RF Generation Message Board

If your 2020 hasn't been quite scary enough, please join Rich (singlebanana) and Shawn (GrayGhost81) as they play through the second of three games in the Fatal Frame series, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly.  Released during the 6th Generation for both the PlayStation 2 and original XBox (as a Director's Cut), Fatal Frame II follows twin sisters Mio and Mayu Amakura as they happen upon a haunted village where paranormal entities threaten to use them as a sacrifice. As in the first game, instead of weapons, players must use their Camera Obscura to photograph these evil spirits in order to exorcise them. This third-person, survival horror entry, both sisters may take damage, but if even one of them takes too much, it's GAME OVER.  How will a game without "weaponry" fare among other titles from the survival horror genre?  And will the sisters be able to escape the now confirmed urban legend  that is the Minakami Village?   We hope you're feeling photogenic!

Participants
singlebanana
grayghost81
Mr_Stubbes
ReddMcKnight
Disposed Hero
EngineerMike

Is it one of the fatal frame games?

I think you are on to something.  I own the first two on the Xbox and beat the first one.  They are great games.  The second one freaks the crap out of me.  And so did the first.

I always enjoy the Halloween picks.

Well it looks like we'll be getting the crap scared out of use, because we will be playing the second game...

I don't do well with Horror games but I'm in on this one.

There is also a Wii version available from the PAL territory if anyone is interested. I'm probably going to main the PS2 version but will try them both I think.

I'm definitely in for this one! I've actually never played any of the Fatal Frame games, so I'm going to start with the first before rolling into the second.

Also, I'm pretty sure I got my copy of Fatal Frame II from Rich a few years back, so I guess this is the perfect time to finally play it :)

Can I play it on my Xbox or Wii, or is PS2 a requirement? If I can play it on either of the former, then yes, yes, yes, I am 100 percent in. :)

As always, any platform is good.

I went ahead and started the first Fatal Frame and have put about an hour into it. I've gotta say, I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get around to this series, because I'm really enjoying it so far. I know the first game is supposedly pretty rough around the edges compared to II, so I'm really looking forward to starting that one soon.

Thanks for the insight, dude! Surprised to hear you've never played these given your tastes.

If anyone is wondering why we started with the second game in the series, it is because it is recognized as being on the easier side and having a great story within the series and survival horror in general, plus it's available on the most platforms.

I have no experience with the series except having played Spirit Camera on the 3DS, which was actually fun as hell. Can't wait to get started on this one once I finish Gears of War.

I wish I had my Xbox here so I could finally finish this game.  Good luck guys and don't crap your pants!

Played this a long time ago and thought it was great. Looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks!

I’m in

Just secured myself a copy for the PS2.

I'm in, and hope it will be one i can finish.. this year has sucked in finding time to play.

Started the game last night and it's great with one glaring "flaw" that is really my fault.

It's cool to be playing a survival horror in this vein, complete with fixed camera angles causing you to change course without realizing it. I like that the "puzzles" so far don't rely on moon logic like Silent Hill but rather just collecting parts of a story as barriers come down and you can progress.

The 'combat' is pretty great, though it has some frustrating aspects. I think the key is not to panic. Aim, shoot, move, repeat.

The main issue I had, and I have control over this I just got lazy/wasn't expecting to die, is that it's hard saves only. After launching Chapter 2 I got killed by the two ghosts in the front room and my last save was somewhere in the middle of Chapter One. UGH. Again, totally my fault, and going forward I'll know to save constantly, but having to replay about half of what I've played in the game so far was annoying and broke my spirits.  ;) ;) ;)

What version are you playing ? Ps2 Xbox or Wii EU remake?

XBOX

PS2 for me

I'm playing on the PS2 as well.

I started my playthrough this weekend and made it to chapter 3. So far I have some mixed feelings about this game. I'm enjoying the story so far and I like the creepy atmosphere of All God's Village, however, there are also a couple things that annoy me. For starters, the camera obscura controls are a bit sluggish. I'm sure I'll grow more accustomed to them the more I play, but starting out, its made fighting the ghost a little tricky. The biggest issue I have is how dark this game is and I'm not talking about the horror elements. I have so much trouble trying to navigate the pitch black areas of this game (even with the flashlight). Coupling the darkness with the sometimes weird camera angles, have made me slightly annoyed a few times now. I adjusted the game and my TV's brightness to try and help with this, and while it worked a little bit, some areas are still too dark.

