Hey! Future Tiptoe here. Thanks for checking out these videos! If you'd like to keep up on UA-cam Community info, I'll be posting extra bits of info here in the future: ua-cam.com/users/TiptoeTheTankcommunity As of this post, this is a relatively young channel. I've only really been around since the end of 2020. I hope to be around for the foreseeable future; I'm excited to watch this little passion project grow. More info and content will come with time! Thank you for being here so early in the game. PEACE! -Tip
You must have really not tried to save Maria at all, and really looked at Angela's Knife. I'm not faulting you, I think "In Water" is probably the canon ending...I don't think James could live with what he had done. However, I prefer the "normal?" ending, where he just gets back in his car with Laura and drives away. Where he accepts that Mary is dead, and decides to honor her wishes and adopt Laura. He doesn't run away with Maria, to play house with a homunculus. He doesn't try to bring back Mary (someone has never read "Pet Semetary", James...). He doesn't deal with a mastermind corgi or aliens. He feels remorse for the past, accepts that life will go on, and decides to create a family with Laura and lives his life, as Mary asked him to do as a dying request in her letter. This game is an absolute masterpiece. Playing it as a 19 year old, I didn't really understand the ending entirely. I got the themes and the horror and sadness, but it was just a great game. Replaying SH2 now as a 39 year old with a family and a wife I adore, it's much easier to slide into James' shoes. I can feel his pain and sorrow and anger. His wife is dying, slowly wasting away to a bitter husk of her old self in front of him...and there is nothing he can do to help. He's breaking with her and frustrated and wonders why his plans weren't good enough for God. Why does his wife have to suffer and rot and die while so many other much worse people just skip through life? It would be very easy and understandable to wish for her suffering (and his...his actions were not entirely altruistic) quickly. It would be easy to not really accept what had really happened, and tell yourself a lie, until you believed it. Wow..."Pet Semetary" and "Storm of the Century" in the same set of Themes; James clearly never read them, but these horror game makers did.
One of the things that really impresses me about SH2 is how thematically tight it is. I mean, look at the characters who aren't the protagonist and how they interact with guilt. Maria pushes James away from feeling guilt, and Eddie shows the results of rejecting all responsibility for your actions. The Red Pyramid Thing pushes James toward feeling guilt, but Angela expresses the danger of taking responsibility for situations that aren't really your fault. Maria is of course the victim, and Laura embodies innocence. It's good stuff.
That ending monologue is the most heartbreaking piece of voice acting ever made. Like every line had my heart in a vice and was squeezed with every ache in her voice.
To be honest I think James was a victim, both of them were in fact. Although I am not defending James' actions I can understand him because I know how tough it is to live with someone who suffers from a terminal illness.and I know how mentally and emotionally draining it can get. SH 2 is a very human story. It is grounded in reality to an extent and the developers did a superlative job at showing us what it's like to be in a person who suffers from a mental illness' mind in a classy way. Your video was spectacular as well!
@@Xehanort10 that's the source of the punishment he's bringing on himself. No matter the idea of it being a mercy killing or whether it was by request, James can see that part of himself that wanted her gone and he can't forgive himself for that. In the end they were two humans with complex, feelings facing a horrible situation and the consequences of that situation.
I had a friend in grade school that was in a car accident and sustained a minor brain injury. He went from the nicest friendliest person I knew, to distant, easy to agitate, and overall depressed. It’s scary how little it takes to change a persons personality when it comes to brain issues.
I got the same ending on my first playthrough and it hit me SO hard. No video game ending has ever had such a deep effect on me. The script was clearly written by someone who had experienced a close, personal loss. Silent Hill 2 is a total one off. No game can EVER contemplate loss, grief and longing in as beautiful and poignant a way as Silent Hill 2 did.
I've been depressed for a long time and this year alone has been a Hard one at that. My Brother(25) told me(20) about this game and how it was a transformative experience for him when he was going through his own sadness. I knew nothing other than Pyramid head is from silent hill and that most people will say SH2 is the best in the games series. I decided to run through it and I felt like Every character was dealing with something I have. Bullying, Depression, Loneliness, Loss of love ones, Guilt, Suicide. I got the In water ending and It broke my heart but made me reflect on my own life. My brother had gotten the Leave ending, much nicer if you ask me but I felt in a way it was fitting. As he doesn't have the same mental struggles I do with life and that He actively fights to live where as I woulda let my self drown. SH2 Is my favorite psychological horror story's to day and sure everyone coming into this will either know what's coming and still come out of it with some revelation or people will go into this blind and discover a whole new meaning on life.
You can see that Mary wakes up when he kissed her forehead, this is something very few notice, the way she gently placed her hand on his arm. It is so much an assisted suicide. If you think about how hard some chronic illnesses are to live through, in real life, it is sad how vilified assisted suicide is. Now for canonical endings the silent hill team was even spilt, some say it's the ending you get with the little girl there by receiving Mary's forgiveness. The others said any in which he commits suicide. However, some fans did get a better answer many years after this, which is the ending he survives, then leaves Silent Hill with Laura who it's implied he then adopts. It's not anywhere as straightforward as the first game, as some endings and the best ending can only be achieved by how often you read the letter, or examine the bloody knife, or enemy kills, etc.
Actually, in SH4 it’s mentioned that the superintendent’s son and daughter-in-law (James and Mary) disappeared in Silent Hill before the events of the game. You’d have to interact with a painting in Henry’s room around a third of the game in. If we follow that, then his father may have thought they were going there for a last trip together, not knowing Mary was dead. For the disappearance thing to work it would only make sense with the In Water ending. It is also mentioned by Douglass in SH3 that he never found a man on a missing person’s case in Silent Hill, possibly James. But in any case, I don’t even think that, or any option, could be taken as a definitive answer, considering the teams working on SH3 and SH4 varied greatly to the one in SH2. Add in the fact each dev seems to have a different opinion and, well, it’s a f mess lol
@@eileenscat Exactly. And that's not even counting the light the Rebirth ending casts on things. James could've just as easily chosen to live on an island in Silent Hill after the town brought Mary back for him. Maybe the price was that he stay there and serve the cult.
A true masterpiece. When I first played it I was 21.... Now, 20 years later and with a family of my own the ending destroys me..... It's just too much.
I have to give credit. I would have never guessed that someone could tell a story that I’ve heard for 20 years ad nauseam not only differently but better. Great Video!
@@dequariuswalker4739 i know you didnt mean me, but i was having the same experience with $150 headphones. i have the hyperx cloud whatevers. this scene was gripping
I beat it and got the ending where he leaves with Laura. I understand why a lot of people like the in water ending but I was glad to get the Leave ending as it felt like he learned to forgive himself and remember Mary and her memory and honor it further by taking Laura with him and possibly adopting her in the end to honor Mary's wish. Both show very different sides of dealing with the game's themes. Also when I first heard the VA read the letter, I cried my eyes off.
I like the In Water ending because its the only ending that gives us any indication of what happens to Laura after she runs away when James admits to killing Mary
Lol James ain't adopting Laura. Dude is going straight to jail once Laura finds Mary's rotting corpse in the back seat of his car. That or she'll get the pillow too.
This was one of the most adult, profound gaming experiences I’ve ever had. The story has so many, what can be considered oblique encounters and things that don’t really hit you until the ending. And then they make sense. How it was handled was such a human, mature tone that anyone can feel the varied emotions that would be felt by those going through with seeing a loved one sick and dying while being shackled as the afflicted ones caretaker. This will always be a bar that few games will measure up to let alone replicate.
Man, no matter how time I seen the endings, the sadness still hits. Still bring me to tears. This game is one the few games that still effect me like that. I never will forgot my first time playing it, seeing the ending of his death...
My first ending with this game was "in water." I just sat there dumbfounded. I had never had a game end like that before. I think that was when I realized first that games could be more than just "fun". Really great video!
Have you considered covering the lore of other Silent Hill games like downpour or homecoming? Your coverage of these titles has been amazing and it would be awesome to see your takes on those other games. Just wanted to offer the idea. Thank you for the interesting content!
