This is my single-segment run of Fatal Frame 3, done in Nightmare Mode on NG+ aimed towards the Good Ending (Kei Ending). Comments doc will come soon. Run time is 2:28:49.

I am so in love with this game, and I'll do my best not to geek out too much... But seriously, this is a pipe-dream come true, and I am so honored to have my humble little run up here on SDA. :>

But first, there are thank-yous I need to dish out:

• To zero shift, for introducing me to the "stair trick".
• To mt2006st on Youtube, for introducing me to the "muro glitch".
• To annie_k57 on GameFAQs, for writing a great Fatal Frame III walkthrough that I printed off and butchered to meet my own needs when starting off.
• To Nate, for quality testing and helping me figure out encoding when I was new.
• To moooh and UraniumAnchor, for helping me with all my tech support questions.
• To kakka_rot and everyone on my Fatal Frame III thread, for support and feedback.
• To my family, for tolerating all the hours I put into this game. They pretty much had the whole game memorized like I did, haha. So sorry, mates.

All right, let the extensive low-down begin.

~~~ ZERO HOUR: THE CALLING (DAYDREAM) ~~~
I load my NG+ on Nightmare Mode, complete with maxed out camera stats and functions. For this run, I decided to aim for the Kei ending (good ending) just because I love him so much. In order to get this alternate ending, it's necessary to have beaten the game once before; hence NG+ in Nightmare.

Intro level strategy: Don't bother following Yuu. Just go through the nearest doors to get warped to Shrine Courtyard.

As soon as I reach my first staircase, I begin using the most time-saving mechanic in this game: the "stair trick". Basically, I hold the run button and board the stairs, then I turn the control stick about 90 degrees or more around while consistently tapping the run button. At this point, the character starts to glide, and I just turn back around and continue down/up the stairs. Easier done than said, and it's really simple once you get the hang of it.

~~~ HOUR I: THE SIGN ~~~

Get Camera Obscura. Peep through the peep hole. Take photo of Yoshino. Backtrack and try to open Foyer door. Fight Mother and Daughter. I one-shot them here using the Crush lens and Festival function, which grant me Rei's heaviest damage. NG+ is glorious. Approach Yoshino. Wake up and talk to Miku. Grab Obscura. Develop film. Talk to Miku again. Sleep.

Take a picture of the glowing door. Take photo of Man Stopped Dead. Go to Room with Blind and talk to Yoshino. Wake up. Check kitchen counter. Check the door to the front hall (instead of going up and down the stairs) then answer the phone. Sleep.

Make your way back to Room with Blind. Grab the 61FILM while the baddies load, then fight Bending Shadows (one-shot). Fight Female Survivor. I have her come at me first, so she doesn't get knocked through the wall during her combo (because it has happened). Wake up. Talk to Miku. Sleep.                  

~~~ HOUR II: THE MANOR OF SLEEP ~~~

Pick up key. Unlock Stained Corridor door. Walk in and out of Grave Courtyard. Fight two Man in Whites (one-shot).

The second Man in White can do one of three things: walk towards you down the hall, walk into the left wall, or walk into the right wall. If luck strikes, he'll come towards you and you can just one-shot him, but more often than not, he ends up hiding in a wall, costing an extra second or two.

Pick up key in Attic Room. Fight Man in White. I use Track to spin around, then one-shot. Unlock the Grave Courtyard door. Wake up, answer the phone. Check Miku's desk. Sleep.

~~~ HOUR III: THE SUBDUING SONG ~~~
Take a picture of Doll Altar East door. Avoid Hidden Face Man. This guy's actually hit me once or twice before if I start turning too early, so I walk straight into him before making my way around that curve as a safety precaution. I've pretty much gotten hit with anything and everything at some point in this game, so if I find a safety strat, I usually take it.

Take photo of Impaling Girl. Fight Woman Brushing. I have her come at me first to get a better combo. Pick up key in Doll Altar East and fight Priestess Girl. I use Track to whip around, then combo. Wake up and talk to Miku.

At this point, there's a little "glitch" I found that I wouldn't really classify as a "glitch" or "time-saver"; rather just something I noticed. As you enter the room, turn towards Miku and keep hitting the X button. Typically what happens is as soon as Rei goes through the door, the camera focuses on Mafuyu's photo, and then warps you over by Miku. But if this trick works, the camera ignores the little cutscene, giving you a little more leeway to walk around the room as you'd like. Unfortunately, you still need to wait for the dialogue to finish before you can take control again. Usually works like a charm, but it backfired on me here, because I accidentally hit the map button while button-mashing. Oops.

~~~ HOUR IV: THE EVIL DREAM ~~~
Scares can be avoided in finder mode. As soon as Miku starts to freak out during the candle and rope scares here in Hour IV, I just open and close my viewfinder, which negates the little freaking-out animation, saving time.

Run back and forth in Great Hall to fight Hidden Face Man. I use Miku's Slow to get perfect Fatal Frames; again, a safety strat that ends up saving me a lot of time in the long-run in case I miss a combo.

Hang mask. Fight Woman Brushing. This is the first ghost that has a random spawn point, and in this case, she was less-than-accommodating. I had to wait for her to come at me first, because she would've blasted through the wall and given me grief. Compared to some other places she's spawned, though, I thought this went somewhat decent.

Fight Rope Priestess. Head to Tattoo Altar. Wake up and talk to Miku twice to receive Photo of Kei. And aren't you all excited, we get to play as Kei next! Check the kitchen counter. Sleep.

