Fatal Frame III: The Tormented

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Tecmo
  • Release Date: Nov 8, 2005
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 110 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 110
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 110
  3. Negative: 4 out of 110
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  1. IchigoTahata
    May 4, 2008
    10
    Probably the best horror game i have ever played. No matter how many times i play it, I still jump out of my seat. I think this is the best in the series. You get to play as three different characters and see each characters way of surviving the house. It has a creepy atmosphere , a great storyline and uniqe characters and ghost. The only problem I had with the game was that most the timeProbably the best horror game i have ever played. No matter how many times i play it, I still jump out of my seat. I think this is the best in the series. You get to play as three different characters and see each characters way of surviving the house. It has a creepy atmosphere , a great storyline and uniqe characters and ghost. The only problem I had with the game was that most the time the characters sound like they are speaking though a crappy microphone but that's it and i highly recommend it to any survival horror fan and the best time to play it? At night with all the lights off hehe.… Expand
  2. SabrinaW.
    Mar 18, 2007
    10
    This game is the best survival horror game yet! Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame II was pretty scary, but they were nothing like this game. Fatal Frame III has great graphics, of course, cause the Ps2 has better graphics than xbox, although I think this game is on xbox. It has great controls, great combat, nice and fast, and I somewhat seem to get more Fatal Frames than on the other two. It is This game is the best survival horror game yet! Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame II was pretty scary, but they were nothing like this game. Fatal Frame III has great graphics, of course, cause the Ps2 has better graphics than xbox, although I think this game is on xbox. It has great controls, great combat, nice and fast, and I somewhat seem to get more Fatal Frames than on the other two. It is spooky, but you will need a walkthrough with it. It is the scariest game I have ever played. It is right next to Tekken 5 on my favorites list. Everyone should own Fatal Frame III. The good thing is you run into alot of ghosts, every second you walk, unlike Fatal Frame, Fatal frame lacked ghost combat a little bit. If you think Silent Hill 4 is scary, play this one! You will be horrified every second of gameplay! And every fatal frame story is in one! Excellent story. If it happened in real life, it would be horrifying. And Miku with Rei! That is so cool. Rei and Miku are my favorites. Get this game! It deserves a ten!… Expand
  3. MattP.
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    A must have for horror fans! Best of the series!
  4. DanielPereira
    May 23, 2008
    9
    So so scary!! I tell you i can´t play it by myself in the dark! I completed the game playng in daylight. I can´t play it at night. It creps me out. But some day i´ll do IT! Anyway this game is so crepy but also a great game! Fantastic game really.
  5. NoutaV.
    Dec 22, 2006
    10
    It's the scariest game that you'll ever see!!!!! never play it alone!!!!!
  6. CriticRaziEYuki
    Jan 21, 2012
    3
    It is really awkward game control and the only satisfying thing in this game is that the atmosphere has a scary views . The uses of language that not really common that this game was originally Japanese , also made the game is hard to understand..

    It is a good game but not Outstanding though
  7. Rox22
    Sep 26, 2013
    8
    I really did like this game, but nowhere near as much as FF2. It does everything right, great atmosphere, good scares, excellent visuals and sounds. But, it doesn't really add anything new to the formula, aside from a slightly more modern setting for the lead character.

    Overall: FF3 feels more adds almost nothing new to the mix and delivers more of the same. Watered down if compared to    I really did like this game, but nowhere near as much as FF2. It does everything right, great atmosphere, good scares, excellent visuals and sounds. But, it doesn't really add anything new to the formula, aside from a slightly more modern setting for the lead character.

