Silent Hill Discussion

[DarkOmenDKA]

can anyone get video clips or links to those lil mtv movie award thingies... i wanna see them cuz i missed them out here in japan... oh and I wanna see Lindsay Lohan

[StarZander]

I won't write in white, since I'm not racist.

They are probably just monsters in her eyes. It's her view of reality. Maybe everything is beautiful in Claudias eyes?

[Eccles]

http://home.comcast.net/~andydthorley/James.jpg

Don't ask why Eccles has no hands.

[ifirit]

Well, I had a long post that I was going to add to this topic, but my computer keeps freaking out each time I try. So in it's place, I have a...

SH4 Update:

Even though the Silent Hill 4 OST hasn't hit US shelves yet, mp3 copies have been flying around the internet (granted, I think it's just the same copies). I haven't found a reliable or stable server yet to get them from, but you can find copies on a temporary site here (Link no longer available). (Please note that the bandwidth has been exceeded on the first 7 songs. They will be available again in July. Or, you can just get the giant zip file.)

I'm hosting a temporary mirror for "Tender Sugar," "Your Rain," and "Waiting for You ~Live at Heaven's Night~" on my site (Songs removed since game has been released). I will host them for one week and then shuffle another three or post some by request. If I find a more reliable server, I will point you in the right direction.

Have fun.

[cluthu]

Perhaps I'm just a dummy and it's so obvious that everyone's going to retort with a :slaps forehead: "Well duh!" but am I the only one to hear Laura's Theme around the 4-minute mark of Waiting For You?

[Global-Trance]

Well, I had a long post that I was going to add to this topic, but my computer keeps freaking out each time I try. So in it's place, I have a...

SH4 Update:

Even though the Silent Hill 4 OST hasn't hit US shelves yet, mp3 copies have been flying around the internet (granted, I think it's just the same copies). I haven't found a reliable or stable server yet to get them from, but you can find copies on a temporary site here. (Please note that the bandwidth has been exceeded on the first 7 songs. They will be available again in July. Or, you can just get the giant zip file.)

I'm hosting a temporary mirror for "Tender Sugar," "Your Rain," and "Waiting for You ~Live at Heaven's Night~" on my site. I will host them for one week and then shuffle another three or post some by request. If I find a more reliable server, I will point you in the right direction.

Have fun.

If anyone wants, I have the following releases:

Silent Hill 4 THE ROOM Original Soundtrack

and

Silent Hill 4 Inescapable Rain In Yoshiwara -Special Chapter-

If you would like them, PM me and we'll talk things over.

[Global-Trance]

This is quite intereting... Inescapable Rain is like some sort of narrative or something but it's all in Japanese. I need someone to translate! O_O

[MixmasterC]

i gotta say that the silent hill series is one of the scariest i've ever played. however, it could use more action in one of them. silent hill 2 had some action, but could've used more when in combat or in contact with pyramid head. also the 3rd one too since the girl has a submachine gun. overall, i think the silent hill series is a good story to come up upon if you understand it well; but, my favorite horror game is resident evil. no doubt about it. alone in the dark may have established the horror genre, but resident evil have innovated it.

[ifirit]

Perhaps I'm just a dummy and it's so obvious that everyone's going to retort with a :slaps forehead: "Well duh!" but am I the only one to hear Laura's Theme around the 4-minute mark of Waiting For You?

Yeah, it's Laura's Theme alright, but it's not new since Mr. Yamaoka also did the same thing in "I Want Love (Studio Mix)" on the SH3 OST. A small phrase from the original Silent Hill theme also appears in "You're Not Here" as it does in the extended version of the "Theme of Laura." But you can also say that the "Theme of Laura" is just "Not Tomorrow" in a different chord. It's just a running theme that Mr. Yamaoka uses, since he apparently likes to keep themes.

However, despite that, I find this new soundtrack to be very different from his previous work in it's tone. Though there are very familiar elements such as heavy drum-n-bass track-loops, airy & atmospheric synth ambience and the traditional piano and guitar melodies, the overall expression of the soundtrack is radically different than his previous work. Some of it is good, some not so much, but overall it is a refreshing change in the music that kept my ears perked.

