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Enter All God’s Village, A.K.A. The Lost Village in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. This game took everything about the original and made it so much better, from a wider area to explore to tighter controls. I won’t bore everyone too much with that, since it’s all been said before. Instead, I’ll be talking about why this game is awesome to me.
Story
The first time I played, I had a brief idea of what was happening. I knew about the main characters, Mio and Mayu, and I understood that they wandered into this village. What I didn’t know was why they were there.
Twin sisters, a sacrifice, a never-ending cycle of Hell for all the spirits. A single day on repeat, a single night that changed everything. Talk about creepy.
A lot of the story you’ll piece together by documents you find lying around in various places. Talks about the ritual for twin sisters Sae and Yae, how only one performed as the orher fled. Mentions of different people in the village and their duties, and the outsider.
I’ll avoid saying more since spoilers, but this game is full of rich story.
Controls
This game has the best and tightest controls out of the entire series. Many fans acknowledge and know it. There was just something beautiful about how they were handled.
Atmosphere
If you want to know where the game shines the brightest, or darkest in this case, it’s the atmosphere. You truly feel alone in this village. Everyone you read about, they’re dead. Gone. You’re the only two living beings in this entire village.
As you walk the streets, explore the buildings, fight the spirits and read all the documents left behind, you’ll truly get a chill. I’ve played this game twice and I still adore the atmosphere. No game I’ve played can match. Not even Dead Space.
Soundtrack
A good or bad background sound can really make or break a game. Sometimes they’re just mediocre and we don’t even remember them after finishing the game. This is one that I definitely remember.
With different music for different rooms and ghosts, I feel it usually fits the scene nicely. Eerie, ready to lay on the scare factor.
Final Thoughts
This is the game to start with if you haven’t played any of the series before. While I’m sure some people may have started with Maiden of Black Water, since the series is now gaining some traction in the U.S. again, this should definitely be the one to go back to.
Copies of Fatal Frame II aren’t cheap, but emulation is possible for those unwilling to throw the money down. In my opinion though, it’s worth owning a physical copy. If you decide to play, remember to turn the lights out.
Oh, and maybe say a prayer to a god.
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