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[Memento_Mori15]

First off, I want to say what an amazing series. I can’t believe I never touched them considering I was too scared to play them before and yet didn’t mind playing games like Fatal Frame or Resident Evil(Remake & RE2). I tried the first Silent Hill a few years back but the atmosphere and hearing sounds from the unknown made me feel uncomfortable, I ended the journey quite early. Yet, thanks to P.T., I decided to delve into Silent Hill once more…

Silent Hill series as a whole
-This series has one of the best soundtracks in gaming: I’m not the biggest fan of video game music, but I think I would put SH2’s and SH3’s soundtracks on my mp3 player. I’m currently listening to “End Of Small Sanctuary” from SH3 while writing this and I can listen it to all day. Reprise from SH2 is another noteworthy song. Whoever composed the soundtrack for this game is a genius(as well as the sounds for making them still terrifying to this day).
- Great use of sounds: Playing this in surround speakers made the experience more enjoyable and scarier.
-Exploring and interacting with the background makes the player learn more about the main character. Example: We wouldn't have known Heater was a smoker before unless you interacted with the carton of cigarettes on the table. I feel like this is something lacking in games nowadays.
-Compared to other horror games, I was more scared of the unknown than seeing the enemies in front of me. Every time I heard footsteps or an unsettling scream, I panicked, thinking something will appear. In fact, I would escape from that room as fast as I could.


Silent Hill 1
Although this game came out in 1999 and the graphics are outdated, the sounds and the soundtrack are most definitely not. The puzzles were challenging at certain points, but the combat was a breeze considering how much ammo and health aid is given to you(I had like 27+ health drinks, 180+ handgun ammo, etc) which didn't make me feel I was in a constant thread. But on the positive side, I just loved exploring Silent Hill. The game even rewards you if you explore by getting more ammo(which also is a neg lol) and getting the good ending. I don’t really have much to say about this game other than it was good.

Silent Hill 2
Now this game, this game is worth talking about and one of the reasons I really wanted to make this topic. Unlike the first Silent Hill, when I beat this, I wanted to connect the pieces, took some time to read up on the wiki of Silent Hill 2, and watched a 40 min long analysis on youtube . Among the trilogy, this game had the most interesting side-characters; I wanted to know more about Eddie and Angela as I progressed through the game and wanted to know how Eddie even obtained pizza(sadly, the world will never know). I love the idea how each of the characters sees Silent Hill differently as hinted throughout the story.

To me, this was the scariest Silent Hill game. The hospital and the prison atmosphere made me not want to explore the entire place(only silent hill game among the 3 I didn’t explore every room). In the prison, I just didn’t like how I can hear steps in the long corridors when I can’t pinpoint where the noise is coming from. Thus I would just run through them as fast as James could to avoid hearing it. I did the same thing at the hospital, the unknown screaming/wailing at the basement level stairwell made me want to avoid going down there.

Once again, I loved exploring Silent Hill. One of my favorite portion of the game was just reading what James have to say as you interact with certain items and the background, something I usually only find in RPGs. Example, when you’re with Maria in a bar, if you examine the liquor bottles, James will talk about how he often relied on it to escape his pain and loneliness. In the alternative Silent Hill, if you go back to one of the restaurants, you can read a writing on the wall hinting of what James really did by saying something like “You should just die.” and hinting he will not be going to the same place as Mary since he is a murderer. At this point, the player doesn’t know James is a murderer yet, but they will start questioning about James.

Speaking about James, he deserves to be discussed. I would love to hear what neogaf thinks of this character since I believe James is one of the most interesting characters I have come across throughout my years of gaming. At first, I thought James would just be another Harry. He seems to be kind and concern about each character he meets. But when James suddenly burst out at Laura, by calling her a liar, I thought that was a bit out of character from what we saw of him thus far in the game. I shrugged it off at that time. However, it wasn’t until I saw that writing in that restaurant that I started to doubt James.

Now am I a bit insane to sympathize with James? I know a few people who live with their sick love ones, taking care of them daily. One person is so tired of taking care of that person, that at times, he wishes the disease would just kill her off. However, he would never pull a James since he loves that person way too much. I also read a book about how the main character kills her mom she was looking after because she was constantly rude to her and was tired of looking after her. Looking at James’ perspective, I can see why he would kill Mary since I’m imagining he was going through the same suffering as that one character in the book. Of course, what he did wasn’t right.

I can go on about this game, but I’ll stop here…

Silent Hill 3
My biggest complaint about this game was how short it was compared to the last two and I couldn’t explore Silent Hill. I guess at this point, it just came 2nd nature to me. I explored every room, tried to explore Silent Hill the most I can(disappointed that there really wasn’t much in the town), and I still beat it in exactly 4 hours. Considering Heather was my favorite protagonist among the three, it sucked that the journey with her ended so fast.

