Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly Review

Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly Review
PlayStation, PSN, Xbox

Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly is a third person survival horror game but the combat is in first person. It originally was released in 2003 as a PlayStation 2 exclusive but a Xbox Directors Cut version was released in 2004. It plays exactly like the first Fatal Frame game but it is an independent game. Crimson Butterfly also has some of the same elements as Resident Evil 1-3 and early Silent Hill games. Mio and Mayu Amakura are twin sisters who are deeply connected. Once when they were children Mio was hurt in a serious accident causing her to walk with a limp for the rest of life. Mayu has been very protective of her ever since. As teenagers they are in a forest where they played as children. The lost realm of Minakami Village (All Gods Village) is said to be hidden somewhere nearby. Mio stumbles off chasing a butterfly and both sisters find this forsaken village.

Fatal Frame was so ground breaking in the world of survival horror you knew a sequel was coming but as a fan of the series you were worry it would not have the same creepy feeling. Crimson Butterfly is even better than we hoped. You mostly play as Mayu and during combat you are her too. There are times when you have to protect Mio and with her limp you can’t move around as fast. When you are both together the ghosts will always attack her. She stops, recoils and stays in one spot until you defeat the spirits. It sounds like a problem but it gives you a chance to get great shot with your camera of Mio completely unaware that something is sneaking up on her and it gives you more experience points.

The only major compliant we had with the first games is that the controls and camera were both a little hard to control. Even with adjusting things it still felt like we were having trouble. This is not a problem in Crimson Butterfly. Along with the new camera power ups (that we really like) there is this anticipation and anxiety building up every time you are in combat. You are standing and waiting as each ghost gets closer and closer because you are trying to get the perfect shot. The better the shot the more experience point you get. The ghosts are creepy…even creeper than the first game especially the one called the “Falling Woman!” That one was so disturbingly scary it stuck out during the game.

Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly took us around 12 hours to get through the first time and the game has a very high replay value. There are several different endings depending on difficultly level, features that get unlocked after you beat the game on other difficulty levels and then there are the hidden and optional ghosts everywhere. Many of them show and disappear so fast you have to memorize where they are and then restart and try to get a picture of them. The digital and PS2 copies of the game both look really good still and you can only get a Xbox version as physical copy it is not available other wise and we don’t know why. The Xbox version called Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly Director’s Cut has more story moments to give you additional background about the twins and the lost village.

We were scared out of our minds with in the first 10 minutes of the game and it did not end until the game ended. Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly is an easy buy at only $10 and for any fan of survival horror it is a must play game. Must Buy Price under the $10 mark

9.5 out of 10
We love this game, where can we get it!