Well, well, my creepy kiddos! It seems Old Man Time has seen fit to rewind our clocks back to circa 1997, when the scissor-wielding survival horror of Clock Tower first sliced its way onto the PlayStation. As your nostalgic Nightmare Nanny, I simply couldn’t resist summoning this fondly remembered frightfest from the foggy mists of my memory Crypt. So grab your pointiest fountain pens to stab psuedo-Freddy Kruegers, and let’s revisit the delicious terror of this pioneering panic simulator!
Ah, Clock Tower – the most traumatizing babysitting gig this side of five nights at Freddy’s. Back in 1995, the Super Famicom original delivered overhead point-and-click scares centered on evading its slasher antagonist, Scissorman. But for my money, the PlayStation version honed that delectable cat-n-mouse dread to perfection.
Trapped in a gothic mansion stalked by the maniacal Bobby Barrows, protagonist Jennifer Simpson spends most of Clock Tower cowering behind furnishings and evading ol’ Scissy’s oversized shears. This pioneering emphasis on flight over fight retained the helpless atmosphere of the original. The PlayStation’s 3D graphics also intensified the uncanny interior spaces, providing gloriously creepy corridors to be chased down.
But for me, the pièce de résistance was the aptly titled “panic mode.” With the push of a button, Jennifer freaks out – colliding with walls, hyperventilating, and generally losing her shit. The more she panics, the clumsier she becomes, often triggering cacophonous falls that attract her scissor-happy pursuer. This stroke of genius added immeasurably to the terrifying powerlessness that permeated the experience. Even today, few games capture the unbridled hysteria of confronting a slasher so effectively!
Yes, while rough around the edges, the first Clock Tower sequel remains one of the most memorable horror gambits on Sony’s debut console. It offers an eerie window into the road less traveled after Resident Evil went full Hollywood. This scare simulator prized atmosphere and evasion over heavy artillery, and the genre is better for it. So stab a pencil into Scissorman should he return, sip some soothing tea to calm rattled nerves, and always remember – old horrors never die. They just snip away into our nightmares, patiently waiting to savor our sweet suffering once more!