    Overall:
    FF3 feels more adds almost nothing new to the mix and delivers more of the same. Watered down if compared to FF2. Still, it is a fun game and worthy of the name.    … Expand
  8. ORevisor
    Apr 6, 2018
    8
    O jogo desenvolve muito bem a sua própria história além de fazer um link com as histórias do primeiro e o segundo jogos da série. A história do primeiro jogo é bem finalizado, porém senti falta do desenvolvimento da história do segundo que teve também uma finalização bem superficial... A câmera de Miku é como no primeiro jogo, pavorosa. A velocidade dos personagem também é sofrível.O jogo desenvolve muito bem a sua própria história além de fazer um link com as histórias do primeiro e o segundo jogos da série. A história do primeiro jogo é bem finalizado, porém senti falta do desenvolvimento da história do segundo que teve também uma finalização bem superficial... A câmera de Miku é como no primeiro jogo, pavorosa. A velocidade dos personagem também é sofrível.
  9. Cavador
    Mar 4, 2006
    7
    Great atmosfere, excellent story, very scary but same old gameplay elements and frustrating game mechanics.
  10. JayW.
    Nov 10, 2005
    10
    Far and away the best survival horror game out in the market. From the presentation to the sound and the camera angles in game!! There is seriously nothing more that I could want from this game!! Highly recommended to real survival horror fans!!
  11. JonathanM.
    Nov 17, 2005
    7
    Not as good as Crimson Butterfly by a longshot.
  12. Lizm.
    Nov 9, 2005
    10
    Very very awesome, ghosts are the scariest yet!
  13. ChrisL.
    Jan 19, 2006
    10
    i love this game...i must say its up there with resident evil and silent hill. This is the only fatal frame game ive played thoe.l..but the getting the other 2 this weekend. I think you should get this game, it really makes you tense, but if you dont like to be scared this isn't your game.
  14. Macdealer
    Feb 10, 2016
    10
    Fatal Frame Series are the best games in my life. And this one is the greatest.
    The game only have 2 problems, the sound have very low quality comparing to the previous game.
    And this game is too bright, not dark like the previous game, so I recommend to low the brightest in the settings a lot. In the way it becomes equal to the 2 first games. This game is longer, deeper, better    Fatal Frame Series are the best games in my life. And this one is the greatest.
    The game only have 2 problems, the sound have very low quality comparing to the previous game.
    And this game is too bright, not dark like the previous game, so I recommend to low the brightest in the settings a lot. In the way it becomes equal to the 2 first games.
    This game is longer, deeper, better graphics, better story, better controls. You have more fun skills and personal skills from each character that adds enjoyment to the gameplay. The best fights in the series is here.
    The difficult is great, not too hard like the Fatal Frame 1 and not to easy like Fatal Frame 2.
    It is hard to say wich I prefer actually, 1 or 3. I love both, 2 is way too easy.    … Expand
  15. PecoTheGreat
    Jun 5, 2012
    8
    Instead of pumping lead into the undead or blasting a zombies' brainless head clean of the neck with a shotgun, the protagonist in Fatal Frame forces his or her way through a huge number of ghosts and spirits by taking...pictures of them. Four years after the original Fatal Frame, the 3rd installment was released, starring the 23 years old freelance photographer Rei Kurosawa. Her fianceeInstead of pumping lead into the undead or blasting a zombies' brainless head clean of the neck with a shotgun, the protagonist in Fatal Frame forces his or her way through a huge number of ghosts and spirits by taking...pictures of them. Four years after the original Fatal Frame, the 3rd installment was released, starring the 23 years old freelance photographer Rei Kurosawa. Her fiancee was killed in a car accident, and she was drawn into the Fatal Frame premise because she could see his image appearing on one of the photos she had taken during a "haunted house" assignment. There is a major change in the game-play compared to the first two games, being that the actual adventure that takes Rei through and old Japanese manor only takes part in her dreams. While being awake, you can walk freely through her own house, interact with people and pets, check all kinds of books and tapes you find during the game and even develop photos in a special darkroom. With the whole day and night setup, the game is divided into "hours" that can be regarded as missions and "nights", basically a new night begins every time you go to sleep. In certain missions, you may even leave the dreamworld and continue the mission during the next night if desired. Another change is that you take control of different characters (unlike Fatal Frame 2, only one at a time). Regarding the control scheme and overall interaction with the surroundings, items and ghosts, nothing about the formula has been changed. There are always those complaining about too little innovation but I say if it ain't broken don't fix it. As known from the first two games, all playable characters sooner or later get hold of the "Camera Obscura" that can be used to see things invisible for the human eye and actually deal damage to hostile ghosts. So basically you have to make your way through a very old and very dark and creepy Japanese manor and defend yourself against a huge number of ghosts that want you dead while trying to find out the secrets behind the incidents that took part at the manor and the reason why you are there. Taking all that, the Game is inspired to a huge extent by Japanese history and culture. The very well thought about story is not only told within the game itself, but also through various forms of writings such as newspaper articles, diaries and so on. Let me say it directly, there is a LOT to read, and the game really develops its full potential when you take your time to fully dive into its world and actually read the very interesting material that gives a lot of background information and links between the characters. On a different note, you might as well skip all that and just play the game, and still enjoy it. The enemy design in this game is fantastic and contained what I love most about fighting in video games: Getting my ass handed back to me on a silver plate the first time around and come back with a new strategy (or several ones if necessary) to become victorious. The harmful ghosts appear in a large variety with different attacks and attack pattern. I got scared by suddenly appearing