Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Tecmo
  • Release Date: Dec 10, 2003
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
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  1. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    72
    So genuinely terrifying, you can't help but appreciate its incredible art direction. [Feb 2004, p.114]
  2. Edge Magazine
    70
    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]
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  3. Village Voice
    70
    There are no bosses to pelt, and the puzzles and plot kinks keep you looking over your shoulder rather than shooting from the hip.
  5. NTSC-uk
    70
    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.
  6. games(TM)
    60
    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]
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  7. Boomtown
    60
    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.
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  8. GamePro
    60
    Its hair-raising visual creep-outs and deft handling of foreboding folklore are undermined by a steadfast reliance on survival/horror-genre trappings and boring gameplay execution.

Awards & Rankings

50
#50 Best PS2 Game of 2003
22
#22 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2003
16
#16 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2003

User Reviews

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User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 186 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 162 out of 186
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 186
  3. Negative: 7 out of 186
  1. crimsondoor
    Feb 20, 2019
    10
    This is a beautiful horror game and most importantly it is VERY Japanese. 12 years ago this game actually motivated me to learn JapaneseThis is a beautiful horror game and most importantly it is VERY Japanese. 12 years ago this game actually motivated me to learn Japanese because I wanted to understand the plot. After I got quite fluent I watched the playthrough again and appreciated it much more because of all the puns as well as elements related to Japanese culture and history.

    I think it's very unfortunate when people do not understand Fatal Frame games because of cultural differences. I would say it's worth to learn Japanese for this game :)

    On the game itself, 2 is the most unique and perhaps most beautiful entry out of the 3 PS2 FF games in my opinion.
    1. It's quite easy compared with 1 and 3. (Difficulty wise it's 3>1>2) Camera also lacks charging mechanism.
    2. It's not as scary and claustrophobic. Except for a few levels...like the black and white chasing sequences...
    3. Colour palette is more vivid and warmer than the two other games.
    4. It's about sisterly love, while 1 and 3 are about loss of loved ones, sorrow and agony.
    5. The ending is perhaps one of the most famous in video game history. It's legendary for a reason. You have to play the game to watch it for yourself. I thought (and still think) that there is no place for songs with vocal in a game unless they are ballads, but "Chou" by Amano Tsukiko changed my opinion.

    There is a reason people still pick the original PS2 game over the remake including myself. Not only gameplay mechanism is better and characters look more authentic (because of the unnecessary face job, Mio and Mayu in the remake look artificial, almost like dolls), but the perfect blend of the intro of the song and ending movie created the most shocking, haunting and beautiful PS2 game experience, while the Wii ending does not evoke the same feeling.

    **I read the other reviews and no one mentioned the amazing atmosphere or the plot? What the hell?! Is the English version lost in translation that's why no one cares for it?    … Full Review »
  2. sckolar
    May 26, 2014
    8
    Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is and improvement from the first in some ways, and weaker in others.

    Where it improves: -Well to start    Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is and improvement from the first in some ways, and weaker in others.

    Where it improves:
    -Well to start off, it all the Fatal Frame games, items do not res-pawn, so if you used up all your film in the first one when fighting ghosts, you were screwed. Same went for medicine, and towards the later parts of the game this started to piss me off, and rather than feel like a difficult challenge, it felt like an unfair trap. Fatal Frame 2 offers a default film that doesn't run out, but is weak. This at least gives you a fighting chance if you run out of film, and makes it so that you are still provided with a challenge

    -More interesting and difficult puzzles. The puzzles Are more difficult to solve, and actually vary unlike the first one

    -Is more scary. The ghosts are scarier. They look scarier, and creepier, and act creepier too. They can be unpredictable, and hard to see even when visible because they blend in. Where in the first game, the ghosts were blue, so easy to see, but in this one they are grey.

    -THE GAME IS LONGER!! Fatal Frame was between 4-5 hours long. This is almost 11 hours long!

    Where the game weakened:
    -Well, just as a side note, the game still has you backtrack a lot, but thankfully the game varies wile you do this. But what really hurts the game a little bit is that it's wide open, so 1/6 of the game feels like running long distances all for the sake of backtracking. This is not really a major issue, because the game keeps you entertained while doing so.

    -Some of the puzzles can be unfair. This happened twice in the game. There are two puzzles where there is a door in the wall, and it doesn't look like a door, it just looks like a wall. Unless you walk around pressing "X" on EVERYTHING in the entire room, you won't find it. I ended up searching up where these doors were.

    All pros and cons aside, Fatal Frame II is an improvement with inevitably a few problems, but it has interesting gameplay, scary moments, and creates the effects you expect from it's genre :D    … Full Review »
  3. LopsterPopster
    Apr 1, 2012
    5
    The atmosphere is definitely creepy, but this just wasn't my cup of tea. I like to fight monsters, not take a picture of them to "fight" them.The atmosphere is definitely creepy, but this just wasn't my cup of tea. I like to fight monsters, not take a picture of them to "fight" them. Granted the ghosts were pretty terrifying-looking, I was never scared. I just didn't find the game fun at all.… Full Review »
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