1960). Several elements of this detective story have had a major influence on popular culture and beliefs: suicide, steeped in shintō and Buddhist sensibilities, is presented as a positive alternative to real-world suffering [1]. Aokigahara is also described as a place from which no one ever returns.

An epidemiological study of suicide in Aokigahara reveals that people who attempt suicide in this forest do not necessarily do so for religious reasons and are not originally from the region, but admit to wanting to experience a 'pure' death by sharing their last vision with other suicide victims. Remarkably, cases of dissociative amnesia and suicide pacts have also been documented in Aokigahara. For Yoshitomo Takahashi, 'forms of significance attached to suicide in Jukai are symbolic value, imitation, purification of one’s death, reconfirmation of one’s will to commit suicide, sanctuary, the wish to disappear, and the wish to belong' [2]. These socio-cultural phenomena are echoed in Maiden of the Black Water, where the corruption of memory and the desire to rejoin the dead haunt the game's discourse. The more she explores Mt. Hikami, the more vulnerable Yuri becomes to the recollection of her previous suicide attempt, while her ability to see the memories of others builds empathy for those who wish to die on the mountain. Unlike Ren and Miu, who are primarily interested in finding a specific person, Yuri is haunted by the ghosts of a large group of departed souls.

Mt. Hikami's sickly charm is explained by the symbiosis between the ghost of one of the priestesses, whose gaze drives the victim to commit suicide, and the mysterious environment. The dense forest suffocates the player in a gloomy, alienating heat, while the streams, fog and setting sun add to the mystique of the place. A similar depiction can be found in Episode 26 of Mushishi's first season (2005), Kusa o fumu oto, where the mountain is constantly surrounded by fog, the colour of which changes according to the well-being of the region and the Mushi River (kōmyaku) that runs beneath it. Mushishi links the prosperity of the region's inhabitants to the well-being of the mountain; Maiden of Black Water follows suit, making water the symbol of Mt. Hikami's purity. Described as purifying when the rites are properly observed, the water absorbs the memories of its inhabitants and must be constantly cleansed of this corruption (kegare) by women's sacrifices. This cyclicality of human experience – born of water and returning to water – is the primary driving force behind the tragedy, as it is consubstantial with the appearance of curses.

     Making and unmaking of the body on Mt. Hikami

Much of postwar Japanese horror is directly concerned with the notion of the body (nikutai) [3], and Maiden of the Black Water instantiates this aspect in a number of ways. The characters' bodies can get wet, making them more vulnerable to ghosts and supernatural phenomena. The rain thus acts as a constant reminder of the corporeality of the protagonists, who cannot escape the contingencies of physical existence. Moreover, Maiden of the Black Water does not hesitate to break and twist bodies in particularly violent ways. The boxes in which the women are placed force them to bend their limbs into uncomfortable positions, as illustrated by the erratic movements of their ghostly forms. The various spirits are disturbingly animated, both in their disquieting immobility and in their sudden motions.

The title manages to convey the circumstances of their death and their regrets through their movement. Each encounter with a ghost instantiates their physical death, contributing to a real sense of malaise. The more action-oriented gameplay of Maiden of the Black Water contributes to this newfound nervousness. The title requires the player to be more mobile and constantly think about the camera angle – with the WiiU version forcing them to move the Gamepad. The horror is no longer so much in the viciousness of the encounters, made easier by the introduction of weak spots and the fact that photographs taken during a Fatal Frame do not consume film, but rather in the depiction of the spirits themselves, which are much more vengeful and aggressive.

Maiden of the Black Water also succeeds in its first half in striking an elegant balance between the introduction of new environments and their repetition. Mt. Hikami uses all the grammar of Japanese gothic horror while blending it with the disturbing grime of urbanisation. The cable car that leads in and out of the forest is used to enclose the horror, suggesting that spiritual experiences can only take place on the mountain. The title, however, subverts this idea by emphasising the physical suffering of the characters, beyond mere nightmares. Even outside Mt. Hikami, the protagonists' bodies are failing, abused by nightmares or numbed by suicidal thoughts. In a way, Maiden of the Black Water is a reminder that the trauma suffered by women leaves indelible marks. Several characters suffer the consequences of sexual violence, while Rui is constantly torn by the weight of gender and social pressures.

     New masculinities, femininities and motherhoods in Shinzo Abe's Japan

Ren's representation of ideal Japanese masculinity makes him a disturbing presence: the sections in which he has to defend the shop from ghostly attacks are particularly effective. The appearance of the spirits outside the mountain decisively shatters the idea of a curse confined to Mt. Hikami, while Ren's visits to the rooms where the various teenage girls sleep are bound to cause acute concern. Ren is never voyeuristic, but he serves as a unsettling male avatar, demonstrating that women can never let their guard down around men. Ren highlights both the breakdown of masculinity and the growing social problems in 2010s Japan.

