PS2 Horror Month: Clock Tower 3, Part 1

Originally streamed Oct 7, 2020.

The fourth proper annual "Horror Month." In this one, for the first time I am able to stream PS2 games, and so this month is entirely dedicated to the PS2, arguably the best console for horror games!

The first three Clock Towers were developed by Human, but this one was taken over by Capcom, so it has a distinctly different feel. This is actually the 4th Clock Tower but Ghost Head was a spinoff so they counted this as the proper "3." Honestly for how different this game feels, this would've been more appropriate to be the spinoff. It doesn't feel like the same series at all.

I think the big problem for me with this game is the tone, which is all over the place. It's immature and silly, and then occasionally gets weirdly violent. This combination can work, but it doesn't work for me here. The game gets weirdly fantasy-like and at times it almost feels like you're playing a strange Final Fantasy game. The killers are over the top in a dumb way, almost like pro wrestling heels, so they're just not threatening. To be honest, I also don't care for the character design or voice actress of the main character.

But then again, if you just forget it's a Clock Tower game and treat it like some sort of dark fantasy adventure, there are good elements. Graphically it's impressive, and the gameplay is genuinely pretty good. Boss battles are pretty fun. The game also has moments of good atmosphere with a fairly solid soundtrack. It's no Clock Tower game and I'm glad the series didn't go in this direction, but there is something here that is worth playing, at least.

My Rating:
Overall 5/10 - Music 6/10

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