October 2020 Playthrough - Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly

[douglie007]

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

[GrayGhost81]

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. 

[douglie007]

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

[GrayGhost81]

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

XBOX

[singlebanana]

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

PS2 for me

[Mr_Stubbes]

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.

[Disposed Hero]

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.

[Mr_Stubbes]

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.

[GrayGhost81]

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.

[Mr_Stubbes]

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.

[Disposed Hero]

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.

[Mr_Stubbes]

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]

[GrayGhost81]

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.

[Disposed Hero]

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.

[Mr_Stubbes]

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...mson-butterfly/faqs/28101