Developer: TecmoPublisher: Tecmo
Released (UK): Feb '06
Released (US): Nov '05
May contain spoilers. I was so unbelievably pleased when I heard Tecmo were doing a third Project Zero game. There were hardly any games out at that time for Survival Horror nuts such as myself so it was quite exciting. Being British I had to wait longer than most (as usual) - the game was out in November '05 in the States but we didn't get it until February '06.
Tecmo went in a new direction with Project Zero III: The Tormented in the fact that you play as three characters rather than the one.
You have Rei Kurasawa, our main protagonist, Miku Hinasaki from the original game and another new character Kei Amakura, Uncle of the twins from Crimson Butterfly.
It's a long opening but the game starts off with Rei approaching a car crash in the rain, inside the car is a young man who is unconscious and when Rei starts crying it becomes obvious she knows who the man is. The scene then cuts to Rei again taking pictures in an old, dilapidated mansion when Miku appears behind her and Rei informs her that the mansion is rumoured to be haunted but Miku ignore it "Rumours are just rumours" and immediately starts to pack away Rei's things "I'm gonna load these up" she says.
Just like Mafuyu's part in Project Zero 1, the dream sequence works as an introduction to the game but it's a little different. It's basically Rei chasing after the man through what appears to be a newer version of the mansion Rei was taking pictures of. You automatically start off with a camera, it's not the Camera Obscura but it means you can immediately start receiving points by taking photos of the various ghosts that show up. You're not in danger at this point, you cannot die but if attacked, Rei will snap out of her daydream and you'll miss some photo op's for some other ghosts.
The scene changes again and Rei has been tied up on the floor surrounded by four young girls with long black hair and stakes in their hands. Just as they set about impaling her, Miku interrupts and disrupts the day dream causing yet another cut scene. Rei is at home now and is in her dark room processing her pictures and finds the one Yuu was in. The scene skips again to Rei in her bed having a very disturbing sleep and we start the main part of the game.
Another difference between this game and the others is that all the hauntings happen in dreams rather than reality (Miku wasn't dreaming when at Himura mansion an Mio wasn't dreaming when in the lost village) meaning that there are sequences in reality that has a meaning to the game.
Every time you wake up Rei makes notes in her notebook about the various happenings and characters she encounters within her dreams. We find out from this that Yuu Aso was Rei's fiancée who died after the crash, caused by Rei who was driving at the time. We also learn that Miku is her assistant and very good friend throughout Rei's grievance of her late fiancée.
Once we find the Camera Obscura, some pictures taken throughout the dreams can be developed in the dark room and given to Miku who will find out some more information on the subject of the photo of interest.
You will also receive several letters from Kei, who was a friend and colleague of Yuu's and indeed Mafuyu's from Project Zero 1.
As the game progresses you'll find that some spirits travel into the real world with Rei and various haunting’s occur within the house. Keep a watch on Ruri, Miku's cat because it's rumoured he can be found where the various haunting’s happen.
The Camera Obscura is back but in this game we have three types, one for each character. Rei has the best one because it uses the special functions that you find around the mansion and it's more powerful meaning that it takes more energy from the nasty spirits with the shots.
Miku's camera doesn't use the special functions which means fighting with her is much harder (Tecmo are sticking with the whole damsel in distress theme with her) but she has the Double function which gives the camera extra charge and Kei's camera is weak so it takes him longer to defeat the ghosts.
The camera in this game uses Type-07, Type-14, Type-61, Type-90 and Type-Zero film and a nice thing about this game is that you have unlimited Type-07 film and Type-14 film is refreshed every time you start a dream.
Special functions include Blast, Zero, Pierce and Slow. In the previous games the camera automatically showed you the HP (Health) of the ghost you're battling but in this game you have to find the lens before it'll show you. This is a pain to get however...I was on my fourth go before I managed to get it.
Another new feature of this game is the introduction of Special Abilities. Each character has one although you hardly use Kei's special ability.
Rei has the Flash ability will send ghosts back from you when battling them, useful for when you miss a shot and a ghost is in your face.
Miku has the Sacred Stone which enables her to slow time to get better shots.
Kei can crouch. This isn't really necessary because you only need to do it once because Kei doesn't have the camera when you play as him for the first time. Crouching means he can hide from ghosts but most ghosts stay until they're exorcised.
Miku and Kei have something else going for them too. Miku can crawl under small spaces such as under the floor because she's teeny. Kei is a brawny man so can push furniture that block doors and he can take more damage than the girls can.
