Fatal Frame III: The Tormented - PlayStation 2

If you are hardcore into "shock thrills", gore, zombies, guns, and grotesque monsters that mirror our psychological inner demons yet can be bashed over the head with a board until they leak blood everywhere Fatal Frame 3 may not be for you. My first introduction of the series was when I watched one of my female friends play Fatal Frame 2 and honestly at the time I wasn't scared. The thing is with a fatal frame game you actually have to play it to be frightened by it. It is definetly not a game that makes you jump when your friend is at the helm. First of all let me admit I'm not a "long time fan" of the series. I have not seen or played Fatal frame 1 and I only know about Mio and her twin sister by having warched my friend go through Fatal Frame 2. Anotherwords my opinion here is non biased. I'm not trying to "hype up" Fatal Frame 3. So what can a first time camera obscura photographer tell you about his first interactive experience? It was horrifying and I mean that in the most flattering sense. For fans of the other two games FF 3 does tie into what has already been estabalished. Miku is the girl who lost her brother in Fatal Frame 1 and is an "assistant" to Rei who is the main character. Rei has her own tale of loss. Her boy friend Yuu died in a tragic car accident. After Rei believed to see his "ghost" she became a paranormal investigator. Lastly there is Kei, an occult researcher who was a friend of Yuu and who is the uncle of Mio and her twin. Is is estabalished right away how the characters fit into the overall plot. Even if you have not played the previous games you are given a wealth of information. The game revolves around a mysterious tattooed priestess and the manor of sleep. The only good thing about this other worldly place is that it is said you can go there to visit with loved ones that have long since died. However beyond that the old occupants of the manor were apart of a sinister cult whom sacrificed maidens to prevent a type of "nightmare reality" from crossing over into normal existence. Poor Rei begins having the tattoo of the priestess and soon her and the other two protagonists find themselves fighting for their lives each time they visit the mansion in their dreams. First I must say "ghosts" are hard to fight. You have an enemy with the basic intelligence of a human being and atop that they can "teleport" quickly and phase through walls. Luckily there is variety. Young shrine maidens have stakes and hammers and one of their most disturbing attacks is to nail your foot or ankle to the floor. The "men in white" come at you with hatchets and knives or try to simply grab you. As you can well guess even being touched with a ghost will sap your health. Luckily you can upgrade both your camera and its' lenses. A flash for example can knock spirits back and Miku can literally slow a ghost's movement making getting their "snap shots" easier. If you have not played any Fatal Frame the combat goes into first person mode. Runes around your lens ratio will start to light up and that is symbolic of your attack meter charging. To do alot of damage you want the apparitions as close as possible when you take their picture. Yup, finally there is a survival horror franchise that sadistically makes having the enemy close a prime requisite. When you lower your camera or get hit by a ghost you automatically go into 3rd person and I highly suggest that if a poltergeist or phantom suddenly "disappears" that you briefly lower your camera, get your bearings, and try to pin point where the next attack will come from. Believe it or not none of this is as frustrating as it sounds and each time you defeat a spirit you get blue "ghost orbs" or "spirit points" to level up both your camera AND your diffirent lenses. As expeted each character has merits and flaws. Kei is athletic and good both at running and hiding. His spirit power is weak luckily he eventually gets his own camera obscura so he can fight back. Kei also has the most health. Miku is neat because she can crawl into smaller places and she has the most spirit potential. She can double charge her spirit "zapping" power through her camera and she can slow enemies down. Rei is the traditional "average" yet "well balanced" main character and her main merit is having the largest capture lens ratio. The manor itself is interesting and the puzzles are a bit challenging but not frusterating. You will do alot of back-tracking for keys or rolls of film to play in the projector room to glean more disturbing revelations. Normally this would damper my enjoyment but I found I liked repeatedly going to different places because they all were well designed and very ambient. This might be one of the few games that makes "return visits" to certain areas fun as opposed to tidous. As I said before every character has good motivations. They all have "loved ones" they are trying to save from the manor and Rei has the additional motivation of finding a cure for the tattoo curse. Each time you awake in Rei's house you are allowed to recover health, develop pictures taken in the manor, replenish film and herb supplies, and talk with Miku to exchange information. You will also get letters from Kei. While it may seem like you are safe here, a ghost does eventually begin haunting your abode though from what I've seen so far she is mischievous yet harmless. This may change later in the game but I'm unsure. The only glaringly bad flaw with Fatal Frame 3 is the "english dubbing" but I would not let something as insignificant as bad lip synching ruin the whole game for you. I'd love to go so much more into depth about the "unique ghost bosses",folk-lore erriness, and every snowy or shadowy crevice of the cold manor of sleep but I think I'll leave those things for you the reader to discover! Pros + Subtle in the gore department yet still manages to make you uneasy and afraid. + An original take on "fighting enemies". +Wonderful story line that does much to tie up loose ends from the other 2 games. + Being able to play as 3 characters all which are unique. + Besides for the shrine maidens and men in white the other apparitions are all varied, frightening, and have interesting attack patterns. + Spot on controls + Great atmosphere and sound effects. Cons - The females have odd mannerisms when running sometimes. - You sorta get the impression Rei and Miku are well off just by interacting with their home. If you like "average blue collar citizens" as your heroes of choice this might present a problem. -Bad dubbing (lip synching)

