History VideoGame / FatalFrameMaidenOfBlackWater

Three protagonists all end up connected to the events and mysteries of Mt Hikami, a location once guarded by shrine maidens and a popular tourist spot, but has since been abandoned and become a local hotspot for people wanting to commit suicide.

Yuri Kozukata works at an antique store that also specializes in psychic readings and finding missing people. When her employer and good friend, Hisoka Kurosawa, goes missing on Mt Hikami while on her latest missing person case, Yuri takes over the case and hopes to find Hisoka there, as well.

Ren Houjo asked Hisoka to help him find a book on postmortem photographs, having been tormented with dreams involving a whitehaired girl that he apparently killed as a young boy. Finding a postmortem photograph of said girl, he heads off to Mt Hikami to find out the meaning behind his dreams and why this strange girl appears fixated on him.

While searching the mountains, it's learned that the shrine was set to perform various rituals that had the purpose to appease the Shadowspring, known to connect the world of the living with that of the dead, and sealing the Black Water. When the ritual of a shrine maiden called Ose Kurosawa failed, the Black Water overflowed and cursed the mountain.

The game was originally released on the UsefulNotes/WiiU in 2014, with the localization being a digital release on the Nintendo e-Shop in 2015. It had been in development since ''Deep Crimson Butterfly'' was released, and it borrowed mechanics from it and ''Mask of the Lunar Eclipse'', setting the tone of the game since the Nintendo era.

While searching the mountains, it's learned that the shrine was set to perform various rituals that had the purpose to appease the Shadowspring, known to connect the world of the living with that of the dead, and sealing the Black Water. When the ritual of a shrine maiden called Ouse Kurosawa failed, the Black Water overflowed and cursed the mountain.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The second encounter with [[BigBad Ouse]] requires the player to run away, while also having Yuri as an escort. But Yuri is invincible and heads straight for the goal, meaning the player only has to worry about Miu making it through.

** Yuri's ending depend on [[spoiler:whether the player used Glance on Ouse while underwater or above water]].
** Ren's endings depend on [[spoiler:which token he chooses — the Photo of Bride (Ouse) or Bundle of white Hair (Shiragiku) — and what he does upon entering the room. Take a picture or use Glance on Ouse, while Shiragiku depends on defeating her or letting her drag him into the Black Box]].

** "You are not alone." has been said to Yuri by Hisoka, to Hisoka by Yuri, and [[spoiler:Ouse to Yuri]].
* MistakenIdentity: Shiragiku and Ouse mistake Ren Houjo for Kunihiko Asou because of the striking resemblance.

** [[DownerEnding Embrace]]: Have Yuri use Glance on Ouse while underwater. [[spoiler:Seeing the suffering Ouse has gone through, Yuri feels for her and finds herself on the cliff she once wanted to jump off from. Ouse wanted to live with Asou, but wants to die with Yuri. Yuuri jumps off, falling into the water while embracing Ouse. Hisoka is left at the cliff, staring after Yuri.]]
** [[GoldenEnding Bride of Black Water]]: Have Yuri use Glance on Ouse while above water. [[spoiler:Seeing the suffering Ouse has gone through, Yuri feels sympathy for her and embraces her while crying. Ouse begins crying herself, letting her emotions free, and returns to her white, bridal attire. Ouse thanks Yuri for breaking the curse upon Mt Hikami, and she's ready to continue her duty on her own. The Black Water recedes back into the Shadowspring and Hisoka calls out to Yuri, ready to go home. And at Kurosawa Antiques, Ren watches over a sleeping Rui.]]

** [[LoveHurts Alone in the Casket]]: Have Ren choose the photo of the bride, and take a picture of Ouse. [[spoiler:Ouse believes that this is Kunihiko Asou rejecting her a second time. Lamenting how he took part of her soul with his photograph, she decides to let things go and asks him to take one last picture of her, so that he'll have a piece of her. Ren takes a picture of Ouse, in her white bridal attire, and she disappears back into her Black Box.]]
** [[FaceDeathWithDignity Cherryblossoms]]: Have Ren choose the bundle of white hair, and then win the ensuing battle. [[spoiler:Shiragiku recalls how happy she was to become friends with Kunihiko Asou, but realizing that they could never be together. She can feel that she'll soon melt away into the water and thanks Asou for being there for her, and asks him to please forget about her.]]
** [[LoveConfession Love After Death]]: Have Ren choose the photo of the bride, and use Glance on Ouse or let her approach. [[spoiler:The spirit of Kunihiko Asou takes over Ren and embraces Ouse. He wants to end things with Ouse, telling her that he loves her. Ouse smiles, saying she saw it in his heart, but wanted to hear him say it. She reverts to her white, bridal attire and thanks Asou, disappearing into the Black Box again, with her heart at ease.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Matchmaker thought having a picture of the Immortal Flower would be a perfect help in finding her a groom. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Ouse had already fallen in love with the photographer, leading to her rejecting every man lured to the mountain for her, and getting them all killed.]]

