Scariest Retro Games

[Rom]

Hi there, I was just reading a thread on the scariest SNES games. There seemed to be some slim pickings, although I'm now going to try to track down Clock Tower.

I thought I'd open it up - what retro games have people found the most scary, regardless of format?

Everybody has a different definition of 'retro' - shall we say pre-2000?

A few that spring to mind for me are:

Heretic - the first time you hear (but can't see) those flying mages

System Shock II - I think this one speaks for itself really

Ecstatica - super-bright graphics, but you were soooo vulnerable

Anybody else?

[okcmallrat]

Sweet Home for the NES.

[gothioso]

i still say silent hill on psx, i know its later game like 99, but playin that with headphones or in surround sound it used to scare me so badly

[Rom]

I just remembered the Thief games on PC - especially the first one. Realising that two Hammer Haunts have just detected your presence and hearing them racing toward you - bloody hell, that was tense.

[white-zombie]

I found Super Castlevania IV on the SNES to be very atmospheric, but not scary.

Playing the PS1 Doom conversion was crap scary, as much due to the sound as anything, all low rumbles and screams, shrieks and animal cries in the background.

I guess Resident Evil 2 was jumpy in parts.

Agreed with regard to Silent Hill on PS1, I only played it last year, for the first time, and it's still the scarier than any game/film that I've ever experienced.

[Edifolco25]

If a PS1 game counts as a retro game, then I gotta go with Silent Hill. That game had a special kind of scare behind it. It didn't rely on jump out startling moments, it was all about atmosphere. The game actually built up a feeling of dread in you.

I might be bias though since Silent Hill is probably one of my top 3 all time fav games. From the story, to the motive, to the characters, to the atmosphere, to the music, to all the little extra things that game makers add to show that they put that little extra effort into their game (like the street names), I pretty much loved everything about this game... ...even though it scared the heck out of me.