Contemporary Japanese horror is characterised by the dissolution of traditional solidarities in the face of rapid urbanisation. Ada Lovelace argues that recent decades have seen a shift in the representation of the onryō, whose figure is no longer necessarily linked to issues of revenge for violated social norms. The weight of globalisation and Western influences is said to have deconstructed the traditional female monstrosity: 'ghostliness is no longer the figure of anxiety; whether it is the self destructive longing for the abject maternal, or masochistic fetishes for a Westernized woman, women who are not confined to gendered discourse, who are thus monstrous, become the figure of desire' [4]. It seems to me that Maiden of the Black Water mitigates this hypothesis by offering a third neo-traditionalist path.

The suicide pacts of the high school girls, the implication of sexual violence and the incestuous relationships evoke the limits of the social contract in Japanese culture, where the expectations placed on girls are unbearable. The paranormal is precisely one way of highlighting this oppression: the fate of the priestesses illustrates an insupportable philosophy of sacrifice in contemporary Japan – through Shintō rituals – but also the betrayal of the concept of family, as the men fail to live up to the promise they made to the priestesses. The role of Kunihiko Asō and the various men portrayed is particularly telling, as they are both the main causes of the curses of Mt. Hikari, and the people the game chooses to repudiate in its final scenes.

     Ikiru

What sets Maiden of the Black Water apart from the other games in the series is its focus on motherhood, guilt and the desire to make amends. Unlike previous titles, the relationship between daughters and mothers – biological or otherwise – is infused with genuine hope. The violence suffered in the past is acknowledged as part of their identity, but the focus is firmly on the future. In the light of the social changes of the 2010s and the new motherhood theorised by Shinzo Abe, the game seems determined to reject the eternal tragedy of the female condition and propose the rebuilding of a family, softening the weight of blood and accepting that a family is not necessarily biological [5]. Maiden of the Black Water reappropriates traditional notions of on to create a new vision of Japanese society with a more peaceful relationship between daughters and mothers. This new representation of motherhood can also be found in recent crime and horror fiction: Paranormasight (2023) is a topical example of this renewed discourse.

The noticeable change in the game's discourse compared to the previous Fatal Frame games gives the series a sense of closure. While it is unclear whether a future project is planned, the absence of a new game for almost ten years supports the idea that Makoto Shibata no longer sees its relevance. It is possible that Maiden of the Black Water was an unintentional way of exorcising the nightmares that plagued his nights and were the source of the various Fatal Frame games. Steeped in the traditionalist aesthetic of Japanese gothic horror, Shibata may have wanted to put an end to the voyeuristic male gaze of female tragedy. This latest title brings to a close the storylines of the series' core characters – Miku Hinasaki finds an answer to her relationship with the world of the living, while Asō is ultimately presented as the cause of all the misfortunes, though he never understood it, being so fixated on himself.

In this newly imagined future, a new Fatal Frame is perhaps unnecessary, as the answers are left to Japanese society itself, whose challenge is to adapt to a modern world and its issues. Maiden of the Black Water is far from a perfect title; less overtly horrific than the first three titles, some chapters suffer from a certain slowness and excessive ghost encounters, while some narrative threads are abandoned too early as the title tries to evoke too many different themes. Nevertheless, the game is carried by a constant flame that begs not to let go of life and not to surrender one's individuality to the pessimism of traditional rituals. Yuri's last tears are filled with sincere empathy; Shibata's voice, mixed with those of Asō and Ren, disappears in favour of an optimistic sisterhood. After thirteen years of suffering, this is perhaps the best way to end Fatal Frame.

