It was niche and nearly forgotten, but horror fans begged devs for a Fatal Frame 2 remake and got it: "Responding to those voices was the main reason behind this project"

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Fatal Frame as a public service

Fatal Frame: Crimson Butterfly 2 remake screenshot showing protagonist twins Mio and Mayu Amakura who both have shoulder length dark hair
(Image credit: Koei Tecmo Games)

The Fatal Frame games have kept an inexplicable hold on my general mood and psyche despite the fact that most of them received middling reviews at the time of their early 2000s releases and are impossible to play on modern consoles. I'm still perpetually haunted by every bit I've experienced of their faded worlds – I've paid real money for a hairdresser to trim my bangs "like Miu from Fatal Frame," I gravitate toward any cardigan as lacy as Madoka's – and I'm obviously not alone, or else the upcoming Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly remake wouldn't exist.

When I ask directors Makoto Shibata and Hidehiko Nakajima over email about why Koei Tecmo decided to rebuild the 2003 sequel now, out of all the other games in a survival horror franchise that's nearly turned into a relic, they tell me honestly: the fans said so.

A grey ghost stares ahead

(Image credit: Koei Tecmo)

The directors explain to GamesRadar+, "When we released recent remasters, we received many requests from fans asking specifically for Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly." In 2021, Koei Tecmo finally gave the Fatal Frame series its first Steam release with a remaster of the fifth game, Maiden of Black Water, 20 years after the series' initial launch, and in 2023, it remastered the once Japan-exclusive Fatal Frame installment from 2008, Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. But, having played them and a demo of the Crimson Butterfly remake due March 12, I can say the Fatal Frame remasters don't do enough to take me to the spirit realm.

The standalone Fatal Frame games all toy with the myth that a photograph can steal your soul, and you guide their different pretty, petrified main characters into using the arcane Camera Obscura to destroy wraiths by taking their picture. After so many years, fans like me have decided a remake is the best way to reposition that threat.

"Responding to those voices was the main reason behind this project," add Shibata and Nakajima. In another display of being attuned to their many female players' needs, the directors also tell me they've put special care into recreating sisters Mayu and Mio's outfits, the basis for countless analyses on "how to dress like a horror game protagonist." Speaking for myself as a woman, it can be nice to externalize your feelings of cosmic oppression through a clean pair of Mary Janes.

"We designed the costumes with reference to the original color balance and overall image, while aiming for clothing that would not feel out of place if worn by someone today," Shibata and Nakajima explain. "Players can closely examine these details in Photo Mode, and we paid particular attention to textures and material quality." That's the kind of fan service I'm looking for.

True Japanese horror games avoid "jump scares and graphic violence," Fatal Frame 2 directors say, because they respect that "frightening things can be beautiful."

Ashley Bardhan
Ashley Bardhan
Senior Writer

Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

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