** Whenever Ouse appears before being fought in her proper battle, the Camera Obscura is ineffective and she can kill through mere touch. The player has to run away and escape the area as fast as possible.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The previous games tended to use the JSL romanization for names, while this game ended up using the Hepburn romanization. The fandom tends to use the former, though.
** Kunihiko Asou was spelled as Aso.
** Yuuri Kozukata was written as Yuri.
** Ouse Kurosawa was spelled as Ose.

** Kyozo Kururugi killed the shrine maidens and the Flamekeepers. [[spoiler:The former's death caused Ouse so much pain that her ritual failed, and the latter's death left the Shadowspring to overflow much more easily than had they survived and kept the holy fires burning.]]
** Kunhiko Asou accidentally caused lots of damage. [[spoiler:Aside from having fallen in love with Ouse at first sight, his taking a picture of her captured part of her soul and her feelings of love inside of it, resulting in any man that sees it to fall for her and approach Mt Hikami to be married to her. And since Ouse fell in love with him, too, all other men were rejected and stuffed into Black Boxes.]]

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The trailer spoiled [[spoiler:Fuyuhi Himino]] being [[PsychicAssistedSuicide forced to commit suicide]].

** The shrine maidens had their eyes gauged out.
* {{Bowdlerized}}

* DeathSeeker: People heading to Mt Hikami tend to be this, as its a suicide hotspot.

** Ren's endings depend on [[spoiler:which token he chooses -- the Photo of Bride (Ouse) or Bundle of white Hair (Shiragiku) -- and what he does upon entering the room. Take a picture or use Glance on Ouse, while Shiragiku depends on defeating her or letting her drag him into the Black Box]].

* MadnessMantra: "I'm not sick anymore... I'm not sick anymore..." said by Yuri in a flashback, trying to cope with her newly-acquired sixth sense, and the ghostly harassment it has brought her.

** [[DownerEnding Embrace]]: Have Yuuri use Glance on Ouse while underwater. [[spoiler:Seeing the suffering Ouse has gone through, Yuuri feels for her and finds herself on the cliff she once wanted to jump off from. Ouse wanted to live with Asou, but wants to die with Yuuri. Yuuri jumps off, falling into the water while embracing Ouse. Hisoka is left at the cliff, staring after Yuuri.]]
** [[GoldenEnding Bride of Black Water]]: Have Yuuri use Glance on Ouse while above water. [[spoiler:Seeing the suffering Ouse has gone through, Yuuri feels sympathy for her and embraces her while crying. Ouse begins crying herself, letting her emotions free, and returns to her white, bridal attire. Ouse thanks Yuuri for breaking the curse upon Mt Hikami, and she's ready to continue her duty on her own. The Black Water recedes back into the Shadowspring and Hisoka calls out to Yuuri, ready to go home. And at Kurosawa Antiques, Ren watches over a sleeping Rui.]]
** [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy In The Reliquary]]: Have Ren choose the bundle of white hair, and let him be dragged or pushed into the Black Box during the ensuing battle. [[spoiler:Shiragiku is overjoyed that her childhoodfriend, mistaking Ren for Asou, has fulfilled their promise, and looks forward to being inside the box with him. But she realizes that she doesn't want to trap him inside the Black Box and shoves him outside, intent on continuing her duty alone.]]

** Whenever Ouse appears before fought in her proper battle, the Camera Obscura is ineffective and she can kill through mere touch. The player has to run away and escape the area as fast as possible.

* TheseHandsHaveKilled: Ren keeps having dreams about a whitehaired girl and him carrying a knife, apparently injuring or killing her from behind, and worries if he actually killed her. [[spoiler:He was reliving Kunihiko Asou's memories, where he merely cut off part of Shiragiku's hair as part of their promise, before she was put into the Black Box as an Immortal Flower.]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom
** Kyozo Kururugi killed the shrine maidens and the Flamekeepers. [[spoiler:The former's death caused Ouse so much pain that her ritual failed, and the latter's death left the Shadowspring to overflow much more easily, than had they survived and kept the holy fires burning.]]

** Haruka Momose heads for Mt Hikami. [[spoiler:Her disappearance brought Fuyuhi to the mountain, where she ended up being forced to kill herself. Fuyuhi's spirit then came and lured Haruka back to Mt Hikami, leading to Haruka being turned into a pillar, and Yuuri, Hisoka, Rui, and Ren almost dying.]]

* WhatTheHellHero: When Yuuri uses Glance on Miu, she sees her deepest thoughts and feelings. Miu turns the table on her and forces Yuuri to experience what being Glanced is like, having her own feelings observed by another person. Miu tells her to never do that again to her.
* WomenAreDelicate: Earthquakes occuring on Mt Hikami affect women more than men. This is why Ren manages to stay conscious and keep everyone save at Kurosawa Antiques. [[spoiler:Though he does end up passing out long enough in the Eigth Drop for Yuuri and Rui to be spirited away.]]

** Yuuri willingly takes on the spirits on Mt Hikami to find and bring Hisoka back.
** Hisoka was willing [[spoiler:to become a Pillar, leaving her in a sate between life and death, to keep Yuuri safe]].

''Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water'' is the fifth installment of the survival horror franchise created by Creator/{{Tecmo}}.

** [[MaybeEverAfter Waking Up To Dreams]]: Have Miu take a picture of her mother at the lake. [[spoiler:She and Miku walk into the lake, coming to terms with their estranged relationship. When the sun begins to set, Miu grabs her mother's arm and begs her to not go, with Miku ensuring her she'll stay. The two hold hands as the sun sets, until Miu wakes up. She sees her mother sleeping next to her, and she lies back down, holding onto her.]]

* CreepyDoll: The Shrine of Dolls is filled with them, including several the size as children.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Woe betide those that head to Mt Hikami. Aside from the horrible deaths that several people have experienced there, anyone who ends up falling under the influence of spirits may be forced to re-enact their deaths.

Three protagonists all end up connected to the events and mysteries of Mt Hikami, a location once guarded by shrine maidens and a popular tourish spot, but has since been abandoned and become a local hotspot for people wanting to commit suicide.

''Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water'' (known in Japan as ''Zero: Nuregarasu no Miko'') is a SurvivalHorror game by Creator/{{Tecmo}} released in 2014 on the UsefulNotes/WiiU as the fifth main entry in the ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' franchise. It was released digitally on the Nintendo eShop for Western countries in 2015. The game had been in development since the Wii remake of ''VideoGame/FatalFrameII'' and borrows gameplay mechanics inspired by both that game and ''Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse'', which set the tone of the game since the franchise's Nintendo era.

The game follows three protagonists, and all three of their stories intertwine surrounding the mysteries behind Mt. Hikami, a location previously guarded by shrine maidens that was also known as the go-to place for suicide.

* Yuri Kozukata, a girl with a powerful sixth sense, works at an antique store that also specializes in psychic readings and finding missing people. When her employer, Hisoka Kurosawa, goes missing at Mt. Hikami, she takes it upon herself to continue her work and find her.
* Ren Hojo, an author, decides to research postmortem photography for his next book. He is regularly haunted by recurring dreams of a white-haired girl, who he encounters while researching at Mt. Hikami.
* Miu Hinasaki, a model, who had grown up without parents, discovers that her mother, Miku Hinasaki, had gone to Mt. Hikami. She decides to find her there.

!! ''Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water'' provides examples of:

* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: Some of the names were mispronounced in the English version, such as Fuyuhi, Haruka, and Hisoka's names.
* AllThereInTheManual: The official guidebook for Fatal Frame V gives the identity of Miu Hinasaki's father, something that was merely implied in the actual game. [[spoiler:As implied, it's Mafuyu Hinasaki.]]
* AmbiguousGender: In the Japanese version, Rui's gender was intentionally made ambiguous and unclear since Rui uses gender neutral pronouns. Rui also doesn't answer Shiragiku directly when asked whether they are a boy or a girl. WordOfGod has stated that not even the rest of the staff can agree on whether Rui is a boy or a girl and supports either interpretation, though he explicitly suggests that he believes she's a girl. The English version, however, uses female pronouns to address her, and she also explicitly states she is a girl.
* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: Beating the game unlocks the First Thread, a side story that features Ayane from ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive''. Despite being a LittleMissBadass in her game, she is powerless against ghosts and doesn't have a Camera Obscura. Her chapter is a StealthBasedMission and involves sneaking past ghosts.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The second encounter with [[BigBad Ouse]] requires the player to [[HopelessBossFight run away]] and it's also an [[EscortMission escort mission]]. But the NPC escorting the player is fortunately invincible and heads straight for the goal at top speed, meaning the only one to worry about is the player-controlled character.
* AscendedExtra: The franchise's MrExposition, Dr. Kunihiko Aso, was previously only mentioned through notes. ''Maiden of Black Water'' explores his backstory, especially in Ren's route.
* AutoSave: Contrary to its predecessors, this game saves on its own and has no manual saving.
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler:In response to a shrine maiden Glancing at Kyozo Kururugi, he becomes frightened of her. He then goes on a murder-suicide, killing all the shrine maidens and Flamekeepers in sight.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: As Tsumuji starts to enter the Black Box, Ayane grabs her hand and pulls her out.
-->'''Ayane''': I made it...
* BodyHorror:
** The box carriers have their skin literally fester and rot from the black moisture.
** [[spoiler: A hanged man whose back is ''destroyed'' from massive glass shards.]]
** [[spoiler: The failed grooms who got every single bone broken before being put into a tiny box.]]
** [[spoiler: The mikos who got their eyes - and in one case parts of her mouth - slashed with a machete]].
* BottomlessMagazines: The PlayStation era ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' games had a limited amount of supplies, and if you used up all your film, you were screwed. Beginning with ''Mask of the Lunar Eclipse'', the Nintendo era games, you had an infinite supply of Type-7 film, the weakest film in the game. If you managed to beat the level quickly with only Type-7 film, it would increase your final rank.
* {{Bowdlerized}}: Yuri and Miu originally had lingerie and bikini alternate costumes, but the Western releases replaced them with Zero Suit Samus and Princess Zelda. In one scene, Miu wears her bikini costume in a photo shoot, but the Western releases replaced that outfit with her standard clothing.
* BreatherEpisode: The Interlude chapter has no hostile ghosts and only some spectral echoes for picture opportunities. Outside from obtaining some notes and information, the short chapter ends with Yuuri heading off to Mt Hikami again.
* TheCameo: This game includes [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Zero Suit Samus]] and ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]] as [[AndYourRewardIsClothes bonus costumes]].
* CatapultNightmare: Yuuri has one as part of a ShowerOfAwkward moment.
* ChildhoodMarriagePromise: [[spoiler:Shiragiku made Kunihiko Aso promise to return to her in the future for their Ghost Marriage when they were around seven years old. After she was sacrificed, he was so traumatized that he forgot about her.]]
* ContinuityNod: Miu comments during the Eleventh Drop/chapter that her family used to have a Camera Obscura, too, but the case is the only thing that remains. It's a nod to said camera having been used in Fatal Frame I [[spoiler:and shattered during the final confrontation with Kirie]].
* CreepyDoll: The Shrine of Dolls is filled with realistic-looking dolls. [[spoiler:Shiragiku]] will make them move if you battle her.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Several of the ghosts died in a terrible and tragic way. [[spoiler:The shrine maidens and Flamekeepers were brutally slaughtered by Kyozo Kururugi, who mutilated their bodies.]] In addition to this, [[spoiler:Ren's friend, Kazuya, dies when his neck and limbs are suddenly snapped when Ose rejects him, just so that his body can fit into a black box. Not only that, but all the men who were rejected by the shrine maidens would also fall under that fate.]]
* DamselInDistress: Most of the Drops involve rescuing a girl. Miu and Yuri are hit with the DistressBall at one point.
* DeathSeeker: This game has suicide as one of its themes, leading to a lot of this.
* TheDragon: The Matchmaker and Funeral Celebrant, who were responsible for the rituals.
* DrivenToSuicide: Many people drawn to Mt. Hikami go there with the intention of committing suicide, and in the past, there were shrine maidens who existed there for the purpose of comforting them before they did so. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, after the shrine maidens were slaughtered and the ritual failed, they were revived as ghosts who forced people to commit suicide instead of comforting them.]] [[PsychicAssistedSuicide Most of the ghosts you encounter in the game who weren't murdered happened to be ones who committed suicide there, and they lure people to replicate their suicide.]] Some of the characters you meet, like Fuyuhi and Haruka, have [[BungledSuicide attempted suicide in the past]].
* DualBoss: The Matchmaker and Funeral Celebrant are fought together in the penultimate location. Both are rather fast and can use their mirrors to send homing projectiles at the player.
* EarnYourBadEnding: To get Ren's bad ending, [[spoiler:you have to either take a photo of Ose or lose Shiragiku's boss fight. Most people playing blind will defeat Shiragiku on instinct and get her good ending on their first playthrough.]]
* EscortMission: Your purpose in some of the Drops is to find missing people, and they will follow you after they've been found. Fortunately, they don't take damage from ghost encounters, but it's alarming when you see things like Hanging Woman hanging Miu.
* EventFlag: Each playable character has one (or, in the case of Ren, two) that determine which of the character-specific MultipleEndings you get.
** Yuri's ending depends on [[spoiler:whether Glance is used on Ose's underwater or overwater form. The underwater form gives you the bad ending, whereas the overwater form gives you the good ending.]]
** Miu's ending depends on [[spoiler:whether you take the last FlashbackEcho of Miku before Miu's ending starts. Said FlashbackEcho also lasts much longer than most others. Not taking it gives you the bad ending, whereas taking it gives you the good ending.]]
** Ren's ending depends on which of the following choices you make:[[spoiler: 1) whether he takes Ose's photo, causing him to meet Ose, or the lock of hair, resulting in him meeting Shiragiku, and 2) how he interacts with the respective choice of "bride" (embracing Ose vs. taking a picture of her; defeating Shiragiku in battle vs. letting her drag Ren into her Black Box)]] Each of the choices yields an ending for Ren, for the total of four endings.
* EyeScream:
