Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is a survival horror video game developed by Tecmo. It is the second installment in the Fatal Frame series and is considered by some gaming magazines as one of the scariest video games ever created. It was originally released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, and a "director's cut" version was released for the Xbox in 2004 with better graphics and some additional features.
Fatal Frame II uses gameplay mechanics very similar to its predecessor, with some changes and updates. For most of the game you control Mio Amakura, except for some short scenes where you control her elder twin sister Mayu. Mayu's scenes are unlike the regular game, however, viewed with a gray filter as she moves from one place to the next, giving the player clues as to where to go. In normal gameplay, Mio's health is shown as a bar in the lower right corner, although only during combat and in Finder mode. If her or Mayu's health runs out, the game will end. Life can be replenished using different healing items scattered throughout the game. There is also a special item called Stone Mirror, which restores Mio's life to full once when it runs out, and then breaks; only one can be carried at any time. Mio also has a flashlight, which can be aimed in different directions, although the flashlight will not work in all areas. Mio's only weapon is the Camera Obscura, an antique camera with the ability to take pictures of ghosts and exorcise them. As "ammunition" the camera uses films of different quality. Type-07 film, the weakest type of film, is unlimited, but the other types have to be collected throughout the game; the strongest ones being the rarest. The camera can be equipped with special functions and with special lenses, all of which grant some special ability useful in combat; these have to be found in-game, or are earned as a result of multiple playthroughs. Finally, the camera's Basic Functions and the special lenses can be upgraded using spirit orbs found in the game, and points earned from photographing ghosts. The points earned from each picture depend on the accuracy of the shot and, during combat, the timing and damage caused, as well as stacked shot bonuses (obtained by using lenses and taking special shots). The camera's features also include a filament, which is displayed in the lower right corner. The filament glows red when facing a hostile ghost, and serves as an indicator of both direction and distance; it will also glow blue when there is a non-hostile ghost nearby.
During the game, Mio must explore the entire village area and its central buildings, and needs to find various objects and solve puzzles in order to advance. Throughout the game, Mio will encounter different kinds of ghosts, some of which appear unexpectedly while some appear during cutscenes. In addition to hostile ghosts, there are numerous vanishing and hidden spirits Mio can photograph for points. The vanishing ghosts often talk, giving some information related to the story, or a hint on how to progress. One ghost is a special case: the ghost of the boy locked in the storehouse, Itsuki, will give clues as to what to do and help Mio. The game is divided into chapters, mostly related to certain areas which Mio visits as she chases after her sister. In the seventh chapter, Mio briefly loses both the flashlight and the Camera Obscura, and has to resort to dodging ghosts with no means to fight back. The total number of chapters is nine, with a special tenth chapter available in Hard and Nightmare difficulty settings.
Source: Wikipedia, "Fatal Frame II," available under the CC-BY-SA License.
