Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly Remake | REVIEW | Nintendo Switch 2

''SAY CHEESE AND DIE''

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Developed: Koei Tecmo

Published: Koei Tecmo

Genre: Survivor Horror

Release Date: March 11th, 2026

Platforms: PC/PS5/Xbox family/Nintendo Switch 2

Review copy provided to me by Koei Tecmo

Fatal Frame 2 Crimson Butterfly remake is a revival of one of the best in the series and it is developed and published by Koei Tecmo. With Fatal Frame being absent of a brand new entry since Maiden Of Black Water on Wii U, Koei Tecmo decides to give fans what they've wanted for awhile now, at least since the last time this game got ''remade'' when it was on the Nintendo Wii. However was it a wise choice touching a beloved horror game such as this? or should they have had better luck remaking the 3rd entry into the series, The Tormented?. Only one way to find out, so lets.... wait? oh no, not again.. they're back.

''YOU CAME TO THE WRONG NEIGHBORHOOD''

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GAMEPLAY:

Is it just me or has there been an uptick in horror as of recently? I mean the genre has never exactly been ''dead'' in a sense, mostly because indie developers have been keeping the genre alive for so long because AAA companies seem to only want to stick with what they think are ''safe'' routes to go in with large open world areas, Souls like games and third and first person action games. Basically when it comes to ''whos doing horror'' for AAA studios, it just comes down to games like Resident Evil like the recently released Requiem, and the also great remake of Silent Hill 2. Both proved that high end studios CAN in fact make a great survival horror games, just... if they felt like it at least. But let's not forget about a series that I consider to be overlooked when it comes to the horror genre, that being Project Zero or as we in the U.S. know it as, Fatal Frame. Many people I feel overlook this franchise as a whole even though its been around for 25 years now, probably due to its Goosebumps Say Cheese and Die mechanic used, because using a camera as a weapon? now that's just weird right?. Yeah I agree, hang on, wait what?. I first got my start with the franchise with Playstation 2 and have been with the franchise ever since through the original game, Crimson Butterfly, The Tormented, Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse and finally Maiden Of Black Water. While the Lunar Eclipse and Maiden Of Black Water have been remastered in recent years due to the LARGE gap of 12 whole years since our last numbered entry, fans were still waiting for a TRUE remaster or remake of a game many consider one of the scariest of all time with Crimson Butterfly, and yes, I know we got a ''remaster'' on the Nintendo Wii back in 2012, but come on, that's the Wii, we want modern hardware so our girls can get the glow up the deserve... and welp, our complaining has finally been heard and listened to because we got exactly what we asked for with Crimson Butterfly remake, glow up, improved mechanics and environments and new content to boot as well. But the question we all wonder, was it actually WORTH the wait? that's the scary part of the waiting and then receiving what we asked for. But the answer to that question is, kind of?. Ok seriously what IS that?.

Taking place in the spooky village of Minakami, which is a run down abandoned feeling village that has been haunted a very long time due to ritualistic cult like things that went on there, always involving twins. Twins you say? And..And..And TWINS! Ok no were not getting into that old commercial, but I had to make the reference because when would I be able to ever make it again?. Due to the sacrifices with the ritual being used on twins, the village suddenly vanished out of thin air, but some time later, coming back again in a dark and eerie forest, which isn't suspicious at all, right?. In this entry you play as two sisters, who are twins, shocking, I know, and through the game you're left tracking your possessed sister through this spooky ritual village in the middle of a forest that looks like something out of a classic Universal monster movie. But just being able to explore and taking in the sights is not happening, nope, sorry, instead your exploration involves learning about the history and its past by finding journals or other key points of info that give you a history on just what went on to the residents here and the horrors they faced, which gives you an ultimate insight to just how the fall of this once vibrant village came to be. Playing as the two sisters works in regards to the plot at hand but technically you only really play as one of them since Mayu is used as a luring device for the plot to basically move forward, rather than contributing to the overall gameplay other than hand holding from time to time. Mayu spends much of the game possessed and following the orders of a the spirit of Sae Kurosawa, who wants the ritual to be completed, but that involves Mayu having to sacrifice and kill her younger sister, Mio. Well dang that's pretty hardcore, these spirits dont play at all. What? I said the spirits.. THE SPIRITS.....I SAID THE SPIRITS YOU STUPID OWL NOW GO AWAY, ENOUGH. Even though Mayu just feels like an inserted plot device for convenience sake, you still feel for her and her sister, these are just two young girls thrown into the horrors of spirits and the occult and having to adapt to it on the fly. Story wise, it keeps you engaged and interested as the narrative pieces together everything there is about the ritual and the history of the brutal things that have gone on in Minakami, which can offer up some pretty disturbing cutscenes for people who may be a tad bit squeamish. The story to me is probably what draws me into the Fatal Frame franchise in general because the overall focus of each title, especially this one is figuring out the lore, culture and mysteries that surround each area you find, which makes you push aside any fears you might have for a jump scare and push onwards through the spooky ambience and environments of the game to find out more and learn how all things came to be, its always a fascinating thing to discover by the time the end credit scenes roll for each title. But what of the gameplay? is it improved over the original, is it worse, or if you've never played the game in general, besides quivering and cowering around the horrors that await you around every corner, what do you actually DO?. Not WHO, I said DO. Will you leave me alone!?.

