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discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?









Nestled away in the forest of Oslo sits a solitary mansion; quiet and still as a mausoleum. It lies in wait for new blood to inhabit its halls and bring life to its dilapidated corridors, and it just so happens on this day that it's thirst will be satiated.

Hey there weary traveler and welcome to an excursion into terror. For tonight's tale we're going to be taking a look at a very unique title for its time and the first entry in a somewhat maligned horror video game franchise, Clock Tower: The First Fear. Released originally for the Super Famicom in 1995, the first Clock Tower never saw a release outside of Japan and wouldn't get the attention it deserved till its sequel was released almost two years later (rather confusingly with the title Clock Tower). Now, there could be any number of reasons why it never saw further release though the original outing was somewhat popular in Japan; it could be that Human didn't feel the steep difficulty curve would agree with a foreign audience, or it could have been the fact it was a point and click adventure on a home console....or it could have been the child murders that take place in the game. The world will forever be in the dark as to the reasoning but thankfully fan translations have become available and the modern gaming public has been allowed this particular survival horror gem.

And indeed it very much fits the essence of survival horror as it pits the player against a seemingly unstoppable evil force without any real means to fight back. The player is only left with their wits and the hope of finding a safe hiding spot as they attempt to unravel the truth the lurks in the shadows of the mansion. But let's meet our cast of characters.


Jennifer Simpson plays our protagonist in the first fear. A shy, timid 14 year who was orphaned after her mother abandoned her, she has spent a number of years living at the Granite Orphanage. But fate has smiled upon her as she, and three other young ladies, have been adopted by the Burroughs family.


Laura Harrington is another 14 year old orphan joining Jennifer at the mansion. Laura can best be described as gentle and elegant in her lovely blue dress, but it seems she is closer friends with Ann than with the other two orphans, Jennifer and Lotte.


Ann is the oldest of the orphans at 15 and close friends with Laura. She is considered something of a de facto leader at the orphanage and seems to even carry this air in their new residence.


Lotte is the youngest of the group and close friends with Jennifer. Lotte is tomboyish and very stand-offish with other girls at the orphanage, which seems to be why she gets along so well with Jennifer who also distances herself from the others.


Miss Mary is the girl's escort and guardian up their new home. Courteous and kind, Miss Mary is pleasant company to have in this mysterious new home that welcomes the girls.

p.s. Please NO SPOILERS

discworld is all I read fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Feb 18, 2016

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discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?
https://zippy.gfycat.com/HarmfulTangibleApisdorsatalaboriosa.webm

Who's ready for an adventure? I know I am!

Bacter
Jan 27, 2012

Nie wywoluj wilka z lasu, glupku.
Nothing will ever be better than that murderous wee gentleman's little dance.

Drachir D Nalem
Aug 14, 2012
With how dark it was outside, there should be a lot more snow around that mansion considering it's in Norway. Only gets that dark that quick in winter time, and I am shocked that a japanese horror game does not represent my country perfectly.

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

Drachir D Nalem posted:

With how dark it was outside, there should be a lot more snow around that mansion considering it's in Norway. Only gets that dark that quick in winter time, and I am shocked that a japanese horror game does not represent my country perfectly.
Man, now I have to wonder how well a snowy back drop would work with this game because then the game could also probably have a hedge maze section as an homage to Kubrick's 'The Shining'. And that's a good segue-way to discuss the fact that there are quite a few homages and references throughout Clock Tower. Take our lead character Jennifer, her character's inspiration comes from a great giallo picture by Dario Argento called 'Phenomena' as played by the lovely Jennifer Connelly:


There are more references to that movie in the game, but it's just super interesting to me that a game took inspiration from that movie....cause as with most good giallo's it's a bizarre mixture of horror, thriller, and silliness. There are others but I might do some bonus video talking more about giallos later or hell, you guys can also discuss those as well.

Drakenel
Dec 2, 2008

The glow is a guide, my friend. Though it falls to you to avert catastrophe, you will never fight alone.
Glad to see another horror lp from you. Interesting you chose an actually good game this time though.

Interesting at the end you say you 'made no progress in finding your friends' when laura is pretty clearly not living there.

