Game:

Clock Tower (1996)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 3:04:08

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0

Originally recorded: October 5, 2023
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Well, I have to say that I spent way more time on this game than I thought I would. After all, as it turns out, because I missed a hidden item on the first scenario, I was essentially locked out of all but the worst endings. Hell, the ending I did get -- Helen's D ending -- was basically nothing. Even the E Ending had more to it than D did.

So, with walkthrough in hand, I decided to try another playthrough -- this time with Jennifer instead. I think the real issue with this game is that so much of its progression basically requires a guide to make any progress. Even Human Entertainment themselves seemed to realize that: they did include ten hints within the game itself, which do help... IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND THEM! If there's anything I can appreciate about some of the game's I've livestreamed, it's that it has educated me thoroughly about the dark side of ambitious game design.

I think the funniest thing about the whole thing stemmed from Dari's continuous connection issues. Apparently, he'd missed most of the backstory during my first session... and finding out everything that was going down apparently just made him angrier and angrier. He says that it was almost like all the network errors and constant ads were protecting him from this new information.

That being said, I don't actually regret playing this game. I ended up being so exhausted after grabbing two more endings, I didn't bother rating it before calling it quits. Honestly, skipping the overly long credits didn't really give me much time to compose my thoughts. I ended up giving it a 7/10. The real problem is that I can think of two minor fixes that would've bumped it up a half point... and the worst part is that the game seems to have proven itself capable of such feats. The first would've been bumping up the number of save slots. Given just how important replaying this game is to seeing every ending this game has to offer, trying to juggle everything with a mere three saves feels impossible. Granted, the continue option does make things a lot more palatable. It's just a shame that it can't really save you from any no-win situations. My other suggestion would be allowing players to essentially skip conversations that we've already seen play out. I mean, the game clearly keeps track of game progression via a hidden auto-save: the fact that it remembered that I'd gotten Helen's E Ending last time only proves that. And you're able to skip the credits, which seems to imply that they could've managed skipping stuff. Hell, I would've been satisfied with a fast-forward function.

The next game in the series -- the spin-off known as "Clock Tower: Ghost Head" in Japan and "Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within" in the West -- is supposed to be infamously bad, to the extent where it has its own article on the Bad Game Hall of Fame website. Honestly, such a prospect is exciting to me and I'm hoping it wins the vote next year. At the very least, it should be spectacularly bad, which should be more entertaining than the ho-hum antics of this entry.

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