If you have nightmares about being lost in a dark, labyrinthine house with no way out, Fatal Frame 3 is not the game for you. But if you're a survival horror junkie and/or a fan of the first two Fatal Frame games, you'll probably eat this one right up. Functioning as both a direct sequel and a stand-alone story, FF3 has so much crammed into it that it sometimes feels cluttered, but it provides a vivid, creepy, and engaging experience nonetheless. The much-trumpeted gimmick this time around is that you can play as multiple characters, a Fatal Frame first. The new protagonist is Rei Kurosawa, a freelance photojournalist who lost her fiancé in an accident and is stricken with guilt over his demise. One day, she has a vivid waking dream of following her deceased love into a vast, snowbound mansion, wandering its splintered, rotting hallways and shadowy chambers, and being pursued by a sobbing woman covered in a blue tattoo. From then on, Rei visits the crumbling old edifice every night as she sleeps, and the tattoo begins to appear on her own body as well. The game incorporates another new feature in that, during the day, you can stroll around Rei's cozy house, receive mail, develop and research photos, and pet the cat. Silent Hill 4 did the same thing, and it provides a nice break from the creepy environs of the "Manor of Sleep" where most of the action takes place -- although Rei's home does not remain free of haunts. The Manor, of course, is bursting with ghosts of all kinds, some pitiable, some malicious. As before, your weapon is the Camera Obscura, a device that damages ghosts by taking photos of them. The camera-based combat and upgrade system have been streamlined over the course of the trilogy and work great when the ghosts don't cheat, which they often do. The Manor itself is massive, much bigger than Himura Mansion in the first game, and exploring it gets tedious and disorienting at times; you'll be hard-pressed to remember which lock goes with the key you just found, or what room appears in which photo. Of course, since this is nightmare logic, the dizzying size and bizarre layout of the Manor may be totally appropriate. Rei soon finds she's not alone -- other guilt-stricken dreamers are being drawn into the manor (sometimes forever), including Rei's assistant, Miku Hinasaki, the heroine of FF1. And providing the link to FF2 is Kei Amakura, another journalist (and a man, eeek!) who's the uncle of...well, you'll see. Certain chapters of the game require you to play as Miku or Kei, both of whom have various strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities. The game designers sneak portions of FF1 and FF2 environments into the Manor of Sleep, and it truly feels like everything in all the games is being tied together. The plot is a jumbled mishmash of obscure people, horrible events, and arcane rituals that barely stays coherent. However, part of the fun is piecing together a narrative from all the old diaries, moldy tomes, newspaper clippings, cassette tapes, cryptic photos, video reels, and miscellaneous scraps you accumulate. I had fun with it, at least, and I love how every ghost has a backstory. The graphics and sound design are as effective as ever, immersing you in this creepy world. (Play with the lights off!) As the plot progresses, the three protagonists chase their personal demons, and the dream world starts to impinge upon the waking world, the game becomes very creepy indeed, and also very challenging. The feeling of dread and helpless frustration can get you down, but in the survival horror genre, it's a good thing. These games are meant to scare, and what's scarier than a nightmare where you can't wake up, you're lost and alone, angry phantoms are oozing from the walls, and you're almost out of film? Fatal Frame 3 provides a worthy end(?) to the series and survival horror fans would do well not to miss it.

