History VideoGame / ClockTower

* BodyHorror: Holy ''Christ'', [[spoiler:Dan Barrows]].

** Though if you're already [[spoiler:in the caves]], you have no choice but to take whatever ending you got.

* EvilOrphanageLady: Ms. Mary arranges for the protagonist Jennifer and her friends to be adopted by Simon Barrows with seemingly no ill intent. [[spoiler:Then the whole thing is revealed to be a group sacrifice for her satanic sons, Dan and Bobby.]]

** Their intervention as a DeusExMachina is a nod to ''Film/{{Opera}}''.

* ShoutOut: The game seems to take a lot of influence from the 1977 horror movie ''Film/{{Suspiria}}'', including the background music resembling the movie's iconic theme by horror musician director Goblin, the design and feel of the mansion, and the design of Bobby Barrows heavily resembling CreepyChild Albert. There are also similarities to another DarioArgento film, ''Film/{{Phenomena}}'', in that Jennifer is very similar to Jennifer Corvino, as well as [[spoiler:the presence of a psychotic mother and a deformed, murderous child wielding a bizarre weapon]].

* DangerTakesABackseat: One of the endings in the first game. [[EarnYourBadEnding It takes some effort to see it]], but it can be considered the "worst ending" given what you have to do to earn it.

* {{Shotacon}}: WordOfGod is that Kay from the second game [[spoiler:was a repressed pedophile and Edward was able to exploit these feelings to control her]]. This couldn't actually come up in-game because of censorship laws.

** The name Barrows[[note]]is a fan translation,[[/note]] is a mistranslation of Burroughs. バロウズ the Japanese name, is the same as that of the first two games. In short, the two families are the same.

With the exception of a few sequences in the third and fourth games, your character is an utterly helpless girl going up against an unstoppable creature bent on killing you. In short, a slasher movie turned video game. If you want to live, you're going to have to keep your wits about you, and not do stupid things like play the piano noisily, or tempt fate by repeatedly returning to the scene of a CatScare.

* SurvivalHorror: The series will make you feel like you're a helpless victim being hunted down by a crazed killer when you only have your wits to save yourself from seeing the Game Over screen or one of the bad endings.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Ending G in ''The Struggle Within''. To make matters worse, it's not even important to the plot, save for who may be inside it...
** Also, if you saved at any point after the part where you are supposed to examine it, you are locked into this bad ending! Time to start over...

->''Don't cry, Jennifer.''

* ArtificialStupidity: The Struggle Within has enemies that can never figure out a counteract to that one weapon Alyssa can pick up, and they can never figure out the hiding spots they can use. Partly justified with zombies, but almost inexcusable with Stephane and Maxwell.
* TheAtoner: After George Maxwell buried Alyssa, Alan dug her up again, [[spoiler:although it's not clear if he did this to save Alyssa or just to spite George.]] However, he's definitely TheAtoner for [[spoiler:abandoning Shannon and making her jealous.]]

* AudioAdaptation: Each game from the second onward has its own drama CD. The first two are just adaptions of their respective games, while the third is a {{Prequel}} about the protagonist's mother, Nancy.

* BodyOfBodies: According to outer sources, [[spoiler:Dan's giant baby form is actually a shell made from his murdered victims.]]

* CaptainErsatz: Scissorman is ''very'' similar to the character Cropsy from the slasher movie ''Film/TheBurning''. Even using a similar weapon.

*** That suit of armor in Struggle Within? If you don't examine it at a certain point, it will come back to bite you, hard!

* CowerPower: Your only defense in the game is hiding, or attacking with mundane objects, even that can fail if used twice. Confronting your stakers may slow them down, but for a few seconds. The chase is still on until you find a new hiding spot.
* CreepyChild: Bobby from first game, and Stephanie in ''The Struggle Within''.

** Also, if you saved at any point after the part where you are suppose to examine it, you are locked into this bad ending! Time to start over...
** It's possible for this to almost happen in ''First Fear'', too. Although, if it does happen,[[spoiler: your friend's corpse will be stuffed inside.]]

* FakeBoss: The second game in Helen's scenario, this is [[spoiler:Professor Barton, who was masquerading as Scissorman.]] If you haven't found the Door Spell by this point in the game, Helen concludes he was the real culprit and the game ends.