I finished the first Fatal Frame a little while back and really enjoyed it overall despite some frustrating ghost encounters during the second half of the game.

I got started on Fatal Frame II last weekend and am currently somewhere in Chapter 4 and also enjoying this game quite a bit. It definitely feels more polished overall. The camera mechanics are a bit different than in the first game, but I'm finally starting to adjust to it, although I think I prefer how the camera worked in the original. I really like the overall vibe and atmosphere. The story premise feels similar to the first game, but I'm curious to see where it all goes.

So I picked up a pair of component cables for my PS2 and they have helped a lot with the really dark areas. While it is a little whitewashed I can at least see where I am going and progress further into the game. I haven't gotten too much farther along, but I have made it to the first save point in chapter 3. I am hoping I can play some more later today or this weekend.

*Progress Update*
 I had some time to play during my lunch break and have made it about halfway through chapter 4. As I continue to progress the story/game is becoming creepier and creepier.

I'm about where you're at, Stubbes. Near the end of Chapter 4.

I'm a little lost, and even with a peek at a walkthrough it's not clear what I need to do next. I'll figure it out next time I fire the game up.

I have a really conflicted relationship with this game. I love it because it's a survival horror game that is actually really easy to survive (I have over 20 of the various healing items in my inventory and hardly ever have to use them), but I get nervous that I'm going to lose progress if I die because of the whole hard saves only thing I talked about in a previous post. This results in me playing from save point to save point, wanting to stop each time I find one.

Hopefully in doing this, it won't take me too long to finish the game. There are nine total chapters so I don't think it will be a problem. I'm actually looking forward to looking up some speed runs of this game after I finish it. I can imagine there are some creative techniques to get through this one fast.

Here's another little progress update of my current playthrough. Currently I am fairly close to the end of Chapter 6. I'm still enjoying my playthrough and am very excited to kind of see how all of this ends. The Kiryu House in chapter 6 has some really creepy areas and aggressive ghost encounters. However, there is one encounter I found that didn't age super well and I found myself laughing instead of being scared.

Spoiler (hover to show)

The encounter that I am referring to is the one with the Falling Woman. While the cutscene down the spiraling stair case is a little creepy, the battle that follows really tickled me. During the cutscene, you see the Falling Woman relive her death as she falls from the top of the stairs to the ground below while hearing the sounds of her screams before the eventual thud. Once at the bottom of the stars the fight starts and you attack the ghost with the camera as you would any other spirit. The part of the fight that made me laugh is when the ghost disappears. When she disappears she will fall from the top of the stairs again screaming and then SPLAT she hits the ground like a sack of potatoes. The whole thing tickled me because she'll do this 5-6 times during the fight and seeing her scream and flail before smacking the ground over and over really takes the scariness away from it all.

*Another Progress Update*

I finished Chapter 6 and have progressed some in Chapter 7. The start of chapter 7 is pretty exciting so I’m eager to see where it ends up. With only a few more chapters to go, I can’t wait to see how the story will end.

I've been plugging away at this and am somewhere in Chapter 8. Still enjoying a lot of the overall vibe and atmosphere of the game. I still have some frustrations with the combat, but I think it's helped some that I'm finally starting to understand the nuance of this game versus the first Fatal Frame. In the first game, the amount of damage you would do was dependant on how long you kept the camera focused on an enemy. In this game, it seems to be all about waiting for a specific opening and getting the 'Zero Shot' or 'Fatal Frame.' I discovered that this typically occurs during an enemy's attack animation, so now I've been running past enemies to bait them into attacking, then turning around and taking the shot during their animation. You can also do combos if you time the shots right after a 'Fatal Frame' which is pretty satisfying. Looking forward to wrapping this one up in the next few days.

So I finished the game last Friday and completed it on the easy difficulty. Overall I enjoyed my playthrough of Fatal Frame 2, even with the not so happy ending. I really enjoyed the creepy and unsettling atmosphere of this game whether it be the ambient sounds, the hidden/non-violent ghosts, the combat encounters and the environmental reactions that occur during story progression. I'm not sure if I would branch out and play the other games on my own, but if they were to be a part of a monthly playthrough, then I would definitely give them a shot.