I just finished the game. My review is going to be a comparison of this game to Fatal Frame 1 & 2. There may be spoilers for the other games, so be warned. Also, I always play on Easy mode...and I've never done second/third playthroughs. The Fatal Frame series are my favorite video games, though Fatal Frame 2 is the one I like best. Fatal Frame 3 set itself apart from the first two in several ways. One, I'm glad to say that we did fight some different ghosts. Fatal Frame creators are really big into recycling. I always get the idea that there were things they had wanted to do with the earlier games, but for some reason they couldn't. When they make a new game, they often use so many things from prior games you constantly feel deja vu. For instance, Broken Neck Woman was in both FF1 and FF2. When I encountered her in the second game I played, I was like, "Didn't I fight you in that other game? Dang, you are an unfortunate broad!" However, you will see some familiar scenery and faces in this game that do come from prior games. However, this is because Fatal Frame 3 does tie into earlier storylines. Is it a bonus to play the other games first? Well, there is admittedly a certain nostalgia, but on the other hand...you will know the old storylines. I don't know if the game explains the old storylines enough to satisfy newbies, but I did find myself getting rather bored playing Kei--who was exploring the places from Fatal Frame 2. Kei is the uncle of Fatal Frame 2's heroine Mio. Mio has fallen victim to a strange illness, and Kei is investigating it in hopes of saving her. You will also see the heroine from Fatal Frame 1, Miku--who is an assistant to Fatal Frame 3's heroine Rei. Rei, Miku, and Mio are all suffering from the same condition, brought on by the same thing. You will not be playing Mio this time. It is also important for vets of this game series to know that you have to accept the endings of Fatal Frame 1 & 2 where Mafuyu and Mayu disappear, leaving their sibling as the sole survivor. You will also see scenes from Fatal Frame 1 when playing Miku. However, Fatal Frame 3 has its own locations and ghosts, as well as its own storyline. Another thing that sets FF3 apart is that you will be playing three different characters, though Rei is the main character. You will also play Miku and Kei. Of course, in the earlier games, there were brief times you played another character...but it wasn't like this. Fatal Frame 3 was like playing in a Japanese movie. This was rather interesting, though sometimes there were too many cutscenes. Unlike other games where you are stuck in a location, in Fatal Frame 3 you will always end every level back in the safety of Rei's room. There is a house to explore and a few creepy surprises. However, though I did enjoy this twist, I'm not sure if it didn't interfere with the scariness factor. I did not find this game scary, though I enjoyed it for its own merits. It did not leave me looking over my shoulder or blankets like the other two games did. The thing was, when you were stuck in a location with no reprieve, the tension built up...which helped you get scared out of your wits. Since you know you will end the level in the safety of Rei's room, the tension disperses. There were not many random attacks, and the few that you did have--most you could run away from. The storyline takes a long time to develop. Actually, until you reach the very end, you don't understand why everything went to hell. I did appreciate the respawning film, purifying light, and herbal medicine. I wound up having more than I needed of film and medicine. I didn't even run out of purifying light that often (this is needed towards the end of the game. If you don't have it, you can still play--but your screen turns a static black and white, which makes things hard to see, and also makes you more likely to be attacked. This is also new feature. In the other games, this only happened during cutscenes.). Ghosts varied from being easy to capture to being nearly impossible. The boss fight was difficult (perhaps the hardest compared to the other games), but it wasn't impossible. I also appreciated that save points were plentiful and in very practical places (which was a pet peeve in the other games). I appreciated the one right before the boss fight. Save points were clearly marked on the map, and the map itself was easy to read. This is a very big place--since it connects three locations--so I found it difficult to memorize the layout. I was referring to the map constantly. One thing I did find annoying was the long pause before every door. There was a brief pause in other games, but it was longer in this game. The first ending was romantic...kind of a "chick movie" ending, I thought. That wasn't quite my thing. Though I'm a chick as far as hardware is concerned, the software programmed into me doesn't make me like these sappy, romantic endings. However, it didn't detract from the game. To sum it up, this game did not overthrow Fatal Frame 2 as my favorite, but I found it worth adding to my collection.

