History TearJerker / ClockTower

!!Meta:

* The situation each of the Clock Tower protagonists have to go through is genuinely heartbreaking. These are young girls being thrown in horrifying situations that could result in the death of people they care about, they're forced to run and hide, or fight back and kill to defend themselves, and by the end of it you know they will be traumatized for the rest of their lives. The games might be scary, but they are undoubtedly tragic.

* Lotte's HeroicSacrifice in the first game.
** And the fact that no matter what you do, you can ''never'' save Lotte.
* Also from the first game, Jennifer [[spoiler: finding her father's corpse]] is a combination of this and terrifying.
** The background music for that scene, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4GZqR32hwg Cradle Under The Star]] (titled after the [[spoiler: bedroom Dan is found in]]), doesn't help as it only enhances the tragic factor - it's a loaded-with-reverb version of the main theme, meant to play up the general feeling of hopelessness regarding Jen's discovery - and does a good job showing the urgency of the situation and the importance of the reveal overshadowing the girl's feelings as she doesn't even have the right time to cope with them. [[TheWoobie Somebody give that poor girl a hug!]]
* The way certain endings [[YankTheDogsChain yank poor Jennifer's chain]]. If you reach the clock tower without triggering a death scene for at least one of your friends, you can find the other survivor waiting there for you... and then, if you haven't earned [[GoldenEnding the S rank]], DiabolusExMachina rears its ugly head. To have Jennifer come so close, and yet so far...
** But no matter what, even if you achieve S rank...it doesn't matter, because it isn't canon. Jennifer's friends are doomed to die, no matter what you do.

* From the third game, poor little May and her horrible FamilyUnfriendlyDeath. And of course Albert and his blind mother. When Albert gives her the shawl, only to be violently murdered moments later I just bawled. Then of course there's Phillip's death scene. It doesn't make this troper cry in and of itself, but Nancy's line just before it, "Phillip darling! Father! Alyssa has laughed for the first time!" think about it.
** And seeing Alyssa's mother dying right in front of her. The worst part was Alyssa and Dennis totally downplaying it in the ending.

* From Clock Tower 3, the scene leading up to the final level. Alyssa has soothed the spirits of the ancient rooders who were slain in previous Rituals of Engagement and after maybe or maybe not being dead, Nancy finally reunites with Alyssa....[[YankTheDogsChain Only to be ripped away by the Dark Gentleman who then teleports Alyssa back to the clock tower.]] Hearing Alyssa crying out for her mother once she realizes that she's been taken again is just heartbreaking.
* Also from Clock Tower 3, Finding out that [[spoiler: in the intervening time between reuniting with Nancy after defeating Chopper and making it up to the top of the clock tower, Dick has [[TakenForGranite sealed Nancy's soul into a statue.]]]] As if that wasn't bad enough, he then [[LiterallyShatteredLives obliterates the statue]] just to [[KickTheDog rub salt into the wounds.]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome unfortunately for him, this pushes Alyssa to her breaking point and she fully embraces her role as a Rooder,]] And [[spoiler: Nancy]] is still able to give Alyssa the power she needs to finish off [[spoiler: Lord Burroughs and Dick]] for good and save her mother[[spoiler:'s soul.]]
* The fourth game has lot of it. Many cutscenes show you how lives of lovely people were ruined by your stalker.

* From Clocktower 3, the scene leading up to the final level. Alyssa has soothed the spirits of the ancient rooders who were slain in previous Rituals of Engagement and after maybe or maybe not being dead, Nancy finally reunites with Alyssa....[[YankTheDogsChain Only to be ripped away by the Dark Gentleman who then teleports Alyssa back to the clocktower.]] Hearing Alyssa crying out for her mother once she realizes that she's been taken again is just heartbreaking.
* Also from Clocktower 3, Finding out that [[spoiler: in the intervening time between reuniting with Nancy after defeating Chopper and making it up to the top of the clocktower, Dick has [[TakenForGranite sealed Nancy's soul into a statue.]]]] As if that wasn't bad enough, he then [[LiterallyShatteredLives obliterates the statue]] just to [[KickTheDog rub salt into the wounds.]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome unfortunately for him, this pushes Alyssa to her breaking point and she fully embraces her role as a Rooder,]] And [[spoiler: Nancy]] is still able to give Alyssa the power she needs to finish off [[spoiler: Lord Burroughs and Dick]] for good and save her mother[[spoiler:'s soul.]]

* From Clocktower 3, the scene leading up to the final level. Alissa has soothed the spirits of the ancient rooders who were slain in previous Rituals of Engagement and after maybe or maybe not being dead, Nancy finally reunites with Alissa....[[YankTheDogsChain Only to be ripped away by the Dark Gentleman who then teleports Alissa back to the clocktower.]] Hearing Alissa crying out for her mother once she realizes that she's been taken again is just heartbreaking.
* Also from Clocktower 3, Finding out that [[spoiler: in the intervening time between reuniting with Nancy after defeating Chopper and making it up to the top of the clocktower, Dick has [[TakenForGranite sealed Nancy's soul into a statue.]]]] As if that wasn't bad enough, he then [[LiterallyShatteredLives obliterates the statue]] just to [[KickTheDog rub salt into the wounds.]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome unfortunately for him, this pushes Alissa to her breaking point and she fully embraces her role as a Rooder,]] And [[spoiler: Nancy]] is still able to give Alissa the power she needs to finish off [[spoiler: Lord Burroughs and Dick]] for good and save her mother[[spoiler:'s soul.]]

** The background music for that scene, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnq4jZjm7Dk Cradle Under The Star]] (titled after the [[spoiler: bedroom Dan is found in]]), doesn't help as it only enhances the tragic factor - it's a loaded-with-reverb version of the main theme, meant to play up the general feeling of hopelessness regarding Jen's discovery - and does a good job showing the urgency of the situation and the importance of the reveal overshadowing the girl's feelings as she doesn't even have the right time to cope with them. [[TheWoobie Somebody give that poor girl a hug!]]

* The forth game has lot of it. Many cutscenes show you how lives of lovely people were ruined by your stalker.

* Also from the first game, Jennifer [[spoiler: finding her father's corpse]] is a combination of this and NightmareFuel.

* Also from the first game, Jennifer [[spoiler: finding her father's corpse]] is a combination of this and HighOctaneNightmareFuel.

* Firstly May. Just May, and of course Albert and his blind mother. When Albert gives her the shawl, only to be violently murdered moments later I just bawled. Then of course there's Phillip's death scene. It doesn't make this troper cry in and of itself, but Nancy's line just before it, "Phillip darling! Father! Alyssa has laughed for the first time!" think about it.

* No love for poor Lotte? She took a bullet for Jennifer.
* Jennifer [[spoiler: finding her father's corpse]] in ''The First Fear'' is a combination of this and HighOctaneNightmareFuel.

* Firstly May. Just May, and of course Albert and his blind mother. When Albert gives her the shawl, only to be violently murdered moments later i just bawled. Then of course there's Phillip's death scene. It doesn't make this troper cry in and of itself, but Nancy's line just before it, "Phillip darling! Father! Alyssa has laughed for the first time!" think about it.

** And seeing Alyssa's mother dying right in front of her. The worst part was [[WallBanger Alyssa and Dennis totally downplaying it in the ending.]]

* Jennifer [[spoler: finding her father's corpse]] in ''The First Fear'' is a combination of this and HighOctaneNightmareFuel.

* No love for poor Lotte? She took a bullet for Alyssa.