Imagining Fear | The Creation & History of Fatal Frame/Project Zero 

The mood of the team must've been something as Makoto Shibata went "we're going to make them just like the ones I saw in my nostalgic childhood days" and he proceeded to make the most horrifying ghosts ever

If the ghosts in Fatal Frame were made to look like and behave like the ones Shibata saw as a kid, WOW, respect, dude. That must've been terrifying. How did he handle the Wandering Monk, I wonder.

I really appreciate that you actually research these games, and not just summarise the plot.

I first heard of Fatal Frame as a 5/6 year old kid when my uncle played Fatal Frame 2 in front of us. It immediately intrigued me and even found itself into my dreams. Several years passed and I had forgotten about the game itself, yet I would occasionally still have these dreams about a haunted mansion and twins, and when I was around 14 I saw a gameplay of Fatal Frame 4 on RU-vid and it was like I had found a long lost friend. I've finally played through all the games myself and I can't wait for 4s remake to be out!

I grew up in a haunted house and let me tell you this, it's an experience that hasn't truly been capture by any show or many ghost hunters in general. It's a series of extremely terrifying experiences that is spread out through months at a time and it will make you question whether you're insane or not. I literally realized that I wasn't insane when my friend and I heard a woman calling out my name loud and clear several times while my family were gone that day. He was so terrified that he ran away home. It's not something I would wish on anyone because it can lead to a chasm within a family as it most likely did to mine. I totally get the nostalgia he felt when it came to ghosts. The best way I describe it is that you're one of the few that truly know that they exist and it's fascinating to hear or see anything related to ghosts when you yourself experienced the truth.

Fatal Frame continues to be the most genuinely unnerving, and one of the most beautiful, horror games I've ever experienced.

Looking forward to the release of Fatal Frame 4. And let’s be honest, did anyone even see this coming?! Very impressed by Tecmo to approve this and I’m anticipating a new Fatal Frame game in the near future 🤞🏻

I grew up seeing ghosts and see dead people now , I am 60. So I understand what he went through.

Fatal frame was a life changing game when I played it back in the day! Still a personal favorite and the only game ever to actually scare me.

Oh my GOD I always thought that Fatal Frame had the most unusually great "walking up the stairs" animation

I thoroughly appreciate making videos on this. Fatal Frame deserves the spotlight.

I've said a similar thing before but I follow a few creators who do documentaries on games, some from a gameplay perspective, some from a creation perspective and some from a technical standpoint. It's rewarding to see the people behind the game, not just the technical aspects. Because you cover Japanese games, it makes research that little bit harder. I played this on the original Xbox and loved it. Many of the horror games you cover are set in Japanese interpretations of western environments, they are familiar and alien at the same time. This being set in a timeless mansion in Japan felt unique. I love the challenges of traditional tank control of the horror genre, then swapping to the Camera Obscura in first person was disorienting. I definitely felt sympathy for many of the younger ghosts, who I saw as being trapped, the older ghosts were frightening and they were the culprits of the pain and suffering. The mansion itself was a beautiful setting, so much personality in every room and area. Great work as always.

Fatal frame is the best horror game you could possibly experience if you’re someone who’s into scary ghost stories and the occult and old religious rituals

This video is the best hour and four minutes I've spent so far in 2023. Your voice made me think of a journalist of the '70s (why? idk). And it sucks that people were harassing Makoto. Keep up the good work :D

I loved this vid, I loved how you went in depth behind the scenes, I also loved how folklore shaped this game

I simply adore your videos. It feels like components of what "in search of darkness" is for 80s horror films, I would absolutely support a crowdfunding for an equivalent for horror videogames and I cannot think of anyone better to do it. Just perfect 🥰

​This is incredible!! I can't believe how much details you've provided about the making of the first game! I'm beyond impressed!

Yet another banger of a thoroughly examined video of a true horror classic, Muse! I didn't even know it was based on the creator's visions as a child! Now it all makes sense why so many of the themes involve children. Would you be willing to explore Eternal Darkness for the GameCube? I saw Ragnarox's video on it but I always love your takes on similar or the same games as him as well.

I just played through the first game again after decades. It still holds up very well.

You really need to make videos also on the following game series 1. Parasite Eve 2. Dead Space 3. Clock Tower 4. Alone in the Dark 5. MediEvil 6. Tomb Raider 7. Doom 8. Quake 9. Drakengard/Nier 10. The Suffering 11. Turok 12. Dino Crisis I'm more than confident you can come up with great info on them

miku's hair being indicative of her spiritual power and her tying it up in rebellion is such a japanese subtlety. i cannot get enough of that shit (great video btw)

Oooo I loved this. and SH. wish I found your channel sooner. I'm a RE fan too. I'll be getting remake 4 and Mask of Lunar Eclipse in time.