'James' reason for being here is unique' Well until you get to the post-Team Silent games, the games after Silent Hill 4 where the various dev teams try to replicate the success of SH2 above all else, that this game is the sole embodiment of the series. Even in Origins which is supposed to be the prequel to SH1 they cram in SH2's plot ideas into it as well, complete with a not!Pyramid Head. But all that aside, I love this game. It was my first Silent Hill, my first Survival Horror game. Though I had watched my cousins play the original Resident Evil 1 and 2 before that. My first ending was Leave and for me, it's the ending I prefer. I know a lot of people including a number of the devs, favor In Water but I find it meshes better with Mary's letter. With In Water it just feels depressing with her urging James to live his life and be happy only for James to go and kill himself. Plus the post-boss interaction between James and Mary in that ending is I think the best of the bunch, with James admitting that it was both a Mercy killing and that he killed for his own self reasons. And finally throughout the game, Eddie and Angela are very much set up as mirrors and foils to James. Showing two of the three paths he could go down. Eddie refuses to acknowledge his sins and becomes deluded by the illusions of the town which James can become if he follows the Maria Ending. Angela acknowledges her sins (or rather the WRONG sins) and cannot go on living with the guilt so the town gives her the death she seeks. For James, that's In Water. All that remains is Leave, the ending where James confronts his sins, acknowledges and attempts to move on, to heal and to have a good life as Mary asked him to. It's James' path.
I'm glad you played 4 first, you will always have a special appreciation for it. The order you play them makes such a difference in your perception of the series. I played 3,4,2,1.
I agree. Walter Sullivan was an amazing first-character for me. I tried to play SH1 a long time ago and did NOT enjoy the gameplay. I actually "quit" the series. But SH4 was recommended and it really sealed the deal for me; it made me want to play all of the original 4. Ending with SH2 was the perfect finale. Such an phenomenal story. I owe a lot to Walter Sullivan's story. It led me back to Harry/Heather, and then to James.
you missed a part where James may have realized that there are different realities that everyone is seeing with James’s final interaction with Angela. He tells her “it’s as hell here in here.” And she responds “oh you see it too?” And when you return to the staircase the fire is put out
Great video. I got the ending where James is able to accept what he has done and leaves Silent Hill. It's much clearer and tragic what happened. You really should check out the Leave ending. Mary reading the letter is perhaps the most powerful voice acting I've ever heard. You should also check out that ending as the letter hits different. Also, you should check out the game Lisa: The Painful for a really wrenching story
Omg every time I see an ending to this game Mary's monologue always gets me teary and this one man oh man is someone cutting onions?? No?? I love your videos please do more I'm so happy you genuinely really loved this series enough to make these amazing videos I watched all the Silent Hill videos you've posted!
The worst part about all this, is the fact he has a Father who will never see his son again nor know what would happen next. Well, at least he has that *creepy* apartment and Walter's umbilical cord .....
Eddie has a whole pizza, is in the presence of 2 people, and doesn't offer either of them a slice? Bruh. I try not to get too emotionally invested in video games, but this makes me angry.
I remember the prison level of this game. It was late, I was younger, there was a thunderstorm in the distance, and for whatever reason the level freaked me out and I had to take a break for a little bit. A sign of good game design, IMHO
I swear to god, this channel is just perfect in every way. All videos are a beautiful background while making art. THANK YOU THIS, PLS KEEP MAKING CONTENT
Maybe it's just me but the movement of the characters in the cutscenes seems very impressive? Like all I could remember before this video was amusingly sub-par voice acting, so it's surprising to watch the footage and find much of the animation to be not just convincing but moving - obviously nowadays any game can be convincing, but there's something about these cutscenes that feels incredibly genuine and subtly emotional in movement alone.
They are phenomenal; and I think they still hold up incredibly today. And I think the hammy voice acting is, at least in large part, intentional. It gives all the interactions a surreal, dreamlike and awkward quality, as if nothing is quite real around here.
Silent Hill 1-4 are my absolute favorite horror games of all time. The original Team Silent members are true artists and your videos of the original games are some of the best lore videos on the series. Phenomenal stuff, thank you. it's time to do a marathon run of the first 4 games once again!
Interesting thing, Walter Sullivan started here. The newspaper article him killing the locaines is found in this game. And related, there’s endings you can’t get on the first playthrough. One is the Rebirth Ending, where James learns of a ritual, that could be used to revive Mary, and after killing Maria, goes to perform it if you having four items. The two books that mention the ritual…and the white Chrism, and Obsidian Goblet. The same items used in the ritual of holy assumption.
"I hope your time here will be pleasant and your memories will last forever" Time wasn't necessarily pleasant, but since I was about 13 I've never forgotten Silent Hill 2, it's one of those games that playing again as an adult has only stuck with me more, then playing again as a married man resonated too, definitely one of those games that makes the case for videogames as art, hell it could stand alone as THE case that they are.
Randomly stumbled onto this video/your channel after nostalgia hunting and looking up some vids of my favorite game SH2 and oh my god. Your appreciation for an old game and its story telling, the way you present it all and seeing someone have a blind experience to this game and how you reacted and appreciated it all. Subscribed Immediately Cant wait to see more from you!
What I love most about this story is its many ambiguities. Everyone can get a different read on certain aspects of the story. Even when two people get the story the same, the motivations and actions of the characters (mostly James) may be taken differently. That’s why there’s so many people still debating whether James’ decision was actually self-less or pure cruelty I think the best stories are the ones that will stay with the spectators long after it’s done. The ones that answer just enough, but leave you room to think and make your own conclusions.
I have always loved your channel and the work you do; it gives me inspiration to keep my channel going. I haven't cried like this for a game since Final Fantasy 7. You are an AMAZING artist and storyteller, the decision you made to let the ending play out was PERFECT! I will continue listening to your stories as long as you have stories to tell.
This is the prime example of a game you play when your younger and then lives rent free in your brain till your an adult. Then you realize what the game really was about and realize why you couldn't forget it
My sister wants to play Silent Hill this year, i have avoided as many spoilers as possible because i want her to have the same experience i did playing it. I'm reall excites to play the series with her, as we both worked on the original Resident Evil 3 together back in 2005 so i am excited to share these games with her too.
I remember the first time I got the Maria ending, it was long enough ago that it wasn't spoiled for me either. Seeing James decide to finally give up on Mary and try to find some way to be happy picking Maria. In Mary's message she tells James to go be happy, and it felt like it was trying to do that. Even possibly forgiving himself for everything that happened, and what he did to Mary. I really thought I found the "happy" ending for James, then once I believed it was finally a respite from the constant anguish right on queue Maria starts coughing exactly like Mary then I shivered realizing that James is going to have to watch Maria slowly die as well, the second time being way worse because it was an attempt to get past the sorrow of his dead wife but having it all happen again to someone else he cares for that also is a identical looking match to his dead wife would make it all so much harder to go through the second time around...
The actress at the final letter cried for real,she was in the studio and the producers left her quite to do her part,it was one recording and it was this audio we hear at the end. After the recording the actress was completely broken and sad
I've come back to this video more than once and I keep thinking... Maria is made by james but not entirely.. She holds memories of Laura which is something james couldn't possibly know. We even see her awakening, we see her raw emotion, her sentience, playing as her even, before she meets James. Shes terrified of hurt and death yet she craved it before deciding to go to James and being what he needed her to be. I think these moments could represent a possibility that Maria, although she isn't Mary, is part of her. An actual part. Perhaps a part that hasn't moved on. James didn't come alone to Silent Hill after all.... I believe that Laura is real as she interacts with Eddie. Eddie and James see different surroundings but they both see Laura. James asks Eddie if he's with those red pramid things when they meet. Eddie says he has no idea what James is talking about. That's because he's never seen them. For him they don't exist. But Laura... He sees Laura. Maria however... She hates bowling... Bowling alleys have people. People who can't see her... Because to them, she doesn't exist. She is like Heather. Technically, she is Maria, but she is also someone new. Someone different. Maria aside I also wanted to mention something about Angela. The last time we see her she is on that burning staircase. When James comments on the environment, she replies "you see it too?" implying that her other world is seeping into Jame's. He finally gets that glimpse into what she sees around her, getting to see everything as she does... Except for the paintings. For her she is looking at something completely different and although James knows a picture is there, he cannot comprehend what it actually is. Just like the room he fights her 'father' in. All throughout the game here is a very specific look to the monsters James sees. They all involve flesh and disfigurment in some form. That room is made entirely out of flesh, with the disfigured, disgusting looking representation of Angela's gross father. He knows what happened to her, he can piece it together, and this is how it takes form in his eyes. He has never seen the room they are in, never met her father, only understands what happened. Just like those paintings the last time we see Angela. He had to fill in the blanks himself. I'm sure there were other points I wanted to bring up but this comment is massive and its 12am and I am losing it
Yeah it’s widely accepted Laura exists. She came to silent hill because of Mary. It’s also widely accepted that James can see other people’s manifestations.
YES! WOW! Just found your videos!Very well done. Every 6 months or so I check for any new SH lore videos and I hit the jackpot finding yours! Great Job!
