Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly (Remake)

This is the third Fatal Frame game I've played, first Maiden of the Black Water a couple years ago, then Mask of the Lunar Eclipse a couple months ago and now the remake of Crimson Butterfly.  Now about ten years ago I tried playing the original Crimson Butterfly but I couldn't get into it due to its slower pacing which was even slower than the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill games.  This was also a thing I felt with playing Black Water but I had more patience at that time for it especially due to its presentation being more modern but at times it got a little tiring with how repetitive treading the same ground but with different characters from chapter to chapter and how slow the fights were.  Lunar Eclipse seemed to improve on that for me and the remake of Crimson Butterfly improved even more.  I don't know if each of these games are getting better or I'm just getting more and more used to the acquired taste that this series seems to be.

One thing I do feel is improving with each of these games is the art design.  Now when it comes to the environments, I liked Lunar Eclipse the most but overall art design I feel is best with this remake.  The atmosphere is absolutely breathtaking as well where at any moment I was dreading how Mio would open the doors slowly and was always half ready for a ghost to be on the other side and it never felt like it overstayed its welcome with me.  The only thing that did become a little over done that I enjoyed at first was the random jump scares during fights, especially with the Mourner wraiths.  Early on because it didn't happen as much, when it did it was genuinely scary but near the end of the game where you're fighting Mourners a lot more it loses its charm to me.

This game does such an interesting job at going between melancholy and horror. Especially in one of the scenes when Mayu pleads with Mio to stay even though she is trapped and Mio is free and has to help her find a way out. The acting, at least in the Japanese voice acting as I played the game with subs, is so impactful and then right when it had me at a moment of tears from sympathy it then twists in such a disturbing way making me question said sympathy. It reminds me of what I really like about the horror in the Fatal Frame games when it gets to a dark place that haunts you the more you think about it. 

I really like how the chapters are done where it feels more like one big story being played rather than the split up the chapters. It makes it feel less repetitive as the other games gave the vibe of chapters repeating levels where it was like now you’re playing here with this character like mentioned. Mask of the Lunar Eclipse made it fit better with the overall story but this just feels the best but then again that might be because it’s just one story being told which i feel now if a new game is made in the series I would prefer it’s just one character’s story instead of the combo seen in the last couple games unless there’s multiple stories taking place at different areas that only converge near the end so it doesn’t feel so rinse and repeat like the other games. 

So I'd say if someone was to get started with the Fatal Frame series, the remake of Crimson Butterfly is definitely the best place to start with what can be played on modern platforms at the moment.  But with that I'd recommend starting on the easier difficulty because even if you're an avid gamer, if you haven't played Fatal Frame before it does take a little to get used to its combat mechanics.  But learning the game and experiencing its terror and stories makes it all worth it.