Night10194

I will admit I'm not terribly far into the game yet, but I'm enjoying SH4 a great deal. It certainly beats SH3. I'm a little unhappy with the ghosts, but I can deal with 'em, and the controls...they're a godsend! FINALLY pushing the stick one way, moves me THAT way! God, did I ever hate the tank controls. Now I can dodge and move much more easily then ever before, and so far, the atmosphere, story, and such seem quite neat. Again, better then the abyssmal (in relation to 1 and 2) failure that was 3...

SH2 was, indeed, a tearjerker. Did you get the Maria or the Leave ending?

SH3 was the worst in the series, and honestly, had the crappiest story...if you can find 1 or 2, try those, instead. Trust me, you'll be happier.

It's good to see people being considerate about the spoilers. I have to wait until the 21st to get SH4, and I'm really hoping to go into it without knowing much.

Hey, is it true that there're only 4 or so days until SH4 comes out?

You know what else is a bit irritating, though? I came back to checking this topic just in time for all the delightful soundtrack and music links to change or go down. I'm stuck streaming the trailor to hear that delightfully creepy, sad lullaby song. If anyone has a link to it...

You know what...? I have a crazy, crazy, probably unfounded theory about Henry of SH4, and that little radio broadcast in the trailer. SH 4 Speculation! Refers to trailer! May be thought of as Spoiler! Warning! Okay, that's over, now. I think the wounded woman, the one who died outside the town of South Ashfield...think that might be...Angela? We never see her die. She just runs up the burning stairs. And since she was found with 'murder' victims, Eddy may've been nearby, before hand, possibly. Since she was found near said bodies, and the hotel WAS near the lake, etc. Why do I think this? Because, I honestly think Henry may be Angela's brother, etc. He...looks a bit like her. Perhaps I'm speculating wildly, but that's a favored hobby of us SH fans, eh?

I always had the strangest of theories about Maria. When I came up with mine, it made me so sad I cried a bit, even. I always had a theory that Maria is entirely a creation of the town, but that she is, indeed, a free-willed human. Certainly, the town revives her when she dies at the hands of the Pyramid Heads, but even then she is still human. She seems actually confused that she has some of Mary's memories, even. She's a human who was called into existance in a place full of nightmarish monsters and hellish pain, constantly being killed again and again to punish James. Now, the force that created her keeps telling her that she'll eventually leave this hell with him, have someone who will love her and protect her (Remember what she tells him in the hospital? "You were supposed to take care of me...!"), and who will take her away from all this. In return, she'll make him happy again, help heal him...but then, when it comes to that, he doesn't do what he's supposed to. He realizes what has happened, and realizes he can't accept her and still atone for his crime. This is why she attacks him, in grief and desperation, but not why she becomes a monster. It's James's altered perception of her, his knowledge that the town did, indeed, create her, and his knowledge of what the creations of the town ARE (demons and horrors) that transform her into a monster. Certainly, he HAS to see her like this in order to ever be able to sever his connection to this evil town and to atone for his sin. But it remains that Maria was human, and that her one hope of escape and happiness not only was forced to cast her aside, but also came to see her as a demon, and even something he needed to kill violently. Sad, huh?

Great song. Truly great song.

A Silent Hill MUD? Could be neat...I'd be interested.

Silent Hill is frightening for the implications of the story, to me. James is a frightening protagonist simply because I can somewhat understand why he did what he did. Resident Evil is not scary because it has atrocious voice acting, silly looking critters, and stupid plots.

Lord, I have sinned, for I have been tempted sorely to attempt a fanfiction idea on SH, after I long ago swore off that sort of thing. Does this make me a horrible person?

I just wanted to say thank you to all the people in this thread for the wonderful and earnest discussion we have going on. It's quite interesting and enlightening. So...thanks!

Hmmm...the idea of the execution of Maria/Mary is interesting. Very interesting. After all, remember how you end the battle? James taking one last shot/whatever to finish off Maria/Mary? I'm not exactly sure how that fits in, but especially with execution in mind, finishing the battle execution style would seem to have some significance. WAIT! If it's Mary, than he's doing what he did before. She is down, she was causing him great pain, he wants her to be gone for good...so he finishes her off AGAIN. As Maria says "You killed Mary again?". Maybe that's what Silent Hill has been trying to get him to do, if it can't kill him. It's making him re-commit his crime, but accept it this time and leave with his 'reward', Maria. Notice how she coughs at the end? Perhaps the town is going to repeat the whole cycle again, with Maria this time...? If it's Maria, he has decided to cast her off. He doesn't want to leave it to doubt whether or not he's destroyed her, he wants her dead and gone so he can move on. That's why he has to kill her and make certain of it: He wants to destroy the town's influence on him the same way he tried to sever his tie to Mary when she caused him pain. Only, this time, it more represents a rejection and a severing of a tie that didn't really exist yet. A rejection of everything the town brought out in him, so that he can move on. I dunno, that's a bit odd, the Maria part...but I think that Mary idea is pretty solid.

Me neither, Starzander...but that doesn't mean they didn't read 'em. Cheer up, friend.