ghosts and creepy sound/visual effects many times, the tension when walking through the dark corridors of the mansion is constant and lets the neck on your hair stand up when playing alone or at night. The manor is old, it is dark and mysterious, and that makes it a great surrounding. The fact that many rooms and areas look similar to others gives you a feeling of being lost, which does become better over time since you will be walking back and forth collecting items a lot. You will feel alone and vulnerable, and that is basically what creates survival horror. Some enemies are very tough, this game is no walk in the park, you will have to adjust your strategies and keep up a good item management, even though the game is quite fair with re-spawning healing items and film rolls (the ammunition for the camera so to say, it comes in different types and strengths) in certain places that you might be visiting frequently for that reason.While you might chose to run away from some extremely powerful enemies, you will love to fight some of them again and again as the battle system is very rewarding for learning and improving it. The overall play time on my first walk-through was about 15 hours. I found it very well-balanced, and the way the climax is built up is nearly perfect. As in the first two games, a "mission" mode in which you have to defeat ghosts from the game as well as new ones in a certain time or with the highest score you can get in order to unlock new missions or items. You can also use the points achieved through good photos to buy additional costumes or gimmicks. And who does not want to see glasses or cat-ears on his favorite female (game) character?… Expand
  16. Steyraus
    Feb 12, 2021
    10
    This is a creepy game!!! Feels even more sinister playing it on a decades old ps2 today. Its similar to the first 2 games. The combat is a bit less, not quite as good imo , but the exploration and shock value is ramped up and the first games are already really creepy..
    Ive played horror games for years and enjoy them more for the atmosphere than the shock value, but this game scared me at    This is a creepy game!!! Feels even more sinister playing it on a decades old ps2 today. Its similar to the first 2 games. The combat is a bit less, not quite as good imo , but the exploration and shock value is ramped up and the first games are already really creepy..
    Ive played horror games for years and enjoy them more for the atmosphere than the shock value, but this game scared me at one point more than a game should be able to.. I was playing it one night and had to go to the toilet. When I got back there was static all over the screen and right in the center staring straight at me( just for a second) was this creepy pale blackeyed ghost woman. As soon as I had seen her , she went away and it went back to the game , the main character just standing there.. It obviously some thing that must happen when you leave the untouched and unpaused. But how come it went away when I walked in the room, not when I picked up the controller or pressed a button. Either way I was done playing for that night.
    This game series is one of the true OG survival horrors.. They just dont make them like this now.. Dev teams are to big , creative visions are censored or made to appeal to to wide of an audience.. This was one of the last true Horror games and I am glad I got to.play it.    … Expand
  17. kyriores
    Oct 28, 2013
    10
    A true adventure/horror game, unlike many games that are marketed as such. The atmosphere is excellent and the storyline captivating. The gameplay is a perfect mix of exploration, combat and puzzle solving, so it does never become boring. It's a quite lengthy game overall but there are always enough hints on where you need to go and what to do next. Most of the time you have to "exorcise"A true adventure/horror game, unlike many games that are marketed as such. The atmosphere is excellent and the storyline captivating. The gameplay is a perfect mix of exploration, combat and puzzle solving, so it does never become boring. It's a quite lengthy game overall but there are always enough hints on where you need to go and what to do next. Most of the time you have to "exorcise" a specific ghost with your camera which then unlocks a door on another part of the mansion. There are usually "hotspots" near each obstacle that tell you what you need to do in order to overcome it, by just taking a photo of them. What's interesting is that each ghost behaves on its own way, so you can never really predict what you are about to face next or whether you will be able to deal with it, without taking any damage. The only things that could be better in Fatal Frame 3, in my opinion, are the controls which are a bit slow and unresponsive and the "meh" voice acting. Overall, it's an excellent game game that every fan of adventure/horror should play,… Expand
  18. YoutubeTGW
    Nov 12, 2013
    10
    AWESOME This was the first real scary game I played the first major jump scare in the beginning got me to where i didn't play this game for a whole week XD good graphics and good story
  19. reconplayer9037
    Oct 10, 2014
    10
    This is a game I consider true Psychological Horror. Instead of fighting Zombies or Monsters (or aliens), you must deal with Ghosts that will try to kill you every step of the way. As you try to explore the Manor of Sleep and try to solve its grim mysteries. You control 3 different characters throughout the story and each character handles the ghosts a different way. Rei is balanced andThis is a game I consider true Psychological Horror. Instead of fighting Zombies or Monsters (or aliens), you must deal with Ghosts that will try to kill you every step of the way. As you try to explore the Manor of Sleep and try to solve its grim mysteries. You control 3 different characters throughout the story and each character handles the ghosts a different way. Rei is balanced and uses Camera Obscura in a balanced fashion. Miku has high spirit power so her attacks cause more damage though the capture circle on the Camera Obscura is a bit smaller. Kei is not so good at fighting, so he mostly should hide and wait for the bad ghosties to go away.(Unless the game is scripted so you have to fight the ghosts.)
    This game is scary, It's graphics are top-notch and it's story isn't half bad either. This game may have a few flaws, but none that I could find. So with all the power of an unpaid reviewer hidden amongst millions of other reviewers, I give this game a 10!    … Expand
  20. Malice-Flare
    Jun 19, 2020
    10
    this completes the all 10 trilogy of Fatal Frame games...