I know is an old video at this point but can't help but mention something known but overseen sometimes: At 42:10 right after you killed Eddie, the letter that Mary sent to James is now blank for James too.
Silent hill 2 is one of the best video games ever made. This isn’t just me saying that either. It is a narrative masterpiece that no game today can contend with. It’s a horrifying and grotesque story of loss, pain, trauma, and despair and it serves to amplify the story of this one diamond. It’s kind of unfortunate that silent hill went back to that “everything centered around gods and demons” type story but it’s not a bad thing that it did. It’s just that the internal pain that people feel can be uniquely manifested in a game like silent hill and that concept can bring out the true horror of what silent hill is…. A personal hell for those who call to it.
Phew. This flies too close to home. Played this game back when it came out. Even though It scared the living shit out me, I was too young to process everything then. I’m 44 now and can relate on so many levels. Your research and narrative outlook is phenomenal. Thanks 😌 This helped me so much. What keeps your sanity intact after exploring all of these dark stories?
This was WONDERFUL. SH2 was the first game that gave me the feeling of being IN a horror movie, and the reveal at the end was devastating. I somehow stumbled into the "good" ending where Laura walks James into the sun on my first playthrough. My reading then was that this was a purgatory story -- that James was dead all along and that Laura was an angelic figure "leading him into the light." Thennnnn I got In Water on my second playthrough and WHAT a rug-being-pulled-out-from-under-me moment. With The Last of Us and Portal 2, this is my favorite game of all time because it made me emotional in a way few games ever have. "For me, it's always like this" still punches me right in the face. Again, excellent work.
Wow.. I had played SH2 as a high schooler back in 2007 and back then I didn't get the lore as much. I just felt it was one of the most terrifying games I'd ever played. But now with the SH2 Remake being out, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the lore. I did not expect it to be so deep and I learnt more about the monsters now that I has missed as a teenager back in the day (like the nurses being associated with James' lust). Thank you for making such an excellent video. Everything was perfect - from the pacing, to the tonality, to the visuals. Fabulous job!
BRUHHHH that subtle segway into Amnesia's story around 33:30? i made a little Amnesia joke to myself when you said that and then I saw the little icon in the corner and I was like "no WAY" lmao nice one
I am very late to these Silent Hill lore videos, but I just finished them all, and your work is absolutely fantastic. You put together a very well structured video, and I love the fact that you share important lore in the beginning, I can way better understand the plot with that info. You will be getting future views from me 💯🔥
I'm a bit surprised you didn't talk about the dynamic player-based endings. How *YOU* view and treat James affects your ending! If you see him as delusional and into the hot new fantasy his mind created, it's Maria. If you see him as too guilty/loving, In Water. If you see him as wanting to protect Mary's legacy rather than drown in the memory of her, Leave. Rebirth can make you start to see the whole thing as a cycle: some rounds of Maria, of In Water, one of Leave... but then in the final incarnation he realizes what the town wanted all along. Gives me chills every time I think about it. What if the town's whole point was to lead him to becoming its loyal cultist? So grateful for the end of torture and his healthy wife...
My first completion was shortly after release in November 2001. Took around 11 hours and like you, got the "In Water" ending. I had a graveyard shift that evening and only JUST managed to finish the game before going to work. Dark & quiet, I could barely concentrate on my job and merely moped until morning trying to process everything
One of the biggest mysteries to me is how Silent Hill appears from Laura’s perspective. What is Brookhaven to her and how is she able to just walk around a mental hospital freely as if she owns the place? Is Brookhaven just an empty, closed down building with no security or staff to her? She’s able to sit in a hospital room and play with teddy bears uninterrupted or lock “someone” in a room without hospital staff asking what the hell she’s doing there?
@Ability Drain well to me what your saying make sense but i like to think it like a dream nightmare world place on the area and the people there have already move on from the town, died cause of it or the town is using their souls to power the nightmare
To me, the "Leave" ending might be the moral ending of Silent Hill 2. All James has to do is move on but never forget what he'd done and at least try to forgive himself. After all, isn't that what we can do in the face of grief? Admit that we've done something wrong and try to move on with our lives and try to forgive ourselves. Angela couldn't and was overcome with the memories of her being violated by her father while her mother said she deserved it, leading her to becoming afraid of people. Eddie couldn't and was overcome with his hatred for his classmates making fun of him and went on a homicidal rage. James killed Mary because he couldn't stand seeing his wife suffer from the disease any longer and buried his guilt under layers upon layers of denial and it's only when the truth hits him like a baseball bat to the face does he finally admit he'd done wrong. The only character that seems exempt from this list is Laura, just a little girl who just wants to reunite with Mary, not knowing that she's already dead. Only time will tell if Laura will ever forgive James and understand what he'd done.
For whatever reason I kept playing this game over and over again to get all of the endings but I typically didn’t rush through it because for whatever reason I felt compelled to explore and check everything along the way, or wander aimlessly through it. I never felt any sort of attachment to any of the characters though I felt for Angela. I wanted Angela to have a happy ending or to at least find out what becomes of her. Aside from that though I just wandered the ghost town reading everything. It reminded me in weird ways how it would feel trying to remember certain aspects of my own life from a long, long time ago.
For some reason I can't remember the first ending I got, but I vividly remember the Rebirth ending I got after my second play through and it horrified me - it meant that James had lost himself, he hadn't learnt the lessons that Silent Hill was trying to teach him and he ultimately admitted nothing to himself. Instead he just succumbed to madness, thinking he could reverse what he had done and revive Mary by some dark magic. I can only assume it went horribly wrong.
My first run through brought me to the In Water ending, I hear most who play for the first time get this one. The next time I got Leave, and my third and final run I got the Maria ending. The part that scared me the most was how callous James sounded as he told a coughing Maria to "... do something about that cough..." His lack of compassion was so scary because it reminded me of my father when his father was on his deathbed, and another time when my mother was ill (she made it through, no thanks to him). A complete lack of empathy, chilling.
Holy shit… I got that ending back when the game came out, and again on the remaster, but it didn’t hit me as hard as it does now… I’m just a puddle in the corner right now… James always reminded me of my dad, because he was caring, kept focus, and determined. (Not the killing part, of course!) My mom got very sick back in ‘20, her health, or more correctly, her body, had always gotten worse, due to multiple bloodclot throughout the years, including one during my birth, but this was alarming. A couple of months after it started, she lost the ability to speak, and lost more and more of her mobility, ending up in a nursing home just before the year ended. My dad visits her every single day, only exceptions being if he’s on a business trip or vacation, and I know how hard it is for him to see the love of his life sitting in a wheelchair, trapped in her own body, because, she’s still in there. They’ve been together for 32 years, married for 25, so I’ve known him for most of my life(I’m 38). So now, that ending hits extremely close to home… Mom is still alive, and he keeps visiting her every day…
Man. I so loved this game. Played though it to get all the endings and all the difficulty settings. So glad you enjoyed it. And my first ending was me walking with Maria and she had a small cough
Thanks for the video! It was a good recap to make clear some doubts that had been swarming through my mind these days after completing the game for the first time. The end I got was the same as yours "In Water" where James killed himself, as I examined Angela’s knife and went to Annie’s bar, where the creepy messages written in blood are. As to which end is official, already said the development team that any of them is, regardless of what the book says or private workers. Since Silent Hill 2 is, so to speak, a unique piece, there is no continuation that requires taking any of the endings as true. The only thing is that in SH 4, I think, James' father comes out saying that his son disappeared and never came back, but that perfectly could have happened with any of the endings, not just with his being sunk along with the other corpses in the depths of Lake Toluca. Personally, having weighed it up a lot, I think the most plausible and coherent outcome is that of "Leave," since James explicitly says he would never kill himself, as well as because I think it’s what his wife would really have wanted, as shown in that ending. Above all, what gave me more doubts was whether the vision he saw in the end was solely the product of his mind, or whether the mystical power of Silent Hill had also been involved in it, and therefore it could be considered that Mary, in some way, actually granted him forgiveness, and that it was not just a way for him to fully accept it. In particular, your video made me realize that it is very likely (but almost completely true, because it shows that the three years is a hoax, mere subterfuge of the mind of the protagonist to repress his memories and guilt) that James carries Mary’s body in his trunk or car, so it would not be unreasonable for part of his consciousness to actually manifest in that final vision. This could be corroborated by the fact that Maria feels this need to protect Laura, even though James knew nothing about the relationship between that girl and his wife; whereupon, while Maria was almost entirely created by and for James, that she initially had some autonomy (as seen in the sub-scenario of Born of a Desire), along with her feelings towards Laura, makes me think that, in