This is quite intereting... Inescapable Rain is like some sort of narrative or something but it's all in Japanese. I need someone to translate! O_O

Yes, "Inescapable Rain" is part of the two-disc special edition version of the SH4 soundtrack. It is a narrative written by Akira Yamaoka in a Silent Hill-esque style genre and performed by Ichiryusai Teisui, one of Japan's "living national treasures." Unfortunately, the text cannot be translated exactly into english because of the "kyodan" style in which it is told. Doing so would ruin the experience of the piece. It is and will probably remain a Japanese-only exclusive. Even the title may be only a rough translation. (This is true since the title is actually "The Inescapable Rain of Yoshiwara.")

i gotta say that the silent hill series is one of the scariest i've ever played. however, it could use more action in one of them. silent hill 2 had some action, but could've used more when in combat or in contact with pyramid head. also the 3rd one too since the girl has a submachine gun.

I'll be among those to admit that the combat system in Silent Hill has not evolved much over the sequels. Though "fighting" is not the focus of the game, I would really love to have a much more tactile combat system. Most of the time, it's just shoot/hit, strafe and repeat. Number 3 was much more enjoyable, but I really prefer a greater variety in combat, not more items.

I want to learn some skills while playing and apply them to the game, especially during boss battles. Like the first one, where you had to fire into the monster's mouth to kill it, or where you had a choice in killing the boss or finding a different approach to defeat them (aka Cybil fight). I just want to be able to do more during my fights than just shooting and running. Come on Konami, at least throw in some counter-attack capabilities.

EDIT: As an interesting piece of information, the track "Remodeling" on the SH4 soundtrack is just "Merry Happy Christmas" (also by Akira Yamaoka) with a different ending. The track was included in the Konami Christmas card sent out in December of 2003.

[Global-Trance]

This is quite intereting... Inescapable Rain is like some sort of narrative or something but it's all in Japanese. I need someone to translate! O_O

Yes, "Inescapapble Rain" is part of the two-disc special edition version of the SH4 soundtrack. It is a narrative written by Akira Yamaoka in a Silent Hill-esque style genre and performed by Ichiryusai Teisui, one of Japan's "living national treasures." Unfortunately, the text cannot be translated exactly into english because of the "kodan" style in which it is told. Doing so would ruin the experience of the piece. It is and will probably remain a Japanese-only exclusive. Even the title may be only a rough translation.

Well... I'm sure a translation would ruin it... however it'd still be nice to know what's going being said. It's beautiful the way it is... I just want to know the gist of what's said.

[Tranquil Chaos]

Well... I'm sure a translation would ruin it... however it'd still be nice to know what's going being said. It's beautiful the way it is... I just want to know the gist of what's said.

Same here.

[ifirit]

Well, time for a little bump action.

I've rotated the SH4 songs this week, in case anyone still needs a mirror (for whatever reason). You can find the new songs here. (Songs removed due to release of the game.)

------

Rumor Control:

According to rumors, there is already talk about the production of Silent Hill 5. Apparently, it has the surname "Shadows" and is supposed to be part of a new trilogy that Konami will release. (So, this would mean that SH1, 2 & 3 were part of a trilogy. ) Anyway, the game is supposed to play down the combat and emphasize more on the puzzles and terror. A press release is rumored to appear in the winter of 2006.

In addition to this, Konami is currently in negotiations with Nintendo to bring the Silent Hill franchise to the Nintendo DS. Although the DS will be released in Europe sometime in the first third of 2005, a set date has not been announced for the game.

Although these are only rumors, we know what happened with the ones surrounding Silent Hill 3. Silent Hill 4 was rumored to be in production just before the US release of SH3. A Silent Hill movie was rumored to be negotiated between Konami and Hollywood. And, that a Silent Hill comic series would be created by 2004. At the time, these were all rumors, so you never know.

But, I want to pose a question out there. Should there be a Silent Hill 5? (I haven't played SH4, so I don't know if the story would suggest one.) Is Konami just taking the series too far or just rehashing more of the same? Or is there room for new stories in the series? (If you are going to make references to SH4, please mark your spoilers.

[StarZander]

I think that there can always be a sequal. Basically, we've seen different perspectives in each game of Silent Hill. There is almost an infinite number of perspectives to be shown, and if they can manage to present these in a good enough way, then they should keep on making them.

