Tecmo back in the Fatal Frame

By Tom Bramwell Published 18 March, 2005

New Fatal Frame / Project Zero on the way.

Tecmo is working on a third game in the Fatal Frame series, known as Project Zero over here (where it never sells, much to our continuing disappointment. Buy it you sods), which is around 60 per cent complete and due out on PS2 this summer in Japan.

We'd expect US and European releases to follow sometime thereafter - and given Tecmo's allegiances and the series' past history, an Xbox port is a perfectly reasonable expectation at some point too.

According to the preview in Japanese magazine Famitsu that heralded its coming (picked up on and translated by those caring souls at The Magic Box and GameSpot), it features three playable characters - 23 year-old female photographer Rei Kurosawa, Miku Hinasaki from the first game, and Kei Amakura, a male writer who shares a surname with the protagonists of the second game.

Rei is thrown into turmoil when she discovers a picture of her dead boyfriend among a stack she took during a job at a supposedly haunted mansion. She then discovers that a snake tattoo is spreading across her body, and that it's very much like the tattoos she finds on the ghosts she fights in her dreams - where much of the game will unfold.

The third Fatal Frame appears to be set in the present day, and some of it will also unfold in real life, before Rei is plunged back into her nightmarish exploration of a (definitely) haunted mansion when she goes to sleep. Fortunately this time the camera she's using to kill ghosts has a strobe light, which momentarily stuns them.

We look forward to seeing how it this pans out - and how the game makes use of Miku, who is apparently now assistant to a cameraman, and writer Kei, who was apparently a good friend of Rei's dead boyfriend, and whose skills are more physical and mental than spiritual.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Kami #1 7 years ago

    I love you Tecmo. I really do. More Fatal Frame? Ambassador, you is really spoiling us!

    edit: And if you're one of those idiots who hasn't played Project Zero/Project Zero 2 Crimson Butterfly, go out and do so. Much better than Silent Hill and earlier Resident Evil games. Please. Woolworths has PZ2, in it's 2 games for £28 deal. Or £20 on its own. Whichever way you look at it, it's an absolute steal.
    Edited by 1 at 18/03/05 @ 11:45

  • Blerk #2 7 years ago

    Fabulous games, fabulous news! I just hope the poor sales of the originals doesn't put someone off from releasing the third game over here.

    Try tracking down the Famitsu scans to take a skeg at some very lovely-looking screenies. :-)

    And last time I checked, the PS2 version of Project Zero 2 was a tenner from Play.

    Edit: And it still is!
    Edited by 1 at 18/03/05 @ 12:01

  • MisterWood #3 7 years ago

    Fantastic news. I've got both games on Xbox and can't wait till this comes out. Hope they don't leave it too long before porting it to Xbox.

  • Kami #4 7 years ago

    Yeah, but once you could get both PZ and PZ2 under the £28 deal... for both games, it was well worth it...

    Great games... why do the masses buy all the crap and leave the gems on the shelf? It's not fair...

  • Blerk #5 7 years ago

    Their loss!

    /hugs 'good' games

  • Blerk #6 7 years ago

    Xbox Project Zero II for £19.99

    Buy it, you idiots!

  • itamae #7 7 years ago

    Great games... why do the masses buy all the crap and leave the gems on the shelf? It's not fair...

    I blame whoever designed the cover artwork. It would have sold ten times as many copies by adding:

    1) more cleavage
    2) two guns
    3) an explosion

    As for me, well, I bought the first game, hated it and ignored the sequel. And I do love Silent Hill and Resident Evil so your comment up there made me laugh :-)

  • Blerk #8 7 years ago

    If Silent Hill 2 didn't exist, Project Zero II would the be survival horror of the generation so far.

    /hasn't played Resi 4 yet

  • Kami #9 7 years ago

    Well, not as good as RE4 admittedly, but Project Zero does a much better job than any of the previous RE games. And Silent Hill? Puh-lease... last good Silent Hill was the first one.

    Project Zero is just better. Zombies, mutants and demons from another dimension are all well and good - but for true chills, you can't beat a good old ghost story.

    As for the cover art... I like the cover art of PZ2 actually. Cleavage, two guns and a huge explosion? You really are quite a depressingly sad person if that's what draws you to a game... besides, since none of those are actually IN PZ2 (Well, OK - modest cleavage, but of two young Japanese schoolgirls? Best not to go there!), that would be false advertising...

  • Genji #10 7 years ago

    Well, it's either PZ2 or SH2 for me. I only have enough money for one. THE CHOICE, SHE IS TOO DIFFICULT!

  • Blerk #11 7 years ago

    And Silent Hill? Puh-lease... last good Silent Hill was the first one.

    Whoo - you take that back right now! Go on! Or it's 'bed with no tea' for you, young man!


    Genji, you really need both. Really. If I was forced to make the choice it would be damned difficult, but Silent Hill 2 would just take it. It's a masterpiece.

  • itamae #12 7 years ago

    Cleavage, two guns and a huge explosion? You really are quite a depressingly sad person if that's what draws you to a game...

    But that's exactly the type of gamer you have to address to sell huge quantities. Sad but true.

    besides, since none of those are actually IN PZ2 (Well, OK - modest cleavage, but of two young Japanese schoolgirls? Best not to go there!), that would be false advertising...

