Part 1: Foreword:

Foreword:



Clock Tower (Later Redubbed to Clock Tower: The First Fear)

The original game was developed by the now defunct Human Entertainment and released on the SNES in 1995. With an upgraded port later released on the PSX. As all the predecessors were, it is a point and click adventure/horror game with a smidgen of button mashing thrown in for good measure.

The game centered on Jennifer Simpson and her merry band of orphans who are adopted, en masse, by a Mr. Barrows/Burroughs who lives in a creepy old mansion known as the "Clock Tower". Things go south quickly as the orphans get separated and begin turning up dead. All thanks to the efforts of the game's primary antagonist and series staple:


That enemy being the "Scissorman". In his original incarnation, he is some manner of creepy midget/little boy thing with a gigantic pair of scissors of which he uses to gleefully murder teenage girls with.


Giant scissors. Not to be confused with hedge clippers. As that would be silly. The game revolves around Jennifer attempting to escape from the mansion sans giant sheers shoved through her torso and things get a bit more batshit from there.

A translation patch of the SNES version is floating around online if you're interested. It's actually a fairly creepy, well done game for being a 2D SNES title.


Clock Tower 2 (US: Clock Tower 1)

The second installment of the series, released for the PSX in 1997, was a direct sequel featuring Jennifer again mixed up in eminent peril and a string of murders involving a giant pair of scissors. The scissor man this time around, featured on the cover, is far more traditional slasher movie affair.


Though a fairly creepy game, it falls into the terrible pitfall most early 3D Playstation titles have: having aged horrifically to the point of being nearly unplayable.

This title was released in the US as just "Clock Tower", as the original game was never released in this neck of the woods and the dogma that numbering angers and confuses consumers caused the '2' to be dropped from the title.


Clock Tower: Ghost Head/Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within

This game is actually a spin-off which has almost nothing at all to do with its predecessors. Which is reflected as such in the Japanese, un-numbered title. It was given a '2' and equally retarded subtitle in the American release. Just to add further confusion.

This game featured a new heroine, Alyssa Hale, who is mixed up supernatural shit. The biggest issue being her randomly being possessed by a male alter-ego (signified by a glowing purple aura and speaking with the voice of a chain smoking 40 year old man).

It is, for all intents and purposes, a terrible game. Doesn't feature any sort of Scissorman. And can largely be ignored.

As can the rest of the series prior to this, as Clock Tower 3 follows the trend, having shit all to do with its prequels other than a name that will pop-up and there will...sort of...be something like a Scissorman. But, you'll prefer there was not by the time you encounter it...



Developed by Sunsoft and Published by the nefarious Capcom in North America. The game is a 3D free roaming (ie not point and click) survival horror game in the vein of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Only not nearly as good as either of those series on a bad day.


The game centers around Alyssa Hamilton, a fourteen year old, somewhat jittery English girl. That's about all you need to know for back story, as the rest is presented fairly naturally throughout the opening act.

Well, I think that's enough lengthy exposition nobody is going to read.

Though, there is one fairly key point regarding the director:


Kinji Fukasaku, a famed Japanese director. Best known for his work co-directing Tora! Tora! Tora and directing Battle Royale (ie that Japanese movie about schoolkids forced to kill each other on an island)

Other than one scene in a sequel to Battle Royale, this was his final work...

This game killed Kinji Fukasaku...

On that ominous note, let us begin...