[Sir Alex]

I would agree that there can and should be more Silent Hill games, albeit not too many more. Also, this topic is too big and too good to let die.

[I-n-j-i-n]

You know, as for this "Should Silent Hill get more sequels?" idea, the answer's pretty obvious. Hell yes.

That's pretty much because Silent Hill as a series hasn't deviated much from its first game's formula, and it's been successful because of that.

Now, if the series stagnates like Resident Evil did, then maybe we can see some NEW form of Silent Hill. Ya know, maybe even better camera angles and fighting system perhaps.

I love Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Eternal Darkness, etc etc, but SH still has a lot of room to improve upon. Much like RE4 has shown for the RE series.

[StarZander]

Well, it has become more and more action oriented through the games, and with SH4 they introduce a healthbar and realtime weaponchanging. alot less menus to use. More action. This is sitting on the edge of a knife. Might be great and we'll all worship it, or it'll suck and we'll hate then for doing this to SH.

[mecca-]

The only game of the trilogy I've played is SH2...Got to the 2nd apartment, and gave up, wish I'd persisted now though! I like intricate plotlines like you lot have described heh, never really got into it though, was more like "OMFG THIS IS SCARY LOLOL" rather than paying attention to its story...anyone got a http://junkerhq.net/CS/ style synopsis of the storyline from the original right up to the third? I'd like to read it

[Eccles]

anyone got a http://junkerhq.net/CS/ style synopsis of the storyline from the original right up to the third? I'd like to read it

Why yes, yes I do

I've just got to type it up...which is looking unlikely since I'm concentrating on other things at the moment...but I shall give you what I come up with as I come up with it.

I'll also post what I write story-wise, considering I've got about 5 silent hill stories on the run at the moment...though its very likely that only 3 of them will see the light of day, since I don't really like the other two...

(one of the two I dont want to put out is set in about 1500, the other is a series of reports and diary entries and so on and so forth, rather than a story...y'know? Kinda like the Adrian Mole diaries only (A) something will happen in my version and ( it'll shed some light on the other writings I've done for Silent hill...)

[ArgonX]

Wow, I just read every single post in this topic from the beggining.

To touch on a few things I think you guys missed.

I really wouldn't call the Cult "Hope House Cult" because the cult was around much longer than Hope House. In Silent Hill 3, at the Curch there are several paintings on the wall that talk about the Cult's belief system:

1. Origin:

In the beginning, people had nothing. Their bodies ached, and their hearts held nothing but hatred. They fought endlessly, but death never came. They despaired, stuck in the eternal quagmire.

2. Birth:

A man offered a serpent to the sun and prayed for salvation. A woman offered a reed to the sun and asked for joy. Feeling pity for the sadness that had overrun the earth, God was born from those two people.

3. Salvation:

God made time and divided it into day and night. God outlined the road to salvation and gave people joy. And God took endless time away from the people.

4. Creation:

God created beings to lead people in obedience to Her. The red god, Xuchilbara; the yellow god, Lobsel Vith; many gods and angels. Finally, God set out to create Paradise, where people would be happy just by being there.

5. Promise:

But there God's strength ran out, and She collapsed. All the world's people grieved this unfortunate event, yet God breathed Her last. She returned to the dust, promising to come again.

6. Faith:

So God hasn't been lost. We must offer our prayers and not forget our faith. We wait in hope for the day when the path to Paradise will be opened.

This hints at several things. Firstly, the God they speak of is Samael IMO and that is supported by a couple things which I will get into later. I found it interesting that they said that Samael was created by two people, even though it says a man and a woman I think it hints at Silent Hill 1 a bit (Man who offers snake - Alessa, woman who offers reed - Cheryl).

Secondly, and I feel, most importantly - the red god, Xuchilbara and the yellow god, Lobsel Vith. We can discern that these two are most likely Pyramid Head and Valtiel. This leads me to believe that Pyramid Head and Valtiel are seemingly invincible because they are beyond the reach of the people of Silent Hill. We've established that everyone's fears, hatreds, sins, ect. form their version of hell when in Silent Hill and that they "create" the monsters from their psyche but Pyramid Head and Valtiel don't seem to fit any mold.