Thank you for this amazing doc video! So expertly put! I love the Fatal Frame series, especially the original trilogy (the others I consider non-canon, but still enjoy). Maybe if we make enough noise, we can get 1, 2, and 3 on Steam too!

Echo Nights would be considered the Fatal Frame before Fatal Frame. Which, Echo Nights came out in the late 90s, so we had a ghost game around the PS1 era. But Fatal Frame expanded on Ghosts as a focus for horror.

To this DAY Fatal Frame STILL scares the ever loving SHIT out of me. There's something about having to stare at what was scaring you and waiting for it to come to you I was just fucking...TERRIFIED.

"They had to make the player scared to touch the controller." Boy does that ring true for me... I got Fatal Frame 1 from my aunt in middle school and I could never play it for more than two minutes! My way braver friend picked it up in high school, although she was bad at fighting ghosts. I ended up being decent at it and we had to tag team the game. It was a lot of fun. And terrifying. Many a sleepless sleepover...

This game was, and IS amazing. Creeped me out back in the day... and still today. I got trapped in the basement/cellar against a hard ghost with no film left. It was after the jars.

This is the BEST video about Fatal Frame i’ve seen yet, as a major FF diehard. All facts here, plus some more things that I hadn’t even known which is mindblowing. Fatal Frame is my favorite video game series by a long shot and if i had to pick a favorite, it’s gotta be the first.

I genuinely love this game is still talked about today. Remember being 15 in '05 when I played this game. 10/10 would recommend as a game to play

There are many theories around haunted places. It is not known if the ghosts themselves choose to linger or it is the place that traps the souls. I once worked part-time at an infamous haunted house. The owners abandonned thier house after one of their relatives committed suicide by hanging. It was then modified a bit into an office for lease, with a surprisingly cheap price. The very spot where the girl killed herself was straight out of a horror movie. It was at the corner of what had been formerly her bedroom. They built a brick wall on one side to separate that spot from the rest of the room, making it a square space, with a single door on the remaining side, for God-know reason. The door itself had a huge lock on it, plus a few iron chains around the lock, and in addition they barricaded the door with whatever they could use: table, chairs... In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they had also hidden the key inside an iron box and burried it deep underground. Though I didn't see they used any kind of exorcism or sealing talishmans on the door. By the time I joined the team, the company had already hired the 4th security guy for night shift, within just a month. First guy quit after reportedly seeing a girl wearing all white on the 3rd floor during his night watch at around 10PM. Second guy couldn't stand the footsteps up and down the stairs every night. Third guy quit after finding out in horror things in the girl's bedroom were moved by unknown force to seemingly resemble the way they had been arranged earlier. Fourth guy told everybody the girl liked to have a shower every night, but being a Buddhist follower, he wasn't scared. He chanted Buddhist mantras and meditated every night. I quit the job after just a few months due to conflicts with my college schedule and never had a chance to talk with people who remained there for a few more years. Till this day, it still gives me chill down the spine whenever I remember the sight of that door which lead to a separated tiny spot of where the suicide took place. The unnerving feeling of knowing something unfathomable being sealed off behind that door through the way people had tried to block any access in and out... That was truly as fearful as what they hope a horror movie or game at its best can deliver to people.

The amount of research that goes into your vids is amazing. Great, thorough work.

truth be told, Fatal Frame 2 scared the hell out of me, and trust me.... i have a fear of "Hollow Silent Houses" where there's nobody insight inside the house and that to me, will always be the most frightning experience of my life. just imagine having to back track to the most scariest house of all times and you forget that there's something you must do inside the house in order to escape the mansion, only to be met with a grueling fate for anyone attempting to enter at their own risk. i would never go back to that house especially when it's all lights out and dim as fuck, to a point where i wouldn't even dream of ever going that far to try. Fatal Frame 2 has taught me how to survive something so dreadful to a point, where sometimes you must confront that fear to escape it!

This was absolutely incredible to watch. Fatal Frame has always been one of my favorite series and 've learned so much from your deep dive!

Great, underappreciated work. It feels like a TV documentary on RU-vid, no kitchy attention grabbing gimmicks.

The ad read in the Silent Hill voice is a vibe.

It'd be interesting to have your imput on yet another classic albeit a cult one from the PS2 era, namely "Rule Of Rose".

Recently discoverd your channel through the Koudelka video and then wathed your Silent Hill video. Really amazing stuff you are doing. Thank you !

@thegamingmuse videos are always a treat :3 here is to many more awesome documentary type gaming vids!

Im so happy you made this video!! I love fatal frame and seeing this made my day. You're amazing ❤

This was so interesting! Can tell you researched this thoroughly and really enjoyed the way that you presented the info.

