The project zero series It is one of those sacred cows in our midst. It is a highly revered series, and reasons are not lacking. Its setting, its stories, protagonists and the originality of its proposal are its main values. as good gaijinwhat I like the most about its different chapters it’s how well it works with Japanese folklore. Its ghosts, its architectures and its themes have always enchanted me.
And that’s precisely why I wanted to taste so much Project Zero 4. This is a very special chapter. If we don’t take into account the spin-off Spirit Camera: Cursed Memory, and the revision of the second one released on Wii, this is the first canonical and weighty chapter of the franchise that came to a Nintendo console. To celebrate that event, some of the Japanese staff helped with the development, and he joined as well. goichi sweat (author of the No More Heroes series among others) in writing and directing.
The game originally came out on the Wii in 2008. On March 9 it will hit all other platforms, including PC, which is where I started playing it. Unfortunately, for now I have not been able to start it on Steam Deck, let’s see if over time… The novelties of this version are mainly aesthetic. Yes, there are improvements in relation to the lights, the faces of the protagonists look good and a good artistic finish is noted in general. However, graphically the game has several notable deficiencies.
It’s a fair review of Project Zero 4
The most striking, and that slaps you in the face over and over again, are those related to textures. The ones on the doors are very low quality, they look pixelated and horrible. This is very striking because we will spend a lot of time opening them, or trying to. Furthermore, in Project Zero 4 We are armed with a camera. Many of them will only allow us to pass if we exorcise them by zooming in on their wood and then we take a picture of them, so the pixel party becomes a rave. This problem is repeated in other areas of the game, but what happens with an element of the setting that we have to look at so much has caught my attention.
Little attention has been paid to what is important
But that is not the main problem of this game, but those related to the control. There are three things that have thrown me off. The first is that the protagonist is very slow; even when she asks her to run, she doesn’t do it much; and she hears her, that there are spirits, I would run more. Also, as with everything good horror game with PS2 spirithere there are long corridors to walk and to return more than once, so picking up the pace would have been nice. The second thing that I did not like at all is the control of its cameras. With one stick we move the protagonist, and with the other of her the vision of her. This could work with the wiimote, but with a conventional controller it is very uncomfortable to turn and orient yourself well.
Finally, and as a good Wii game, we want to give a lot of prominence to the flashlight that we carry in our hands. Again, on Nintendo’s this was very cute, but it hasn’t translated well to an Xbox controller. Every time we get to a table or desk, we have to stop completely, use the stick to illuminate everything well and keep the B button pressed to focus on an object and pick it up. It’s uncomfortable to navigate the scenarios, look for things and also handle the Camera Obscura, our weapon.
The control is weak, but the setting is still very cool
Because to kill the ghosts we first have to get away from them, then take out the camera and point it at them for a while. Then we shoot and the taking of the photo hurts them. This process becomes too complex due to a control scheme that needed a lot more revision and work.
In other words, little attention has been paid to what is important. Both the way of moving, investigating and attacking should have received a much deeper revision. Because of this, the game feels old and outdated. While you play you feel like you’re raffling the typical control problems common in retro games.
This means that Project Zero 4 Is it not worth it or is it a “next” like a cathedral? No, I’m not saying that. The game’s setting is still great, its ghosts too, and the story isn’t bad at all. We return to a sinister island where we remember that we have been victims of an ancient ritual, and the plot develops between memories, ghosts and scares. The presence of Goichi Suda It shows in the direction and little that you like Japanese terror, you will enjoy Project Zero 4. Everything is very orthopedic, but I’m going to eat it anyway.
I have no doubt of this; that the title works as a horror title, that it is interesting and cool. But it is a pity that so little love has been given to the control, to certain textures… And that it has not even been translated into Spanish. I think this game deserved more love. In any case, I will continue playing it until the end to bring you his analysis because, despite everything, I like what this game wants to tell me, but I am sorry that such important sagas come to us like this.