** Only for the sequel to subvert ''that'' too. [[spoiler:Edward - or should we say Dan - was the other survivor.]]

* HumanoidAbomination: Bobby looks mostly humanoid, but he is quite clearly a demon. In the second game [[spoiler:the same applies to his brother, Dan.]]

* KillItWithFire: Used occasionally. [[spoiler:Most notably, to kill Dan in the first game.]] Subverted in the third game where both the Chopper and the Scissorwoman are only briefly knocked out by fire.

* MamaBear: [[spoiler:Mary Barrows loves her [[EldritchAbomination boys]] dearly and is not pleased when she finds out that her son Dan was killed by Jennifer]].

* {{Overcrank}}: Near the end of the second game, when [[spoiler:Helen shoots Scissorman.]]

* RandomEvent: During ''The First Fear'', several items, rooms and events are shuffled around so that one may have an entirely different experience each time they play.

* {{Shotacon}}: WordOfGod is that Kay from the second game [[spoiler:was a repressed pedophile and Edward was able to exploit these feelings to control her.]] This couldn't actually come up in-game because of censorship laws.
* ShoutOut: The game seems to take a lot of influence from the 1977 horror movie ''Film/{{Suspiria}}'', including the background music resembling the movie's iconic theme by horror musician director Goblin, the design and feel of the mansion, and the design of Bobby Barrows heavily resembling CreepyChild Albert. There are also similarities to another DarioArgento film, ''Film/{{Phenomena}}'', in that Jennifer is very similar to Jennifer Corvino, as well as [[spoiler: the presence of a psychotic mother and a deformed, murderous child wielding a bizarre weapon.]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''VideoGame/HauntingGround'' is a spiritual successor to this series. At one point, it was intended to be an actual sequel, but the ''Clock Tower'' name was dropped during development. Another successor is in the works by Nude Maker under the working title "''Project Scissors.''"

* StalkerWithACrush: Harris from the second game is infatuated with Jennifer, so much that [[spoiler: [[LoveMakesYouEvil he becomes the fake Scissorman in her route because the real one bribed him with the belief that he would have her if he did so.]]]]
* SummoningArtifact: The Demon Statue is implied to be this. Possibly subverted by the Golden Statue, it may just be a cheap ornament. It was [[spoiler: Allen's]] excuse to poison his colleague.

* {{Synchronization}}: Alyssa / Yu herself shares this attachment to her amulet, without it, she's helpless against her brother's influence. Downplayed, as it only happens when she's really stressed or scared. Bates is linked to his sister, he can awaken once the amulet is gone. If he happens to get her killed, he dies as well.

** [[spoiler: Though said therapist is one of two possible "fake Scissormen."]]
* ThinlyVeiledDubCountryChange: ''Ghost Hand'' attempted to do this by changing the setting from Osaka to San Francisco... Despite the fact that everything else in the game was left intact. Not only is the first house you explore ''very'' Japanese influenced, Japanese Kanji can frequently be seen on many different areas throughout the game.

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: Bates can be this if you choose to interact with Shannon or Maxwell as him. Bates then decides it's a good idea to threaten them, despite knowing earlier that she has a gun, and he has a big sword.]]
%%** [[spoiler: Sullivan.]]

* TheUnreveal: In ''Ghost Head,'' the game vaguely implies that Bobby and Dan are the reincarnated Alyssa and Bates. Along side the ritual Mary did in ''The First Fear'' to summon them. Your only clue is the golden statue and the mention of George Maxwell's magic powers in Allen's letter to Phillip. This game actually makes sense if you ignore the zombies.

** While it is possible to save either Anne or Laura in the non canonical [[MultipleEndings S ending,]] you can't save Lotte, Jennifer's {{tomboy}} best friend.
** This is also true of [[spoiler: Kay]] from the second game.

** In the first game, Jennifer can choose to rescue a crow from a cage. If you have done so, [[spoiler: a flock of 'em can come to her rescue in the good ending.]]

** You get the single worst ending in the first game by [[spoiler: fleeing the mansion in the car without knowing that your friends are dead.]] Hey, you're the one who [[spoiler: ditched the people you care about in order to save your own skin,]] you deserve to suffer. (The ending for [[spoiler: escaping in the car after learning that your friends were murdered]] is still bad, but not quite as much, since [[spoiler: you know you can't save them now.]])
** Bates can kill [[spoiler: Alyssa's father, who is completely helpless.]] Doing so will simply give you another bad ending.

** Mary doesn't hesitate to [[spoiler: try strangling Jennifer or throw her last living friend into the gears of a clock tower.]]

