Everything is scary when you are on a mountain. That is today's lesson.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hands-on-preview/41271/project-zero-maiden-of-black-water-wii-u-hands-on-preview
In many respects, I enjoy the Project Zero/Fatal Frame games a ton. With their moody environments and unsettling situations, it is understandable why the west wanted the latest entry in their hands. Outside of a lackluster Nintendo 3DS title and a remake (that never came to North America), the whole situation was a rather rough one. We didn't expect the series to make a comeback, but were positively surprised in April this year. The fifth installment was actually coming over, and just in time for Halloween as well. Was it worth the long wait? Why yes. Yes, it was.
The prologue for Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water sets things up in a great fashion. You get to play as Mop it up Hinasaki, who finds herself in a dark and unknown area. You stumble about for a bit and get to learn the game's basics quickly and easily. This is needed as daunting spirits surround the girl and she has to run to find a way out of there. It is sadly all in vain as an evil female ghost traps her and her ultimate fate remains a mystery at the end of the beginning.
What makes the opening so stand out is that there is a sense of dread that feels real. I was shivering a bit on my seat and felt uneasy about what was happening. The Wii U GamePad vibrates at those tense moments, which adds that dimension I needed to make it click. The darkness creeps around every corner and that is clearer than ever. The game has full English voice acting and I quite like what they have done with it. It uses American voices and that didn't annoy me even for one second. The purists have the option to turn it to full Japanese voices and put the focus more on the subtitles.
A big point of note in the story is battling the demons that are inside. This becomes rather clear when you meet the two main figures in story, which are Yuri Kozukata and Ren Hojo. You switch between the two of them in every chapter to uncover new areas and plot points. To me, Yuri had more layers that mattered to the overall progression of the plot. She is a lonely person, who can't seem to deal with the loss of her family and the added bonus that she can understand the undead now. Yuri uses this gift to find what happened to the girls that hopped on to Mount Hikami and never returned. In any ways, she shares some of the same emotions as these ladies, but never quite admits it in the opening act.
She is pulled into that world from all angles. Various threats across the story recognize the fear that she is going through. Evil Shrine Maidens try to pull her down and one mysterious child plainly senses her desire to just die. While scary moments are plenty all across the board, it is the combination of things that make it worthwhile. The tense phrases in dialogue, the grim atmosphere and the unsettling enemies contribute to the overall impact of the adventure. The Maiden of the Black Water is filled with creepy moments, which is very good and makes the game feel important.
While Yuri's segments focus a ton on unraveling current events, Ren's sections try to delve into the history of Mt. Hikami. The place has a long, horrible history and the place can currently best be seen as a glorified suicide spot. The guy follows the hot trail of a famous folklore writer, who settled on the mountain in hope of uncovering its many secrets. Keiji Watawari became obsessed with a girl in black and ultimately saw his downfall. Ren, who is a writer himself, is desperate to find out why and chases that lead to some pretty unfamiliar ground. Ren also seems to have a connection to the mysterious child from earlier and she seems to populate his dreams. What is going on? Only time can tell.
I don't feel like spoiling the story more beyond this, because there is more shock value if you experience it yourself. There is, however, one moment that I do feel like mentioning as it keeps popping up in my mind. One of the early people that you try to help is Fuyuhi Himino, who is searching for her friend Haruka Momose. She grows impatient fast and sprints to the mountains, so Yuri gives chase. They stay together for a little while, but the supernatural forces get to Fuyuhi. Her ultimate fate isn't exactly a kind one and it is one of the final moments that you will experience in the trial version on the eShop. The series of events here were the most frightening of the whole journey and immediately gives the untrained eye the big warning sign it needs.
For now, let us move on from the story. It is likely that many of you have not played a Project Zero/Fatal Frame game before and want to know what the experience is actually like. The most important thing is that you will be walking around a lot. As you explore the various environments and landscapes, you will interact with objects and trigger the cutscenes that are needed to progress the story further. You will also find documents to bring more perspectives into the mix and get a variety of items to survive. The important factor in this is how it all controls and the Wii U GamePad does the trick quite well. The movements feel responsive and pressing that ZL-button will be your friend throughout the journey. Why? That is the button to start running and get the frick out of the situation you are currently in.