Something else interesting in SH folklore - The Seal of Metatron. I think this was touched on briefly a long time ago, but it's worth bringing back up. The Seal of Metatron has "anti-god" properties, as stated in Silent Hill 3. Apparently Valtiel has a tattoo or brand or something on one of it's arms of The Seal of Metatron. This seems to illustrate something that is also hinted at in SH2. Metatron and Samael are in a conflict over Silent Hill. I think Samael is absolutely the god that created Pyramid Head and Valtiel, but I think Metatron won a victory over Samael in the form of Valtiel... maybe taking away Samaels control of Valtiel by branding it. I don't really think either one is exactly better than the other one, but I think Metatron probably has a better grasp over "normal" Silent Hill, and Samael has power over "alternate" Silent Hill. Also, I don't know where I heard this, but apparently the sirens you hear that ward off Pyramid Head in Silent Hill 2 are supposed to be Metatron's doing. Metatron is looking over James and deciding when he's had enough torture from Pyramid Head. It makes sense in that Xuchilbara is a god itself (albeit a lesser god) and the Seal of Metatron has anti-god powers so, the "Siren of Metatron" (as I like to call it) would annoy the Pyramid Head and get it to back off.

The Historical society and several locations have Pyramid Head related things in them, so obviously Pyramid Head has been around since before James went to Silent Hill, I just think they are following Samael's orders to torture him.

That lends itself well to the theory that Metatron and Samael are really the two forces controlling Silent Hill. Maybe Alessa still has some effect on it because she left some kind of imprint on Samael, but for the most part we can assume that the town was relatively strange before Alessa thanks to the long history of the Cult.

Well, there's a lot to chew on there so I should probably stop for now. These are really just my feelings and my perceptions on the town. I can't really buy into Alessa controlling every aspect of Alternate Silent Hill, although I can see her influence in it. I really want to believe that the whole story is grander than Alessa's nightmares, you know, more like two godly forces fighting each other indirectly.

~AX~

[mecca-]

the other is a series of reports and diary entries and so on and so forth, rather than a story

Excellent idea mate...put some illegible stuff in there too for effect and you're flying - diarys, accounts, random scribblings, wills, (remember the diary of the guy who bursts out of the closet in resident evil after you read his diary?) it'll be sweet - no idea when your synopsis of the trilogy will be finito? I'm considering getting SH3, i think its ps2/pc only though? I'd rather have it on xbox tbh...

[StarZander]

Also, I don't know where I heard this, but apparently the sirens you hear that ward off Pyramid Head in Silent Hill 2 are supposed to be Metatron's doing. Metatron is looking over James and deciding when he's had enough torture from Pyramid Head. It makes sense in that Xuchilbara is a god itself (albeit a lesser god) and the Seal of Metatron has anti-god powers so, the "Siren of Metatron" (as I like to call it) would annoy the Pyramid Head and get it to back off.

First of all, congrats on reading the entire thread, I guess.

The sirens that you speak of appear in all games. In SH1 they sound when you switch from normal Silent hill, to alternate, and back again. I.e. after every boss, you hear the sirens, as everything turns back into "normal". This is also in SH3, when you switch the same thing. But if you want to connect this to a diety, then it's most likely Valtiel, since his valveturning represents the change between "normal" and "alternate" SH.

[Eccles]

the other is a series of reports and diary entries and so on and so forth, rather than a story

Excellent idea mate...put some illegible stuff in there too for effect and you're flying - diarys, accounts, random scribblings, wills, (remember the diary of the guy who bursts out of the closet in resident evil after you read his diary?) it'll be sweet

I think I'll put that one out after my three main stories...since the reports will talk about the stories, most certainly.

no idea when your synopsis of the trilogy will be finito? I'm considering getting SH3, i think its ps2/pc only though? I'd rather have it on xbox tbh...

3 isn't the best Silent hill...personally I'd say 1 was.

[Illaminus]

*pretty obvious this thread is full of spoilers, so no need for a spoiler alert really

Oh btw, these things I write are my thoughts to some of the things happening is Sh, not necessarily correct, but what I have gathered. If you can directly prove me wrong, by all means, please do so. I want to find out what is real in SH.*

If anyone has a save point right before you encounter Eddie for the last time, check this out. The place with the graves -> James, Angela, Eddie, Walter. Everyone apart from Laura and Maria/Mary has a catacomb, logical if you think about it. Laura -> child, innocent. Mary/Maria -> victim.

