Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly

The game actually generates emotions: fear of the unknown, an impending sense of dread, and utter confusion due to the mind-bending plot. [Jan 2004, p.56]

The story is very perplexing at times, no doubt. There’s an awful lot of backtracking and some really tough spots. But the game does everything that it wants to and everything it needs to to secure itself at the top spot of scary games chart.

When it comes to scaring the crap out of players, Fatal Frame 2 can't be beat. For those looking to shoot up a ton of monsters or zombies, this may not be your cup of tea. For players looking for a terrifying tale that's swmped with ambience, look no further.

Warning though, this one's not for kids (unless you don't mind them staying up all night, too scared to go to sleep).

A wonderfully disturbing jaunt into the world of the supernatural. While the time spent with the game is less than perhaps many would have liked, this is an experience that will not soon be forgotten.

Easily the scariest game (or movie for that matter) available on the market.

If you were freaked by the "Blair Witch Project" you will definitely find this scary. People with a more sophisticated imagination will get the most out of this game though there are some damn good shocks as well.

Without a doubt in my mind, the scariest game ever made. [Jan 2004, p.124]

An extremely stylish and -- please take it the right way -- icky excursion into the supernatural that has learned from its predecessors, and from itself, how to entertain and unnerve the player.

Characters are animated smoothly with uncanny lifelike emotion. Not to mention that extra attention has been given to ghosts in terms of clothing facial expressions and overall creepiness.

A wonderful achievement in storytelling, an experiment in horror if you will, that no “scary movie” fan or gamer should miss.

Survival horror fans will have a ball with it, and if you like that kind of "scare the you know what out of you" gaming ... you can’t get any scarier than Fatal Frame II.

It may be a lot easier than the original, but in almost every other way--graphics, sound, atmosphere, storytelling, sheer style--it's a drastic improvement.

The controls are much more responsive this time round with simple combat techniques such as the circle strafe now being a breeze to perform. Heck, there's even a limited combo system for players that just can't do without!

Things appear and disappear out of the corner of your eye, and you're never completely sure of what you've seen. Nothing has to say, "Boo," because there's an underlying Boo-ness to the whole experience.

Bigger, longer, and scarier than the original, Butterfly not only manages to do exactly what it sets out to do, it also succeeds in becoming one of the best pure adventures on the PlayStation 2 thus far.

One of the most chilling games available today.

How impressive it is to see a game feed off restraint and subtlety for its power. [Jan 2004, p.48]

A great horror game if it stood alone, but being a sequel, the title feels too much like the original. There isn’t one significant upgrade that the game makes over the first; the enemies are the same, the environments look the same and feel the same, and quite frankly, it doesn’t sound any different either.

While the game isn't terribly difficult and doesn't create an entirely new mold for itself, it still manages to weave an unsettling tale--full of secret sacrificial rites--that draws you inexorably deeper.

Tecmo has effectively played it safe and delivered a game that while very good, does not offer the same enhancements to the genre that the original achieved. It's definitely worth picking up; just don't expect anything startingly original.

There’s not much innovation here — the gameplay is far too linear and there is too much emphasis on key searching to trigger the next cut scene — but for atmosphere alone it is hard to beat.

A masterpiece that will tickle the spines of even the most courageous survival horror fan.

With a great core story and plenty of incentive to replay, Fatal Frame 2 is a horror-themed title that anyone should consider playing. If you're brave enough, consider playing with the lights off.

Before you get your first set of prints back, you’ll find clues in maps and diaries—even encounter the phantasmagoric—to unravel a plot with more slimy twists than a barrel of Udon noodles.

One thing I can guarantee: If you like to be scared, you owe it to yourself to play this game. [Feb 2004, p.102]

Incredibly frightening -- so much so that it’s hard to recommend it to everyone. The game is rather short, but the goodies you can unlock on the title screen mean there’s a bit of replay value for those willing to run through the game on a harder difficulty level.

If you enter All God's Village, enter with a spare pair of underwear.

Still, discarding relatively minor mechanics issues, Crimson Butterfly gets along by virtue of its intensely unnerving atmosphere, crafted by delicious graphics, decent storyline and even better-than-usual voiceovers.

Proves that skillful camera work, music and sound effects can creep the hell out of us more than a gore fest. [Feb 2004, p.35]

Despite the fact that Crimson Butterfly is much longer than the original, it might have been preferable to trade the extra length for a little less backtracking, as it often slows the progress of the adventure.

So merely by presenting the clearest puzzle design and most interesting combat yet seen in survival horror, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly has already staked a strong claim as one of the genre's finest moments.

So genuinely terrifying, you can't help but appreciate its incredible art direction. [Feb 2004, p.114]

A victim of its own success. By creating a story and an atmosphere so far in advance of what we have come to expect from a videogame, it throws harsh light on the conventions we accept without question in lesser titles. It maps out just how far there is to go in marrying sophisticated narrative and meaningful interactivity. [Feb 2004, p.96]

There are no bosses to pelt, and the puzzles and plot kinks keep you looking over your shoulder rather than shooting from the hip.

There are moments of such genius that it is almost impossible not to become entirely immersed within the game’s haunted world. Yet all its terrifying beauty, with a better-judged difficulty and the problems with the second character ironed out, FF2 could have been the finest game in the horror genre.

Exploring the lost village is a terrifying experience that's enhanced by a greatly improved graphics engine and a well-structured soundtrack. Tecmo's latest effort may be flawed and far from innovative, but it's still an enjoyably scary experience. [Feb 2004, p.114]

As for actual challenge or feeling of gaming accomplishment it doesn’t always succeed in making its mark and it falls all too readily into genre clichés that are already beginning to look stale. A finger across the lens really.