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Itagaki Believes Fatal Frame V Will Be Localized

Feb 092015

I’ve been hoping for Fatal Frame V localization news for half a year. I wrote articles about its localization chances, especially once its localized name was revealed as “Oracle of the Sodden Raven,” and encouraged fans to ask Nintendo for it. Despite that, we’ve still heard nothing about a Western release of this survival horror game.

However, Tomonobu Itagaki thinks Fatal Frame V will be localized:

Hey guys, I strongly believe that Kikuchi Keisuke will release the Fatal Frame V in America, in many countries. He and me have same philosophy from Tecmo days. That’s what I can say for now. I want you guys to read between the lines.”

Itagaki was once a part of Tecmo as the head of Team Ninja. He created the Dead or Alive series and later developed 2004’s Ninja Gaiden and 2008’s Ninja Gaiden II. He left Tecmo and formed Valhalla Game Studios, where he’s working on the upcoming Wii U exclusive Devil’s Third.

Although he isn’t involved with Fatal Frame V, his confidence–as well as the implication that he knows something he can’t say–gives us hope that Fatal Frame V: Oracle of the Sodden Raven will be localized after all! In the meantime, don’t forget to follow Operation Zero for all updates on Fatal Frame localization and localization campaigns.

Now, could we please get some hope for Gyakuten Kenji 2?

My Games This Halloween!

Video games 1 Response » Tagged with: alien isolation, bayonetta, fatal frame

Oct 312014

Happy Halloween, everyone! Not only is today Halloween and the culmination of this year’s Celebrating All Things Spooky, it also marks the end of my Pokemon giveaway and the last day before NaNoWriMo!

So fellow video game fans, what are you going to play today in honor of Halloween? Here’s my list…

Fatal Frame

Yep, at long last, I’ve finally started the original Fatal Frame. You know I love my survival horror games, and so far, Fatal Frame is no exception. I also love ghost stories, so it’s a perfect match, especially with all of the ghost stuff I’ve been talking about lately for my class.

I started Fatal Frame in honor of the Halloween season. What better time to try out a new survival horror game, right? And while we play, we can hope for localization news about Fatal Frame V…

Batman: Arkham City

I know what you’re thinking. Have I gone crazy or something? Batman: Arkham City is fun, but it’s no horror game. Heck, Scarecrow isn’t even in it!

Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you play Arkham City for the scares, although it does have some dark moments. Rather, if you’re like me and just played Arkham City within the last year, you haven’t gone to see Calendar Man on each of his special days yet!

Well, today’s one of them. I’m off to see what gruesome story Calendar Man has to tell me in honor of Halloween, and then I’ll be marking my calendar for the next holiday on his list (Thanksgiving?) so I can visit him then.

…I don’t actually mark my calendar. My memory is good enough to keep track of one day a month I have to fire up Arkham City.

Bayonetta/Bayonetta 2

Maybe this one’s a stretch. Bayonetta isn’t a horror game, and it doesn’t really have scary themes, either. But think of it this way–after candy, ghosts, and jack-o-lanterns, what do people associate with Halloween? Witches! And what is Bayonetta? A witch!

Besides that, Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 just came out together for the Wii U, and they’ve been receiving stellar reviews. I couldn’t stand seeing all those 9/10, 10/10 reviews for a game sitting in my backlog (~~also known as the place video games go to die~~) anymore, and I started it up this morning!

So far, it’s a lot of fun. I’m a little uncomfortable with all the religious elements, and fighting angels and whatnot, but I’m willing to stick it out for the fun gameplay and give its crazy lore a chance. It’s not like it takes itself too seriously… and I can’t make a solid argument that it’s anti-Christian when it starts out talking about Umbran Witches and Lumen Sages and kinds of other fictional things.

Plus, I’m happy knowing I’ve helped Operation Platinum!

Alien: Isolation

Again??

Yes, again! I can’t praise Alien: Isolation enough, and not only because it’s terrifying. This is the kind of survival horror game we don’t see enough of these days. Even though my progress through it has been almost painfully slow, I’ve loved every minute of it so far.

Its structure, mechanics, atmosphere, and scares work masterfully, and I just wish I had more time to sit down and play it. Today looks like the perfect day to celebrate horror by scaring myself some more.

