Clock Tower: The First Fear

Clock Tower: The First Fear is a survival horror classic that's equal parts tense, creepy and janky. You play as Jennifer Simpson, an orphan who along with her friends, gets adopted by the mysterious Simon Barrows. Things go south real fast when they arrive at his mansion nicknamed the Clock Tower because there's a giant clock tower. Jennifer's friends start disappearing and soon she's being hunted by Bobby Barrows (a.k.a. Scissorman) a creepy kid with a giant pair of scissors who just loves chasing you through the mansion. The goal? Survive, uncover the dark secrets of the Barrows family and hopefully escape alive, tho that's easier said than done.

GAME DATASHEET
Name	Clock Tower: The First Fear
Genre	Graphic adventure Survival horror
Console	SNES, PlayStation, WonderSwan, PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Released	1995
Developer	Human Entertainment
Publisher	Human Entertainment
Language	Japanese \| English

SPANISH TRANSLATION
Released	2018
Updated	2023
Group	Traducciones del Tío Victor TraduSquare

PORTUGUESE TRANSLATION
Released	2023
Author	MatizHill

The gameplay is point and click, but with a survival horror twist. Instead of just solving puzzles, you're constantly on edge because Bobby can pop out at any moment. You don't fight back, you run, hide and pray you don't trip while fleeing which by the way Jennifer does a lot. The panic mechanic is intense; if Bobby grabs you, you gotta mash buttons to escape and if you fail… Well, enjoy one of the game's many brutal death scenes. The mansion is packed with secrets, multiple endings and some seriously messed up moments like finding your friends' corpses in increasingly horrific ways.

The PlayStation version has better sound, new cutscenes and extra creepy moments like a possessed doll that wasn't in the original. The atmosphere is thick, dimly lit rooms and eerie silence. That said, Jennifer moves so fucking slow on stairs. Some puzzles are confusing without a guide and the pixelated graphics don't scare modern players as much. At least, Bobby's unpredictable appearances keep you paranoid and the multiple endings ranging from bittersweet to downright depressing give it replay value.

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Also, the SNES version chugs so hard (even on a New 3DS) that I straight up gave up and injected the PlayStation version instead, which runs way smoother and looks nicer too. Sorry old 3DS users, I'm actually doing you a favor by skipping this one.