Drakenel fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Feb 2, 2016

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

Drakenel posted:

Glad to see another horror lp from you. Interesting you chose an actually good game this time though.

Interesting at the end you say you 'made no progress in finding your friends' when laura is pretty clearly not living there.
Well that's ummmmm because Laura is a jerk and not our friend in the least....also I probably just hosed up. Maybe I meant 'we made no progress in finding a friend still alive'. I do hope you enjoy the ride though because I didn't find too many 'good' LP's for this first game and even less that covered the PS1 re-release of the game.

MonsterEnvy
Feb 4, 2012

Shocked I tell you

Bacter posted:

Nothing will ever be better than that murderous wee gentleman's little dance.

Can you really call a child a gentleman.

Anyway along with his first appearance we got to see his super power of teleporting when no one is watching.

placid saviour
Apr 6, 2009
It's endlessly fascinating to me how a 32-bit game can creep me out so much.

I had the same realization with Baxter's Lone Survivor LP.

marshmallow creep
Dec 10, 2008

I've been sitting here for 5 mins trying to think of a joke to make but I just realised the animators of Mass Effect already did it for me

I remember when I first got to play this. It's such a charming little game, and so many perfect horror movie shenanigans can happen. I look forward to the many runs you're going to probably have to make of this.

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

Lotish posted:

I remember when I first got to play this. It's such a charming little game, and so many perfect horror movie shenanigans can happen. I look forward to the many runs you're going to probably have to make of this.
Oh, it shouldn't be that bad really; my plan was to get some endings on the way to the 'good' ending and to show off easily missed deaths/things of interest. But some of the endings are super similar and might not really require showing off. If anything I like that the game does have some variety when you replay it, if only for the fact that certain items are switched up sometimes. It's really just another unique layer in what was a SNES game.

PopcornSuicide
May 6, 2007
This is going to be awesome. Out of curiosity, is there a way to survive once the bird gives away your hiding spot, or even hide elsewhere? Or are you expected to face death and throw the blanket on the bird to progress?

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

PopcornSuicide posted:

This is going to be awesome. Out of curiosity, is there a way to survive once the bird gives away your hiding spot, or even hide elsewhere? Or are you expected to face death and throw the blanket on the bird to progress?
You can hide elsewhere, but at this point in the game the house is pretty much a mystery to you. With foreknowledge I'd say the next closet hiding place would be in the garage, but if this was your first time playing you probably wouldn't stumble upon it and I don't think you could circle back and try to hide in the shower where Laura's body is. Really, this game has a very steep learning and difficulty curve.

Also the next update will be coming tomorrow; I think it turned out just as exciting for our poor Jennifer.

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?
https://zippy.gfycat.com/SmartHelplessHammerheadshark.webm

Welcome to the halfway point of the game!

coleman francis
Aug 8, 2007

Tap tap
The ketchup bottle
None will come
Then axolotl
Hair Elf
If you don't actually look at Ann, the waveform never collapses and she doesn't die.

ElTipejoLoco
Feb 27, 2013

Let me fix your avisynth scripts! It'll only take me a couple horus.
Really wish you posted in the New LP Announcement thread whenever you decided to start your threads, Niggurath!

I'm always confused by people deciding to hang around in the room with a bird happily chirping a death threat at you. I wouldn't trust a Rhoomba that kept squeaking "I'mma sever your tendons!," either.

I wonder if Clock Tower indirectly inspired Dead Rising: Chop 'Till You Drop's grenade-toting parrots.

Bacter
Jan 27, 2012

Nie wywoluj wilka z lasu, glupku.

coleman francis posted:

If you don't actually look at Ann, the waveform never collapses and she doesn't die.

I actually AM getting kind of a vibe like that. People die if we see them die. We're creating reality, man!

Kangra
May 7, 2012

Lotte is derived from Charlotte, but makes a bit more sense as a nickname when it's pronounced with two syllables (as it is in Norwegian, see also Austrian Lotte Lenya).

Scissorman is reminiscent of the tailor from Struwwelpeter who cuts off your thumbs if you suck them. That guy is tall and slim, unlike our pursuer, but he carries similarly big scissors.

