The Fatal Frame series, known as Zero in Japan, has become famous among survival horror fans for its unique approach to the genre, having players capture ghosts with a camera. Fatal Frame: Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse is the fourth entry in the series, and it holds many mysteries, especially for American and European fans.
This fourth game in the series was released in Japan in 2008 as Zero: Tsukihami no Kamen for the Wii, and it was never subsequently released in any other countries. The plot follows a girl named Ruka who returns to the mysterious island of Rougetsu to try and unlock the reason for her traumatic captivity there years before.
Its Main Ritual Is Unique
Like the three games that came before it in the Fatal Frame franchise, Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse centers around spiritual rituals of both the helpful and harmful variety. While previous games, particularly the first two, have dealt heavily with sacrificial rituals, the fourth entry deals with a ritual for which sacrifice is unnecessary.
Rougetsu’s culture includes the Kagura Dance ritual, which helps deceased souls pass on from the world, although a forbidden form of the dance called the Kiraigou also exists. This second ritual causes much suffering on the island, reflecting the unnecessary nature of such sacrifices and contrasting with the sacrifice-heavy previous games.
It Features Two Nintendo Cosmetics
These days, Nintendo is known for placing references to their properties in third-party games that release on their consoles (so much so that speculation about Nintendo cosmetics is common). Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse is no exception to this trend, as players can unlock Luigi and Zero Suit Samus costumes for Ruka to wear.
Given the largely monochromatic and dark nature of the game’s aesthetic, these bright and colorful outfits are unique and humorous cosmetics. They connect the game’s ghost hunting to Luigi’s Mansion and the strong female protagonist to Metroid, so the connections are not entirely random.
Fans Made An International Patch
Since Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse was only ever officially released in Japan, it was only a matter of time before series fans would take the translation process into their own hands. The patch is most notable for including an English translation of all of the game’s written dialogue and text.
In addition, the fan-made patch includes the ability to play the game on any Wii console, free from region-locking that made the initial release playable only on Japanese hardware. Contained entirely on an SD card, this patch was a huge leap forward for fans of the series around the world.
The Spirit List Cannot Be Completed
One of the main reasons that Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse was never released outside of Japan was due to the game’s notable glitches, the biggest of which is probably the fact that the Spirit List cannot be completed. This list of ghosts can typically be filled out by capturing the apparitions on camera.
Six of the game’s 233 spirits, however, will not appear on the Spirit List when they are captured, making the final list incomplete. All 233 ghosts can still be encountered and captured in the game, but completists will not be able to track their collection fully due to this glitch.
One Upgrade Cannot Be Unlocked
Since the Spirit List in the game cannot be completed due to a glitch, one of Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse‘s unlockable items is locked away from players forever. Finishing the entire Spirit List is supposed to unlock the Festival Lens for players to buy in the shop, which would give them access to more powerful camera functions.
While the Festival Lens isn’t needed to play the game normally, it can be frustrating for completists that this feature is locked behind a glitch. Normal gameplay in Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse cannot unlock this lens, but it is present in the code, meaning that it could theoretically be received through glitches or exploits.
Farming For Spirit Points Is Easy
An upside to the glitches in this Fatal Frame entry is the fact that the six ghosts that cannot be added to the Spirit List can be endlessly farmed for Spirit Points. Used primarily to buy items and upgrades, Spirit Points are an important part of the game, so having a reliable source for them is helpful.
Since the six glitched spirits are never unlocked on the Spirit List, they can each be photographed for the maximum possible points in every encounter. As a result, enterprising players can simply return to the same areas and capture the same ghosts whenever they find themselves in need of points.
A European Release Was Planned
There were no plans to release Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse in North America, even before the game’s Japanese release, but there was a plan to bring the game to European fans at one point. Although the game sold well and was even briefly advertised in France, the release was eventually canceled.
Nintendo’s refusal to publish the game internationally was followed by developer Tecmo’s insistence that no publisher wanted to bring the game overseas. On the other hand, the fifth game in the franchise, Maiden Of Black Water did get an international release, as well as an upcoming rerelease.
There Is No Official English Title
Technically, the only official title of this fourth game in the Fatal Frame series is Zero: Tsukihami no Kamen, since the game only ever received a Japanese release. The fan-made patch introduced the subtitle Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse as an unofficial translation of the Japanese subtitle.
The game, however, may not have been released under that name in the European or North American markets, like the curveball title of the not-s0-scary Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir series entry. Since the international patch is so popular and the only way many English speakers can experience the game, though, the subtitle Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse stuck.
The Character Names Share A Connection
There are several recurring motifs throughout Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse, including, as the title suggests, masks and the moon. The latter of these two repeating images, however, extends into a part of the game that is not quite as noticeable: character names.
While players of the English-language patch may not know it, the kanji for “moon” appears in the surnames of several characters in the game’s cast, including protagonist Ruka Minazuki. Even Japanese players may not immediately notice this detail, making it a reward for fans who pay attention to the game’s major motifs closely.
It Takes Place First Chronologically
Although it is the fourth game in the Fatal Frame series, this title is a prequel to the original game, taking place in 1980. That means that the events on Rougetsu Island in Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse take place six years before the events at Himuro Mansion in Fatal Frame.
Further, the backstory of Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse involving Ruka’s kidnapping takes place in 1970. This means that the events of this game stretch backward 16 years before the rest of the series, although perhaps a future entry (or themed slot machine) will take the franchise further back in time.
