Spirit Camera

Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir[lower-alpha 1] is a spin-off game in the Fatal Frame series, co-developed by Tecmo Koei and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The game comes with an "AR notebook", the titular Diary of Faces, which the player uses in conjunction with the game. It was released in 2012 for Japan on January 12,[1] in North America on April 13,[2] and in Europe on June 29.[3]

Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir
U. S. cover art
Developer(s)Tecmo Koei
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Manabu Nagasaki
Producer(s)Keisuke Kikuchi
Kozo Makino
Toshiharu Izuno
Toru Osawa
Designer(s)Hiroyuki Aoyagi
Makoto Kikuchi
Nozomu Yamagishi
Writer(s)Tsuyoshi Iuchi
Masayuki Nagamine
Composer(s)Ayako Toyoda
SeriesFatal Frame
Platform(s)Nintendo 3DS
Release
  • JP: January 12, 2012
  • NA: April 13, 2012
  • EU: June 29, 2012
Genre(s)Survival horror, photography
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay
Gameplay from Spirit Camera. Here, the player is fighting a ghost in the real world.

Spirit Camera utilizes the capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS, which acts as the game's Camera Obscura, the signature "weapon" of the Fatal Frame series. The game uses the gyro sensors and 3D cameras to create a "visceral" gaming experience.[4]

In the game's story and most minigame modes, ghosts will appear in the player's environment, and will try to attack them. The player must use the Camera Obscura's abilities to damage and defeat these spirits by photographing them with the L and R buttons. The player must turn in all directions, as spirits hit by the camera will vanish and reappear beside or behind the player a few seconds later. Spirit Power, used for extra damage, can be charged by keeping the spirit within the camera reticle to charge the meter. The default Zero Lens is the only lens in the game that charges Spirit Power; all other lenses (mainly used for investigation) do not have this ability, though they can still be used in battle. Regardless of lenses, players can still halt a spirit's attack by shooting when the camera reticle turns red.

The game has three different modes. The main story mode, during which the plot progresses. The player finds the Diary of Faces and allows Maya to escape from it. In this mode, the player must use the 3DS cameras, serving as the Camera Obscura, to find hints within the diary and battle ghosts in the real world environment around them. In Haunted Visions, the player completes three challenges. In Cursed Pages, the player plays four minigames.

Plot

The game is set in the player's reality, as well as inside an old, Japanese-styled house where many human spirits are trapped. The key object of the game is the cursed Diary of Faces (called the Purple Diary (紫の日記, Murasaki no Nikki) in the Japanese version), which acts as the gateway between the player's world and the Old House. The diary acts as an "AR notebook", used with the 3DS to generally progress the storyline. The player encounters several ghosts throughout the game. One of them is Maya, a girl with no memory except her name, and who accompanies the player throughout the game. Hostile ghosts include: Kaito Hasebe, a man trapped by the Diary, now driven insane;[5] Koji, also known as "the Masked Boy", who challenges the player to a "game" of hide-and-seek;[6] and the "Woman in Black", the primary antagonist of the game.[7]

Another Story is a Japan-exclusive prequel story to Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir. The story, released on the website, provides context on certain characters' backgrounds. In the story, Yuuko (裕子), the narrator, is a high school student intrigued by the rumored Diary of Faces. She encounters her substitute teacher's older brother, Kaito Hasebe. He is apparently search for leads on the rumored Diary of Faces; he warns Yuuko to not investigate, indicating that he has already been cursed. Yuuko does not see him again.[8] Some time later, Yuuko and her friend Yoriko (依子) discuss some stories they have heard about the Diary, such as those of a masked boy, a woman who has turned into a doll, and an Old Woman with sharp needles chanting an incantation. One day, Yuuko briefly sees a person's shadow standing amongst the purple clematis flowers in the school courtyard. From the next day on, Yoriko abruptly stops coming to school. Yuuko, assuming that her friend is sick, heads to the library to do more research. There, she senses someone staring at her, and turns to catch a glimpse of Yoriko standing between the bookshelves. Yuuko rushes over to her, but Yoriko disappears, leaving behind a book with a purple cover—the Diary of Faces.[8] Yuuko narrates that after an undisclosed period of time, Yoriko was found, presumably with her face taken. She wonders if she dragged her friend into this, but supposes that this would have happened anyway, since no one involved with the diary can escape. In the epilogue, two unnamed students talk about the Diary, with one mentioning that the Diary has come to Yuuko.[8]

Plot

The player, as the game's protagonist, receives the cursed "Diary of Faces" in an unmarked package.[9][10] Upon seeing the first page through a dual-lensed variant of the "Camera Obscura" (the 3DS outer cameras), the player is taken into an old house.[10] Maya encounters and stops the player from entering one of the doors,[11] and they are brought out of the house and back into the player's world.[12][13] Upon returning, Maya explains that the person beyond the door is the "Woman in Black", who takes the faces of people who become trapped by the diary.[13] Maya and the player begin to investigate the diary, in order to discover its secrets and for Maya to regain her memory.[14]

