Fatal Frame, the progenitor of the entire series, focused its terror upon a singular home full of dark secrets which overflowed and destroyed the Himuro family household, dragging it into perpetual torment. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly was more centralized on the cruel machinations of a small town’s rituals, and their failure to complete them dragged the sleepy village into an eternal darkness. Here in Fatal Frame III: The Tormented, though, something horrible went wrong. Something so foul and sinister that the very existence of the estate where the ritual was done had been eviscerated. Now where the great manor once sat is a dilapidated and annihilated ruin. However, some say that in your dreams, the remnants of this ancient home can be seen, and that upon seeing the visage of a lost loved one, you gain an invitation, an invitation to the Manor of Sleep. Welcome to Fatal Frame III: The Tormented.
This third installment to the legendary series was developed and produced by Tecmo exclusively for the Playstation 2. Whereas the other two games had late releases on other consoles, this one never moved further than its originally released home. Like many other games, the reason this game never came out on Xbox was because of generally poor sales numbers. For some reason, Xbox owners just didn’t resonate with the series like Playstation 2 owners did at the time. Ultimately, Koei decided to cut their losses and not bother with the powerful competitor. It’s a shame, too. For the other two games in the series, there were a bunch of bonus features added for the port. It would have been nice to see what else they would have added to this game, but as they say, it is what it is.
This game follows Rei Kurosawa, a professional photographer (and grown adult, finally!!) and the survivor of a car accident that took the life of her fiancé, Yuu Asou. She is especially affected since she was the one driving, and so blames herself for the loss of her loved one. After some time, Rei, along with her photography apprentice, Miku Hinasaki (of Fatal Frame fame), go to explore the dilapidated ruins of the Kuze mansion. While taking pictures, Rei sees the apparition of Yuu, in her photos. Shortly after, she starts having recurring nightmares where she’s lost inside a massive, illustrious, and dilapidated mansion in the middle of a snowstorm. Upon meeting a shirtless, tattooed ghost, she is touched and awoken from her restless sleep, but this time with a peculiar curse. Where the tattooed woman touched her, a massive bruise and a blue tattoo aggressively blooms. Now inextricably connected to the Manor of Sleep, Rei needs to find a way to overcome her torment and untangle her fate from the damnation of the tattooed woman’s curse. This time, however, she’s not alone in her quest.
Spoilers for Fatal Frame 1 and 2!
The story of Fatal Frame III: The Tormented is great within a bubble. It deals with issues that a lot of people who have dealt with tragedy live with- survivor guilt. Each of the three characters you play as is dealing with some form of survivor guilt that becomes more apparent as you play. Rei’s and Miku’s past traumas are apparent. Rei was driving the vehicle when she crashed, and her fiancé passed away. It would be difficult to not feel a guilty conscience from such a tragedy. Miku in the first Fatal Frame was forced to abandon her brother, Mafuyu, to escape. Although Mafuyu willingly stayed to appease the vengeful spirit of the rope shrine maiden, Miku can’t help but feel guilty for abandoning him. The last character you play, Kei Amakura is a little bit nuanced but a lot of bit dumb, in my opinion. He is a folklorist who happens to be the uncle of Mio and Mayu from Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. It would make sense to play as Mio, since her survivor guilt could be linked to her forced murder of her twin sister, Mayu. For some reason, Mio is in the manor, but we don’t get to play as her. Instead, we get this putz, because instead of dealing with the trauma of a truly compelling character, we instead get this guy to play hero to his niece. What a drag! Regardless, the things he says and writes are paramount to understanding the story, so I GUESS he’s okay. I only wish that his character was more fleshed out instead of being the shoe-in for the Fatal Frame 2 cast.
Although the story, just like its predecessors, is entertaining, I didn’t enjoy it as much in comparison. Before this game, the Fatal Frames before it were two separate stories. They used the same mechanics and had the same items as the focal point of the games. They were unrelated (similar to the Final Fantasy franchise). For some reason, far beyond my understanding, the developers decided to make Fatal Frame III: The Tormented the thread that makes the events from the previous two games canon. Not a terrible idea, but it falls entirely flat as it reintroduces the characters. I pointed out that Miku Hinasaki from the first game became your photography apprentice. That makes perfect sense and is believable enough to suspend disbelief. BUT COULD YOU BELIEVE IT? Kei, the guy who is a folklorist and is ALSO the uncle of the protagonist from the second game, IS ALSO the best friend of Yuu, Rei’s fiancé? You’re right, I couldn’t believe it either. The introduction of this information is ham-fisted and only there for nostalgia bait. Essentially, Miku’s existence I can believe, but Kei? They missed the mark entirely. This was probably my biggest issue with the story, and I’m not even done complaining about it.