fact, part of the essence of Mary is still preserved for those moments. At first what made me doubt is that, while Mary states in the letter that she wants James to go on with his own life, that is obviously written before he killed her, which is very murky and totally justifies that, even though James read that part of the missive, continue to bear the weight of his guilt tormenting him. Silent Hill 2 is full of masterful details, and one of them is the one that, throughout the game, Mary’s letter that James reads at the beginning is erased until only leaving a blank paper, restoring all content until he accepts his guilt and stops repressing his memories. So, the fact that the save points are a bloodied version of his wife’s letter, and that every time we leave James expresses brain pain, makes all the sense in the world considering that that obviously wants to remind him of what happened, colliding with his conscience trying to suppress it. That explains why, unlike other protagonists, by defeating the enemies he does not go out, but enters, the nightmare plane: every time he kills a boss, he defeats that image that tries to remind him of his sin, further sinking his true memories. In fact, the nine red squares that you see just before the fight against the Pyramid Head the following said by one of the main creators represent each of the nine types of monsters that James faces (including, the nurses at Brookheaven Hospital have it in the form of mouth when you enter the building), and the large number of them represents that, at last, the full acceptance of the guilt on the part of the protagonist is imminent, For if interacting with just one bloody letter causes a headache, doing so with nine would undoubtedly make him yield to the unblocking of his memories; so it happens when he admits that he no longer needs any executioner, and when he overcomes them. In retrospect, the entire village conspired so that James would have to face what he was fleeing from: both the creatures, certain symbols across the stage, Maria’s multiple executions, and the constant memory, to the end, that she was dead. I can now clearly appreciate the parallelism drawn from the inspiration between Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment and this SH, where the only threat to Rodion is his own guilt eating away at him. In the novel, he ends up handing himself over to the police, and accepting the corresponding punishment, spending a few long years in prison, with the only consolation of being visited by Sonia. James, while already faced, suffered and overcame his internal (non-judicial, hehe) punishment, will not even have that palliative, so I understand why the end of suicide is tempting. To conclude, one undeniable thing is that virtually all the deformations seen in the city are due to the reflection of James' subconscious printed on the city (for Angela it is one full of flames, a hell; for Eddie a cold, desolate place of sympathy or compassion) for the sacred properties of this, as well as for the remnants of the catastrophe that occurred at the meeting of Harry and Samael. Naturally, this sows the fact that we question whether the last scene is valid only in James' mind, or whether it is also validated by something that has to do with the one Mary was. know there are six finals, four serious and two of joke, and that I just swung between two of them, but honestly the end of Maria is the worst, because undoubtedly there will never escape that purgatory, condemned to repeat the cycle, as Maria herself suggests she coughs in the end. Resurrection, in addition to the fact that you need to have previously played to get it, I would find it too forced to be equated with the two of "Forgiveness," because James would never overcome his catatonic state, besides that there would be no solid foundation to prove why you know about the ritual... Now what Maria saw is also transferred to your knowledge? Puff, no sense. I mean, it’s funny, but so far. As I have already mentioned, from the evidence that I have gathered and have already laid out, it is in the one that James leaves the town that seems to me the most coherent among the available endings.
Fear... My wife once asked me what I fear most in life. I didn't answer her. The thing I fear most in this world is that the day may arrive that or my wife will have to say goodbye because I slowly fade away, or that I will have to say goodbye because she slowly fades away. That's what I goddamn fear most in this world.
Fun Fact: Silent Hill began as an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist, but they went in a different direction but wanted to keep a lot Stephen King elements in and even included some Easter eggs like naming a street after Bachman (Stephen King’s pseudonym) along with other horror authors, some that even influenced King like Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson.
When I first played this, I got The Leave ending. I think in a sense the Leave ending is a coming to terms with accepting the reality that the person James knew will never come back but at least in some weird 'spiritual cleansing', he got rid of the intense guilt and managed to move on from this entire event. This game is a massive bomb when it comes to how people would react in a dire situation of despair and its story is a master class art done so good.
Wow these are so fucking dope I feel so in tune with your videos! I wanted to cry so bad but I’m high asf when that ended came up holy shit 😫 such an amazing video yet again and thank you for keeping the fan base strong!!
Where can you find the lore that James put Mary's body on the backseat of his car? I never got that from the game. Also, how the HELL do you NOT see a dead body in the backseat of your car? When exactly did his madness begin? Just before or after he killed her? After watching to the end: I remember my passion for this game. Silent Hill 2 was lightning in a bottle.
Mary's body was a confirmation from Masahiro Ito (twitter.com/adsk4/status/196960739410460672 ). I can't remember if it was also mentioned in the archived Konami Silent Hill website(s) or that book released in the early 2000s called Lost Memories. The amount of lore written for these games that didn't actually get put into the game is staggering. If I use sources outside the games, it's from the original devs. And Silent Hill had tons of it. I think I could actually do a whole video on Silent Hill lore from Team Silent articles/books that didn't get into the games. Shit. Maybe I should look into that. Ito's later insights into the games were wonderful, and an absolute menace to scripting as it fuddled up the timelines. But Mary's body being in the vehicle someplace struck me as profound insight into James's dissociation. I think he lost it right before he smothered her, and completely broke with reality once it was done. I doubt he even remembered the drive to Silent Hill.
@@pandamonium9255 basically people kept saying for years her body was in the trunk of the car because James comments its locked when you interact with it, Masahiro Ito finally chimed in that she was in the backseat the whole time actually. In regards to missing the body, James is that in denial over how Mary died and how long ago she died that he does not look in the back of the car because that would shatter his delusions that she could still be alive. It's one of those things you catch onto after a couple of playthroughs
Laura is the cutest little rascal! This game really did something to me emotionally. I love it so much I can't stop watching videos with anything to do about Silent Hill 2. It's so very personal for me. I would like to think I would have loved and adored Mary in her last days up until the very end. It especially hits hard because my name is James. This was the ending I had as well, But I would have loved the Laura ending.
If I'm correct, most people don't mention the 2nd pyramid head a lot, but I see it as guilt for having to kill eddie and thats why a second one pops up.
The mannequin where James finds the flashlight is wearing Mary’s attire, and is the only one that isn’t “alive”. The body sitting in the chair in front of the TV resembles James.
Hey! Future Tiptoe here. Thanks for checking out these videos! If you'd like to keep up on UA-cam Community info, I'll be posting extra bits of info here in the future: ua-cam.com/users/TiptoeTheTankcommunity
As of this post, this is a relatively young channel. I've only really been around since the end of 2020. I hope to be around for the foreseeable future; I'm excited to watch this little passion project grow. More info and content will come with time! Thank you for being here so early in the game. PEACE!
-Tip
K0u
You must have really not tried to save Maria at all, and really looked at Angela's Knife. I'm not faulting you, I think "In Water" is probably the canon ending...I don't think James could live with what he had done.
However, I prefer the "normal?" ending, where he just gets back in his car with Laura and drives away. Where he accepts that Mary is dead, and decides to honor her wishes and adopt Laura. He doesn't run away with Maria, to play house with a homunculus. He doesn't try to bring back Mary (someone has never read "Pet Semetary", James...). He doesn't deal with a mastermind corgi or aliens. He feels remorse for the past, accepts that life will go on, and decides to create a family with Laura and lives his life, as Mary asked him to do as a dying request in her letter.
This game is an absolute masterpiece. Playing it as a 19 year old, I didn't really understand the ending entirely. I got the themes and the horror and sadness, but it was just a great game. Replaying SH2 now as a 39 year old with a family and a wife I adore, it's much easier to slide into James' shoes. I can feel his pain and sorrow and anger. His wife is dying, slowly wasting away to a bitter husk of her old self in front of him...and there is nothing he can do to help. He's breaking with her and frustrated and wonders why his plans weren't good enough for God. Why does his wife have to suffer and rot and die while so many other much worse people just skip through life? It would be very easy and understandable to wish for her suffering (and his...his actions were not entirely altruistic) quickly. It would be easy to not really accept what had really happened, and tell yourself a lie, until you believed it. Wow..."Pet Semetary" and "Storm of the Century" in the same set of Themes; James clearly never read them, but these horror game makers did.
One of the things that really impresses me about SH2 is how thematically tight it is.
I mean, look at the characters who aren't the protagonist and how they interact with guilt. Maria pushes James away from feeling guilt, and Eddie shows the results of rejecting all responsibility for your actions. The Red Pyramid Thing pushes James toward feeling guilt, but Angela expresses the danger of taking responsibility for situations that aren't really your fault. Maria is of course the victim, and Laura embodies innocence.
It's good stuff.
