Before you read this, I suggest you google yourself a copy of the game. Play at night, in the dark, all alone. I want you to try it out and see what you can find and do. If you hate it, that's okay. I understand how someone can hate this, but if you like it, I'll feel great for sharing this with you. To talk about horror or review it, I've always felt is to spoil it in some ways. So if you've not played it I strongly suggest playing it.



I love horror. Something about being scared really does it for me. As much as I like being powerful in a game and fighting back, its just not that scary. I know you know that too. Think about it, you've got rocket launchers whats so scary about all the minions from hell? What if you were just a little girl and a creepy character chased you around, mysterious circumstances, and stuff right out of giallo italian horror at every turn? Well that's actually scary. It's the type of horror where something totally unexpected can happen at any turn. The trailer for Suspiria for example is all over the place. Ever see that fake trailer from the Sean of the Dead guys? I don't know why, but seeing that reminded me of that. Anyway Clock Tower, let's talk about it!



Now in order to play this I played the translation on super nintendo. Not necessarily the best way to play, but it does work. It is playable. And I enjoy this game. Something about the sheer terror it can put into you. A panic. Will I be caught and murdered? Can I hide here? What's this thing, oh no I instantly died for checking under a bed! That is Clock Tower. And I really enjoy it.

So gameplay is really easy to understand but I've yet to fully "get it." And I've played this off and on over the course of a few years. Every once in awhile I'll pick it up and want to try it again. So you point and click where you want the girl to move. It works the same for investigating items in the world too. Say you want to investigate a clock. Place the target on it and there you go. Not terribly difficult, unless you're being chased by the most sinister thing, yes thing, I've encountered yet. Scissor Man.



He's a man with a large pair of scissors and I wasn't expecting it at all. I had no idea what was in this game. I only knew the basics. It's horror, it's supposed to be tough to play, and people liked it. So I had to try it myself. In playing I encountered him and was swiftly murdered. Countless times. There is no way to fight back. No guns, no nothing. All you can do is shove him back occasionally. It's scary.

The storyline is pretty wild too. If you can get a little ways into the game you'll encounter some stuff that makes me smile. The type of torture and abuse and sinister plots that make up most hororr are all here. The game has many endings and I've managed to only scratch the surface. I can easily escape, but that's not really playing the game. Maybe I'm not doing it right. I'll explore around and search and look around and try to piece it all together. It's a very interesting world this game. I'll try to summarize it a little.



You're a little girl in an orphanage, you and a few other girls are adopted, and come to this giant mansion with a clock tower, and sure enough, its full of evil and the scissor man. Its up to you to uncovered whats going on, save the girls and yourself, and escape. It's not terribly difficult, as I've played it quite a bit and gamefaqs is right over there to help. I can very highly recommend this game. It's free, fun, and entertaining. That and its really spooky and sticks with me. Certain scenes that play out that I won't spoil really stand out. Like certain deaths and murders. Keep in mind I've seen a lot of horror movies in my day.



Sequel wise, Clock Tower has three direct sequels and one spiritual one. The game I'm talking about in this article was never released in the united states commercially. Strangely however, the second game was released here as "Clock Tower" on the playstation. Followed by another game called Clock Tower 2 that was a spin off on playstation. And finally Clock Tower 3 on Playstation 2. A game I had a copy of, that didn't work. Broke my heart to return it to the store. It was in the original box and was five dollars. Other than those three games there's also a fourth game called "Haunting Ground." It's very much Clock Tower in that you're a girl chased by villainous characters and can't fight back.

Awesome cover! I seriously like this.



So then, have you ever played Clock Tower? It's also known as Clock Tower First Fear, and just to clarify a second time the one on playstation called Clock Tower is not the same as this one.