    however, i don;t recommend the PSN download for PS3, it struggles...
  21. Haganeno12
    Dec 14, 2015
    9
    Tormented is even better than crimson butterfly.story is more deep,game play is more fun and the manor,the manor of sleep,it is so unique and in every corner of it,a deadly ghost awaits to capture by your awesome Camera Obs Cur a.
    are you a fan of horror games?then play it immediately.
    are you a fan of two previous games?play it now!
  22. frederik1478
    Mar 21, 2020
    9
    This is a very good game when you played for second time, if you got played is this amazing game I would recommend a walkthrough vikas sometimes you have to do things and you have no idea where , but it feels like a nice ending for the PS2 trilogy , and I was actually scary is amazing and har best Story so far
  23. Shtern
    Jul 8, 2021
    8
    Это одна из моих первых игр страшилок в жизни, боже, так страшно мне не было никогда, когда я играл в игры жанра хоррор, серия этой игры просто поражает воображения, особенно если это воображения детей. К сожалению мне довелось поиграть только в 3 часть из всех игр э
    той серии, но мне кажется, что это было тем, что мне нужно было что бы проникнуться такой игрой как эта. Ее задумка и    Это одна из моих первых игр страшилок в жизни, боже, так страшно мне не было никогда, когда я играл в игры жанра хоррор, серия этой игры просто поражает воображения, особенно если это воображения детей. К сожалению мне довелось поиграть только в 3 часть из всех игр э
    той серии, но мне кажется, что это было тем, что мне нужно было что бы проникнуться такой игрой как эта. Ее задумка и реализация для 2005 года, это просто нечто, а графика, особенно в кат-сценах поражала воображение. Это бесспорно одна из лучших серий игр жанра Хоррор, но все же, я не думаю что она заслуживает 10, есть недочеты и бесячие моменты, как когда я играл ребенком, так и сейчас переиграв в эту игру спустя 15 лет, так что, играйте и бойтесь!    … Expand
  24. laniesweet
    Oct 19, 2021
    9
    My second favorite of the series. It's a fun time with interesting aspects and a good dose of horror. It's worth the play.
  25. BeeSting1
    Jan 1, 2021
    7
    Navigate a creepy labyrinth.

