Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake (2026)

What's something game-related that recently happened to you that surprised or shocked you? Or at least that you didn't expect? I'll lead off. Might be a bit long.

For context, I'm incredibly selective when it comes to horror games. Specifically, if you are meant to feel powerless and have to hide, I'm probably not feeling it. But if you give me a gun or a way to defend myself on a regular basis, we're good. Parasite Eve is arguably my favourite game of all-time (matched only by the Metal Gear Solid series). I find it scary but it's still an RPG. Or F.E.A.R., where even though there's a lot of shit going on, you're still a super soldier. So there are plenty of scary games I never play or quit early when I realize I just can't handle it because I'm a wimp.

So the surprise this year is that I'm apparently a big Fatal Frame fan. Known about the series for years, but to be honest, I always felt that fighting ghosts with a camera looked silly. I also thought it might be too much for me. But this year I was curious when the Fatal Frame 2 Remake came out so I gave it a shot and I fell in love with it. There were moments in it where I normally would have quit but I pushed through because I loved it so much.

And then I immediately wanted to play another one after. So I went onto the Maiden of Black Water remaster and loved that. Now I'm onto the Mask of the Lunar Eclipse Remaster and though I'm not far, I'm loving that too. I probably won't go back and play Fatal Frame 1 or 3, simply because I enjoy modern conveniences. There have been too many instances where I played a PS2 game many many years (and generations) afterwards and they were just too clunky for me. Maybe the early Fatal Frame games aren't that, I don't know, but I would play remasters of those immediately. And I will play whatever game comes next.

So it always feels nice to fall in love unexpectedly with a series. For me, it's especially rewarding when it's a horror series because while I have liked some horror games over the years, I rarely fall in love with a series. Even with Parasite Eve and F.E.A.R., I only love the first installments and think they get worse as they go on (though I do still enjoy F.E.A.R. 2 a fair bit).

Fatal Frame II (PS2, 2003) is one of my favorite games of all time.

Fatal Frame II Remake (PS5, 2026) is not.

I loved it. But the shadow of the original in my mind is just too big. It does everything right: improves the combat systems, adds interesting collectibles, has better graphics. But I like the old camera system better, The ghost were more scary before. There were no unnecesary mechanics.

This remake is really good. Best way to experience the story of the Minakami Village. But I just like the original more. I know its my nostalgia speaking, but I don't care. I wish this was Fatal Frame VI instead.

Read my full review on GamerFocus in spanish.

Hunting the twin dolls all over the map was fun tho.

Overall just a great remake, fixes a lot of the almost 'House of the Dead'-arcade style combat of the original, while really doubling down on the atmosphere.

I wish the ghosts weren't always visible, as I always loved the sudden appearances and how jarring they could be in the OG, however that is a mild gripe for what is otherwise just a really well done game.

One of the prevalent thoughts I had throughout the SH2 Remake, awful combat aside, is that less is more. While not exactly a bad thing, I felt the remake was honestly too long compared to the original while not exactly adding that much more and perhaps being too on the nose about its messages. This is kind of how I feel about the Fatal Frame 2 Remake after finishing a playthrough. Not so much about the message but more so the length. The original is a rather short game, especially when you know what you're doing, and ESPECIALLY when you're not exactly scared of its horror aspects. The remake is naturally longer though I'd attribute it more to the removal of fixed camera angles and a full 3D freely explorable environment. If there's one place that was definitely way more fleshed out in the remake though, it's the Dollmaker house. By now, I'm not exactly jaded towards horror but I'm very accustomed to it. However, that house was a little bit unsettling. Or perhaps alot of unsettling. Of course, the remake's atmosphere is phenomenal alongside the sound design and definitely enhanced that and many other parts of the game.

Now the combat. This one's a little odd for me to talk about. Weirdly enough, I always felt Fatal Frame combat to be quite... arcade-y, if that makes sense. The fatal frame mechanic, points system, and the game's end score rankings made the combat feel not exactly scary after a while. The initial thing with letting ghosts get as close as possible in their attack animation to you for more damage kinda fizzles out rather quickly especially as you upgrade your camera, where it's often far more optimal to just rapid blast ghosts once you have quick recharge time on your shots. There are, however, some ghosts that can be rather unsettling to fight, especially with how some of them... move. There is also one big change that I was not a particular fan of in the remake. Ghosts now have a chance of becoming a "Wraith" when they reach low health. That means they recover a large portion of their health and become faster and more resistant to your shots. In order to un-wraith them, you have to deal enough damage which can wear down on your resources rather quickly in the beginning. But the real kicker is after you un-wraith them, they have a chance of becoming a wraith again at low health, which is really really dumb. I had to reload when it happened to me and opted to just use my best film and rapid fire the ghost to death. A patch was released to nerf wraiths but honestly I don't see the point of their addition in the first place. Anyway! If you're familiar with Fatal Frame's combat, not much is really different. Once you get your upgrades and filters, ghosts aren't exactly a threat at all on Normal and below. Honestly, only the first hour or so can be a bit rough if you're unfamiliar with the series.

That said, this brings up something that could be considered an issue but is something that is present in the original. And that's the matter of how you get the endings. Like in the original, in order to get the "best" ending, you have to clear the game on Nightmare difficulty, which is unlocked after clearing the game once. Though I've heard that there are other requirements regarding charms but I haven't looked too much into it yet. I was hoping this wouldn't be the case once I saw how long the game was on top of the addition of wraiths and I'm honestly not sure I'm going to do it especially when there are other games that I want to get to. I certainly enjoyed the game, but Fatal Frame is not exactly the kind of game I want to optimize a run for, especially when I'm already familiar with all the endings and the original as much as I am. Like with Silent Hill 2, though I enjoyed the remake quite a bit, I honestly feel everyone should just play the original instead. Or first. Or at least at some point after playing this remake. It's great, don't get me wrong, but for me I certainly don't think it's better than the original.

Before I forget, one last thing I want to mention. Holding hands does indeed passively heal you. That is a real thing.