Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly

"Good, but not as good as the first."

I love survival horror games. I played the original Fatal Frame when it came out and never even finished the first night because it was a one day rental. I had enjoyed it and found it very freaky. To this day I have yet to beat it but that's because it's still $30. I picked up Fatal Frame 2 for $20 a few months back and finally got around to playing it. I enjoyed it on some levels but I don't think it's as good as the first title.

Mio and her sister are out in the woods one day. Her sister has hurt her leg and limps. She sees some crimson butterflies (oh! the title!) and follows them. They end up in a village that shouldn't be there. It has a strange history to it and myth has it that it vanished many years ago after something had failed. I won't get any further but to be honest the plot is kind of tame, everything is handed to you early on and the game never throws a surprise at you until one of the endings. For those reading this, the XBOX version has 1 more extra ending than this game does. This game features 3 endings on the Playstation 2.

The graphics in the game are a mixed bag. I started playing with normal cables but later (like chapter 2) switched to S-video cables. This made the game much darker which fit better but made it much harder to see stuff. The graphics are nicely detailed but grainy and I think the grain is to add some substance to the graphics. That is most likely because the game does switch to black and white graphics, ala an old recording, and really adds a lot to the atmosphere of the game. The ghosts tend to look a lot alike. A few do look different and some are just twisted. The CGI cut scenes in the game are pretty good. Not mind blowing but good.

The sound in the game is all top notch. I found the sound effects to be very creepy. Be it children laughing in an empty hallway, a floor creaking, a door creaking open or a few other things. It really added to the experience. The music in the game is very good, it makes the game that much creepier but it doesn't do the "boom" moments which is nice. The interesting thing is that there were times where it suddenly came to my attention that there was no music playing and how creepy it had suddenly got. The voice acting in the game is very good. No one was annoying, the ghost priests sounded creepy when their voices echoed in the empty halls. A spirit calling to you sounded creepy as well. All around the sound is excellent.

The control in the game is very responsive but it did take me a little while to get use to when the camera moved. You have no control over the camera but the game will change the controls on you, if you stop walking. The best thing to do is just keep moving and it won't affect you. The thing is, there are a few scenes where you just can not stop moving because something will be chasing you that can kill you in 1 hit. Not a lot but it happens 3 or 4 times in the game. I found using the camera was easy except when I had to move while in that view. Using both sticks was a bit complicated for me because I'm use to one of them being reverted. Otherwise the control is top notch.

The game play is very simple. You need to wander this village and houses searching for a way out of this cursed village. Ghosts and other thing will block your path. It plays like any other survival horror game but this one seems to offer a larger area to explore but you rarely feel like you're getting lost. The game offers very well done maps, which names each room on it upon visiting it. This makes it easier to find stuff. Dolls would obviously be in the doll room. It saves on the backtracking.

The game does force a lot of backtracking though. Most of the time it's simple but this game does two evil things. It makes you go through an exact replica of another house you just finished but this one is backwards. That's kind of cheating. The other thing is the game forces you right near the end to go to all places and find specific items that were unattainable your first time through. It makes it feel like they ran out of ideas and wanted t make the game longer by adding in a fetch quest.

The fighting in the game is done with only a camera. You sort of just aim and shoot but you have to be in shutter range or something. When the big ring turns orange it's a normal shot and does damage. If it's red it's a super shot and does tons of damage. Keep that in mind. The game also offers different types of film which does more damage than others. The problem I had with that is the fact that the game doesn't offer THAT much film and film is required for taking pictures of harmless spirits. I was also disappointed with the lack of original spirits to fighting but some are tough and I found the last boss to be a bit cheap.

The camera is a great weapon though. Besides getting different types of film, you also get add ones. They can slow down the enemy or stun them to give you more time to kill them. You find spirit orbs in the game and you attach them to either skills or different settings for the camera. You then use the points you get from hurting enemies to upgrade those orbs. It's very easy to do. Took me a while to realize I needed to switch skills, even though the game tells you right then and there every time.

The game has very few puzzles, most are just find X item to open X door. Which is fine and all but takes make the game drag at times. There are also other times where you have to hunt for a person which wouldn't have been a problem but they had some insane hiding places that I had trouble finding. In all seriousness, the game is mostly finding key A for door A and repeat and wash. Not that it's boring mind you but it could have been a bit more exciting.

Also, for a survival horror game, this one offers a lot in the replay area. My first time through took me just over 5 hours. Upon beating the game on normal (do not playing easy, because hard mode is only unlocked by beating normal) you unlock hard mode, ghost list and a number of other things. You might ask why one would bother playing through on hard. Well, that's because it's a whole chapter longer and offers the true ending. The game really does offer a lot to do and there are a ton of ghosts to find, a lot of which are well hidden. However, I have no interest in playing through for that best ending. I might in a number of years but right now it's the last thing on my mind.

Story - 7/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 10/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 8/10

Final Score - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/22/05