Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse Review

thesixthaxis.com:

While it’s not hard to hard to find official localised released of Japanese games these days, even just a decade ago that was far from the case. Sure, plenty of Japanese games did get global releases, but they very often came with staggered releases and region-specific names. Case in point, the fourth game in the iconic Fatal Frame and Project Zero series never had an official Western release. that’s a wrong that’s being set right with Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse – or as it’s known in Europe, Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.

Originally released for the Nintendo Wii, die hard fans were able to play this in the West thanks to an eventual fan patch, but now there’s an official localised re-release that’s been upgraded on its route to modern platforms.

Each Fatal Frame title is a standalone story with some small connective threads, and Mask of the Lunar Eclipse continues that trend –  this time with Suda51 having a hand in the writing and directing. The wacky Tarantino-esque nature of most of his titles isn’t on display here at all, but you can absolutely see his love for inventive, film-inspired storytelling shining through.

Mask of the Lunar Eclipse sees you rotating through a cast of protagonists. Ten years ago, Detective Choshiro rescued the other three protagonists – Ruka Minazuki, Misaki Aso, Madoka Tsukimori – from a kidnapper who had taken them and two other young girls. All five girls lost their memories of the event, but now two of the girls have died under mysterious circumstances, inspiring the other three to return to the island they were rescued from to uncover the truth behind what happened. Choshiro, meanwhile, finds himself back on the island to rescue the girls once more and also piece