Fatal Frame (2001)

Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Wanadoo Edition, Tecmo
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2
Genres: Adventure
Rating: 3.7 of 5, 66 player ratings

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

You creep through a dark Japanese mansion armed only with a camera, feeling exposed and fragile as you raise the viewfinder to face the ghosts closing in around you.

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About

Fatal Frame is the first game of the Fatal Frame series, introducing the franchise's unique premise of fighting ghosts with a special camera. Fatal Frame was the first to introduce the innovative use of an old-style camera as the primary weapon. In addition to navigating the main characters around the mansion grounds, players are able to enter Viewfinder Mode, where the camera is raised and the view changes to that of the camera's frame. In viewfinder mode the player is able to snap photographs of ghosts, both violent and benign, which is the main method of progressing through the game. Items are also available, some being consumable and most being key items needed to unlock doors, complete tasks or solve puzzles. Puzzles are encountered frequently in the game, some being based on the same concept but becoming progressively more difficult. The varying difficulty settings of the game (Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare, or Fatal (Xbox only)) determine the amount of consumable items scattered throughout the mansion and how formidable the enemies are. The main horror aspect of the game is, undoubtedly, the ghosts. The mechanics programmed for the ghosts allow them to float ethereally through the air, walls and floors, and even teleport, allowing them many ways to attack the player. The ghosts' appearances are usually inspired by their deaths or by Japanese stigmas of horror, which, some argue, are particularily chilling. The game, depending on which console it is played on, offers two endings. Upon completion of the game, a ranking is given based on total time taken, points accumulated and other categories. The player is also given rewards and unlockables, such as alternate costumes and camera functions, depending on what difficulty was beaten, how much of the Ghost List was completed and other criteria. Beating the game also unlocks Battle Mode, where the player is faced with fighting specific ghosts, and is rewarded with points towards purchasing unlockables. An option is also given where the game can be replayed with all equipment, upgrades and unlockables carried over.

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This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.