I was really into the plot and loved how it tied with the first Silent Hill. However, it's not as ambiguous as the other two games, it's rather straight forward. I didn't really mind this, but it makes me wonder if a 2nd playthrough is even worth doing since I'm pretty sure I checked out everything. Even though I say I probably wouldn't do a 2nd playthrough, I actually feel like replaying it at this very moment and go with hard on riddles since normal was way too easy.

This was the only one among the three where you actually have to conserve your ammo since it’s actually scarce! Instead of shooting/meleeing every enemy I have encountered, I just ran away from them. I only killed two enemies throughout my playthrough via melee and saved my shotgun/handgun bullets for the bosses. This made the game actually feel like a survival horror game rather than just a horror game. Yet, the puzzles on normal were too easy, never got stuck on a single one of them. I knew I should have picked hard but perhaps in another playthrough.

The atmosphere in this game was great. I actually stopped and said wtf at a couple of things. In the storeroom in the alternative hospital, I kept staring at the mirror until blood started seeping through the room, I wanted out but the door wouldn’t open. I started panicking and hitting the x button until the door finally opened up. The jump scares in this game was brilliant and scared me each time. The mannequin room and the haunted house particularly. However, compared SH2, I wasn’t that scared to explore.
______
End of ramble of the Silent Hill games.

Now I'm a bit melancholy. It's been a few years since I actually found a game I actually enjoyed playing throughout. It's also been a few years since I actually played a game for more than 2 hours+. I can definitely see myself replaying SH2 and SH3 sometime in the future and try to see if I can find something I missed.

So gaffers, what are your thoughts on the Silent Hill games? What's your interpretation on Silent Hill 2 and the series as a whole? What is your favorite among the series? Can someone post a good plot analysis on the games?

I still want to explore Silent Hill but I've read the the first three are the only ones worth playing. Hopefully Kojima and Del Torro can cook up a nice Silent Hill game. However, I doubt it will come close to SH2 or SH3. I hope they can prove me wrong.

 

[BakkaGames]

I've finished Silent Hill 2 yesterday. I loved the atmosphere and the story, but I didn't find the gameplay to be very enjoyable.
I was sure I wouldn't be playing Silent Hill 3, but if it really is as short as you say I might give it a try.

 

[Manmademan]

4 hours for silent hill 3 is kind of ridiculous. Did you sprint through that game? Use a faq?

Silent hill 4 isn't substantially worse than 1-3 and deserves a play through if you enjoy the series. Miles better than everything after it.

 

[Memento_Mori15]

4 hours for silent hill 3 is kind of ridiculous. Did you sprint through that game? Use a faq?

Silent hill 4 isn't substantially worse than 1-3 and deserves a play through if you enjoy the series. Miles better than everything after it.

I didn't use a FAQ, figure it would spoil the game's atmosphere.

As for 4, I'll probably look into it. I would just lower my expectations if I play it.

 

[Nemesis_]

I really like Silent Hill 2 but I do think it's the most overrated of the series, I'm not entirely sure why it's so popular out of all of them. Conversely, I really think Silent Hill 4 is the most underrated. It covers such an interesting back/side story of the cult, I find it hard to not recommend people play that. Some nice ties to the original games too, even if they are a bit forced considering the game wasn't a Silent Hill game.

Now this game, this game is worth talking about and one of the reasons I really wanted to make this topic. Unlike the first Silent Hill, when I beat this, I wanted to connect the pieces, took some time to read up on the wiki of Silent Hill 2, and watched a 40 min long analysis on youtube . Among the trilogy, this game had the most interesting side-characters; I wanted to know more about Eddie and Angela as I progressed through the game and wanted to know how Eddie even obtained pizza(sadly, the world will never know). I love the idea how each of the characters sees Silent Hill differently as hinted throughout the story.

I think it's important to clarify that this is an aspect that only Silent Hill 2 really touched upon and I agree, I do like the idea. I kind of wish it was touched upon more so in other games, but alas, it wasn't. I'd hate to be in Angela's version of Silent Hill. It just looks so dreadful. I'd also disagree with your interesting characters claim since Silent Hill 3 has Vincent, who is one of the most interesting and well thought out characters in the entire series (imo).

To me, this was the scariest Silent Hill game. The hospital and the prison atmosphere made me not want to explore the entire place(only silent hill game among the 3 I didn’t explore every room). In the prison, I just didn’t like how I can hear steps in the long corridors when I can’t pinpoint where the noise is coming from. Thus I would just run through them as fast as James could to avoid hearing it. I did the same thing at the hospital, the unknown screaming/wailing at the basement level stairwell made me want to avoid going down there.

I think Silent Hill 2's style of horror is a lot more subtle in it's delivery and execution for sure. There's a lot more of the implied, subtle kind of horror in it and I think that's why it is more terrifying to some people. I found it to be more interesting than scary, but I did enjoy it a lot. I know what you mean about the random noises. In the apartment lot, there's a random clang noise as I was climbing the stairs and it was just so terrifying because I had no idea what it was. Of course, it was nothing, but the tension up until that moment was great.