Be quite
That ending monologue is the most heartbreaking piece of voice acting ever made. Like every line had my heart in a vice and was squeezed with every ache in her voice.
Oh I know! It sounded like she was breaking down herself while she was doing that part. It was so sad.
I might forgive the remake for its awful problems if at least some of the voice acting is as impactful as this
To be honest I think James was a victim, both of them were in fact. Although I am not defending James' actions I can understand him because I know how tough it is to live with someone who suffers from a terminal illness.and I know how mentally and emotionally draining it can get. SH 2 is a very human story. It is grounded in reality to an extent and the developers did a superlative job at showing us what it's like to be in a person who suffers from a mental illness' mind in a classy way.
Your video was spectacular as well!
Yes, it was an intelligent way to extend the world from the first Silent Hill. Vastly superior to the 1st game.
@@someone2746 sh1 is all about human sufferings and father love for his daughter
I think he killed Mary partly as a mercy killing and partly selfishly not wanting to look after her anymore.
@@Xehanort10 that's the source of the punishment he's bringing on himself. No matter the idea of it being a mercy killing or whether it was by request, James can see that part of himself that wanted her gone and he can't forgive himself for that.
In the end they were two humans with complex, feelings facing a horrible situation and the consequences of that situation.
I had a friend in grade school that was in a car accident and sustained a minor brain injury. He went from the nicest friendliest person I knew, to distant, easy to agitate, and overall depressed. It’s scary how little it takes to change a persons personality when it comes to brain issues.
I got the same ending on my first playthrough and it hit me SO hard. No video game ending has ever had such a deep effect on me. The script was clearly written by someone who had experienced a close, personal loss. Silent Hill 2 is a total one off. No game can EVER contemplate loss, grief and longing in as beautiful and poignant a way as Silent Hill 2 did.
I've been depressed for a long time and this year alone has been a Hard one at that. My Brother(25) told me(20) about this game and how it was a transformative experience for him when he was going through his own sadness. I knew nothing other than Pyramid head is from silent hill and that most people will say SH2 is the best in the games series. I decided to run through it and I felt like Every character was dealing with something I have. Bullying, Depression, Loneliness, Loss of love ones, Guilt, Suicide. I got the In water ending and It broke my heart but made me reflect on my own life. My brother had gotten the Leave ending, much nicer if you ask me but I felt in a way it was fitting. As he doesn't have the same mental struggles I do with life and that He actively fights to live where as I woulda let my self drown. SH2 Is my favorite psychological horror story's to day and sure everyone coming into this will either know what's coming and still come out of it with some revelation or people will go into this blind and discover a whole new meaning on life.
You can see that Mary wakes up when he kissed her forehead, this is something very few notice, the way she gently placed her hand on his arm. It is so much an assisted suicide. If you think about how hard some chronic illnesses are to live through, in real life, it is sad how vilified assisted suicide is.
Now for canonical endings the silent hill team was even spilt, some say it's the ending you get with the little girl there by receiving Mary's forgiveness. The others said any in which he commits suicide. However, some fans did get a better answer many years after this, which is the ending he survives, then leaves Silent Hill with Laura who it's implied he then adopts.
It's not anywhere as straightforward as the first game, as some endings and the best ending can only be achieved by how often you read the letter, or examine the bloody knife, or enemy kills, etc.
Where is the happy ending mentioned? Pretty sure the true ending is James suicide, his father never saw James again, as stated in SH4
How do you achieve the dog ending?
Actually, in SH4 it’s mentioned that the superintendent’s son and daughter-in-law (James and Mary) disappeared in Silent Hill before the events of the game. You’d have to interact with a painting in Henry’s room around a third of the game in. If we follow that, then his father may have thought they were going there for a last trip together, not knowing Mary was dead. For the disappearance thing to work it would only make sense with the In Water ending.
It is also mentioned by Douglass in SH3 that he never found a man on a missing person’s case in Silent Hill, possibly James.
But in any case, I don’t even think that, or any option, could be taken as a definitive answer, considering the teams working on SH3 and SH4 varied greatly to the one in SH2. Add in the fact each dev seems to have a different opinion and, well, it’s a f mess lol
@@eileenscat Exactly. And that's not even counting the light the Rebirth ending casts on things. James could've just as easily chosen to live on an island in Silent Hill after the town brought Mary back for him. Maybe the price was that he stay there and serve the cult.
A true masterpiece.
When I first played it I was 21.... Now, 20 years later and with a family of my own the ending destroys me.....
It's just too much.
Personally, while I have only seen a playthrough of SH2, I completely agree that the ending segments hit like a train with their emotional baggage.
I have to give credit. I would have never guessed that someone could tell a story that I’ve heard for 20 years ad nauseam not only differently but better. Great Video!
Jesus, that ending. Just hits 10x harder as an adult. Also prolly doesn’t hurt that these 300 dollar headphones really let’s you hear the emotion
Agreed. The VO for Mary/Maria (Monica Horgan) did a truly outstanding job in these roles and the writing for SH2 was just outstanding.
@@TiptoeTheTank im high right now...and this was painful. im feeling emotions and i hate it.
What headphones you got? Looking for new ones.
@@dequariuswalker4739 i know you didnt mean me, but i was having the same experience with $150 headphones. i have the hyperx cloud whatevers. this scene was gripping
weird flex but ok
I beat it and got the ending where he leaves with Laura. I understand why a lot of people like the in water ending but I was glad to get the Leave ending as it felt like he learned to forgive himself and remember Mary and her memory and honor it further by taking Laura with him and possibly adopting her in the end to honor Mary's wish. Both show very different sides of dealing with the game's themes. Also when I first heard the VA read the letter, I cried my eyes off.
Yeah 😂
The ladies love the In Water ending. "Hell hath no fury...."
I like the In Water ending because its the only ending that gives us any indication of what happens to Laura after she runs away when James admits to killing Mary
Lol James ain't adopting Laura. Dude is going straight to jail once Laura finds Mary's rotting corpse in the back seat of his car. That or she'll get the pillow too.
This was one of the most adult, profound gaming experiences I’ve ever had. The story has so many, what can be considered oblique encounters and things that don’t really hit you until the ending. And then they make sense.
How it was handled was such a human, mature tone that anyone can feel the varied emotions that would be felt by those going through with seeing a loved one sick and dying while being shackled as the afflicted ones caretaker.
This will always be a bar that few games will measure up to let alone replicate.
Man, this video is so good. You tell this story in a different way than most, with a different perspective. This is great
Man, no matter how time I seen the endings, the sadness still hits. Still bring me to tears. This game is one the few games that still effect me like that. I never will forgot my first time playing it, seeing the ending of his death...
My first ending with this game was "in water." I just sat there dumbfounded. I had never had a game end like that before. I think that was when I realized first that games could be more than just "fun".
Really great video!
Have you considered covering the lore of other Silent Hill games like downpour or homecoming? Your coverage of these titles has been amazing and it would be awesome to see your takes on those other games. Just wanted to offer the idea. Thank you for the interesting content!
Damn I came prepared for a horror game. This ending hit sooo hard...
The best horror media always have the deepest emotional bases
'James' reason for being here is unique'
Well until you get to the post-Team Silent games, the games after Silent Hill 4 where the various dev teams try to replicate the success of SH2 above all else, that this game is the sole embodiment of the series. Even in Origins which is supposed to be the prequel to SH1 they cram in SH2's plot ideas into it as well, complete with a not!Pyramid Head.
But all that aside, I love this game. It was my first Silent Hill, my first Survival Horror game. Though I had watched my cousins play the original Resident Evil 1 and 2 before that.
My first ending was Leave and for me, it's the ending I prefer. I know a lot of people including a number of the devs, favor In Water but I find it meshes better with Mary's letter. With In Water it just feels depressing with her urging James to live his life and be happy only for James to go and kill himself. Plus the post-boss interaction between James and Mary in that ending is I think the best of the bunch, with James admitting that it was both a Mercy killing and that he killed for his own self reasons.
And finally throughout the game, Eddie and Angela are very much set up as mirrors and foils to James. Showing two of the three paths he could go down. Eddie refuses to acknowledge his sins and becomes deluded by the illusions of the town which James can become if he follows the Maria Ending. Angela acknowledges her sins (or rather the WRONG sins) and cannot go on living with the guilt so the town gives her the death she seeks. For James, that's In Water. All that remains is Leave, the ending where James confronts his sins, acknowledges and attempts to move on, to heal and to have a good life as Mary asked him to. It's James' path.
I'm glad you played 4 first, you will always have a special appreciation for it. The order you play them makes such a difference in your perception of the series. I played 3,4,2,1.