* YankTheDogsChain: The A rank ending for ''The First Fear,'' wherein Jennifer [[spoiler: discovers one of her friends waiting for her at the top of the Clock Tower, and runs toward her... Only for Mary to pop up and kill them right in front of her, before trying to kill her as well.]]

* WholePlotReference: The first game is basically the plot to the horror movie ''Phenomena,'' even down to Jennifer having the same first name and looking very similar to the main character of said movie.

* ''Clock Tower 3'' -- The fourth and (seemingly) final game in the series for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 released, this installment focuses on a different Alyssa who, upon returning home, found that her mother is missing. Unlike the previous installments, this game was co-developed by Creator/{{Capcom}} and Sunsoft as Human Entertainment filed for bankruptcy at the turn of the new millennium, and instead of the series' staple point and click interface, players have full control of their character. It was released in Japan in 2002 and everywhere else in 2003.

* AbandonedHospital: ''The Struggle Within'''s second part takes place in one. You also first confront the Scissortwins from ''3'' in one.

* AloneWithThePsycho: Very common.
* AluminumChristmasTrees: The crows in the First Fear seem a bit too convenient, saving Jennifer at the last moment. Turns out [[http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/09/bird-brains-crows-remember-your-face-and-know-youre-hiding-in-there/ crows can recognize faces]] and [[http://www.omg-facts.com/Celebs/Crows-Recognize-Individual-Human-Faces-A/23900 hold grudges]].

* AnachronismStew: Despite being in Romsdal, Norway, very few names actually sound Norwegian at all, and this isn't because of a localization. Somewhat justified in that the Barrows are actually revealed to be a British family.
** The second game brings it up a bit - with the characters bowing at each other like in Japan. This is in Oslo, too.

* AndYourRewardIsClothes: The unlockable outfit in ''3''.
** The second game and ''Ghost Head'' also feature unlockable outfits.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: ''Clock Tower 3'', British man William Norton joins the army and goes to fight against the Germans in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in 1942 in the Champagne region of France. British troops had been evacuated from continental Europe in June 1940 and would not return to fight in France until 1944, after d-day. Alyssa also stumbles into London during a German bombing raid in December 1942. Strategic bombing of England was for the most part halted in June 1941 to shift focus of the use of air force on the invasion of the Soviet Union. The dates simply don't match up.

* AxCrazy
* {{BFS}}: The weapon used by the FinalBoss of ''3''.
** Also a preferred weapon of Maxwell.

* DangerousSixteenthBirthday: More specifically, the Rooders in ''3'' have dangerous 15th birthdays.

* DifficultySpike: The Dark Id [[http://lparchive.org/Clock-Tower-3/Update%2035/35-chart.jpg mentioned this]] ''perfectly'' in his LetsPlay of ''3'', because the final boss not only has the health of nearly every boss you fought so far in the game ''combined'', but can also [[LifeDrain regain it by draining yours]] ''and'' whip out an attack that kills you instantly.

* DistressCall: You get one from your mother at the beginning of ''3'', and you can try (and fail) to send one in both 1 and 2.

** EsotericHappyEnding: Both CT Struggle Within/Ghost Head and CT 3 plays this trope.
*** In SW/GH, In the best ending, Alyssa Hale lives, [[spoiler: but her father the only person she truly cares about is dead, along side her uncle and cousins. Before that her father also revealed she's the cursed daughter of George Maxwell. Oh, and the zombies have escaped and is running around in the city. While, Alex Corey leaves her alone at the street and swears he'll take care of the zombies.]] Subverted in the drama cd, where the whole story makes more sense and is played more realistically.
*** In CT3, In the end, Alyssa Hamilton is [[spoiler: left homeless, her mother is dead and her grandfather turns out to be an incestous wannabe entity. It is also implied that since rooders cannot kill entities permanently, Alyssa Hamilton can still be hunted down by them. Horrifying, since it is revealed her powers will wane as she ages and completely disappear in her twenties.]] Yeah, [[SarcasmMode happy ending indeed.]]
* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped A Samurai Suit On Her]]: Ending G in ''The Struggle Within''. To make matters worse, it's not even important to the plot, save for who may be inside it...

