Addendum: 1) Since people are asking: I hadn't planned to cover further games in the series, but I'm not saying it couldn't happen. It's a thing I certainly considered, that's not *planned* at the moment but that I might just get around to one day, we'll see. 2) I am incredibly sorry and embarrassed that I, somehow while making this video got a mnemonic twist in my brain and started referring to the protagonist as Rei Amakura instead of Rei Kurosawa.🙇 This hurts my soul, haha...I totally have been aware that her last name is Kurosawa since I always found it cool that her last name was a nod to Kiyoshi Kurosawa, director of Kairo(Pulse) who heavily inspired the series - but somewhere during production I must have had gotten twist in my brain from "Kei Amakura" sounding so similar and neither I nor 2 people copy-editing the script ever once noticed it in the past weeks. Very strange indeed. I have to take it with a laugh, but it's... painful. My Apologies.🤣
A video covering Fatal Frame IV would be pretty awesome, especially considering how difficult it is to get an English version of and the influences brought in from Suda 51's Kill the Past Trilogy.
Sounds hilarious XD But it makes sense...Actually, game is thus well balanced. Petting animals is well known way of releasing tension during prolonging psychological stress...
the last thing rei said at the end of the game is so beautiful that even now i still get emotional every time i hear her say it: "i'll go on living, even with the pain"
Rei is by far the best Fatal Frame protagonist imo and I absolutely agree that her final line is beautiful. Hell, the entire game is beautiful, especially the ending.
This game really got me. Does anyone remember that part where a pair of legs just randomly appears in the closet in Rei's house? After playing for a while, I saw them out of the corner of my eye, just for a second, then when I looked closer they were gone. Seriously thought I was going insane because why would there be legs there? It makes no sense. I don't think there's been another game that made me question my own sanity like that.
That was the first instance of a scare that wasn't thrown in your face, and noticing it absolutely blew my mind. I put the controller down for like 5 minutes just collecting myself afterwards.
Also in the mansion sometimes faces show up in the walls,and the game don't inform you or point you to see,is really disturbing Also some dead people under the sheets that start singing or talk through the game,is really fucked up
true, i find the plot of fatal frame 3 beautiful. here we have rei a complex protagonist with troubled past and haunted by her ptsd along with survival’s guilt. as the story progress and reach climax, she eventually managed to overcome her past and continued to live on despite not fully healing from it. i find it beautiful and inspired me to be as strong as her.
Thank you for adding a time stamp for "sponsor", I hate to sit through two mini videos of 15 seconds just to start the video plus the mid intermissions of the same while you're watching and now the sponsors of the creators on top of that. Now with a time stamp we can just skip that. Thank you
I think it's better to throw them a buck of two from time to time to help them but forcing you to sit through advertising that in 95% of the cases you don't care/need is asking the consumer for too much. And besides, the sponsor message it's still there you just now have the possibility of skipping it.
Fatal Frame III is my favorite in the series for a number of reasons: its deeply personal journey along with a refined game design and maps already make it a wonderful journey, but as stated it also brings the best aspects of the previous games and elevates them. My first experience with the game was, weirdly enough, enjoyed with friends: I was a FF1 veteran, while my best friend played only FF2, and we decided to play this game during a weekend. Even with company, it was such a haunting, heavy experience. At one point one of our friends decided to turn off the lights to enhance the experience and I had to turn it back on when I noticed my friend with tears of fear in her eyes -- and she had been playing horror games since the release of Resident Evil! This game is truly special.
Finally a video dedicated to FF3 as much as I loved FF2, FF3 did not disappoint. They intertwined all the story from the previous games so well. Even if the Manor is your only area (aside the FF1 & 2 Areas) it still feels big and doesn't seem repetitve in quests. The story of being haunted by your dreams is true esp in Asian Culture. Here in the PH, its called "Bangungot", old people will warn those that their loved ones who recently died to not follow them in their dreams or they do not come back. I really loved all the other stories involved in the Manor, lot of fucked up ones like Sacrificial Pillars and Maidens.
You never even mentioned how the ending led into the credits with the single most powerful song about the emotional journey of grief i've ever heard so perfectly. Koe is hands down Amano Tsuki's best work
Glad to see somebody else thinks this game is amazing. It blew me away and I really honestly feel it is the best of the original three. I love all three, but this game did something I haven't seen many horror games do; rather than be about discovering a threat and defeating it, it dives into how hurt people are when they lose loved ones. The aftermath of that pain sets the background, and talks about how hard it is to stand back up knowing you could just decieve yourself and pretend it didn't happen. Love this game.