** [[spoiler:When Kyozo Kururugi tried to kill the shrine maidens, he also stabbed their eyes because he was afraid of their Glance ability.]]
** The Umbrella Woman, a non-hostile spirit in the game. She was an ordinary woman who went to Mt. Hikami to place flowers in tribute and left her umbrella open on the spot where she laid her flowers. The wind blew the umbrella as she started to leave and the umbrella impaled her through her eye as she turned around.
* HeroicSacrifice
** One ending has [[spoiler: Yuri jumping into Ose's arms and to her death, to appease the lonely spirit by [[TogetherInDeath dying with her]]]].
** [[spoiler: Hisoka [[TakeMeInstead got sealed into a box willingly in the hope that Yuri wouldn't have to, if she does]]. She gets saved in time though.]]
* HonorBeforeReason: Becoming an Eternal Flower is an honor for the shrine maidens and something they all aspire to be once their duties are over, even if it essentially means being a [[spoiler:HumanSacrifice]]. It's to the point that being made into a normal Pillar is considered a step down, to the point that [[spoiler:one former shrine maiden had even struggled to get out of a black box when she had been chosen to become a Pillar instead of an Eternal Flower]].
* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Yuri manages to find Fuyuhi at Mt. Hikami and they start to head back. However, they're suddenly separated and Yuri sees Fuyuhi just in time before she dies.]]
* HumanSacrifice: Contrary to its predecessors, it is not only seen as an honor instead of a duty to be sacrificed, but the mikos are even upset when they are ''not'' chosen.
** The game specifically shows four ways to be sacrificed: [[spoiler: 1) offering yourself to the water (as in, walk into it and drown), 2) being put into a box that gets sunken into the rivers and lakes of the mountain to keep it pure and protected, 3) being put into a box that gets sunken into the Nightspring to be a supportive pillar for the Eternal Flower and 4) being put into a box that is placed at the border between the Nightspring and the mountain as the Eternal Flower to block the black moisture from coming to this world]]. The stronger the spiritual power of the miko, the more likely it is that she is chosen as one of the important sacrifices.
* InterruptedSuicide: This game plays with this trope:
** A dark subversion of this is shown in a flashback, in which Hisoka is tasked with finding a girl, whom Hisoka finds at a cliff but isn't able to stop from falling off of it to her death in time. Hisoka regards this as [[MyGreatestFailure her greatest failure]].
** An example of this trope being played straight is shown in a flashback where Yuuri was about to jump off a cliff, but Hisoka stopped her in time and took her in. [[spoiler: Whether she stays alive at the end of the game depends on which ending the player gets.]]
* JapaneseRanguage: "Fatal Glance" was written as "Fatal Grance" in the Japanese version, which was corrected in the Western releases.
* JigglePhysics: This game has minor jiggling on the breasts of all the females; more noticeable on Miu's breasts when she wears the Zelda costume and on Yuri's butt when wearing the Zero Suit.
* LateToTheTragedy: [[spoiler:As Yuri and Fuyuhi head back to down from Mt. Hikami, they're suddenly separated again. When Yuri snaps back from her vision, she finds Fuyuhi seconds before she dies.]]
* LifeMeter: Along with a typical "Spirit Energy" bar representing your LifeEnergy, the game also uses a "wetness meter", where the more your characters get wet, the weaker they will be. When it hits maximum, they will have their defenses weakened, their LifeEnergy slowly draining, and more ghosts will appear. This happens if they stepped into Black Water or touched by ghosts with Black Water, like the shrine maiden ghosts.
* TheLoad: Whoever is accompanying the player can be distracting sometimes. While the other girls you rescue accompany you at the end of the Drop, when they are found, Rui happens to accompany Ren for the majority of the Third and Fifth Drops. She will also be present during the boss battle at the Tenth Drop. While she and the girls do not take damage from the ghosts, they can still get in your way of your shots, making it a chore to progress.
* MadnessMantra: "I'm not sick anymore... I'm not sick anymore..." As indicated in a flashback, Yuri says this in an attempt to cope with her newly-acquired sixth sense and all the spiritual presence she finds herself bombarded with before being DrivenToSuicide that [[InterruptedSuicide Hisoka prevents in time]].
* MeaningfulEcho: The sentence "No! I won't let you do it!" has been uttered more than once (in some of the listed examples below, an embrace from behind takes place as well).
** Miu says this as she tries to call Yuuri back as Yuuri is walking deeper and deeper into the Black Lake. Her words and embrace jolt Yuuri out of her spiritually-possessed trance.
** Miu does this again when getting [[spoiler: Miku]] out of the Black Box that confines her.
** The reason Yuuri reacts so powerfully to these words, as indicated in a flashback, is because these are what Hisoka says to her as [[InterruptedSuicide she stops Yuuri from her own suicide attempt]].
** Yuuri herself says this to Hisoka to stop her from letting herself become a sacrifice.
* MementoMacGuffin: Plot-important ghosts and characters tend to drop notes that describe their thoughts or are about the setting.
* MistakenIdentity: Shiragiku and Ose mistaken Ren for Dr. Aso, since he resembles him.
* NeverMessWithGranny: The Matchmaker and Funeral Celebrant, two elderly priestesses that reside over the rituals at Mt Hikami. Both are fast, carry mirrors that fire homing projectiles and disorient the player during battle, and can push you into black boxes, which leaves you a very narrow window of attack. [[DualBoss And you're forced to battle them together in the penultimate location.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The matchmaker thought having a photograph of the Eternal Flower would be perfect to find her a groom. [[spoiler: Too bad that said flower fell in love with the camera man, leading to her stubbornly rejecting every man lured to her instead of returning to sleep in the Nightspring, causing many, many people to die from the Black Moisture]].
* OneHitKill:
** [[spoiler:Ose]] appears on two different occasions after rescuing someone and you're dead if she touches you. The whole point of this is to increase urgency to escape Mt. Hikami as soon as possible.
** Then there's Kirika Reisen, whose SlashedThroat attack is directly responsible [[spoiler:for Fuyuhi [[PsychicAssistedSuicide being forced to take her own life]]]] [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration and can be done to the player character who confronts her if given the chance]].
* OpeningNarration: Each Drop opens and ends with narration text summarizing the chapter.
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Rui has a GreenEyedEpiphany throughout the game and realizes she doesn't want Ren to leave her.
* PsychicAssistedSuicide: Can occur to one who cannot resist the ghosts' influence while on Mt Hikami.