    Good - graphics improved from fatal frame 1 and 2 - character animations after for both enemy and protagonist. Protagonist actually gets scared with more dramatic animations, which is felt by the player too - reading thoughts from the protagonist in her notebook is nice. Gives her more personality, and makes me care more about her. It also    Navigate a creepy labyrinth.

    Good

    - graphics improved from fatal frame 1 and 2

    - character animations after for both enemy and protagonist. Protagonist actually gets scared with more dramatic animations, which is felt by the player too

    - reading thoughts from the protagonist in her notebook is nice. Gives her more personality, and makes me care more about her. It also summarizes events that just happened, allowing me to follow the story more easily. It also gave insight on every character the protagonist meets and knows

    - cutscenes were done very well. Voice acting was great too.

    - camera button mapped to triangle is a good change. It's closer to the run button, which is what's used most during a fight, meaning the transition between the two was more fluent than the old circle button mapping.

    - transitioning from haunted mansion back to modern city adds diversity to the environment, changing up the tone and keeping things interesting

    - having the house as a hub world makes the game world feel bigger. And more down to earth. More freedom as well.

    - Healing items are more scarce, and enemies were tougher then fatal frame 2. Though the game did allow me to full heal by exiting dream, then returning. So that's like a safety net

    - rei gets a full heal when she exits the dream, so it's a bit of gamble whether to use a heal or not if I felt she was gonna wake up soon

    - given the amount of film available, doing zero shots is almost mandatory, which makes the game heavily reaction based. If you take all easy shots, you'll certainly run out of ammo

    - the day time in the house gave me a nice break from the constant paranoia and fear

    - the disappearance of Yoshino gave me a stark alert as to what outcome rei will face

    - I like the continuity between the 3 fatal frames

    - the dream haunting in horror media is scary because as humans sleep is inevitable. So despite being safe during waking hours, the return to the horror is imminent. That's what makes it scary. Famous movie portrayal is nightmare on elm street

    - revisiting himoru mansion with Miku was cool

    - removing the need to equip spirit orbs to upgrade a stat saves time.

    - I'm glad they added subtitles to the audio tapes. In fatal frame 2 it was basically impossible to hear what they were saying on the radio

    - combining zero shots is a fun mechanic

    - doll looking back at me was creepy. a lot of other random objects in the background bull randomly move as well, which what's a very good addition to the fear

    - flash is a good gameplay mechanic. Can get out of stick situations, and can do flash into attack combo

    - control vibration done well. Made things more tense.

    - enemy design was diverse and fun to fight. Minus the mad camera angles.

    - glad they have English letters to denote the abilities in the menu instead of just Japanese characters

    - there's a lot of interesting folklore stuff that can be found. It gives an incentive to take pictures of ghosts, since I can develop them and have Miku research them which unlocks the information. - rei, Miku, and Kei each have their own techniques and abilities. Miku can charge shots. Kei can crouch which is pretty useless, since running away is more optimal then stealthing. Rei has flash - as rei spent more time in the sleep Manor she'd experience more and more hauntings in real life. - it's nice seeing hauntings in modern Life, since it hits home more. The shower ghost scene, and the attic ghost scene, and the ghost in mirror you can actually imagine that happening in your own household, which makes it scarier then a haunting inside an old run-down mansion. - it's really interesting how in the past people would believe in folklore, mythical Legends, because of a lack of wide sharing of knowledge. A village isolated in a forest would never adopt the latest technology, hence they'd likely hold on to tradition, and even inhuman rituals. - there is an old film filter later in the game that shows up if my candle lights ran out, which added an extra layer of fear when navigating in in combat - the final boss black and white segment reminds me of nightmares where I'm trying to run away but can't get anywhere - the ending was good. How yuu took the burden of carrying Rei's tattoo curse. Bad - don't understand why they still haven't added the ability to go to previous page when reading notes - I wish they included voice acting for the conversations between Miku and rei as well. It's surprising that they didn't because there weren't that many dialogues between them. Which seems like the cost of a full voiceover wouldn't have been that much - hairpin girl in kimono room has unlimited health during second encounter, wasting me a lot of film then dying to realize this fr a guide. If an enemy is invulnerable, the game should not allow the camera to target them    … Expand
  26. Zallen
    Aug 15, 2023
    9
    Шикарный триквел или атака сонных татуировок убийц на 16-17 часов геймплея при 'нормальном' уровне сложности.

