There’s a reason I don’t watch Silent Hill fan video blogs and podcasts. I’m 100% supportive of fan creative projects, such as fan made games, films, etc, because there are some great examples of incredible creativity and artistry to be found. Those are true labors of love. But when it comes to Silent Hill “fan” theories, podcasts, etc., I avoid them like the plague. Ever heard of Twin Perfect? I’m not surprised if you haven’t, but if you’ve ever seen any of their videos, you know what I’m talking about. Most Silent Hill fan boys are exactly like those losers.
But in feeling somewhat nostalgic today, I decided to revisit some fun P.T. game play videos on YouTube. I was cruising through P.T. videos when I stumbled on a fan theory video blog by two people with a channel called The Grate Debate (their actual screen names are too desperately try-hard to mention). Despite my better judgement, I gave it a listen. Surprisingly, it wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t anything special as it rambled a bit and it took a while for them to get to their points. There was lots of repetition too, but I guess that was merited since they later insinuated that they didn’t think their listeners possessed too much intelligence (big red flag number one: head lodged firmly up sphincter; red flag number two: contempt for their viewers). In any event I found this video blog marginally superior to other such videos. And let’s be honest, with my constant butchering of the English language, including atrocious grammar, rambling thought process, usually resulting from my barely coherent 4 a.m. rants, do I really have much cause to complain?
Then I made the mistake of clicking on their podcasts about P.T. (when will I learn?).
The first half was okay, but then in the second half they made the unfortunate mistake of spilling their thoughts on the rest of the game series. Uh oh.
You can almost pinpoint the exact moment when they stopped analysing the game they were speculating about and started getting high off their own excretory gases. They could barely contain themselves, and after a while stopped trying.
I have two main issues with these losers.
First, they claim they love the Silent Hill franchise, and claim to understand all that Silent Hill is and to be enthralled in the mythos and stories, etc, etc, but really they only love the first two games. Actually, they merely tolerate the first game (basically, they seem to feel obligated to pay some homage to it, but largely ignore important aspects about it).
See, they hate all games after Silent Hill 2.
They especially hate Silent Hill 3. Yes, critically acclaimed, fan favorite, considered one of the most tense, emotional, and scariest games of the series almost universally, that Silent Hill 3.
Want to know why?
Because one of them played Silent Hill 2 first, and therefore thinks the entire series should a series of anthologies in the style of Silent Hill 2. They also think the cult is mentioned “too much” and that things shouldn’t be “explained” because it’s “scarier.”
*sigh*
Just…
*sigh*
So much stupid found in a few short sentences.
I hate Silent Hill 2 fan boys. I really do. They’ve tainted my love for such a great game because they are so idiotic and infantile. I also have a special sort of loathing when they force me to resort to this kind of argument: that they are obviously not “true” fans of the Silent Hill series (and everything it’s about), just of Silent Hill 2 (Cuz Pyramid Headz is the Scurriest guys!!!111).
Did these two morons bother paying attention at all to what happened in Silent Hill 1? At all? You know, the game that started the franchise, IS the definitive Silent Hill game, and has set a precedent for how all games should follow it? NOT Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 1!!
Hey Grate Stupid, all games that follow should follow the trend set by the first game, because you know, it’s the first flipping game!! It sets the standards and tone of the series, which is why it’s the first game.
Stupid, stupid, stupid idiots.
And here is the second reason I hate these guys. That same pointless argument spouted by idiots like Twin Perfect (what is it with these douche-bags and dumb pseudonyms?). NEWSFLASH: The cult of Silent Hill is the entire FLIPPING catalyst for the events of Silent Hill 1, therefore, they have established their roots within the game series and are an integral part of that world.
What? Logic?? I doubt they can comprehend.
Yep. Such a pretty obvious detail somehow flew right over their little empty heads.
It’s sad how many times this has to be pointed out, but the cult IS the REASON that the town delved into the darkness. There is evidence that the town has always been mysterious and haunted, sure, but we have NO EVIDENCE that anything remotely like the events of the first game had happened prior. Therefore, we can only conclude that the powers of the town found a way to manifest its full power using Alessa’s psychic abilities (caused from her birth by the cult). There is evidence that the cult was trying to use the town for years prior to birth its god. There are references to the cult and the occult even in Silent Hill 2. YOU HAVE TO BE THE BIGGEST MORON ON THE PLANET NOT TO SEE HOW TIED TO THE TOWN’S POWER THE CULT IS! The cult was born of the town, so yeah, it’s pretty freaking significant. Sorry you’re so butt-hurt over it because for some reason you don’t want a cult in the game. Get over it.