~~~ HOUR V: THE VANISHING ~~~

Unlock Kimono Room door with hairpin. Run towards Grave Courtyard and back, avoiding Reika (by hugging the right wall and face away from her when turning). Avoiding Kuze Family Head (by walking into the walls for a second or two then sneaking behind her as she walks away), get Obscura. Take photo of Blind Room door. Take photo of Woman Brushing. Get Library key. Avoid Kuze Family Head (by waiting at the top of the stairs a second for her to spawn, then walking down to the right). Backtrack and check Mio's cell.

Wake up, go to Yuu's closet. Wake up again and check radio in closet. Sleep.

Not much to say about this Hour, except that it went well. Waaay back in the day, when I was first planning out this run, I struggled quite a bit with finding sure-fire strategies to run past all the ghosts you're supposed to be hiding from.

~~~ HOUR VI: THE SACRIFICIAL PILLAR ~~~

Take a picture of glowing door in Garden Corridor. Try Hall with Tatami door. Fight Priestess Girl in 2F Round Window Foyer. I was too early on my combo here, but luckily, she warped in front of me, so I just whipped my camera out and shot her with a Crush.

Check peep hole. Go to Hall with Tatami to fight Engraved Man. These guys all have the same patterns; they either come towards you or walk to the sides. It's always nice when they come at you straight-on, but in the instance they try walking to the side (like this one did) I use Flash to keep them still, just in case they decide to stroll behind a wall.

Go to Stair Hallway to fight Engraved Man. For this one, I run directly into him and have him walk around me for a second or so. Then I use Flash and get him in a straight-shot combo.

Go to Foyer to fight Engraved Man. I got extremely lucky here. Usually, this one doesn't see you right away, and he starts walking into walls right off the bat. But I somehow managed to get his attention, and when he came towards me, I was able to combo him straight-on. Very rare that this happens.

Get Sleeping Stone and 90FILM from Tatami Loft. Go to Futon Room to fight Engraved Man. Go through unlocked Garden Corridor doors. Wake up. Answer the phone and go to sleep.

~~~ HOUR VII: THE HANGING PRISON ~~~

Go around the south side of Hall with Tatami (to avoid short cutscene) and down hatch. Get Purity Stone from Doll Altar West. Fight a Priestess Girl. Head to 2F Wooden Figure Room to take photo of Ceremony Woman. Backtrack, avoiding Priestess Girl. Every once and a while, I'll use Miku's Slow to escape her attacks, but in this fortunate case, she wasn't dead-set on killing me here.

Get Purity Stones from Doll Altar North, Doll Altar East, and then Doll Altar South. Go up Great Staircase, avoiding Priestess Girls by exiting and reentering the room. Return to Tattoo Altar and fight Kuze Family Head. I stand in the center of the room, have her warp once to get in close, then combo her.

Wake up and talk to Miku. Wake up again and check the kitchen counter. Listen to the two tapes. Sleep.

~~~ HOUR VIII: THE VACANT DREAM ~~~

Pick up key in Kimono Room. Unlock Twins' Room and pick up keys. When you try to leave Great Hall, the Kusabi appears. Avoid him for about seven moves until the butterfly shows up.

I completely botched this. Since this part is on a timer, I don't think I wasted any time by getting hit, and though I tried slamming the Evade function as best I could, the Kusabi helped himself to a Kei-hug anyways. I mean, who doesn't want a Kei-hug? ...Never mind.

Get the key from the cell and follow the butterfly.

At this point, I started losing my cool; hence why I picked up the Stone Mirror. I was thinking, then, that there were two parts in the run that the Stone Mirror could be useful for: one, for fighting the Kusabi at the end of this Hour (the run had been going so well that I really didn't want to risk dying), and two, for Hour X, when Stroller Grandma had a chance of appearing in the Stairs Hallway during Kei's side-mission (where she can easily kill you in Nightmare Mode if she does her random disappearing act through doorways). Thankfully, I didn't use the mirror after all, and it only cost me a second or two to pick up on my way to the Rope Shrine.

Fight the Kusabi. I use Track to spot him, and then have him come at me. I also use Blow for Kei's best damage. Check the butterfly door. Wake up, answer the phone, and go to sleep.

This Hour was a doozy. But my line of thinking went something like, "Well, at least I didn't die."

~~~ HOUR IX: THE UNLEASHING ~~~

As a side note, I always find myself holding my breath between Hour VIII and Hour IX because of the glitch that started happening more frequently during my runs. Instead of moving on with the game to Rei's Hour IX, I would - without rhyme or reason - spawn as Kei instead in the Foyer. I've recorded this happening, so if you'd like some extra Kei footage - or more specifically, would like to see Kei getting a fright of his own in the Bell Hallway - then it's worth a look.

