Fatal Frame creates a very horrifying atmosphere. The sounds that play in rooms, the music that changes whenever a ghost is nearby, the way the controller subtly vibrates whenever something supernatural occurs, and the camera angles really help you get immersed. Because of this, it’s terrifying to play. I haven’t felt this tense playing a horror game in a long time. And part of it is due to the way you fight ghosts.
In Fatal Frame, you use a camera to defeat ghosts. Taking pictures of the ghosts makes them disappear. Here comes the scary part, since you need to take a picture of the spirit, you need to stare at them directly. You have to stare at the enemy dead in the eye and watch them inch closer and closer toward you. Some ghosts aren’t that much of a threat since they usually stay still, making it easy to take a clear shot of them. However, that doesn’t apply to all of them. Some ghosts can move very quickly to avoid getting captured on the camera. Some can even disappear for a brief moment to attack you from behind. I loved this. Fights with ghosts always felt tense because of how tricky they can be to take a picture of. The samurai ghost was my favorite because he’s fast and is the only ghost able to use a weapon, which made him stand out from the rest.
The story is alright. Although, I didn’t play this game for the plot. The story has you playing as a girl named Miku to find your brother in a haunted mansion with a dark past. I think what hampered the plot was the voice acting. It’s atrociously bad, and not in a funny way. It feels like Miku doesn’t care about what's going on due to how emotionless she sounds. No hate to any of the VAs. The game is old, and poor voice acting during this time was common. It just, unfortunately, makes it difficult to get invested in the narrative. I like some of the ideas and how disturbing it gets when you learn the mansion's past, but overall it's the weakest aspect of the game.
Fatal Frame is a fantastic horror game and created an experience that I’ll never forget. There was a portion of the game where I ran out of healing items, and that was the most scared I felt in any horror game in a long time. I highly recommend trying out this game if you can. It's a classic!
In Fatal Frame, you use a camera to defeat ghosts. Taking pictures of the ghosts makes them disappear. Here comes the scary part, since you need to take a picture of the spirit, you need to stare at them directly. You have to stare at the enemy dead in the eye and watch them inch closer and closer toward you. Some ghosts aren’t that much of a threat since they usually stay still, making it easy to take a clear shot of them. However, that doesn’t apply to all of them. Some ghosts can move very quickly to avoid getting captured on the camera. Some can even disappear for a brief moment to attack you from behind. I loved this. Fights with ghosts always felt tense because of how tricky they can be to take a picture of. The samurai ghost was my favorite because he’s fast and is the only ghost able to use a weapon, which made him stand out from the rest.
The story is alright. Although, I didn’t play this game for the plot. The story has you playing as a girl named Miku to find your brother in a haunted mansion with a dark past. I think what hampered the plot was the voice acting. It’s atrociously bad, and not in a funny way. It feels like Miku doesn’t care about what's going on due to how emotionless she sounds. No hate to any of the VAs. The game is old, and poor voice acting during this time was common. It just, unfortunately, makes it difficult to get invested in the narrative. I like some of the ideas and how disturbing it gets when you learn the mansion's past, but overall it's the weakest aspect of the game.
Fatal Frame is a fantastic horror game and created an experience that I’ll never forget. There was a portion of the game where I ran out of healing items, and that was the most scared I felt in any horror game in a long time. I highly recommend trying out this game if you can. It's a classic!