The Clock Tower series is probably my favorite horror game series of all time!
It never gained the massive popularity of Silent Hill or Resident Evil, but it's a great series nonetheless!
The first installment of the series is very dear to me in particular.
You play as a normal 14 year old girl with no weapons at your disposal, being able to use only your environment or mashing the panic button when confronted by Scissorman. I remember it scared me so much when I first played it, and it took me years to muster up the courage to finally complete it!
I love the graphics so much. Each room uses its own backgrounds rather than the usual tileset method, allowing for very detailed environments. This is such a beautiful SNES game!
The 2nd game goes in a different direction regarding the atmosphere but keeps the general gameplay.
Continuing Jennifer's story, it aims for a more cinematic approach and does a pretty good job for an early PlayStation title!
Scissorman is even more dynamic in this game, he can pop up almost anywhere!
Ghost Head, or The Struggle Within, is a pretty polarizing title. In my opinion, the gameplay and graphics are a step backwards from the previous title, and the story is convoluted with unsatisfying endings, but the characters are great! I love the relationship between Yuu and her alter ego!
The English release also suffers from a very awkward localization attempt, but the one bright spot is the cast addition of Roger L. Jackson! He does a fantastic job!
Clock Tower 3 is a big departure from the series, gameplay and story-wise. Not only do you have direct control over your protagonist, it adds boss battles and magical girl elements!
A lot of work was put into the cinematic direction and motion capture. Thanks to those, the cutscenes are full of life!
These games introduced me to the movies from Italian director Dario Argento, which were a big source of inspiration for this series.
Going through his works and seeing which parts inspired what in the games is pretty fun!
The Clock Tower series is an interesting part of horror game history that's often overlooked, consider either giving one of the games a try or watching a playthrough if you're unfamiliar!