* DrivenToSuicide: In the first game, the second to worst ending said that Jennifer was found dead. It's implied that she may have killed herself.
** The Struggle Within has Nurse Cook, who decides that she wants to kill herself so she won't become a zombie. She can be stopped by Alyssa, however.
* DudeWheresMyReward: Your reward for exorcising all the ghosts in ''3''? Absolutely nothing, not even an acknowledgment that you did so.
** However, every single exorcised ghost gives you ''something'' useful for freeing them, so it's not entirely this trope.

* {{Ephebophile}}:
** Both Nolan (26) and Harris (35) are in love with Jennifer, who is only 15. In Nolan's case, it's more like he's charmed by her, while Harris has an [[StalkerWithACrush unhealthy infatuation]]. The game does take place in Norway, though, where the age of consent is 16.
** Also, in ''3'', it's '''strongly''' implied that the BigBad is motivated by a rather unwholesome, obsessive interest in the teenaged main character. [[spoiler:For extra creepy, he turns out to be the lead character's grandfather.]]
* EvilGloating: Every villain in ''3''. Sometimes for ten seconds, sometimes for five minutes.

* FakeDifficulty: ''3'' has this at times, with the panic mode being the biggest offender.
** Interestingly, the rest of the series doesn't have any major FakeDifficulty besides enemies sometimes appearing without warning.

* FetchQuest: The fourth game has enough of these with such frequency, designed with such clear malevolence towards the player, as to render the game almost unplayably aggravating.

* FiveBadBand: The Subordinates in the third game can be seen like this:
** [[spoiler:Dick Hamilton]] as the BigBad.
** Sledgehammer is TheBrute.
** Corroder is EvilGenius.
** Chopper is TheDragon (by far one of the most resilient and dangerous subordinates).
** Scissortwins are the {{DarkChick}}s and also act as CoDragons to Lord Burroughs.

* GenreShift: Ghost Head/The Struggle Within goes from creepy supernatural thriller to [[DoingInTheWizard purely scientific]] zombie invasion. It honestly feels like they slapped two wildly different games together.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:The Scissorman Ralph in the third game is impaled by the giant cleaver trap he almost used on Dennis earlier.]]

* HyperspaceArsenal: Played straight, but averted for a single fetch quest in ''3'', where only one of three emblems can be picked up at any one time, making what could have been a two minute diversion into an eight minute reason to play a different game.
* IllKillYou: Used a few times.
** ''The First Fear'':
-->'''Parrot:''' "IKEELYOU, IKEELYOU!"
** ''3'':
-->'''Scissorwoman:''' "I'll KILL YOU!"

* ImprobableWeaponUser: In ''3'', Sledgehammer wields a hammer that appears larger than your heroine, Corroder has a sulfuric acid-firing... device, Chopper has axes that he can throw like boomerangs or somehow fuse together and throw like a boomerang, the Scissortwins have two blades that they hold together to emulate scissors, the final boss has a Final Fantasy-esque broadsword, and your heroine uses magical arrows appearing out of nowhere which she fires using a magical bow (minus a magical bowstring, mind you) that sprouts from a vial of holy water.
** Then there's the giant scissors that the first two Scissormen use.

* InvisibleBowstring: Alyssa uses a bow without a string in ''Clock Tower 3''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that she is shooting energy arrows from an [[EnergyBow energy bow]].

* {{Keet}}: Dennis from ''3''. In his first scene, he ''climbs through Alyssa's window'' and rolls around on her bed, for starters.

* LaughingMad: The Scissortwins make the Joker look like a man in a coma. And they never. Ever. Stop.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:Dick Hamilton/the Dark Gentleman/Lord Burroughs.]] Also [[spoiler:Harris]] in the second game.
* LukeIAmYourFather:
** [[spoiler:In ''Ghost Head'', the masked man, Fushito Saido, turns out to be Yu's biological father driven insane by a curse.]]
** [[spoiler:The main villain of ''3'', the Dark Gentleman, turns out to be main character Alyssa's grandfather.]]

* TheManyDeathsofYou: Present in all the games, some of which are tied to the endings, save for Clock Tower 3

* NewGamePlus: ''3'''s "Clear Mode", which made the game harder and allowed the player to [[AndYourRewardIsClothes wear alternative clothes]].
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:

* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: In Struggle Within, Shannon only helps Alyssa in the hospital just so she can let her suffer before killing her later on. [[spoiler:She kills her early if Bates talks to her in the next chapter, and will succeed in strangling her if she still had her amulet on later. Also, she ultimately kills herself.]]

