Project Zero 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake – Preview: Japanese Horror is Ready for a Grand Return

With Project Zero 2, Tecmo Koei followed the "Perfect Remake" manual to the letter. They took the flagship title of their production, polished all its technical components, updated the gameplay from the old fixed-camera edition to the more modern one that shows the protagonist from behind, and also made sure to equip it with new mechanics and innovations capable of making a product shine that already captivated audiences back in 2003.

The Story of Mio and Mayu: Return to the Lost Village

What hasn't changed is the underlying story, which brings Mayu and Mio near a cursed, ghost-infested village (on this topic, we did a beautiful special). As fate would have it, the spell hanging over the village can only be broken by a sacrifice involving two twins. And this is where "Crimson Butterfly" begins, with the two girls trapped inside the village under an eternal night, and Mayu getting lost in the maze of streets chasing a crimson butterfly (hence the game's subtitle). Mio must then arm herself with all her courage and, with the help of the famous Camera Obscura, find her sister, defeat the numerous ghosts inhabiting the abandoned village, and try to escape the ritual that would sacrifice one of the twins (who must die by the hand of the other) to break the ancient spell.

Right from the start, it's easy to notice the first differences from the original work, which had several conversions throughout its history, but which obviously emerges here in a truly excellent form. First of all, the two twins can hold hands in the early stages of the game. A mechanic more cosmetic than useful, but one that tends to instill in the player a sense of unity and responsibility they will have towards the sister who will soon disappear. But not only that, because in the more frantic combat phases, holding your sister's hand will allow her to recover precious hit points in a mutual common front that will become essential in some phases of the game.

Unfortunately, we can only tell you about what happened up to chapter 4, and so this examination cannot be complete, but we can assure you that what we found ourselves facing is a profoundly renewed product capable of having significant appeal to both old fans of the saga and new players who will find in Crimson Butterfly a game capable of gluing you to the screen with a perfect mix of Japanese traditions and classic settings, and very disturbing themes that will not leave you once you've stepped away from your PC or console.

Remake Novelties: What Changes Compared to the PS2 Version

In short, a load of anxiety and terror that was already part of the original game's set but returns here in full force, boasting a technical department truly up to current expectations. We tested the game on PC and can tell you that with an honest 3070, activating all details to the maximum and with full 21:9 support, we were able to enjoy a true feast for the eyes, with characters excellently realized both polygonally and in terms of textures. Forget also the sparsely detailed environments of the game that appeared on PS2 and Xbox (where a version with a beautiful first-person mode was also released), because here the details are truly of excellent quality and are associated with a sound department capable of transferring an even greater load of anxiety. Every creak of the floor, every step on stairs that often seem almost unstable, will increase in you an imminent sense of danger that will follow you until the end of the game, and perhaps even beyond.

The ability to redistribute the machine's powers will also allow you to create ad hoc setups when you have to face particularly tough entities that require specific attention, increasing the more "strategic" aspect in a combat system that has seen a decisive advancement in difficulty over these 20 years. Facing the spirits of Project Zero 2 with too much complacency could lead to unpleasant surprises.  

Gameplay and Camera Obscura: How the Combat System Evolves

Moreover, one of the novelties of this remake lies in a recurring presence that will join the other ghosts inhabiting the cursed village, who will constantly hunt you down. Only, unlike the other spirits, you won't be able to confront it directly, at least not immediately, forcing you to resort to unprecedented "hide and seek" mechanics while you wait to emerge and resume your search for your twin. Let's be clear, we are not facing something that rewrites the rules of stealth, but it is still an addition that renews and expands a gameplay that had already proven to be the state of the art for this particular genre of survival horror. The use of the Camera Obscura also has some new features now, because it allows for better distribution of updates dedicated to its various powers, also amplified by the filters you can obtain during the adventure, but unlike the original, where upgrades could literally be acquired through points obtained with special shots, this time they will be linked solely to finding particular spheres that will improve the machine's functionality.

This highlights the entire environmental exploration aspect, which this time plays an even more functional role, not only because it allows the player to recover precious items to use (first and foremost the infamous exorcising film rolls), but also because it will allow exploration of a whole new series of environments that have expanded and renewed the game area. It's not just about having expanded the scenario to interact with, but also about having renewed and modified some puzzles we will face, having added some spirits that will "patrol" in search of our protagonist, and more generally, always having the sensation of being in front of a practically new game in all its components, including a new ending that will be added to the others already originally planned.

There are still many things to tell you, but we'll save something for the final version of the game, which will arrive on PC and consoles next March 12th, with a demo scheduled for the 5th, which will also allow you to keep your saves for the full version. For now, we can leave you here by saying that there are truly many reasons to look forward to Project Zero 2, because what we have seen in these hours of gameplay (and there are quite a few), is a title certainly far from the spectacle of Resident Evil Requiem, but which preserves in its mechanics the purest heart of old-school survival horror, which is ultimately the only thing that matters.