Try the doors in Garden Corridor and fight Hidden Face Man. I use Track, then combo. Avoiding the Bell Hallway scare in finder mode, check Stained Corridor wall and take photo of Determined Man. Backtrack and fight Hidden Face Man. Go to Shrine Courtyard. Wake up and answer the phone twice. Sleep.

~~~ HOUR X: THE PIERCING OF SOUL ~~~

This is where I start Kei's side-quest to get the good ending. Move the dresser in Stair Hallway to get to Closed Room. Pick up diary and 00FILM. Climb down hatch and fight Woman Brushing. She appears randomly and gave me a bit of a hard time here. Once I finally spotted her, I had her come at me first so she wouldn't get knocked back through the staircase.

And back to the Hour objective. Go to 1F Book Storeroom and pick up the Pinwheel Key. Take a picture of the blue aura to receive Purifying Light. Get onto the roof and jump. Pick up tome and fight two Needle Women (one-shot). Exit and wake up. Develop photo. Approach Miku downstairs. Sleep.

~~~ HOUR XI: THE LAST PASSAGE ~~~

Grab 00FILM (very important for the battle at the end of this Hour). Head to 3F Book Storeroom to take photo of Screen Girl, then pick up tome. Place tome on Library altar. Grab mirror. Go to Engraving Shrine and fight Kuze Family Head. I usually have her warp closer once, then Slow and combo her, but this time, I missed my chance when she disappeared a little quicker, and I had to wait.

Set mirror on the altar. At the bottom of Abyss, fight three Priestess Girls. This is where the 00FILM comes in handy and would be an absolute bugger without it. I use Slow right before the short cutscene, then as soon as I'm in control again, I whip out Obscura to get all three girls in the same frame. Then click – all three go down in one shot. Works beautifully every time.

Exit out the Last Passage. Wake up. Enter Miku's room. Sleep. Go to Rope Palace to fight Rope Priestess.

Right after the battle, there's a glitch that can be done that mt2006st of Youtube calls the "muro glitch". While fighting the Rope Priestess, stand directly in front of the stone table, close enough to have Miku observe it and bring forth the dialogue box. Defeat the Priestess, and as soon as she begins to disappear and the screen gets darker, slam on the X button. If done right (unlike the unfortunate case of this run, in which I got a little too click-happy), the dialogue box will appear, but let it stay up for a second or so. This allows you to walk freely around the map, and thus lets you move during Mafuyu's short appearance cutscene. It doesn't work every time, but it's definitely a nice time-saver if it triggers.

Try doors twice. Wake up and talk to Kei. Check Yuu's desk. Talk to Kei again. Sleep.

~~~ HOUR XII: THE CEREMONY OF COMMANDMENT ~~~

Get Stake from Doll Altar East. Fight Flying Priestess Girl. This battle can go one of two ways: either she'll fly into view while I face towards the shrine, or she'll fly behind me to the right. Either way, I one-shot her, and that's that.

Move chest to get Stake from Doll Altar South. Head to Kimono Room to fight Woman Brushing (one-shot) and grab the loot to complete the side-quest. Good ending is a go from here on out, and Kei's fate is secure.

Get Stakes from Wooden Figure Room and Doll Altar North. Proceed down Abyss stairs to fight Kuze Family Head. I have yet to find a sure-fire strategy for her, and she gave me a bit of trouble with wall-warping. But I tried my best to make short work of her.

Wake up and check Kei's suitcase. Play tape. Check radio. Go to Miku's attic to grab items. Sleep.

~~~ HOUR XIII: CALLING OF THE TATTOO ~~~

Get Fragments from Projector Room, Garden Corridor, Blind Room, Hanging Prison, and Wooden Figure Room. Go forward to Engraving Shrine, fight Kuze Family Head. I have her teleport to me about three times, flash her to keep her still, then try to combo her. But Kuze Head strikes again, and I miss my combo. I get over-confident and try another combo after she recoups, but she is pushed behind the curtain and out of my vision. Strike two. I take her out with a last Crush shot. Place the mirror on the altar. Go to Last Passage.

~~~ FINAL HOUR: THE ABYSS OF THE HORIZON ~~~

Fight one, then two Flying Priestess Girls (one-shot). Continue on, and it's final boss time.

This battle has been my greatest source of suffering out of any other aspect of this run. If I failed a combo with her, it would ultimately make-or-break getting ideal end time. But here, I managed to get extremely lucky, and Reika was destroyed in four hits.

Once she's been defeated, it's time for a lovely ending in which Kei awakens from the Manor of Sleep curse, in comparison to Kei becoming an awful soot mark on the couch. And that's that! In case you can't tell, this run is really my pride and joy, so if you have any questions, comments, or just want to geek out about how cool Kei is, feel free to message me here on SDA. Thanks, all!