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survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of Survival game, survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel l ...
point-and-click adventure An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...
video game series created by Hifumi Kono. The series includes four games in total. The first entry, ''
Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another build ...
'' (1995), was developed by Human Entertainment and released on the
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...
in Japan. Human Entertainment developed two more entries, ''Clock Tower'' (1996) and '' Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within'' (1998), which were released on the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divi ...
and localized outside Japan. The fourth and most recent title, ''
Clock Tower 3 is a survival horror video game co-produced by Capcom and Sunsoft for the PlayStation 2. Released in 2002, it is the fourth installment in the Clock Tower (series), ''Clock Tower'' series, and the first and only video game directed by Japanese ...
'' (2002), was by
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', ''Monster Hunter'', ''Street Fighter'', '' Mega Man'', '' De ...
and Sunsoft for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia o ...
. Gameplay in the series generally involves the player hiding and escaping from enemy pursuers without any weapons to defeat them. Scissorman is a reoccurring antagonist and sometimes the sole enemy in the game. Kono's inspiration for the first ''Clock Tower'' title came from watching Italian film director
Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and critic. His influential work in the horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as '' giallo'', has led him ...
's horror films, especially his film ''
Phenomena A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried ...
'' (1985). The game began as an experimental project with a low budget and small staff. It sold well enough to prompt a direct sequel which competed with
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', ''Monster Hunter'', ''Street Fighter'', '' Mega Man'', '' De ...
's ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' (1996). Developer Human Entertainment went out of business in 2000, after which Sunsoft purchased the ''Clock Tower'' intellectual property. Together with Capcom, they developed ''Clock Tower 3'' without creator Kono's input which was a critical and commercial failure. The ''Clock Tower'' games have received mixed reviews. They are often praised for their high levels of presentation and horror elements, but criticized for their cumbersome and archaic gameplay. The first game solidified Human Entertainment as a developer and heavily influenced the survival horror genre. Although no ''Clock Tower'' titles have been released since 2002, the series did see two spiritual successors. The first was in the form of '' Haunting Ground'' (2005) for the PlayStation 2 which was similar to ''Clock Tower 3''. The second was ''
NightCry is a graphic adventure survival horror video game developed by Nude Maker and published by Playism Games. ''NightCry'' is directed and written by ''Clock Tower'' series creator Hifumi Kono, and is considered a spiritual successor to the serie ...
'' (2016) for Windows, which was directed by Kono and crowdfunded through
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
. A film based on the series was rumored from 2006 to 2011, but never materialized.


Titles

* ''
Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another build ...
'' (1995) is the first entry in the series and was released only in Japan. It was directed by Hifumi Kono and originally released for the
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...
. An updated version, titled ''Clock Tower: The First Fear'', was ported to the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divi ...
,
WonderSwan The (ワンダースワン) is a handheld game console released in Japan by Bandai. It was developed by Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto Laboratory and Bandai, and was the last piece of hardware Yokoi developed before his death in 1997. Released ...
, and
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...
. The game has not been released outside Japan, although fan translations exist. The story follows Jennifer Simpson, a young girl searching for a way out of a mansion in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and th ...
while evading Scissorman. * ''
Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another build ...
'' (1996) is the second entry in the series and is known in Japan as ''Clock Tower 2''. The game was released for the PlayStation and Kono reprised his role as director. The story takes place in Norway and follows a variety of characters as they attempt to survive the return of Scissorman and uncover the mystery of his seemingly immortal state.''Clock Tower'' instruction manual, p. 3 (US, PlayStation).''Clock Tower'' instruction manual, p. 6–7 (US, PlayStation). * '' Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within'' (1998) is the third entry and is known in Japan as ''Clock Tower: Ghost Head''. Released on the PlayStation, it is the first entry not directed by Kono and is considered a spin-off in Japan, where it was not a numbered release. The story follows 17-year-old Alyssa Hale who suffers from multiple personality disorder with an alter ego named Mr. Bates. * ''
Clock Tower 3 is a survival horror video game co-produced by Capcom and Sunsoft for the PlayStation 2. Released in 2002, it is the fourth installment in the Clock Tower (series), ''Clock Tower'' series, and the first and only video game directed by Japanese ...
'' (2002) is the fourth entry in the series. Unlike previous entries by Human Entertainment, the title was co-produced by
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', ''Monster Hunter'', ''Street Fighter'', '' Mega Man'', '' De ...
and Sunsoft and released on the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia o ...
. The story follows 14-year-old Alyssa Hamilton who is part of a family lineage of female warriors who travel through time to defeat evil spirits.


Common elements

The first three games in the ''Clock Tower'' series are
point-and-click adventure An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...
games with
survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of Survival game, survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel l ...
elements. The fourth game is a pure survival horror game and departs from many of the series' classic characteristics. Throughout the series, gameplay is generally centered on hiding and escaping from enemy pursuers without any weapons. Normally, this enemy is Scissorman, a man wielding a pair of shears. When the player character is alarmed or frightened, the game enters "panic mode". During this mode, they become difficult to control, are more prone to tripping or falling, and are more likely to be killed. When not escaping from an enemy, the player explores the environment to solve puzzles and advance the narrative. Most of the titles feature a variety of multiple endings, encouraging repeated playthroughs.


