Especially when you’re twins following a glowing red butterfly. Especially when you’re

twins following a glowing red butterfly...in a Japanese video game.

You can imagine where it goes from here.

It’s Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly for the PlayStati—oh, sh*t!

Now, believe it or not, this is actually my first experience with Fatal Frame. I’ve

never played the original or any of the games since this one, so...I can’t actually speak

to its context or place within the franchise. But what I can tell you is...holy crap, this

is one moody, scary, haunting, terrifying f*cking video game.

So you play as this set of twins, Mio and Mayu. They’re just hanging out in the woods

one day, when all the sudden...glowing red butterfly. One feels compelled to follow,

the other obviously chases her...suddenly, it’s nighttime and they’re lost in the

forest. More specifically, they find themselves at a creepy place of ritual overlooking a

dark village. Hey, why not go down there and knock on doors?

Uh, how ‘bout a million freaking reasons, ladies?

Fortunately for the player, these two do everything a smart person wouldn’t do in this situation.

Consequently...horror game. And a really freaking good one, at that. Crimson Butterfly is essentially

a prequel, explaining the backstory of the original game and the origins of the Camera

Obscura...a strange device that can exorcize evil spirits.

It’s kind of like a proton pack for chicks.

Obviously, the gameplay in Fatal Frame is built entirely around the camera. It’s your

only means of defense, and what’s brilliant about that is...you know, taking photographs

requires a calm and steady hand. But it’s kind of hard to be calm and steady when you

see an evil spirit crawling out of a trunk to kill you. Despite being terrified, you

have to stay calm.

And that’s a perfect dichotomy for a horror game.

And you know, it’s also survival horror in the truest sense. You don’t have an entire

briefcase full of military-grade weaponry. You have a camera. And so...you have this

real desperation for improving it. Explore, and you might find a new type of film or a

special attachment...but at the same time, who knows what’s behind that door?

But I think what I like most about Fatal Frame II...is that it takes the best parts of the

earliest survival horror games, but it’s not afraid to scrap the bad parts. You still

have that sense of isolation, there are still puzzles, it’s scary as hell...but you only

use two buttons, for the most part. And pushing up actually makes you walk up. It has the

original spirit of survival horror, but with improved mechanics.

You know, if someone new to the genre asked me for an old-school survival horror game

to play, this is the one I’d recommend. Coming seven years after the genre’s creation,

Fatal Frame II is built from a classic survival horror blueprint, but it also embraces improvement

and a kind of common-sense modurnity.

That makes Fatal Frame II a benchmark in survival horror.