Monday, August 1, 2005

   Scary as hell!
Has anyone ever played Fatal Frame 2:Crimson Butterfly? I already finished it (I'm going on to hard mode now...*shudder*) but I thought that it deserves some blog time.

To start off, Crimson Butterfly is not for the weak of heart. It follows twin girls Mio and Mayu around as they uncover the mysteries of "The Lost Village" which was a village in Japan that had apparently disappeared during the time of a festival. (Festival my ass but whatever.) These two girls are being lead around the village by ghosts and their only form of protection against the supernatural is the Camera Obscura. A camera made by Dr.Aso that can photograph things with a connection to "the other side". Thank god that this camera also has an exorcising effect on the photographed beings! Or we'd be in trouble. Anyway, using this camera as your weapon and the dairies and last thoughts of dead villagers as your guide, you must uncover the secrets of the village to escape it's eternal curse.

Since I'm a freak and I want more terrified people in the world, here is the story as it's written in the little-guide-book-thing:


The vanished village, "All God's Village."

This village is said to have once stood in the forest, deep in the mountains. This forest is now due to be lost with the creation of a new dam.

The story goes, that on the eve of a special festival, the village suddenly vanished, leaving the forest wreathed in a thick fog.

Many also say that if you should happen to get lost in this forest, you will be spirited away to this lost village.

The village where the crimson butterflies dance.
The village held forever in the grip of a never-ending night.


*twitch twitch* Heh heh heh...*gulp*
I ended up getting the Director's Cut version wich has enhanced graphics and sounds. As if we NEED that! *sob* It's just so damn scary!!! All of the game graphics look ~real~ even during normal gameplay where a lot of games tend to take a turn for the worse. The cut scenes are amazing and make me wish I had on rubber pants. ^_^ The music is amazing as well. Maybe "amazing" isn't the word...it just really adds to the overall feel of the game. Which is terrifiying. The song they play when you end the game is beautiful and if you hadn't been watching the very sad end to a very terrifying game while it was playing one would rock out to it.

There are three different endings to the game but only two are considered to be ~the end~. I won't tell what happens in the two that I've gotten but I have to say that the "not real" ending made me stare at the screen with my mouth open in horror for 5 minutes after. The only real ending I've gotten made me cry...and cry...and cry...I stared at the screen after that one too, but not for the same reason.

The whole ~twin~ thing is very important to the story and it's more interesting if you understand some things about Japanese culture. Like the fact that twins are considered bad luck.

Crimson Butterfly is what my mom and I call "Japanese horror". Correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot of American horror games (like Resident Evil) base their horror factor on the gruesome images of ripped up bodies and the like. Well, the Japanese horror games (like the Fatal Frame series) base their horror factor on the psychological impact made on you by situations, the scary sounds that make you jump, sudden pop-ups, and very rare disturbing images which (when they rear their ugly heads) are the kind that make you think "OH MY GOD!!! Wh-what the...ewwwww." Case in point: In one of the houses as you are walking down a staircase you're character, Mio, stops even though you're pushing on the control stick. Suddenly you hear a bump and a peircing scream bursts your eardrums as a woman in a bright red kimono falls from the top of the staircase and lands RIGHT NEXT TO YOU!!! You then have to photograph her until she is finally exorcised but her condition is gross. One foot is twisted at an odd angle and I'm not really sure what her arms are doing. She can't get up so she sort of scoots around on her back after you...

Anyway, this game rocks and I recommend it for anyone tired of all the normal blood and gore. Sorry for the huge post!
~Char
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