Phanos
Jul 24, 2006
So who made the sandwiches?

Kangra posted:

Lotte is derived from Charlotte, but makes a bit more sense as a nickname when it's pronounced with two syllables (as it is in Norwegian, see also Austrian Lotte Lenya).

Scissorman is reminiscent of the tailor from Struwwelpeter who cuts off your thumbs if you suck them. That guy is tall and slim, unlike our pursuer, but he carries similarly big scissors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwrXoslbdew

What the gently caress is wrong with Germanic children's stories?

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

Kangra posted:

Lotte is derived from Charlotte, but makes a bit more sense as a nickname when it's pronounced with two syllables (as it is in Norwegian, see also Austrian Lotte Lenya).

Scissorman is reminiscent of the tailor from Struwwelpeter who cuts off your thumbs if you suck them. That guy is tall and slim, unlike our pursuer, but he carries similarly big scissors.
Yeah, I made a pretty dire mistake in an initial recording regarding Lotte being a boy when in reality she's just very tomboyish.

But I've heard the idea that the Scissorman idea is indeed based off the fairy tale, but the visual look also seems to make me think of the 1981 slasher film, 'The Burning' as it's main antagonist was a garden shears wielding burned grounds keeper:


Also I'd say if you enjoy slasher films and haven't seen 'The Burning' then you're doing yourself a grave disservice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lekxSn2RpnM

Phanos posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwrXoslbdew

What the gently caress is wrong with Germanic children's stories?
I suppose it all depends on what you think a children story is for? To placate them to sleep...maybe. But I see them more as a tool to warn children not to do certain things. I seem to bring up the Japanese yokai, the kappa, a lot but that water based demon which rips out your entrails via the b-hole was used to make sure kids didn't feel the want to go swimming at an early age when they were sure to drown. And hey, if my parents told me there was some frog man waiting to tear apart my butthole if I swam, I would never touch water again.

Likewise with Struwwelpeter, it seems to be trying to stop kids from sucking their thumbs but by actively threatening them with an unseen man carrying large shears.

Drakenel
Dec 2, 2008

The glow is a guide, my friend. Though it falls to you to avert catastrophe, you will never fight alone.
A lot of fairy tales were indeed warning stories. Grimms fairy tales in particular come to mind. Before the rather sterile environment a lot of western children live in today (Relatively) fear was an effective tool to keep children safe when they wandered off on their own as children are fond of doing.

Pimpmust
Oct 1, 2008

Näcken will gently caress you up, but you'll be like :vince:

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

Pimpmust posted:

Näcken will gently caress you up, but you'll be like :vince:
I especially liked how a similar water spirit was shown in Year Walk:

Gotta collect all them unwanted, drowned babies!

discworld is all I read fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Feb 7, 2016

Espresso Steampunk
Sep 27, 2008
Ah, how cool! It's been so long since I saw an LP of this game, and the last one I did watch through was the SNES version. I'm playing through Outlast, myself, and I'd like to think Clocktower's outstanding gameplay elements influenced it (and Alien: Isolation, and probably others I've never heard of) decades later, lucky for us. And also shower curtains will be scary forever.

RealSovietBear
Aug 14, 2013

Bears from Space
I've never bothered actually playing this game but I've seen a bunch of LPs of it. Curiously enough, never of the PS1 version so I'm hoping there are a few more surprises in addition to the zombie dude.

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

RealSovietBear posted:

I've never bothered actually playing this game but I've seen a bunch of LPs of it. Curiously enough, never of the PS1 version so I'm hoping there are a few more surprises in addition to the zombie dude.
Well hold on to your socks for pointless bedrooms and unnecessary zoomed in shots of crows! Really the changes to the PS1 version are sometimes a bit confusing and sometimes a bit goofy, like Scissorman's face showing up on the television static when you sometimes enter that living room near the start of the game. But it's still nice to show them off and see the things they cut from the SNES version.

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?
https://zippy.gfycat.com/OrganicQualifiedHerculesbeetle.webm

Ah, so this is the part in the mansion where they store all the plot.

