Fans have released a ROMHack which translates the allegedly cursed game Kowai Shashin: Shinrei Shashin Kitan into English for the first time ever.

Kowai Shashin originally released on the original PlayStation back in 2002 by the plainly named “Media Entertainment Inc.”. Players take on the role of a young girl named Hiori and are tasked with exorcising the spirits found in photographs.

Experience the infamous haunted kusoge in English for the first time! Will you see Hiori's story all the way to the end? Kowai Shashin available now!!

Translation, hacking: @SnowyAria
Hacking teacher: @EsperKnight
Image editing: @blametherobotshttps://t.co/wTMLZXFMqH pic.twitter.com/afcxKpDTM6

— SnowyAria (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧🏳️‍⚧️ (@SnowyAria) December 31, 2021

What makes the game eerie is both the way the gameplay is achieved as well as urban legends surrounding the game’s development. First of all, players search for these ghosts in what appear to be actual photos. The photos are distorted thanks to the image’s compression into the game, and have also been censored to crop out faces of real people.

According to rumor, these photos are actual “spirit photographs” a popular phenomenon in Japanese pop culture that allege ghosts will show up in photographs featuring haunted places or individuals. According to reddit user “shimasterc“, a member of the development team is rumored to have died under mysterious circumstances while working on this game.

While such an old game might lack the polish horror fans expect from more recent titles like Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, there’s no denying that the old school graphics lend an appropriate eeriness to the game.