Koei Tecmo-developed survival horror game Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is coming to North America later this year, Nintendo revealed as part of a string of E3 announcements this week. The announcement of a localization is a milestone event for series fans, as some previous games in the series were never localized for western audiences.
In Maiden of Black Water, players view otherwise-invisible ghosts in the game’s world using the Wii U’s Gamepad as a virtual camera. Ghosts will attack the player’s character during gameplay, requiring careful camera focus and framing in order to fend them off.
The Fatal Frame series saw a string of English-localized releases for the PlayStation 2 in the early 2000s, followed by ports for the original Xbox. The fourth entry in the series, a Wii-exclusive sequel developed in a collaboration between Nintendo and Killer 7 creator Grasshopper Manufacture, was never released in North America and Europe. A fan-made translation was later launched after official localization plans were dropped.
While the fourth series entry never materialized stateside, Nintendo released an English-language version of the 3DS spinoff Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir in 2012 in North America and Europe. Spirit Camera and Maiden of the Black Water share similar mechanics, challenging players to maintain focus on spiritual antagonists using their respective platforms’ included gyroscope functionality.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, known as Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water in Europe, continues the story of the previous Fatal Frame games with a new cast of characters. The game stars the spiritually gifted Yuuri Kozukata, who enters a haunted forest in search of a missing acquaintance. Maiden of Black Water was developed using engine technology created for Koei Tecmo’s 3D fighter Dead or Alive 5, and features an appearance from Dead or Alive star Ayane during its storyline.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water will launch this fall in North America.
