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LTTP: Silent Hill 2 (dat ending...)

Oemenia

Banned
I know its a GAF darling and honestly I wish I listened earlier.

I had played SH1 before and while the second game is a big improvement, I was ready to dismiss it for not having played it when it first came out. But then the third act starts and boy I was not expecting this. Suddenly everything started to make sense, all those ideas planted in your head earlier in the game were now sprouting. All those odd characters and nonsensical messages actually had meaning and the conclusion was only looking bleak. Clearly if the town called you, it was also going to make you suffer and have its fun as well.

And then the game hits you with the ending and it comes as a punch to the gut. I got the In Water ending and honestly I would have it no other way. While Leave is considered the good ending and the Maria one not being as bad, it is In Water ending that really ties up everything and has the most impact. It's no wonder then that most people consider it to be canon.

The reading of the letter had me absolutely shattered and for a good while I was on the results screen listening to the music. I may be 15 years late to this masterpiece but I honestly can't stress how right GAF was on this one.
 
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I am overjoyed you got into it.

Silent Hill 2 is beyond a masterpiece to me. It's transcendent. It's my favorite piece of media ever. Its artistic mastery is beyond what I could have imagined of humanity, and it gives me faith in human achievement.

Glad to see another one touched by its brilliance.
 

Trevelyan

Banned
I am overjoyed you got into it.

Silent Hill 2 is beyond a masterpiece to me. It's transcendent. It's my favorite piece of media ever. Its artistic mastery is beyond what I could have imagined of humanity, and it gives me faith in human achievement.

Glad to see another one touched by its brilliance.

Probably couldn't have said it better. I'm a hard Nintendo fanboy, but Silent Hill 2 will forever go down as my favorite game ever. It still haunts me to this day. I remember when I bought, playing it, and I still listen to it's soundtrack every October, now 16 years later.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
One of the greatest pieces of art, not just a game, that I have ever had the honor of witnessing. Great stuff all around from the disturbingly intimate and personal story to Akira Yamaoka's amazingly haunting sound track just an all around masterpiece firing on all cylinders.
 
Silent Hill 2 is probably the best argument for 'games as art' I've ever played, especially since it's an experience elevated by being a game rather than any other medium. One of the best games ever made.
 

sublimit

Banned
SH 2 is one of my favorite games of all time.It's a game that needs to be studied on how to make a great third person horror game that relies on story,characters and atmosphere rather than cheap jump scares every 5 minutes .

Sadly games like this are almost extinct nowdays.
 
I am overjoyed you got into it.

Silent Hill 2 is beyond a masterpiece to me. It's transcendent. It's my favorite piece of media ever. Its artistic mastery is beyond what I could have imagined of humanity, and it gives me faith in human achievement.

Glad to see another one touched by its brilliance.

This post is so amazing.
 

JThird

Member
I know its a GAF darling and honestly I wish I listened earlier.

I had played SH1 before and the second was a big improvement but nothing all that memorable, I was ready to dismiss it for not having played it when it first came out. But then the third act starts and boy I was not expecting it. Suddenly everything started to make sense, all those ideas planted in your head earlier in the game were now sprouting. All those odd characters and nonsensical messages actually had meaning and the conclusion was only looking bleak. Clearly if the town called you, it was going to make you suffer and have its fun as well.

And then the game hits you with the ending and it comes as a punch to the gut. I got the In Water ending and honestly I would have it no other way. While Leave is considered the good ending and the Maria one not being as bad, it is In Water ending that really ties up everything and has the most impact. It's no wonder then that most people consider it to be canon.

The reading of the letter had me absolutely shattered and for a good while I was on the results screen listening to the music. I may be 15 years late to this masterpiece but I honestly can't stress how right GAF was on this one.
Now go and play Silent Hill; Shattered memories. It's so close to SH2 perfection.
 
I too love the hell out of this game. With Visceral going out I’ve been reminiscing about Dead Space and realize the reason I love those much is because the psychological aspect reminds me of Silent Hill.
 

Grisby

Member
Game terrified me when I first played it. The letter reading at the end is still one of the saddest things I've seen/heard in a game.
 
Sorry OP, now you're stuck in eternal damnation with the rest of us Silent Hill fans.

327e7980a82b5686be8db04758c9c9a4--silent-hill--its-always.jpg
 
No other game since then has really come close to capturing the same tone and just overall vibe that Silent Hill 2 has. Really want to play it again now!
 

nachum00

Member
Tied for my favorite game of all time, Silent Hill 2 really is a perfect game to me. A truly surreal and Lynchian experience unrivaled in its entire medium.(sorry Suda and Swery)
 

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
SH2 is one of the best games ever made. Nothing more needs to be said. I love the cult plot of SH1 and SH3 for its occult undertones, but SH2 is just so amazing due to its more psychological nature and how horrors of the mind manifest as physical horrors.
 
The best way to replay would be via PCSX2 or PC or anything else?

Honestly, the best way is native PS2 hardware or the Xbox version. But if you're on PC, emulate it on PCSX2 and follow this. There's debate between whether the PS2 or Xbox version is the best but I think the PS2 one is because of the fog and shadows being the most accurate.

PC version isn't that great, sure it has slightly higher res textures but it has technical problems like laggy menu transitions and not as good visual effects.
 

-shadow-

Member
Happy that you enjoyed it. Personally I'm not that big a fan of the game. Loved the story, but the rest of the did absolutely nothing for me unfortunately. Disappointing that Konami lost any interest in the industry, a well done HD remaster, one that's actually completely based on the PS2 release instead of the PC build would be pretty cool actually. The game does deserve more than what Konami gives it.

The best way to replay would be via PCSX2 or PC or anything else?
PS2 re-release through PCSX2, should deliver some terrific results graphically.
 
Honestly, the best way is native PS2 hardware or the Xbox version. But if you're on PC, emulate it on PCSX2 and follow this. There's debate between whether the PS2 or Xbox version is the best but I think the PS2 one is because of the fog and shadows being the most accurate.

PC version isn't that great, sure it has slightly higher res textures but it has technical problems like laggy menu transitions and not as good visual effects.

Thanks, seen they finally fixed the cutscene issue with PCSX2.
 
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