Were you aware that the footsteps you were hearing were probably the Prisoner enemy? I always thought it was so weird that Team Silent would go to the effort to render and create enemies that the player would never explicitly see. But I think it adds a great feeling of creepiness to the prisoner levels. I also like how the prison is in a seemingly impossible space considering how far underground you drop to get there.

Once again, I loved exploring Silent Hill. One of my favorite portion of the game was just reading what James have to say as you interact with certain items and the background, something I usually only find in RPGs. Example, when you’re with Maria in a bar, if you examine the liquor bottles, James will talk about how he often relied on it to escape his pain and loneliness. In the alternative Silent Hill, if you go back to one of the restaurants, you can read a writing on the wall hinting of what James really did by saying something like “You should just die.” and hinting he will not be going to the same place as Mary since he is a murderer. At this point, the player doesn’t know James is a murderer yet, but they will start questioning about James.

I agree re: the whole doubt thing, but I think Silent Hill 3 did this better but only because Heather is a more colourful character than James was. James is a middle aged dude who has doubts and is aggressively in denial. His comments on things weren't that interesting compared to Heather, who I feel Team Silent captured perfectly in terms of her comments. She sounds like a mature yet somewhat insecure teenage girl.

Speaking about James, he deserves to be discussed. I would love to hear what neogaf thinks of this character since I believe James is one of the most interesting characters I have come across throughout my years of gaming. At first, I thought James would just be another Harry. He seems to be kind and concern about each character he meets. But when James suddenly burst out at Laura, by calling her a liar, I thought that was a bit out of character from what we saw of him thus far in the game. I shrugged it off at that time. However, it wasn’t until I saw that writing in that restaurant that I started to doubt James.

Yeah, I think when James starting yelling at Laura I started to doubt him too. It really highlights just how in denial he is and exactly why James was brought to the town for judgment.

Now am I a bit insane to sympathize with James? I know a few people who live with their sick love ones, taking care of them daily. One person is so tired of taking care of that person, that at times, he wishes the disease would just kill her off. However, he would never pull a James since he loves that person way too much. I also read a book about how the main character kills her mom she was looking after because she was constantly rude to her and was tired of looking after her. Looking at James’ perspective, I can see why he would kill Mary since I’m imagining he was going through the same suffering as that one character in the book. Of course, what he did wasn’t right.

I think the James had some pretty sexual thoughts about other women after seeing Mary in her state and it's the beginning of those thoughts and the implications they had on his choice that made the town feel the need to punish him.

My biggest complaint about this game was how short it was compared to the last two and I couldn’t explore Silent Hill. I guess at this point, it just came 2nd nature to me. I explored every room, tried to explore Silent Hill the most I can(disappointed that there really wasn’t much in the town), and I still beat it in exactly 4 hours. Considering Heather was my favorite protagonist among the three, it sucked that the journey with her ended so fast.[/QUOTE[

Silent Hill 3 is more or less about the cult, it's not really about Silent Hill like the second game was, that is why they don't really let you explore. I don't really know how you beat it in four hours without speedrunning it >_>

I was really into the plot and loved how it tied with the first Silent Hill. However, it's not as ambiguous as the other two games, it's rather straight forward. I didn't really mind this, but it makes me wonder if a 2nd playthrough is even worth doing since I'm pretty sure I checked out everything. Even though I say I probably wouldn't do a 2nd playthrough, I actually feel like replaying it at this very moment and go with hard on riddles since normal was way too easy.

I feel like a lot of the ambiguity in Silent Hill 3 comes from it's environments and the other things like the birthday caller, Stanley in the hospital, the confession booth and some of the creature designs. The creatures in this game are truly revolting - they kind of put you off but you want to keep looking at them to work out what they are. If you didn't know the twist about who you were playing as, most of the ambiguity stemmed from trying to work out what was going on. What Claudia wanted and why she was so interested in you, what Vincent was up to and how his motivations played into the events and whether his quips were true or not.

The atmosphere in this game was great. I actually stopped and said wtf at a couple of things. In the storeroom in the alternative hospital, I kept staring at the mirror until blood started seeping through the room, I wanted out but the door wouldn’t open. I started panicking and hitting the x button until the door finally opened up. The jump scares in this game was brilliant and scared me each time. The mannequin room and the haunted house particularly. However, compared SH2, I wasn’t that scared to explore.

Silent Hill 3 uses a much more grungier version of horror. It's a very messy and dirty aesthetic, especially compared to Silent Hill. But that's the nature of the horror given that

Spoiler

it's the result of the god inside Heather projecting it's images externally

 

[twobear]

I really like Silent Hill 2 but I do think it's the most overrated of the series [...]

No that's Silent Hill 3. It's by far the worst of the first three games and arguably worse than 4.

 

[Nemesis_]

No that's Silent Hill 3. It's by far the worst of the first three games and arguably worse than 4.

how tho

I suspect there was some developmental troubles since Konami basically split Team Silent halfway through development to create a new horror franchise, which eventually just became Silent Hill 4 anyway. I assume that's why there's so many reused locales.

