Taking A Dip With Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water

Long dormant, the Project Zero (or Fatal Frame franchise) has not seen a new main series game launch outside of Japan since Nintendo took co-ownership of the franchise. With the Wii U adopting a controller that can look like a digital camera’s interface, it seems like a natural fit to have a brand new Project Zero on the Wii U and try to resurrect the horrors of old.

Disclaimer: Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water features themes surrounding suicide, occasionally bordering on the graphic. It happens a lot and is rather unsettling as a result. If you have been affected by such things in the past, consider this a trigger warning.

Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is segmented into various chapters, or “drops” as the game refers to them as, that take place in their own sprawling areas full of hazards and traps. The game begins with a prologue showing the fate of a young girl being harassed by ghosts in a dank well, before eventually taking control of a young ghost hunter named Yuri as she explores a haunted inn on the side of a mountain.

Using the Wii U GamePad as a camera seems like the perfect fit as you can turn it around to shoot in landscape or portrait aspects to get as much in the shot as possible. Those used to the analogue stick-only approach will be able to use that if they so wish, but the addition of motion controls and the GamePad’s screen as a viewer makes for a much more authentic, if desperation inducing, control method. I often found myself quite frantically turning around to find the ghost that’s just teleported away.

Other characters featured in the story having different origin stories and slight variations on their Camera Obscura. Ren, for example, can take multiple photos at once using his variant on the camera, while Yuri can make use of various lenses, such as the rather self-explanatory Stun Lens, and there are quite evidently more out there to find however as there are slots for three lenses to switch between. The camera is also upgradable using points accumulated, so it’s worth snapping away at anything ghost-like that you think you can see in the world.

Staples of the franchise remain, including the Fatal Frame mechanic where taking a photo as the ghost is attacking you can result in a period where lots of photos in quick succession can be snapped to maximise the damage output. Floating heads as photos are taken help stack the damage, but are also helpful for triggering Shutter Chances which deal more damage per photo.

Series veterans will likely find that much of this is familiar, with the control scheme the main differentiator, but one new mechanic is based on how wet the character currently on screen is. By being damp, they’re more susceptible to attacks from the ghostly beings, but at the same time, their camera becomes more powerful. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, such as when it is raining or they’re surrounded by ghosts in a small lake, but opportunities to dry off using items do come relatively frequently, which gives a nice risk-reward element to the play, for the more skilful players.

Other small touches here and there keep one on edge, such as hands coming out to grab the character’s arm as they slowly pick up an item or eerie noises in the background that had me reaching for the camera on several occasions. Even when investigating items using the Camera Obscura to make them appear, there is a tendency for the game to try and scare you a little with a ghostly ambush.

You’ll be able to see for yourselves as a demo will be appearing on the eShop alongside the game’s release, but given the claustrophobic area design, the gloomy aesthetic, and the fact that ghosts can and will appear in the most random of places, Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is shaping up to be a rather spooky treat for Wii U owners, and just in time for Halloween.