This is not the bad ending. The actual bad endings are Maria and Rebirth. Many would consider the ‘In The Water’ to be the good ending or at least the neutral ending. Leave is the family friendly ending.
@@hellkisser Masahiro Ito (The designer and illustrator of the game) and Guy Cihi (James's original VA) both choose "In Water" as their personal canon ending, and honestly it simply fits the tone of the story and James's character better. Plus the fact that James's father appears in Silent Hill 4 and claims that James's disappeared in Silent Hill.
This was very well acted and beautifully shot, but I miss a line of dialogue from the original: “Now I remember why I came to this town”. It was a fantastic ending to the story, with James remembering that he actually came to Silent Hill, their special place, to end his own life.
In water was also the final, agreed upon ending by the development team, before they introduced multiple endings for the game. So in water is the canon, true ending for the game
The facial animations add a lot, but I REALLY wish they kept this line from the OG In Water ending: "Now I understand. The real reason I came to this town. I wonder what was I afraid of?" Something about this line from the OG... it hit so hard when saying so little.
That seems too on the nose. That’s like saying “now I know why the red pyramid thing was chasing me. I’m actually evil and he was trying to punish me.”
@@eternallight523 He said "I know why I needed you. But I don't need you anymore." Pyramid heads are not James executioner. They're born from James psyche to fight off guilt and frustration. That's why they kill other monsters. That's why they repeatedly kill Maria too. And it's only when James proves he's ready to face his guilt and "don't need them anymore" that the Pyramids off themselves. This is also confirmed by Masahiro Ito as the true meaning of their existence. That 'punisher' thing is a misinterpretation by fans.
@@Thaibiohazard123 No, Ito has clearly stated that Pyramid Head is meant to make James FACE his guilt, not cover it up. He's restated this recently as well.
This also fits the narrative the most. Before the fight with Eddie, James was in a cemetery where there were 3 dug graves, for James, Angela and Eddie. Eddie obviously died, Angela's last conversation seemed like she wanted to die and James ends up the same way.
I got the ending after finishing the game myself today. Don't feel trolled it's not the bad ending. It's more of the neutral ending. I didn't even try to get a specific ending I just played the game and like you I tried to conserve healing as well. I also picked the man coin at the bar at the beginning of the game. I heard that has something to do with it depending on what coin you choose in the puzzle.
I got this simply because I walked through the Scarlet Egg door... I reloaded my save afterwards and stepped through the Rusty Egg door instead and apparently that was enough to give me "Leave". Pretty annoying because I made an effort to always heal and check on Mary's photo + letter throughout the whole game, and avoid inspecting Angela's knife. Leave was my favourite ending from the original and I've always hated In Water so it made me a little upset that I got In Water for my first time with the remake.
Man. After the theory being around for 20 years and seeing this for the first time, that moment James’ eyes traveled up to the rear view mirror genuinely gave me chills.
I loved how as we are hearing the letter read by Mary as it’s floating from the bottom of Toluca lake that we get the impression that James never read it . Which makes the contents even more heartbreaking.
I'm not sure about that. Mary tells him in her letter to go on with his life but James says "I know this isn't what you'd want" in this ending, which could be a reaction to the letter.
