One of the biggest cogs in the evolution of Japanese survival horror. Clock Tower creates a point-and-click version of the classic slasher flick. SOCIAL MEDIA: / nitrorad / nitroradofficial / nitrorad #ClockTower #SNES #Horror
NOTE: The annoying scream may have been caused by a disc scratch or something. I watched playthroughs online and it didn't happenin them. However, those playthroughs were emulated. So I can't say for certain whether it's just my copy, or if it's a glitch that was in the original physical release. If anyone knows, please tell me.
being very familiar with what disc scratch can do to the audio for PS1 games, it definitely seemed like an issue that would be cause by a scratched disc by the way it looped. i can't be 100% certain as i have no way to verify it myself but i think it's safe to assume that it was just a problem with your copy
The most scared i felt in a non horror game was when i was running from bandits in pathologic 2. The game loop of getting vital loot from dangerous places and harsh punishment for dying meant that i was terrified of bandits even if i had a weapon that could one-shot them. Getting close enough to use it meant that if you ever miss, you will very easily get killed instead because you have the same amount of health as the enemies and can get one shotted instead. Even running away is stressful as all hell as backstabbing is a reliable one shot both for you and your enemies. I kind of wish this philosophy got adopted in some way in horror.
About how your friend survives if you don't look, I've heard something similar about cave story and here's my explanation for both of them: Schrodinger's Cat. Basically, when the scream happened, your friend is in a state of being alive and dead at the same time. As general game/movie rules go, especially for horror, a character cannot be declared officially dead until a body with face or the moment of death is shown. You can say that they're dead, the characters can think they're dead, but there's always a chance for them to come back if neither case happens. Therefore, if you observe the window, you've "opened the box" and the duality of their state collapses back into one. You see your friend die, therefore their death is canonically confirmed. If you ignore the window, it is "implied" that they "might be" dead, but you cannot be sure because you didn't see it happen. You don't have proof. The state of being alive and dead at the same time is therefore maintained, opening the possibility that your friend survives and comes back later.
I was thinking about Schrodinger's Cat as well, but I don't think the theory applies as well when someone other than the writer has control over variables in the story. If the game only had one, unalterable storyline then there wouldn't be a problem. The issue here is that you can create different scenarios, experiments, if you will, where the exact same thing happens: you interact with the exact same objects, you find the exact same key items, the rooms are in the exact same locations (the latter two the game's RNG permitting), yet, when you get to the window and hear the scream, checking and not checking the window yield two wildly different outcomes. In the game's universe, nothing has happened between these two "scenarios" that would affect the outcome of your friend's battle with Scissorman, as they are both the exact same, and Jennifer can't do anything from the window in that instant to change the outcome either. The outcome of a different location's "scene" should not be different because you did something at this location's "scene" at the exact same time, there is no correlation at that moment.
You can trigger deaths of friends in various other rooms. To get the S rank, you need to not hit these death triggers 3 times so one of your friends is alive at the end. Such as not going into that bathroom and opening up the shower curtain.
One time, Schrodinger was pulled over by a cop for having a dead cat in his trunk. The cop asked, "Hey, did you know there's a dead cat in you car?" And Schrodinger said, "Now I do."
I'm surprised you didn't say anything about the corpse in the taxidermy room. If you look in the cabinet on the SNES version, it doesn't do anything, but the PSX version actually had it get up and try to kill you (in one hit, no less)
It pops up in the snes version. Its a dead corpse with a yellowed out face. I checked the cabinet 2 times and then for some reason I checked a 3rd time and the dead body was in the cabinet but it doesn't get up and attack.
I played this game back in my college days. This was a really scary game and I commend the creators for it. Never have I ever been scared of a horror game on a SNES ever. I too own a repro cart of Clock Tower, and the PS1 title, and Clock Tower 3.
My first time playing the clock tower series was 2 when I was 8 years old and oh my god how foolish I was. I was playing my dad's old horror games from his ps1 stash and clock tower 2 was the first game I picked. I swear to god I have never screamed so much when I thought I got away from the scissorman when he appears right in front of me or one of those "surprise mother fucker" out of a hiding spot like out of an elevator or a display case.
This game is amazing and still holds up today!! The atmosphere and tension is amazing!! :D Too bad every time they try to remake it or spiritually sequel it, it turns out trash... (See Night Cry.)
Fun fact: The fog isn't even using Mode 7. It's instead relying on moving scroll values at every scanline. That's how most distortion effects on the SEGA Mega Drive are done too.
