Introduction
Many cultures around the world have had apprehensions regarding photography; the idea that the camera is capturing some part of a person and taking that away forever to be trapped within the film. A purgatory in celluloid. But what could happen with a camera in regards to things no longer on this mortal coil? Well that's the question brought up in the survival horror classic Fatal Frame. Released fairly early in the life cycle of the Playstation 2 (and later released with some additional content for the Xbox), the game attempted to cover new ground in the burgeoning survival horror genre by presenting the player with a classic Japanese setting and a very confining means for the player to defend themselves. And what the audience is given is a pretty creepy excursion into terror through the viewfinder of a camera searching for the dead which we'll be taking a tour through in this Let's Play. So turn off the lights, get ready for chills, and enjoy...
Mafuyu Hinasaki is a young man with a sixth sense honed for the paranormal and a man with a clouded destiny. As the game starts, it seems that Mafuyu's friend Junsei Takamine had gone missing while doing research for his latest novel at the supposedly haunted Himuro Mansion and being a helpful, inquisitive type of person, Mafuyu heads to the mansion in the hopes of getting some answers...only to find he might be finding out more than he bargained for.
Miku Hinasaki is the protagonist for Fatal Frame and the younger sibling of Mafuyu. After Mafuyu fails to return from Himuro Mansion, Miku decides to investigate the mansion herself in the hopes of returning with her brother safely in tow. As you see, after her father died and her mother tragically committed suicide, Miku has lived under the care of her older brother, Mafuyu, whom she is very close to. Like their mother and grandmother, Miku and Mafuyu have been gifted with a sixth sense, giving them the ability to see things normal people aren't able to.
Commonly referred to as the Novelist Group; this cadre of folks are as follows: Koji Ogata, Tomoe Hirasaka, and Junsei Takamine. Now Junsei is a famous writer in Japan and is looking to do some research for his next novel by investigating the myths and legends behind Himuro Mansion. Along with his editor, Ogata, and his assistant, Tomoe, they venture into the long abandoned mansion in the hopes of finding out just wanted happened in Himuro Mansion. Needless to say they end up learning a lot more about the mansion they could have ever dreamed and end up paying the price for it.
As the second night unfolds, we begin to learn more and more about the previous inhabitants of the mansion. In this case we learn about a man very similar to Takamine; a man by the name of Ryozo Munakata. A researcher into the folklore of ancient Japan, Ryozo had moved his family (Yae and Mikoto) into Himuro Mansion in some effort to learn about the forgotten rituals that went on in the mansion. Little did he, or his family, know of the dark things waiting for them in the future or the twisted fate that awaits all those that interact with the mysterious camera Mikoto finds one day in the mansion.
The complete list of enemy ghosts (may contain spoilers)
Bound Man 1
Bound Man 2
Editor Koji
Assistant Tomoe
Novelist Takamine
Man w/Long Arms
Broken Neck
Crawling Girl
Boy Hiding
Girl In Well
Blinded Woman
Female Head
Floating Face
Floating Woman
Wandering Man
People Killed
Woman Hanging
Folklorist Ryozo
Long Hair Woman
Wandering Monk
Shrine Maiden
Headless Priest
Family Master
Fanart by yokaiy