As the two investigate, they learn about the Tokoyomi Ritual. A dark Shinto ritual, it involves sewing up a maiden's eyes and mouth, making her a spiritual vessel. To ensure that the captured spirit, be it good or evil, does not escape, the maiden must have no earthly attachments—that is, she cannot share a single bond with other people.[15] The last time the ritual was performed, the village it occurred in was soon engulfed by darkness. Initially, Maya believes that the Woman in Black is the maiden from the final ritual.[16] However, after delving further in, they soon realize that the maiden was actually Maya. They discover that, through the purple diary, she had shared a sisterly bond to "another" Maya—the Woman in Black. As a result, the ritual knocked Maya unconscious and, through their bond, "awakened" the other Maya, corrupting her.[17][18]

When the Woman in Black catches and takes Maya, the player uses the Camera Obscura to enter the diary to both save Maya and break the curse. After a gruelling battle, Maya breaks free of the Woman in Black. The other Maya begins to sob, begging the real Maya not to leave her again. As they saw each other as family, Maya promises her that she will never leave her again. The diary returns the player to reality and frees the souls of the previous victims of the curse and the villagers, leaving them one last message: "Thank you".[19][20][21]

Development

[22][23][24][25]

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[36] Gamesbeat thought the game lacked content.[37]

Explanatory notes
  1. Known in Japan as Shinrei Camera ~Tsuiteru Techou~ (心霊カメラ 〜憑いてる手帳〜, lit. Spirit Camera: The Possessed Notebook).