Zenos Paradise
Apr 2, 2011

Did somebody say honeypot?
I'm digging this lp, op. It's pretty tense for an SNES game.

Sosogomi
Jun 1, 2011
Running away in the car just reminds me of the promise me and my bro made over Fatal Frame. "Don't come after me if I go missing in a haunted house." Though I guess in this case they all sorta got stuck together. Best to try to leave together.

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

Sosogomi posted:

Running away in the car just reminds me of the promise me and my bro made over Fatal Frame. "Don't come after me if I go missing in a haunted house." Though I guess in this case they all sorta got stuck together. Best to try to leave together.
You'll be happy to know that that was just one of two possible endings with the car. The other ending is ummmm a bit different.

Also the next video will be the end of the 'S' ending run, but i'll be doing a bonus video or two to show off the other endings and the odd things that come with that because the game can take some dramatic changes depending on what you do.

PopcornSuicide
May 6, 2007
Jesus, that video ending was creepy. Didn't think it was possible to get freaked out over what was originally a SNES game. Looking forward to more downer endings after this run.

No Gravitas
Jun 12, 2013

by FactsAreUseless

Niggurath posted:

https://zippy.gfycat.com/OrganicQualifiedHerculesbeetle.webm

Ah, so this is the part in the mansion where they store all the plot.

So at the end there: You see Ms. Mary and you die? No escape? Random instant death?

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

No Gravitas posted:

So at the end there: You see Ms. Mary and you die? No escape? Random instant death?
You can leave the room and then just go back in to see Ms. Mary mysteriously gone, you aren't locked into there but there's no real fun in that. Really the game has a few pretty surprising death moments, but only a few are inescapable....like ol' man cannibal in the cage (who'll we will find out more about in another ending). Like the game can be a dick, but very rarely.

Hel
Oct 9, 2012

Jokatgulm is tedium.
Jokatgulm is pain.
Jokatgulm is suffering.

Niggurath posted:

You'll be happy to know that that was just one of two possible endings with the car. The other ending is ummmm a bit different.

Also the next video will be the end of the 'S' ending run, but i'll be doing a bonus video or two to show off the other endings and the odd things that come with that because the game can take some dramatic changes depending on what you do.

Is this game like The Fear? Do the endings "change" the story up to that point because of who did what for whatever reason, or is the "base story" always the same and just the outcome changes. Having only heard of this game it's nice to finally see it, great work.

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

Hel posted:

Is this game like The Fear? Do the endings "change" the story up to that point because of who did what for whatever reason, or is the "base story" always the same and just the outcome changes. Having only heard of this game it's nice to finally see it, great work.
Oh, it's nothing quite as dramatic as that; the resolution to the story is relatively the same but it depends on how much info you uncover that determines what happens in the ending. It's not like in the Clock Tower novelization where Jennifer ends up giving birth to reincarnated Burrow twins...which I totally makes me think of that one horrid ending from Haunting Ground.

Mraagvpeine
Nov 4, 2014

I won this avatar on a technicality this thick.
Wait, there's a Clock Tower novelization?

Pladdicus
Aug 13, 2010
It has been way too long since I've watched a Niggurath LP. WIll be following with interest, I have a lot of love for this game, despite never playing it myself.

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

Mraagvpeine posted:

Wait, there's a Clock Tower novelization?
Well I was a bit incorrect, the adventure novels were actually for Clock Tower 2:


And it apparently was translated: http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/cthelen.htm

MonsterEnvy
Feb 4, 2012

Shocked I tell you

Niggurath posted:

You can leave the room and then just go back in to see Ms. Mary mysteriously gone, you aren't locked into there but there's no real fun in that. Really the game has a few pretty surprising death moments, but only a few are inescapable....like ol' man cannibal in the cage (who'll we will find out more about in another ending). Like the game can be a dick, but very rarely.

Guy is cage is super escapable. You just have to have a food source other then you on you.

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discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

MonsterEnvy posted:

Guy is cage is super escapable. You just have to have a food source other then you on you.
;) I know and it all will be covered in the ending videos; but there is a way to make it inescapable if you don't get the ham from the fridge.

discworld is all I read fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Feb 12, 2016

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