Clock Tower: The First Fear

My last post focused on what I consider to be a perfect game, making it the best game ever created. This time, I want to focus on another game, another old game(go figure) that manages to upstage just about everything out there today.

Clock Tower manages to be chilling from the very get-go, with this beautifully done title screen.

Clock Tower for the Super Nintendo is a survival horror video game( games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil belong in this category) that was created in 1995 by Human Entertainment. Clock Tower, unlike most games at the time( and games now for that matter), has a complex mature storyline that continues to fascinate me. A lot of Clock Tower's story ad character mechanics can be attributed to the game's main inspirational source: Italian Giallo horror movies of the 70's and 80's, particularly the films of Dario Argento(Suspiria, Deep Red, Phenomena...etc).

The reason for this post is this. How does a 16-bit video game for the Super Nintendo made in 1995 manage to be scarier, more frightening, more chilling, and more eerie than anything made before or after it? Well maybe before is a dumb question, but after?

There are a lot of aspects that contribute to this game's scare factor, so I'll start with the gameplay and graphics. First off, the graphics are among the best on the console, as well as anything produced during the whole decade. They're moody, atmospheric, dark and foreboding. And above all, they're subtle.

Library

Children's Room

Storage Room

The Mannekin Room...Why would anyone have a room like this?

 Now, onto the gameplay. Here's where it gets real interesting. Clock Tower is a survival horror game where you are never, not once, given a single weapon to defend yourself. The only way you can is by mashing something called "The Panic Button" and hope to overpower your enemy. This aspect alone makes it creepier and more nerve-wracking than just about every other horror game. The game is played with a point-an-click interface, meaning you use a mouse-like clicker to point where the main character can walk to, to pick up items, open doors...etc. This gameplay makes the game play out very slowly, which only aids to the game's already chilling atmosphere. The game has multiple endings and room that are randomized every time you play the game, making it harder, inducing paranoia, as well as adding that much needed replay value.

The story and characters though, is where this game really shines. First, let's meet our main cast:

From Left to Right: Jennifer, Lotte, Ms. Mary, Anne, Laura

Jennifer and her three friends, Lotte(her bestie), Anne, and Laura lived at granite orphanage until a wealthy man named  Mr. Barrows adopted them all. Ms. Mary picks them up and brings them to the Barrows Mansion, a sprawling abode with two wings and a large clock tower built into it.

The mansion.

While the girls are waiting in the main foyer, Ms. Mary leaves to fetch their new father. But when Ms. Mary doesn't return, the girl begin to worry. And thus, the most used horror movie trope is already sprung: they split up to look for her. In a mansion. A mansion they're not familiar with in the slightest. The game now begins.

How every horror movie starts.

You play as Jennifer, very obviously named and modeled after Jennifer Connelly, who appeared in Argento's Phenomena. Depending on the way you progress through the mansion and its many rooms, you are treated to various outcomes. Like if you visit one of the bathrooms first:

Your friend Laura.

Or another living room instead, where you find one of your friends stuffed in a suit of armor:

Good Grief Laura.

Or, you can come cross this scene first. In a scene straight out of Argento's Suspiria, the stained glass sky light buckles, it cracks and breaks, something falls out of it, and you're introduced to someone new. 

"Pleased to make your acquaintance!"

Meet Bobby, aka the Scissorman, a deformed child wielding a giant pair of garden shears. Boy would a weapon come in handy right about now. Only options are to confront the maniac, or run away and hide. 

Once you evade the little creep, you have a chance to explore the place where the game's story is told by all the rooms inside. In one room you can find a broken picture of two baby twins, who both look disfigured. Somewhere else you find odd ceremonial robes. Then you find rooms like these:

This mural looks bizarre.

What place do demonic rooms like these have in a house?  What's goin' on here? Where did Miss Mary go? In one scenario you do find the elusive woman, whom comforts and assures you that everything is okay. She gives you a drink to calm your nerves, and very soon you become sleepy and pass out. You then wake up here:

Who the hell is this guy?

This ragged old man reveals himself to be none other than Mr. Barrows. He then starts reciting cryptic messages.

I think I'll be leaving now.

One of your friends comes to your rescue and frees you from your cage just before meeting her untimely demise at the hands of Miss Mary and her double barreled shotgun. You proceed to knock out the wench and make your escape.

