Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
| Fatal Frame III: The Tormented | |
| |
| 零 ～刺青の聲～ Zero ～Shisei no Koe～ Project Zero III: The Tormented | |
| Developer(s): | Tecmo |
| Publisher(s): | Tecmo |
| Distributor(s): | Tecmo & Take Two (Euro) |
| Release date: | 2005 & 2006; rerelease (Japan) 2007 |
| Genre: | Survival Horror |
| Game modes: | Easy, Normal, Hard & Nightmare |
| Ratings: | US 17+ JP 15 EU 15 |
| Regions: | Japan, US, Europe |
| Platform(s): | PlayStation 2 |
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented is the third game in the Fatal Frame Series, and is exclusive to the PS2.
Storyline
- "I heard this house was haunted...too bad it's not."
- ―Rei Kurosawa (to Miku Hinasaki)src
"Why did I survive?"
This thought has haunted Rei ever since that day... The day she lost her fiancé in a car accident - while she was at the wheel.
One day, freelance photographer Rei Kurosawa receives an assignment to shoot pictures at an old Japanese manor. Rumor has it that the manor, situated deep in the mountains and miles from anywhere, is haunted.
During her work that day, Rei sees something inexplicable: her fiancé. Yuu Asou. As far as she knows, he is dead. Setting off in pursuit of her dead lover, Rei finds herself wandering deeper and deeper into the ruins of the abandoned mansion.
At the end of a crumbling passageway she turns a corner, and suddenly the scene around her changes. Snow is falling heavily, and reaching out ahead of her are rows and rows of countless gravestones. The scene bears no resemblance to the abandoned house where she has been taking pictures.
"Where am I? What is this place...?"
Afraid and confused, Rei begins her search for Yuu...
- - -
- Opening description from the "Fatal Frame III: the Tormented" manual.
Main Characters
The main character. She is a freelance photographer suffering the loss and guilt of her recently deceased fiancé, Yuu Asou. One day, while shooting the remains of an old mansion, she catches a glimpse of her fiancé within a photo. Chasing him down the corridor, she finds herself in what appears to be a restored version of the mansion. She encounters spirits and rituals of the past until awoken from her daydream by her assistant, Miku Hinasaki. After that day, Rei begins to have violent and disturbing dreams set within the mansion. A painful blue tattoo spreads over her body each time she wakes, making Rei determined to find answers before her time is up.
Rei's assistant, and also a returning character from Fatal Frame.
Several years after her experiences at Himuro Mansion, Miku is living with Rei Kurosawa and has taken a job as her assistant. Not much is known about her within the first few chapters, but as the game progresses, Rei discovers that even after his death, Miku can't let go of the memory of her brother, allowing the tattoo to slowly consume her body as well.
A non-fiction writer conducting research into folklore and urban legends. He is also drawn into the Manor of Sleep in his search for answers regarding the condition of his niece, Mio Amakura. While they don't meet face to face until quite late in the game, he is able to provide Rei with information by means of his letters and research notes sent to his good friend (and Rei's fiancé) Yuu Asou.
His Spirit Power is weak and he finds it difficult to fight off the ghosts that attack him. Instead he relies on a wealth of background knowledge and his superior health to help him confront the Curse of the Tattoo.
Hours
In Fatal Frame III, the chapters are called "hours". The character used (刻) can also mean "engraving", and the same character is also used in the name of the Engraving Shrine (刻宮).
- Zero Hour
- Hour I: The Sign
- Hour II: The Manor of Sleep
- Hour III: The Subduing Song
- Hour IV: The Evil Dream
- Hour V: Vanishing
- Hour VI: The Sacrificial Pillar
- Hour VII: The Hanging Prison
- Hour VIII: The Vacant Dream
- Hour IX: The Unleashing
- Hour X: The Piercing of the Soul
- Hour XI: The Last Passage
- Hour XII: The Ceremony of Commandment
- Hour XIII: Calling of the Tattoo
- Final Hour: Abyss of the Horizon
Voice Cast
Release dates
- Japan - July 28th 2005
- US - November 8th 2005
- Europe - February 24th 2006
- Japan re-issue (PlayStation 2 The Best) - July 6th 2006
- Japan re-issue (PlayStation 2 The Best) - November 11th 2007
- US PSN Store as a PS2 Classic - October 1st 2013[1]
Regional Differences
- As always, the main series name differs in Japan, Europe, and North America.