* {{Psychometry}}: Yuri, Ren, and Miu can use their sixth sense to see traces of where the missing person had gone before disappearing. They can also use "Glance", which allows them to look through a person or ghost's memories by touching.
* RescueRomance: When [[spoiler:Rui]] is lured to Mt. Hikami, [[spoiler:Ren]] has to go save her.
* RunOrDie:
** [[spoiler:Ose]] appears after Yuri saves Miu, and again after [[spoiler:Miu saves Yuri]]. Both times the Camera Obscura is ineffective against her and she'll kill you when she touches you, so your best bet is to leave the area as fast as you can.
** Ayane lacks a Camera Obscura throughout her mission and her [[StunGuns Spirit Stone]] [[InfiniteFlashlight Flashlight]] can only incapacitate hostile spirits struck by it for a short time, so she must run away from any ghost that pursues her if [[StealthBasedMission sneaking around them]] isn't an option.
* SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler:Ose was chosen to become the next HumanSacrifice for Mt. Hikami. However, during the ceremony, she was so overwhelmed by her love for Dr. Aso that she couldn't bear reliving the suffering of the dead required by the ritual that it failed.]]
* ShootTheShaggyDog:
** [[spoiler:You spent the entire Fourth Drop trying to find Haruka Momose, the girl Hisoka had gone missing trying to find and Fuyuhi died over. After bringing her back safely, she goes back to the mountain at the end of the Fourth Drop and dies anyway.]]
** Miu's route can come across as this in her bad ending: [[spoiler:She finally catches a glimpse of her mother, the one person that she's been looking for the entire time and her whole journey was for. But her mother can't give her more than this glimpse and disappears, leaving Miu alone again and her actions seem pointless, leaving her with nothing but a momentary look.]]
* ShowerOfAwkward: Yuri is bathing in her tub, but is dragged underwater, and then locked in a submerged box with a ghost. [[CatapultNightmare She then flings herself awake]], realizing it has been AllJustADream, but still feeling shaken by the incident.
* ShoutOut: In the Western release, one of Yuri's alternate costumes is Zero Suit Samus, while Miu can dress up as Zelda.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
** Previous localizations romanized Kunihiko Aso's last name as "Asou." This game uses the spelling "Aso."
** Yuuri or Yuri Kozukata, for one of the playable characters? The western localization goes with "Yuri".
** Likewise with [[BigBad Ouse/Ose Kurosawa]] -- the western localization picks "Ose".
* {{Stripperiffic}}: This game has costumes that strips Yuri and Miu down to their rather revealing underwear.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: Likely [[spoiler:Miku]]. Depending on the Ending, she is either [[YourDaysAreNumbered dying]] or has been DeadAllAlong.
* SurvivorsGuilt: Fuyuhi and Haruka feel they failed to uphold their part of the promise to die with 3 other girls for a SuicidePact after [[BungledSuicide surviving an attempt to drown themselves]] while the other 3 died from it.
* TankControls: The game was criticized for having bad controls.
* TheseHandsHaveKilled: Ren spends the majority of the game dreaming about carrying a knife to Shiragiku's back, and he wonders if he had killed her. [[spoiler:And he didn't. He was reliving Kunihiko Aso's memories, where Dr. Aso himself was only trying to cut a lock of her hair as a ChildhoodMarriagePromise before she proceeded with the ceremony as the next Eternal Flower.]]
* TogetherInDeath: For sacrificed shrine maidens, they were briefly brought back to life for Ghost Marriages, where they would be wed to men who chose them. The men would be locked in a larger black box with them and share their pain and suffering from bearing with the tragedies of those who committed suicide at Mt. Hikami. [[spoiler:Depending on the ending, Yuri might end up this way with Ouse. And Miku has performed the ritual with her spirited away brother, Mafuyu.]]
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: A trailer for V spoiled [[spoiler:Fuyuhi Himino]]'s PsychicAssistedSuicide.
* UnwantedHarem: Ren feels uncomfortable around women [[spoiler:due to his dreams of Kunihiko Aso carrying a knife towards Shiragiku]], but several women pursue him romantically. In the case of Ose and Shiragiku, it's because [[spoiler:he looks like Dr. Aso]]. Rui also develops feelings for Ren and can count as part of his UnwantedHarem [[AmbiguousGender if you consider her a girl]]. At the end of the Tenth Drop, you can see how unsettled Ren is when he's forced to choose a bride from an assortment of all the women he's personally acquainted with.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Three examples.
** Kyozo Kururugi, who not only [[spoiler: killed all the Mikos, causing Ouse so much pain that her sacrifice fails]], but also [[spoiler: murdered all the priests who might have kept the damage of the Nightspring small by keeping the holy fires burning]].
** [[spoiler: Kunihiko Asou]], who is responsible for [[spoiler: having made a photo that captured the soul and feelings of love of Ouse, dooming all men that see it to feel that love and walk to the mountain to be married]].
** Finally there is Haruka, whose decision to go to the mountain leads to [[spoiler: [[PsychicAssistedSuicide Fuyuhi killing herself]] before [[ShootTheShaggyDog her spirit leads Haruka, after Yuri saves her and takes her away from Mt. Hikami, back into Mt. Hikami to be turned into a Pillar]], as well as Yuuri, Hisoka, Rui and Ren almost dying]].
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: If Ren picks [[spoiler:Shiragiku]] as his marriage partner, [[spoiler:he could reject her and defeat her spirit]] or [[spoiler:allow her to defeat him, where he'll be forced into a black box with her but [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy she decides to let him live and lets him go]].]].
* VirginSacrifice: [[spoiler:The sacrifices consisted of shrine maidens, young women who spent their entire lives soothing the suffering of others.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: Yuri Glances Miu at one point (and you must do so to proceed with the story), only for Miu to turn the tables on Yuri and Glance ''Yuri's'' thoughts. Shocked, Yuri releases her hold on Miu, but Miu grabs Yuri and tells her: "Don't you do that again. Ever."
* WellIntentionedExtremist: We don't know what [[spoiler:Shino Kururugi and her relationship with another man]] was like, but we do know that [[spoiler:Kyozo Kururugi]] was extremely protective of her and killed him. [[spoiler:His death was what caused Shino to commit suicide.]]
* WomenAreDelicate: The earthquakes at Mt. Hikami affect women more than they do men. This is why Ren is less likely to pass out and is the only one capable of keeping guard at Kurosawa Antiques. [[spoiler:He does, however, pass out in the Eighth Drop, which is what leads Yuri and Rui to be spirited away.]]
* YouAreNotAlone: In a flashback, [[InterruptedSuicide Hisoka tells Yuri she's not alone when she successfully talks her out of committing suicide.]] Yuri later says this to [[spoiler:Ose]] in her bad ending.
* YouAreWorthHell: Yuri spends most of the game looking for Hisoka and is willing to fight ghosts just to get her back.
* ZettaiRyouiki: Grade A. Miu dons this in her default outfit, and this trope also applies to [[AndYourRewardIsClothes a bonus costume]] that's available for Yuri and Miu (school uniform, which Yuri wears in her own flashback scenes).