* PantyShot: Mainly in ''3'', where Alyssa's short skirt causes her to expose her pink panties quite a lot; in fact, you can pan the camera to view up her skirt. Alyssa also occasionally exposes her panties when she is killed; most of the time her body lies down with her legs tucked over each other when she dies, hiding her panties. But when the purple ghosts kill her, they will lift her body into the air, causing Alyssa to arc her back with her thighs spread, allowing you to pan the camera around to view her crotch. They will then brutally snap Alyssa's spine, killing her instantly and causing her body to fall back down onto the ground and lie spread-eagle.
* ParentalIncest: Attempted in ''3'' with the aptly-named Dick Hamilton, who was so obsessed with his daughter that he coldly ignored his wife, brutally murdered his son-in-law, and then had his daughter brutally murdered as well by his sociopathic subordinate when she tried to protect her daughter (his granddaughter) from him, with the implication that she was also raped (either by him or his subordinate or both of them). As mentioned, he later transfers his carnal obsession to his granddaughter, the heroine Alyssa, who's the very image of her mother. She manages to defeat him though.

** Also heard in ''3'''s Panic Mode music.

* SanityMeter: ''3'''s panic meter, which goes up every time something (like a ghost or one of the Subordinates) surprises Alyssa. If it fills up all the way, she [[InterfaceScrew panics]].
** The first game had a panic meter too, but in the form of Jennifer's portrait. It didn't do much except make her more likely to be killed by traps, cause her to trip more often, and flash when you should be mashing the panic button.
* SchrodingersGun: In the first game, your friends are only considered to be dead by the game if you actually see proof of their death. [[spoiler:This has actual gameplay implications; it means that the only way to get the S-rank ending, where one of your friends survives, is to never ever investigate any strange sounds you hear and never look in any place where a body could be found, because if you do, the game will take the opportunity to declare one of them dead.]]

** ''3'' has a villainous cast consisting ''entirely'' of these, save for the final boss.

* ''{{Shotacon}}'': WordOfGod is that Kay from the second game [[spoiler:was a repressed pedophile and Edward was able to exploit these feelings to control her.]] This couldn't actually come up in-game because of censorship laws.

* StairwayToHeaven: May and her father ascend one in ''3'' after being put to rest.

* TimeTravel: In ''3.''

* TomeOfEldritchLore: The Book of Entities. In Clock Tower 3.
* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: Sullivan.]]
** [[spoiler: Bates can be this too if you choose to interact with Shannon or Maxwell as him. Bates then decides it's a good idea to threaten them, despite knowing earlier that she has a gun, and he has a big sword.]]

* VasquezAlwaysDies: While it is possible to save either Anne or Laura in the non canonical [[MultipleEndings S ending,]] you can't save Lotte, Jennifer's {{tomboy}} best friend.

* VideoGameCaringPotential: In ''Ghost Head,'' Chief Nurse Cook has gotten suicidal during a zombie outbreak in the hospital. You will have to use Bates to talk to her in order to advance, only making her more depressed -- enough to want to commit suicide. Come back to the area as Alyssa after completing a certain event and she'll stop her from committing the act. The next time you see her (if you explore a bit in the next area), she will give you a shotgun for your troubles (not that it's necessary, since there is a spot where you will always get a shotgun either way).

* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: You get the single worst ending in the first game by [[spoiler: fleeing the mansion in the car without knowing that your friends are dead.]] Hey, you're the one who [[spoiler: ditched the people you care about in order to save your own skin,]] you deserve to suffer. (The ending for [[spoiler: escaping in the car after learning that your friends were murdered]] is still bad, but not quite as much, since [[spoiler: you know you can't save them now.]])

* VillainousHarlequin: The Scissortwins of ''3.'' Maybe a pair of {{Monster Clown}}s if you happen to think they're scarier than most do.
* VillainousIncest: Dick Hamilton towards both his daughter Nancy and granddaughter Alyssa (who looks like her mother). The Scissortwins to each other.

* WeaponOfChoice: In the third game, each subordinate has one, though they'll change to a similar weapon if the game is played on "Hard." (For example, Sledgehammer will now wield a spiked mace instead)
** A minor example with Alyssa and Bates in ''Ghost Head.'' Alyssa will use chairs and other mundane objects. Bates prefers guns.
* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: [[spoiler: Used in the third Clock Tower game. As the clock strikes twelve, it signifies Alyssa Hamilton is fifteen and will be ritually sacrificed so her grandfather will become a powerful entity. ]]

** The first thing the Sledgehammer does onscreen? Smashing a poor little girl with his humongous weapon and gloating about it.