In all fairness, you will be using the ZR-button actually more. This allows you to follow a ghostly trail, so that you can retrace a person's steps. Now you aren't forced to press that button all that much, but I find myself pressing it a lot. Was I too frightened to decide for myself? Feel free to decide that matter for yourself, but do understand that at certain moments the ability is useless. Ren goes more on instinct and, within certain chapters, Yuri has to step off the beaten path and get the job done elsewhere. That keeps you on your toes and that is truly needed if you want to expertly handle the Camera Obscura.
The Camera Obscura is your key to everything in the story. It creates the traces that are needed to get a clue and that alone is crucial. The camera is also needed to solve a grand number of puzzles that are scattered across the landscape. You will need to twist and turn the Camera Obscura to find the necessary items like documents, which is notable if you are doing research with Ren. In other instances, you will use the camera to copy the locations on photos given to you to find the keys for a door. It challenges you to look around in the environments closely and memorize what you encounter throughout.
The most important feature of the Camera Obscura is that it can make harmful ghosts disappear. These spirits are more than willing to grab you and drain your health meter. Your task here is to get a good quality picture of the ghost in order to knock them back. The ghost vanishes when there is no more life in him/her, so it’s vital to do this effectively. How do you do this? Well, there are a couple of ways. There will be, sometimes, a bunch of floating smaller spirits surrounding the ghost that you are fighting. The more that you can line up, the bigger the opportunity for a Shutter Chance will be. It needs at least five creatures in shot to make it work, but if you have even more? Fantastic. Go for it!
If you are just fighting a single harsh enemy, the wait and see approach might be a better way to go. As the spirit inches closer to your face, chances are that a ''Fatal Frame'' shot can be done. This gives the ghost a huge amount of knockback and removes a ton of their health rather fast. It may take a while longer, but that also gives you a bit more time to react. The final way to ensure a quick victory is by making usage of the various lenses and film. Each of them works differently and having a varied arsenal is always wise. Some film you will only find in the environment, while others can be purchased before you start a level. One more note of importance: Yuri and Ren’s cameras work differently. The models and lenses act differently from one another and each has special features. Ren's version lets you take four pictures at once, but it will take a while for it to reload if you do so.
It took a while for me to understand how to control the Camera Obscura. You can opt to control the camera either with the right control stick or gyroscope. At first, I was wildly moving like nobody's business and found that the gyroscope alone doesn't work for me. Now I am doing the slow tilting with the Wii U GamePad, while the control stick is doing most of the work. It takes a while to let it all sink in and I recommend trying out both options to see what fits you personally. There isn't an easy way to center the camera in this mode, so you just learn to adapt and that will go for each person very differently.
As you complete chapters and get closer to solving the mystery, it is handy to prepare for what is to come. The game already has various difficulty options, but you can get yourself some more help. By finishing the episodes, you will earn points that you can spend on a variety of objects. I already touched on the film, but the health items are naturally more important. There are Mirrorstones that provide extra lives, while Purifying Embers make your body dry and free you from any black energy that touches you. If you walk about in the pouring rain, which you will, wandering spirits are more likely to appear than in other instances. If you are quickly frightened, this is one aspect that you need to be aware of. ou can also upgrade the Camera Obscuras and their lenses to beat ghosts much more quickly than before!
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is an absolutely gorgeous looking game. The character models and environments look fantastic, which is one of Tecmo Koei's strengths. Add to that the music and sound mixing, and you have a game that had a lot of thought put into it. I really couldn't ask for anything more!
As you can clearly see, I am very happy to be playing the game right now. Sure, there are some problems with the Camera Obscura, but I am just enjoying myself overall. Something is clicking with this game that I’m willing to put up with the camera’s quirks. If you never played a Project Zero/Fatal Frame game before, be sure to take that first step and try that Trial Version later this month. Believe me, it is totally worth it.