I was never able to play FF3 despite my interest in the series. I was required in my teen years to watch the game play on a deffo-would-not-fly-now youtube playlist. I didn't think much of it then, in fact, I actively recoiled from it. Its only now, decades later and several neurological disorders such as depression diagnosed, that I come to really understand why I never gave that game the chance it so desperately deserved. I recognized myself in the tormented and did not like it. I looked into the abyss of pain and blinked. Sorry for the melodramatic post, but I felt the need to express my much abbreviated story and feelings about this game and video mini-series. Thank you for taking the time to unearth these gems and please, continue to bring these tales to the light.
No, thanks for sharing! This is interesting to hear and definitely a very valid reason for intuitively feeling repulsed by a game. I've experienced something similar with other games in the past, where they were great, but subconsciously hit too close to home for comfort.
Your feelings are valid and your thoughts are appreciated. Grief and loss are sensitive subjects and you can opt to enjoy other art forms or appreciate the series from the sidelines. I don't know myself why I wasn't triggered by this series even though I've had dysthymic disorder (chronic depression) since I was 12. The only game that ever put me off for non-genre reasons (love fantasy and sci-fi) was Shadow of the Colossus because killing the beautiful and peaceful gentle giants reminds me too much of endangered animal species in real life.
I find the manor of Sleep to the be the scariest place in the entire Fatal Frame series, due to one simple reason: The manor is in a dream world. Which means that people who have played the game could actually go to the manor of sleep in their own dreams as well. I have a few times and it was down right scary. Basically showing that the devs of Fatal Frame 3 made a world that is not only unforgettable but one that is impactful.
I wanted the Holly and Snake tattoo as a tattoo back when I played this game but right now I'm still thinking about it. The whole Fatal Frame franchise before 4 was just genius.
I was just thinking the same honestly, especially if they include the Japan exclusive 4, Maiden of Black Water, and maybe the enhanced Wii port of 2. Not sure if those last three would be easy to port to platforms without motion control capabilities though...
I remember that i used to play this game at night. I stayed almost all night playing it and it took me a long time to complete it. I felt like rei in this game, feeling the nightmare alongside her, being by her side, seeing how long and extensive everything was, it kept going and going. I felt that nightmare was never going to end. I felt the game was endless, and her "it's raining again" always calmed me. Specially because in my real life some days were always rainy and were connected to the game. It was a really beautiful journey that I'll never forget. Thanks ragna for covering these series I really love all of your work.
Once again, your analysis is pure gold that pays a fair homage to one of the greatest horror franchise ever made. You did an amazing job like for the previous ones.Thank you for, though your videos, keeping this series alive.
@тαρ мє αи∂ ѕєχ ωιтн мє Riley Why a return? It didn't go anywhere, we got the recent port of the 5th entry in modern consoles and PC. I hope it will open the gate for a new sequel.
@@Briizyo My favourite is Project Zero 2 (Fatal Frame 2). I like the Wii remake but the original PS2 version is the best in my opinion. And I prefer Siren 2 over Siren 1. Siren 2, or Forbidden Siren 2 as it's titled here, is the best of the Siren franchise and one of the best Survival-horror ever to me.
@@shibitoobscura3348 Yes, I play PS2 PAL version too, Forbidden Siren 2 is best atmospheric game ever. But i prefer Project Zero 3 over II bcz dreams system! Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is great too, best psychological thriller game ever, I love the chilling night exploration in the city! (Sorry for my bad english dude)
@@Briizyo Don't worry about your English, it's not my native language either (I'm French). I liked SH Shattered Memories and its pyschological approach as well, even though I much prefer the first four original Silent Hill games.
I remember when I first played this game years ago, it was my first fatal frame game and I was deep in a depressive episode. I remember quickly becoming obsessed. I had to solve the mystery, I had to walk deeper into the manor of sleep. I think I was obsessed with this game, because I was struggling with my own grief. It's still one of my comfort games.