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/jmSsBqv.jpg[/img]

Awesome! Disposed Hero finished the game too.

I'm still lost confused on Osaka house round two in chapter 5. Running around trying to trigger the next thing happening. Annoying, even with a walkthrough. Hopefully this is just a hump I need to get over.

I had some issues with that too, trying to figure out what to do or where to go next.

I think that's the part where you need to do the little puzzle to get down to the basement. Did you talk to the ghost boy in the nearby building again? I think you have to do that before it lets you interact with the puzzle.

I believe that is the issue. In order to complete the pinwheel puzzle in the family alter room you have to talk to Itsuki at the Storeroom first. If you don't you cannot progress

Also if you need a helpful guide that isn't too spoilery. Here is the one that I used from time to time.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/915022-fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly/faqs/28101

Thanks for the direction, guys. I was able to get into the basement of Osaka house, but now I cannot get into Kiryu house. The walkthrough I'm using says I should've had a second fight with broken neck woman on the bridge, and although I didn't, I did see her stalking Mio on the high walkway.

I gotta be honest, my enjoyment of this game has deteriorated to the point where I'm about to give up completely. I may jump into the Wii version for a little bit to see how different it is, watch the rest on youtube, and call it a day with this one. I can't stand running around trying to trigger some ultra-specific thing with these over-complicated walkthroughs being of absolutely no help (I searched "kiryu" in the one linked above and there are 175 instances of the word). Sucks because I felt like I was cruising through this game until I hit chapter 5.  

EDIT:It's as if the souls of All Gods' Village heard my cries because I felt compelled to google yet another walkthrough and I found the one linked below which seems really cut and dried. I was able to open Kiryu house and I know as soon as I step through the door, Chapter 5 will finally be over. I'm about to take a walk with my wife so hopefully a nice break will clear my head and I can proceed this afternoon and make some real progress.

https://www.ign.com/faqs/2006/fatal-frame-ii-crimson-butterfly-walkthrough-448464

Made to Chapter 8. After Chapter 5 the game got a lot better for me, especially thanks to the walkthrough I linked in my last post. Unfortunately for me, this walkthrough is unfinished and ends at the start of Chapter 8, so I'll have to find another one.

I liked the four (yes I know one of them was optional but I did all four) battles with Crimson Kimono. I actually felt like I was kicking her ass in the first battle, walloping her with Zero Shots until the cows came home. I liked when she turned the lights out. It reminded me of that one boss you fight in the dark in Senua's Sacrifice.

Still have a ton of healing items. I actually tend to restart if I use too many in a battle, even though I have like 25 healing herbs and 5 or 6 sacred waters.

I played to about chapter 4, I think I'm getting to old for jump scare games lol, so I decided to watch the rest of the game on YouTube so I can at least see the ending. 

Finally beat the game yesterday. The final boss was easy in a way but annoying in that if he landed an attack it was instant death, so all those stockpiled healing items and the magic mirror are of no help. At least I was able to run through the tunnels each time I failed because the damage taken from the mourners was of no consequence.

The final boss being beaten by four shots of ZERO film made me wish I had used my other films throughout the game. I played the entire game with 7 and 14. Using some 90 would've helped me greatly in some of the battles.

I am happy to have played this game, but it took me way too long to get through, because I always felt compelled to quit after finding a save point. I liked the ending and was satisfied after watching the zero ending on youtube that I didn't miss anything by not doing the harder difficulty.

Agreed on that final boss fight. I remember spending a long time running through that tunnel the first time and killing all the ghosts that got in the way, then when I got one-shotted by that final boss, I was like "Are you ****ing kidding me!?". I was really glad when I found out you can just run past all the ghosts on the way.

Regarding the film, I'm kind of a hoarder in games, so I always like to save my good stuff for big boss fights and such, but when I started to have more of the stronger type of film than the weaker, I would switch to that. I pretty much just used whatever I had the most of.

I liked the game overall and am glad I played it, but after playing the first two games in the series, I wouldn't call myself a big fan. I might play through the sequels at some point just to play through them, but I'm not sure if I would ever feel compelled to revisit these games.