I remember playing the game for 1st time alone. Then both of my sister and brother start watching along. When i asked them why not playing it themself, they said it was too scary lol. Good ol memory.

Oh believe me, Japanese Horror Films are much, MUCH more insane, beautiful, but also very disturbing and intense compared to western versions of psychological horror. Personally, my nightmares I remember as a child will be the closest thing that I can relate to that are super uncanny yet ultra 16k quality models that even computer animation in the past and present doesn't even come close to....Yet. If you want to know a movie that scarred me for 20 years of my life, up until 2021, it was the animatronic dragon from Dragonworld....That film, along with prehysteria and explorers, or moonbeam entertainment, with happy music going on while scary and screaming footage plays on the screen, not to mention the fear of pitch black darkness and no sound or just pure silence....yeah, not a good combination and is why I keep my laptop on so this way I wouldn't be scared of the dark. Heck, I tried it again while trying to sleep, my ears would often ring, or see lines in front of my eyes, invisible of course, but man, it's hard to sleep in the dark without a light source....Not sure how the others whom don't need a light source to sleep can handle pitch black darkness to sleep... Other than that, I love these type of videos, so I figured, eh, I'll watch it...And it's always interesting to see histories of specific franchises, genres, and such.

These long-form 'making of' videos on Japanese horror games are supremely comfy - the Silent Hill videos were amazing, and I've watched them many times.

I've never been able to finish any of the titles of the series. I started playing when I was a young teenager and as a grown ass adult I'm still too scared. I love it tho. I even have a tattoo of the red butterfly of the second game. GREAT video.

This was absolutely amazing video, thank you for creating some really game historian work!!

When I was a young, there was a Gaming Card Shop that I would visit that also has Playstation for us to rent and play so when Fatal Frame was first released, a lot of people gathered to watch someone play the game and it the experience was so frighting that it kept the whole shop on edge. No one spoke as the game progressed and when someone freaks out, EVERYONE got freaked out haha good times :) Also really appreciate the amount of research and thought put into this video! I been looking for such a video for this game with so much extensive research, really lovely so keep it up!

Favorite series in the genre! Absolutely fantastic game!

Love learning more about Fatal Frame/Project Zero!

Ive never played any fatal frame games but I’ve always found the concept interesting. This was a rlly good video and super informative!!

Love this documentary

Thank you for making this video 👍 very well done as always

This was great. Im looking forward to your reviews of the other entries in this series

Great deep dive into the game's history and development. I'm looking forward to more!

Thank tou SO MUCH for this video! I’ve been a fan of the series from the beginning and it’s so hard to get backstage information (if you don’t speak Japanese), so this makes me really happy ❤️

I am glad they stayed with the camera concept. It make the most unique and intuitive gameplay lacking in other horror games. You can't just empty your ammos at ghosts. You have to make use of what you have in clever way. Looking through viewfinder, waiting for the right moment as the ghost approaches, blast them with zero shots and fatal frames, and combos with shots from different lenses, are both very satisfying and feel like a true horror experience.

Thank you for sharing your condition with us. I feel it casts light on the importance of products like it for those with specific needs.

Fatal Frame is still one of the scariest, if not the scariest horror game franchise i ever played….Siren was another…

Fatal Frame was the first survival horror game that I felt was genuinely scary. They really did an amazing job here. My only gripe about the original fatal frame is that there is a massive difficulty spike at the beginning of Night 3 with a rapid falling off and by the end of night 3 the rest of the game seems pretty easy. Other than that, I truly felt that Fatal Frame is in a class by itself with unique ideas and absolutely stellar execution. It makes sense that the director believes in ghosts and based the game on things he has seen. It feels very much like what one would imagine exploring a haunted house would feel like.

This video was great, so many things I didn't know about this game.Seeing there were some things that were cut from the original vision due to technical and time limitations, a remake would actually be justified. To this day I haven't played a video game that actually scared me, except for Fatal Frame 1, 2 and 3 (haven't played the other ones)

Spectacular content about Fatal Frame Thank you so much for this great documentary

Great video! Looking forward to see one about the second game

I absolutely love your videos. Thank you so much 💕

that's some quality scriptwriting. great video

Honestly this is a fantastic video and gave me a new appreciation for the franchise. I'm fairly new to Fatal Frame and replaying Maiden of Black Water had me curious about the history of the franchise, this is exactly what I was hoping to find.

I have this video on repeat in the background. Thank you ❤

Would you sometime later make a documentation of Daijirou Morohoshi? He's a really underrated comic artist, all of his works are special.

I haven’t played the Fatal Frame games but I want to now that I know the history. I also can see and hear things from the spiritual world, including ghosts and also interact with them, so it’s nice that that type of thing was taken seriously to create a video game rather than be met with claims of delusion and religious banter. Thank you for making this and now I’m gonna go purchase a PS2 so I can play these games.