 

[cacildo]

I like 1+3 a lot better than 2

I really dont understand why people love 2 so much.

 

[NewGame]

OP I highly suggest you look up "The Real Silent Hill Experience" on youtube. Lots of interesting commentary and tidbits about the game.

 

[Nemesis_]

I like 1+3 a lot better than 2

I really dont understand why people love 2 so much.

It's because it's more ambiguous and is more "arty" while scaling back the occult elements, which for some reason people don't like.

It's a shame that most people misinterpret what the series was about. Even the developers of the post SH4 games do.

I mean, Silent Hill Origins entire existence hinges on a facet of the story that doesn't actually happen / exist. It's such a mess.

OP I highly suggest you look up "The Real Silent Hill Experience" on youtube. Lots of interesting commentary and tidbits about the game.

It's well produced but they're pretty big douches about how they approach their interpretations.

 

[RecursiveFault]

I played the games about a year ago for the first time.

Akira Yamaoka (soundtrack composer) is a literal god incarnate.

 

[Broder Salsa]

I like 1+3 a lot better than 2

I really dont understand why people love 2 so much.

Is it really that hard to imagine why? I understand thinking it isn't the best, but the whole vibe of the game, the personal story (by that I mean not much cult stuff, just focuses on James and his little quest to find Mary) with a pretty shocking twist even if they start hinting more and more to it... It's just so good. Also got what most considers the best creature design, Pyramid Head is of course iconic now, but abstract daddy and such were also fantastic.

 

[Roubjon]

When I played Silent Hill for the first time a couple years ago it was without a doubt one of the best gaming experiences I've had. I thought everything was executed incredibly well, except maybe some of those boss fights being so silly in terms of gameplay.

I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks. I started Silent Hill 3 a couple months later and it didn't suck me in like 2 did. I've yet to complete it, but I think I stopped right before things were about to really pick up. Everything turned orange and shitty and grungy and creepy as fuck.

 

[Haeralis The BRave]

You should include 4. Its not as good as 2, but IMO SH4 is better than SH1 and SH3.

 

[Nemesis_]

Is it really that hard to imagine why? I understand thinking it isn't the best, but the whole vibe of the game, the personal story (by that I mean not much cult stuff, just focuses on James and his little quest to find Mary) with a pretty shocking twist even if they start hinting more and more to it... It's just so good. Also got what most considers the best creature design, Pyramid Head is of course iconic now, but abstract daddy and such were also fantastic.

All of Ito's designs for Silent Hill 2 and 3 were fantastic, but I guess the fact that the enemies in Silent Hill 2 were all tailored specifically to James/Angela makes them a bit more creepy / personal.

I do find it kind of ironic that the big thing about Shattered Memories was how it had a psychological grading system that altered how the game played out, but that Silent Hill 2 had this the whole time (examining the photo, bumping into Maria, Angela's knife etc)

 

[Zebetite]

I played Silent Hill 3 for the first time pretty recently. I didn't like it nearly as much as the first two.

It's still a great game aesthetically, but that's always been a strong point for the series. The story was a pretty big step down from the first two and I found it really difficult to invest in the characters. The ending is straight-up terrible.

I enjoyed the ways it ties back into the first game, for the most part, except for the fucking awful vocals they pasted on to the Silent Hill theme during the credits. I wanted to vomit.

I don't know. I've always found Silent Hill to be a poor man's Resident Evil from a gameplay point of view, but the first two managed to exceed so much on an aesthetic and narrative level that it was easy to accept them all the same. Silent Hill 3 loses me on the narrative and that just means I have a harder time swallowing the game as a whole, no matter how pretty it still looks and sounds.

 

[Nemesis_]

I enjoyed the ways it ties back into the first game, for the most part, except for the fucking awful vocals they pasted on to the Silent Hill theme during the credits. I wanted to vomit.

Oh god that ending theme is so bad bfwedifbnjkdsiucdnj I cannot. Why did they do that<!O!

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Couple of questions from an interested initiate:

• Silent Hill 1 PSN is a decent port outside of some apparent audio issues when firing a weapon?
• SH1 PSN playable on both PS3 and Vita?
• Is PS2 the best/only way to play SH4 The Room?
• Does anyone have any experience with purchasing from Lukie Games? They were/are selling pre-owned SH2/3 copies at a discount but I'm a bit nervous in buying pre-owned online from a venue I've never heard of.

 

[Nemesis_]

Couple of questions from an interested initiate:

• Silent Hill 1 PSN is a decent port outside of some apparent audio issues when firing a weapon?"]Silent Hill 1 PSN is a decent port outside of some apparent audio issues when firing a weapon?
• SH1 PSN playable on both PS3 and Vita?
• Is PS2 the best/only way to play SH4 The Room?
• Does anyone have any experience with purchasing from Luckie Games? They were/are selling pre-owned SH2/3 copies at a discount but I'm a bit nervous in buying pre-owned online from a venue I've never heard of.