Of all the stupid criticisms.
You know, it’s one thing to say that the cult shouldn’t be a huge FOCUS of the entire series (which I whole heartedly agree with). But it belongs there every bit as much as the rust and fog.
And guess what? Silent Hill 3 is a DIRECT SEQUEL to Silent Hill 1. Do these morons understand what the term “DIRECT SEQUEL” means? A CONTINUATION of ideas, themes, and characters in a cohesive story. Why? Because ALESSA is one of the most interesting freaking characters in the entire franchise!!
And guess what important group gets a mention? The same group tied to the events of the FIRST GAME (that gave birth to the damn series)!
QUELLE SHOCK AND AWE!
I hate these morons that try to pretend a game isn’t good and make grunts, whine, and spout bull-ish to try to act like the game is just a complete fail because of their own personal bias.
Let’s be honest: Silent Hill 1 had the best story, BY FAR. If Silent Hill 1 had the graphics and controls that SH2 and SH3 had, it would be as beloved as SH2 and SH3.
It had the mystery, the enigmatic aura. It built the franchise and despite the flaws of the technological and budget restrictions of the era, has held up very well.
Let’s break down the story:
Silent Hill 1: A man traveling with his daughter drives to a remote resort town with a dark past one late night, when a mysterious figure runs out in front of him. He swerves to avoid her, crashes and becomes knocked out. When he awakes, his daughter is missing. He enters the quiet town, now desolate and shrouded in fog with an unseasonal light snow. An eerie siren sounds periodically, bringing tension as it’s coming brings a nightmarish Otherworld. He journeys through the town searching for his daughter, encountering strange, grotesque and freakish creatures, as well as encounter a few odd individuals whom speak to him in cryptic riddles. As he unlocks the secrets of the town, it’s past, and residences, he discovers the story of the iconic Alessa Gillespie based on the clues she leaves him. In the end, none of this matters to him, because he only wants to save his daughter. He fights demonic entities derived from Dahlia and Alessa’s twisted psyche in order to save her humanity.
The “twist” comes from the fact that his daughter isn’t whom he thought she was (to say the least), and this seemingly quiet town is a haven for dark forces to manifest and corrupt the “innocent.”
In this game, we are introduced to the town, we visit the most interesting locations in the series, we meet the cult (who plays a big role behind the scenes), and we meet Alessa/Cheryl/Heather, the best character in the franchise (sorry G-debags).
The cult also has many sects that aids in establishing an interesting mythos to the town. It’s almost like the towns creations and history are TIED to it!
In Silent Hill 2, the player follows around an unsympathetic wife-killer who spends most of his time complaining and being forced to begrudgingly doing anything. He shows virtually no emotion (despite “advancements” in voice acting and script writing). And, considering all the blatant sexual imagery in the game (most of which is based on his own psyche) we have to figure he is extremely horny the entire time. So, after running around acting like an entitled creep, the player finds out that *shock* he murdered his wife, and he either has to accept his guilt or continue to suffer in some form (it should be noted that there are many great endings here that almost make up for this boring troupe of a character).
Look, I’m not saying Silent Hill 2 is a bad game. It’s a damn masterpiece, no question, but it is a bit over-hyped, and in my opinion it just isn’t as good or engaging as Silent Hill 1 in terms of story, characters, and atmosphere (it’s just more polished). In Silent Hill 2 the town feels kind of lack luster in appearance to be quite honest, and only a few of the locations feel inspired. James is also a unsympathetic douche bag while Harry is a truly valiant character. It’s why I could never get into Silent Hill 2 as much. James was a jerk. He whined, was a bit of a coward, didn’t have much concern for other characters (only Maria because she made him feel like a “hero”, reminded him of Mary, and was hot) but was pretty dismissive of Laura and Angela, two of the most defenseless characters in the game. I’m sorry, but you don’t leave a despondent and potentially suicidal woman alone after witnessing her playing with a knife, nor do you leave a little kid to run around a town full of monsters (he only gave a spit when Maria said something, he clearly didn’t care about Laura, only when he was guilted into looking after her did he bother). And it wasn’t like James was ultimately into the end goal (finding Mary). He took so many detours and made so many dumb decisions. He showed little emotion. Everything centered around him and his selfish needs. He had to be guilted into behaving like a responsible human being. Sure, a character doesn’t have to be the “good guy” to be an interesting character or be one that I can empathize with, but he was just such a bland douche-bag that the big “reveal” wasn’t much of a surprise to me, and there were too many times I would have rather ditched him to follow Laura or Angela around. I honestly think that people have such a hard on for his character because he’s associated with Pyramid Head. He is not a great character, to be quite frank.