@@FlashheadX you may be right about that too. I interpreted it as just an in general statement that he assumed with them being married and all that she would have wanted the best for him. Honestly that was just how I took it on my first playthrough. Either way I really liked this ending. It’s bittersweet but still very interesting
@@FlashheadXunfortunately the letter wasn't real. James never got to read it. Laura lost the letter in the hotel section, only the player knows the contents of it
Great ending to a great game. One thing I do want to say, to get ahead of a lot of comments people have on this ending(which is a bit of an essay, so fair warning): Fans of the game often repeat this idea of "In Water" being the accepted canon ending. It isn't. There IS no canon ending. All the writers and devs deliberately leave it open ended, because they wanted people to just pick their preferred ending. Even if some of them have their preferred outcome, that doesn't make them more canon than the others. Far as I can tell, this is based largely on an interview with James' original VA saying he believes that the In Water ending is canon, the novelization using it as the basis for the ending, and it being the most common ending players get on a first playthrough (most people either get In Water or Leave). And while I fully concede that it IS a tragically beautiful ending that makes sense thematically, I'd argue ALL of the endings do this. One personal observation I have (I don't know if this is a common reading) is that the characters pulled into Silent Hill can represent the darker roads James can take at the end of his journey. All of them have one thing in common: they're killers, in some form of denial over what they've done. The town has summoned them for one reason: to force them to confront what they've done. How they respond to it... well, that's up to them. To me, Eddie represents the Maria ending. He comes to terms with his crimes, but he has taken the wrong lesson out of it. Once Eddie accepts the things he's done, he decides that it wasn't so bad, and that the people he hurt deserved it. He doesn't need forgiveness, he was right all along. Similarly, the Maria ending is James taking the wrong lesson out of Mary's death. Yes, that he was wrong to kill her, but also that replacing her with Maria will make everything better. It shows no matter what, just like Eddie, James will never truly learn from his mistakes, and is always doomed to repeat them. Angela, on the other hand, represents the In Water ending. Angela confronted the reality of what she had done, but in the end, it breaks her. She loses her will to live, convinces herself that she deserved to be abused, she deserved to be punished, and she deserves the torment that Silent Hill is putting her through. She's not in denial, like Eddie, but her pain completely consumes her. Which reflects James' In Water ending: he confronts the reality of what he has done, but when it's all over, he just can't move on. He can't forgive himself. The pain and guilt is just too much for him to overcome. He'd rather die than keep living in a world where Mary is dead because of him. That''s why I think there's a good case for the Leave ending being my preferred one. Because it's James finding the path forward that neither Eddie nor Angela could find. Confronting his sins, facing them head on, and accepting them. He can't change the past, he can never forget what he's done, but that doesn't mean he can't have a future where he can honor his late wife in his own way. It also plays into the concept of Silent Hill that I like the most: the town isn't TRYING to kill these people, necessarily. But it IS testing them. If you fail (whether by deluding yourself like Eddie, or succumbing to your pain like Angela), you'll never leave Silent Hill alive. But if you can face your own personal hell and accept your sins while refusing to be crushed by them, the town will let you go, with a new purpose in your life.
I get that not a lot of people have played SH4, but it also kind of implied the In Water ending is canon as James' dad is in it and he confirms James is missing. 4 was the last game Team Silent worked on IIRC and is linked to 2 (Walter Sullivan and James' father being the landlord). This is another reason the fanbase accepts the In Water ending as canon and I wish more people were aware of that :/
I think if you’re in a good marriage or long term relationship this ending is so real and easy to empathize with. I’m married to someone that I love and care about deeply, and we have a great relationship, similar to what James and Mary seemingly had before her illness. If something similar happened to my partner and I, where that illness tore apart everything we had and I did something as terrible as James did in a moment of emotional distress, I wouldn’t know how to live with myself anymore or even think I’m worthy of it.
It's not impulsive, it's premeditated. Unfortunately, he'd planned to kill himself afterwards too. He gets the chance to not do that in the game, to not feel guilty because she releases him of the guilt. But throughout the entire run, James clearly has a death wish, and portraying himself to himself as someone who killed his wife would mean that killing himself won't make her angry. It would be fair, so it won't upset her. But, she sees right through that..
Mary: I want you to live for yourself and be happy James James: Guess I’ll drown Yeah the canon ending is Leave and I refuse to change my mind, but the shot of the letter floating in the lake is so sad and haunting, excellent remake!
@@reese8050 no its not. He said it’s his fav not that it’s canon. He specifically said that anyone can choose their ending. If you want to go into it then yes it is canon in the novel. The game no. But most team silent devs believe it would be the most likely canon.