1.) Yes
2.) Yes
3.) You can get it on Xbox too, and apparently it's backwards compatible and will work on the Xbox 360.
4.) I'm in Australia so I have no idea.

 

[pinkurocket]

Obligatory (SH2 spoiler)

Silent Hill 2 is my favourite game ever. It is so deep, all the symbolism and everything is just so well crafted. The music, the story, the atmosphere. One of a kind.

 

[Zebetite]

Oh god that ending theme is so bad bfwedifbnjkdsiucdnj I cannot. Why did they do that<!O!

I didn't know anything about that abomination going in, so I beat the game and I'm thinking "man, this game was kind of disapp-"

then I hear FURIOUS MANDOLIN PICKING and I'm like "OH NEVERMIND I CAN'T BE UPSET IF I'M LISTENING TO THIS JAM" and then after exactly 10 seconds a man started to sing and I went back to being disappointed in Silent Hill 3.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

1.) Yes
2.) Yes
3.) You can get it on Xbox too, and apparently it's backwards compatible and will work on the Xbox 360.
4.) I'm in Australia so I have no idea.

Thanks Nemesis_. And it was Lukie Games, sorry, but no worries it seems like they're legit thus far.

I'm trying to find the Greatest Hits version of SH2, but most places probably don't make the distinction. Maybe I'll jump on the Amazon ones if they seem safe.

 

[Nemesis_]

Some of my favourite moments from the series are just so well done.

1.) Silent Hill 1. In the school locker room. Running up to the locker that's moving and it's just empty but full of blood. Then you are like "phew" and keep running but then a fucking DEAD BODY falls out.

2.) Silent Hill 2. In the prison bathroom. You keep knocking on this locked toilet door and there's no answer. As you leave the room, there's a tumbling noise and a scream. It's so weird and creepy.

3.) Silent Hill 3. The Borley Haunted Mansion.

4.) Silent Hill 3. The mannequin in the storage room of the Office building. You walk up to it, walk away, hear a scream, and come back to find it bloodied and the head has fallen off. Just creepy.

5.) Silent Hill 3. In the hospital basement. The sound of tumbling and then a bloody trail to a wheelchair that's on it's side with the wheelchair still spinning. And a blood trail leading to an elevator.

I couldn't find a picture but there is a thing in the Nightmare Brookhaven hospital in Silent Hill 3 that looks like weird rags with weird heat waves coming off it that emits a foul and pungent smell. That thing was so simple and yet so unnverving to me.

 

[Memento_Mori15]

I really like Silent Hill 2 but I do think it's the most overrated of the series, I'm not entirely sure why it's so popular out of all of them. Conversely, I really think Silent Hill 4 is the most underrated. It covers such an interesting back/side story of the cult, I find it hard to not recommend people play that. Some nice ties to the original games too, even if they are a bit forced considering the game wasn't a Silent Hill game.

This catches my interest. Now it seems like I have to play it, even if it seems forced.

I think it's important to clarify that this is an aspect that only Silent Hill 2 really touched upon and I agree, I do like the idea. I kind of wish it was touched upon more so in other games, but alas, it wasn't. I'd hate to be in Angela's version of Silent Hill. It just looks so dreadful. I'd also disagree with your interesting characters claim since Silent Hill 3 has Vincent, who is one of the most interesting and well thought out characters in the entire series (imo).

I don't know, Vincent just seemed plain to me. In that game, I was more interested in Heather, Herry( :'( ), Douglas, and Claudia.

I think Silent Hill 2's style of horror is a lot more subtle in it's delivery and execution for sure. There's a lot more of the implied, subtle kind of horror in it and I think that's why it is more terrifying to some people. I found it to be more interesting than scary, but I did enjoy it a lot. I know what you mean about the random noises. In the apartment lot, there's a random clang noise as I was climbing the stairs and it was just so terrifying because I had no idea what it was. Of course, it was nothing, but the tension up until that moment was great.

Were you aware that the footsteps you were hearing were probably the Prisoner enemy? I always thought it was so weird that Team Silent would go to the effort to render and create enemies that the player would never explicitly see. But I think it adds a great feeling of creepiness to the prisoner levels. I also like how the prison is in a seemingly impossible space considering how far underground you drop to get there.

Have to agree with the bolded. As for the prisoner enemy, that's something really cool and freaky. I didn't even realize there was anything there when I looked. Kinda want to explore there again and shoot them for making all that noise.

Silent Hill 3 is more or less about the cult, it's not really about Silent Hill like the second game was, that is why they don't really let you explore. I don't really know how you beat it in four hours without speedrunning it >_>

Well, it is game time and I did die a couple of times. Real time, maybe 5 hours, more or less. Like at one point, it took me a while to avoid the cart in the amusement park...I didn't realize the key was in one of the chocolate boxes. I thought I thoroughly checked it, but I guess not. Still, I think it's because the lack of Silent Hill to explore that I just kinda went from checkpoint to checkpoint while still managing to explore all the rooms in the places. In SH2 and SH1, I spent most of my time exploring Silent Hill and figuring out puzzles.