I played the 2nd fatal frame game first (the 3rd wasn't out yet, and the 1st was HARD to get ahold of), and I absolutely loved it! it's perfect for playing alone or with some friends, it's good for some great scares. -creepy sound effects, ghosts, music. you're only weapon is...A CAMERA! (no guns, sorry) :P however, I ask that you might want to play the 1st and 2nd games FIRST, before playing this. only because the main characters' stories are followed up in this sequel, just a warning. but, even if you don't this game it's pretty self-explanatory. *if you're a fan of survival horror games, Japanese culture (ghosts, etc), a BIG fan of Fatal Frame-this IS the game for you! (you might as well just play the whole series, it's THAT good) <3 <3 *The Only Downside: after you've beaten this game once, it can feel pretty repetitive sometimes-and can get boring. I mean, you switch back and forth between the dream world and reality-it can get tiresome, but maybe it won't be boring for you. whenever I'm in the mood, I love playing this game. I DARE YOU TO PLAY THESE GAMES AT NIGHT!!!!! >:3 it's just sad that Tecmo hasn't gotten it's act together and released the 4th game in the US. TT_TT

I like horror games even the mediocre ones but this takes the cake as the worst survival horror games I ever played just play the first 2

At first I didn't like the flashing between past and present, and I miss being able to move around an entire village like the 2nd game, but this one still has some cool parts. ONce you learn the tricks each player has (another curveball) it starts to feel more comfortable. However, I didn't like feeling like I had to check the same drawers or hiding places every single time a new player came on the scene, just in case I missed something. I still found myself not caring that much about going back. Just too complicated to get really involved in any character.

Fatal Frame III AKA Project Zero 3, I must say, is a disappointed for me and probably other fans of the Silent Hill or Resident Evil series. I've never played any of the Resident Evil games, but I guess I am going to have to now, because as I understand it Resident Evil games play like Silent Hill. The Fatal Frame and Clock Tower series do not. The graphics and sound are great, but not particularly remarkable so that you forget the fact that you've got nothing but a pain in the arse camera to fend off ghosts with which, by the way, are almost too fast for you to take a pictures for points with. God .. and the reading? Pages upon pages of it. If I wasn't a student, a mother, and a terrible wife, I'd probably have a lot more time to read all the "interesting story revealing" text, but I don't. I don't have time to wake up, run down stairs, talk to suki (forgot her name), send her on infomissions, develop more film, run back up stairs, force myself to sleep, have another nightmare where I run through a not all that spooky villiage trying to take pictures of ghosts who are too fast for me and my clumsy camera until I get to the boss who is even more difficult to fatally frame! ARGH! I only have time to quickly turn on my PS2, wait for all the loading screens, and lay down the law on creepy monsters whilst solving marginally annoying puzzels until I get to the big boss where it may take a couple of lives until I finally work him (or her) over. Now that's fun! Fatal frame 3 is NOT for people who have time management problems. It is NOT for people who just want to kill monsters with whatever artillery the software developer dreams up. It is for people who have a lot of time, patience, who like to read. I like to read. Novels. Not video game storylines. FF3 does not keep it simple. I gave it two stars because the graphics are pretty. But folks, don't buy this unless you're really hard up on horror survival games to play. Same goes for Clock Tower 3.

Fatal Frame 3.... Now this game is scary. So scary that at night I have to get my dog Coonther to come cuddle up with me cause I don't want that women who fell from the stairs to come and take me in my sleep. No but furreals friends though, this game is the scariest out of the franchise even though I still haven't played part 4 and I probably won't until I mod my Wii, but I really liked this one. I wish my woman had the same tattoo as the main character...damn that would drive me bonkers. Okay anyways. Yeah, this is probably one of the coolest and scariest games for PS2. IF you like japan and ghosts and female protagonists pick this bad boy up!

Don’t buy!! Doesn’t work

Tardo un poco en llegar puesto que viene de Estados Unidos, sin embargo esta nuevo y sellado, el juego y el manual obviamente son nuevos, lo único que no me gusto esta la calidad del platico de la caja, que si bien es oficial es de baja calidad, no se si fue por que fue de los últimos en fabricarse o por que aun no fabrican (que yo sepa no) pero con menos esmero en la caja, son embargo si eres coleccionista de esta saga, compralo ya, si se te hace caro créeme que aun así lo vale, no querrás buscarlo años después 5 veces más caro en ebay y aquí esta nuevo

Original sealed fatal frame 3 !

Spooky game!

Dudé un poco al principio, pero el juego es totalmente nuevo (con manual de usuario). Una gran adquisición para coleccionistas.