I agree. Walter Sullivan was an amazing first-character for me. I tried to play SH1 a long time ago and did NOT enjoy the gameplay. I actually "quit" the series. But SH4 was recommended and it really sealed the deal for me; it made me want to play all of the original 4. Ending with SH2 was the perfect finale. Such an phenomenal story.
I owe a lot to Walter Sullivan's story. It led me back to Harry/Heather, and then to James.
This channel is a freaking gift and sorely underrated. I love it
you missed a part where James may have realized that there are different realities that everyone is seeing with James’s final interaction with Angela. He tells her “it’s as hell here in here.”
And she responds “oh you see it too?”
And when you return to the staircase the fire is put out
Great video. I got the ending where James is able to accept what he has done and leaves Silent Hill. It's much clearer and tragic what happened. You really should check out the Leave ending. Mary reading the letter is perhaps the most powerful voice acting I've ever heard. You should also check out that ending as the letter hits different. Also, you should check out the game Lisa: The Painful for a really wrenching story
Omg every time I see an ending to this game Mary's monologue always gets me teary and this one man oh man is someone cutting onions?? No??
I love your videos please do more I'm so happy you genuinely really loved this series enough to make these amazing videos I watched all the Silent Hill videos you've posted!
The cannon ending is the dog in control ending
Lol jk
The 'Dog Ending' music for SH2 is so catchy, too!
The worst part about all this, is the fact he has a Father who will never see his son again nor know what would happen next. Well, at least he has that *creepy* apartment and Walter's umbilical cord .....
Fun Fact!
Mary didn't die three years ago, it was only a few weeks earlier.
That's how broken he is, he has lost all Sence of time..
Eddie has a whole pizza, is in the presence of 2 people, and doesn't offer either of them a slice? Bruh. I try not to get too emotionally invested in video games, but this makes me angry.
^^This is the truth.
Two boxes of pizza🍕 lol
This hits me so much harder now then when i was a kid. Having lost the love after love to tragedy. Cancer, natural disaster, and covid.
@@edwardwilson7459 wow. Yeah that VA was heavh
I remember the prison level of this game. It was late, I was younger, there was a thunderstorm in the distance, and for whatever reason the level freaked me out and I had to take a break for a little bit.
A sign of good game design, IMHO
The moment you realize Mary's body was in the back of the car the whole time...
Yeah I never knew that until now, crazy after 10 years I still learn something new about Silent Hill.
I swear to god, this channel is just perfect in every way. All videos are a beautiful background while making art. THANK YOU THIS, PLS KEEP MAKING CONTENT
Maybe it's just me but the movement of the characters in the cutscenes seems very impressive? Like all I could remember before this video was amusingly sub-par voice acting, so it's surprising to watch the footage and find much of the animation to be not just convincing but moving - obviously nowadays any game can be convincing, but there's something about these cutscenes that feels incredibly genuine and subtly emotional in movement alone.
They are phenomenal; and I think they still hold up incredibly today. And I think the hammy voice acting is, at least in large part, intentional. It gives all the interactions a surreal, dreamlike and awkward quality, as if nothing is quite real around here.
Silent Hill 1-4 are my absolute favorite horror games of all time. The original Team Silent members are true artists and your videos of the original games are some of the best lore videos on the series. Phenomenal stuff, thank you. it's time to do a marathon run of the first 4 games once again!
Me too! I’ve played all at least 3-5x over last 17 yrs. I’m obsessed with SH series ❤️❤️❤️
Interesting thing, Walter Sullivan started here. The newspaper article him killing the locaines is found in this game. And related, there’s endings you can’t get on the first playthrough. One is the Rebirth Ending, where James learns of a ritual, that could be used to revive Mary, and after killing Maria, goes to perform it if you having four items. The two books that mention the ritual…and the white Chrism, and Obsidian Goblet. The same items used in the ritual of holy assumption.
"I hope your time here will be pleasant and your memories will last forever"
Time wasn't necessarily pleasant, but since I was about 13 I've never forgotten Silent Hill 2, it's one of those games that playing again as an adult has only stuck with me more, then playing again as a married man resonated too, definitely one of those games that makes the case for videogames as art, hell it could stand alone as THE case that they are.
Randomly stumbled onto this video/your channel after nostalgia hunting and looking up some vids of my favorite game SH2 and oh my god. Your appreciation for an old game and its story telling, the way you present it all and seeing someone have a blind experience to this game and how you reacted and appreciated it all.
Subscribed
Immediately
Cant wait to see more from you!
What I love most about this story is its many ambiguities. Everyone can get a different read on certain aspects of the story. Even when two people get the story the same, the motivations and actions of the characters (mostly James) may be taken differently. That’s why there’s so many people still debating whether James’ decision was actually self-less or pure cruelty
I think the best stories are the ones that will stay with the spectators long after it’s done. The ones that answer just enough, but leave you room to think and make your own conclusions.
My lord that ending was so heart wrenching.
I have always loved your channel and the work you do; it gives me inspiration to keep my channel going. I haven't cried like this for a game since Final Fantasy 7. You are an AMAZING artist and storyteller, the decision you made to let the ending play out was PERFECT! I will continue listening to your stories as long as you have stories to tell.
14:33 "....but, we're not done making friends, are we?"
Oh. I like ya.
Liked and subbed. ✔️ ✅
Your channel is criminally underrated. This is so well done.
Omg, its funny that " You made me happy" part still makes me tear up. When I was fourteen and first completed SH2, her letter utterly destroyed me.
This is the prime example of a game you play when your younger and then lives rent free in your brain till your an adult. Then you realize what the game really was about and realize why you couldn't forget it
My sister wants to play Silent Hill this year, i have avoided as many spoilers as possible because i want her to have the same experience i did playing it. I'm reall excites to play the series with her, as we both worked on the original Resident Evil 3 together back in 2005 so i am excited to share these games with her too.
Just discovered your channel today with the SOMA video, this is the fourth video I devour in a row. Congrats, love how you narrate.
I remember the first time I got the Maria ending, it was long enough ago that it wasn't spoiled for me either. Seeing James decide to finally give up on Mary and try to find some way to be happy picking Maria. In Mary's message she tells James to go be happy, and it felt like it was trying to do that. Even possibly forgiving himself for everything that happened, and what he did to Mary. I really thought I found the "happy" ending for James, then once I believed it was finally a respite from the constant anguish right on queue Maria starts coughing exactly like Mary then I shivered realizing that James is going to have to watch Maria slowly die as well, the second time being way worse because it was an attempt to get past the sorrow of his dead wife but having it all happen again to someone else he cares for that also is a identical looking match to his dead wife would make it all so much harder to go through the second time around...
The actress at the final letter cried for real,she was in the studio and the producers left her quite to do her part,it was one recording and it was this audio we hear at the end.
After the recording the actress was completely broken and sad
31:07 Henry from 4 is even weirder with his barely reacting to what's going on around him.
Yo that ending was phenomenal it gave me chills we really need you to narrate more Lore like favorite UA-camr this year
I've come back to this video more than once and I keep thinking...
Maria is made by james but not entirely.. She holds memories of Laura which is something james couldn't possibly know. We even see her awakening, we see her raw emotion, her sentience, playing as her even, before she meets James. Shes terrified of hurt and death yet she craved it before deciding to go to James and being what he needed her to be. I think these moments could represent a possibility that Maria, although she isn't Mary, is part of her. An actual part. Perhaps a part that hasn't moved on.
James didn't come alone to Silent Hill after all....
I believe that Laura is real as she interacts with Eddie. Eddie and James see different surroundings but they both see Laura. James asks Eddie if he's with those red pramid things when they meet. Eddie says he has no idea what James is talking about. That's because he's never seen them. For him they don't exist. But Laura... He sees Laura.
Maria however... She hates bowling...
Bowling alleys have people. People who can't see her... Because to them, she doesn't exist.
She is like Heather. Technically, she is Maria, but she is also someone new. Someone different.
Maria aside I also wanted to mention something about Angela. The last time we see her she is on that burning staircase. When James comments on the environment, she replies "you see it too?" implying that her other world is seeping into Jame's. He finally gets that glimpse into what she sees around her, getting to see everything as she does... Except for the paintings. For her she is looking at something completely different and although James knows a picture is there, he cannot comprehend what it actually is. Just like the room he fights her 'father' in. All throughout the game here is a very specific look to the monsters James sees. They all involve flesh and disfigurment in some form. That room is made entirely out of flesh, with the disfigured, disgusting looking representation of Angela's gross father. He knows what happened to her, he can piece it together, and this is how it takes form in his eyes. He has never seen the room they are in, never met her father, only understands what happened. Just like those paintings the last time we see Angela. He had to fill in the blanks himself.