Never notice how they descended in certain parts of Hell: Eddy Ice (Froze to death by hiding in the fridge); Angela Fire (House Fire); James Water (died by diving into lake), which is how they all ended up in Silent Hill (Hell by their sin of killing people or Sudoku). The other ending options is up to players choice because well he's dead and that's that.
James never killed his wife. Maria had a terminal illness, and she also fought, pushed James away and treated him badly. James's action was an action so that she would not suffer anymore, he feels guilty for making that decision that was not his. This ending is bad, James could never relieve that torturous guilt like the ending 'leaving'
He planned the whole thing though, he was gonna kill her per her request, and then kill himself. That's why they had the OG fight where he came in to reconcile with the flowers, she asked him and he turned her down when she did. But then he thought she won't have it any other way. So...
Its not in your opinion, its confirmed by the developers of the OG that this is the canon ending and his wife was on the backseat all the time. The real reason he came to silent hill was to kill himself.
yeah, James father in silent hill 4 told Henry his son and daughter-in-law went to silent hill and never came back, further prove in water ending is true, even his father didn't know his daughter-in-law already a corpse taken by James. James killed Maria and drown with Mary in the end, sad story.
@@kurusuakira6891 No it isn't. The developers saying that In Water is the canon ending is a common misconception. They've said that it is their preferred ending, NOT that it is the canon ending. There is no canon ending.
In water hit me hard, while Leave is the best ending for James to live, In Water hits me so hard. The fact that James while he killed Mary to ease her but for his own reasons is bad, he still loved her. Mary wanted him to live but how can you when your husband or wife is your soulmate, I don’t think James is suicidal in the end just he can’t do the day to day of living knowing he can’t even be with Mary again. Especially in the remake James decision hits hard for me
I think "In Water" is the one in which James loves Mary most and finally saves himself from the endless guilty feeling. Actually I like Maria pretty much, and think she deserves a true happy ending. But "Maria" Ending is so horrible that James escaped from his '心魔' and nothing is not solved at all.
@@Ak1rahh This old theory talked about the fact that James had all along brought his wife's remains with him to Silent Hill to commit suicide with her presence, sinking into the depths of Lake Toluca, together. In the In Water ending of the remake, we see that the theory has been canonized: If you look closely in the back seats, there is Mary's coffin stored.
Really disappointed to not see the bedside conversation in the remake. Part of what made the ending great in the original was the subtle differences in what he said to Mary in the leave ending and in water ending. I really want to like it, but I feel they did a disservice to this ending by taking out such a large portion of it. I feel like there is so much potential here, but they felt the need to remove some of the ending for no real reason. Realistically feel like the leave ending is the only ending they kept intact in the remake.
Mary in the in water ending says “It’s enough, James.” almost as if she is giving him permission to end his life. In the leave ending she says “Please do something for me… go on with your life.” encouraging him to find meaning elsewhere and continue without her. Both very heart wrenching lines that work perfect within the context of their respective conclusions.
Well if you want her to interact with James the Stillness ending seems to be more fitting since in this one here it's just in your face that she is dead and laying on the backseats of James's Car. I think it's even more impactful that Mary wasn't there.
The real disservice is how much this delivery falls flat compared to Monica's performance in the original. This sounded like I was watching a movie or a TV show, the original sounded like someone was pouring their heart out in a letter.
@@RichtofensLittleGirl I’ll admit that this version of the ending has a lot of intrigue with the visual representation of Mary in the backseat. That being said, she is still very much dead in the backseat in the original. Also Mary is “not there” regardless if he speaks to her. I’d also say that just telling someone essentially that if they don’t like it they should just get a secret new game plus ending is silly. Stillness is a fascinating ending but certainly not giving anywhere near the same feeling as the original in water ending. It also lacks the letter read off which is what drives home the tragedy of James killing himself. And yes, I realize James choosing not to read it is an intentional part of Stillness end. Either way I am glad you found enjoyment out of the remake’s interpretation. While I don’t think the ending completely missed the mark, it was the first ending I got years and years ago. Simply put it didn’t resonate with me nearly as much on a personal level in this remake.
