Fatal Frame (series)

Fatal Frame, known as Project Zero in Europe and Australia, and as Zero 零 Zero in Japan, is a survival horror video game series, so far consisting of four games and a spin-off. The first and second games in the series were released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, the third game is only available for the PlayStation 2, and the fourth game has been released exclusively for the Wii. The series' plot deals with ghosts, exorcism, and dark Shinto rituals.

Created by Tecmo, Fatal Frame is one of the most well received survival horror games to date.

Fatal Frame (2001)
After having received no news for over a week, Miku Hinasaki goes into the Himuro Mansion to look for her missing brother, Mafuyu Hinasaki. She finds no trace of her brother, except for her mother's old camera that Mafuyu brought along with him. Realizing that she is now trapped within the mansion, Miku continues searching for her brother and a way out. The game was later ported to the Xbox. The Xbox version included smoother graphics, more costumes, more ghosts and an exclusive "Fatal Mode" that can be unlocked by completing the main game.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (2003)
Twin sisters Miyu and Mayu Amakura are visiting a childhood play spot, when Mayu follows a mysterious crimson butterfly deep into the forest. Concerned for her twin, Miyu follows Mayu and the two girls are led to a lost village. When they reach the village they enter an old house, where they find the Camera Obscura. Miyu must uncover the mystery behind the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual whilst chasing her sister, who is becoming increasingly possessed by the evil spirit of Sae, the last girl to be sacrificed. Originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2003, a Director's Cut edition was later released for the Xbox in 2004. The director's cut added several updates to the gameplay, such as a first-person play mode, a survival mode, a new ending, enhanced graphics, and a greater number of alternate costumes to unlock.

Fatal Frame III: The Tormented (2005)
Released only for the PlayStation 2, the game follows Rei Kurosawa, a 23 year old freelance photographer. While on a freelance assignment taking pictures of a supposedly haunted mansion, the image of her deceased fiancé appears in a photograph. Afterwards, Rei begins having strange recurring dreams of an old Japanese manor during a heavy snowfall and observes her fiancé entering the house. She follows his figure into the house, where the dream becomes a nightmare.

Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (2008)
The fourth installment of the Fatal Frame series was developed for the Wii in co-production with Grasshopper Manufacture. Tentatively titled Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse and published by Nintendo.

10 years prior to the events of the game, five young girls were kidnapped by You Haibara, a criminal, from a mysterious sanatorium on Rougetsu Island. They were eventually rescued by Choushiro Kirishima, a detective pursuing the criminal. Several years after the incident, two of the girls (Marie Shinomiya and Tomoe Nanamura) died mysteriously. The three remaining girls, Misaki Asou, Ruka Minazuki and Madoka Tsukimori, now 17 years old, return to the island to recover their lost memories and find out more of what happened that day. Choushiro continues to pursue Haibara, as well as aiding Ruka along the way.

The game was released in Japan on July 31, 2008, and so far sold around 75.000 copies making it the best sold game of the series in Japan. There are no plans for a western release, despite various claims of fans. However, an unofficial English translation patch has been released.

Real: Another Edition (2004)
Real: Another Edition is a cellular based spin-off of Fatal Frame that was released only in Japan in October, 2004. The game made use of a cellphone camera as the camera obscura and required the players to find ghosts and fight them. The game has more than 70 spirits that can be collected, including some from the first two games in the series.

Story background and history
Throughout the series, references are made to Kunihiko Aso, a fictitious Japanese "Occultist" that lived during the late nineteenth century. Using western technology, he developed inventions that would allow him and others to make contact with spirits in the "other world."

His inventions include the Camera Obscura, the primary weapon used to defend against ghosts throughout the series, the spirit stone radio, introduced in Fatal Frame II as a means to listen to the thoughts and memories of spirits that had been stored in special crystals, and a projector capable of displaying ghostly images captured on film that motion picture cameras could not see.

According to Fatal Frame III, Aso's various inventions were eventually scattered about Japan and are now heavily sought after by collectors. The Camera Obscura used by Miku in the first game had once belonged to her mother, and Mio finds a different Camera Obscura while exploring the lost village, whilst the camera used in Fatal Frame III was discovered in the ruins of the Kuze Shrine by Kei Amakura.

In Fatal Frame IV, the Camera Obscura used by Madoka Tsukimori and Ruka Minazuki is an exhibit in the "Aso Museum" of Reigetsu Hall. This camera was left behind by Dr. Aso when he visited the island. However, Misaki Aso brought a different Camera Obscura belonging to her family as she is a descendant of Kunihiko Aso.