Ritualistic sacrifice is the driving force of every game in the series. Each one is gruesome and horrifically violent, to the point where thinking about being the sacrifice makes me hide my neck in subconscious desperation. Even with the violence in these meticulously crafted rituals, they made a lot of sense within the framing of its themes. Separation of earthly desires in the first one, and the communion of heaven and hell is the basic focus in the second one. This third game amps up the violence and unfortunately, starts to border on the edge of being contrived. The violence that surrounds these rituals is incredibly excessive, with carpenters being killed in the dozens to protect building plans, and tattoos being engraved into the body of the sacrifice to “absorb others’ pains”. There are even children whose job is to nail the still living sacrifice down with stakes. The Judeo-Christian themes of self-sacrifice are overwhelmingly apparent, and though it makes for compelling visuals and a tragic villain, the inclusion of these themes is cringey and edgy. Plus, with the primary theme of survivor guilt being the focus for the protagonists, it makes the backstory feel tragically unrelated. I can respect a strong swing, but if you don’t hit the ball then you just got an impressive arm and a strike.
The settings and environments in this game are incredible. The Manor of Sleep is a deliciously spooky estate with beautiful snow-covered gardens interspersed throughout. You’ll often stumble into large shrine rooms, dirty and deteriorating fire pit rooms, and hallways so long and narrow that you feel like a spectral hand is going to jump out and drag you into the yellowed, peeling paint-covered walls. A really nice touch is that when Miku shows up, she shows up in an area of the mansion that is replicating the Himuro Mansion from the first game. Kei eventually stumbles into areas from Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. These areas, although unnecessary, are enjoyable to go through, except for one room that I genuinely detest from the bottom of my heart. This map is gorgeous and like the rest of the series, easy to memorize. If you don’t know the environment like the back of your hand by the end of the game, then you may not be playing Fatal Frame III in the first place.
The most interesting setting that doubles as its own mechanic is Rei Kurosawa’s house. Unlike every other game in the franchise, this game comes with the distinction of being the only one so far with a home base. You’ll come back here to read excerpts from news clippings, journals, and books to help further your knowledge of the curse that befell your group. You’ll also be using this area to develop some of the pictures you take in the Manor of Sleep. Though these are story-based mechanics, they also help to disperse some of the stress that accumulates through regular gameplay. The best part is as you get deeper into the game the boundary between the house and the Manor of Sleep will begin to . . . blur. It’s inconsequential but the things that start appearing are delightfully creepy! I loved going back here and looking for things that may have changed!
My opinions on the story may be heavily affected by the masterpiece that was Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, but I didn’t hate The Tormented! In fact, I really enjoyed it gameplaywise, even more than the second one! As per what seems to be the usual at this point, this series seems to be constantly improving. They dramatically reduced the number of items you can find so you’ll always be scarce on heals and camerammo (proud of that one). This effectively got rid of one of the gripes I had with Fatal Frame II, since limited resources is a necessity in a survival horror to keep the game, well, horrifying. Don’t worry too much, though. If you happen to be exceptionally bad at this game and miss a lot of shots, you can always leave the dream and come back to reset your weakest camera films and get three herbal medicines back. Be careful, though, because if you have a surplus of your medicine or weak films, it will reset it back to the base number again. At least you get to keep the stronger equipment that you’ll pick up, no matter how many times you leave!
The actual combat feels like it took a step both forward and backward. Overall, I enjoyed it, but there were a lot of changes, some good and some bad. Instead of using the change from the second game where the closer you were to a ghost the more damage you did, they switched back to the charge up from the first game. This would have sucked, for lack of better terms, but luckily they sped up the charge time dramatically, so it wasn’t too much different. Due to the claustrophobic spaces the ghosts that you’ll be facing will often fall through the walls, causing potentially long lulls in combat that border on outright infuriating. Thankfully, though, the ghosts are diverse and each one brings a unique challenge. Some of the aberrations are so slow that they’re begging to be shot, but the more challenging ones can force you to rethink your strategy. The varied strategies you need to incorporate for each fight are fun and tense. If it weren’t for the narrow rooms creating downtime in combat this would be the absolute best system in the series.
Speaking of ghosts, the design of these spectral abominations is great. There were times during my playthrough that literally had me screaming! There was one ghost in particular that practically gave me a heart attack by itself. At one point you must crawl around underneath the manor to get to a hidden shrine. On the way I was attacked by a specter running at me like a four-legged spider. She had blood red, vascular bags under her eyes, and was screaming like a banshee. The fact that I literally couldn’t move fast enough to escape her persistent onslaught awakened a primordial fear that I have never experienced from a game before! On top of having a menagerie of new enemies like little girls with hammers and stakes desperately trying to impale you, there are also some returning ghosts from previous games, like the rope shrine maiden from the first Fatal Frame, only this time her visage is much more horrific. Really, this game series has been firing on all cylinders since its inception in reference to the art direction. This installment certainly is no different.
I enjoyed my time with Fatal Frame III: The Tormented. As a new fan coming off the second game, I was incredibly excited to play this one. Although I didn’t enjoy it as much as Fatal Frame II, I still adored my time with this game. I got scared more often in this one than the other two games combined, which if you watch the gameplay will be quite apparent just from the onslaught of screaming and profanities. Even if I didn’t fall in love with the story, it is by no means terrible. As a standalone game, the story would even be above average. However, compared to its progenitors, it falls flat. Even knowing this, the ending to this game is emotionally satisfying . . . but also seems to forget some key elements to the narrative, I may have missed it, that’s always a possibility, but it feels like a lot of the side stories got forgotten and then handwaved as “then everyone lived happily ever after.” I guess to conclude this portion I will say this: I loved this game, but it needed more time in the oven. The story doesn’t feel as complete, and it shows in the final product.