* ZettaiRyouiki: Grade A. Miu dons this in her default outfit, and this trope also applies to [[AndYourRewardIsClothes a bonus costume]] that's available for Yuri and Miu (school uniform).

* Ren Hojo, an author, decides to research post-mortem photography for his next book. He is regularly haunted by recurring dreams of a white-haired girl, who he encounters while researching at Mt. Hikami.

* TogetherInDeath: For sacrificed shrine maidens, they were briefly brought back to life for Ghost Marriages, where they would be wed to men who chose them. The men would be locked in a larger black box with them and share their pain and suffering from bearing with the tragedies of those who commited suicide at Mt. Hikami. [[spoiler:Depending on the ending, Yuri might end up this way with Oose. And Miku has performed the ritual with her spirited away brother, Mafuyu.]]

** [[spoiler: Kunihiko Asou]], who is responsible for [[spoiler: having made a photo that captured the soul and feelings of love of Ouze, dooming all men that see it to feel that love and walk to the mountain to be married]].
** Finally there is Haruka, whose decision to go to the mountain leads to [[spoiler: [[PsychicAssistedSuicide Fuyuhi killing herself]] as well as Yuuri, Hisoka, Rui and Ren almost dying]].
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: If Ren picks [[spoiler:Shiragiku]] as his marriage partner, [[spoiler:he could reject her and defeat her spirit]] or [[spoiler:allow her to defeat him, where he'll be forced into a black box with her but she decides to let him live and lets him go.]].

* ZettaiRyouiki: Grade A. Miu dons this as her default outfit, and this trope also applies to an alternate costume that's available for Yuri and Miu (school uniform).

* YouAreWorthHell: Yuri spends most of the game looking for Hisoka and is willing to fight ghosts just to get her back.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: If Ren picks [[spoiler:Shiragiku]] as his marriage partner, [[spoiler:he could reject her and defeat her spirit]] or [[spoiler:allow her to defeat him, where he'll be forced into a black box with her and die with her as her husband]].

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Several of the ghosts died in a terrible and tragic way. [[spoiler:The shrine maidens and Flamekeepers were brutally slaughtered by Kyozo Kururugi, who mutiliated their bodies.]] In addition to this, [[spoiler:Ren's friend, Kazuya, dies when his neck and limbs are suddenly snapped when Ose rejects him, just so that his body can fit into a black box. Not only that, but all the men who were rejected by the shrine maidens would also fall under that fate.]]