__________
[1] Roxanne Russell, 'Views of suicide in modern Japanese literature: a positive portrayal in Nami No Tou', in Southeast Review of Asian Studies, vol. 28, 2006, pp. 199-201.
[2] Yoshimoto Takahashi, 'Aokigahara-jukai: Suicide and Amnesia in Mt. Fuji’s Black Forest', in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, vol. 18, no. 2, 1988, pp. 174.
[3] This centrality of the body can be explained by a number of factors. In particular, the atomic bombs are seen as a direct attack on the idealised body (kokutai) of the Japanese nation, while the American occupation has been compared to the sexual violence suffered by prostitutes. On corporeality in Japanese art, see, for example, Fusako Innami, 'The Flesh, Subject, Embodiment in Postwar Japan: Through Nikutai and Gutai', in Gérard Siary, Toshio Takemoto, Victor Vuilleumier, Yinde Zhang (ed.), Le corps dans les littératures modernes d’Asie orientale : discours, représentation, intermédialité, Collège de France, Paris, 2022 ; Ayako Saito, 'Occupation and Memory: The Representation of Woman's Body in Postwar Japanese Cinema', in Daisuke Miyao (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Cinema, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014, pp. 327-362.
[4] Ada Lovelace, 'Ghostly and Monstrous Manifestations of Women: Edo to Contemporary', in The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies, vol. 5, 2008, p. 41.
[5] The game is neo-traditionalist in that it promotes a familial ideal in line with Japan's new political agenda; it should be contrasted with feminist authors such as Sayaka Murata, whose work is characterised by a radical rejection of the traditional family and a defence of asexuality. Although Chikyū seijin (2018) makes no value judgements, it describes the complete dissolution of interpersonal relationships to the point of total social isolation, a sign of the tragedy of women's condition.

The highlight of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is its engaging story, captivating as its predecessor. It is precisely the good narrative construction that makes the player want to finish the game, although, approaching the final arc, the repetition of enemies and some scenarios make the experience less enjoyable.

O ponto alto de Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water é sua história envolvente, tão cativante quanto a de seu antecessor. É justamente a boa construção narrativa que faz o jogador querer finalizar o jogo, apesar de, aproximando-se do arco final, a repetição de inimigos e de alguns cenários tornarem a experiência menos agradável.

Lord what a journey this ended up being to get the platinum trophy for this game. I will get this out the way this platinum trophy was horrible and insanely tedious to go for and REALLY punished you for not 100% the game first playthrough which I didn't because I always have my first playthroughs be my casual playthroughs. BUT I got it and I feel a weight off my shoulder now LOL

Anyways onto the game and I have to say I really enjoyed my time with this game overall. I have never played a fatal frame game before so yes this is my first FF but if anything I now want to go back and play 1-3 and luckily I own all of them on PS2 ( My sister is a Fatal frame fan and bought them all as they came out) so I do not have to worry about hunting down copies.

The story is very interesting , depressing and is good at getting you very invested into the characters as you go throughout this journey with them all. By the end I was just wondering how it would all wrap up and I found the ending for each character to wrap up nicely. With that being said there are multiple endings for each character so you will have to replay the final mission 4 times if you want to get them all but if you just rush the mission when going for the endings it doesn't take way to long.

The gameplay as well gets the job done I found myself having fun trying to angle shots to get a perfect hit on the ghosts for max damage and points and also debating on when to use certain camera roll shots. I would say my only complaint with the gameplay is the game never once felt challenging to me even when I replayed the game on its highest difficulty setting there was never a time here I got stuck on a enemy that I really had to take my time with the game overall was very easy to me at least.

Exploring each area was also very fun since there was always something to find in each corner may it be a collectible or a ghost that you need to take a quick pic of and it made exploring the areas more enjoyable knowing there might be something around the corner.

Overall I am not sure why I never got into Fatal frame up until this point but I am now fully on board with this series and cannot wait to play Fatal frame 1-3 and the new one coming to the west next year!!

This was my introduction to the Fatal Frame series. And while the framework (no pun intended) and the core gameplay mechanic works well, I can definitely say I didn't have the greatest time with it. There's a lot of little things that bothered me. Like the ghost hands that grab you when reaching for an item. Startling the first time, annoying the rest; which can somewhat describe the game in a nutshell.

Ultimately what I can say is that this game left me iffy if I even want to play another Fatal Frame in the future. It's a neat idea, and I really do enjoy the photography mechanic, it just feels like everything else surrounding it is less than ideal.

Uma parada que mais aprecio na série Fatal Frame é como todo o misticismo e espiritualismo por trás é articulado de uma forma tão complexa, a ponto de ser tão atraente e imersivo, como se estivéssemos estudando e compreendendo algum tipo de sociedade antepassada, cujo os seus ritos foram com o tempo se transformando em costumes e brincadeiras. Agrega-se isso ao tema de morte tão essencial para a franquia, que vai se desdobrando em cada jogo num tema específico, como o luto no terceiro jogo. No caso do quinto jogo da série, Maiden of Black Water, o suicídio vai ser o cerne da experiência, trazendo desde questões pessoais até uma perspectiva mais religiosa e simbólica (no caso japonesa) por trás do suicídio.