** ArtificialStupidity: The Struggle Within has enemies that can never figure out a counteract to that one weapon Alyssa can pick up, and they can never figure out the hiding spots they can use. Partly justified with zombies, but almost inexcusable with Stephane and Maxwell.

* BritishAccents: ''3''. As LetsPlay/TheDarkId put it, "Everyone is British with a capital 'Blimey.'"

Most SurvivalHorror games consist of you, your gun, absurdly copious amounts of ammo, and a plague of zombies. Or ghosts. But the point is, you have a gun, or at the very least a crowbar or something.

Human Entertainment's ''Clock Tower'' series doesn't work like that.

The series went dormant for a decade, however Hifumi Kono, the director of the first two ''Clock Tower'' games, has unveiled during the 2014 Tokyo Game Show his new company Nude Maker are working a spiritual successor to the series under the working title ''Project Scissors,'' along with the help of Masahiro Ito of ''Franchise/SilentHill'' fame, ''Film/{{Juon}}'' director Takashi Shimizu, and ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 4|GunsOfThePatriots}}'' composer Nobuko Toda working on the project. As of January 2015 the title has become ''VideoGame/{{Nightcry}}'' and received a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP2O_4x-KOM gameplay trailer,]] featuring a monster with a giant pair of scissors.

* ParentalIncest: Attempted in ''3'' with the aptly-named Dick Hamilton, who was so obsessed with his daughter that he coldly ignored his wife, brutally murdered his son-in-law, and then had his daughter brutally murdered as well by his sociopathic subordinate when she tried to protect her daughter(his granddaughter) from him, with the implication that she was also raped (either by him or his subordinate or both of them). As mentioned, he later transfers his carnal obsession to his granddaughter, the heroine Alyssa, who's the very image of her mother. She manages to defeat him though.

Most Survival Horror games consist of you, your gun, absurdly copious amounts of ammo, and a plague of zombies. Or ghosts. But the point is, you have a gun, or at the very least a crowbar or something.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: ''Clock Tower 3'', British man William Norton joins the army and goes to fight against the Germans in WorldWarII in 1942 in the Champagne region of France. British troops had been evacuated from continental Europe in June 1940 and would not return to fight in France until 1944, after d-day. Alyssa also stumbles into London during a German bombing raid in December 1942. Strategic bombing of England was for the most part halted in June 1941 to shift focus of the use of air force on the invasion of the Soviet Union. The dates simply don't match up.

* ParentalIncest: Attempted in ''3'' with the aptly-named Dick Hamilton, who was so obsessed with his daughter that he coldly ignored his wife, brutally murdered his son-in-law, and then had his daughter brutally murdered as well by his sociopathic subordinate when she tried to protect her daughter(his granddaughter) from him, with the implication that she was also raped (whether by him or his subordinate or both of them). As mentioned, he later transfers his carnal obsession to his granddaughter, the heroine Alyssa, who's the very image of her mother. She manages to defeat him though.

* ParentalIncest: Attempted in ''3'' with the aptly-named Dick Hamilton, who was so obsessed with his daughter that he coldly ignored his wife, brutally murdered his son-in-law, and abducted, imprisoned, and then murdered his daughter, with the implication that he also raped her. Later, he transfers his carnal obsession to his granddaughter, the heroine Alyssa, who's the very image of her mother. She manages to defeat him though.

* ParentalIncest: Attempted in ''3'' with the aptly-named Dick Hamilton, who was so obsessed with his daughter that he ignored his wife, murdered his son-in-law, and abducted his daughter. Later, he transfers his obsession to his granddaughter, the heroine Alyssa, who's the very image of her mother. She manages to stop him though.

The series went dormant for a decade, however Hifumi Kono, the director of the first two ''Clock Tower'' games, has unveiled during the 2014 Tokyo Game Show his new company Nude Maker are working a spiritual successor to the series under the working title ''Project Scissors,'' along with the help of Masahiro Ito of ''Franchise/SilentHill'' fame, ''Film/{{Juon}}'' director Takashi Shimizu, and ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 4|GunsOfThePatriots}}'' composer Nobuko Toda working on the project. As of January 2015 the title has become ''[=NightCry=]'' and received a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP2O_4x-KOM gameplay trailer,]] featuring a monster with a giant pair of scissors.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''VideoGame/HauntingGround'' is a spiritual successor to this series. At one point, it was intended to be an actual sequel, but the ''Clock Tower'' name was dropped during development. Another successor is in the works by Nude Maker under the working title "''Project Scissors''".
* SplitPersonality: In ''Ghost Head''/''The Struggle Within'', there's Yu/Alyssa and her male alter ego Sho/Bates.
* SpookySilentLibrary: The Library in the second game, especially with the threat of Scissorman, who happens to be inside the building too.

