Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
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| Fatal Frame III: The Tormented | |
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| Developer(s) | Tecmo |
| Publisher(s) | Tecmo |
| Designer(s) | Keisuke Kikuchi |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release date | JPN July 28, 2005 NA November 8, 2005 EUR February 24, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB (M) Mature BBFC 15 |
| Media | DVD |
Fatal Frame III, also known as Zero ~Shisei no Koe~ (零～刺青の聲～? lit. Zero ~voice of the tattoo~) in Japan and Project Zero III: The Tormented in Europe, is the third instalment to the Fatal Frame video game series. The game focuses on Rei Kurosawa, a photographer who has recently lost her fiancé, Yuu, in a tragic accident. In order to get her mind off of him, Rei takes random jobs. After developing the pictures she discovers that one of them is of Yuu. Determined to find out what is happening, she returns to the haunted house and enters the dream world known as the "Manor of Sleep". The central antagonist of the game is a tattooed female ghost, whose tattoo very much resembles the one Rei has. This tattoo grows over the span of the game until the ghost is finally encountered.
Unlike the previous game, the dominant contrasting colour throughout the game is a luminescent but sombre blue, signifying and setting the tone for the theme of dreams and ethereal slumber.
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[edit] Gameplay
Fatal Frame III is similar to Fatal Frame II, in that the player controls the character of either Rei, Miku or Kei, and uses the Camera Obscura to photograph and fight off ghosts. The player wanders around in third person in either the dream world, the Manor of Sleep, or the real world. On the main screen there is a sensor bar that indicates if a ghost is present. When the sensor bar glows red, the controller vibrates, signaling to the player that there is a hostile ghost nearby. On the other hand, if the sensor bar turns blue, there is a non-hostile (or even friendly) ghost present, one that will not attack, much less deal damage to the character but can be captured with the camera. At any point in the game, the player can enter the first person camera mode in which ghosts can be defeated. The screen changes to look like a camera lens, but the ghost sensor bar remains. The camera has a limited amount of film and thus film must constantly be stocked. Experience points are gained through defeating ghosts or by taking pictures of friendly ghosts and powering up the Camera. Different abilities can be gained and it is up to the player how the points are distributed.
Unlike the previous titles, Fatal Frame III is split into day and night sequences. During the day, Rei moves about her home, speaking with the other characters and developing photographs. At night, while sleeping, Rei enters the "Manor of Sleep" in her dreams. Upon completing each chapter, referred to as an "hour" in-game, Rei wakes up back in the real world. However, as the game plot proceeds, the lines between the two worlds begin to blur for Rei. As a result, she starts to have visions of ghosts even when awake and the mysterious tattoo grows to cover an ever-increasing percentage of her body.
In some chapters, the player has the opportunity to play as Miku or Kei. Each character has different special abilities, making each of their playing styles unique. Rei is capable of using the camera's flash to scare off some spirits, but can only use it a limited number of times. Miku has a special "Sacred Stone" charm that decreases the speed of spirits when used. Additionally, using her "Double" ability, she can shoot twice in rapid succession with the camera after charging her first shot. Kei, with his greater physical strength, can perform actions such as moving a bookcase or jumping from the roof of one building to another. However, as Kei's camera capability is weaker than that of either Rei or Miku, he must hide to avoid detection by spirits.
[edit] Plot
The game follows Rei Kurosawa, a 23 year old freelance photographer. While on a freelance assignment taking pictures of a supposedly haunted mansion, the image of her deceased fiancé appears in the photographs. Afterwards, Rei begins having strange recurring dreams. In these dreams, she finds herself at an old Japanese manor house during a heavy snowfall and observes her fiancé entering the house. Seeking to again see him, she follows his figure into the house, where the dream becomes a nightmare. Waking up gasping from a particularly frightening encounter, in which a ghost chasing her cries "I don't want to see anymore," Rei notices a mysterious and threatening tattoo slowly appearing on parts of her body.
As the plot progresses, Rei explores more and more of the house, encountering greater resistance from the ghosts holding it. She discovers that the builders were all murdered and entombed by the Head Builder in columns spread throughout the house. After finally reaching the altar at the north end of the house, Rei encounters the Tattooed Priestess, a woman destined to be sacrificed after her body becomes covered with snake and holly tattoos, which are applied to remove the bad memories and emotions from people who come to see her. After her body is entirely covered, she is taken to a cave under the manor where she is impaled by the Stake of Tattoos, which binds her is a dream-like state for eternity. However, Reika, the last priestess, fell in love with Kaname, a traveler who visited her village. Kaname, after finding that Reika had been taken to be bound in the cave, he entered the cave to see her one last time. It is unknown whether he was attempting to free her. Regardless, the Head Priest, discovering Kaname in the cave, dashed his brains out with a lantern, killing him instantly. He fell, landing so he was staring into Reika's eyes. Heartbroken, Reika, mostly likely willingly, allowed her tattoos to enter her eyes, turning them jet black and releasing the evil forces pent up inside her and the rest of the cave. The spirits slaughtered the entire household, who now wander the manor looking for a way out.
Accompanying Rei Kurosawa is Kei Amakura, a friend of her deceased fiancé and non-fiction writer, as well as Miku Hinasaki, the heroine from Fatal Frame I, now Rei's assistant. Kei is the uncle to Mio and Mayu Amakura (as he is the younger brother of their mother) from Fatal Frame II, and Mio appears briefly at various points in the game. Moreover, the red flying butterflies also briefly recur from the previous episode.
[edit] Endings
Perhaps the true ending of the game is the ending that the player achieves in their second gameplay by completing certain "tasks" of the main story game.
- Rei shuts Reika's eyes, telling her she doesn't have to see anymore, and sets the bodies of Reika & Kaname on a boat to cross the Rift similar to what the lullaby states. She suddenly sees shadows crossing with Yuu. She runs to Yuu telling him not to go. But instead, he takes Rei's tattoos. In the real world, Rei notices that her tattoos are gone. Everything is quiet. The Camera Obscura sits on her desk. She starts to mourn. Kei appears to still be present until the end (instead of being dead after disappearing into soot without completing a certain task). Miku survived as seen in the credit's last picture wherein Miku & Rei sit by the beach. Mio's ultimate fate remains unclear.
- Everything is the same in ending one except Miku, Kei, and Mio survived as seen in credits.
[edit] External links
- Official website for Japan release version (Japanese)
- Official website for Europe release version (German)
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