É muito complicado quando uma obra aborda temas sensíveis como suicídio, são assuntos delicados e que, dependendo do desenvolvimento, podem trazer por vezes uma interpretação bem problemática (só olhar para a merda que é Platinum End). Dito isso acho que Fatal Frame V sabe lidar de certa forma com o tema, abordando como a sensação de pertencimento, de união, e, consequentemente, de conforto são essenciais e podem ajudar as pessoas a passar por momentos mais delicados da vida. Há toda essa construção empática com os arcos dos personagens e o sistema de Glance ao longo do jogo. Não há tanto essa perspectiva mais maniqueísta e objetiva de bem e mal, mas uma espécie de relativismo que desagua na seguinte reflexão: “pessoas são complicadas”. Isso é algo que os antecessores da série abordam. Entretanto, aqui é muito mais forte e bem mais presente. Contudo, na medida em que toda essa questão da união é construída, o jogo se torna bem mórbido quando se trata da solidão, aqui mais especificamente na questão do luto, tema que como comentado antes já foi abordado no terceiro jogo. É recorrente essa ideia de que é melhor morrer junto com aquilo que você ama do que morrer solitário. Isso fico bem notório em alguns momentos de relação entre os personagens e no ritual do “Ghost Marriage”, no qual o que torna o “Pilar” forte é o noivo que vai ser soterrado junto. Como eu disse antes a maneira como se aborda um assunto delicado pode trazer interpretações bem problemáticas, e esse conflito bem mórbido da união e da solidão, bem... acho que nem preciso explicar. Porém entretanto deveras contudo E todavia, ai longo do jogo e, principalmente, no final (dependendo de qual pegou né) consegue trazer uma boa resolução para tal conflito, sem necessariamente ficar muito ambíguo, mostrando que nunca de fato estamos sozinhos, sempre vai haver alguém para nos confortar e dar força, e que é melhor viver com aquilo que ama do que o contrário.

Fatal Frame V é um jogo mórbido e delicado ao mesmo tempo, contêm uma direção de arte espetacular, cada cenário é bem construído e estupidamente muito belo (e imersivo a ponto de se cagar para um caralho), e, surpreendentemente, não é um jogo tão horny como as pessoas falam, a menos que, sei lá, você simplesmente aumenta em 200% os peitos das minas.

Em conclusão, os caras realmente fizeram um puta trabalho na parte das roupas molhadas, tô nem zoando, sem machismo ou coisa do tipo, puta merda, depois falam que jogo não é arte.

This was my first Fatal Frame Game so I'm kinda new to the Franchise.
I think it was a mediocre remaster because it has many problems like the controls which are awful or the gameplay which gets boring fast. The fights against the ghost take just way too long. The Drops are really drawn out and the only thing you do is run to "this location" to find this Key just so you can run the whole way back afterwards to use this key. This wouldn't be a problem if the map wasn't a labyrinth and the map wasn't completely useless(maybe I'm just too dumb to read it) and let's not about the ghost hands which grab you every second time you pick up an Item, it's so annoying. But the atmosphere is good and the characters are likable. So I recommend you to play one drop at the time. This way I still enjoyed the game. The rating benefits from the fact that I borrowed the game from a friend. Otherwise it would probably have turned out worse.

Quem cresceu jogando no PlayStation 2 sabe o quanto era incrível a quantidade de jogos de Survival Horror daquela época. O Fatal Frame Certamente era um desses e com uma proposta muito diferente, onde você basicamente era um fotógrafo de fantasmas. Infelizmente, por ser um jogo japonês, durante muitos anos ele ficou restrito ao mercado japonês, com várias limitações seja por falta de tradução ou exclusividades nos consoles da Nintendo, como o Wii e o Wii U. Esse é o caso de Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, que estava na minha lista de desejos desde o seu anúncio em 2014 e só agora, em 2023, tive a oportunidade de testá-lo e jogar.

Resumindo minha experiência com o jogo, senti uma diferença gigante em relação aos jogos clássicos da franquia. Começando pela dificuldade, achei que estava facil. No que diz respeito ao fator Survival Horror, senti que deixou muito a desejar. Muitos elementos presentes nos jogos anteriores aqui foram bastante ausentes, como puzzles e missões, dando a impressão de que o jogo se aproxima mais de um survival horror com elementos de ação do que um survival horror puramente dito, como nos jogos antigos da franquia.

Apesar de o jogo manter muitos elementos característicos de Fatal Frame, como a própria câmera e o combate com ela, tenho a sensação de que, tanto as pessoas que já jogaram jogos anteriores da franquia quanto aqueles têm certa experiência com jogos do gênero vão considerar o terror do jogo bem fraco... Joguei por exatamente 12 horas e em nenhum momento, repito, em nenhum momento, tomei um susto ou tive um medo genuíno, o que me deixou surpreso, pois os jogos antigos realmente assustavam bastante.