By running around the mansions network of rooms and labyrinthine corridors, you eventually can come across this room. Upon noticing a painted over wall, you break the wall open to find a hidden room. A hidden room containing a long dead man. 

This man is actually Jennifer's real father, Dr. Walter Simpson, who happened to have a journal with him:

11. 10. 1986.
This is the 3rd day I, Dr. Walter Simpson, have been in here.
I'll not last long.
Before I die, I will record this...

There are twin children who are a blemish on this world.
When the lady was to give birth, I was called to this house.
She gave birth to two child... no, demons.
When they were born, they ate my right hand.
They were ill, their bodies deformed... they should have died.
But they lived...
I should have tried to...
Breathing is painful.
The air in this room is already gone...
They are in a cradle under the star...

Jennifer...
Jennifer...
Jennifer...

This tells the fact that Miss Mary used poor Simon to give birth to twin demons, and then imprisoned Jennifer's father in a sealed room. Hmm, if Bobby is one of the twins, where's the other one? Maybe you've been running into twin scissorman all night!

Upon exploring the mansion even more, and having various inevitable run ins with that scissor-wielding brat, you come across a room that looks vaguely familiar.

Remember that Mural?

Some kind of demonic altar/place of worship no doubt. But hey look, there's a star on the floor. Remembering Simon's words..."Cradle under the Star"...hmmm. By reading books in the library and other religious room, you learn to place an idol atop the altar, or a scepter in the vase, which triggers a mechanism that opens a door in the middle of the pentagram on the floor. Nifty. 

You climb down the newly uncovered ladder to discover a complex system of caves and caverns which lead you to discover the meaning behind Simon's words. But what's in the cradle?

Meet Dan. Bobby's morbidly obese fetal zombie monster of a twin brother. Mary's been bringing innocent children into her deranged mansion to be murdered by Bobby, sacrificed at the altar, and used to be absorbed into this demonic corpse laden shell of a body. A shell containing another being. Getting on with it, the fat baby chases you, and you inevitably trip at least twice(another cardinal rule in horror films). You, being the clumsy oaf you are, knock a can of kerosene down a hill while trying to escape. The kerosene is lit by of the many candles lighting the cave, and sets the monster ablaze. 

Long story made, well a little less long, Jennifer escapes the caves, and is pursued by Scissorman up into the Clock Tower of the mansion. The girl turns on the mechanism, turning the gears, and making way too much noise for the scissor brat to handle. Bobby holds his ears in pain, and takes a dive, falling into the Clock Tower's gears and getting crushed to death. Mary sure is pissed now as she rushes for you with a knife, but if you hold your own in a fight, you knock her back and she gets electrocuted by the mechanism. Everyone but you is dead, and you live happily ever after. 

I know this was a needless long post, but whatever, I'm a nerd. But moreso, I wish newer games would take cues from what made these retro game so brilliant. But, I'm not an optimistic man, so I won't hold my hopes up.

The Perfect Game

I still have yet to conclude my video game rant, but I wanted to go off on a tangent. Rarely have any video game reached a level of perfection, and in my opinion, only one ever has.

SUPER METROID

Nintendo's 1994 epic Super Metroid for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a masterpiece in every way, and the only title in existence to be worthy of that lofty claim. The Third installment in Nintendo's  famous sci-fi franchise has achieved perfection in every aspect, an accomplishment that no other game can brag.

Being an illustrator, I'll start out with the graphics and aesthetic. Super Metroid has an extremely cohesive design that excels in moody atmosphere, uniquely designed enemies and objects, detailed landscapes, and color harmony, as well as an excellently atmospheric musical score. Metroid, as a series, excluding the inevitable FPS downgrading known as Prime and that piece of steaming crap Other M, excels in atmosphere. The original 1986 NES classic Metroid has an almost unparalleled sense of isolation and empty eeriness, as does the 1991 flagship Gameboy title, Metroid II. Super Metroid doesn't feel quite as eerie or isolated in its design, but it definitely gives you a sense of unbridled isolation in its gameplay.

Super Metroid doesn't treat you like a baby, nor does it hold your hand and walk you across the street, unlike all the crap spewed out today by the gaming industry. There was once a time where gamers were treated as people with enough intelligence to figure things out on their own. Super Metroid throws you smack dab into the middle of an extremely hostile and equally expansive environment, a teeming planet known as Zebes. 

Zebes isn't called a labyrinth for nothing.