* StalkerWithACrush: Harris from the second game is infatuated with Jennifer, so much that [[spoiler:[[LoveMakesYouEvil he becomes the fake Scissorman in her route because the real one bribed him with the belief that he would have her if he did so]].]]
* SummoningArtifact: The Demon Statue is implied to be this. Possibly subverted by the Golden Statue, it may just be a cheap ornament. It was [[spoiler:Allen]]'s excuse to poison his colleague.
* SuperTitle64Advance: The Windows 95 port of the first game was has been dubbed ''Clock Tower for Windows 95'' on the package and the opening FMV scene.

* {{Synchronization}}: Alyssa/Yu herself shares this attachment to her amulet, without it, she's helpless against her brother's influence. Downplayed, as it only happens when she's really stressed or scared. Bates is linked to his sister, he can awaken once the amulet is gone. If he happens to get her killed, he dies as well.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Averted in the second game; not only does Jennifer go into therapy after the events of the first game, her adoptive mother is an assistant to a therapist.
** [[spoiler:Though said therapist is one of two possible "fake Scissormen."]]
* ThinlyVeiledDubCountryChange: ''Clock Tower: Ghost Hand'' attempted to do this by changing the setting from Osaka to San Francisco... despite the fact that everything else in the game was left intact. Not only is the first house you explore ''very'' Japanese influenced, Japanese Kanji can frequently be seen on many different areas throughout the game.
* TimeTravel: In ''3''.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: In ''The First Fear'', Jennifer's best friend is Lotte, the red-haired tomboy.
* TomeOfEldritchLore: The Book of Entities. In Clocktower 3.
* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Sullivan]]
** [[spoiler:Bates can be this too if you choose to interact with Shannon or Maxwell as him. Bates then decides it's a good idea to threaten them, despite knowing earlier that she has a gun, and he has a big sword]].
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Jennifer understandably suffers from this after the events of ''The First Fear'', and spends the majority of the sequel remembering nothing other than running for her life from the sound of giant scissor blades scraping against each other.

* TheUnreveal: In ''The Struggle Within'' / ''Ghost Head'', the game vaguely implies that Bobby and Dan is the reincarnated Alyssa and Bates. Along side the ritual Mary did in First Fear to summon them. Your only clue is the golden statue and the mention of George Maxwell's magic powers in Allen's letter to Phillip. This game actually makes sense if you ignore the zombies.

* VasquezAlwaysDies: While it is possible to save either Anne or Laura in the non-canonical [[MultipleEndings S ending]], you can't save Lotte, Jennifer's {{tomboy}} best friend.
** This is also true of [[spoiler:Kay]] from the second game.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: In Struggle Within, Chief Nurse Cook has gotten suicidal during a zombie outbreak in the hospital. You will have to use Bates to talk to her in order to advance, only making her more depressed -- enough to want to commit suicide. Come back to the area as Alyssa after completing a certain event and she'll stop her from committing the act. The next time you see her (if you explore a bit in the next area), she will give you a shotgun for your troubles (not that it's necessary, since there is a spot where you will always get a shotgun either way).
** In the first game, Jennifer can choose to rescue a crow from a cage. If you have done so, [[spoiler:a flock of 'em can come to her rescue in the good ending.]]
* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: You get the single worst ending in the first game by [[spoiler:fleeing the mansion in the car without knowing that your friends are dead.]] Hey, you're the one who [[spoiler:ditched the people you care about in order to save your own skin]], you deserve to suffer. (The ending for [[spoiler:escaping in the car after learning that your friends were murdered]] is still bad, but not quite as much, since [[spoiler:you know you can't save them now]].)
** Bates can kill [[spoiler:Alyssa's father, who is completely helpless.]] Doing so will simply give you another bad ending.
* VillainousHarlequin: The Scissortwins of ''3''. Maybe a pair of [[MonsterClown Monster Clowns]] if you happen to think they're scarier than most do.