@@MrMarinus18 It's both: color subtraction and it's moving each scanline (sine wave parallax). You can have 8 channels in what's known as "HDMA" or H-Blank Direct Memory Access, which allows for layered effects.
Ey would you look at that, Jennifer Connolly playing a girl named Jennifer in a movie referenced in a video about a girl named jennifer that also shared the same name as jennifer in another game referenced for similarities! JeNnIfEr
@@NitroRad I apologize for the off-topic comment, but you know the screaming at 14:20? That isn't supposed to be in the game, so you seemed to have encountered an error. It can happen with improper loading. You know when files seem like they work properly, but then something happens during the transfer that messes it up? That might be why the scream is so unusual. I put this here so you can hopefully see it. Have a good day/evening/night, Nitro Rad!
Jai: I can confirm that name is most likely pronounced Ba-rows. How do I know? My last name is Barrow. It's a common last name in barbabos which is where my dad is from.
Coming back to look at this after the news of the WayForward Clock Tower remake that was just announced, it'll be cool to actually have an official english release of this game!!
Hitsu It basically dealt with these alien shrooms where their goal is to wipe out the Mushroom Kingdom in the past and present. One scene actually has them wipe out a town in the past, which you don’t find out until later in the game.
1-It starts with Peach getting kidnapped (of course)...but it's pretty scary. Peach is supposed to come back from an experimental time travel, Mario and Luigi go to the spot where she's supposed to arrive...and the time machine arrives half destroyed and with a ferocious alien inside it 2-The first location Mario and Luigi visit is a destroyed village where Toads are being abducted by UFOs. They manage to rescue a survivor...and he instantly gets abducted as well. 3-One of the dungeon is a fuel plant. How do the aliens get fuel? They SUCK IT OUT OF TOADS, who become lifeless shriveled purple mushrooms in the process. 4-You eventually visit another Toad town, which has been razed to the ground as well. 5-You find out in the end (spoiler ahead) that everything you did was going along the plan of the villain Peach defeated at the start of the game to come back to life.
I was a bit weird when I was little. I had a huge crush on the girl, I was heartbroken someone was trying to kill her with big scissors. Even though I was super scared I braved it through just to get her to save at the end. I cried when she died from my mistakes and I felt incredibly guilty. I was like 7 at the time and beating this game was my biggest achievement as a kid I felt like a hero. I thought to myself "this is how Mario feels like", going through hell just to save the girl. When I found out there was a sequel I was like "oh man here we go again."
14:19 That sounds it skipping, like when a game crash and the last sound skips. That had to be a error. You know when files seems like they worked probably, but then something happens during the transfer that messed it up. I think something along those lines happened.
I tried this game last Halloween, and I confidently knew that a 16 bit game could never creep me out lol even as a 30+ year when scissor man first appeared it genuinely startled me, I had no knowledge of him beforehand, I had the lights off, I was alone, the lack of music, the loud footsteps had built up some uneasiness without me being aware of it, when scissor man first dropped through the ceiling, it definitely got me, also when I was in the garage hiding up on the shelf and you think he's left, then he crashes through the roof right next to you! I was genuinely impressed with this aspect.
Out of any horror series that’s been reviewed; this one actually got me really invested and to fall in love with a series that I’d never really care about beforehand. Good job Nitro.
Human Entertainment actually mostly split into two: Grasshopper following Suda 51 which was mostly new blood to the company, while the old guard reformed into Spike and inherited most of the IP, except for Clock Tower itself which ended up in Capcom's hands only to be immediately squandered. Spike then later merged with Chunsoft to become Spike Chunsoft!
The Clock Tower games (at least the first ones, possibly not The Struggle Within or 3) seem to be heavily inspired by Argento and giallo movies in general. I noticed the Suspiria stained glass scene in one of the Clock Towers (I can't remember which one, lol, it's been awhile)
One of my favorite games ever. I even held a presentation about it during my game education, because I think it did so many things right for a horror game, especially such a early one.
I remember watching Retsupurae do commentary on that game. They did a bunch of old point and click horror games, like Darkseed. Harvester was my favourite of the bunch. That might be something I'd consider eventually, doing those games. But I want to get every major horror game on PS2 out of the way first.
You do know you can't rely on the uh... run button, right? It's only for short bursts to escape, and if you run more than half a room length, or so, your character stumbles and falls to the ground, YES there is a run button, but adding in the delay from falling, it's not much better than walking.
I modded my SNES Classic at launch for this game. I haven't even triggered the courtyard reveal of Scissorman, thanks for showing the more obscure events!