    Из минусов: - затянутость, игра ну ОООчень длинная для своего стиля геймплея и сеттинга, к 10 часу игры гигантский дворец полностью зализан до дыр и не дает ничего нового в плане левел-дизайна, оставшиеся 6 часов просто шараебишься по одним и тем же коридорам, которые уже по 10    Шикарный триквел или атака сонных татуировок убийц на 16-17 часов геймплея при 'нормальном' уровне сложности.

    Из минусов:
    - затянутость, игра ну ОООчень длинная для своего стиля геймплея и сеттинга, к 10 часу игры гигантский дворец полностью зализан до дыр и не дает ничего нового в плане левел-дизайна, оставшиеся 6 часов просто шараебишься по одним и тем же коридорам, которые уже по 10 раз оббежал, а под конец еще и душка одними и теми же призраками, которых "убил" по 5 раз, а упокоится с миром никак не хотят.
    - возможный баг, с открытием замка без последующего захода в дверь, бежишь на сейв, возвращаешься назад, а дверь не открывается.

    Из плюсов:
    - развитие, идейно триквел стал еще лучше сиквела по: наполнению контентом, насыщенности событий, опциям фотокамеры, добавив дополнительных играбельных персонажей и прочие фишки.
    - концепт, интересная концепция повествования, ныряешь в сон, ловишь бабайки, а в ирл ведешь псевдо расследование собирая информацию по особняку и событиям, которые в нем видел.
    - локации, огромный атмосферный дворец, который по кайфу изучать (первые 10 часов) и некие локации "фишки", которые особенно зайдут фанатам предыдущих частей.
    - персонажи, каждый имеет свои особенности и в целом подход к орудованию камерой от героя к герою меняется.
    - сложность, игра наконец стала 'сурвайвл хоррором', призраки с каждой новой главой всё больше оказывают сопротивление, а лечилками и фотопленками игра не балует, иногда даже приходится продумывать подход к прохождению.
    - саунд, звуки задают соответствующий колорит локациям, а музыка весьма завораживает, жаль её крайне мало.
    - видеоролики, однозначно некстген того времени, будто бы не в игру играешь, а смотришь полнометражный аниме мульт от Capcom по Resident Evil.

    9,5ть "захаванных татуировками" из 10ти.    … Expand
  27. VLG
    Aug 22, 2023
    8
    An almost perfect horror game, with RPG mechanics and a good story. You cant ask for more.

Awards & Rankings

50
#50 Best PS2 Game of 2005
47
#47 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 46 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 46
  3. Negative: 0 out of 46
  1. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    70
    Frame's spooky atmosphere and subtle use of ambient noise and music build a sense of mounting terror that makes the actual enemy and cutscene scares all the more pants-wetting.
    Read full review
  2. IGN
    78
    In a world with "Resident Evil 4" and "Ties That Bind," its sluggish movement and less responsive controls are becoming harder to forgive with time -- especially when coupled with a heavy amount of backtracking (which The Tormented has) and long moments of build-up between screams.
    Read full review
  3. GamerFeed
    70
    It's certainly a quality product, but the stiff controls, the back tracking, and the predictability is soooo 2004.
    Read full review
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