* VoicesAreMental: In CT SW/GH, when Bates takes over Alyssa/Yu's body, the voice coming out from her mouth is his.
* WeaponOfChoice: In the third game, each subordinate has one, though they'll change to a similar weapon if the game is played on "Hard". (For example, Sledgehammer will now wield a spiked mace instead).
** A minor example with Alyssa and Bates in Ghost Head. Alyssa will use chairs and other mundane objects. Bates prefers guns.
* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: [[spoiler:Used in the third Clock Tower game. As the clock strikes twelve, it signifies Alyssa Hamilton is fifteen and will be ritually sacrificed so her grandfather will become a powerful entity. ]]
* WhichRestroomDilemma: Alyssa/Yu will refuse to enter the male restrooms. Bates/Sho (Alyssa/Yu's alternate male personality who shares her body) similarly will refuse to enter the female restrooms. You can make Bates/Sho examine the urinal to have him just sort of stare blankly at it for a moment.

* WholePlotReference: The first game is basically the plot to the horror movie ''Phenomena'', even down to Jennifer having the same first name and looking very similar to the main character of said movie.

** Bates/Sho won't hesitate to shoot, or stab, a little girl - in the chest. Justified in that the girl is in a frenzy state and is quick to recover.

** Mary doesn't hesitate to [[spoiler:try strangling Jennifer or throw her last living friend into the gears of a clock tower.]]

* YankTheDogsChain: The A-rank ending for ''The First Fear'', wherein Jennifer [[spoiler:discovers one of her friends waiting for her at the top of the Clock Tower, and runs toward her... only for Mary to pop up and kill them right in front of her, before trying to kill her as well]].

->''... *Snip*...''
----

-> ''Don't cry, Jennifer.''

The series has four games:
* ''VideoGame/{{Clock Tower|1995}}'' -- Released in 1995 for the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]], features an orphaned girl named Jennifer who is adopted along with her friends, but is pursued by Bobby Barrows, the manor's resident maniac with a huge pair of scissors. It was later ported to [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer Windows 95]] and UsefulNotes/PlayStation in 1997, followed by a UsefulNotes/WonderSwan version in 1999. This installment was never released outside of Japan in any shape or form, however fan translations are available for the Super Famicom and Windows 95 versions.

* ''Clock Tower Ghost Head'' -- Also known as ''Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within'' elsewhere, is the third game in the series released for the [=PlayStation=] in 1998 and has nothing to do with the first two games[[note]](well, apart from the fact that [[spoiler:Alyssa and Bates are Bobby and Dan]])[[/note]], but instead focuses on a high school girl named Alyssa Hale/Yu Midoshima with a ''male'' split personality named Bates/Sho. Who could use guns. Against the {{zombie|Apocalypse}}s and evil spirits pursuing you. It was released in North America by Agetec in 1999 whereas Europe didn't get this one.
* ''Clock Tower 3'' -- The fourth and (seemingly) final game in the series for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 released, this installment focuses on a different Alyssa who, upon returning home, found that her mother is missing. Unlike the previous installments, this game was co-developed by Creator/{{Capcom}} and Sunsoft as Human Entertainment filed for bankruptcy at the turn of the new millennium, and instead of the series' staple point-and-click interface, players have full control of their character. It was released in Japan in 2002 and everywhere else in 2003.

Though not part of the series proper, ''VideoGame/HauntingGround'' was initially developed to be a continuation of the series and shares the visual and play style of ''Clock Tower 3''.

The series went dormant for a decade, however Hifumi Kono, the director of the first two ''Clock Tower'' games, has unveiled during the 2014 Tokyo Game Show his new company Nude Maker are working a spiritual successor to the series under the working title ''Project Scissors'', along with the help of Masahiro Ito of ''Franchise/SilentHill'' fame, ''Film/{{Juon}}'' director Takashi Shimizu, and ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 4|GunsOfThePatriots}}'' composer Nobuko Toda working on the project. As of January 2015 the title has become ''[=NightCry=]'' and received a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP2O_4x-KOM gameplay trailer,]] featuring a monster with a giant pair of scissors.

%%Unless you are mentioning ''Clock Tower'''s connection to ''Haunting Ground'', please don't post tropes about ''Haunting Ground'' here. The game has its own page.

!!Examples of:

* GoryDiscretionShot: The game always fades to black whenever Bobby is about to kill Jennifer with his shears.