Now, let us get to what most people are interested in— the vague numerical values given to something to help make an opinion more digestible!
Gameplay: 4 out of 5
The gameplay within Fatal Frame III: The Tormented is like a newborn doe. It’s fresh and feels new, but at the same time shaky and clearly a product of its parents. The game successfully captures that fast-paced potential from Fatal Frame II with a playstyle more akin to the progenitor with its charging mechanics. Enemy diversity finally goes beyond their original design and makes the player think on their toes throughout combat. At the same time, the close quarters recreate the same issue from the first game where you have to wait for the ghosts to come into areas where you can actually fight them. Sometimes, based on the ghost, you may have to wait minutes before something happens. All in all, though, this doe got its legs.
Graphics/Art Direction: 4 out of 5
The facial design for these tragic wraiths has evolved quite a bit over the 4 years. The conglomeration of every graphic designer’s efforts to create the most beautiful yet disturbing faces has not gone unnoticed. The sinister grinning and death throes suspended in eternal animation look incredible, especially up close and personal (see image in Gameplay for example). The character designs have been seriously upgraded. No longer do they look like generic 3D human assets, instead they look like actual characters. The game takes a bit of a hit with the environments. Although I enjoy exploring the Manor of Sleep and find the areas that you explore appropriately spooky and detailed, I feel a sense of Déjà vu since these are the same exact thoughts I had for the first and second games in the series. It’s familiar, it’s safe, and although enjoyable to me, nothing special.
Sound: 3 out of 5
Just like my primary complaint with the graphics/art direction, the sound design in this game is no better or worse than the second installment. The music wasn’t really there, as to be expected, but there were subtle changes in background sound depending on the ghost you were facing, like pouting giggles from the ghost eternally combing her hair or the sound of hammers pounding on nails when the impaling girls start showing up. The big issue (and it’s a BIG one) is the generic enemy sounds. You’ll occasionally be attacked by slow moving carpenters while you play, to keep you on your toes. The problem here is the music/sounds that play as they appear are WAY TOO LOUD! I’M WRITING IN CAPS TO DISPLAY MY LACK OF HEARING FROM THESE STUPID SPECTERS! It’s especially annoying when they don’t show up or when you go into a new room the sounds abruptly stop. It’s poor decisions like this that take you out of the horror setting and remind you you’re playing a video game, and an old one at that.
Content: 4 out of 5
There are soooo many things to unlock when playing this game. After your first playthrough you get a ghost index that tells you info on all the things you have been forced to photograph, just like the other two games. There’s also an entire convenience stores worth of unlockable things, including outfits and accessories for the main characters and your cat that chills in Rei’s house (lovingly named Barnabus by me, but apparently is named Ruri and is a girl- still best character). Along with the wardrobe changes there are also the developer notes and new to this game, special upgrades to your Camera Obscura! The one that intrigues me the most is the festival lens, which always gives you max charge. All these added bonuses are super exciting, only one problem though: the game is too long. Yes, although an excellent game with plenty of post-game content to keep you busy the path there is way too long. The sheer length of the game can make people who didn’t resonate as much with it less likely to interact with it. It’s like having the biggest grocery store with a half-mile walk to the entrance. The walk is long, the groceries fresh, but nobody wants to make the trip back. It’s a one-time trip that you won’t be likely to go back to.
Total Score: 15/20
Hella Good!
Although it doesn’t compare to Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, Fatal Frame III: The Tormented is still one hell of a game on its own. The atmosphere is as palpable as its predecessors and the return to the claustrophobic halls makes it more tense. Every trip back to the Manor of Sleep gives the player a delightful sense of trepidation that never seemed to extinguish itself until you finally left. Sure, this game has its road bumps, clumsy writing, and issues, but all in all, it succeeds in what it sets out to do, and that is to scare your pants right off you! It’s certainly no classic, but it is most definitely a must play for the horror game aficionados.
The true ugly side of this game is getting a hold of the damn thing. This is by far the least accessible game in the franchise during this 6th generation of consoles. The only place you can play Fatal Frame III: The Tormented to my knowledge is exclusively through finding a copy for the Playstation 2. That’s it. This is especially frustrating because of Sony’s unwillingness to design their consoles with backwards compatibility. So, unless you have a Playstation 2 or a very early Playstation 3, you won’t be able to play it. Unless you plan on emulating it, which is pretty unreliable for 6th generation games right now, you’re looking at a price point of 60 dollars for the disc alone! If you aren’t a savage you’ll buy it completed with case and manual at 100 smackeroos. Although obviously not a bank buster, it can barely be considered a reasonable price. If you do purchase it, though, I don’t think you will be disappointed in your investment.
It may not be the ultimate Fatal Frame experience, but penultimate is certainly not a bad title at all. Fatal Frame III: The Suffering may be elusive to find in the wild, but if you find it, then capture it. If you don’t, then the regret just may haunt your dreams.
