Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly

Fantastic atmosphere and deeply engrossing. The gameplay is fun and suspenseful as the story unfolds in a way that continually kept me interested. One of the best horror games I've ever played.

Fatal Frame II is easily the best of the series and one of the more interesting horror games. Unlike the first you are no longer confined to a single building but go through several which once you get inside look similar to the temple from the first game. Most of the buildings consist of narrow corridors and tight rooms. The gameplay differences in this are a huge improvement where controls feel smoother, you now have unlimited weak film so you can never run out, the combat is smoother and ghosts don't randomly disappear as much or float off screen which was an annoying thing about the first game, and the game does hand you a lot more film and healing items than the first making this a bit easier. This game isn't quite as scary as the first for me, mainly because you have your sister you are kind of with even if she does end up getting lost for most of the game, and also because I never felt I was trapped or helpless like I was in the first, I always felt I had plenty of film and the enemies didn't hit as hard in this game. The ghost design in this is a little weaker than the first I think, the ghosts in the first game actually were quite terrifying but in this the only ones I found remotely scary were the blind guys. Now that's not bad, as the game is more fun to play than the first game, but I just wish it had slightly more atmosphere. There are moments the game throws too many ghosts at you as well, where in the first game they spaced the ghosts and the tension was higher since you weren't too sure if a ghost would come where this you can kind of predict when they will.

As for the story its about on par with the first game, I found the first game had a darker and more creepy story, where this is more of a sisterhood bond story with ghosts and possession thrown in, yeah there is some creepy back story as well since the village you are in is practically a ghost village with a dark past but I just thought the ritual stuff from the first game was a bit creepier. So overall this is a bit of a mixed bag as a horror game its okay with some scary ghosts and an unsettling enough plot, and the game does throw a bit of film and healing at you where the survival feels a bit lacking too, but at the same time this game is way less frustrating than the first and has a lot more variety, plus it has more to explore and plays better. Its probably the best in the series because it combines solid gameplay with a solid story where the first was mainly a good story with average gameplay and the 3rd was good gameplay with an average story. Still I wouldn't put this on the same level as Resident Evil or Silent Hill in terms of survival horror classics.