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Project Zero Trilogy
Japanese schoolgirls, cameras and ghosts… sold!
The Project Zero trilogy, or
Fatal Frame as it’s known
in America, marked a
significant change of pace for
survival-horror games. Deeply
rooted in Japanese superstition
and lore, and taking place entirely
in Eastern settings and locations,
it arguably turned the sub-genre
on its head through the use of
one simple, yet unquestionably
effective device: the Camera
Obscura. Where such titles
as Resident Evil and Silent Hill
enabled the use of lead pipes
and rocket launchers to defend
yourself, all you were ever able
to do in Project Zero was point
that ancient camera at attacking
spirits, and snap away.
There was obviously more
strategy involved than that,
however. Enemies required
different stock to be used and
ghosts generally varied in attack
pattern and damage levels. When
using the Camera Obscura, you
needed to power up your attacks
before unleashing something that
could quell an enemy in one or
two snaps. Otherwise, encounters
with the spirits would be long,
drawn-out affairs. And usually
terrifying ones.
Part of the reason the games
were so terrifying, in particular the
second (arguably best) entry, was
the focus on female protagonists.
Sure, you sometimes stepped
into male shoes every now and
then, but the emphasis was
always on those pretty little
female feet. With smaller frames,
slow runs and even slower walks,
not to mention big boots clompyclomping
on hard, wooden floors
in dead silence, the Project Zero
trilogy is arguably the scariest
set of games ever conceived.
Certainly the second and third
(the former of which centred on a
surprisingly epic tale of two twin
sisters, while the latter took home
invasion to terrifying heights
– embarrassing similarly themed
horror games like Silent Hill 4).
What really got people
interested in the franchise,
however, was its basis in truth.
Apparently, Project Zero’s
location, a mansion in dense
forest, was based on a real
place where several people were
murdered in a grisly manner.
There are underground tunnels
beneath the property that
seem to have little purpose, and
unexplainable phenomena has
been reported. Bloody hand
prints, faces in pictures taken at
the mansion, spirits spotted in
broad daylight… terrifying and
intriguing. Just like the Project
Zero trilogy.
A great trilogy, with each entry
building on its predecessor. Dark,
terrifying and very Japanese, no
wonder Dreamworks is making a
movie based on the series. |