But what I don't see is… have a closer look on all of the gravestones... WHO THE HECK IS MIRIAM K? And why she is also labelled as "traitor"? Is that an inside Konami joke or something else? If anyone knows, please give me an answer, it’s been driving me nuts.

In reply to why/how the pyramid head exists, especially since James had never seen him before. I think Samael used the old executioner to play with James' mind. In the normal world, it can be argued that James kind of represents a pyramid head. How? By killing Maria over and over again, the pyramid head is there to remind James how he killed his own wife. The fact that the PH is faceless can also represent James' guilt and shame for his mercy killing and killing because he was fed up with Mary’s whining. This has a tremendous effect on James. He begins to fear himself.

I don’t know if James has multiple personalities, but it is obvious he neglects what he did, and carries on his life as if he was a selfless, caring man. His neglecting is also wrong. Death is not to be taken lightly. James is in Silent Hill for 3 reasons; to be punished, to remember who he really is, and to give Samael enough power to begin taking over SH in SH3 , so the monsters Heather would experience would be real as technically (as far as I can see) Heather is sin free. (Well, apart from the whole Alessa Cheryl complex) So Samael can finish off what he started in SH1.

Which all bring me to the point of SH2. I’m assuming two things. 1) sh2 is set between sh1 and sh3, 2) rebirth is the real ending.

How can Samael still live after Harry killed him in Sh1? He can, because only his physical form was killed. His essence still exists in Silent hill. However, for him to once again regain the strength to take on the entire town once again he needs someone to give him strength by calling on necromancy forces. As he still lives in spirit he can indirectly control the surroundings in Silent Hill. -> Through illusions, by letting those who’ve committed foul sins to experience them over and over again he can indirectly manipulate them to do his biddings. I can’t recall the name Samael be mentioned once in the game, perhaps of this reason. Would James be more aware of what he did in SH if he knew? The people who experienced their nightmares were only those who deserve to be punished. That is how Laura is a bystander, but she is at the same time Samael’s Ace card. She knew Mary, she could manipulate James by playing on his feelings, as he refuses to believe Laura’s acquaintance to Mary several times. I think Samael used her to help James realise he needs his wife back. By using "Lost Memories" and some other stuff, some of the old powers Samael used to have come to life again.

I reckoned rebirth was the proper ending after I played the “Born from a wish” scenario. The entire thing with Ernest, the ingredients, his daughter, it just matched as a parallel to James’ experiences.

As for the sirens of silent hill, particularly the one that makes the pyramid heads commit suicide. I’m not sure why, but I think the sirens sound symbolise the struggle between Metatron and Samael. When the siren went off in sh2 it could have been Samael saying James has suffered enough (James was now mad enough to fulfil the resurrection and by so giving Samael more strength later). It could have been Metatron coming to the rescue. The only thing certain is that it is there to say something is changing, for good or worse, just like Valtiel did whenever he appeared and turned a knob in Sh3.

That was a lot of info. Wrote it all a bit fast, sorry for my non-intelligent language, English isn’t my primary language. Hope it’s fairly understandable, and you all can see some of my points.

[Eccles]

But what I don't see is… have a closer look on all of the gravestones... WHO THE HECK IS MIRIAM K? And why she is also labelled as "traitor"? Is that an inside Konami joke or something else? If anyone knows, please give me an answer, it’s been driving me nuts.

Miriam K is a character from Alfred Hitchcocks 'Psycho'

[Illaminus]

But what I don't see is… have a closer look on all of the gravestones... WHO THE HECK IS MIRIAM K? And why she is also labelled as "traitor"? Is that an inside Konami joke or something else? If anyone knows, please give me an answer, it’s been driving me nuts.

Miriam K is a character from Alfred Hitchcocks 'Psycho'

But why include her in the gravestone bit? Does it have a symbolic meaning or something? If so, then what? I haven't seen the film myself, so I know nothing of what's happening in it. Cool to see that someone had figured that one out.