| Fatal Frame III: The Tormented | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Tecmo |
| Publisher(s) | Tecmo (Japan & North America) Take-Two Interactive (Europe) |
| Designer(s) | Keisuke Kikuchi |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M (Mature) BBFC: 15 |
| Media/distribution | DVD |
Fatal Frame III, known in Japan as Zero: Shisei no Koe (零～刺青の聲～) and in Europe as Project Zero III: The Tormented, is the third installment in the Fatal Frame video game series. The game's plot ties the first three games in the series together, featuring characters, locations, and sections of storyline from the previous two games.
The game is a direct sequel of Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, seeing the return of Miku Hinasaki, the heroine of Fatal Frame, as well as other characters that share a connection with the events from the preceding games.
Contents |
The player controls the character of either Rei, Miku or Kei, and uses the vintage "Camera Obscura" to photograph and fight off ghosts. The player explores 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, called the filament, that indicates if a ghost is present. When the filament glows red the controller vibrates, signaling that there is a hostile ghost nearby. If the filament turns blue, there is a neutral or friendly ghost present, one that will not attack but can be captured with the camera. At any point in the game, the player can enter the first person camera mode, called "Finder Mode" or the viewfinder, in which ghosts can be defeated. The camera has a limited amount of film. Experience points are gained through defeating ghosts or by taking pictures of friendly ghosts, and can be used to upgrade the camera. Different upgrades can be purchased, and it is up to the player how the points are distributed.
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 can also 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, the maximum amount of which can be increased by upgrading. Miku has a special "Sacred Stone" charm that decreases the speed of spirits when used, and a "Double" ability, which allows her to charge the camera up twice. 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 significantly weaker than that of either Rei or Miku, he must also use the "Hide" ability to avoid detection by spirits.
23-year-old freelance photographer Rei Kurosawa has been mourning the death of her fiancé, Yuu, after a car accident caused by her reckless driving.[1] About two months after his death, Rei discovers his image on one of the photos she had taken for a haunted house assignment. Shortly after, she begins having recurring nightmares where she is following Yuu around an old Japanese manor house, called the "Manor of Sleep", during a heavy snowfall, leading her to be cursed by a tattooed ghost. Upon waking, Rei notices a mysterious tattoo-like bruise appear on her body, which begins to spread the more she dreams about the Manor.[2]
As Rei continues to explore the Manor of Sleep, she begins to receive investigation notes from Kei Amakura, a close friend of Yuu who writes in his letters that he and his niece Mio both have the same symptoms as her.[3] During this time, Rei discovers that her photography assistant, Miku Hinasaki, is also being consumed by the same curse.[4] The boundaries between Rei's dreams and reality become unclear when ghosts began appearing in her house, and the bruise on her body continues to expand and form a tattoo similar to the tattooed ghost who touched her.[5]
Rei learns through uncovering diaries and research that the dreams are caused by a curse brought by Reika Kuze, the last Tattooed Priestess tasked with the duty of containing others' emotional pain within the tattoos on her body. Although meant to rest for eternity, Reika had unintentionally released "the Rift", a form of darkness which destroys the village, after seeing her childhood lover, Kaname, murdered in front of her eyes. Now corrupted and unable to sleep, she haunts people with a strong attachment to dead loved ones. Within time, the tattoos Reika had cursed her victims with will completely cover their bodies and cause them to disappear, leaving behind black soot, although following the dead would eventually lead to death as well.[6] Because Rei blames herself for Yuu's death; Miku blames herself for her brother Mafuyu's death;[7] and Kei and Mayu are being dreamt about by Mio, they are all trapped in the Manor of Sleep.
When Miku falls comatose,[8] Rei loses all hope of ending the curse until Kei suggests that by having the Tattooed Priestess' body staked down in the Chamber of Thorns, she would rest peacefully and no longer endanger them.[9] However, he becomes trapped in the chamber himself while making the horrific discovery that her body has already been pinned to the ground.[10] With only Rei remaining, she confronts Reika and exorcises her spirit.
Following the lyrics of a song in the ritual,[11] Rei puts the bodies of Reika and Kaname in a small boat and pushes it across an underground sea behind the stone ritual chamber, the Abyss of the Horizon, the passage to the spirit world. As the boat begins to vanish into the distance, other dead spirits begin to cross the sea, one of them being Yuu. The tattoo which now covers Rei's body transfers to Yuu, who insists that she must go on living and keep his memory alive.[12] Once Rei and Miku wake up, they return to their normal lives.
Two Endings appear in the game. The Normal Ending shows that Rei and Miku have survived, while Kei has been killed and his spirit has been lost when captured by Reika; Mio's fate is unknown (presumed "spirited away" as well by Reika). The True Ending is achieved by finishing an optional sidequest only available on the second playthrough of the game. This ending shows that both Kei and Mio survive, and that Mio is introduced to Rei and Miku after the game's main events.
At one time, the game was considered for adaptation to Xbox much like its two predecessors. This, however, has failed to materialise.
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 79.70%[13] |
| Metacritic | 78/100[14] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented has received positive reviews from critics. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the game a 79.70% and 78/100.[13][14]
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