This series is beautiful and quite unique. Got an original Xbox, I rebuild it with proper repairs and maintenance just for playing Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly Director's Cut and the exclusive content they have. Deception is an amazing series too, Deception III Dark Delusion has deep story and elements, Trapt for PS2 has very pretty music.

Well lemme tell you, they did achieve their "Scariest of all" goal. Fatal Frame set for me such an high standard for horror games now, that i find super hard, nearly impossible to get scared on any other horror game. Many rely too much on gore splatter or jump-scares and they are effective, but for the short term. Fatal Frame is the only franchise that gives me this unsettling feeling the whole time i am playing it, yet it can't stop my curiosity to find out what happened to these ghosts.

When I played this the first time I was frightened then it changed to irritation when I saw how Miku traverse stairs and the ladder 🤣🤣

Thank you for the documentary on Fatal Frame! Will you make a You Tube on the Wizardry series? Especially Wizardry Tales of the Forsaken Land since it was scary that the enemies could open the same doors that you could! Also the Wizardry game series inspired many rpg games especially Japanese games and it be be interesting to view a documentary on that. Thank you and have a great day!

The 'based on a true story' tag did appear on the Europe editions, only on the Xbox version and not the PS2! Would love to get my hands on that design document 😩

Experiencing first and second hand ghosts, I can tell you that this game scares the shit out of me

Fatal Frame didn't get enough credit back in the day. The story in 2 and the character building in 3 are top notch and rival Silent Hill or Resident Evil at their very best. Fatal Frame had a real sense of looming dread and the designers did a fantastic job building on that, which offered a unique flavor compared to SH or RE. Also because of some design choices made in these games, like simplified character models, they scale incredible well. 2 and 3 are both jaw dropping running 4k @ 60fps in emulation. It is always frustrating to see the original 3 left out of the conversation so much when it comes to the golden age of survival horror.

Amazing video, thank you!

this is the most informative about fatal frame series, thank u for making this video and i thought it was just me about experiencing paranormal activities during my youth, i cant see them but i do sense them, till i grow up, i dun sense them anymore, so good to know i wasnt the only 1 still... why there's no news after black maiden? i was so looking forward for the next release T_T... what happen?

Great games, 1-3 deserve remasters as the original titles are very expensive and unobtainable now for most people

Kagero is one of my most favorite games ever. Back in the day I remember paying $250 for Deception2, to be able to play in new PS(at that time)

These games were incredibly terrifying. To relieve tension you could spam the run button and the character would scoot and wiggle their legs. It was good for a laugh and would totally break the immersion so don't do it if unless you're just having a laugh.

When I first played Project Zero I started with the 3rd game not knowing there were 2 more (at the time). I remember, as an avid horror and survival horror fan alike, that the game was so unique and scared me so much, so much that the game nested itself in my mind. The soundtrack made me hear things irl just walking to the bus. Horrifying lol.

Why is this HelloFresh Ad so spooky?! LMFAO I love it.

such a good video thank you

One of my top 3 favourites horror franchise The difference in US and European games is music quews when ghosts flash appear which I always found interesting as I played pal and ntsc of the original 3

How about Kuon? Since I feel like it's a same genre and concepts

Incredible production value as always! Awesome video!

I was reading game magazine that the camera is only locked only one enemy, so I was convinced it's really horror game. Turns out it's not and we can do many times until films are out. Also it's more like girls' love than horror game.

I really hope they release the wii version of Project Zero / Fatal Frame 2 on PC also. And fix or update the keybinds for the 5th game on PC to something more similar to the 4th game.

Is there any chance you might tackle Echo Night? This video got me thinking about the brilliance of Echo Night Beyond. More people need to know about that series.

36:15. I'd love to see this jerkier fully B&W version of Fatal Frame.

P. Zero & the Deception series are my favorite games... I hope Tecmo will be able to make something else in the future, and not only in Japan....

I wish they brought the Deception games to pc.

I love fatal frame but I'm also kinda worried about Makoto Shibata. Is he ok? lol

I haven't been on your channel much, life happens ya know? Having a 6 year old and husband is busy but loved the video, love u Muse, missed the channel!

Parasite Eve didn’t do aliens. Our own mitochondria were the villains.

Fatal Frame is a game I wish I could play for the first time again.

Great vid ...just one thing though. Fish and Chips are not a traditional Irish dish, that's a traditional dish in the U.K. Fish and chips are popular in Ireland though just as Sushi is popular in South Korea 😉

This is James Barrow I'm loved fatal frame 3 and fatal frame maiden of black water

22:50 The Japanese was having a hard time understanding the concept of "first person shooter". 😂😂

Glad to see you back, Muse!

Fatal frame 2 is my favorite horror game… next to dead space 2