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Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
FFV cover
零 〜濡鴉ノ巫女〜
Zero: Nuregarasu no Miko
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water
Developer(s) Koei Tecmo
Nintendo SPD Group No. 4
Shirogumi, Inc.
Publisher(s) Nintendo

Koei Tecmo

Release date(s) September 27, 2014 (JPN, Wii U eShop)
October 22, 2015 (NA)
October 30, 2015 (EU)
October 31, 2015 (AUS)
Remastered: 2021
Ratings CERO D (17+) (JPN)
MATURE (M) (US)
PEGI +18 (EU)
Mature Accompanied (MA) (AU)
Platform Nintendo Wii U,
Remastered: Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows (via Steam) Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, known as Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water in Europe, and as Zero: Nuregarasu no Miko (lit. Zero: Wet Crow Shrine Maiden) in Japan, is the fifth installment of the Fatal Frame series.

The game was announced on April 2014 and was co-developed by Tecmo Koei and Nintendo SPD Group No. 4 for the Wii U. It was published and released on September 27, 2014, in Japan by Nintendo. However, on the day of the Japanese launch, an official NicoNico stream featuring the movie actresses playing the first hour of the game featured a different English version of the game's title on its website - Fatal Frame: Oracle of the Sodden Raven.

The game will release outside of Japan. The Nintendo Direct of April 1, 2015, officially announced that Fatal Frame 5/Project Zero 5 will be released later in 2015 for Europe and North America. During E3 2015 Nintendo of America released a video of the game with the official English title being Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water.[1]

During E3 2021, a remastered version of Maiden of Black Water was revealed to be coming to Nintendo Switch during Nintendo's E3 Direct. On that same day, Koei Tecmo revealed a trailer that the remastered version of Maiden of Black Water will not only come to Nintendo Switch but will also come to PC via Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. This marks the first time that a Fatal Frame game will be playable on PC, and the first time to have the series being no longer exclusive to Nintendo ports.

Overview[]

FFV Image 10

In April of 2014, it was revealed through the Japanese magazine Famitsu that Koei Tecmo and Nintendo were partnering again to develop a Wii U entry in the Fatal Frame series. Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo introduced the game at a special live-streamed event in July 2014. The game focuses heavily on water and takes place in Hikamiyama, also known as the Mountain of Death, inspired by the fabled Aokigahara forest (also called the Suicide Forest) where many people go to commit suicide. The areas in the game are very open and the largest in the series. Players will use the Wii U GamePad as the Camera Obscura to capture ghosts.

Following the game’s announcement, Team Ninja said that it makes use of some tech from their recent fighting game, Dead or Alive 5. A translation of the tweet reads:

While you may have noticed after watching the video, the latest Fatal Frame game that was announced the other day uses some technology from Dead or Alive 5!


Synopsis[]

Mt. Hikami was once worshiped as a sacred place where a unique religion was taught.

The water on this mountain is believed to house spirits, and there is a teaching from this region that “humans are born from water and return to it at the end of their lives.”

As a result, “people looking for death” come to this mountain and experience their last moments while they come in contact with the mountain’s water. They believe this is the proper way to end their lives. Several peculiar rituals and customs still exist on this mountain, and many bizarre and unfortunate occurrences have supposedly taken place here. This story takes place on Mt. Hikami, a mountain believed to be a sacred place, and revolves around Yuri Kozukata, Ren Hojo and Miu Hinasaki who act as the three protagonists whose stories are interwoven in this mysterious and dream-like tale.


Responses regarding an international release[]

On September 29, Koei Tecmo Europe gave a response through their twitter account, about the game's release outside of Japan. They stated the following:

And regarding #WeWantFatalFrame requests, as far as we know this title is JP release only. Back to the office tomorrow FYI. #KTfamily


Media Tie-Ins[]

Along with the game, multiple multimedia franchise tie-ins were announced such as a Japanese movie, a novel, a manga as well as a Hollywood movie adaptation. Most of these were detailed and revealed along with the game during a dedicated Fatal Frame event on July 17, 2014.

External links[]

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