Bates — clocktower

Bates

Bates' shadow behind Alyssa

Gender

Male
Female (as Alyssa)

Age

Unknown (could be considered 17 and born 1982 if Alyssa's twin)

Status

Ambiguous (deceased physically, yet "alive" in Alyssa)

Hair color

Dark brown (as Alyssa)

Eye color

Red
Brown (as Alyssa)

Occupation

Alyssa's alternate personality (part-time)

Appearances

Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within

Voice actor

Roger L. Jackson (English)
Fujiko Takimoto (Japanese)
Houko Kuwashima (Drama CD)

“

Relax, Alyssa... I said before that I'd protect us.

—Bates in the Prologue manga

”

Bates (翔 Shō), full name possibly Bates Maxwell (才堂翔 Saidō Shō) if he is indeed Alyssa's deceased twin, is a mysterious spirit who sometimes possesses Alyssa Hale and the deuteragonist of Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within.

Personality

Bates kicking Stephanie, a "little shit".

Bates is cruel, cynical and clever, yet kind to Alyssa, which might be a simple defense instinct due to possessing the same body as her or due to the possibility he may be her twin brother spiritually living through her. He does seem to truly care about Alyssa's welfare.

Despite being bold and cunning, Bates is also proud and arrogant; all of these traits together can ultimately lead to his demise, as depicted in some of the endings. Bates is the complete opposite to Alyssa's shy and meek personality, and shows very little consideration to others shall they stand in his way, not treating them with much, if any, respect. He is quite profane, using language like "little shit", "old man/lady", "bitch", etc.

His personality and voice varies between the two versions of the game. The Japanese version depicts Bates with a feminine voice (due to Alyssa's gender) and acts more devious and cold-blooded, while the English localization depicts Bates with a masculine voice (possibly to distinguish from Alyssa's gender) and acts rudely and foul-mouthed.

Background

Born in 1982, Alyssa's had a twin of unspecified sex, who was buried alongside her in the Maxwell grave by their father, who believed in his family's curse. The twin suffocated to death.

It is theorized that Bates is the spirit of Alyssa's deceased twin who became trapped in Alyssa's body. However, any actual significance or reason for his existence is unknown. Bates' biography in-game goes as far as to say that he could simply be a ghost seeking revenge on the Maxwell family.

Drama CD

One day, at school, Bates unexpectedly took control of Alyssa and killed three students who were harassing her, as well as a teacher, which led to Alyssa's institutionalization in a mental asylum a year before the events of The Struggle Within.

There are other notable changes in the Drama CD, such as Bates physically attacking Nurse Cook and killing Allen with a pistol.

Gameplay

Throughout the game, he can be dominant if Alyssa isn't wearing the Mikoshi Amulet and encounters a shocking event or danger, and always remains dormant if Alyssa has it in her possession.

Unlike Alyssa, Bates cannot hide or use evasion points, and can only attack stalkers with pistols, shotguns, and machine guns, in addition to the unlockable Milicana.

Bates refuses to access the female bathrooms in the game out of modesty; likewise, Alyssa can only access male bathroom as Bates - a reference to Bates' gender. However, in Time Attack and Score Attack, Bates can access both bathrooms.

Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within

This plot summary follows the canon Ending A.

Bates first appears when Alyssa discovers the severed head of her cousin, Ashley Tate, in the house where she was to spend a weekend. Emotionally distraught and without her amulet, she tells Bates not to come out, but he does so anyway, telling her not to be afraid. If the player chooses to talk to Philip Tate in the lounge while Bates is still in control, he will tell him that Alyssa is asleep, and that he is there instead.

When Bates gets back to the dining room, he notices Alyssa's amulet on the ground and picks it up, thus allowing her to come back in control. Soon afterwards, Stephanie Tate makes her appearance and relentlessly chases after Alyssa with a kitchen knife. A while later, Bates and Alyssa discover the golden statue in Stephanie's bedroom, which Bates remarks as "dangerous."

Alyssa reaches the master bedroom, where she finds her aunt about to be attacked by Stephanie. Alyssa pushes Stephanie over and tells Kathryn to escape; Bates then takes over and kicks Stephanie in the face before leaving the room, after telling Kathryn to leave.

Ultimately, Alyssa is begged by her uncle to burn the statue. She goes to the living room, where she throws it into the fireplace as Stephanie emerges from the next room. As she prepares to burn it, Stephanie lunges at her, knocking off the amulet. Bates once again takes over and stabs her, then picks up the amulet again, allowing Alyssa to regain control. She throws the lighter into the fireplace, igniting the statue, and both she and Stephanie collapse.

Alyssa wakes up in Memorial Hospital where she and Bates are forced to evade the zombies as they explore. Bates soon finds Jessica Cook hiding in the storage closet, mumbling about how everyone is going to die. Bates demands to know about the strange creatures in the building, and threatens to kill her if she doesn't answer. She tells him the information on the zombies is in her office, and he goes there to discover that the zombies' weak points are their parasitic brains. With this new knowledge and the help of Detective Alex Corey, he and Alyssa manage to escape to the Memorial Pharmaceuticals Research Lab.

