By Craig Wilson

Before I start this, you may notice that I’ll often refer to this game as “Project Zero”. That’s because here in Europe, we call it Project Zero, instead of Fatal Frame.

Now, the show must go on. Project Zero, developed by Tecmo, Project Zero.

Mafuyu Hinasaki, aspiring folklorist, goes in search of Junsei Takamine (his mentor). Mister Takamine – established author – headed to the Himuro Mansion, with his editor, Koji Ogata; and his female assistant, Tomoe Hirasaka. Unfortunately, the three vanished, never to return. After Mafuya failed to return from Himuro Mansion, his sister, Miku, went in search of him. Little does Miku know, Himuro Mansion bears a terrible curse…

Miku and her brother both share a special gift: a sixth sense, where they are able to see what others cannot. This helps give them an edge, when they both explore the mansion (separately). It is possible they get this gift (or curse) from their poor, departed grandmother. When the two of them touch special objects, they are able to see the past.

When I first bought Project Zero, two things caught my eye. On the case, there’s a picture of a ghoul in the negative, being snapped by a camera. Secondly, there’s a tag line stating that the game is based on true events. I heard the remark was a marketing technique that helped sell the game in Europe. I’ve also heard on the wiki that the game was loosely inspired by a true event. When I started it up, one thing caught my ear: the title music. The title music has this haunting, opera-like tune that’ll entice you; making you want to dive deep into this survival horror.

Now, to talk about how you defend yourself. The Camera Obscura. This magical camera is your only defence against the hostile spirits. You have different types of film – from weak to powerful. When you equip the camera, the game changes into a first-person perspective, with a capture circle and a spirit wave gauge (the higher the gauge, the greater the damage). There’s even an HP meter that displays how much health the ghost has left (as well as having a meter displaying your health). You’ll also notice a filament that will help you track the movements of a ghost. When the filament is blue, it means there’s a clue. When it is red, it means there’s a hostile. There’s even a small RPG element in this game; you can upgrade your camera’s power, the speed and range, and even give it new abilities. Every time you fight a ghost, or snap a non-hostile one, you earn some points. Plus, you find spirit orbs in the game (that are vital to strengthening the camera).

There are no herbs or first aid sprays in Project Zero. Instead, you have herbal medicine, Sacred Water and fragments of a Stone Mirror. The medicine heals you a tiny bit, the water will heal you a lot, and the fragment of a Stone Mirror will help you cheat death. Careful now. You can only use one fragment at a time.

As well as finding people’s notes, you also find a tape player. The tape player is next to the spirit of Koji (sorry for the spoilers). The different tapes to find are Koji’s, Tomoe’s and Takamine’s findings. Also, when Miku touches the tape player for the first time, she sees Koji’s final moments.

As Miku explores the residence, she sees the past images of the previous visitors of the house (including her brother). The mansion has a weird time warp (don’t start dancing). Even though you may see an image of somebody walking, you won’t be able to make contact with them.

I’ll now talk about the ghosts of the mansion. Not all ghosts are angry and confused. Miku is guided through the mansion by a mysterious little girl, clad in a white kimono. Other ghosts are the poor souls that are trapped in time (great for getting some points).

Many of the spirits here have suffered terrible fates. Take the broken neck woman, as a prime example. When she was alive, she witnessed the house master lose his marbles and kill the people around the mansion. Not wanting to have her head sliced off, she jumped off the balcony, thus killing herself. You encounter her on the first night, in the atrium, jumping off the balcony. She can distort her head in such a way that hides her face. Your best bet is to get a fatal frame (when a ghost is about to attack and the filament goes red).

Another noteworthy ghost is the Blinded Woman. You encounter this scary lady on the second night. She blindly searches the mansion, looking for someone to be the next demon (in the demon tag game). The good news is, that she can’t see you; but, the bad news is that she can hear you perfectly, and appear anywhere at will. I won’t spoil how she got blinded. When you see it, try not to flinch.

Not all ghosts were victims of the curse. After the ritual of the Strangling Ritual failed, some horrifying ghouls escaped from hell, wreaking havoc on the mansion. The Strangling Ritual – it was where a Rope Shrine Maiden was sacrificed so the Hell Gate could be closed, and evil spirits and malice could not crossover (but it failed).

The antagonist of the game is Kirie Himuro, who failed to uphold her duty of Rope Shrine Maiden. She is seen floating, her hair covering her eyes and being followed by a legion of ghosts. Kirie is bad news. Anyone who is foolish to enter this mansion, will most likely be cursed and killed by her (except for one character). On the first two nights, you must let her touch you in order to progress. However, on the third and fourth nights, you must run. Don’t be a hero, you should run from her. She is one of my favourite video game antagonists, up there with Sae (more on her in my Fatal Frame 2 article). I won’t spoil her backstory; but when you do find out, prepare to have your heartstrings tugged.

Project Zero features a save system similar to Resident Evil; in the same vain that they both have save points. However, instead of a typewriter, you use a camera. Thankfully, you can use the camera for free, you don’t any need ribbons. You can also replenish your Type-14 film if you’re running low. By the way, watch out if the light on the save camera is red (you will have to get the Camera Obscura ready).

The game has some great replay value to it, too. There is a mission mode where you have to fight certain spirits, meeting certain conditions. You get graded, so I hope you bring your A-game. You can unlock costumes, buy some health and film (for your next file); and plus, the game has multiple endings, and different difficulties to conquer.

There you have it, people. Project Zero (aka Fatal Frame), one of my favourite survival horror games. On the surface, it can feel like a Resident Evil clone (the whole exploring the mansion setting). Beneath the surface, you have a chilling, supernatural horror, with a unique way of beating the opponents.

I hope you enjoyed reading this.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, my house is full of ghosts, but I don’t have a camera…