If you're into a more classic survival horror experience from the days of Playstation 1 and Playstation 2 that deals with you exploring maze maps, finding key items to unlock doors, solving mini game puzzles, and getting collectibles then just from that alone, gameplay wise, Fatal Frame 2 could be something right up your alley, well, if you're okay with the old school mindset of backtracking a lot to find stuff you may have missed. It can be a bit repetitive due to modern day hand holding telling you what to do, but because of the great atmosphere the game sets up with its awesome looking environments and spooky ambience, I feel overall backtracking is worth it for that alone as new items will constantly spawn that could be crucial to your own survival, such as more film for your Camera Obscura, which will be the way you partake in combat against Wraith Spirits. Using your Camera Obscura, you aim at your foes, in this case being spirit Wraiths and take photos of each of them to damage them and deplete their health, which the better angled and in-shot photo you take, the higher the damage you'll be able to do per picture taken, for example, centering their face, switching your filters or film type since different film types either hit for bigger damage or some even take WAY longer to power up. This can be a headache because these ghosts don't sit still and constantly move around the environment, go through walls, so you have to constantly figure out where they're coming from, pull up your camera and the right film, wait for it to charge and then bam, picture taken. Because of this, strategy by yourself must be implemented because should you use a film that takes 10-15 seconds to load, you'll take a ton of damage versus a lower powered film that charges quicker. Due to the nature of how slow and clunky Mio's movements are, which borderlines tank controls from old school horror games, dodging attacks and careful positioning takes a little bit of a learning curve and can cause many game overs, especially when they're teleporting all around and then becoming ''aggravated'' which turns each Wraith into a red raged induced form that not only regains its health but gets faster, meaner and stronger, making some fights hard for the sake of being hard and somewhat time wasters since some fights can last up to 10 minutes for a single ghost when aggravated, even more so when you're fighting TWO of these jerks at the same time. It does get rather annoying. Luckily there are ways around some of the headache thanks to last second shots called Fatal Frame shots, that once is used, will stun an enemy, allowing you to give off quick snap shots in consecutive photo taking in the hopes of gaining the advantage. Its a give and take. On one hand, it makes the game WAY more strategic and engaging, but the devils advocate to that, it can make fights drawn out longer than they should be, giving you a sense of tedium, which can turn off a lot of players. WILL YOU GO AWAY ,YOU STUPID OWL!?.

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''CAN YOU BRING ME A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER?''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day, there ae a lot of things in this remake that stays true to the original and even makes it way better, albeit with downsides like being locked to 30 FPS, quick turning being a tad bit slow, aggravated Wraiths being a pain, but even with those inconveniences, it still offers you fun strategy using different filters and film to pick and choose when its right to use them, which creates an extra layer of strategy to combat, equippable charms that give upgrades to your health or film, upgrades for each lens and filter for your camera giving more damage to your shots, faster reloading, better vision to find hidden objects and mixed with a terror gripping story that has you explore newly revamped environments with higher quality visuals that truly immerses you in why this game is actually extremely spooky to begin with. If you're a fan yearning for the old school horror format from the 90's and early 2000's, then I feel Fatal Frame 2 might just be up your alley and definitely worth a look. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW. ugh...is this gonna happen every Fatal Frame review you damn menace?

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