24th May 2009, 6:45 PM
(This post was last modified: 27th May 2009, 5:48 PM by Sacred Jellybean.)
Alright, I beat the game again with the intention of getting Maria's ending, but I actually got the Leave ending, which I enjoyed a lot. Video game hint websites say that to get the Maria ending, you must not let a lot of damage be incurred to her. I didn't know how to do that when running down the hallway at Brookhaven Hospital. It didn't seem possible to both progress to the next cutscene and prevent the Pyramid Head from assaulting Maria. Thank you for that post, Ryan, it was very insightful.
And thank you for that, too. I read every word of it. That's a very fascinating interpretation, I definitely hadn't thought of it that way, but there's certainly a lot of evidence to support it. I can prove that I did by telling you that
Might work better as
But it's very well-written overall, and I enjoyed it, so kudos.
I hadn't really picked up on the immature clothes, honestly, but it's a great touch. Laura's role and relationship with mary are interesting as well.
Mary's will? For James to visit again? I'm behind you on that, but in the sense of her thanking him and telling him she'll always love him and apologizing for his torment (for which she feels responsible, even though she was also victimized) and ultimately that she thinks he should live his life and move on, Laura's not much help. She tells James that he never loved Mary because Mary likely confided in her about seeing how badly Jame's visits were hurting him emotionally. It is interesting, the connections they do share, though.
By the way, uh, yeah, spoilers. Wouldn't want to spoil an 8-year-old game to maybe 1 person who's never played it and probably isn't interested. Hmm, would it be EdenMaster or DMiller? Anyway, let's make this a heavy-spoiler-zone. I don't think anyone aside from me cared.
I'm a little fuzzy on the timeline. Did James take Mary to Silent Hill for the last time she was able to go home and kill her? That wouldn't make sense because she told him in the flashback that he never brings her there, and wanted him to promise that he'd bring her back. She would know there was no going back. So perhaps the murder (euthanization?) took place near where they actually lived. The fact that flashbacks of that are spliced between their video at the hotel is a little confusing.
After I beat the game again, I decided it wasn't worth it to play all the way through just to get the rest of the endings - that's why I youtube'd them. I really want to try the "Extra" difficulty mode, and am annoyed I have to play through on "Easy" just to get it. I'll probably throw the action difficulty on the hardest setting just to compensate. In any case, your statement isn't true for the fact that James also hasn't moved on from his delusions in Rebirth. Well, I suppose he gets his wife back and forgives himself for her death, but at the same time, it's still a way he is holding onto baggage. Cool ending to throw in there, though.
With regards to the Maria ending, I thought it was cheesy... before I saw the rest of it. What a great way to make the ending chilling, by having her cough and foreshadow James repeating his guilt and anger and self-loathing and loss.
Perhaps the town was able to manifest her? Perhaps he's gone insane and is hallucinating her (or the town implanted something inside him to delude him into seeing her)?
I didn't pick that up about the memos, I'll have to read them again.
Having played through it again, I've changed my mind and now agree with you. I'm not sure why I was so hard on it, I guess I was just expecting cinema-like acting in a video game. :) I'm glad I beat it again, seeing it all a second time in context was very nice. I'll probably put this away for a while, but I know I'll come back to it and gradually unlock Extra.
Also, I really appreciated the music this time around. The music which plays when James confronts both r.p.t.s is perfect.
Weltall Wrote:I actually wrote a long theory about Pyramid Head's true nature here, as I believe his role goes far beyond simply being a punishing aggressor. Again, I suggest not reading it yet if you're worried about spoilers. The gist of it is that I believe that Pyramid Head is really the good guy, and Maria is the game's true villain (from James' perspective, anyway).
And thank you for that, too. I read every word of it. That's a very fascinating interpretation, I definitely hadn't thought of it that way, but there's certainly a lot of evidence to support it. I can prove that I did by telling you that
Quote:You see it happen twice and a third instance is heavily inferred.
Might work better as
Quote:You see it happen twice and a third instance is heavily implied.
But it's very well-written overall, and I enjoyed it, so kudos.