@@MagnyusG I agree. The original does very well as displaying the ups and downs of her emotions and attempts to hold back tears. I am overall pretty neutral on the remake’s read off, but it certainly didn’t have me breaking down crying like the original.
In Water is my favorite ending imo. James' journey was never about redemption rather it was about him uncovering the truth and accepting what he did to Mary. My interpretation of the story is James kills Mary due to the reasons listed in the Leave ending and takes her to Silent Hill to put her to rest. However after doing the deed he feels overwhelming guilt and regret. This combined with the supernatural powers of Silent Hill causes him to enter a delusion that Mary died 3 years ago. As James uncovers the truth, he realizes that what he did to Mary was a mistake and he can't live on without her despite being completely responsible. He joins her in death in their special place as he drives into the lake. Also theres a lot of clues that point to In Water as canon (even though technically there is no canon ending). 1. James' dead body is seen all over Silent Hill 2. A lot of the otherworld areas are flooded 3. The constant dialogue with Angela where James says he would never commit suicide is supposed to be ironic and tragic as at that point he still is oblivious to killing Mary.
Just finished the game today, this is my ending. Really depressed, but in my opinion it's the true ending. (This credit song is amazing, just loved it!)
That's an interesting interpretation. Like he decided to move on but he left his wife's body behind? I kind of like that idea, but do you mind explaining how you came to that conclusion, because I didn't see it that way the first time round.
@@swordhunter12 correct! If you watch the stillness ending, once it blacks out you'll hear a moment where the car door opens, and the car gets launched. Alluding that James stepped out before launching it into the lake.
@JustLunarr that's the Stillness Ending. It's a new ending where the audio implies james gets out of the car while sending Mary to her watery sentimental grave, their special place that is Toluca Lake. James emotional behavior is very repressive during the In Water ending but in the Stillness ending you got he just pours his emotions and guilt out. Which means he put Mary to rest and may be open to forgiving himself.
@@feelsboyyyy 😧wow! Going to start new game plus. I'll look for that in the beginning. I played the original, loved it. And I love this one too. Lol in the original game I always got the leave ending
@@christined1988 Gonna start as well! The original was a little before my time but I discovered it last year and fell in love. The leave ending is really nice, my favorite ending was the water one. Anyways have fun, its cool noticing the small details that bloober added
My friend and I both did our play throughs together at the same pace so we’d see what endings we both get, he got the ‘leave’ ending and I got this one... I had to mute my mic I couldn’t contain myself
Why is nobody talking about the way his gaze changed right before he starts the car; as if he just had another breakdown, death haunted eyes, and decided to finish it all right there. To me, that was beautifully acted and done.
so many strange guys say about ito's opinion on his favourite ending. but they forget that original writer was owaku, not ito. and owaku has never stated that in water is canon ending
It's weird that the Stillness Ending including going into the water but not this. They really should have had just mixed them both into the In Water Ending. Splitting them is weird, especially since they end the same way. The crying is amazing in the Stillness, but it's not complete without this. Really weird move.
Disagree. In water ending shows James in his truly depressed, hopeless state, unable to even let it out and cry, then the audio implies he offed himself. Whereas the stillness ending, he's a lot more emotional and was able to let it out when Mary spoke to him, and the audio implies he got out of the car and sent her to Toluka Lake, asking her just before if she "would wait for him". The second ending implies that James decided to fulfill her last wish and live for her and start forgiving himself, the first one implies he died and is buried with her in the lake.
In water ending is my favorite ending but this is too subtle compare to the original silent hill 2 which is more emotionally charged. I really loved stillness ending the most.
