Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly

aka: Project Zero II: Crimson Butterfly, Rei: Beni Chou
Moby ID: 11567
PlayStation 2 Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/28 9:27 PM )

Description official descriptions

Twin sisters Mio and Mayu, while visiting a vacation spot from their childhood, become lost in a dark forest. The path disappears behind them as they enter the Lost Village, a place that vanished from the living world years ago. Ghosts of the townspeople walk the streets and search for the twins, intent on completing a dark ritual long left unfinished. Mayu begins to grow distant from Mio as well, and she begins to speak as if she were another person entirely. By chance Mio finds the Camera Obscura, and with its powers she searches for a way to get her sister and herself out of the village.

Fatal Frame II has mostly the same gameplay as the first game in the series, although with a few tweaks. The camera no longer has to charge up a shot, but different film types now have loading times that can leave Mio defenseless if she takes a picture at a bad time. Special abilities for the camera no longer require a disposable item, and are instead charged by taking good shots of attacking ghosts. The stats of the camera and special abilities are still upgraded/unlocked with spirit points, but an item must first be found and spent as well to upgrade each level of a stat.

Spellings

  • 零:红蝶 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
  • 零~紅い蝶~ - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

105 People · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 81% (based on 25 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.3 out of 5 (based on 26 ratings with 1 reviews)

Not what I expected

The Good
Fatal Frame II had a good storyline and it was a good game. There were a lot of extra things to pick up and read. There was more to just walking around and taking pictures of ghosts. You could be a professional in the story just by reading/finding all the files laying around the game, and thats something you should do. Knowing the story of this game is very helpful.

The Bad
Although this game ran pretty smoothly and had a good story, there were some problems I had. The control: The control is analog (which is good), but it isn't as smooth as any other analog game. During camera changes (when you walk to the outside of the screenshot), while you are holding your analog down, the screen changes and the direction you are holding isn't the right one anymore, making the character stop and turn around. A lot of stopping and turning around happened. My # 1 disappointment was the scare factor. I have heard many people say this is the scariest game out there. I went to the store and brought it home scared to play it. I sat down in a completely dark room, with loud surround sound. I was not scared. I got a few jump, but very rarely.

The Bottom Line
I would have to say that if you have played the first Fatal Frame, you may enjoy it. I would have to rate the scare factor 2/5 the control 3/5 and the story 4.5/5

PlayStation 2 · by GNJMSTR (106) · 2004

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Ghosts

Several hidden ghosts in the games were changed depending on what region the game was released in. In Japan and North America the PS2 version featured ghosts of the creators as well as the editors from gaming magazines from the respective countries. In Europe these ghosts were replaced with contest winners. When the Xbox re-release came out these were replaced with yet another set of ghosts from another contest in Japan, although the European versions remained unchanged.

Origin

The idea of a camera absorbing ghosts is based on a superstition that having your picture taken steals your soul and the only way it can be returned is to burn the film. There are followers of religions around today that believe this to be true including places in Mexico. The ghosts you encounter are all lost souls.

Title

The original Japanese title Rei: Beni Chou means "Zero: Crimson Butterfly". The PAL release title is actually closer to the original than the NTSC one.

Unlockable Clothing

In addition to the several sets of swimsuits for Mio and Mayu that were added for the Xbox Director's Cut, Tecmo also added outfits from other Tecmo games. Completing Hard difficulty lets Mio and Mayu dress up like the heroines of Deception II and III, while completing Mission Mode with any score rewards the twins with the costumes of Ayane and Kasumi from the Dead or Alive series.

Information also contributed by festershinetop and Lain Crowley

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Fatal Frame
Released 2001 on PlayStation 2, 2013 on PlayStation 3
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition
Released 2012 on Wii, 2016 on Wii U
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
Released 2005 on PlayStation 2, 2013 on PlayStation 3
Fatal Frame
Released 2002 on Xbox
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Released 2021 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
Released 2023 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Released 2014 on Wii U

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 11567
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Germán Guerra.

PlayStation 3 added by Charly2.0.

Additional contributors: MAT, Xa4, Unicorn Lynx, Exodia85, Dae, DreinIX, Patrick Bregger, Lain Crowley, FatherJack.

Game added January 4, 2004. Last modified January 11, 2024.