History and development

The first game in the series, ''Clock Tower'' (1995), was developed by Human Entertainment with direction led by Hifumi Kono. He was inspired by the works of Italian horror film director
Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and critic. His influential work in the horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as '' giallo'', has led him ...
, and wanted to create a game in homage to his films. The game borrows many ideas from his 1980s films, and especially from ''
Phenomena A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried ...
'' (1985). ''Clock Tower'' was an experimental project for Human Entertainment and was developed with a small budget and staff. It was released on the Super Famicom on 14 September 1995 in Japan. The game sold well and was later re-released with some gameplay and graphical changes under the title ''Clock Tower: The First Fear'' on PlayStation, Windows, and WonderSwan. No versions of the game have been released outside Japan; however, fan translations exist. Human Entertainment began work on a sequel, ''Clock Tower'' (1996), also known as ''Clock Tower 2'' in Japan. With a team of about 30 people, it was their first game to utilize a
3D graphics 3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for t ...
engine, although team veterans preferred to have used 2D graphics instead. With the announcement of Capcom's ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' (1996) during development, the team was impressed and challenged themselves to create higher quality graphics. ASCII Entertainment marketed ''Clock Tower'' in North America as one of the first true horror games for the PlayStation console. It was released in Japan on 13 December 1996, North America on 1 October 1997, and in Europe in February 1998. The game sold close to half a million copies. Kono attributed some of this success to ''Resident Evil'' generating interest in horror games. The third game, ''Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within'', known in Japan as ''Clock Tower: Ghost Head'', was released in Japan in 1998 and North America in 1999. It was the first game in the series not directed by Kono, and released to critical failure. In Japan, the title is considered a spin-off. Human Entertainment went out of business in 2000, and Sunsoft became the owner of the ''Clock Tower'' intellectual property. A new game in the series, ''Clock Tower 3,'' was announced in April 2001, with Capcom co-producing it with Sunsoft. Japanese film director
Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking," Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty Yakuza film, yakuza films, typified by the Battles With ...
directed the
cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward th ...
s. The game was first shown at E3 in May 2002, where a non-playable demo was on show at the Capcom booth. Released in December later that year, ''Clock Tower 3'' was a commercial failure. Capcom had projected sales of at least 450,000, but by the end of 2003, it had only sold 122,022 units. ''Clock Tower 3''s commercial failure is speculated as the reason why Capcom and Sunsoft have not revisited the series since. Kono tried speaking to a publisher to run a reboot or re-release of the series, but they did not agree because they felt horror games were difficult to market.


Related games

Capcom's 2005 survival horror title '' Haunting Ground'' has been called a spiritual successor to the ''Clock Tower'' series by fans and critics. The gameplay has been compared heavily to ''Clock Tower 3'', but distinguishes itself by providing the player character with a dog companion which can attack enemies and solve puzzles. ''Haunting Ground'' was generally found to be average survival horror fare for the era, but the
sexual objectification Sexual objectification is the act of treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire. Objectification more broadly means treating a person as a commodity or an object without regard to their personality or dignity. Objectification is mo ...
of the main character, Fiona, has been repeatedly highlighted as one of the game's strongest elements. Critics felt that the game's voyeuristic presentation and gameplay make Fiona appear more fragile, building a disturbing atmosphere. Kono created his own interpretation of a spiritual successor in the form of ''
NightCry is a graphic adventure survival horror video game developed by Nude Maker and published by Playism Games. ''NightCry'' is directed and written by ''Clock Tower'' series creator Hifumi Kono, and is considered a spiritual successor to the serie ...
'' (2016), which features similar gameplay to the original ''Clock Tower'' games that he had directed. The game was crowdfunded through
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
with a $300,000 budget. It received mixed reviews, being cited for bugs and dated gameplay.


Reception

The ''Clock Tower'' series has received mixed critical reception across its history. In retrospective reviews, the first title, ''Clock Tower'' (1995), received praise for its haunting atmosphere but was criticized for tedious puzzles and exploration. Despite these criticisms, it is considered instrumental in establishing the survival horror genre and a creating a model for future horror games to follow. Its sequel, ''Clock Tower'' (1996), was met with mixed reception as well. The horror themes and atmosphere were well-received, but the game's point-and-click gameplay and slow pace were found to be inferior to the growing landscape of action games on the PlayStation, especially Capcom's first ''Resident Evil'' title, which was released the same year. The third title, ''Clock Tower II'', was met with unfavorable reviews. Critics heavily criticized the slow point-and-click interface and the flawed trial-and-error gameplay. ''Clock Tower 3'' received similar reviews to the first two titles. The graphics, atmosphere and storyline received positive reviews, but again, the gameplay was a point of criticism. Critics believed the boss fights and repetitive hiding and chasing gameplay mechanics were weak. Scissorman is often compared to
Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The n ...
from '' Resident Evil 3'' because he stalks his victims and disappears and reappears at various intervals throughout the games. He is also often identified as one of the scariest characters in video games because of his unrelenting nature and the difficulty to escape him.


Film adaptation

A film adaption of the ''Clock Tower'' series was first announced in June 2006. The film was to be directed by Chilean director Jorge Olguin. Todd Farmer, Jake Wade Wall, and David Coggeshall were set to write the script. In the pitched story, Alyssa Hamilton is called by her mother and told not to return home. After investigating, Alyssa uncovers that she possess a secret power enabling her to destroy evil servants that live off murdered victim's souls. She learns how to wield a weapon to defeat these evil forces. Production was set to begin in December 2006. Two years later, the film was set to begin production in November 2008 in Los Angeles by another studio. Martin Weisz was set to direct the film, and
Brittany Snow Brittany Anne Snow (born March 9, 1986) is an American actress. She rose to prominence after appearing in the CBS soap opera ''Guiding Light'' (1998–2001), for which she won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress and was nominated for two ...
would star in it. In November 2011, David R. Ellis said that he was directing the film. No news has been announced of the film since, and Ellis died in 2013.


Notes


References

{{Sunsoft Adventure games Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 1995