12:04 schrodinger’s cat. It could be a fake body shoved through a window with a tape recorder strapped to it until you decide to check it to confirm it for yourself. Also I never played Freddy fish but I know Pajama Sam and spy fox.
Or, Once You go to the Window to check it - the Girl Fighting Scissor-Man Looks at that same second to see you - Gets Distracted and Thrown Out the Window...
14:25 just to make fun of the sound lol *Game Director, "Cut! Cut! There is a fire alarm going off!" Scissor Man "Oh shit! I left the oven on while I was cooking before we did the bath scene. Let me get the fire extinguisher." Laura "What!?! Why now! I gotta go in one hour. I got work after this" :/
I'd love to see more of these fan-art scenarios, they add to the whole thought of imagination about different what-ifs on the game in quite humorous turns.
Clock Tower... Criminally underrated horror series in my opinion. There's just something about not being able to fight back just adds to the punch of the horror.
I've been looking for the Freddie Fish Games for YEARS like you don't know how long I've been aimlessly searching!!! Thank you for referencing it I absolutely loved those games back when I was little! Fond memories follow me when it comes to that game 🎮
Honestly NitroRad is an awesome reviewer! Every reviewer nowadays sound so damn fake with their fake happy cheerful, scared voice. Also Rad explains everything so well and adds more details in the explanations! This guy is a fantastic reviewer!
clock tower has problems, sure, which you pointed out very elegantly! but goddamn, that SOUNDTRACK. the music in the original clock tower is bone-chillingly scary, and it’s incredibly effective at setting up fear when the scissorman arrives. it’s so instantly iconic and i love it so much.
Hey man, just wanted to say that you're series on Clock Tower is genuinely one of my favorite on all of RU-vid and I find myself returning to this video specifically on the regular. I am oddly fascinated by the first Clock Tower especially, one of the best Gothic Fiction kind of video games ever, in my opinion, and I feel like you did this game absolute justice by being generally sincere about it. Love that, great work.
I was just looking for a Clock Tower video on your channel yesterday, and was sad when I didn't find one. I hope you do the sequels, and the games it inspired, like Remothered.
Wow, I’m so glad you reviewed this game! This was one of the first horror games I ever played, and I still have fond memories of it. Also, I had some of those graphical glitches on my rom, as well as some freaky flickering in the bathtub room.
"What? you got MURDERED? Well I didn't see it Happen so Clearly your Alive" "That logic makes no sense" "Well I'm also...like talking to you right now so..." "...okay fair"
Your videos have gotten so much better than your first ones, nice job. 2D horror is so fascinating, it feels like the safe, colorful Nintendo has been invaded by some interloper. Like Silent Hill 1, the crudeness of the graphics just makes kt more alien and unsettling.
If I had a nickel for every time nitro rad reviewed a game starring a orphan girl named Jennifer I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice
About Sweet Home being the inspiration behind Resident Evil, it was just Capcom refusing to acknowledge Alone in the Dark's heavy influence on the game. After Shinji Mikami was laid off by Capcom, he finally admitted that Alone in the Dark was Resident Evil's inspiration, not Sweet Home, because that was just Capcom being chauvinistic and taking people for idiots. As for Clock Tower, it is a huge love letter to Dario Argento's movies, from Deep Red (1975) to Opera (1988), which is not surprising considering he is quite popular as a horror film director in Japan. Suspiria (1977) for instance left a huge impression on the japanese audiences.
Maaaan, I remember going through the first few games years ago during a particularly cold and quiet winter. I'll tell ya, when the game is the only sound around, it really enhances the experience. Spot on review! On the topic of 2-D Point and Click horror games, have you ever checked out the Chzo Mythos series? The director's cut pack is free, and I think it's right up your alley. Thanks for the content!
Clock tower if my favorite horror game.. Ive known it before jontron even played the game.. Thank you for making this vid so clock tower can be heard again
Good luck with Clocktower: Ghost Head If you plan on reviewing that one...it had absolutely nothing to do with the other games and it’s one of the most shameless Resident Evil ripoffs I’ve ever seen
I have a slight bit of affection for Ghost Head, due to having watched a stream of it by a RU-vidr I liked that's no longer around. But yes, Ghost Head is objectively awful.
Ghost Head had an interesting setup with the twins and Bates was pretty good. Everything else was soooooo wasted. Including the dev team when they were making it.