@@RagnarRoxShow It's okay, we all make mistakes, I just finished the video and it was beautiful. I genuinely agree with nearly every word you said and this game really needs more attention. Here's hoping this video brings more light to its existence and thus more critical acclaim!
the sequence at 39:32 was exactly what I needed to see what you meant about the tone and anxiety inducing aspects of this game. Most horror games would leave it at the bloodied handprints and make the player think "uh oh, something has changed." but the way that as you look at the handprints and then two hands grabbed at the frame of the mirror and then crawled up to reveal the ghost managed to fill me with a fear that I rarely ever experience in horror games and would quickly be gone if it had been done via jumpscare. This game truly is a masterpiece in it's tone and pacing. That scene startled me by pushing my expectations and not finishing that sequence with just the handprints. It let the dread build in you and the fear grow as the ghost begins to move into frame. Absolutely brilliant.
@@jadak100 I guess because most Japanese Game series are only technically series ( think FF or DQ ) or the games only have minimal connections ( think Nier, Silent Hill - tough SH3 has a bit more of a connection, but in general ). In most cases they aren't as connected as series in the West, here most games build upon each other, even if u can often play them as standalone games, but there are deeper connections / flashbacks / characters from older games.
I thought most plots tried to tie-in the story in a conclusion by the third entry. I'm referring to films or with that narrative direction in mind, which this are heavily based around. As far as game franchise go, they can as well, but typically doesn't end continuation.
This was the scariest Fatal Frame for my best friend, my brother and me. And was because, the sanctuary that was the home, was beeing corrupted the more we advenced in the game, because has relatable caracters and has a lot of psicological horror, but the most important, because it make us go back to some the scariest places of the previous games. Is like, living a nightmare of a nightmare that you belive you had escaped. This is the most emotional Fatal Frame, and I love it.
I still remember the time I learned that Nintendo had bought the rights of the series. I'm still angry about it. And something tells me they only did it because they thought "hey, camera good Wii/ WiiU pad cool, match made in heaven, lets gooo!".
Glad to find your Fatal Frame series retrospective (and channel as a whole). I just finished playthrough of the PS2 trilogy couple days ago, and of my god... I had a blast with all three of them, but Fatal Frame 3 by far hit me like truck. It is undoubtedly now my most favourite horror game. Among all Resident Evil games, Silent Hill, Ku On, Rule of Rose, Haunted Ground, Clock Tower and many more, this one was a gut punch, gameplay, story, lore, atmosphere, exploration, side activities... there is so much, i just cannot stop thinking about this game and want to replay all three immediately, with all the new game+ bonuses they have. That is why im struggling and searching for any high quality Fatal Frame content on internet, and that's how i stumble onto your channel, bless.
How to forget the song of the girls ... in addition to the reason for the suffering of the main ghost, it was not only revenge for wanting to live longer, it was that she could not bear to see his loved one die and not be able to do anything and still continue to see him and suffer eternally ... I love this game very much.
I played this game when I was like 11 years old, needless to say I never got past around the halfway mark cause it just became way too scary for me, wish I finished it cause it was amazing.
We're in the same shoes,,i was 10 when i playing this game for the first time but never end this game because its to scary for me,,but now im 23 and still got scared with this game 💀
rented this game during highschool and couldnt manage to finish it, now im 31 i was able to finish it (just few days ago). im now currently playing crimson butterfly
hearing the enthusiasm in your voice for your ending statements is so fucking beautiful man. keep on doing you man , its obviously working. wish you all the best in your life
5:11 And may I just say what a fantastic career choice for Miku to pursue! Yep, lost my brother and almost died in a place that was haunted as all fuck...might as well look for more of those!
SPOILERS FOR FATAL FRAME 5- But I'll grant you that's a minor quibble compared to everything wrong with the whole "I want to have ghost babies with my dead older brother" thing she has going in later in the franchise.
Part 3 was my favorite too. It felt more mature and just scarier and the world blended in with reality. I felt like i was at home with rei and that really got me. The shower scene is iconic. The levels can be a bit confusing and there is some padding, but it’s just a really dark entry which is why i loved it. Plus miku is back!!
There are so many games, that "get lost", because of poor business practices :( I played video games for many years, but had precious few, when I was younger. So whenever I come across an old game I want to play, it's always a hassle unless there is an updated version on gog or steam. Not to mention series series, which are discontinued, because businesses own intellectual property. Man, I just want to know the real secret of monkey island. Please.