References
  1. "Screens Of the 3DS Fatal Frame Spinoff Ghost Camera". Andriasang.com. 2011-12-16. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  2. Fletcher, JC (2012-01-17). "Fatal Frame spinoff Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir chills 3DS in April". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  3. "Spirit Camera Coming to Europe in 2012 - News". Nintendo World Report. 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  4. "Official Site – Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir for Nintendo 3DS". Nintendo. Archived from the original on 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
  5. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo.
  6. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Scene: The Lost Boy's Invitation (in-game file). Koji: Come play with me
    If you win, you get
    a prize
    If you lose, you have
    to stay
    You can't escape. I'm waiting for you...
  7. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Woman in Black: I've been waiting...
  8. "Another Story". 心霊カメラ 〜憑いてる手帳〜：プロダクションノート. Nintendo. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
  9. "Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir - a horror game for Nintendo 3DS". Nintendo.com. Nintendo. Retrieved 2 April 2012. The Story: Whispers of a cursed old diary have become the stuff of urban myth. They speak of a strange book full of creepy old photos, words that make no sense, and eerily blank pages. They say if someone sees words that are not supposed to be there, they vanish—whisked to the spirit world. Nobody escapes from this world alive... when finally found, they are nothing more than faceless corpses. The Diary of Faces. It was just delivered in an unmarked package. When I opened the package and took out the diary, the Camera Obscura let out a strange sound. But those are just legends... right?
  10. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Prologue The diary of faces. It was just delivered in a package with no name. I thought it was a prank, but when I opened the package and took out the diary, the Camera Obscura let out a strange sound... It seemed to be reacting to the diary... [...] / Diary of Faces (Woman in Black): I've been waiting
  11. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Level/area: Old House. ? (Woman in Black): I've been waiting... / Narrative: Who is that? Who's there? [looks to the right, at the door] / ? (Maya): Don't open it! She's in there! / Narrative: That voice was so close. Like someone was right here... [turns around. A girl in white walks toward the player.]
  12. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Story After looking at the first page of the diary, I had some sort of vision. I was inside an old dark house. When I came to, there was a girl with me. She said her name was Maya. She'd been trapped in the house, imprisoned by a woman who lives there, a woman in black. She brings people to that house and...takes their faces.
  13. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Level/area: Reality. Narrative: I'm...back. What was that? Did this camera...view the supernatural? / ? (Maya): Where...am I? Are you... Were you in the house? Can you hear me? If you can, look this way. [The player uses the Camera Obscura (Nintendo 3DS) to find the girl from earlier.] / ? (Maya): ... Did you look? Did you open the door? You didn't? [sighs] That's...good. But why were you there? [...] My name is...Maya. I've been trapped in that house for so long. So long... Then you appeared, and...now I'm here. Behind that door is...the woman in black. She brings people into that house, imprisons them...and takes their faces.
  14. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Level/area: Reality. Maya: I wasn't the only one. There are others inside the house. I'm just one of her prisoners. I don't know why I was taken. I don't remember anything... I know my name is Maya. I know I'm scared of that house. I've been running away from the woman in black for so long... Were you trapped in the house[,] too? Why were you there? / ? (Kaito): Uuuhhhnnn... / Maya: [Huh?] Did you hear that? / ? (Kaito): Help...me... / Maya: Ah! It was a man's voice. Where did it come from? [The player points the camera at the diary's second page, which shows a picture of a man.] / Maya: That book! It's the diary of faces... Where did you get that?! The voice must have come from the diary. [Suddenly, the man in the photo changes, his eyes and mouth vanishing under stitches. Words appear in blood.] / Diary of Faces (Kaito): Help me [Just then, the man vanishes from the photo.] / Maya: He disappeared. / ? (Kaito): Uuuh...uhhn... / Maya: [gasps] He's here! He's right beside you! [The player looks around with the Camera Obscura, and sees the man from the photo holding his face in pain.] / ? (Kaito): Uuuh...uhhn... [approaches the player, initiating a battle]
  15. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Scene: Old Woman's Warning (in-game file). Old Woman: The Shrine Maiden cannot share a bond. If the spirit that comes is good, it will inhabit the girl and bring happiness to the village. If the spirit that comes is evil, it will eat away her soul. All will become darkness. If the shrine maiden shares a bond with anyone, the spirit will break free of the vessel. The spirit will follow that bond and find the person who shares it. The spirit will escape the vessel. A good spirit will leave the village without harming us. An evil spirit will bring disaster. By sealing the maiden's eyes and mouth and severing all worldly bonds, we can prevent an evil spirit from escaping. She will become a perfect vessel. There can be no bonds or the vessel will leak. To seal the leaks, you must sever all bonds. The shrine maiden's bond with me, the one who cares for her, is one such leak. Once I've ensured that the spirit has arrived, I must sever that final bond, and the rite will be complete. I must sever the final bond. As the old woman who has no name, the one chosen to be the sorceress, this is my final duty.
  16. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Level/area: Reality. Maya: The Woman in Black was forced to live in isolation just for the rite. She uses her curse to trap people because she was so unbearably lonely in life. She takes their faces to reenact the rite in which her eyes and mouth were sewn shut.
  17. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Level/area: Reality. Maya: As far back as I could remember, I was always in that house. The only person I ever saw was the old woman who came to check on me. I was so lonely that I pretended a doll was my family. I talked to my shadow too. I even wrote about my imaginary family in my diary. […] The purple diary was my doorway to her world. At first she was like a doll, and I was just playing house. But at some point - I don't know when - she began to communicate with me. So I thought she was truly alive, somewhere on the other side of the diary. If I could pass through the diary into her world, we could be together...
  18. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Level/area: Reality. Maya: When the rite started and my eyes and mouth were sealed, something entered me. The spirit... it was evil. It was darkness. I lost consciousness, but the other Maya awoke. The darkness took her instead of me. It imprisoned her within itself. The loneliness was unbearable. She never stopped longing for a family.
  19. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Scene: Ending. Level/area: Inside the Purple Diary. Maya: Let's stay here together…and…never leave.
  20. Tecmo Koei (2012-04-13). Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Nintendo 3DS). Nintendo. Scene: Ending. Level/area: Reality. Diary of Faces (Maya): Thank you
  21. "Report". 心霊カメラ 〜憑いてる手帳〜：プロダクションノート. Nintendo. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
  22. "Iwata Asks : Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir : Imagination Is the Scariest Thing". Nintendo.com. Nintendo. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
  23. "Iwata Asks : Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir : The AR Book Breakthrough". Nintendo.com. Nintendo. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
  24. "Iwata Asks : Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir : AR Spreads the Horror". Nintendo.com. Nintendo. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
  25. "Iwata Asks : Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir : Share the "Portable Fear" with Others". Nintendo.com. Nintendo. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
  26. "Spirit Camera for 3DS Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  27. Brown, Phil (17 April 2012). "Review: Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (3DS) Review". Computer Games Magazine. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  28. Sterling, Jim (13 April 2012). "Review: Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir". Destructoid. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  29. Vore, Bryan (12 April 2012). "Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir Review - Spiritual Successor To Fatal Frame Horrifies For All The Wrong Reasons". Game Informer. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  30. Staff, Franpaccio (20 April 2012). "Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir review". GamesRadar. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  31. Drake, Audrey (13 April 2012). "Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir Review". IGN. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  32. J Reed, Philip (23 April 2012). "Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir Review (3DS)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  33. Miller, Zachary (16 April 2012). "Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  34. Worthington, Tom (20 July 2012). "Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir Review". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  35. Smith, DF (11 April 2012). "Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir is creepy enough while it lasts (review)". VentureBeat. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  36. "Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir for 3DS Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  37. Smith, D.F. (April 11, 2012). "Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir is creepy enough while it lasts (review)". Retrieved 13 April 2012.
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