Year: 2008-2023
Platform: PlayStation 4
Publisher: Koei-Tecmo
Genre: Survival/Horror
Review Date: 5/10/26
Rating: ***

The "Fatal Frame" series ("Project Zero" in Japan) has always struggled. Nintendo rescued the franchise after "The Tormented" (2005) came out, and produced "Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse" as a Wii exclusive title in 2008. Unfortunately, it never got released outside of Japan and required a Japanese console to play it because of the Wii's region locking. Even so, it was impossible for Westerners to play because of all the Japanese text and audio. For years, the only way to play it was with a hacked fan-subbed version that required a specially modified console with a specific firmware version installed, and I just didn't have the time, patience, or fortitude to go down that path. Fortunately, with the relative success of "Maiden Of Black Water" (2021) and renewed interest in the series, Koei-Tecmo remastered "Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse" for PS4 in 2023 and made it available outside of Asia for the first time.

Ten years ago, five young girls were kidnapped on Rogetsu Island during a local festival. Detective Choshiro Kirishima found the girls two weeks later in a cave with their memories lost, but the kidnapper got away. Two years after that, a calamity struck the island which killed all of its inhabitants in strange and unexplained ways, and the island has been abandoned since then. Now, on the ten-year anniversary of the festival, two of the girls have died mysteriously, prompting the other three to go back to the island looking for answers. Conveniently, Kunihiko Aso, the original inventor of the Camera Obscura, had spent some time investigating the spiritual aspects of the island and left behind some gear for the girls to use. And as fate would have it, one of the girls, Misaki Aso, is one of his descendants. The other playable girl is Ruka, who was born and raised on the island, but she and her mother moved away after the kidnapping incident.

The gameplay is similar to the previous games in that the protagonists are investigating a haunted location and have to exorcise any spirits they encounter with the Camera Obscura. Or in Choshiro's case, he has a stone flashlight that harnesses the moon's power to dispel hostile entities. Whereas the previous games took place in shrines and buildings with classical architecture, the setting for "Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse" is a modern hospital/sanitorium. While the aesthetics aren't as rich and evocative, the decay and moody lighting still make the environment very creepy and unsettling.

The game looks and sounds great for the most part, and the moonlit atmosphere is chilling and oppressive. Harmless spectres wander the halls while more aggressive wraiths will attack you at any moment. There's also the unkillable "lady in red" who you have to run away from whenever she shows up. Like the previous games, the screen has a grainy filter applied to it, which obscures the details. However, even after completing the game, there's no option to turn it off.

The remastered version has updated graphics and additional unlockable costumes, but the core gameplay remains the same. Sadly, given the fifteen years since the original came out, those mechanics haven't aged well and the controls feel a bit clunky. While the analog movement improves on the classic tank controls, it can still be awkward to orient yourself. Often times, panning the camera around will change the character's walking direction, which is annoying. Similar to the other games in the series, the controls for the Camera Obscura continue to be frustrating, as there's no way to quickly turn around when ghosts sneak up on you from behind. There's also very little room to maneuver around during ghost battles, so you usually end up stuck against a wall or a piece of furniture. The game's walking pace is also a challenge, as the characters move extremely slowly. The running speed is more like a fast walk, and just a tad too fast for casual exploration. There's really no good movement speed at all. The game doesn't always make it clear where to go and what to do next, so having a walkthrough handy can save a lot of aggravation and wasted time.

Throughout the characters' respective journeys, documents and evidence can be collected, dolls can be photographed and purified, and spirit stones can be used to upgrade the Camera Obscura's abilities. Professor Aso sure did make a bunch of cameras and spiritual devices. Unlike the earlier games, running away from a ghost encounter is rarely an option, so you're forced to exorcise it with your camera. Combat is always an awkward and tricky affair, and it's always stressful waiting to charge up a shot and reload film. One of the first upgrades you get is the ability to lock onto and track ghosts, but I never got that to work. It's also disappointing that even though there are nearly 200 unique ghosts, you end up fighting the same ones multiple times, which makes you question just how effective the Camera Obscura is. But it's better than nothing, because without it, the girls would be dead within the opening minutes of the game.

The game's plot is probably the most complex and complicated story in the entire series, and involves curses, folklore, ancient rituals, spiritual masks, kidnapping, murder investigations, a bizarre disease, unethical medical practices, mental illness, suicide, lunar power, magical music, and the gateway to the underworld. It's a difficult story to follow, and I still don't understand how all of the pieces fit together. But maybe that's all part of the mystery.

Difficulty has always been an issue with the "Fatal Frame" games, and with the original PS2 games I always had to play with a GameShark to enable infinite health. Thankfully, "Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse" has an easy option, which felt just right for me. Even so, you can still die from a single hit from a ghost if you're not careful, and I did several times. Ruka, Misaki, and Choshiro are all equipped with different weapons, which adds complexity when the game shifts between characters. While Ruka is the main character, she ironically has the weakest camera, while Choshiro's stone flashlight is the most powerful. The biggest challenge with Choshiro is making sure you switch between photo mode and attack mode at the appropriate times. Misaki's camera operates differently than Ruka's and she also has different lenses. It's odd that camera upgrades and spirit stones are shared across all characters, but camera enhancements are not. While the climax of the game pits you against the most dangerous and powerful ghost, it actually ends with a challenging and stressful QTE sequence that you have to get right, or you're sent back to fight the ghost all over again. That had me rightly freaked out, because I'd failed similar tasks earlier in the game, but I somehow managed to pull it off. I would have been really angry and upset if I'd had to quit at the final moment of the game simply because of my lack of reflexes and coordination.

The girls' default outfits are frilly loligoth clothes that look awkwardly fetishistic and out of place, especially since they're exploring a creepy old abandoned hospital. Other outfits are unlocked by photographing Hozuki dolls and completing the game multiple times. Both Ruka and Misaki get yukatas, school uniforms, bikinis, and sleepwear, along with some other unique outfits, but Misaki is definitely the more attractive character, and her fashion choices are considerably bolder and sexier. Ruka tends to be presented as more pure, innocent, and naïve. Choshiro also gets his own unlockable costumes, including a police uniform, two yukatas, surf shorts, and a rash guard shirt.

Overall, I was thrilled to finally get to play this lost entry in the "Fatal Frame" series. It maintains its super scary atmosphere throughout and the presentation is gorgeous. My first playthrough took just over twenty hours, and I could only play it in small chunks because the tension was so overwhelming. Thankfully, there are abundant save points and you never have to play too long before finding the next one. While I didn't manage to unlock all of the extras and photograph everything, I got a satisfying amount of closure and didn't feel the need to start a new game. Despite the clunky gameplay, it was still an enjoyable journey through another creepy Japanese haunted house, steeped in rich folklore and spine-tingling horror.