The world of Terror Adventures has a special hole for Project Zero / Fatal Frame, a series that began in the times of PS2 and revolutionized gender with its cold and tortured style, as well as its Private proposal game: defeat ghosts based on photos.
The latest important delivery was Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water, who arrived at Wii U and 7 years ago (in fact, here you can read our analysis of that Zero 5 Project). Like this console, he did not reach too much success, but now he has a new opportunity with this remaster that comes out for all platforms.
And it s something to thank, because This delivery of Project Zero contributed some interesting novelties, as well as a return from the story of miku, the protagonist of the first game. Specifically, we can play with her daughter, Miu. But the attractiveness is that we control 3 characters throughout the adventure.
Apart from the MIU itself, it is Ren, a writer obsessed by post-mortem photographs, which are performed on people after dead.
And, finally, on the protagonist role (so we control it in most of the game) is Yuri, an anchief of an antiquarian capable of seeing spirits. She has to find out what happened to her head when she went to the mysterious Mount Hikami...
In all cases, the goal is to explore the dark scenarios to look for clues and key objects, but above all there is to use our dark camera to photograph the appearances that we find, and to attack the ghosts that want to end us.
Grace is that Each character has unique functions for the camera. Thus, Yuri can customize the camera plus the camera with special functions, while Ren can throw four shock shots, for example.
All of them have special circumstances when using the camera. For example, if we photograph several supernatural elements at a time, a shutter opportunity opens to cause more damage and, of course, if we photograph the ghost in full attack, We execute a fatal Frame, which is a lot More effective.
The change with the camera of this delivery came with the possibility of rotate the goal to take vertical or inclined photos, which helped to attack several parts of the ghost body.
Originally, The camera could be moved with the movement sensor of the Wii U command, so in the case of PS4, PS5 and Switch, we can also do it, simply by turning the command. In any case, both in these and in the other versions we can use the right stick to the classic style, which is quite more comfortable and precise, the truth.
The ones themselves Ghosts also offer more variety than in the first games of Project Zero. Here we find some thugs that attack with special aggressiveness and even children running around before pushing us.
In spite of this, combats are quite easy and ghosts tend to take their time before attacking, what we must add that we find piles of medicinal herbs that heal us, so the pure fear of Let us kill us is quite scarce.
An element that pretended to give game but that in the end it is not so relevant is that of water. We have a meter that tells us how wet we are (when going through cataracts or by flooded areas). The more wet we are, the more damage we can suffer, to the point of entering a state in which our health gradually decreases.
Again, we have enough items as to reverse that state, so it is an addition that is appreciated, but that does not end up having excessive weight in the bulk of the games. Of course, Being wet, the clothes are transparent a little, that you know that Koei-Técmo are a little fetishists of those things...
The exploration parts do have more crumbs and make us look for key objects, but they also tempt us to deviate by alternative routes to find more film for the camera (there are different powers), secret notes or healing items.
Also, of course, we can run up with fleeting appearances that, if we get photographed, they give us juicy points with which to buy improvements for the camera, items or new suits for the protagonists.
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A minigame that has been incorporated is to hold a button when it comes to catching an item. The character will take him very slowly and may, just before, a ghostly hand attempts to catch and harm us. This should give tension, but those hands appear very very and, when they do, they do not hurt so much, so...
Following the exploration, Some puzzles are based on the new dynamics of equal photographs : We have seen a photo previously and we have to find the exact point of the map to make an identical photo (itself frame, same distance..). It may sound difficult, but the camera interface is guiding us.
Speaking of guides, at almost any moment we can press a button so that a ghostly residue tells us the main way to follow, which can sometimes be a relief (in games like Project Zero 3 was despair to get stuck), But for many it will imply that they take us too much of the hand and the challenge lose grace.
So, Does Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is not afraid?
All this takes us to the technical section that, as you will be supposed, has been renewed a bit for the occasion. The models and textures are the same, with slight improvements to the gross in the resolution of the latter.
The general resolution of the image has also been improved (not specified, although in the case of the PS5 version we have tested, it looks 4K climbing) and everything moves very fluidally, although it is true that The graphics are far from the level of detail of an Evil 8 Resident, for example.
The effects of light and shadows are better than in Wii U, something that helps a lot to get into atmosphere, but the whole makes it clear that it is coming from a game with 7 years old. An option would have been grateful for performance mode or fidelity for graphics in new generation versions, but there is no.
Even so, the ambience of the Zero Project never fails and those tetric mountains, deformed spectra and traditional Japanese imaging perverse help put the trembling in the body.
Of course, Sound plays a crucial role and melodies are disturbing more non-power, with whispers, laments and distortions that multiply when we have to fight against a ghost and wear their desperate cries of help.
Incomprehensibly, the option of listening to your voices by the speaker of the command has not been incorporated, which would have helped us give us more than a good scare. By the way, The texts are only in English, German or French, while the voices are only in English or Japanese. Better to opt for the latter, because the English are torn.
Following with the novelties of this remaster, for the occasion it has been incorporated a fun photo mode that allows us to place not only the heroes, but also to the ghosts that we have previously seen, so that they can possess as we want and we can do A ghostly Sarao with very gloomy and appropriate filters.
We also have a renewed costume for the protagonists. You already know that in TEMMO they have always been very friends to start the girls and on this occasion, new Gothic or punk outfits have been added to place, if we want, before an episode. You have to buy them beforehand with the dots earned.
Ah! And of course, it remains the original juicy of playing with Ayane, the heroin of Ninja Gaiden or Dead or Alive, when we spend the game. She has no camera and we have to overcome the game in infiltration plan, without facing the ghosts. Very curious and fun!
In total, Project Zero Maiden of Black Water is exceeded in about 12-13 hours, which is not bad at all. In addition, the story, plagued with suicides, curses and disappearances, is as tetric and attractive as you would expect. If you look for a survival old school horror, is an interesting option.
Even so, For the 20th anniversary of the franchise we would have wanted a new game and, above all, that it would better take advantage of the technical possibilities of the current consoles to reach a superior dimension of terror. Or, at least, that the dark camera incorporated a Tiktok mode for our daires...
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