I'm sure there were other points I wanted to bring up but this comment is massive and its 12am and I am losing it
Yeah it’s widely accepted Laura exists. She came to silent hill because of Mary. It’s also widely accepted that James can see other people’s manifestations.
YES! WOW! Just found your videos!Very well done. Every 6 months or so I check for any new SH lore videos and I hit the jackpot finding yours! Great Job!
Thank you so much; I'm glad you liked them!
I know is an old video at this point but can't help but mention something known but overseen sometimes: At 42:10 right after you killed Eddie, the letter that Mary sent to James is now blank for James too.
Silent hill 2 is one of the best video games ever made. This isn’t just me saying that either. It is a narrative masterpiece that no game today can contend with. It’s a horrifying and grotesque story of loss, pain, trauma, and despair and it serves to amplify the story of this one diamond. It’s kind of unfortunate that silent hill went back to that “everything centered around gods and demons” type story but it’s not a bad thing that it did. It’s just that the internal pain that people feel can be uniquely manifested in a game like silent hill and that concept can bring out the true horror of what silent hill is…. A personal hell for those who call to it.
Your videos are exactly what I've been lookin for lately. Amazing stuff.
Phew. This flies too close to home. Played this game back when it came out. Even though It scared the living shit out me, I was too young to process everything then. I’m 44 now and can relate on so many levels. Your research and narrative outlook is phenomenal. Thanks 😌
This helped me so much.
What keeps your sanity intact after exploring all of these dark stories?
This was WONDERFUL. SH2 was the first game that gave me the feeling of being IN a horror movie, and the reveal at the end was devastating. I somehow stumbled into the "good" ending where Laura walks James into the sun on my first playthrough. My reading then was that this was a purgatory story -- that James was dead all along and that Laura was an angelic figure "leading him into the light." Thennnnn I got In Water on my second playthrough and WHAT a rug-being-pulled-out-from-under-me moment. With The Last of Us and Portal 2, this is my favorite game of all time because it made me emotional in a way few games ever have. "For me, it's always like this" still punches me right in the face. Again, excellent work.
Wow.. I had played SH2 as a high schooler back in 2007 and back then I didn't get the lore as much. I just felt it was one of the most terrifying games I'd ever played. But now with the SH2 Remake being out, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the lore. I did not expect it to be so deep and I learnt more about the monsters now that I has missed as a teenager back in the day (like the nurses being associated with James' lust).
Thank you for making such an excellent video. Everything was perfect - from the pacing, to the tonality, to the visuals. Fabulous job!
BRUHHHH that subtle segway into Amnesia's story around 33:30? i made a little Amnesia joke to myself when you said that and then I saw the little icon in the corner and I was like "no WAY" lmao nice one
😉
I am very late to these Silent Hill lore videos, but I just finished them all, and your work is absolutely fantastic. You put together a very well structured video, and I love the fact that you share important lore in the beginning, I can way better understand the plot with that info. You will be getting future views from me 💯🔥
Wow great video. Makes me wanna play the PS2 version again
I'm a bit surprised you didn't talk about the dynamic player-based endings. How *YOU* view and treat James affects your ending! If you see him as delusional and into the hot new fantasy his mind created, it's Maria. If you see him as too guilty/loving, In Water. If you see him as wanting to protect Mary's legacy rather than drown in the memory of her, Leave.
Rebirth can make you start to see the whole thing as a cycle: some rounds of Maria, of In Water, one of Leave... but then in the final incarnation he realizes what the town wanted all along. Gives me chills every time I think about it. What if the town's whole point was to lead him to becoming its loyal cultist? So grateful for the end of torture and his healthy wife...
Incredible, so well done with the pacing, thank you.
My first completion was shortly after release in November 2001. Took around 11 hours and like you, got the "In Water" ending.
I had a graveyard shift that evening and only JUST managed to finish the game before going to work. Dark & quiet, I could barely concentrate on my job and merely moped until morning trying to process everything
Every time I think I've gotten over "in water" I still end up with a lump in my throat and welled up eyes.
One of the biggest mysteries to me is how Silent Hill appears from Laura’s perspective. What is Brookhaven to her and how is she able to just walk around a mental hospital freely as if she owns the place? Is Brookhaven just an empty, closed down building with no security or staff to her? She’s able to sit in a hospital room and play with teddy bears uninterrupted or lock “someone” in a room without hospital staff asking what the hell she’s doing there?
@Ability Drain well to me what your saying make sense but i like to think it like a dream nightmare world place on the area and the people there have already move on from the town, died cause of it or the town is using their souls to power the nightmare
What an excellent review! SH 2 is definitely a master piece. Thanks for your content ❤
To me, the "Leave" ending might be the moral ending of Silent Hill 2. All James has to do is move on but never forget what he'd done and at least try to forgive himself. After all, isn't that what we can do in the face of grief? Admit that we've done something wrong and try to move on with our lives and try to forgive ourselves. Angela couldn't and was overcome with the memories of her being violated by her father while her mother said she deserved it, leading her to becoming afraid of people. Eddie couldn't and was overcome with his hatred for his classmates making fun of him and went on a homicidal rage. James killed Mary because he couldn't stand seeing his wife suffer from the disease any longer and buried his guilt under layers upon layers of denial and it's only when the truth hits him like a baseball bat to the face does he finally admit he'd done wrong. The only character that seems exempt from this list is Laura, just a little girl who just wants to reunite with Mary, not knowing that she's already dead. Only time will tell if Laura will ever forgive James and understand what he'd done.
For whatever reason I kept playing this game over and over again to get all of the endings but I typically didn’t rush through it because for whatever reason I felt compelled to explore and check everything along the way, or wander aimlessly through it. I never felt any sort of attachment to any of the characters though I felt for Angela. I wanted Angela to have a happy ending or to at least find out what becomes of her. Aside from that though I just wandered the ghost town reading everything. It reminded me in weird ways how it would feel trying to remember certain aspects of my own life from a long, long time ago.
For some reason I can't remember the first ending I got, but I vividly remember the Rebirth ending I got after my second play through and it horrified me - it meant that James had lost himself, he hadn't learnt the lessons that Silent Hill was trying to teach him and he ultimately admitted nothing to himself. Instead he just succumbed to madness, thinking he could reverse what he had done and revive Mary by some dark magic. I can only assume it went horribly wrong.
My first run through brought me to the In Water ending, I hear most who play for the first time get this one. The next time I got Leave, and my third and final run I got the Maria ending. The part that scared me the most was how callous James sounded as he told a coughing Maria to "... do something about that cough..." His lack of compassion was so scary because it reminded me of my father when his father was on his deathbed, and another time when my mother was ill (she made it through, no thanks to him). A complete lack of empathy, chilling.
In my head cannon to the ending of the game is that James adopts Laura in honor of Marry wanting to adopt her.
Holy shit… I got that ending back when the game came out, and again on the remaster, but it didn’t hit me as hard as it does now… I’m just a puddle in the corner right now…
James always reminded me of my dad, because he was caring, kept focus, and determined. (Not the killing part, of course!)
My mom got very sick back in ‘20, her health, or more correctly, her body, had always gotten worse, due to multiple bloodclot throughout the years, including one during my birth, but this was alarming.
A couple of months after it started, she lost the ability to speak, and lost more and more of her mobility, ending up in a nursing home just before the year ended. My dad visits her every single day, only exceptions being if he’s on a business trip or vacation, and I know how hard it is for him to see the love of his life sitting in a wheelchair, trapped in her own body, because, she’s still in there.
They’ve been together for 32 years, married for 25, so I’ve known him for most of my life(I’m 38).
So now, that ending hits extremely close to home… Mom is still alive, and he keeps visiting her every day…
Man. I so loved this game. Played though it to get all the endings and all the difficulty settings. So glad you enjoyed it. And my first ending was me walking with Maria and she had a small cough
Thanks for the video! It was a good recap to make clear some doubts that had been swarming through my mind these days after completing the game for the first time. The end I got was the same as yours "In Water" where James killed himself, as I examined Angela’s knife and went to Annie’s bar, where the creepy messages written in blood are. As to which end is official, already said the development team that any of them is, regardless of what the book says or private workers. Since Silent Hill 2 is, so to speak, a unique piece, there is no continuation that requires taking any of the endings as true. The only thing is that in SH 4, I think, James' father comes out saying that his son disappeared and never came back, but that perfectly could have happened with any of the endings, not just with his being sunk along with the other corpses in the depths of Lake Toluca. Personally, having weighed it up a lot, I think the most plausible and coherent outcome is that of "Leave," since James explicitly says he would never kill himself, as well as because I think it’s what his wife would really have wanted, as shown in that ending. Above all, what gave me more doubts was whether the vision he saw in the end was solely the product of his mind, or whether the mystical power of Silent Hill had also been involved in it, and therefore it could be considered that Mary, in some way, actually granted him forgiveness, and that it was not just a way for him to fully accept it.