Alyssa wakes up once again, this time in the lab where she and Bates are continued to be stalked by zombies, in addition to a hatchet-wielding George Maxwell. After learning more about her past and the mysterious Maxwell Curse, Alyssa finds Shannon Lewis angrily claiming that she ruined her life, and promptly tries to strangle her. Bates takes over and pushes Shannon against the back wall, who then leaves the room, astonished, after taking a brief look at him.

In the basement, Bates encounters Allen Hale, Alyssa's adoptive father, in an office. Bates reveals that he knows the truth about the Maxwell Curse, but Allen states that even if he does know, "it's all over now," to which Bates disagrees. Allen then tells Bates to go downstairs to see the conclusion.

In the shrine, Alyssa finds Allen confronting George Maxwell. He explains that he envied him, and reveals to Alyssa that she is not his biological daughter, but instead the daughter of George himself, and was buried alive due to being cursed with an alter ego. As George tries to attack Alyssa, he is shot by Allen and falls to the ground. Allen continues to explain that he loved her, and because of this, he infected the statue with the toxin in order to make George go insane, as well as to silence the Tate family. Allen the bids farewell to Alyssa and tells her to leave, as the building is about to explode, and collapses. As Alyssa attempts to reach her father, George rises in a final attempt to kill his biological daughter. However, Alex steps into the room in time and shoots George with his shotgun, killing him for good. The two then escape.

Outside, Alyssa and Alex watch the building in flames. While lamenting over her adoptive father's death, claiming she should have died instead, Bates can be heard whispering that they "did it to themselves," and that he will never die, and will instead live on inside of Alyssa.

Quotes

Chapter 1

"Don't be afraid, Alyssa..."
"Who the hell are you? What kind of place is this? It's like a haunted house!"
"Hurry up, old lady! Get the hell out of here!"
"The little twerp! I'll kill her... next time."
"That little monster!"
"Hey, old man, you're spacing out."
"I'm not Alyssa. I've got a name. I am Bates."
"So what if I do? I don't need to tell you about it!"
"That statue... gives me an eerie feeling."
"Serves you right, doesn't it, old man?"
"There you are, you little runt!"
"Cursed... me?"
"Just... give... up!"
"Hey, you little shit! What good is it going to do to burn that?"
"You're crazy!"

Chapter 2

"Don't wanna answer, huh? If you're not gonna talk... then I'll kill you."
"Pretty good, for a coward!"
"This makes sense... Getting infected with the Cerebral Toxin turns you into a Zombie... The bacteria forms a new, parasitic brain... and makes the old brain stop functioning..."
"That means the zombies' weak point is their parasitic brain... I've got to try!"
"Suicide... how stupid."
"You wanna die? I'll help you with that."

Chapter 3

"Hmph, whoop-di-doo."
"I hope there will be an end."
"I'm not going to thank you."
"Someone's trying to be clever..."
"Who the hell are you? [...] That's not what I asked... I asked what you're really up to..."
""Fortunate"? That's my line! I'll send you to meet your maker!"
"Stay out of this! I don't remember you telling me what to do."
"I suggest you be the one to get the hell out of here."
"You're not much help! Well, sweet dreams, anyway..."
"So this is where you've been... [...] It's all your fault... all of it!"
"Cursed? And if I am...?"
"THIS IS THE END!"
"If you don't answer, I'll make you answer!"
"Back off, bitch."
"You should be the one to hightail it out of here!"
"The same statue... I get it."
"How sly... to go on about the Maxwell Curse and all."
"It's over? I'm not so sure."
"Hard...? They did it to themselves, didn't they?"
"I'm not going to die..."

Time/Score Attack

"It's Shō time!"
"Impressive!"
"Well, look at that!"

Trivia

"Bates" is likely a reference to Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, as well as its main setting and name of a TV series serving as a contemporary prequel, Bates Motel.

In Japan, the game is known as Clock Tower: Ghost Head. "Ghost Head" may refer to Bates, who is the "ghost" in Alyssa's "head". However, the cover of the localized version implies "Ghosthead" is George Maxwell, despite that he is not called that in-game.[1]

Bates is the protagonist of the two mini-games, Time Attack and Score Attack, both of which unlocked by completing the game with Ending A and saving at the prompt. When casting an Attack, Bates exclaims, "It's Shō time!", a play on words and a reference to his Japanese name, Shō.

If the player examines a mirror as Alyssa, she comments that she sees Bates' face.

Bates is the first and only playable character in the Clock Tower series (besides Alex Corey) who cannot hide.

Bates' English voice actor is Roger L. Jackson, best known for voicing the killer in the Scream films, Mojo Jojo in The Powerpuff Girls, as well as the Cheshire Cat in American McGee's Alice and its sequel, Alice: Madness Returns. His Japanese voice actor, Fujiko Takimoto, is female in order to better match Alyssa's appearance and gender.

Bates is often complimented as one of the only few enjoyable parts of a generally negatively received installment, adding humor and charm.

Bates can be compared to Aiden from Beyond: Two Souls, especially if the theory about him being Alyssa's deceased brother is true.

Bates' Japanese name, Shō (翔), can mean "soar" or "fly". The kanji for Bates' name can also be used for the word "天翔る" (amakakeru) which also means to "soar" or "fly" but more specifically about spirits and gods. This can all be a reference to Bates being a spirit and that he would have likely "soared" to Alyssa's body when he died (if the theory that he is Alyssa's deceased brother is true).