On one hand, the Wii is getting franchises that never showed up on the GameCube. On the other, there are still plenty of titles that would be perfect on Nintendo's latest console, yet aren't.
Fatal Frame IV
Where did it come from?
The Fatal Frame series is survival horror based on ghosts, unsolved mysteries, haunted mansions, and a camera. The camera bit is really important because the only way that players can protect themselves from vengeful spirits is to take pictures of them. That combination of the supernatural and photography has ensured that this game stands out amongst survival horror games.
Previous games in the series have appeared on the Playstation 2 and the XBox, but again, the GameCube was left in the cold. Nintendo's console could clearly handle survival horror. After all it played host to Capcom's extensive Resident Evil series, not to mention Eternal Darkness from Silicon Knights. Yet Fatal Frame was another one of those games I couldn't help but be curious about despite the console differences at play.
How is it coming to the Wii?
Fatal Frame IV is a surprising choice for a Wii exclusive. But there it is, and series creator Tecmo still helmed the game's development, this time with some help from Grasshopper Manufacture. Nintendo also got involved with the game's development, which could go a long way to explaining the sudden change of platform for the series.
Fatal Frame IV is also already released... in Japan. The game was nowhere in sight at E3 or Nintendo's recent conferences, and it has no announced plans for a Western release yet. Hopefully we'll be playing with the lights off sometime soon: all it needs is a little localization and the Wii will have itself a screamer.