And maybe, just maybe, if I find myself in the mood, I’ll once again return to the one horror game I just can’t beat…

Those are the videos games I’ve lined up for this Halloween–what about you?

Fatal Frame: The Black Haired Shrine Maiden Haunts Japan This September

Video games No Responses » Tagged with: fatal frame, fatal frame v, survival horror

Jul 182014

Fatal Frame: The Black Haired Shrine Maiden

Yesterday, the newest Fatal Frame game was announced for the Wii U. Zero: Nuregarasu no Miko, or Fatal Frame: The Black Haired Shrine Maiden, will be released in Japan on September 27, and I really hope it gets localized.

At this point, you might be saying, “Wait a minute. Wasn’t it just a week ago you mentioned you still haven’t played Fatal Frame?”

It’s true. The only Fatal Frame game I’ve played so far is the spin-off title Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir, which isn’t a stellar look at the series. Spirit Camera suffered from many flaws, the biggest of which was its reliance on the 3DS’s camera. I had to play certain sections directly beneath a lamp to make it function at all, which isn’t an ideal setup for a horror game.

But enough about that misstep (I’m certain it looked great on paper). I own the first Fatal Frame game, and I will get around to playing it. In the meantime, the success of the series is important to me because of my interest in the survival horror genre. Mainstream survival horror games are rare these days, and Fatal Frame is one of the big ones still active.

It’s also the first series I think of when it comes to using the Wii U GamePad in new and interesting ways.

Fatal Frame (which is called Project Zero in Europe and 零 Zero in Japan) centers around a device called the Camera Obscura, a camera players use to explore and to fight evil spirits. It’s almost weird that I haven’t played the games yet, because Fatal Frame uses some of my favorite horror elements–ghosts and dark rituals.

So, what are the Fatal Frame games?

Fatal Frame, the first game, was released first for the PS2 and was later ported to the Xbox. It’s the only main series game to be rated T.
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly was also released for the PS2 and ported to the Xbox, and it received a PSN release last year. A Wii-exclusive remake, Deep Crimson Butterfly, came out in 2012, but only in Japan, Europe, and Australia.
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented was released for the PS2 and later on PSN, like its predecessor.

And this is where our localization worries begin.

The fourth game, known as Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, was released for the Wii in 2008, but only in Japan.
And now, The Black Haired Shrine Maiden is coming out for the Wii U.

The three spin-offs include a Japan-only mobile game called Real: Another Edition, Spirit Camera, and a manga called Fatal Frame: Shadow Priestess. The manga has been translated, and while Japan is getting a movie adaptation on September 26 (and an original novel in August), it was recently announced that a Hollywood movie is also in the works. Maybe this means we have a better chance of the new game being localized, as well.

The announcement of the fifth game was accompanied by a trailer. Let’s take a look.

Looks nice and spooky to me! The trailer kept up an atmosphere of dread, so I have high hopes for the game. The game’s official site includes a few more gameplay clips.

The Black Haired Shrine Maiden has a strong focus on water, more open areas, and themes about the line between life and death. The protagonist can locate people who were taken into the spirit world and bring them back.

And yes! The Wii U GamePad will be used as the camera!

Now, normally I get a bit nervous when the word “open” is used to describe games, but in this case, I don’t think the “open areas” mean it’s going to be open world or anything like that. It’s just not set in a mansion or enclosed area, this time, but at the Hikayama mountain, or the “mountain of death,” and will be larger than any previous Fatal Frame game. Just like narrow passages and small rooms aren’t enough to make a game survival horror, open outdoor areas aren’t enough to make a game not survival horror, either.

Will we see this in the West? The fate of the fourth game suggests we won’t, but on the other hand, when director Makoto Shibata was asked on Twitter if The Black Haired Shrine Maiden would be released overseas, he said an overseas released hasn’t been announced yet.< Yet? Sounds like it already has a better shot than Ace Attorney Investigations 2.

I may not have played Fatal Frame yet, but I’m excited for The Black Haired Shrine Maiden. Most of my information about it is thanks to Operation Zero, a group dedicated to encouraging the localization of the Fatal Frame series. Drop on by if you’re as interested as I am in getting this game localized.

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