Analysis of Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water

We plunge into the depths of Japanese terror with the return in the form of an all-platform remaster of the Wii U and Koei Tecmo Exclusive: Project Zero Maiden of Black Water.

With the emergence of successful horror franchises silent Hill and resident Evil, many studios have tried to emulate his triumphs. The truth is that in 2000, with the Xbox original, Play cube and Playstation 2 high quality proposals have emerged, such as Rule of roses, Eternal darkness O Haunted land. But none of them has managed to establish itself as a saga, beyond a single title, and above all, none of them has been able to look from you to the giants of Capcom and Konami, salvo una: Project Zero, o Fatal Frame as it is known from American lands.

This saga inspired by classic Japanese horror, developed by Koei Tecmo and created by Makoto shibata succeeded in positioning itself among the great representatives of the genre. Maybe it hit its peak with its second and third installments, but the truth is that every title in the franchise is at an outstanding level. With its twentieth anniversary we get an update of one of its exclusive versions, in this case for the console of Nintendo Wii U: Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water.

We are facing the fifth installment of the series of games Makoto shibata. This title has adapted to its time and take advantage of the advantages of the Wii U GamePad, resulting in a must-have horror game for fans of the genre. But, upon its return to the present day, will it have successfully adapted after seven years to the new consoles? Well if you want to know, drink some water, grab your camera and accompany me on this journey into the depths of Japanese terror.

Souls of Mount Hikami

Throughout the approx 15 hours of the game, we will venture to investigate the mysteries of the mountain Hikami, once a spiritual place where a new religion has developed. This cult dealt with beliefs and customs based on the worship of water as a deity, and around it strange incidents and inexplicable phenomena took place.

Our trio of protagonists formed by Yuri Kozukata, Ren Hojo and Miu Hinasaki, will be forced to reveal the secrets of the region, and because it has become a place of “pilgrimage” of suicide. Out of curiosity, this place is inspired by the Forest of Aokigahara, a place traditionally linked to paranormal phenomena and various deaths by suicide.

These strange rituals celebrated in the past have as protagonists particular priestesses who will be one of the main axes of the story and that we will soon know.

At least to combat such a terrifying experience, we will rely on our dark camera, pillar and fundamental instrument of all deliveries of Fatal frame. Does playing a basic role in gameplay, and it will be ours only defense in front of the mysterious entities that we will meet. Also, we will use it for find hidden objects and solve puzzles.

It is not advisable to reveal too many details of a plot that we find interesting, and that it can bring us up to 8 different endings based on our actions in each chapter of the story.

Three main characters with unique abilities

Yuri Kuzokata has a special supernatural ability known as “Shadow overlap”. This gift, developed after having been in an accident, allows you to see what is hidden from others, such as memories and experiences of other people, and even people who have died. The weight of this power pushes her to withdraw from society, and she ends up taking refuge in an antique store with its owner. Hisoka Kurosawa.

Ren Hojo he is known for the works of fiction he writes. Her latest obsession is photography post mortem and tries to extract information from it for his next job. This photographic custom anchored in the mountains Hikami This provides him with an ideal setting for his work, which will ultimately absorb his curiosity to investigate what is behind these photos. His old friend Hisoka Kurosawa will be a good help to unravel the mysteries of Hikami and his photographic art.

The rumor that a person very similar to his mother has been sighted in the neighborhood will be what attracts Miu Hinasaki up to Hikami. This young aspiring actress is also able to detect the supernatural, so her journey to the mountains will turn into a dark adventure.

Out of curiosity, for the most seasoned of the franchise, Miu Hinasaki She is the daughter of the first protagonist of the saga, Miku Hinasaki. You can find out more in our recent Return of the first Project Zero for Xbox.

Stop or I take … a photo!

One of the biggest challenges of this remaster was adapting the control, especially when it comes to using a camera. At Wii U We used the pad and its screen for the camera, but now with the remote control we will do everything. He is easy to activate the camera, focus and take the picture. In addition, we can improve it as we move forward with new films or lenses with various effects.

The photos will be our way of attacking specters. Most of your weak points capture In our goal, the more damage we will do to them. Same, we will have a “parryCalled “Fatal framework” which will give us more points if we take the photo just as it attacks us. Each of the protagonists will have a particular use of the camera. For example, Ren you can do a combo of four photos in a row.

But don’t worry if you can’t see these actions clearly. Because, from the start of the game, we will end a phase in the form of a tutorial that will teach us to use the camera in these tasks and, incidentally, to know our characters and their particular abilities.

Another use of this device It will reveal hidden objects and solve puzzles. As if that weren’t enough, we will have the possibility to capture other ghosts in “special moments” do with points we can redeem for items with various effects, for example curative.

The rest of the playable blueprint inherits flaws from the original, resulting in a rude and obnoxious control that seems somewhat outdated. Our protagonists are not particularly agile, but if we add that sometimes they do not respond well enough, the movement becomes very heavy.

We tried to improve this section in the remaster with little success, although at least the use of the camera is nimble and works flawlessly.

Remaster Edition News

At least, if tangible news was included, in a fun way. The most important is your full photo mode, which will not allow you to create authentic scenes with a multitude of poses and situations.

Although this edition does not have the additional costumes of the Wii U, such as Samus, yes they included a good variety of skin and accessories to change the appearance of our protagonists.

The additional phase of Ayane, guest character of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden. In this phase, stealth will prevail and it’s a fun incentive to play after completing the main campaign. The system mission ranks and bonus items secrets that can be obtained in each phase, also offer good reasons for the replayability.

The exploration has not changed and is still limited to some specific areas where to get secret items. We can always keep pushing a button the ghostly trail with which the game guides us, increasing the feeling of linearity. also attentive to the new and special way of collecting objects under the threat of waving hands.

Technical aspects by Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water

Regarding the section technical and graphic, the resolution has been improved, as good as light and shadow effects. However, today it is notice the stitching in the title, and the improvement is not large enough to hide some blurry textures or less worked.

The characters look great, but the environments don’t get these perks and have elements that remind us that time does not go in vain. Even with everything, in general, we are faced with a graphically beautiful game, with a successful setting who manages to make the most daring hair stand on end.

The sound section has withstood the passage of years better and it’s always fantastic. There are not too many melodies, but there are many and remarkable effects healthy and environmental, which as a whole contribute to increasing the immersion of the player.

The English and Japanese dubbing voices is very preserved and worked well. Unfortunate that The opportunity has not been taken to include a Spanish translation, the game is entirely in English and does not include Spanish subtitles. This decision is shocked when the director himself commented that the reception of the Spanish public was important, in addition to the fact that his sales would mark new launches of the saga.

conclusion

If you’ve played Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water on Wii U before, this remaster will give you little more than repeat the experience. If not, you are lucky to have the opportunity to enjoy one of the most notable episodes of this great horror saga.

Its neat and terrifying decor, as well as its direct and psychological representation of Japanese terror, give it a unique personality, capable of putting the bravest in tension. His playable, original and fun proposition where we defend ourselves with a camera controlling three protagonists, comes up against his expression at the controls, due to his roughness and his feeling overwhelmed, but still, it is not embarrassing to not enjoying the fifth installment of Project Zero released exclusively for Wii U seven years ago. It’s a shame that it doesn’t at least have Spanish subtitles if that can be for some users.