wildgames, from Flickr, has enhanced some images from recent Famitsu scans to show us larger and better-quality screenshots from Fatal Frame IV. Here we get a glimpse of the gameplay and what the setting will be like.

(Gotta love the image where Ruka comes across a body in a bag. Creepy stuff!)

Fatal Frame IV forum

For those eager beavers who can't wait to get their hands on Fatal Frame IV, Play-Asia.com is now accepting pre-orders for the Japanese copy of the game.
(Remember: The Japanese Version is only compatible with Japanese Wii consoles)

For those who want the American version, let's hope a release date is announced soon ...


Fatal Frame IV forum

The Fatal Frame series has always had pretty box-art, but let's face it, most of them don't portray what the games are about, and some don't even seem to indicate what genre they belong to.

Today, Amazon's Japanese site revealed the official box-art for Fatal Frame IV and it's definitely one of the best boxes in the series. It's simple, eerie, and gives us a glimpse of what we'll be facing. Quite appropriate for such horror series.

Let's hope America and PAL regions get a similar style...

"Better known as Project Zero over here, the Fatal Frame games have established themselves as the byword for suspense-filled horror.
There are no showers of blood or shotguns, no hideous demons with heads attached to their backsides, and definitely no musclebound heroes called Jack.

Instead, you play as a fragile-looking Japanese schoolgirl and are only ever armed with a flashlight and a special camera that can exorcise the ghosts that haunt whatever spooky location it is that you find yo..."

"Tecmo versus Itagaki
For starters, Itagaki is NOT the creator of the Fatal Frame Series. Neither is Team Ninja. I dislike it when people assume this is so. Keisuke Kikuchi, Makoto Shibata, and Project Zero worked on the Zero (ie Fatal Frame) games.

As of now, this lawsuit isn't effecting the fourth edition of the Fatal Frame game, as it's still coming out on July 31st in Japan. Until the lawsuit came about, Tecmo stock reports mentioned that Tecmo was planning on selling the fourth game ..."

"The Fatal Frame games have established themselves as the byword for suspense-filled horror. There are no showers of blood or shotguns, no hideous demons with heads attached to their backsides, and definitely no muscle-bound heroes called Jack. Instead, you play as a fragile-looking Japanese schoolgirl and are only ever armed with a flashlight and a special camera that can exorcise the ghosts that haunt whatever spooky location it is that you find yourself in. The games are superb.

The scan..."

"So I thought it was time for a break down of Fatal Frame 4 from what we know. Beyond the Camera len's translations

What about the name of the game? "The Mask of the Lunar Eclipse"? What significance does that bear?
The only reference I could find to an eclipse was the Shinto sun goddess "Amarterasu" who caused an eclipse by sealing a cave, from what I've read. Hurriedly, on the subject, the world was later saved by a sumo (which, whilst saying something for the bravery of the sumo, doesn'..."

"Wario Land Shake (Wii) - 150k
Fatal Frame 4 (Wii) - 20k
Blue Dragon Plus (DS) - 150k
Sigma Harmonics (DS) - 80k

If these order/shipment numbers are the real deal, it looks like Japan is expecting something big from both Blue Dragon Plus and Wario Land: The Shake Dimension. On the opposite end of the spectrum, they have no idea how people will embrace Fatal Frame IV."

"The new scans have more information about the characters, and the second character shown holding the camera obscura in a previously reviewed screenshot appears to be battling (or encountering) one of the ghosts.

Also more screens showing off the camera obscura's viewfinder have are included. The article also rehashes the information that the game will be seen from three different points of view."

"As for other website news, Andmebrick has generously translated the FFIV website, and Emi did screen manipulations with the translations."

"IGN's latest podcast (which can be found here) has some new information/insight on the games. Nothing spoilerish as far as gameplay or plot goes, but some general information.

quote

IGN Fatal Frame, obviously, is going to be the big one.
Oh my god yes!

Q: Can you guys promise a documentary of one of you guys playing Fatal Frame IV alone in the dark?
Oh yeah I can do that!
OH YES!
(more talking about Resident Evil, Alone in the Dark and playing claustrophobic like games.)
That'll be ...

"

"Fatal Frame IV themesong - more rumors.

At Amano Tsukiko's latest concert (this past April 25th), her set list included two new songs. 'Hello' and 'Hollow'. Originally, it was suspected Hollow was the new song, (in fact, I have my suspicions that Hollow = JUST MADE) but now there are reports coming from a brazilian Amano Tsukiko fansite Irezumi claiming the new song is "Jasuke Made" (aka JUST MADE).

You can listen to a captured concert recording of the song (above).

AGAIN, it hasn't ..."

"We are just now getting midway into 2008, and look at all the Wii games we have already enjoyed. It’s hard to imagine how 2008 could get any better for the Nintendo Wii. But I’m a true to heart optimist, so let’s take a look at some of the great titles still to come in 2008.

World Of Goo
Ok, I promise that #’s 4-1 will all have actual titles accompanying them. Unless you keep track of independent game release, then you may not of heard of World of Goo. It was a finalist in the 2008 Indepe..."

"Fatal Frame: a true story?
Not likely, though apparently this is how the game was advertised outside of Japan.

I remember hearing something about this a long time ago. Naturally I dismissed it, but it turns out it has been doing the rounds on the 'net since 2002. Feeding off the fanfare from import remakes of the time (like Ring) there were tons of websites, not only claiming to be the true mythology of the Himuro Mansion, but also some saying, (and here's an example of the worst), that s..."

"Fans have suggested:

1. Limited Marketing and exposure
To be frank Fatal Frame's publishers were useless. The series was barely advertised outside Japan and as a result didnt sell as well as Tecmo would have liked. Little information was revealed before each game's release. Few screens were released but did little to show newcomers what the games were about. Japanese trailers were also released in the west which confused people rather than interested them. All in all it did nothing to per..."

