Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse [Wii]

[Judge]

Appologies if this is a duplicate topic- the search didn't throw up any matches.

I've had this sat on my shelves for a few weeks, but have been saving it for my holidays. I'm about three quarters of an hour in, and just getting stuck into the first proper chapter. My Japanese is pretty terrible, but the Jp game is very playable as long as you have a knowledge of the series. As usual, there's prologue where you play as a different character, before the game starts.

Lack of a PS2 prevented me playing The Tormented, but I didn't have any trouble picking up from where I left off. The fight mechanic seems very orientated towards timing- the energy meter builds as you focus on a ghost, and when full, it zooms in. Taking a photo during the zoom is enough for a one-hit kill so far. There's also a nice tension-inducing "snatch" mechanic, where you have to keep the A button held down as the character reaches out for an item. It's been a fairely slow start, with only two hostile ghosts to date, but presumably they're trying to ease new players in.

Looking good so far!

[Judge]

I finished this earlier in the week and loved it to bits- it starts slow but builds up well, and is probably my favourite of the Project Zero/ Fatal Frame titles. There's some VERY nice twists with the endings of the supporting characters' stories, and I you have a Jp Wii, I'd highly recommend it.

Although still effectively running on last-generation hardware, it makes several gameplay improvements over the original trilogy of titles. While the previous games’ used of a variety of controls to overcome the limitations of a fixed camera perspective, Eclipse subtly adopts the approach pioneered in Resident Evil 4, placing the camera behind the player’s right shoulder. Unlike its inspiration, however, the goal is not to increase emphasis on combat but on exploration. The movement of the player character is controlled using the nunchuck, which allows the player to walk forwards and backwards, turn, run and strafe (although the latter is of limited use in the initially confined spaces hosting the action). The remote functions as the player’s torch, which can be panned up and down to play the light across various surfaces. A small indicator at the bottom right of the screen indicates when something of interest is within the player character’s field of view, and it soon becomes second nature to move closer to investigate, searching the area with the remote until it becomes clear what the target of attention is. The camera which traditionally serves as the protagonists’ weapon against marauding ghosts is controlled in the same manner, with the spirits of children and enemies who attack from the ceiling again requiring the lateral motion provided by the remote. It’s an extremely intuitive system, perfectly suited to the gameplay. Impressing further is the fact that Rougetsu Island is streamed without loading pauses, with only a slight frame rate drop marking the boundaries between sections.

There has been an adjustment in how the upgrade system works, with the cameras’ power now increased through the use of crystals, which are uncovered through exploration. The points awarded through photographing ghosts, both in hostile encounters and snapshots of split-second passive apparitions, are now used to by more powerful film and healing items at save lanterns. A more major change to the mechanics is the abandonment of the random battles which occurred in the PS2 games, whereby a marauding ghost would stumble across you if you lingered for too long without making progress. While this slightly reduces the feeling of dread found in the earlier games, it removes the need for an army of generic ghosts to menace the player, increasing the quality of the story.

I've reviewed the game for http://noisetosignal.org/, so if you're interested, you can find further pontification there...

Has anyone else bought it?

[abigsmurf]

No random respawning ghosts? Buyable items? Excellent. One of my biggest problems with the first game was the re-spawning ghosts eating away at your health and film (was also a pain if they spawned in some tight locations).

Now to build up the courage to buy it. I'm a big horror fan but these games still spook the hell out of me.

[fuse]

I finished this earlier in the week and loved it to bits- it starts slow but builds up well, and is probably my favourite of the Project Zero/ Fatal Frame titles. There's some VERY nice twists with the endings of the supporting characters' stories, and I you have a Jp Wii, I'd highly recommend it.

I'm sure I've asked this or at the very least pondered this before, but I've never played one of the Fatal Frame titles, and my Japanese comprehension doesn't stretch much further than English words written in katakana - how would I fare? I watched a trailer and it does look rather good, but I'm a little paranoid that I'd need to be scouring FAQs at every turn.

[Judge]

I've never played one of the Fatal Frame titles, and my Japanese comprehension doesn't stretch much further than English words written in katakana - how would I fare?

It's a difficult one. My Japanese isn't any use outside of menu screens, but I was able to complete the game without the use of guides. However, I'm a fan of the series, and I'm used to the gameplay stunts it often pulls. (A favourite of the games is for a photograph of an obstruction to develop as an image of where you need to go to resolve it.) They've gone as far as they can to make the game accessible to new players- for the first hour of the game you only encounter two enemies, the weaknest type of film give you infinite shots, and the series' usual gameplay tricks don't come in until much later on in the game. My first impulse was to advise you to try the second game, Crimson Butterfly, to get an idea of how the series works, but the old-school Resi fixed-camera gameplay might be a little too retro. On reflection, I'd go for it- you might need to consult a guide to get your head around the fight mechanic and the upgrades for the camera, but once you get over those innitial barriers, there's nothing to stop you enjoying the game.

[fuse]

Cheers man, that was exactly the kind of answer I was looking for. Will probably pick it up at some point and see how I get on