The real beauty of Super's gameplay is the fact that it challenges you without being ridiculously hard, or even too complicated to find your way around. Items and obstacles around the game's astronomically huge map are so perfectly placed that, if you just use that often neglected intellect a little, you can easily find out where to go next. Every room, every object, every item, every event, strategically placed for optimum experience.

Unique abilities and powerups keep the game fresh.

The story, especially for 90's Nintendo game, is unusually dark, but keeps it interesting. I really enjoy the fact the the main character, Samus Aran, is female, but this fact isn't exploited. Samus is a no nonsense chick who gets the job done, and doesn't care about looking pretty doing it. For those of you who don't know, the Metroid series follows the adventures of space bounty hunter, Samus. The original deals with Samus explorign the planet Zebes, to exterminate an artificial life form known as Mother Brain, and to destroy the ravenous parasites known as the Metroids. The sequel, The Return of Samus, tosses Samus onto the planet, SR388, home planet of the aforementioned Metroids. The Metroids on their home planet go through extreme metamorphosis, ranging from Alpha to Zeta, and Samus is tasked with exterminating them all, once and for all, ending the adventure by destroying their queen. on the way off the planet, she finds a Metroid hatchling, who thinks Samus is its mother, and decides to take it home for scientists to experiment on.

Super begins with Samus' recurring foe, the space dragon Ridley, stealing the Metroid hatchling after massacring the scientist crew, and taking it back to Zebes. Samus is then tasked with recovering the hatchling, and finds out that an old foe has been brought back from the dead. The game ends with one of the best story twists, and an unforgettable climactic battle. 

They sure grow up fast!

There are several games I own that I've only played through once, and may never play through again. Super Metroid isn't one of them. Super Metroid is the type of game, much like a favorite movie, that you just have to pull out and play every few months. I've probably palyed through the game at least 8 or 9 times, and never get sick of it. This is total testament to the importance of replay value.

Super Metroid has stood the test of time, and beats the ever-loving crap out of modern games. It doesn't have fancy 3d graphics, no cutscenes every 2 minutes, and most importantly, treats the person playing it as someone with intelligence. 

If Super Metroid is so perfect, why haven't modern games taken cues from it? Why hasn't Nintendo kept with it's perfect formula? You wanna know why? I'll tell you why. 

People are stupid.

What makes a good game? Part 1

Felt like ranting, especially because I feel as though the Video Game industry is totally suffering in almost every department, and most companies don't have the sense to even notice it.

So, what makes a good game? Really, it all comes down to gameplay. It has to be fun, simple to figure out, yet challenging, and hopefully something unique. The uniqueness is of course, the hard part, and unfortunately, this is where the industry is completely lacking.

I don't know about you, but I'm sick to death of the FPS genre. I solidly state that I wouldn't give a single flying crap if another one ever came out ever again. In order to captivate me with a FPS, you really have to blow me away story-wise, challenge-wise and fun-wise, as FPS games are the easiest formula in the entire medium. This is why they totally oversaturate the market.

Even though I hate FPS games now, I still like a few, but it's because they excel in other departments. Going way back, my first favorite would have to be Bungie's 1994 Mac Classic, Marathon, but more particularly, its sequel, Durandal. The gameplay is pretty average in the first, and is improved drastically in the sequel. But it won me over in Level Design, character design and weapon variety.

What other game can brag dual wielding Shotguns?

But, high above all other aspects, is the incredible storyline, revealed to you, optionally, through computer terminals. This 'aint no run of the mill Halo story, or Doom plot, as much as I liked Halo 1-3 and Doom 3. This story deals with artificial intelligence, the concept of rampancy, ancient civilizations, and alternate realities and timelines. Heavy Stuff. I'll take this over Call of Duty any day.
---

 Secondly, is it just me, or have games stopped being fun? Sure, online gamers find it fun to kill each other over the the internet, but there's a point where it seems to become an obsession. Game have stopped being fun in both gameplay, and graphics. Briefly, I ask you: What looks like moe fun, the colorful, artistic, games of the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, or the gray and brown palette of just about every other FPS and action game?   Which ones below look outright fun, and which look dull?

Mcdonald's Treasureland Adventure- Suprisingly good game

Warioland 4- Excellent GBA Game.

Call of Duty # Whatever. Looks Grayyyt!

Gears of War- Solid game, same gray.

Well, that's part 1 for you. Next time I'll go over the ever important, but too often forgotten aspect of what makes a good game. Challenge.