Fatal Frame IV the series that shifted from the Playstation to Nintendo, is nearing release (at least in Japan), and that obviously means that we get tons of new stuff relating to the game. Today the new stuff is in the form of the official website and some screenshots which have been attached below. Enjoy them...

Remember more screenshots available at the source.

"IGN has a Nintendo Chat Podcast with Matt Casamassina, Mark Bozon, Craig Harris, and Daemon Hatfield. You can download the podcast here

Their episode 12 podcast features information on Fatal Frame IV! The game itself got mentioned three times in the podcast. The guys said they were 100% sure the game would be at E3 (great news to FF & Tecmo fans, since Tecmo has previously announced their discontent with how the current E3fis run). It looks as though the game is going to be featured throug..."

"Curl up with your favorite horror movie, game, or book, and pay close attention; beyond the screams and the blood there is a whole culture hiding.

Western audiences often experience long-distance culture shock when faced with media created by the Japanese for the Japanese. Despite efforts to tailor Japanese works for the American market, we are often confronted with cultural signals that are uniquely Japanese and have no direct equivalent Western culture. This has lead to a lot of head-scr..."

"The following information is revealed from the leaflet:
STORYWISE
- It's implied Ruka was rescued first
- The kidnapper of the five girls was male

GAMEWISE
- Besides the mansion which has already been shown, a deserted hospital will be one of the stages you can explore!
- the story will progress/be told from the point of view of three different people*
- the Wiimote will control the player's flashlight, while the Nunchuck will control the player's movements.

*It says that the play..."

Some in-game screenshots of Fatal Frame IV have finally been released and they look very impressive.

Here we can see some of the antagonists who will be stalking Ruka throughout the game, (look at the group of school-girls... creepy).

We also have our first glimpse at gameplay, and what seems to be the game's main ritual sacrifice.

"Three sisters and a camera on a haunted island? Sounds about right.

Plot: The game is set in the mysterious Rougetsu Island, where five young girls of the Minazuki family were kidnapped in the past. Two of the girls later died, while the remaining three - Ruka, Misaki, and Madoka - have decided to visit the island in an attempt to remember what happened during that incident. The magazine reveals that players will take on the role of Ruka and venture around the mansion in the island, which..."

"Fatal Frame IV is the latest in the series known as Project Zero over here and is being developed exclusively for Wii. We like that a lot.
No More Heroes creator Suda 51 is co-sharing directorship with series director Shibata Makoto and Nintendo is publishing the title, so expect it to get a high-profile release over here. It's dated in Japan for July 31.

Another title on the list is something called Wario Land Shake. It's for Wii and is hitting shelves on July 24.

DS owners might als..."

"This week's Famitsu has a look at the Nintendo published surivival horror Fatal Frame IV. The Wii game is being directed by Tecmo's Makoto Shibata and Grasshopper's Goichi Suda."

"Fatal Frame 4 will soon grace its presence on the Wii. In the meantime we take a look at some of the memorable moments in Fatal Frame. Jumps, bumps and atmosphere. Fatal Frame has it all.

Meeting Yoshino and the Priestess

Meeting the antagonist in a Fatal Frame game is always a memorable moment. The main character Rei is trapped in the spooky Manor of Sleep, a corrupt and haunting world that appears only in her nightmares. So it is a surprise for both the player and Rei when she stumbl..."

"

Fatal Frame
Sweet faced college student Miku enters the haunted Himuro Mansion to look for her missing brother Mafuyu. Armed with only a flashlight, she searches throughout the Mansion, which has a long history of bloodshed, curses, and horrific rituals.
Little does she realize that by entering the house Miku has stirred the long resting spirits- and they aren't happy with their intruder.



Being the first game in the series FF1 brought a new terror to the survival horror ..."

"Fatal Frame 4 was announced at the beginning of 2008 and since then there has been little news on the newest installment in the popular survival horror. The game is being released this Summer and fans are beginning to get worried with the limited information that has been released.
Visit any Fatal Frame 4 discussion board and you will be met with few posts and even fewer people who know the game exists. This is a noticeable contrast to the thriving discussion boards of other survival horror ..."

"Why not the power and graphics of the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3, couldn't the game achieve much more on these systems than on the Wii? Don't get me wrong, if the Wii version came with a special camera that had the power such as Silent Scope, the arcade version, to take the game to the next level I would be all over that like "white on rice in a glass of milk on a paper plate in a snowstorm" but I don't forsee Nintendo being that adventurous.

My simple adoration for this game series is..."

"You've seen this movie before. A good looking woman (who spends some time in PG-13-rated underwear) is menaced by a Japanese she-ghost with lank, black hair who suffered some sort of horrific ill in her life.
The Good Looking Woman then investigates the background and history of the Japanese She-Ghost to discover exactly what kind of horrific ill she suffered. Then things look like they are going to be better before the shocking twist ending shows that no, it isn't.

If you must watch Sh..."

"From scan: Following in the giant-sized footsteps of Monster Hunter, another major Japanese developed franchise is making the jump to Wii exclusivity: Tecmo's bone-chilling Fatal Frame.
Even more surprising is that the project will be a mega-collaboration between Tecmo, Nintendo and Grasshopper Manufacture (of No More Heroes fame).

For those unfamiliar with the series, it's one of gaming's most legitimately terrifying survival-horror experiences. (more info on the series: here)"

"Details on Wii's Fatal Frame 4 have been scarce since the initial announcement so it is a breath of fresh air to have some news to finally talk about.

It is unknown where these scans originated from however the girl pictured is supposedly the new main character, Tachibana Yoru. She appears to have some connection to the Fatal Frame 2 protagonist, Mio Amakura, and the ghost, Chitose."