Ainda assim, mesmo com menos sustos e medo, você olha para o jogo e ali está o Fatal Frame que você conhece. outro aspecto que me incomodou muito em relação ao jogo foi o seu port para a atual geração. Achei que o jogo foi muito mal portado, os controles são lentos e travados, além de ser um pouco frustrante estar em uma luta com um fantasma e seu personagem se movimentar como um poste ambulante que mal se mexe. Isso realmente me desapontou. Além disso, para aqueles que jogarem no computador, principalmente com teclado e mouse, a experiência será ainda pior. O port para teclado e mouse é uma das piores coisas que já vi na minha vida, o que demonstra total desleixo e falta de consideração com os jogadores de PC. Não é a primeira vez que vejo empresas japonesas fazendo isso, com um péssimo port para computadores. Resumindo, se for jogar no computador, é melhor ter um controle para jogar.

Pontos Positivos

- Terror razoável
- Enredo denso e envolvente
- Design de inimigos e cenários interessantes
- Gráficos adequados para o que se propõe

Pontos Negativos

- Sistema de episódios que quebra um pouco o clima do game
- Falta de puzzles e missões
- Jogo relativamente facil
- Port dos controles extremamente decepcionante

It's definitely a love-it-or-hate-it game, and I love it.

The scares aren't really that good (though I have been gotten by a few well-earned jump scares, particularly Episode 12) but the atmosphere is thick in every aspect of the game. Pair that with some really fun camera-related mechanics such as quickly snapping photos of ghosts, combating specters, and doing some light puzzle work, I have really enjoyed my time with the game.

Be warned, the controls are a bit wonky if you're not used to strange Japanese control schemes a la old school Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, etc. but I personally like them.

The game is hornier than it has any right to be, but I can wear a cute punk costume and kill ghosts so its a recommend from me. The boob physics are so 2 gens ago I can't imagine anyone taking the sexy elements seriously

Pretty interesting if stretched and inconsistent feeling.

The combat mechanics are great and maybe the best part of the gameplay which makes up for a lot. There's a lot of great visual design and the graphics are all around quite pretty. The game really excels at pushing an oppressive and restless atmosphere making an initial walk through areas feel just right.

However, the game ends up getting pretty repetitive. There's a lot of very clear attempts to stretch the gameplay and it ends up hindering the pacing and the scares more than it helps. There's a lot of weird retreading through the same handful of areas one after another. The game will make you go through a new cool looking area at least 4 more times before it changes it up again.

Some of the level design is also a direct hinderance to the combat too. Switching from third person to first person comes with the cost of not being able to see what's around you as well and you end up getting stuck up against a wall or piece of furniture which can lead to some annoying encounters with more aggressive ghosts.

Also this game for as tender as the characters are, is just kind of annoyingly horny. The rain model on the clothes looks fantastic, except it also comes with the addition of making the character's clothes hug every curve of their body and it's pretty convenient that the two main female characters are wearing white shirts. In addition to some really absurd jiggle physics, it really kind of takes something away from these characters.

Which there should be way more of, but the story of the game sorta is and is not there. Things just sorta happen often and it again leads to a lot of repetition. You get back from the mountain and IMMEDIATELY go back to the mountain. It's some real Benny Hill bullshit.

Still, there's a good amount of stuff I liked about the game. There's some good solid emotional moments, the fatal glances are sick as hell (and have a great found footage presentation to them), the atmosphere is thick, the combat is great, and when it's not wasting time, it's a good solid horror game.

It just needed some reeling in and a bit of TLC to give the story and level design a better polish.

A very good game, but it's not the best fatal frame game. The game was a lot more linear, didn't have ANY mini puzzles, and the survival part of the survival horror isn't really important.

But, the game isn't bad. It has very likable characters, an interesting plot, beatuiful graphics, and some of the best combat fatal frame has seen yet.

As this is Fatal Frame 5, it is much suggested not to start with this game, and to at least play fatal frame 1 first, as there are a large amount of references to that as well as returning characters.

Overall I'll give it a 4/5 because I really liked it, but I am somewhat sad to know that the gameplay of getting lost until you eventually find the door the key is for is gone.

I hope that someday, koei tecmo will release a 6th entry, even if it's in this style. This franchise is so awesome.

I want to love this game, but the combination of bad controls, repetitive combat, and genuine lack of scares makes it a bust.

Like, I want to be scared by this game, but the atmosphere just isn't there since I feel so disconnected due to the extremely clunky controls and slow animations. Scares are rare and don't really work.

Japanese horror is fantastic, but this game isn't it.