Project Zero

Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Tecmo
Released (UK): Aug '02
Released (US): Mar '02

May contain Spoilers: I managed to find the first Project Zero from a Marketplace seller on Amazon.co.uk and as soon as it came I went upstairs to play it. Please note that I’m talking about this game as if this was the second in the series since I played Crimson Butterfly previous to this.

In the original Project Zero you play as men’s favourite Miku Hinasaki and it’s 1986. She has gone to the Himuro mansion in search of her missing brother Mafuyu Hinasaki, an amateur folklorist who had gone to the mansion to find his mentor Junsei Takamine who had gone to the mansion to research a new horror novel along with his production team of Kogi Agata and Tomoe Hirasaka.
When Mafuyu doesn't return from his search and Junsei and his team were also still missing Miku goes herself to find what happened to them.

At the beginning of the game you have your typical narration in the background. Miku tells you the story up to that point but also tells us that she has psychic abilities and frequently sees visions. She also points out that her Mother had died and Mafuyu was the only family she had left. Mafuyu could also see these visions which were passed on from their mother, Miyuki Hinasaki.
The game then starts off with the oh-so feminine looking Mafuyu as the controllable character to get you used to the controls of the game. He also has with him the Camera Obscura that can see things invisible to the naked eye. We find out more about the camera later and how it came to be in Mafuyu’s possession because it reveals more about his and Miku’s family history.


The Camera changes throughout the series but in Project Zero 1 it uses four types of film. From weakest to strongest these are Type-14, Type-32, Type-74 and Type-90. The camera also has several special abilities such as See (makes the spirit easier to see), Slow (Slows the spirits movement), Pressure (Pushes spirits further away from Miku), Paralyze (Stops the spirit temporarily) and Search (Finds the spirit after it's vanished). There is also a filament (at the top of the screen when in Camera mode, at the bottom of the screen in normal mode) which turns blue or orange when a ghost is around.

There are three types of ghosts that show up within the Himuro mansion:
Secret Ghosts – These can only be seen through the Camera Obscura after you’ve taken their picture. The filament will glow blue when there’s one around and the pictures of these ghosts will go onto your ghost list which is unlocked when you complete the game.
Friendly Ghosts – You can see these without the camera and will not attack you. These ghosts act as clues during the game and they tend to lead you around the mansion. These are also added onto the ghost list on completion of the game.
Vengeful Ghosts – When the filament goes orange the ghost is a hostile one and will attack you. These ghosts can be related to the story (E.g. Junsei Takamine, Kirie) or just random ghosts with stories of their own (E.g. Broken neck lady, Long Arms).
You’ll find that some ghosts are harder than other ghosts within the game such as the Blind Woman who can be very fast for someone who can’t see, the Himuro Family Master and of course Kirie Himuro - the boss ghost of the game.


Kirie was chosen to become the Rope Shrine Maiden after winning the traditional game of Demon Tag which was played especially to find the next sacrifice. In preparation for the Strangling Ritual she was confined to the house for 10 whole days and could only be seen by the Himuro Priests, veiled so that she couldn't see their faces. This was done to keep the Maiden 'Pure' so she was more appealing to the Hellgate. However, a male visitor (name unknown) was invited to stay at the mansion (again for a reason unknown) while Kirie was inprisoned. Eventually the two of them grew very close and Kirie fell in love with him, therefore losing her purity. The Ceremony Master Lord Himuro, another of the hard ghosts to beat wasn't happy about this outcome and ordered someone to kill the boy corrupting Kirie's soul.

After her lovers death, Kirie started to have second thoughts about going on with the ceremony because she felt responsible for her boyfriends death. This resulted in the Strangling Ritual failing to close the hellgate and all hell broke loose. The Calamity struck the entire mansion and spirits of those that had died at the mouth of Hells Gate broke loose killing everyone in sight. Anybody not killed by this malice were killed by the Ceremony Master who killed himself afterwards.
The spirit of Kirie split into two forms: The vengeful ghost who waits in the Mansion killing anybody who visits and her younger self who seeks help in cleansing Kiries soul.

As the game progresses you find out more about how Mafuyu has managed to survive longer than Takamine and Co. Does he survive? You have to play it to find that out but the ending is a dissapointing one (Unless you play it on Nightmare mode which as a different ending) and if you were Miku, you would be pretty much pissed off with your older Bro' after all the trouble you've just gone through.

The ghosts aren't the best looking of the series but that's expected since this was the first one made. The atmosphere was definitely there and again I was forced to take several time outs to calm myself down whilst playing it. Unfortunately though, the atmosphere dies down once you've played it a couple of times (Crimson Butterfly still keeps me under suspense when playing it). As I mentioned before the men love Miku in this game and the majority of Project Zero fans all say she is the best character of the series (Sae from Crimson Butterfly is another favourite) but I disagree slightly. She's a bit pathetic to say the least but most of the main characters in the series are...Mio and especially Mayu both fit the same bill. Project Zero 3 moves away from that, a little bit anyway but I'll talk about that game later.

It's a good game, not brilliant. Crimson Butterfly was better and The Tormented was even better than Crimson Butterfly.

7/10

Miku Hinisaki...The best Project Zero character?
Has Project Zero 1 survived well after the release of Project Zero 2 & 3?