I agree re: the whole doubt thing, but I think Silent Hill 3 did this better but only because Heather is a more colourful character than James was. James is a middle aged dude who has doubts and is aggressively in denial. His comments on things weren't that interesting compared to Heather, who I feel Team Silent captured perfectly in terms of her comments. She sounds like a mature yet somewhat insecure teenage girl.

Oh, I definitely agree that Heather's comments were better. There were some comments I missed from her, since at times, I would move away or press x too fast(since i'm trying to see if I can grab some items even though they look at them) and got mad when it's only a one time thing. :| That's probably worth a replay on its own.

Silent Hill 3 uses a much more grungier version of horror. It's a very messy and dirty aesthetic, especially compared to Silent Hill. But that's the nature of the horror given that

Spoiler

it's the result of the god inside Heather projecting it's images externally

For some reason, I thought it was coming from Claudia....that makes more sense lol.

As for the Silent Hill 3 credits theme, I was also disappointed a great theme with lyrics. Forgot about that...

Is it really that hard to imagine why? I understand thinking it isn't the best, but the whole vibe of the game, the personal story (by that I mean not much cult stuff, just focuses on James and his little quest to find Mary) with a pretty shocking twist even if they start hinting more and more to it... It's just so good. Also got what most considers the best creature design, Pyramid Head is of course iconic now, but abstract daddy and such were also fantastic.

Forgot to mention that the monster designs in SH2 is strong as well. Abstract Daddy's design is great and goes great with Angela; really add meaning to the character.

OP I highly suggest you look up "The Real Silent Hill Experience" on youtube. Lots of interesting commentary and tidbits about the game.

Thanks for suggesting this, I'll give it a look!

I don't know. I've always found Silent Hill to be a poor man's Resident Evil from a gameplay point of view, but the first two managed to exceed so much on an aesthetic and narrative level that it was easy to accept them all the same. Silent Hill 3 loses me on the narrative and that just means I have a harder time swallowing the game as a whole, no matter how pretty it still looks and sounds.

I don't know if I can agree with that. In the SH2 and SH3, I can actually remove the tank controls and shoot while I move.

Couple of questions from an interested initiate:

• Silent Hill 1 PSN is a decent port outside of some apparent audio issues when firing a weapon?
• SH1 PSN playable on both PS3 and Vita?
• Is PS2 the best/only way to play SH4 The Room?
• Does anyone have any experience with purchasing from Luckie Games? They were/are selling pre-owned SH2/3 copies at a discount but I'm a bit nervous in buying pre-owned online from a venue I've never heard of.

1) I played the PS1 version of SH on my vita just fine. I didn't notice any audio issues when firing a weapon though.
2) Yes

Obligatory (SH2 spoiler)

Silent Hill 2 is my favourite game ever. It is so deep, all the symbolism and everything is just so well crafted. The music, the story, the atmosphere. One of a kind.

Couldn't agree more.

Some of my favourite moments from the series are just so well done.

1.) Silent Hill 1. In the school locker room. Running up to the locker that's moving and it's just empty but full of blood. Then you are like "phew" and keep running but then a fucking DEAD BODY falls out.

2.) Silent Hill 2. In the prison bathroom. You keep knocking on this locked toilet door and there's no answer. As you leave the room, there's a tumbling noise and a scream. It's so weird and creepy.

3.) Silent Hill 3. The Borley Haunted Mansion.

4.) Silent Hill 3. The mannequin in the storage room of the Office building. You walk up to it, walk away, hear a scream, and come back to find it bloodied and the head has fallen off. Just creepy.

5.) Silent Hill 3. In the hospital basement. The sound of tumbling and then a bloody trail to a wheelchair that's on it's side with the wheelchair still spinning. And a blood trail leading to an elevator.

I couldn't find a picture but there is a thing in the Nightmare Brookhaven hospital in Silent Hill 3 that looks like weird rags with weird heat waves coming off it that emits a foul and pungent smell. That thing was so simple and yet so unnverving to me.

Oh god, the 2nd one almost gave me a heart attack. Hated that. Ranking what you list, I would say 2> 4=5>1> 3. For the 5th one, I didn't want to cross the hallway since I was expecting another auto-kill scenario but was wrong. Glad I decided to walk there to get the

Spoiler

submachine gun

.

 

[orborborb]

I still think the first Silent Hill has the best gameplay/level design/atmosphere and music. But 2 and 3 have better graphics, characters, and storytelling.

 

[KyleCross]

For someone who hasn't played the games yet (but has them) I have a question before jumping in.

Should I play on the easiest difficulty settings?

Reason I ask is cause I've always heard that the combat is ass and the puzzles can be pretty stupid, but everything else be it the atmosphere, music, and story is fantastic. So wouldn't playing on easy ultimately lower the amount of bad and allow you more time with the good?

