FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water is a game we honestly would not have thought we’d see a remaster of given its niche market. Thankfully though Koei Tecmo have decided to modernize it and this Wii U title from 2014 is now available on current-gen consoles and PC via Steam.
In FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water, players will take on the role of three different protagonists. Yuri Kozukata, Ren Hojo and Miu Hinasaki. Playing as Yuri Kozukata first, players will be slowly introduced to the occult. Hisoka Kurosawa, your mentor, will take you to an abandoned house and teach you how to use a camera obscura. The camera obscura is a literally life-saving tool that you will use to take photos of supernatural entities and deal damage to them in the process.
Gameplay in FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water might seem dated by modern standards since it follows a very tried and trusted horror game formula reminiscent of both Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Players will control their playable character to explore and examine their environment for clues and other items which allow you to progress further. You’ll also be able to trigger your “Shadow Reading” ability which allows you to focus on ghostly traces which leads you down the correct path.
Your playable character in-game moves in a rather stiff manner and turning them around is rather clunky. This is a sign of the game’s age since most modern era video games no longer suffer from this issue. With that said, the limitation on your character’s movement adds to the game’s horror and suspense, especially when you’re battling ghosts using the camera obscura.
The camera obscura is your primary weapon in FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water. Players will need to align the camera’s viewfinder with circles that appear on ghosts or around them. Once you’ve taken a photo of a ghost, they will suffer some damage and more circles will appear. Taking a photo of five circles at once deals massive damage to the ghost and provides you with a chance to defeat them. There’s also the ability to capture a “Fatal Frame” which serves as a counterattack manoeuvre against the ghosts. A “Fatal Frame” is triggered when you take a photo at the exact moment a ghost is about to attack you. Doing this triggers a stun and allows you to repeatedly take multiple photos dealing tonnes more damage in the process.
Players will also be able to evade ghost attacks as well as trigger a boost attack and swap the film in their camera to more powerful types. Aiming and taking photos is ridiculously easy but lining up the perfect shot is not as simple as it may seem since ghosts tend to move around quite a bit. There are also numerous different types of ghosts in the game which all have varied attacks and movement patterns. Fighting off these ghosts doesn’t really get boring but instead becomes quite a frantic affair at some points. This is especially true when there are 3 or more ghosts coming at you and you need to do some quick evading and photography.
FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water balances the combat with the horror mystery extremely well. The story of the game is told through tidbits of information from examining objects in the environment or from picking up books and notes. You are constantly being provided with new information at each level and it drives you forward as you learn more about the game’s story and world.
The puzzle-solving in FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water is quite straightforward with simple item collection or defeating specific enemies and backtracking taking place. There aren’t many moments in the game where you’ll be stuck because you are guided well enough. Koei Tecmo has also recently patched in a “Very Easy” mode too for players who just want to play the game and enjoy it for the story and not have to worry too much about fighting the ghosts.
FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water also features a “Wetness” mechanic where the playable character takes more damage from ghosts if they are wet. Graphically, this is represented quite well with clothing looking wet if you’re venturing forth on Mount Hikami during the rain or if you’ve been pulled into the water by supernatural forces. Players can use items to overcome this issue and it’s a pretty solid gameplay mechanic which adds to your anxiety in the game.
The story of FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water kicks off with players searching for a missing teenager and it escalates from there with another character disappearing and even more strange happenings taking place. The story is extremely campy though and definitely suffers from horror trope writing. Yet strangely, it’s quite compelling, pushing you to learn more and explore more. The game’s almost episodic nature with its levels being roughly 30 to 60 minutes long works in its favour. The entire game can be completed in around 15 hours or so, so it doesn’t overstay its welcome either.
Upon completing levels you will be awarded with points which you can then spend on new costumes for your playable characters or on items to use in future levels. You can also try to improve your score in a level and you’ll be awarded with a higher ranking. Completionists will have fun with this as well speedrunners but more casual gamers will most likely overlook this aspect.
Playing FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water on PC means that the Wii U motion controls are gone. The game is best played with a controller but mouse support has been added in a recent patch. Most of the issues it had with regards to performance and crashing have also now been fixed and the game runs quite stable at the moment.
Despite the fact that this is essentially a 7-year-old game that’s been remastered, FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water looks rather great. The character models are gorgeous and the game’s extensive use of film grain, black and white and other visual effects are quite on point. There’s also an actual photo mode that you can use to take screenshots and be creative with. Graphically, this is a gorgeous looking remaster.
Unfortunately, the game features an English dub that pales in comparison to the original Japanese voice acting. The rest of the soundtrack is excellent though with atmospheric music and creepy sounds everywhere.
Despite being a horror title, FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water isn’t actually all that scary. Being able to fight off the ghosts quite easily dilutes much of the fear the game builds up and the real horror aspects only kick in later in the game where there are some jump scares that can catch you off guard or when there’s more powerful ghosts to face off against.
Overall, FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water is a fun, enjoyable, survival horror mystery game with a strangely compelling narrative involving ghastly shrine maidens. The game currently runs quite well on PC after being patched a few times and most of the major issues it had on launch have now been ironed out. Now we just hope that Koei Tecmo will remaster the older Fatal Frame titles too.
Choose your version to own here – https://www.koeitecmoeurope.com/zero/maiden/
PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water is available on PC, PlayStation and Xbox
Reviewed on PC
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