Fatal Frame III: The Tormented

Gameplay

In Fatal Frame III, the player uses the vintage "Camera Obscura" to photograph and dispel ghosts. The player explores in third-person in either the Manor of Sleep or the real world. On the main screen is a "Ghost Filament", which indicates a ghost's presence; red signals a hostile ghost, while blue indicates a neutral ghost. At any point in the game, the player can enter first-person mode via the viewfinder, used for photographing ghosts. The Camera Obscura has a limited amount of film for ammunition, and the player must search areas thoroughly to obtain more. The player gains points through defeating ghosts or by taking pictures of neutral ghosts or seals. These points can be used to upgrade different aspects of the camera, such as range and sensitivity.

Fatal Frame III's story is split into chapters called "Hours", which are further split into "day-and-night" sequences. While awake, Rei moves about her home, interacting with other characters and developing photographs taken from the Manor of Sleep. While sleeping, Rei enters the Manor of Sleep in her dreams. In certain Hours, the player controls either Miku or Kei, and their dreams include sections from previous games (e.g. the Himuro Mansion). Each character has different special abilities, making each of their playing styles unique. Rei can use the camera's flash to scare off some spirits, but can only use it a limited number of times. Miku has a special "Sacred Stone" charm that decreases the speed of spirits when used, and a "Double" ability that allows her to charge the camera up twice. Kei, with his greater physical strength, can move bookshelves or jump from one roof of the Manor to another. However, since Kei's camera ability is much weaker than that of either Rei or Miku, the player must use his "Hide" ability to avoid spirits' detection.

Plot

23-year-old freelance photographer Rei Kurosawa has been mourning the death of her fiancé, Yuu Asou, after a car accident caused by Rei's reckless driving. About two months after his death, while on assignment for the derelict Kuze mansion, Rei discovers his image on one of the photos she had taken. Shortly after, she begins having recurring nightmares of an old Japanese manor house—the "Manor of Sleep" (眠りの家)—during a heavy snowfall, where she is touched by a tattooed ghost. Upon waking, Rei notices a mysterious bruise on her body, where the ghost had touched her; this mark spreads each time she dreams about the Manor.

As Rei continues to explore the Manor of Sleep, she begins to receive investigation notes from Kei Amakura, a close friend of Yuu who writes in his letters that he and his niece Mio both have similar symptoms. Rei learns that her photography assistant, Miku Hinasaki, is also under the same curse. The lines between dream and reality blur when ghosts began appearing in Rei's house, and the bruise on her body continues to expand and form a snake-and-holly tattoo similar to the tattooed ghost who touched her.

Rei learns through uncovering diaries and research that the dreams are caused by Reika Kuze, the last Tattooed Priestess tasked with the duty of containing others' emotional pain within the tattoos on her body. Although meant to rest for eternity, Reika had unintentionally released "the Rift", a form of darkness which destroyed the village, after her childhood lover Kaname was murdered in front of her eyes. Now corrupted and unable to rest, she haunts people with a strong attachment to dead loved ones. Within time, the tattoos Reika had cursed her victims with will completely cover their bodies and cause them to disappear, leaving behind black soot, although following the dead would eventually lead to death as well. Because of Rei's attachment to Yuu; Miku's to her brother Mafuyu; and Kei's strong connection to Mio, mourning for her sister Mayu, all three are trapped in the Manor of Sleep.

When Miku enters a coma, Rei loses all hope of ending the curse until Kei suggests that by staking down Reika's body in the Chamber of Thorns, she can rest peacefully and no longer endanger them. However, he becomes trapped in the chamber himself upon making a horrific discovery: Reika's body has already been pinned to the ground. With only Rei remaining, she confronts Reika and exorcises her spirit. Following the lyrics of a song in the ritual, Rei puts the bodies of Reika and Kaname in a small boat and pushes it across an underground sea behind the stone ritual chamber - the Abyss of the Horizon, the passage to the spirit world. As the boat begins to vanish into the distance, other dead spirits begin to cross the sea, one of them being Yuu. The tattoo which now covers Rei's body transfers to Yuu, who insists that she must go on living and keep his memory alive. Once Rei and Miku wake up, they resume their normal lives.

Two Endings appear in the game. The Normal Ending shows that Rei and Miku have survived, while Kei has been spirited away; Mio's fate is unknown (presumed spirited away by Reika as well). The Photograph Ending is achieved by finishing an optional sidequest only available on the second playthrough of the game. This ending shows that both Kei and Mio survive as well, and that Mio is introduced to Rei and Miku after the game. In both endings, both Rei and Miku resolve to live on, as their deceased loved ones would have wanted.

Reception

Fatal Frame III has received positive reviews from critics. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the game a 79.31% and 78/100.