Fatal Frame Series
The Fatal Frame Series (also known as 零 or Project Zero series) is a videogame series created by Keisuke Kikuchi (菊地啓介) and Makoto Shibata (柴田誠) and produced by Tecmo. It is designed and programmed by Tecmo's game development group Project Zero. The settings of the Fatal Frame games are usually locations that are rumored to be haunted. The main character - usually a girl with a sixth sense - becomes trapped, but finds an antique camera with the ability to dispel ghosts. The Camera Obscura is a creation of the famed occultist Dr. Kunihiko Asou. As the protagonist makes her way through the game, she learns more about ancient rituals that took place (and went horribly wrong) in the place where she has become trapped. In order to come out alive, the protagonist must solve the mystery of the ritual and lift the curse.
Series Origin
The Fatal Frame series had its beginnings when creator Keisuke Kikuchi was working on Tecmo's popular Kagero/Deception series. He began to toy with the idea of a player being forced to explore and find their way through a haunted house. Originally, Kikuchi had pitched the idea to Capcom, which, with its Resident Evil and Clocktower series, was then much more deeply involved in the survival horror genre than Tecmo. Capcom rejected the idea, but luckily Kikuchi successfully pitched the project to Tecmo.
At first, the game concept for the original Fatal Frame closely mirrored that of another popular Japanese Survival Horror Playstation video game series called Otogiriso (弟切草). Some of the old plot line of the story was available to read at the original Fatal Frame video game US website[1]. The game's plot was gradually tweaked and altered into its current form.
Three games for the series were developed for the PS2 (all making the Playstation Best of the Best list in Japan). Later games were developed in partnership with Nintendo, and released on the Wii, Wii U and 3DS. Various tie-in media, including a movie, manga, and several books, have also been released.
Timeline of the Series
While the game stories are largely standalone, they all take place in a shared universe, with some characters and locations recurring in more than one game. Check the Timeline for a complete timeline of the series and actions of its characters.
Games in the series
- Fatal Frame
- Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
- Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
- Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
- Fatal Frame: Deep Crimson Butterfly
- Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Other Spinoff Games
- Zero Sound: Cellphone Game/story series
- Real Zero: Another Edition: Cellphone Game
- Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir: Nintendo 3DS Game
Other Media
- Zero 4D: 3D Amusement Park Attraction
- Zero Novel: Novelization of first game
- Fatal Frame Fanbook: Official fanbook encompassing information, characters, locations, etc from the first two games. It also includes a Novelization of the second game.
- Zero Shisei no Koe Comic Anthology: Collection of supplementary stories drawn/written by horror manga artists.
- Fatal Frame: A Curse Affecting Only Girls: A novel with an original Fatal Frame story by Eiji Otsuka.
- Fatal Frame: The Movie: A Japanese movie based on the novel.
- Fatal Frame: Shadow Priestess: A manga spinoff of the series with an original story by Koei Tecmo, writing by Seimaru Amagi and art by hakus