toptenmaterial #1 Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) Hi everyone. I recently read a thread called "Rescue on Fractalus Scares Me!". Being unfamiliar with this game, I watched it on YouTube, and it frightened me! I began thinking about which games have scared me over time, and why. Music has a lot to do with it, also surprise. I'll start off by listing a few games that I have always found very frightening: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link This game is great at invoking a sence of desolation. Link seems totally alone and underpowered. The underworld is alien and scary. The death sequence with the resurrection of Gannon- and that awful NES laugh- is scary, as well as the sudden appearance of the ghost boss Churok in the fourth palace. Shadowgate: Very eerie music and visuals. The wraith is such a disturbing visualization. The banshee jumping from the coffin has got to be one of most startling video game moments ever! The Uninvited: Made by the same company as Shadowgate I believe, I discovered this one as an adult. Nightmarish and disturbing with as many gruesome and inventive deaths as Shadowgate. Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest "What a horrible night to have a curse.". Though it seems silly today, I used to turn the volume all the way down when the night time music came on. Hey, I was only ten! So what games have frightened you, and why? Though I listened NES games, feel free to explore any era, including the current generation. Edited January 31, 2011 by toptenmaterial Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toptenmaterial #2 Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) . Edited January 31, 2011 by toptenmaterial Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
telengard #3 Posted January 31, 2011 Sinistar used to creep me out. "I Hunger!!" ~telengard Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toptenmaterial #4 Posted January 31, 2011 Sinistar used to creep me out. "I Hunger!!" ~telengard what's that on? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
telengard #5 Posted January 31, 2011 Sinistar used to creep me out. "I Hunger!!" ~telengard what's that on? It was an early 80s arcade game... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcyBtVwAsfg ~telengard Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toptenmaterial #6 Posted January 31, 2011 thanks man Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Koopa64 #7 Posted January 31, 2011 Silent Hill 2. /thread. Feel free to close it off mods. The question has now been correctly answered. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gooch3008 #8 Posted January 31, 2011 shivers 2 for PC Hugo's house of horrors? and AMNESIA: The Dark Descent. Not classic, but I cannot think of any game that creeped me out more. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riffraff #9 Posted January 31, 2011 DOOM on PS 1 played on a large screen tv in the dark Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OldSchoolRetroGamer #10 Posted January 31, 2011 Good thread as I am a huge Survival Horror as well as Gothic and dark atmospheric gaming. Like many the first time I ever jumped out of my seat was due to the skinless dogs jumping through the window in Resident Evil on Playstation and I have been hooked ever since. Amnesia: The Dark Descent for PC is pretty creepy otherwise the usual suspects (Silent Hill/Resident Evil/Fatal Frame/Siren) all have their moments. Also FYI a pretty good resource for info of such games is Chris Survival Horror Quest site which I encountered looking for such things. Chris's Survival Horror Quest CLICK HERE. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+thegoldenband #11 Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) Some random thoughts on the subject: Dungeons of Daggorath (CoCo) is definitely up there. Nothing like the feeling of hearing a monster slowly approach...then fade away...only to suddenly jump you with a crash of sound! It's the original real-time first-person 3D game, and it's seriously creepy. I also remember having Doom startle the crap out of me on a few occasions back in the mid-'90s, when a monster or fellow player would suddenly emerge from the side. Skeleton+ for VCS can also put me on edge, especially when the skeletons start moving fast. On a similar but different note, the escape sequences in Air Fortress for NES get extremely nerve-wracking towards the end of the game. The sound and visual effects (as the fortress begins to rumble and shake from the impending chain reaction) are a masterpiece of 8-bit suspense. I know a bunch of people who were freaked out by VCS Berzerk as children (including my girlfriend), but I'm not one of them. There are a bunch of SNES titles that have disturbing, bleak, or ominous music. RPGs seem especially strong in this department; a few that come to mind are Lord of the Rings Vol. 1, Chrono Trigger, Drakkhen, and Secret of Mana. Oh, one more! Swordquest: Earthworld can make you jump out of your chair if you unexpectedly trigger one of the clues. I realize that happens but rarely, but back in the 1980s I'd imagine a lot of budding contest winners had their startle reflexes tripped now and again. Edited January 31, 2011 by thegoldenband Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SlowCoder #12 Posted January 31, 2011 Fear on the PC, and the original AvP starting out as a Marine. Both of them scared the crap out of me, alone with the lights off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toptenmaterial #13 Posted January 31, 2011 accidentally stumbling into level 9 in the first zelda (with it's death soundtrack) is creepy also Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Koopa64 #14 Posted January 31, 2011 Yeah, that's a good one. Level 9 in Zelda is unusually creepy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The_Laird #15 Posted January 31, 2011 Without a doubt Alien Vs. Predator on the Jaguar. Thats a seriously creepy game, especially when you can hear a Predator but don't know where they are! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toptenmaterial #16 Posted January 31, 2011 Yeah, that's a good one. Level 9 in Zelda is unusually creepy. especially when you enter that dark room and gannon's there! awesome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian O #17 Posted January 31, 2011 Resident Evil 1. When you're walking down the hall, and those demon dogs jump through the boarded up windows. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rik #18 Posted January 31, 2011 The sound track in 3do's "Killing Time" pc game is really creepy.This game may not be the scariest, but it's the weirdest/creepiest.It has every cliche character ,demon chefs, demon maids, killer clowns, 2 headed hunting dogs, zombies, etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chilly Willy #19 Posted January 31, 2011 For old-school scary, you can't beat The Eidolon - tension rises as the sound indicates you're closing in on the dragon that ends the level, then you break that barrier and it attacks!! Personally, Silent Hill and Resident Evil were only creepy, not scary. What scared me on the PSX was the Tyrannosaurus in Tomb Raider - especially the first time you play that and you aren't expecting it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bomberpunk #20 Posted January 31, 2011 no love for the Fatal Frame games on PS2? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Koopa64 #21 Posted January 31, 2011 The Fatal Frame games were on Xbox too ya know! Damn PS2 fanboys... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RJ #22 Posted February 1, 2011 A scariest games thread? Is it Halloween already? Anyhoo, the 3 games I recall jumping in my seat at: Resident Evil (PS)- yep, the dogs thru the window Rescue/Fractalus- it's not just the image of the alien, but the accompanying "woooOOO!" weird SFX Res Evil: Code Veronica (PS2)- it's actually a hazy memory, but theres a part where you enter a lab & some creature breaks out of a jar or breaks a window or something Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eltigro #23 Posted February 1, 2011 I remember my sister used to think that Tomb Raider (the first one) was scary. She just never knew when things were going to attack me. I told her it was easy to figure it out... as soon as you heard the disc start spinning up and music started, then there was probably something coming... The dogs on Resident Evil was more of a cheap "gotcha" or "boo" kind of scary. Like in the movies when something jumps out at you. You know, there's kind of a tense moment when the female protagonist is looking for something and suddenly the cat jumps out at her and starts purring. It's a cheap scare. I don't think I've ever actually been scared by a game other than the cheap scare. I've been anxious because there was a tense moment, but I wouldn't say scared... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cebus Capucinis #24 Posted February 1, 2011 System Shock 2 almost made me shit my pants, literally. On multiple occasions! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dirty Harry #25 Posted February 1, 2011 I remember as a kid Turok for N64 used to scare the s**t out of me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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