* EventFlag: Each playable character has one (or, in the case of Ren, more than one) that determines which of the character-specific MultipleEndings you get.

* EyeScream: [[spoiler:When Kyozo Kururugi tried to kill the shrine maidens, he also stabbed their eyes because he was afraid of their Glance ability.]]

** The game specifically shows four ways to be sacrificed: [[spoiler: 1) offering yourself to the water (as in, walk into it and drown), 2) being put into a box that gets sunken into the rivers and lakes of the mountain to keep it pure and protected, 3) being put into a box that gets sunken into the nightspring to be a supportive pillar for the Eternal Flower and 4) being put into a box that is placed at the border between the Nightspring and the mountain as the Eternal Flower to block the black moisture from coming to this world]]. The stronger the spiritual power of the miko, the more likely it is that she is chosen as one of the important sacrifices.

* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: Likely [[spoiler:Miku]]. Depending on the Ending, she is either dying or has been DeadAllAlong.
* SurvivorsGuilt: Fuyuhi and Haruka feel that they failed to uphold their part of the promise to die with 3 other girls for a SuicidePact after surviving an attempt to drown themselves while the other 3 died from it.

* MeaningfulEcho: The sentence "No! I won't let you do it!" has been uttered more than once in V (in some of the listed examples below, an embrace from behind takes place as well).

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Previous localizations romanized Kunihiko Aso's last name as "Asou." This game uses the spelling "Aso."

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: In Fatal Frame V, the second encounter with [[BigBad Ouse]] requires the player to [[HopelessBossFight run away]] and it's also an [[EscortMission escort mission]]. But the NPC escorting the player is fortunately invincible and heads straight for the goal at top speed, meaning the only one to worry about is the player-controlled character.

* AutoSave: Contrary to the previous games, Fatal Frame V saves on its own and has no manual saving.

* BreatherEpisode: The Interlude chapter in Fatal Frame V has no hostile ghosts and only some spectral echoes for picture opportunities. Outside from obtaining some notes and information, the short chapter ends with Yuuri heading off to Mt Hikami again.
* TheCameo: Fatal Frame V includes [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Zero Suit Samus]] and ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]] as [[AndYourRewardIsClothes bonus costumes]].
* CatapultNightmare: Fatal Frame V gives one to Yuuri as part of a ShowerOfAwkward moment.

* ContinuityNod: Fatal Frame V has Miu comment that her family used to have a Camera Obscura, too, but the case is the only thing that remains. It's a nod to said camera having been used in Fatal Frame I [[spoiler:and shattered during the final confrontation with Kirie]].

* DeathSeeker: Fatal Frame V has suicide as one of its themes, leading to a lot of this.

* DrivenToSuicide: Many people drawn to Mt. Hikami go there with the intention of committing suicide, and in the past, there were shrine maidens who existed there for the purpose of comforting them before they did so. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, after the shrine maidens were slaughtered and the ritual failed, they were revived as ghosts who forced people to commit suicide instead of comforting them.]] Most of the ghosts you encounter in the game who weren't murdered happened to be ones who committed suicide there, and they lure people to replicate their suicide. Some of the characters you meet, like Fuyuhi and Haruka, have attempted suicide in the past.

** Miu's ending depends on [[spoiler:whether you take the last FlashbackEcho of Miku before Miu's ending starts. Said FlashbackEcho also lasts much longer than most others.]]

** One ending has [[spoiler: Yuuri jumping into Ouse's arms and to her death, to appease the lonely spirit by [[TogetherInDeath dying with her]]]].
** Hisoka, who [[spoiler: [[TakeMeInstead got sealed into a box willingly in the hope that Yuuri wouldn't have to, if she does]]]]. She gets saved in time though.
* HeterosexualLifePartners:

* WomenAreDelicate: The earthquakes at Mt. Hikami affect women more than they do men. This is why Ren is less likely to pass out and is the only one capable of keeping guard at Kurosawa Antiques. [[spoiler:He does, however, pass out in the Eighth Drop, which is what causes Yuri and Rui to be spirited away.]]

* YouAreNotAlone: In a flashback in V, [[InterruptedSuicide Hisoka says this to Yuri when she successfully talks Yuri out of committing suicide.]] Yuri later says this to [[spoiler:Ouse]] in her bad ending.

* EventFlag: Yuri's ending depends on [[spoiler:whether Glance is used on Ose's underwater or overwater form. The underwater form gives you the bad ending, whereas the overwater form gives you the good ending.]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:Kyozo Kururugi killing the rest of the shrine maidens and the Flamekeepers was part of the reason why Ose's ritual failed, as reliving their deaths left her traumatized.]]

* TogetherInDeath: For sacrificed shrine maidens, they were briefly brought back to life for Ghost Marriages, where they would be wed to men who chose them. The men would be locked in a larger black box with them and share their pain and suffering from bearing with the tragedies of those who commited suicide at Mt. Hikami.