Chode Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 (edited) One of the things I've always loved about my favourite Silent Hill games has been the hidden themes and meanings. I have never found deep meaning like this in the games which have a storyling regarding the cult of the town (Silent Hill 1 and 3), but I won't discount them. I'm just going to focus on Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 4: The Room. Silent Hill 2 held a constant theme of sex. The feminine appearence of the manequins, Maria's enticing manner. Especially the boss fight against Angela's "father", in which the very room itself is symbolic of Angela been raped (complete with obvious "penetration" effects on the walls. Even Pyramid Head (especially if you've ever seen the Fukuro video) has meaning in this theme. The hidden theme of Silent Hill 2 was obvious to me, but only after some recent reading on another forum did the hidden theme of Silent Hill 4 become apparent. And the theme is......Birth. And this is shown in the following ways: The ghosts/victims crawl the walls, which is very like the wall is giving birth to them. The hole in the wall. Henry crawls through it into the outside world. Every time you finish a world, the hole is larger (dilated). When you go through the hole in first person, it is a tunnel with a very bright light at the end (like a birth canal). And every time henry goes through the "hole" into the outside world, he always arrives in the fetal position. Then there's the umbilical cord that the Superintendant has in his room. And the giant "worm monster" is easily seen as an umbilical cord. In the beginning dream sequence, the story on the coffee table is about a woman dying during childbirth. When you go through the final hole to fight Walter, you wake up floating in a translucent red material with half formed humanoid figures along the fleshy walls. Obviously it's meant to be a womb. And this constant theme fits in with the idea in the game that Walter Sullivan sees the Room as been his mother. Deep hey? And people wonder why I like Silent Hill games :cool: Edit:: And here's an interview from GDC with Akira Yamaoka, the man responsible for the sound work in team Silent Hill Edited March 28, 2005 by Chode Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doli Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Very good, i never thought about it like that. Cant wait unitl SH 5 i dont know i saw SH 3 as revenge, cant really go into it, just taking thoughts off the top of my head and going by after Heather see her father dead, revenge to kill Claudia, just aimless thoughts or vengeance,"paradice thought blood soaked hands" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JorgeIvan Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Im close to complete Silent Hill 4 and these games are so interesting I love all of these games!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cesardrgn Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Good stuff. Not a big fan for SH but you sure got the points... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rahul Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 can anyone just tell me in detail what the whole silent hill series is all abt ? i own silent hill 4 but i havent even played it once Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G4M3R Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Interesting, SH games are excellent. I plan on starting SH4 this coming weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing-Man Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 (edited) I beat Silent Hill 4 at the beginning of last month on the PS2. I have to admit, that game really messes with your mind more so then the other three. I was bored at first playing it, but the story picks up steam at one point and then it really engrosses you to find out what happened in Walter Sullivan's past that made him so messed up. The one thing that freaked me out the most in the game was: the fact that Walter Sulivan was in a hidden room in your apartment practically crucified to a pole and all his organs were in a refrigerator. What the hell was up with that?! And the part near the end when your apartment goes black and white then you get to speak with the owner of the apartment prior to Henry. Those two parts spooked me. Also you seem to have forgotten the biggest part of Silent Hill 4. It connected Silent Hill 2 with the rest of the series because people seemed to think Silent Hill 2 went off on a tangent compared to 1 and 3. You first hear about Walter outside the apartments in Silent Hill 2 in a newspaper found on the ground and his also randomly mentioned elsewhere. P.S. Chode, next time use SPOILER warning! You told some of the best parts of the fourth game. ;) Edited March 28, 2005 by jmole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiegel Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 well, i see a connection between the games dont you? SH1 Theme>>SH2 Theme: SEX>>SH3 Theme: Unknown>>SH4 Theme:Birth anyone see it? well and now im assuming... love (SH1) leads to sex (SH2) which leads to <<still trying to figure that one out>> which then leads to birth (SH4) looks like a common thing between all of them is the course of life. just a thought :D :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanctified Veteran Posted March 29, 2005 Veteran Share Posted March 29, 2005 This is why the SH are the best survivial games ever and among the best games ever made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chode Posted March 29, 2005 Author Share Posted March 29, 2005 P.S. Chode, next time use SPOILER warning! You told some of the best parts of the fourth game. ;) 585685483[/snapback] The name of this thread is: Silent Hill 4's deeper meaning, spoiler-rich, for all 4 games. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot B. Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Isn't it just digging in too deep? :s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chode Posted March 29, 2005 Author Share Posted March 29, 2005 (edited) Isn't it just digging in too deep? :s 585689873[/snapback] Normally I would say yes. But with Silent Hill the developers intend this stuff. I am scared at thinking of how long it must take to make one of those games. Subtle clues, yet massive overlying themes. SH1 Theme>>SH2 Theme: SEX>>SH3 Theme: Unknown>>SH4 Theme:Birth Sh1 was about a lost daughter. Sh2 was about a lost wife, and had the theme of sex. Sh3 was about a lost father, and growing up/coming to terms with the protaganists own existence. Sh4 was about Birth. So, if we extrapolate this....Sh5 will be about: Either love, loss, or death? Here is an unofficial rumour regarding the sequel: "Now that Silent Hill 4 is completely finished and set for release on Sep. 8 in North America, development on SH5 has begun to gain speed. Currently titled 'Silent Hill 5: Shadows of the Past' (The subtitle will most likely be dropped or changed), Konami wants to return to the same idea of SH2, which means they want a powerful story unrelated to other games in the series yet still ties into the dark history of SH. So what is the story? Like the previous games, Konami wants to keep it as secret as possible. But, they do have a brief synopsis which they've sent out to some shareholders who wanted to know what Konami was up to in the future. Here's what it read: In 2006, gamers across the globe will return to Silent Hill for the final time on the PS2 in Silent Hill 5: Shadows of the Past. In the first time for a SH game, players will play through the game in flashbacks, retelling the main character's harrowing trip through through a town worse than hell.' Here's a little more backstory for the game: The game starts with the main character being held in a mental institution. The flashbacks occur when the doctors interview your character and ask him exactly what happened in Silent Hill. Expect many twists and turns in the storyline, especially a big one at the end that supposedly has the Silent Hill team excited. Like the synopsis says, this will be the last SH on the PS2. It definetely won't be the last of the series though, Konami wants another Silent Hill on the PS3 as soon as possible." Edited March 29, 2005 by Chode Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saiz66 Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Nice. Where can I read more about SH stories? Off-Topic: I can't play or finish any SH games even though I own several of them.. they are way too scary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doli Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 The SH 5 rumor sounds like a good one cant wait. I finished Resident Evil 4, good game but i still like the way SH games feel. Both games are great ( i put that sentence so i dont get the "you cant compare the two" love thoses people, by love i mean hate, compare that) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing-Man Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Excellent, SH5 will be for the PS2. Now I can delay the inevitable of shelling out $300 for a new system even longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doli Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Excellent, SH5 will be for the PS2. Now I can delay the inevitable of shelling out $300 for a new system even longer. 585696940[/snapback] So they decided PS2, i thought they were going to wait unil the next gen. systems came out and pick from the best to get the game first. but anyways ill be playing it on my PC if it comes out for PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocklea Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Silent Hill series definitely redefine the ?Survival Horror? genre. Resident Evil is great (haven?t played 4 tho) but the one can actually scare the crap out of me is SH (oh, and Fatal Frame, that one is awesome too! Cant wait for Fatal Frame 3). But IMHO, Silent Hill 4 is the worst in the series. I just dun like the idea of ghost in the game. It was ok when ghost are used in Fatal Frame coz it was originally conceived like that. Its just that, the idea of ghost in SH, its really weird (there are no ghost in SH1, 2, and 3 right???) I really dont dig the spirit/candle storyline. And also, the fact that I have to go back to the room just to retrieve some items from the box?? Hello, I have a life! But overall, SH4 still great. I finished it twice (coz on the first try, that bitch went into the bloody pool). Cant wait to see SH5. With the power of PS3, I just cant imagine how it would look like. Even in SH3, we can already see her freckles. I hope they bring back pyramid head and crazy cancer, those guys rulez! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing-Man Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 So they decided PS2, i thought they were going to wait unil the next gen. systems came out and pick from the best to get the game first. but anyways ill be playing it on my PC if it comes out for PC. 585696950[/snapback] Well it did say it in Chode's article that he posted: In 2006, gamers across the globe will return to Silent Hill for the final time on the PS2 in Silent Hill 5: Shadows of the Past. Although I did read the same thing you did awhile back that Konami was going to wait for the PS3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeburner Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Just recently acquired an Xbox from my sister, and Silent Hill 2 and 4 were two of the games I got, I'm currently in the beginning part of SH4 (Y) cool game, still trying to adjust myself to console controllers :laugh: but gettin there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chode Posted March 31, 2005 Author Share Posted March 31, 2005 Excellent, SH5 will be for the PS2. Now I can delay the inevitable of shelling out $300 for a new system even longer. 585696940[/snapback] It's a rumour, I personally don't think that it's right (SH4 was pushing the limits of the PS2, and you could see that the graphics quality of the game suffered as a result) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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