In particular, your video made me realize that it is very likely (but almost completely true, because it shows that the three years is a hoax, mere subterfuge of the mind of the protagonist to repress his memories and guilt) that James carries Mary’s body in his trunk or car, so it would not be unreasonable for part of his consciousness to actually manifest in that final vision.
This could be corroborated by the fact that Maria feels this need to protect Laura, even though James knew nothing about the relationship between that girl and his wife; whereupon, while Maria was almost entirely created by and for James, that she initially had some autonomy (as seen in the sub-scenario of Born of a Desire), along with her feelings towards Laura, makes me think that, in fact, part of the essence of Mary is still preserved for those moments.
At first what made me doubt is that, while Mary states in the letter that she wants James to go on with his own life, that is obviously written before he killed her, which is very murky and totally justifies that, even though James read that part of the missive, continue to bear the weight of his guilt tormenting him.
Silent Hill 2 is full of masterful details, and one of them is the one that, throughout the game, Mary’s letter that James reads at the beginning is erased until only leaving a blank paper, restoring all content until he accepts his guilt and stops repressing his memories. So, the fact that the save points are a bloodied version of his wife’s letter, and that every time we leave James expresses brain pain, makes all the sense in the world considering that that obviously wants to remind him of what happened, colliding with his conscience trying to suppress it. That explains why, unlike other protagonists, by defeating the enemies he does not go out, but enters, the nightmare plane: every time he kills a boss, he defeats that image that tries to remind him of his sin, further sinking his true memories.
In fact, the nine red squares that you see just before the fight against the Pyramid Head the following said by one of the main creators represent each of the nine types of monsters that James faces (including, the nurses at Brookheaven Hospital have it in the form of mouth when you enter the building), and the large number of them represents that, at last, the full acceptance of the guilt on the part of the protagonist is imminent, For if interacting with just one bloody letter causes a headache, doing so with nine would undoubtedly make him yield to the unblocking of his memories; so it happens when he admits that he no longer needs any executioner, and when he overcomes them. In retrospect, the entire village conspired so that James would have to face what he was fleeing from: both the creatures, certain symbols across the stage, Maria’s multiple executions, and the constant memory, to the end, that she was dead.
I can now clearly appreciate the parallelism drawn from the inspiration between Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment and this SH, where the only threat to Rodion is his own guilt eating away at him. In the novel, he ends up handing himself over to the police, and accepting the corresponding punishment, spending a few long years in prison, with the only consolation of being visited by Sonia. James, while already faced, suffered and overcame his internal (non-judicial, hehe) punishment, will not even have that palliative, so I understand why the end of suicide is tempting.
To conclude, one undeniable thing is that virtually all the deformations seen in the city are due to the reflection of James' subconscious printed on the city (for Angela it is one full of flames, a hell; for Eddie a cold, desolate place of sympathy or compassion) for the sacred properties of this, as well as for the remnants of the catastrophe that occurred at the meeting of Harry and Samael. Naturally, this sows the fact that we question whether the last scene is valid only in James' mind, or whether it is also validated by something that has to do with the one Mary was. know there are six finals, four serious and two of joke, and that I just swung between two of them, but honestly the end of Maria is the worst, because undoubtedly there will never escape that purgatory, condemned to repeat the cycle, as Maria herself suggests she coughs in the end. Resurrection, in addition to the fact that you need to have previously played to get it, I would find it too forced to be equated with the two of "Forgiveness," because James would never overcome his catatonic state, besides that there would be no solid foundation to prove why you know about the ritual... Now what Maria saw is also transferred to your knowledge? Puff, no sense. I mean, it’s funny, but so far. As I have already mentioned, from the evidence that I have gathered and have already laid out, it is in the one that James leaves the town that seems to me the most coherent among the available endings.
Hotel Dusk for NDS is another great story-driven game about characters in one location dealing with guilt.
I had to hurry up and pause the video before you let Mary just read her letter to everyone because I’m not about to cry right now
Loved this video so much, your amazing at telling it. Would just say.. kids gave the twist away right at the start.
"Eddie is here...with a gun" yeah not really a comfortable situation for James
Fear... My wife once asked me what I fear most in life. I didn't answer her.
The thing I fear most in this world is that the day may arrive that or my wife will have to say goodbye because I slowly fade away, or that I will have to say goodbye because she slowly fades away.
That's what I goddamn fear most in this world.
This hits close. Much love to you both.
I got the leave ending for my first play though and I think it fits the most
I’d love to see you do a video on silent hill Shattered memories. Its the only American silent hill game I enjoy
Fun Fact: Silent Hill began as an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist, but they went in a different direction but wanted to keep a lot Stephen King elements in and even included some Easter eggs like naming a street after Bachman (Stephen King’s pseudonym) along with other horror authors, some that even influenced King like Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson.
The narrative of SH2 is just devastating. From beginning to end. Back to back. It was so good.
Ah yes... The In Water ending is what I got too and it's the one considered the canon ending by most fans I've seen.
When I first played this, I got The Leave ending. I think in a sense the Leave ending is a coming to terms with accepting the reality that the person James knew will never come back but at least in some weird 'spiritual cleansing', he got rid of the intense guilt and managed to move on from this entire event. This game is a massive bomb when it comes to how people would react in a dire situation of despair and its story is a master class art done so good.
First time I played I got the leave ending , after getting them all I was sure the dog ending has to be the canon ending
Wow these are so fucking dope I feel so in tune with your videos! I wanted to cry so bad but I’m high asf when that ended came up holy shit 😫 such an amazing video yet again and thank you for keeping the fan base strong!!
This game is the closest thing to show how life really is. Perfect game and one of my favorites.
Ima feed that algorithm God real quick.
Where can you find the lore that James put Mary's body on the backseat of his car? I never got that from the game. Also, how the HELL do you NOT see a dead body in the backseat of your car? When exactly did his madness begin? Just before or after he killed her?
After watching to the end: I remember my passion for this game. Silent Hill 2 was lightning in a bottle.
Mary's body was a confirmation from Masahiro Ito (twitter.com/adsk4/status/196960739410460672 ). I can't remember if it was also mentioned in the archived Konami Silent Hill website(s) or that book released in the early 2000s called Lost Memories. The amount of lore written for these games that didn't actually get put into the game is staggering. If I use sources outside the games, it's from the original devs. And Silent Hill had tons of it. I think I could actually do a whole video on Silent Hill lore from Team Silent articles/books that didn't get into the games.
Shit. Maybe I should look into that.
Ito's later insights into the games were wonderful, and an absolute menace to scripting as it fuddled up the timelines. But Mary's body being in the vehicle someplace struck me as profound insight into James's dissociation. I think he lost it right before he smothered her, and completely broke with reality once it was done. I doubt he even remembered the drive to Silent Hill.
@@TiptoeTheTank omg ty for replying!
PS: You should totally do that video.
@@pandamonium9255 basically people kept saying for years her body was in the trunk of the car because James comments its locked when you interact with it, Masahiro Ito finally chimed in that she was in the backseat the whole time actually. In regards to missing the body, James is that in denial over how Mary died and how long ago she died that he does not look in the back of the car because that would shatter his delusions that she could still be alive. It's one of those things you catch onto after a couple of playthroughs
Mary’s monologue at the end gets me every time.
Laura is the cutest little rascal! This game really did something to me emotionally. I love it so much I can't stop watching videos with anything to do about Silent Hill 2. It's so very personal for me. I would like to think I would have loved and adored Mary in her last days up until the very end. It especially hits hard because my name is James. This was the ending I had as well, But I would have loved the Laura ending.
"Put something in the hole first.". Thematic double-entendre, Ms. Tank? :D
If I'm correct, most people don't mention the 2nd pyramid head a lot, but I see it as guilt for having to kill eddie and thats why a second one pops up.
This video is great.
The mannequin where James finds the flashlight is wearing Mary’s attire, and is the only one that isn’t “alive”. The body sitting in the chair in front of the TV resembles James.
In my opinion this is one of your best episodes.
That ending letter makes the game
I’ve only seen a few of your videos but all the ones I’ve seen have been awesome! Thanks for making them! Subbed so I can watch some more :)
I always felt bad for Maria since I don't think she deserves what happens to her no matter what ending u get