 

[Death Metalist]

Is it really that hard to imagine why? I understand thinking it isn't the best, but the whole vibe of the game, the personal story (by that I mean not much cult stuff, just focuses on James and his little quest to find Mary) with a pretty shocking twist even if they start hinting more and more to it... It's just so good. Also got what most considers the best creature design, Pyramid Head is of course iconic now, but abstract daddy and such were also fantastic.

It's the only game in the series as far as I know that when you finish the game and play it again suddenly even the enemies have a reason for looking the way they are and what they represent.

SH2 is just

When James talks to

Spoiler

Mary on her death bed, it always manages to tear me up

and lets not forget the GOAT THEME SONG.

 

[Memento_Mori15]

For someone who hasn't played the games yet (but has them) I have a question before jumping in.

Should I play on the easiest difficulty settings?

Reason I ask is cause I've always heard that the combat is ass and the puzzles can be pretty stupid, but everything else be it the atmosphere, music, and story is fantastic. So wouldn't playing on easy ultimately lower the amount of bad and allow you more time with the good?

Honestly, the games are already easy on normal. The first two games gives you plenty, plenty of ammo and health drinks/kits. The only really ridiculous riddle I would say is that piano puzzle in the first one. So I say normal for difficulty and riddles is just fine for both SH2 and SH3. Just be warn, SH3 doesn't give you much ammo and health drinks\kits compared to the last two. But you should be used to the controls by then and dodge enemies easily if you play it right after SH2(change it to 2D for an easier time in 2 and 3~. Tank controls are terrible).

When James talks to

Spoiler

Mary on her death bed, it always manages to tear me up

and lets not forget the GOAT THEME SONG.

 

[Buttonbasher]

I finished Silent Hill 1 the other day and am starting 2 tonight. This series totally holds up! I'm glad I finally got around to playing them.

 

[Ralemont]

I may be in the minority but Silent Hill is still my favorite. Experiencing that fog/radio mechanic for the first time instilled a terror that ruined horror movies forever: how can you seriously get scared during movies when you've run through the streets of Silent Hill?

 

[Game4life]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKtJQqzro9w&index=22&list=PL663AAD73DC8B43F5

Listening to this makes me want to play the game again. One of the greatest series of all time. Better than every other horror franchise out there.

 

[stuminus3]

It doesn't matter if you're smart, dumb, ugly, pretty... it's all the same once you're dead.. and a corpse can't laugh.

 

[Nocturno999]

No that's Silent Hill 3. It's by far the worst of the first three games and arguably worse than 4.

I agree. Silent Hill 3 departed to much from the psychological aspect of the game and instead just kept throwing monsters at every corner. SH 4 did much better overall.

For someone who hasn't played the games yet (but has them) I have a question before jumping in.

Should I play on the easiest difficulty settings?

Reason I ask is cause I've always heard that the combat is ass and the puzzles can be pretty stupid, but everything else be it the atmosphere, music, and story is fantastic. So wouldn't playing on easy ultimately lower the amount of bad and allow you more time with the good?

Try the first 2 on normal and 3 on easy. The combat may be bad for you but I think the sense of being in danger also helps to the atmosphere.

 

[TokiDoki]

SH3 is my favourite in the series . The otherworld is downright unsettling .

 

[GenericBadGuy]

While I consider myself I big fan, looking back the game mechanics and the vast majority of voice acting really don't hold up well. Heather's voice actor and whoever did Mary were great, but listening to the dialogue in Silent Hill 2 which I consider to have the best story is still painful now. Compare it to Shattered Memories and there's a gigantic disparity. Some stuff that comes out of James' mouth is Jill Sandwich-worthy.

The more games that approach mature themes in a mature way the better. Always felt back then Silent Hill stood out in this aspect.

 

[RadioHeadAche]

Whoever composed the soundtrack for this game is a genius(as well as the sounds for making them still terrifying to this day).

That's Akira Yamaoka and if you enjoyed those I highly recommend the Shadows of the Damned ost.

Couple of questions from an interested initiate:

• Silent Hill 1 PSN is a decent port outside of some apparent audio issues when firing a weapon?
• SH1 PSN playable on both PS3 and Vita?
• Is PS2 the best/only way to play SH4 The Room?
• Does anyone have any experience with purchasing from Lukie Games? They were/are selling pre-owned SH2/3 copies at a discount but I'm a bit nervous in buying pre-owned online from a venue I've never heard of.

SH1 won't have audio issues on PSP. Not sure about Vita. PS3 is just fine too regardless.

Silent Hill 4 is best on PS2 and is in fact available through JPSN for ¥1200. All dialogue is in English and you can switch to full-English text in the options menu.

 

[TheTylerRob]

listening to the dialogue in Silent Hill 2 which I consider to have the best story is still painful now.

Nah, the acting gives the game a creepy dreamlike quality; intentional or not it makes me love the game even more. The characters sound like some truly damaged people. The redub for the HD collection was way worse.

 

[Game4life]

Nah, the acting gives the game a creepy dreamlike quality; intentional or not it makes me love the game even more. The characters sound like some truly damaged people. The redub for the HD collection was way worse.

