A phenomenally bad port for a great series.

At this point, I literally think KOEI TECMO is the only Japaneses publisher that still has this level of early 2010 bad port today. No mouse supports, Framerate tied with the speed of the game, Performance changed based on USB connection.

However, if you can get pass this gem of technical issues that feel like you try to make the first Dark Souls 1 port works on your PC (okay, its not that bad but you get the idea.) You will find a missing high quality installment of a horror series that so unique you can't find anywhere else.

Still, the game itself not the best in the series. It has the general idea of Fetal Frame right but it lacks some design aspects that makes the series truly shine. It's less handcraft and a bit more template formula recycled to the point that it makes random encounters feels meaningless. It feels like JRPG random encounters, unlike the old trilogy that keep them sparse but a lot of them have interesting back story about the ghosts. It also feels more... Arcade-ish, this is one of the example of why you should not give players too much QoL systems to player when the main theme of the game is about exploring the unknown. Shooting ghosts with camera is still there (and the combat system is the best in this one is the best in series to be honest.) But it gives player too much of comfortable space that this is all about action and a lot less on survivor. Items are also grind-able making exploring for supplies and putting yourself in risk not the case. The game also have chapter and ranking system like DMC for some reason. It make this game encourages even more on the action part.

Is there any good aspect? The setting and story is still very uncomfortably cryptic and intriguing. If you like Japan myth and ghost horror films, this game still have plenty. The atmospherics and slow buildup is still superb (to the point I hated that ghost hands mini game so much. Who thinks a routine repetitive jump scare is a good idea?) To sums it up, It's somewhere like Resident Evil 5 of RE series (not as bad as RE6 but still lost a lot of it's charm.)

This game actually performs fine to introduce itself to someone who never played this series before. I still recommended the classic trilogy a lot more but how can you play it without emulation these days? That's one of the reason why I still have my PS3 around just to play obscure classic series like this. And no, They are not available on PS4 and PS5 PSN for some reason.

A phenomenally bad port for a great series. At this point, I literally think KOEI TECMO is the only Japaneses publisher that still has this level of early 2010 bad port today. No mouse supports, Framerate tied with the speed of the game, Performance changed based on USB connection. However, if you can get pass this gem of technical issues that feel like you try to make the first Dark Souls 1 port works on your PC (okay, its not that bad but you get the idea.) You will find a missing high quality installment of a horror series that so unique you can't find anywhere else. Still, the game itself not the best in the series. It has the general idea of Fetal Frame right but it lacks some design aspects that makes the series truly shine. It's less handcraft and a bit more template formula recycled to the point that it makes random encounters feels meaningless. It feels like JRPG random encounters, unlike the old trilogy that keep them sparse but a lot of them have interesting back story about the ghosts. It also feels more... Arcade-ish, this is one of the example of why you should not give players too much QoL systems to player when the main theme of the game is about exploring the unknown. Shooting ghosts with camera is still there (and the combat system is the best in this one is the best in series to be honest.) But it gives player too much of comfortable space that this is all about action and a lot less on survivor. Items are also grind-able making exploring for supplies and putting yourself in risk not the case. The game also have chapter and ranking system like DMC for some reason. It make this game encourages even more on the action part. Is there any good aspect? The setting and story is still very uncomfortably cryptic and intriguing. If you like Japan myth and ghost horror films, this game still have plenty. The atmospherics and slow buildup is still superb (to the point I hated that ghost hands mini game so much. Who thinks a routine repetitive jump scare is a good idea?) To sums it up, It's somewhere like Resident Evil 5 of RE series (not as bad as RE6 but still lost a lot of it's charm.) This game actually performs fine to introduce itself to someone who never played this series before. I still recommended the classic trilogy a lot more but how can you play it without emulation these days? That's one of the reason why I still have my PS3 around just to play obscure classic series like this. And no, They are not available on PS4 and PS5 PSN for some reason.