And to be frank, there isn’t much of a difference between the character of James and Murphy, except Murphy is more fleshed out (and to be truthful, a better character).
(shhh, we aren’t supposed to praise anything from Downpour, just blindly hate it)
Let’s now look at the locations.
Silent Hill 1 had a seriously creepy school (which sadly never fully returns to the game), Alchemilla hospital (a legit medical hospital that doesn’t hit you over the head with the theme of mental illness, and actually has a direct tie to one of the major characters, therefore giving a meaning to the actual mystery), the Amusement Park (the freakiest locale ever visited in the games), a lighthouse (to summon aliens), the resort town (tons of fun references found, not to mention many other cool areas of the town. I loved how chock full of easter eggs and crazy puns and imagery was stashed throughout the first game.
And of course there was also Nowhere, probably another one of the most awesome areas of the series.
Silent Hill 2 introduces South Vale (an area which, to be honest, serves little purpose for existing). It features the historical society (unimpressive), the Labyrinth (a cool, freaky maze that gives some insight into the town’s history), the Prison (one of the few locations that has an actual allegoric meaning and purpose to serve the protagonist), Brookhaven Hospital (also pretty unnecessary for existing other than “mental hospitals = scares!!!!111”). There’s Rosewater Park (fairly interesting, but also ultimately a pointless location because nothing happens here that couldn’t happen elsewhere), the Bowling Alley (*yawn*), Lakeview Hotel (which reminds me of the Shining, so major props there).
Silent Hill 3’s major problem was it tried to be too much like Silent Hill 2 in terms of locations. Brookhaven should have been substituted with Alchemilla, and the shopping center served no purpose. Thankfully though, we have locations like the Mall, the lower chapel levels, the revamped Amusement Park and revamped Brookhaven to make up for the mostly bland locations in Silent Hill 2. Unfortunately, like SH2, some of the locations didn’t serve as having a particular meaning to the protagonist of Silent Hill 3, unlike Silent Hill 1.
And what was with all the over-the-top sexual imagery of Silent Hill 2? That sort of thing made sense with Alessa/Heather because they dealt with a multitude of issues concerning sexually inclined topics such as physical deformity, forced impregnation, threat of rape, sexual maturity/awakening, etc. James was *just* sexually frustrated because Mary became ugly due to her disease (and wouldn’t sleep with him).Yes, we get it, he was a shallow guy. Okay. So why was the imagery so bang-you-over-the-headish? Sure, scenes of Pyramid Head attacking or molesting other creatures were interesting, and since PH served as a manifestation of a certain part of James and his desires, as well as his punishment, I could understand those scenes. And I’m not saying that the creature designs weren’t great. But I could not understand how every creature had to have some sort of phallic or feminine, dripping wet reference to it. It seemed a bit over the top. Of all the issues he was dealing it, it seemed the monster designs concentrated a bit more heavily on this aspect. It was so blatant that at some point I thought he might be revealed as a rapist or some sort of predator. As in, maybe Mary wasn’t his wife but a woman he was obsessed over, violated and murdered. I definitely pinned him for a murderer and sex fiend. It just served as another reason for me not to trust him or give a spit about how he is treated in the game, which distanced me from the character.
Harry in contrast, is self-sacrificing and pretty proactive in finding and following any potential clue that might lead him to his daughter. Also in contrast to James, Harry’s wife has been dead for quite a while, yet he doesn’t seem eager to hit on the much more attractive Nurse Lisa or Cybil. Even though his voice acting lacked, he was sufficiently shown as focused and clear-headed, and not willing to be easily diverted from his main goal.
