Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Disclaimer: As of writing this, I have only played the Fatal Frame 2 Remake. I'm going to play Mask of the Lunar Eclipse Remaster next and will likely compare that with this and FF2R, just like I'm going to compare this to FF2R. I also play horror games on Story mode when possible because I'm a wimp. So your experience as a not wimp will likely vary, but if I played on Normal I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much. Though with that said, I probably could have handled this one on Normal.
FF2R is "objectively" a better game than this, but I had a harder time with FF2R because of the sections where you have to hide. I'm not good at that kind of stuff. I've liked Fatal Frame because the camera is a gun and I never feel powerless, so I can just soak in the atmosphere, story and horror imagery. Maiden doesn't have hiding sections, though you run away a few times. But those few times are really easy. So honestly, when it comes to that, I probably technically had more fun with Maiden because there was never a moment where I sat there like, "Do I have to do this?" And that's not a complaint about FF2R, that's it doing its job effectively. As I said in my review for that game, I loved it so much I pushed myself through sections I would normally abandon in other horror games.
But Maiden at its worst is repetitive and almost has too much story, though that ties into the repetition. Sometimes it felt like they were just rewording things I already knew or things I could have figured out. And I'm not talking about the after episode recap, because I actually don't mind those. I'm saying that you read A LOT and it's not always insightful. But that's fine. I accepted it.
The common complaint I've seen is going up Mt. Hikami. It's true: you go up it way too much. It's a memorable spot with an interesting layout and perpetual rain, but there were definitely times where the game starts you somewhere (like at the antique shop, for example) and then forces you to trudge through an area you've seen a bunch of times just to get to another area that you might have already been to as well.
The best example of this I can think of is in the final drop. You go up with Yuri. Then you go up with Ren. Thankfully Miu takes a different path, though still up an area you've been to a bunch. Now, Yuri and Ren end up in different places, but for the most part you've already been there. It hurt the flow, even if the rest of that drop is great. There's always backtracking in horror games but FF2R felt like a tighter piece, whereas Maiden had some padding. Again, obviously this did not drastically alter my score because I loved the rest.
FF2R is also scarier. It's oppressively dark and there wasn't a single moment I felt at ease. Maiden is creepy but I felt a lot more comfortable. Maiden does have some great moments though.
I like Maiden's story more. It made me emotional. It felt sadder. Yes, FF2R is sad too. Maybe it's just because FF2R is more vague, but I think atmosphere was the star there, whereas this story obviously had a lot of effort put into it (and they want you to know it). Related to this, there were some neat touches that added to everything, such as being able to touch ghosts and sometimes see their stories. These stories are like grainy short films, and I really dug the aesthetic because they felt like something you weren't supposed to see, much like many of the cinematics in this game. They did a phenomenal job in this regard.
Just a quick note on the combat. It does feel more video game-y, but I like that you can tilt the camera and there are a bunch of lenses and stuff. It's not necessarily better than FF2R, but it's different enough. But I'm really not here for the combat. The combat is there to make it possible for a wimp like me to play because if you only had to hide from ghosts, I wouldn't want to play it.
If you asked me to pick between FF2R and this, I'd pick FF2R, but it'd be easier for me to go through Maiden again.
FF2R is "objectively" a better game than this, but I had a harder time with FF2R because of the sections where you have to hide. I'm not good at that kind of stuff. I've liked Fatal Frame because the camera is a gun and I never feel powerless, so I can just soak in the atmosphere, story and horror imagery. Maiden doesn't have hiding sections, though you run away a few times. But those few times are really easy. So honestly, when it comes to that, I probably technically had more fun with Maiden because there was never a moment where I sat there like, "Do I have to do this?" And that's not a complaint about FF2R, that's it doing its job effectively. As I said in my review for that game, I loved it so much I pushed myself through sections I would normally abandon in other horror games.
But Maiden at its worst is repetitive and almost has too much story, though that ties into the repetition. Sometimes it felt like they were just rewording things I already knew or things I could have figured out. And I'm not talking about the after episode recap, because I actually don't mind those. I'm saying that you read A LOT and it's not always insightful. But that's fine. I accepted it.
The common complaint I've seen is going up Mt. Hikami. It's true: you go up it way too much. It's a memorable spot with an interesting layout and perpetual rain, but there were definitely times where the game starts you somewhere (like at the antique shop, for example) and then forces you to trudge through an area you've seen a bunch of times just to get to another area that you might have already been to as well.
The best example of this I can think of is in the final drop. You go up with Yuri. Then you go up with Ren. Thankfully Miu takes a different path, though still up an area you've been to a bunch. Now, Yuri and Ren end up in different places, but for the most part you've already been there. It hurt the flow, even if the rest of that drop is great. There's always backtracking in horror games but FF2R felt like a tighter piece, whereas Maiden had some padding. Again, obviously this did not drastically alter my score because I loved the rest.
FF2R is also scarier. It's oppressively dark and there wasn't a single moment I felt at ease. Maiden is creepy but I felt a lot more comfortable. Maiden does have some great moments though.
I like Maiden's story more. It made me emotional. It felt sadder. Yes, FF2R is sad too. Maybe it's just because FF2R is more vague, but I think atmosphere was the star there, whereas this story obviously had a lot of effort put into it (and they want you to know it). Related to this, there were some neat touches that added to everything, such as being able to touch ghosts and sometimes see their stories. These stories are like grainy short films, and I really dug the aesthetic because they felt like something you weren't supposed to see, much like many of the cinematics in this game. They did a phenomenal job in this regard.
Just a quick note on the combat. It does feel more video game-y, but I like that you can tilt the camera and there are a bunch of lenses and stuff. It's not necessarily better than FF2R, but it's different enough. But I'm really not here for the combat. The combat is there to make it possible for a wimp like me to play because if you only had to hide from ghosts, I wouldn't want to play it.
If you asked me to pick between FF2R and this, I'd pick FF2R, but it'd be easier for me to go through Maiden again.
Mini Review: There are some flaws here, such as some repetition, and I would never say this is the scariest horror game ever, but I love it. Though not outright scary (with jump scares), it's consistently creepy and Mt. Hikami is a great setting. The audio design/soundtrack is wonderful. Visuals are nice. There are some neat little touches I appreciate and the combat is solid. Great story too that hit me pretty hard.
Watch the Trailer