- Voice actors.
- Whereas Crimson Butterfly is a literal translation of Fatal Frame II's subtitle, The Tormented is a new subtitle for the English versions of the game. Shisei no Koe translates to Call of the Tattoo.
- There are a number of minor translation and transliteration errors and inconsistencies in the US and European versions.
- In the original version of the game's ending, Yuu removes Rei's tattoos but does not absorb them. In the US and European versions, they visibly transfer to his skin.
- While the Japanese version has an option to turn subtitles on, they do not display. Subtitles in all non-Japanese releases, however, do work.
Box Art
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US, PS2
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EU, PS2
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JP, PS2
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JP, PS2
Promotional Material
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US, PS2
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EU, PS2
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JP, Preorder Bonus
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JP, Promotional Store DVD
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JP, Promotional Store DVD Alt
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Japan, Advertisement Slip
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Japan, Advertisement Poster
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Japan, Advertisement Poster
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Japan, Advertisement of 2nd Japanese Reprint
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AUS, Hyper Magazine Apr-2006
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UK, Official Playstation 2 Magazine
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UK, Official Playstation 2 Magazine
Game Inspirations
Fatal Frame III takes influence from Japanese folklore and urban legends, as well as Makoto Shibata's personal experiences and dreams.
- Some areas of the Manor of Sleep, in particular the Doll Altars, were inspired by things Shibata and Kikuchi saw on a research trip to Tono in Iwate Prefecture.[2]
- The Manor of Sleep itself was based on an abandoned house Makoto Shibata used to play in as a child, where he saw the ghost of a woman pushing a pram.[2] He and his friends played a game that involved taking items from the house and pretending to investigate what had happened there, and this directly inspired the investigation style of Fatal Frame III, where the player and characters must piece together the story from fragmentary sources.[3]
- A Japanese creature called a Baku who eats nightmares.[4]
- A character in Japanese folklore called the Dream Buyer, who buys and sells good dreams.[4]
Supplemental Material
- Zero Shisei no Koe Official Fast Capture Book
- Zero Shisei no Koe Complete Official Capture Book, including Kaname's Letters and Yuu's Notes
- Zero Shisei no Koe Comic Anthology
- History of "Project Zero" (DVD)
Misc. Info
- The game's image colour is blue.
- One theme of the game is fear of invasion.[5]
- The theme song is Koe by Tsukiko Amano.
- Mio Amakura was originally planned as the third character in this game.
- Keywords for the game include tattoo, sleep, dream, suffer, lullaby, sacrifice, doll, and snow. [4]
- This game is now discontinued.
- For a list of staff who worked on the game, see Fatal Frame III Staff.
- Keisuke Kikuchi has confirmed in the Japanese Fatal Frame 3 guidebook that the Photograph Ending is the canon ending to this game, and co-creator Makoto Shibata has stated on his Twitter account that the photograph ending is the true ending.
"Shisei no Koe has two endings, which are both basically the same. The version that is explained using the pictures during the credits is the version I intended (as the "true" ending)."[6]
- Rei's Camera Obscura is the save icon for the game.
- The game sold 0.08m units globally.[7]
Official Links
References
- ↑ The Drop: New PlayStation Releases for October 1st, 2013, retrieved September 30 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Creators Interview, Zero Shisei no Koe Complete Official Capture Book p244-9. English translation
- ↑ Fatal Frame III Dev Diary #4, Gamespy, 4 November 2005.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Project Zero 3: Q & A with Makoto Shibata, VideoGamer (offline), 6 June 2006.
- ↑ Shibata, Makoto. (October 28, 2005) "Fatal Frame III Developer Diary #3 (PS2)." Gamespy.com. Retrieved March 01, 2009 from http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/fatal-frame-3/662607p1.html
- ↑ Shibata, Makoto. (3.28am EST April 18, 2011) @fatalframers, Twitter. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://twitter.com/makoto_shibata
- ↑ VG Chartz, retrieved October 21 2012.