And since most of the monsters in Silent Hill 1 are manifestations of Alessa, and she is a much more enigmatic character, they are ultimately more interesting to me. There’s a primal edge to them because they come from the primitive imagination of a little girl who buried herself into a fantasy world to hide from her real hell.
So what of Silent Hill 3?
How DARE this game exist!!
Let’s see, a young girl is born with psychic abilities in a haunted town (and nurtured by said town). She’s horribly abused by her mother (who makes Margaret White look like a saint) and further ostracised by the town because of the freaky stuff that keeps happening to her (forces that she doesn’t fully understand). She is forcibly impregnated and goes around with the knowledge that she will birth a hellish creature. Then in a disgusting ritual, she is fully BURNED ALIVE by her mother, sent to a hospital where she is completely isolated (and presumed dead), and left to stew in her rage and hate for her situation and lash out at those around her as she suffers unbelievable mental and physical pain for SEVEN MORE YEARS. Meanwhile, she splits her soul in an effort to save herself, in which her other half is brought back to Silent Hill and THE CULT attempts to use both halves to bring about the god and drag the world into an apocalypse. After her father suffers and fights a great deal to save her and her other half, she is “reborn” and her father flees with her.
Yeah, surely a dedicated group of religious zealots aren’t going to want some sort of revenge or to finish the work of Dahlia, their head priestess. They wouldn’t try to find her, no no no. It can’t be possible a part of the soul of Alessa tainted by the Otherworld, may force itself onto this new birth, causing issues at some point later in her life, right?
*sigh* I just don’t get how people fail so hard to get it.
And again, a character suffering from a plethora of physical and mental anguish, who only knows pain, suffering, and unhappiness; who uses her abilities to split her soul, only to have to fight using the darkness from the town to keep the other part of the soul safe, isn’t an interesting character to the Grate Debate morons. THEY feel that we don’t need this character fleshed out anymore (WHICH HAPPENS IN THE THIRD GAME) because it’s not as “scary”. But let’s obsess over what James went through, right?
No, idiots, it’s called CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. It happens to all great characters, which Alessa/Heather is. James was kind of bland, which is why no one really cares what his ultimate outcome was (hopefully he died in the “Lake” ending).
I also love how they say that every room in Silent Hill 2 feels like Pyramid Head was “just there” or is constantly “stalking” the player. No, no, that is just your obsession over the character of Pyramid Head clouding your feelings in the game. There is no evidence that he is directly following you in EVERY room or any other such nonsense you spout. And, please, Silent Hill 2 fan boys, stop riding PH’s junk (that’s what most of us REAL fans are sick of by the way). I’m honestly starting to think most of the hype from Silent Hill 2 comes from that fact that people love Pyramid Head so much.
Look, I LOVE Silent Hill 2. I really do. It’s among my favorite video games of all times. I just think that Silent Hill 2 has been put on a pedestal for the sole purpose of trashing all other games. I’m merely pointing out that it isn’t as perfect as some people claim, and that some, such as myself, have good reason to prefer Silent Hill 1 and Silent Hill 3 over Silent Hill 2, and think it’s ridiculous how much nasty elitism that comes from the fan worship of SH2.
To make a long story short (too late!), I like SH1 and SH3 more because the stories on ultimately revolve around the theme of love in a sea of darkness and pain. For Silent Hill 1 and 3, it’s about the love between a father and a daughter, and about choosing forgiveness over revenge. SH2 was about a more selfish motivation; James desire of absolvement for a horrible crime. Keep in mind, everyone in SH2 (except the fictitious Maria and Laura), has murdered someone. Yes, their stories are very interesting (and Angela’s among the most tragic of the series), but I couldn’t connect with those characters like I could connect with Harry and Alessa/Heather. I know that’s hard for some people to understand, especially as many don’t want to play a teenage girl unless she is fetishized, but they, like The Grate Debate, have completely missed the point of the game.
But that’s what happens when you obsess over one game in a series and just google various facts about the rest.
I also loved this bit in the podcast: they actually complained that parts of Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4 didn’t take place in Silent Hill, yet two minutes later went back to say that they “loved” that the town influenced other towns. Please make up your flipping minds.