    So what? Has Maria Whittaker actually been in Barbarian? No. Has she helped push sales? But of course!
    Edited by 1 at 18/03/05 @ 12:37

  • Kami #13 7 years ago

    Project Zero 2.

    Then, I didn't like Silent Hill 2 anyway... the plot really tried stretching things too far, and the holes that caused could be marched through by any army in the world. Not to mention, visually it's suffered, but then - we've moved on since then, so that is forgivable somewhat (Although I still thought even then, it was fugly).

    RE4 is Survival Horror of the current Generation. Project Zero 2 coming a close second. Silent Hill relegated to third place after SH4 (There was no excuse for it being that bloody crap!)...


    edit: Uhh... can you actually get away linking to that stuff here? But, to answer the question - Sure, she might help sell it, but if you're buying it for the knockers and they're nowhere to be seen... umm, I'd be demanding my money back, to be perfectly honest...
    Edited by 1 at 18/03/05 @ 12:26

  • Blerk #14 7 years ago

    Not to mention, visually it's suffered, but then - we've moved on since then, so that is forgivable somewhat (Although I still thought even then, it was fugly).

    Are we talking about the same game? SH3 and 4 are visually better, but SH2 still looks excellent. Dirty, gritty, visceral... what more could you ask for in a survival horror game?

  • Blerk #15 7 years ago

    Official site. No screenies, but some lovely artwork.

  • Decoded #16 7 years ago

    I didn't think RE4 was - strictly speaking - a survival horror game. Granted I've yet to play it (hurry up, Amazon) but the consensus seems to be that it's more an "action adventure". With some scary stuff thrown in for good measure

    So Silent Hill 2 retains the crown, then? PZ isn't far behind though and I can't believe it doesn't sell better. I think itamae hit the nail on the head with the cleavage point. Hell, the number of games I've blind-bought because of....

    ...never mind.

  • Blerk #17 7 years ago

    Speaking of survival horror, are you going to be reviewing 'Cold Fear', EG?

  • Kami #18 7 years ago

    ...

    I like a pretty girl in a leading role as much as the next guy, but that is besides the point... if a game/film is crap, no pretty lady is going to save it. A turd of a film/game is always a turd, no matter how you try to sweeten it...

    Quote by Blerk:
    Are we talking about the same game? SH3 and 4 are visually better, but SH2 still looks excellent. Dirty, gritty, visceral... what more could you ask for in a survival horror game?

    Dirty, grainy, fog which really tried to hide (and often failed in doing so) a horrible amount of pop-up, unconvincing voiceovers, most unconvincing chainsaw in a videogame EVER, creatures where the grossness quickly fades and fast become unconvincing, plot which really didn't hook me... yes, I think we're talking about the same game here. And please, before anyone starts, I pre-ordered SH2 and got it the day of release, I was VERY eager to play it, and left wondering why on earth I bothered... the game just didn't grab me, I couldn't see past its flaws and I've never really forgiven the game for that.

    What do I look for in a Survival Horror game? Err... it's hard to say. I like a good story, and a good scare, so those two would be top of the list. But I dunno really, sometimes a game hooks you in and sometimes it doesn't, y'know? SH2 never hooked me in...

  • Blerk #19 7 years ago

    /shrugs

    One man's mana is another man's meh, I guess. Silent Hill 2 is one of the very few games from this generation that I'd award a perfect 10/10.

  • Kami #20 7 years ago

    I guess so Blerk... although I -DID- like SH3 for some reason, perhaps because the plot was a little tighter. Not perfect by a long shot, but enjoyed far more than SH2. And SH4 The Room? That one was a bit of a disaster, which I never understood because on paper, the whole idea sounds excellent... playing it was another matter.

    Mind you, want bad survival horror? Can anyone say "Blair Witch Trilogy"? *shudders at memory of playing those games*

  • Wyrd #21 7 years ago

    Xbox Project Zero II for £19.99

    Cheers Blerk...been waiting for a price drop on this.

    /buys

    /reverts to lurker status

  • kewny #22 7 years ago

    Never really got into SH2. It looked good but just didnt do it for me.

    I did however purchase PZ2 last week, after the rave reviews from you guys. £19.99 from amazon for x-box. Wasnt too sure at first but now think it is quality. I actually turned it off cos I was playing it on in the dark on my own !!

  • tiddles #23 7 years ago

    What rarely seems to get mentioned is just how gorgeous to look at the Project Zero games are. OK, so the palettes for some scenes are sometimes almost monochromatic, but PZ2 in particular looks awesome. Then again, maybe we just take it for granted from Tecmo... ;)

  • Blerk #24 7 years ago

    Yep, they are really bloody pretty games. Very nice indeed. More atmosphere than you can shake a severed head at.

  • tengu #25 7 years ago

    Bring it indeed. I'll be counting the days until this one comes out.

    I read though that there was going to be characters from both of the other PZ games in this one. Anyone else heard this? Can't see how they'd work it myself...

  • Kami #26 7 years ago

    I think we do Tiddles. One thing I've come to expect from Tecmo, is that their visuals are usually splendid. So maybe we have come to just expect that, although yes. The splendid visuals should be mentioned.

  • Blerk #27 7 years ago

    It tells you in the text above, tengu. Miku is straight from the first game and Kei appears to be some kind of relative/descendent of Mio and/or Mayu.

  • tengu #28 7 years ago

    Oopsie, missed the bit about the surname there... Ta Blerk.