Let's talk about the ghosts of the game. I think they're truly remarkable and they are the best of the series. There are three in particular that deserve a thorough mention: Kiriko Asanuma AKA Crawling Woman, Tengai Narumi AKA Head Carpenter and Stroller Grandma (pictured below).
Stroller Grandma is unique in the fact that she is the only ghost who doesn't hang around to be defeated. She will strike you twice with her pram and then leave you alone...if you're lucky she'll show up a couple of times but I've managed to play the game through without coming across her once.She is very hard to defeat because when she does show up it will be in a narrow corridor and she may come out of the walls. Your only chance is when she is coming straight at you but even then you have to get a couple of Fatal Frame shots. If you do manage to defeat her, you'll get a key which gains you access to the lens I mentioned earlier. Get this then you'll be able to tell how long the ghost has left, useful for when you get the boss fight at the end.
Tengai Narumi, the Head Carpenter is one of the hardest ghosts to beat, especially if you're playing for the first time. He's very violent and he's very fast and has a cleaver he attacks you with. He chases you throughout the first dream sequence at the game's start (He frightened me when he came out of the wall and rushed me) and you'll have to beat him several times throughout the game. He mostly bothers Rei but you'll come across him once as Miku, which she finds hard to do.
My favourite ghost of the game and also of the series is the Crawling Woman. She is a very scary looking woman with no part in the main plot of the game but she is one of the ghosts that show up a lot although you only have to fight her twice. As with Stroller Grandma you can only get her with Fatal Frame shots but it only takes one or two of them to get rid of her. The design of this character is the best - see for yourself. I found this clip on youtube.com, which shows your first battle with her. (Note: I don't know if the guys in the background are being real or putting it on but they definitely match my feelings at the time. WARNING! Bad Language.).
There is of course the main ghost of the game, Reika AKA The Tattooed Priestess, our Antagonist. Like Kirie from Project Zero 1, Reika was to take part a sacrifices before falling in love with a male visitor.
To become a priestess, the woman would have to have had suffered the loss of a loved one such as a family member. Reika's parents had died during a disaster of their hometown causing Reika to be adopted by the Kuze family.
The priestess had to be kept under lock and key in the hanging prison where she was cared for by the four Shrine Maidens, one of which was Amane Kuze. Amane is the half-sister of Kaname Ototsuki, an old friend of Reika's with whom she was in love once upon a time before joining the Kuze family.
The first ritual of the sacrifice is the Piercing of the Soul ritual where the Engravers had to tattoo her entire body whilst the Shrine Maidens sang a lullaby. The Priestess was then taken to the Chamber of Thorns where she was impaled by the Shrine Maidens for the Impalement Ritual.
Before her impalement, Reika had written about the many dreams she had of Kaname, who had returned to her thoughts after talking about him to Aname. She also stated that she hoped these dreams would last forever after her death.
The Unleashing happened when Reika was able to see Kaname one last time just before she died. Kaname had returned to the villiage after Reika's dreams connected with his and with the help of Aname he was able to sneak his way into the Chamber of Thorns to see her. Unfortunately the Family Head found him and killed him right in front of his 'love's' eyes.
Reika's spirit turned hostile to everyone within the manor and killed everyone she came across.
Now, everyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one finds them selves dreaming of the Manor of Sleep. Rei had lost Yuu, Miku had lost her brother Mafuyu in the Himuro Mansion and Kei had suffered the loss of his niece, Mayu Amakura from Crimson Butterfly.
It is up to these three to figure out the meaning to these dreams and a way to let Reika rest in piece.
I absolutely loved this game. I think it is the best of the series so far and will be hard to top. The graphics were much better in this and the ghosts looked much more real. The ghosts were scarier in this and the music that accompanies each ghost when it arrives adds to the tension. E.g. The music shifts but whilst some ghosts are predictable you will eventually come across music you don't recognise and be left waiting for the ghost to show up (normally from behind).
The fact that you played as more than one character was a nice addition to the series because it changed the style of game play. As I said previously, some ghosts are easier to beat as one character but harder as another.
The game has a lot of good extras such as extra costumes, missions in the mission mode and of course the ghost list meaning that this has good replay value.
I really find it hard to fault it. Kei's crouching ability wasn't really necessary but that wasn't enough to downgrade the game as a whole. Some may disagree with me and say that the original was the best and some may say Crimson Butterfly was the best but I give it a perfect...
10/10
Are the ghosts scarier in this game?
Is the series getting boring?
Is the game too dependent on the previous two games?
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