Fatal Frame: Unraveling the Haunting Legacy - Analyzing the Evolution of Fear and Why the Fourth and Fifth Installments Miss the Mark

 

FATAL FRAME 1,2,& 3

The Fatal Frame series is one of my favorite videogame horror series ever made. My personal favorites are the first three, I honestly feel like, after the third one, they could have just ended the series there, not making two more games years later. On top of the fact, that the other two games were on completely different consoles when the first three where on the XBOX and the PlayStation, then when the fourth one came out, it was made exclusively for the WII, on top of the fact, that at the time, the internet speeds where not as fast, so people couldn't just binge watch gameplay of games they couldn't afford to buy. I remember people were complaining about how the fourth one was on a completely different console, when I finally got to watch the gameplay of the fourth one, I was very disappointed, it didn't feel like the Fatal Frame series that I grew up with at all. It felt like, a completely different game, and they just slapped on the title, "Fatal Frame" just for a quick cash grab. Then the fifth one came out, and I was just done with it, why they made a fifth one, I still don't know. 

To me, the series was fine, the way it was, with just the first three games, there was no need to make two more games, yes the graphics were just crystal clear, and realistic, but the stories were great, and the characters were interesting, and the voice acting wasn't horrible. Add onto the fact, that they were actually scary, without forcing it in your face, it felt organic, with the fourth one, I could already tell it was all just forced, for a quick buck in someone's wallet.

Out of the first three, my personal favorites, are the second and third game. But altogether, I love all three. In my opinion what they managed to do with Fatal Frame when it first came out, is something rare, it had interesting stories, good characters, scary, thought-provoking, and the game mechanics, made you feel like you were a part of the game itself, living the stories, alongside of the characters. Instead of you feeling like you're seeing it all from the sidelines, with Fatal Frame, you were right there, with the camera, fighting off the ghosts. As much as I love, the game Haunting Ground, I rarely felt that immersed within the game, I felt like I was just watching the whole thing from the sidelines. I think what they managed to create with Fatal Frame, was something special and unique, but putting out two more, was completely unnecessary.