This was my first FF and my favorite. Even though I didn't have the context at the time, I always thought it was neat how the mansion changed for every character. So when I played the others it was a surprise seeing the environments from FF3 there. Also, this was the game that introduced me to Amano Tsukiko, and that great song "Koe," such a fitting song for the game.
How did I miss this video! Rei is honestly one of my favourite fictional characters, but I love just about everything in this game. Even the back tracking it's not that bad in my opinion.
To me, this game is the best in terms of characters, because it deals with the theme of trauma pretty well, while at the same time bringing in the old characters to tell about THEIR trauma, like idk if the devs planned it or not but it ties together the OG trilogy with a perfect shiny bow. Second, it's more scary to me because the hauntings started getting into rei's apartment. Ya know, a FAMILIAR MODERN HOME setting. I remember after noticing the ghost under rei's desk, i keep checking my own study desk often... and after getting spooked by THAT BED CUTSCENE, i sleep facing the wall for a few days... I was in middle school and my culture believes in the spiritual so i was a scawed lil girl 😂😂
Thank you for validating my childhood, and brilliant video! Reminds me of the days I would browse "Snowblood Apple" for J-horror films, and every film or game I got from Japan was like a treasure. Fatal Frame, Kuon, and Siren are just awesome.
"if the removal of convenience is done purposefully, it can be a powerful tool for horror games" i've been trying to explain this concept to people for years, thank you for boiling it down to a single sentence
This one is my favorite folklore from the series... Very close with Fatal Frame 2 but i think this one is better... The tattoo priestess, the curse and victims, the ink, the fucking lore about the engraver, the little handmaiden, that bitch Yashuu, the fucking baby well, the chamber where priestess pinned down like fucking dissecting table in Biology class... And the stupid carpenter storyline... Damn..... Sooo rich, juicy, agonizing, hell... I love it sooo much
I will never regret that this was the first out of the series that I picked up. The point you made about how Fatal III actually enhances the first two games rings so true, when me and my friends found the other games after feverishly completing this one, the entire lore, the tragically looping fate of the characters... it was already so firmly in our minds that everything felt incredibly meaningful and connected. Also personally I completely agree on how Rei is relatable to, well, tormented, neurodivergent creative folks... I already look forward to rewatching this along with the other essays you did on the series. Thank you for doing what you do!
This is my favorite in the series as well because of the heavy themes it tackles. And also why I can never forgive Fatal Frame 5 for taking a big steaming dump all over it.
I'm not one for posting comments but I had to express my appreciation for this video. Your earlier Fatal Frame videos introduced me to this channel and man I have to share. Fatal Frame 2 was my first entry to the series and my first real attempt at horror games. I lost; bad the fear and dread of the second game crippled me and I gave up. When I came across the third I chose to try again and man my blood froze when I got to see the areas from the second game; I persevered and managed to best the game and felt compelled to replay the second and play the first. I came to love the horror game genre wholly because of this series so I do truly appreciate someone giving it the attention it deserves; Well done :D
This is my favourite game in the series too. Thank you for this video. Since we're not getting any new games any time soon, this is the next best thing!
I agree, this game made me question EVERYTHING about life and beyond, and let me tell you something, the universe and beyond scare me more than anything else ever.
Thank you for doing these deep dives into my favorite games! I have all 3 fatal frames, rule of rose, kuon, and haunting ground (I used to have it. Damn teen me who didn't know that game was rare) you really make me re appreciate these masterpieces that were before their time.. I would love for a reboot of these games. Or even a re release on switch or something. Anyways I appreciate the work you put into these videos!
The third one has always been my favorite of all the entries. People seem to think the second one is the masterpiece. But for me the third one has always been that, the theme is extremely relatable and the game itself is way more fun to play as well as terrifying. This game is my favorite, of all games probably. I have played this more than 10 times now and never lose that feeling of fear, or even get bored of it. Thanks for making this video.
I'm glad you are releasing more videos this year but don't push yourself! Your content is a treat. This video was an amazing take on an amazing series.
the genius part is somehow the real world at some moment scarier than the nighmare world. our home supposed to safe, but when nightmare bleeding to real world, we can't expect when scary moment could appear
Plagues would be a more stable individual if he gave in to his passion of making lewd art, his resistance to it only wears away at his sanity, as fleeting as it is.
