FATAL FRAME: Maiden of Black Water (NSP, XCI) ROM + v1.0.4 Update + All DLCs

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a survival horror video game developed by Koei Tecmo. The fifth main entry in the Fatal Frame series was originally published by Nintendo for the Wii U in Japan in September 2014 and worldwide in October 2015. A remaster for eighth and ninth-generation consoles and Windows, this time published by Koei Tecmo, was released worldwide in October 2021.

As with previous games in the series, players navigate areas filled with hostile ghosts which must be fought by taking photographs using the Camera Obscura, which is directly controlled using the Wii U GamePad. A post-endgame story featuring Ayane, a character from the company’s Dead or Alive series, is also available featuring altered gameplay mechanics. The story, which is set on the fictional Hikami Mountain, focuses on three protagonists who are drawn into supernatural events revolving around the area, including an ancient ritual to seal away the Black Water, a malevolent force corrupting the surrounding spirits that is tied to the fate of the titular shrine maiden Ose Kurosawa.

Planning for the game began in 2011, during production of the Wii remake of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. Series co-creator Keisuke Kikuchi proposed the project when he saw that the Wii U GamePad could be used as the Camera Obscura. Kikuchi and fellow co-creator Makoto Shibata returned to their respective posts of producer and director, together with staff from Mask of the Lunar Eclipse and developers new to the series. The cast went through several revisions during development, while the staff experimented with the capacities of the new hardware. Japanese singer Tsuki Amano returned from earlier entries to perform the theme song. Upon its original release, the game received mixed reviews. Reviewers greatly praised its use of the Wii U GamePad and dark atmosphere, while opinions were mixed on its story, pacing, and controls. The remaster also received mixed reviews, though the Nintendo Switch version received considerably more praise than the other ports.

GAMEPLAY

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a survival horror video game that puts the player in control of three different characters traversing several environments across Hikami Mountain from a third-person perspective, including ruined buildings and dark forests. Characters navigate environments using an interactive map and can either walk or perform a sprint. During exploration, the characters are confronted by hostile ghosts that attack and damage them through touch. If a ghost grabs the character, they can either dodge or break free from their grip.

The only means of defense and attack for the characters is the Camera Obscura, an antique camera that is used from a first-person perspective. The camera is controlled using the Wii U GamePad, with shots of varying proximity and angles affecting how much damage the ghost takes. The most damaging is a “fatal frame”, which hits a ghost’s weak spot. During combat, after a shot is taken, fragments of a ghost will appear around them.

Aside from the Camera Obscura, other factors are present in play. The characters can glimpse pieces of a ghost’s past upon defeating them or when they launch a special attack. Characters can also concentrate on items in the environment related to missing people, generating a shade that leads them to the person’s location. A wetness meter tracks how damp the character gets when navigating environments. The amount of wetness has positive and negative effects on the character: being wet increases the damage done by the Camera Obscura while increasing the number of ghosts present in an area and attacks causing more damage. In addition, characters can be inflicted with a status ailment from dark-colored ghosts or a special attack: this ailment decreases vision and defense and deteriorates health. The ailment is only lifted by defeating all the enemies in the area or using an item to remove all wetness.

In addition to the three main characters’ story arcs, a special episode features Dead or Alive protagonist Ayane. Unlike the other characters, she does not have access to a Camera Obscura, so she must avoid ghosts. If she begins running or gets close to a ghost, they will attack. Ayane can use a special “script of hiding” to make herself temporarily invisible, and when she is caught, she can use a special item to throw back and stun them so she can escape.

SYNOPSIS

Maiden of Black Water takes place on the fictional Hikami Mountain, a place infamous for suicides and spiritual happenings connected with local bodies of water. In the past, resident shrine maidens would use their mind-reading abilities to help guide people to a peaceful death. In time, they would grow too emotional to perform their abilities, and they would be sacrificed as an Eternal Flower to keep a malevolent otherworldly power called the Black Water at bay. The story follows three different protagonists: Yuri Kozukata, who can bring people back from the shadow world into the real world due to her descent from the Hikami shrine maidens; Ren Hojo, an author and friend of Yuri who goes to the mountain to research his new book; and Miu Hinasaki, the daughter of first Fatal Frame protagonist Miku Hinasaki.

Among the ghosts they encounter are Shiragiku, a young shrine maiden whose sacrifice has preserved her as a wandering spirit; and Kyozo Kururugi, a man who initially went to die on the mountain but developed an insane fear of the shrine maidens due to their mind-reading powers, killing many maidens and priests before committing suicide and becoming a hostile ghost. Many of those Kururugi slew became ghosts in their own right. The central story revolves around Ose Kurosawa, whose near-death experience left her with powerful sixth sense abilities. Because of this, she became a shrine maiden and was chosen as an Eternal Flower. Before the ritual, her photograph was taken by Kunihiko Asou, creator of the Camera Obscura. They fell in love, and when the time came for the ritual, Ose’s feelings for Kunihiko and the pain of the shrine maidens murdered by Kururugi caused the ritual to fail. The Black Water was unleashed and Ose became a hostile spirit that corrupted the mountain and its ghosts.

Miu, who initially goes there to help Yuri, sees a vision of her mother on the mountain. Later venturing there on her own, she learns that her father was Miku’s dead brother Mafuyu. Miku goes to see her brother one last time, and two endings play out. In the “Bad” ending, Miku goes into the afterlife to be with Mafuyu, leaving Miu all alone. In the “Good” ending, Miku is saved from the mountain’s power by Miu.

Ren, while helping Yuri and Miu, regularly crosses paths with Shiragiku and learns that recurring dreams he has been having are the inherited memories of his ancestor Asou. Depending on his actions, he either unites or breaks up with Ose as Asou’s present-day avatar, or puts Shiragiku to rest and returns to the living world.

Yuri’s search through the mountain leads to her encountering many of the powerful ghosts and using her Camera Obscura to lay them to rest. Learning of Ose’s history, she heads to a final confrontation with her. Depending on where she sees Ose, two endings play out. In the “Bad” ending, Yuri commits suicide with Ose and the curse goes on claiming more victims. In the “Good” ending, Yuri frees Ose from her duty, allowing her and the other spirits to pass on, while Yuri returns to the world of the living with Hisoka by her side. If the player gets the “Good” ending, a post-credits scene plays where Rui wakes up to find Ren in front of her, before he tells her he will remain by her side forever.