I don't really see how it's a shameless RE ripoff just because of the zombies, they are so much more ridiculous and bizarre than Resident Evil, it is pretty bad but I do think it is so bad that it is good and also aware of that and trying to be absurd and surreal, though it is also a rushed game that ended up legitimately bad in ways that the previous Clock Tower games were not because of it, at least after the first section of the game which was good and creative.
Been waiting for you to talk about this series. Got into this series and Silent Hill my Junior year and I've been a huge fan of classic psychological survival horror games since. You should play the other playstation clock tower games. I think they are way better than the 1st.
I was just watching Jontron's old review of this and went looking for a clip of the intro when I noticed at the top of the search that you posted this 6 hours ago...Interesting how it all comes together.
One of the first games I ever played on an emulator with my friends back in high school. Today it’s nothing special but back then it was pretty intense. If you lingered too long you’d hear scissor man snipping his scissors which set the panic in to scramble. Was a great game. The first actual scary game we played but never alone, goes to fatal frame.
Can people thumbs this up so Nitro sees this? Dude -- I really want you to review Shadow of the Colossus. I'd love to hear your opinions on something so esoteric and beautiful. Peace man, and congrats on the success - i still remember when you had just 10 thousand subscribers XD nice one
Nitro, please. My body can only take so much amazing horror game goodness at a time. I might perish before Halloween if you keep these sick retro horror game choices up.
Makes me really interested in see you do a review of the Spiritual Successor game NightCry. Man that game is a complete train wreck. P.S. don't know if you ever seen me mention this, but I'm a solo indie developer who created an RE7 style survival-horror game called FROSTBITE: Deadly Climate and I'm currently working on my next horror game which will take more inspirations from the Silent Hill games (especially number 4). Anyway if you ever feel like giving my Frostbite game a play, it is completely Free on Steam.
Your mention of Sweet Home was my first exposure to the game and it's one of my favorite RPG's now. I'm looking forward to giving Clock Tower a try, thanks for being Rad Nitro Rad.
So glad I accidentally found your channel in the suggested videos. Binge watching your videos starting from when you started the channel. A couple a dozen videos in, I'm hooked. Subscribed.
@@lunatic0verlord10 Its just eh... i just dont know if i am gonna buy it, if it cant get the art right, it would ruin my immersion to the game. The original game uses great art based on "Phenomena 1985" horror movie. Where the rerelease seems to use very bland manga art. I will see but i doubt i will buy it if thats how its gonna end up as. Will just stick to SNES classic!
This game made an impression on me. Cousins got me into emulation when I was 7 or 8. Discovered tons of series and games I love to this day. In high school I heard of Clock Tower through the fan translation. Wasn't into point n clicks or horror games (besides Castlevania) but took a chance. Stuck w/me. It gives such a richly mysterious world. The multiple playthroughs show you bits of what's going on, then you can piece it all together even on a playthrough that won't have all the same story details. The story's underrated, like it's not super duper layered like self indulgent modern edgy arthouse games but it's unsettling, keeps you wondering, makes your brain click when you find a new bit of the story, it's like being a detective. The whole time you can't help but wonder and think about all the atrocities committed in this mansion, and finding how it relates to Jennifer is gold. Mrs. Barrows is an amazing villain, like an improved take on Mrs. Voorhees. You hate everything she does but can understand her motivation deep down, and that's part of what makes her such a threat in my mind. All that and seeing Jennifer's peers getting killed so brutally it all makes you wanna see her escape... yet that curiosity of the setting and story motivates you to search just as much. It's wild to me how well they executed this at the time, on top of there being no games before that did it like this.
Clock Tower is too scary for me to watch, but I left a like because I could tell how much effort you put into this video just by watching 20 seconds of it! Keep up the great work!
Dude, your production quality has gone through the roof over the years. Good work, as always. I get excited whenever I see you uploaded something new. Also, Freddy Fish was my favorite game as a kid. It got me into the point and click adventure genre pretty much instantly.
"Clock Tower is like Freddie Fish. Who remembers Freddie Fish? Those games were sick" - Nitro Rad (Freddie Fish was awesome btw. I think I even played the specific one you show footage of)
To answer your question, I use to play Freddie Fish when I was a kid, and Putt-Putt, and Spy Fox, and Pajama Sam. I loved those games when I was a kid, of course now a days since I can play them on Steam, they are super easy to figure out now compared to back then.
What a coincidence, i was talking to my friends about Clock Tower just yesterday since they haven't heard about the game and the it's infuences as one of the first survival horror games. Nitro Rad always delivers.