Michael Tate (鷹野 雅春 Takano Masaharu) is a minor antagonist and stalker in Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within.
Appearance
Michael possesses brown eyes and short black hair. He is seen wearing a blue polo shirt, brown khaki shorts, and green slippers with blue polka dots.
Background
Michael is the oldest child of the Tate family. He is the son of Philip and Kathryn Tate, the brother of Ashley and Stephanie Tate, and the adopted cousin of Alyssa Hale.
Shortly after Stephanie went insane, Michael attempted to evade her by hiding inside the suit of samurai armor in the second floor. Unfortunately, the gangrene paste inside the helmet caused him to go insane and become a wandering, murderous stalker (鎧武者 Warrior Armor).
Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within
Before finding the Golden Statue in Stephanie's room, Alyssa takes a look at the samurai armor twice, unknowingly triggering the armor to move. Afterwards, Michael, who is inside the armor, will wander around the house at random occasions.
Michael, after being thrown down from the ceiling.
Later on, while Alyssa is wandering around the Memorial Pharmaceuticals Research Lab, upon finding a key on the ground in the courtyard, unknowingly, George Maxwell throws the samurai armor down from the mirror in the ceiling and into the courtyard. Dodging the falling armor to avoid getting crushed underneath, Alyssa immediately recognizes Michael inside the armor, having been killed by the fall, although she has no idea how he got in there the first place.
Michael's corpse is presumably destroyed when the lab explodes in the game's climax.
Alternate ending
If the player fails to check the armor twice before finding the Golden Statue, Alyssa/Bates will hear a scream shortly after inspecting the statue. Upon entering Michael's bedroom, the player will find Michael slumped on a chair, having been stabbed to death by Stephanie. Later, in Chapter 3, when Alyssa/Bates inspects a pool of blood instead of the key in the courtyard of the lab, George Maxwell throws down the armor on her/him, killing Alyssa/Bates - thus resulting Ending G.
The Hint 7, found on a computer in the office adjacent to the courtyard, gives a vague hint towards it, but is verily misleading:
| “ | The armored samurai will sometimes move, while other times he will not. Whether he moves or not plays a major factor in determining the ending.
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” |
The samurai armor will not move if the player fails to check it twice (once before finding Ashley's head on her bedroom, and another before finding the golden statue in Stephanie's room), thus triggering Michael's death and the subsequent Ending G in Chapter 3. It will never move at random, as it is described otherwise in the hint.
Gameplay
Michael in samurai armor.
As the second stalker, Michael is a very formidable opponent, as he is completely armored and armed with a katana. Because of this, he can't be incapacitated by a weapon or an object, and even a fully charged shot of the unlockable Milicana will barely even damage him. When activated, Michael will wander around the house, most predominantly in the second floor, at random occasions.
Whereever Alyssa/Bates encounters Michael, he will walk slowly towards them. Unlike the other stalkers, Michael will never relentlessly stalk the player, and will disappear into another area after a certain amount of time.
Should Alyssa/Bates come into contact with Michael, this will trigger a Panic: Alyssa/Bates will stand still in fear as Michael prepares to slice her/him.
- If the player succeeds, Alyssa will jump out of the way as Michael strikes down; as Bates, he will kick Michael in the groin before he has the chance.
- If the player fails, Michael will successfully attack Alyssa/Bates, killing her/him, resulting in a Dead End.
Trivia
- Michael's reanimation in the samurai armor refers to the alternate death of Laura Harrington in Clock Tower: The First Fear, since Jennifer can find her, dead, inside a suit of medieval armor. Michael's death in the courtyard of the lab refers to Anne's alternate death on the stained glass, as well as, subsequently, the opening of the movie Suspiria.
- From the manner in which his room is decorated, it is deductible that Michael was interested in cars, computers, sports, and kendo.
- Michael and Ashley are the only characters with no in-game dialogue.
- If the player follows the path of Ending G and inspects a dead Michael as Bates, he will, surprisingly, admit guilt over failure to save Michael.
- Additionally, in the ceremonial room upstairs, the player will find the table covered with blood. If inspected, Michael's corpse will fall from the ceiling and onto the table. Shortly afterwards, Stephanie will enter the room and begin to stalk the player, suggesting that Stephanie used Michael's body to create a trap and deceive Alyssa, similar to what Scissorman did to Laura in the shower to deceive Jennifer in The First Fear, as well as Baker in the women's lounge to deceive Helen Maxwell (in her scenario) in Clock Tower.
Gallery