This right here.

 

[RadioHeadAche]

SH3 is my favourite in the series . The otherworld is downright unsettling .

Mine too. Best art direction, in my opinion. Heather's a great character too. I just finished my 1,000,000th or so playthrough.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

I like 1+3 a lot better than 2

I really dont understand why people love 2 so much.

Same here... Though I suppose it does have Pyramid Head, and the most interesting symbolism.

I want to know how the OP beat SH3 in four hours though... I found 2 to be the shortest but even then it was a good eight hours on my first playthrough. And also how he had so much health and ammo by the end of SH1... I was definitely struggling with health and ammo all the way through (exploring everywhere). I guess that was another reason why I didn't like SH2 as much as the others... I was drowning in health and ammo. That combined with it not being as scary in the first place.

I LOVE SH4 though, it's my second favorite after the first game. I haven't played anything beyond it though.

 

[RadioHeadAche]

Some of my favourite moments from the series are just so well done.

I couldn't find a picture but there is a thing in the Nightmare Brookhaven hospital in Silent Hill 3 that looks like weird rags with weird heat waves coming off it that emits a foul and pungent smell. That thing was so simple and yet so unnverving to me.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

I may be in the minority but Silent Hill is still my favorite. Experiencing that fog/radio mechanic for the first time instilled a terror that ruined horror movies forever: how can you seriously get scared during movies when you've run through the streets of Silent Hill?

You're not alone. That game is a mindfuck, and this is coming from someone who has played a good amount of horror games, but only played the SH series for the first time a couple years ago. "Nowhere" has to be one of the best horror locations in a game ever.

 

[dr3upmushroom]

Played them I my early teens, each one up to 4 blew my mind. The moment that comes to mind is the last parts of Silent Hill 2 where hell(?) is more and more the main environment, where there's crazy staircases.

 

[PetriP-TNT]

I just reinstalled Silent Hill 2 on my PC. I also own 4th one on PC and 1-4 on PS1-2. My favorite games ever (well, maybe not 4) but they are 2spooky4me to play really. I played the intro of Silent Hill 2 and I had to stop at the apartments.

Just life lasting scars from playing SH1 when I was like 10 and SH2 at 14 or something.


edit: One time I was playing Prison in SH2 and my PS2 had an disc read error. In that prisoner part the regular enemy (mannequin whatever) spawned in between those bars. I shat my pants and turned the game off.

 

[RadioHeadAche]

I think this is the only time you see a starry sky in Silent Hill.

 

[Nemesis_]

For some reason, I thought it was coming from Claudia....that makes more sense lol.

Yeah, the whole plot of Silent Hill 3 is Claudia trying to resurrect the god that's inside Heather. She nurtures it with anger and hatred by making Heather think Claudia is responsible for the nightmarish visions she's seeing - but it's really just the god maturing and projecting shit. Claudia is purposefully vague to make Heather angry and to ensure the god is born that way.

I don't know if I can agree with that. In the SH2 and SH3, I can actually remove the tank controls and shoot while I move.

Yeah, the combat feels much more developed than early Resident Evil games, and I love Resident Evil.

Yes! The HD Remaster removed the heat wave effect so it just looks like boring fabric, I was so annoyed.

Nah, the acting gives the game a creepy dreamlike quality; intentional or not it makes me love the game even more. The characters sound like some truly damaged people. The redub for the HD collection was way worse.

Mmhmm. Guy Cihi's comments about the way the team looked for the cast and voices shows just how much detail they were looking for. Angela is meant to sound older than she actually is, as well as aloof and disconnected from reality. She's a damaged girl.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

No that's Silent Hill 3. It's by far the worst of the first three games and arguably worse than 4.

I actually think SH3 is underrated. Imo, it had the best graphics, art direction, music, most perturbing environments, models and I think it was the most creepiest out of all of the SH games. Nothing compares to the Mirror room. Also, for some reason I really liked Heather as a main character.

 

[NewGame]

It's well produced but they're pretty big douches about how they approach their interpretations.

Interpretations? They tell you what's in the game and use actual game footage/quotes to support what they think. Is that a douche thing to do? What would be a better way to explain a video game?

 

[Nemesis_]

I actually think SH3 is underrated. Imo, it had the best graphics, art direction, music, most perturbing environments, models and I think it was the most creepiest out of all of the SH games. Nothing compares to the Mirror room. Also, for some reason I really liked Heather as a main character.

I think she's definitely the most interesting of the protagonists. Henry is easily the worst though, but I'd argue that game is more about Walter than Henry.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Interpretations? They tell you what's in the game and use actual game footage/quotes to support what they think. Is that a douche thing to do? What would be a better way to explain a video game?

Can't speak too much since I'm new to the series, but I've heard of issues within the Silent Hill community of people being a bit too strong in their opinions to where it has turned away a lot of newer/'casual' folks.

Lore is serious business in Silent Hill it seems. Makes the classic RE vs modern RE gameplay arguments look like a game of tag.