I have never been as genuinely scared as when I attempted to play the original all those years ago. Not to mention, I hated first person perspective at the time, so the dread of simply trying to keep the ghosts in frame just upped the tension to like...a million. 😂
I love the third game, and you make some excellent points. It has probably the best atmosphere of any of these games, fantastic combat, decent exploration that is really unique in standout moments, and a deeply profound emotional aspect surrounding every pixel of loving care and detail placed into it. Despite all of this, I still can't say that it's my favorite in the series, or even my second-favorite. The film shortage in the game made my playthroughs slogs to get through compared to prior titles. Being able to truly run out of film was such a huge oversight, especially for higher difficulties. Instead of rewarding you for fighting more enemies, the game punishes you for it, a heel turn compared to the first two and later titles. In addition to potentially being able to run out of film and be useless until you reset the night, the game is also considerably stingier than the rest when it comes to resources. This may seem like a minor complaint, but it is a small problem that becomes larger and exponentially more frustrating every time you have to consider your film usage (which is often). With how insanely large and labyrinthian the map is, I was exhausted by the end. Aside from this, the aforementioned map was definitely too obtuse at times, making navigation a chore in some chapters. The inclusion of previous locations was an exciting premise at first, but they leaned too heavily on it and it lost its charm by the later chapters. I won't say that they were being lazy and recycling assets though, because I don't think that's fair or even true. Kei was a terribly executed character. If he and Rei or Miku had been the only two protagonists, there may have been some room for character development for him. However, because they wanted to have three protagonists, he became a generic guy that only exists to push heavy stuff and hide from Reika... lame. They should have simply brought Mio back instead since they were already bringing back plot points and characters from prior games. Overall, this game is certainly amazing and inexcusably underrated. I don't mean to drive people away by saying all of this, but rather, to make them aware of the flaws the game has before diving in, or perhaps retroactively if they didn't pick up on all of them themselves.
P.S. I think it would have been cool for Mio to have been Yuu's niece instead of Kei's, skipping the whole friendship between the guys step. That would have made Rei and Mio's connection much more interesting compared to Kei and Rei's. Just food for thought.
i found this video first (before your other dives), and i'm so glad! FF3 is one of my favorite horror games of all time - it freaked me out so much, the way it sets up a separation from the "real" world and the dream world and then starts to remove the barriers and safety of being awake. and the ending ALWAYS brings tears to my eyes. thank you for highlighting this series and game
I love this game so so much. And don't forget about how amazing the ending music, "Koe" truly is. Hearing it for the first time after my first run, along with that haunting scenes, gave me massive goosebumps. Thanks for making this video man.
FF1 and 2 had less layered protagonists because to me, those games were not stories about them. The first 2 were about the setting and the ghosts trapped within that setting. It makes complete sense 3 had a more layered protagonist, it was a story actually about her
I just thought: "Maybe today is a new ragnar video day?" And it is! :D There is something really special about these old fixed camera angle games of that gaming era. It is hard to capture in words. Some part of it of course must be some form of nostalgia from old games like RE, but there is also something more. A feeling of uneasiness when I go into a room and can`t see whats in front of me. Maybe it`s the old lovecroftian thing about the fear of the unknown. Also I think the way you have to maneuver in many games of these type(tank controls e.g.) gives you this feeling of beeing defenseless in a hostile world. Like Silent Hill, Fatal Frame gives a glimpse into what seems to be the human will. And whatever this thing is, it is capable of archiving a lot when really needed. It`s a romantic approach towards the horrors the human existence has to offer and therefore I love these games in a very humble way, as they allow me to draw strengh from their story, and moreover from the gameplay itself. That is what makes the great difference of video "games" towards other media like books and movies. The experience is far more intimate.
As someone who found getting the first 3 Fatal Frame games extremely hard to find when PS2 was the current console generation ( it literally took me years to find them and when I was searching for them many places just laughed at me for even trying to find them) it saddens me that these games are basically impossible to find nowadays. They are delightful masterpieces Within the horror survival genre simply because they did something so different than everything else. Here's hoping that some sort of re-release eventually happens and thank you for letting people know how they can emulate the games since that might be the only way to play them.
Fatal Frame 3 undoubtedly feels like the most JHorror game out of the bunch. When I say this I mean how it feels similar to the JHorror movies that we come to love. The exploration of the characters emotions leads to a more relatable psychological horror rather than the typical "ghost in mansion where my family member disappeared". It gives me big Ringu, Ju-on and other great JHorror movie vibes.
