Fatal Frame 2 Remake Is a Worthwhile Haunting Experience, But Retains Original Flaws

Often regarded as one of the scariest survival horror games of all time, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly’s official remake delivers plenty of scares and lots of tension in its opening hours.

We went hands-on with the game’s first four chapters to get a sense for how this remake revitalises the original, and if it’ll be able to stand on its own two feet.

Following its two ports of Maiden of the Black Water and Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, I was happy to see that Koei Tecmo has finally diverted its attention to re-releasing the more classic games in the Fatal Frame series.

From what I’ve played so far, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is incredibly faithful to the original in many ways, but also diverts from it in other ways. It largely does this by sticking to the source material in terms of story and level design, while also improving on the combat, controls, and overall atmosphere.

GAMINGbible / Koei Tecmo

A Tale Of Two Sisters

You play as Mio Amakura, a young girl who becomes trapped inside the haunted village of Minakami along with her sister, Mayu. Crimson butterflies are at the centre of a mystery ritual in the village’s past, and the two girls soon discover there is more linking them to this ritual than they initially believed. Oh, and there are lots of hostile ghosts out to kill them, too.

The first four chapters of the remake, comprising roughly the first act of the game, gave me a chance to explore most of Minakami Village and experience some of the fresh improvements Koei Tecmo has made to the game’s structure.

Its biggest change is also the most obvious one from the get-go, which is the change in viewpoint. The original Fatal Frame II utilised fixed-camera angles to deliver the scares, as many survival horror games of the early 2000s did, but the remake changes this into a third-person over-the-shoulder camera in a similar vein to the recent Resident Evil remakes.

A controversial change for die-hard purists of the original, but it’s not a change that ruins the atmosphere of the game. In fact, I believe it elevates the horror quite dramatically. With camera angles no longer being deliberate, Fatal Frame II Remake’s scares feel a lot more dynamic. The confined environments become all the more claustrophobic, where creepy sounds and tight corners create an increasing amount of tension, and carefully-placed ghost encounters balance the right amount of drama when you’ve got less awareness of your surroundings.

GAMINGbible / Koei Tecmo

It’s that psychological dread that has been a key staple of the J-Horror genre since the 1980s, a vibe which Fatal Frame has always achieved so perfectly since its first iteration. Where Resident Evil delights in presenting mutated bioweapons, and Silent Hill in abstract metaphorical abominations, Fatal Frame’s terrors are more foundational to the genre’s origins, highlighting spiritual and religious threats at the central conflict.

Imperfect Framing

I’ve always found the combat in the Fatal Frame series to be its weakest aspect. The camera controls are a little too clunky for my liking, and I always hated the repetitive back-and-forth motion when dodging a ghost in a hallway in between framing a camera shot. Kind of the point for a game series where you usually play as a teenager or noncombatant to not make you a soldier, I know, but the combat always felt far too oppressive beyond these narrative implications.

Fatal Frame II Remake’s combat does its best to pay respects to the original game while also adapting the style for modern players. The Camera Obscura now comes fitted with features like Zoom, Focus, and Filters. Each of these mechanics need to be fully understood to give you a chance, where you’ll need to have the perfect shot framed in order to deal serious damage. I appreciate what Koei Tecmo has done here to alleviate the difficulty that came with the game’s frustrating combat, and while it’s still not great, I’m having a better time here than I did with Maiden of the Black Water and Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.

GAMINGbible / Koei Tecmo

One particular way it falls short is when the remake decides to throw multiple enemies at you. In some sections you can face two, or even three ghosts at a time, and suddenly the frustrations that usually come with dealing with one ghost are doubled or tripled. These enemies can teleport out of sight just as you’re charging up the camera, and it’s annoying to almost have that perfectly framed shot only to be interrupted by an attack from off-screen.

I also can’t say I care for the new aggravate mechanic, which basically allows ghosts to become stronger if you take a long time to defeat them. They’ll recover some health, become a lot harder to defeat, while also doling out massive amounts of damage. In theory, it should encourage you to dispatch enemies as quickly as possible, punishing players who take a while to finish them off. In practice, these aggravated states can trigger once you’ve got a ghost down to a low amount of health, no matter how long it takes for you to defeat them. It can be frustrating to see them recover a load of health and also have them be much harder to fight. In fights with multiple ghosts, forget about it.

New Features Move Fatal Frame II Along Nicely

The new willpower system, which acts like a sort-of stamina metre to keep you from fleeing every attack, encourages you to use dodge moves and avoid being hit by enemies, while also discouraging you from fleeing every attack. It helps every ghost encounter to feel like a deliberate choice you need to mentally weigh up, ensuring that you don’t run out of ammunition in your Camera Obscura, while also preserving your willpower to not get easily killed by any hostile enemies.

Any time you’re with Mayu, you can hit a button to hold her hand and recover your Willpower. It’s also crucial to keep her close to you so she doesn’t get attacked by ghosts. Overall, it’s a cute little gesture, amplifying the closeness of your bond with her, while also serving as a mechanical advantage.

GAMINGbible / Koei Tecmo

On the flip side, the absence of this mechanic emphasises your isolation during the sections of the game where you’re separated from Mayu, adding to the tension which carefully builds up through these sequences.

After playing through the first four chapters of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake, roughly around four hours of play time, I’m keen to see what the next two thirds of the game hold. So far, the remake has teased some very subtle changes from the original, but there should be some more dramatic alterations in the later chapters, especially in the build-up to the new ending.

I’m really loving the spooky atmosphere and clever connection with Japan’s folkloric horror roots, but the rough combat still takes me out of the experience as the other games in the series have. Nevertheless, even if it can’t shake some of the original’s flaws, it’s still shaping up to be a decent horror experience.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake releases for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on 12 March, 2026.