Stupid hypocrites.
Let’s face it, “Grate” debate, you are just another one of those fan boys that liked the story of Silent Hill 2, and wanted that single game revamped and repeated throughout the series, and were pissed that didn’t happen and are grasping at straws to hate on good sequels. And I know it’s lost on you, but Team Silent was responsible for Silent Hill 3 and 4, meaning that they thought those stories where a very integral part of the series (which included the cult). And keep in mind, the theme of people wandering into the town of Silent Hill with select memory loss and a dark past which they must somehow atone for (JUST LIKE JAMES) are themes that have continually been carried out throughout the franchise.
You tried, you failed.
But hey, at least they aren’t like Twin Perfect, who envision themselves as warriors for the series (which in their mind, begins and ends with SH2).
*rolls eyes*
What a surprised the female podcaster had “just played” Silent Hill 2 before the podcast (yet somehow missed all the hints about the cult).
And I bet that’s the only game in the series she’s played more than once (if she’s even played the others).In fact, I’m pretty sure of it. She probably just watched Twin Perfect videos to get a “feel” for the other games.
I also loved how they complained previously about people being negative about the series, you know, after they made all manner of disgusted noises and threw shade about the other games in the series. I especially love how they practically call out some of their “fans” for asking dumb questions. While I agree that anyone that is a fan of their video series and follows them on Facebook is likely a bit dim, no decent person would actually insinuate it out loud about their fans to their faces (these are their supporters after all) and then call out the dumb questions asked!
Hey, Grate Debate, are you so socially incompetent you can not think of a way to address the issue without mocking your viewers? What jackassery. Those people you have such contempt for give you the attention that you so crave.
Also, try to educate yourself on whom Guillermo Del Toro is and all of his work (not just Pan’s Labyrinth). He was only serving as a major influence on a series you supposedly love (and by series, we mean two games in the franchise, but really only one).
God, these people suck at all levels of life.
For my readers that aren’t part of this level of stupidity that has long infiltrated the fan base (and have suffered a great deal reading through my ramblings), I leave you with this awesome mod that has been circulating the web:
(sorry, I don’t see the name of the person who made this mod, but major kudos to them)
Now I’m going to end with this:
Dear Mindless Debaters:
I’m going to spell it out for you. Silent Hill 3 was a great game. If you find it cheesy or awful then I hate to break it to you, but you have bad taste. And it’s not up for debate. Objectively, it’s a solid horror game and a fine addition to the series. If you don’t like the game, that’s one thing, but to try to pretend that a game like Silent Hill 3 is sub par or in any way mediocre is an automatic fail on YOUR part (just as you fail in life).
And I’m sorry that your parents failed to educate you on basic levels of comprehension. You certainly have no business posting theories videos (theories that I’m deducing that you probably ripped off other sites based on your obvious lack of awareness to what is happening around you when you game play).
I know you’ll whine that I’m being too harsh and taking things too far, but there’s no nicer way to put it. You. Are. STUPID. And you need to hear this, so let me repeat again: you suck at all things that require a minimum effort of thought. If you would just keep your stupidity to yourselves, people like myself wouldn’t have to educate you.
Just because you have an opinion and can freely share it, doesn’t mean you should.
In short, you are dumb, stupid, ignorant, foolish and simple. A pair of dummies, losers, mindless, nonsensical, half-witted, obtuse, dense, doltish, moronic, dim, thick-headed, witless, puerile, idiotic, and imbecilic wastes of space.
Your arguments are the typical dumb lazy fan boy arguments made to try to convince yourselves that you are fans of all that the franchise is (the essence of the story of Silent Hill) when in reality you just liked one game and have since developed an obsession over it; and now pretend you’re a fan while riding the hypercritical wave posed by other phony fans that too just liked Silent Hill 2. Your phony concern over the series is noted. You are not one of us, you never were. Go away.
But feel free to thank me for ripping that hole in both of your backsides wider, so you won’t feel the need to force so much bile from your mouths from now on (seriously, you guys are stinking up the place). No charge for the procedure. 🙂
sincerely,
Lady Lil,
a fan who understands that there is more to the series than just Silent Hill 2
Lady Lillith's Revenge 