Quote:Eddie's violence stems not just because he's tormented, but because he's sociopathic and emotionally immature. You can tell this because he speaks mostly in simple sentences and dresses like an eight-year old, and also because he reacts to negative stimuli by throwing what amounts to a very violent temper tantrum.
I hadn't really picked up on the immature clothes, honestly, but it's a great touch. Laura's role and relationship with mary are interesting as well.
Quote:She can be seen as an extension of Mary's will.
Mary's will? For James to visit again? I'm behind you on that, but in the sense of her thanking him and telling him she'll always love him and apologizing for his torment (for which she feels responsible, even though she was also victimized) and ultimately that she thinks he should live his life and move on, Laura's not much help. She tells James that he never loved Mary because Mary likely confided in her about seeing how badly Jame's visits were hurting him emotionally. It is interesting, the connections they do share, though.
By the way, uh, yeah, spoilers. Wouldn't want to spoil an 8-year-old game to maybe 1 person who's never played it and probably isn't interested. Hmm, would it be EdenMaster or DMiller? Anyway, let's make this a heavy-spoiler-zone. I don't think anyone aside from me cared.
Quote:Doctor Baldwin is believed to be Brookhaven Hospital's director (and the person who leaves James several notes, messages, and a wrench), and the original Japanese text (along with many subtle clues in the game) indicate that Mary very likely stayed for a short time at Brookhaven near the end of her life. Baldwin is a figment of James's mind, not Maria's.
I'm a little fuzzy on the timeline. Did James take Mary to Silent Hill for the last time she was able to go home and kill her? That wouldn't make sense because she told him in the flashback that he never brings her there, and wanted him to promise that he'd bring her back. She would know there was no going back. So perhaps the murder (euthanization?) took place near where they actually lived. The fact that flashbacks of that are spliced between their video at the hotel is a little confusing.
Quote:He is in Silent Hill to ultimately either dispel his delusions or surrender to them. In all endings but Maria, he opts for the former.
After I beat the game again, I decided it wasn't worth it to play all the way through just to get the rest of the endings - that's why I youtube'd them. I really want to try the "Extra" difficulty mode, and am annoyed I have to play through on "Easy" just to get it. I'll probably throw the action difficulty on the hardest setting just to compensate. In any case, your statement isn't true for the fact that James also hasn't moved on from his delusions in Rebirth. Well, I suppose he gets his wife back and forgives himself for her death, but at the same time, it's still a way he is holding onto baggage. Cool ending to throw in there, though.
With regards to the Maria ending, I thought it was cheesy... before I saw the rest of it. What a great way to make the ending chilling, by having her cough and foreshadow James repeating his guilt and anger and self-loathing and loss.
Quote:Maria sees the same monsters because she is, in fact, one of them herself. She is as much a creation of James' psyche as any nurse or mannequin. (Much the same as Lisa in the first game). This is, however, not explained by the Maria ending.
Perhaps the town was able to manifest her? Perhaps he's gone insane and is hallucinating her (or the town implanted something inside him to delude him into seeing her)?
Quote:This was a popular theory years ago, but it's not entirely correct. The people in Silent Hill 2 are, mostly, being tormented, but only because they feel the subconscious desire to be tormented. Other characters (Laura, for example) are not being tormented. A memo found in the Hospital indicates that people who experience Silent Hill's otherword can see very dramatically different things, and mentions a patient who finds happiness within it.
I didn't pick that up about the memos, I'll have to read them again.
Quote:That particular instance is kind of off, but at what point after was there any example of similarly strange acting? I found it much better than Harry's strange turns of phrase, the game's questionably-translated script, and those weird pauses in between each line of spoken dialogue.
Having played through it again, I've changed my mind and now agree with you. I'm not sure why I was so hard on it, I guess I was just expecting cinema-like acting in a video game. :) I'm glad I beat it again, seeing it all a second time in context was very nice. I'll probably put this away for a while, but I know I'll come back to it and gradually unlock Extra.
Also, I really appreciated the music this time around. The music which plays when James confronts both r.p.t.s is perfect.