I don't think that's right. James went to silent hill because apart of him was still clinging onto something. As the original voice actor said, if james really planned on killing himself, he wouldn't have travelled all the way to silent hill.
@@Terry-nx8kg The game has multiple endings, which was made by the creators so you can CHOOSE which ending you want for James. They never labeled anything as the TRUE ending. So if you're asking "does truth doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things", why would YOU say this is the True Ending? You're not smart bro, and you won't ever be by pretending on the internet. It just makes you a clown.
I got this ending and I always kept myself healed up, checked on Maria alot and only inspected the knife once. Swear to God. This is the first Silent Hill game I've ever played. I didn't even know about the different endings and how to get them.
i cant say that this works for certain but it did for me: check the knife, letter, the photo and the handkerchief continuously at different points in the game. also take all of the damage you can in the last fight until you run out of healing items
I managed to get the ending by reloading the final save and doing everything you've said, on the same save file I got the Leave ending. Maybe try using the Rusty Egg door after the double pyramid head fight if you've been using Amber, that could be it
От меня ушла любовь всей моей жизни , Мария, из за обстоятельств в которые мы попали , я стал вести себя плохо , срываться на неë. Больше еë не вернуть. В каком то смысле я "убил" Ту Машу , ту которая любила меня ... До сих пор переживаю , а играл в ремейк в самые тяжолые моменты , ещë имя совпадает... Кароче я плакал
Yeah James probably means she was dead to him 3 years ago when her illness started. He did the deed recently which explains why he's in silent hill. Idk i kinda dig the old version of the story since it made James seem more proactive in trying to figure out how he got a letter from his dead wife years after her passing. This remake version just makes him more schizo.
It's so bittersweet but it just feels...mentally this was the cannon choice,he comes to terms with the truth , and fits the whole depressing tone of the game...although the escape ending is a pretty close second for me.
you sure this is bad ending? I think it's the logic ending and this what I get also. Compared to other endings, this is the best and most realistic one.
This is NOT the bad ending, it’s the best ending, the most emotional and fits the themes of the game. The remake captures this ending so much better than the original.
The end note confuses me. She says she wrote the letter and if James was reading it, then it meant she'd died because she told the nurse to give it to him then. So..... How did HE kill her?
He never got the letter, it was Laura who brought it to Silent Hill. I personally think that after he killed Mary, he planned to take Mary's body to Silent Hill to commit suicide. But whether it was the guilt of killing or the love for Mary that drove him to do this, he didn't know, and he was in a state of confusion. And when he came to Silent Hill, he was impressed. Silent Hill showed him part of the letter. He confusedly thought that he came to Silent Hill because he received the "letter".
For the new fans out there. If you wonder why many of the og fans prefer and consider the In Water ending as their favorite they're not referring to this ending, they're referring to the original In Water. They're both different. I won't get into details and make an essay here but you can go watch the og In Water and see and compare it by yourself.
I got this ending today. I guess I didn’t heal enough or looked at Mary’s picture 1 too many times? Regardless, I started new game plus and found it interesting that in the book store you can find three books that basically tell you how to lead a healthy life, manage your relationships, and what to do if you feel depressed. I don’t believe those are in the “standard” version of the game, only in new game plus. Regardless, I wonder if different books appear based on what ending you got before. Like, does silent hill know James came here once, and is it trying to force James to properly reconcile with his mistakes? Is it saying that suicide was not the answer in the Leave Ending, and to try again? Regardless, I don’t much care for how the endings work in the game. They seem very random and don’t illustrate well how the character interacted with the world. Still a great game, though
I believe this is the saddest ending but not a bad one. The bad ones imo are "Maria" and "Bliss". Rebirth is also just plain delusion from James. " Stillness" is also sad but it's just a little bit better because he survives and believes that Mary is waiting for him happily on the other side.
As much as I wish James could get a happy ending, I can see why many prefer to consider this as canon... cause it's the most realistic one and probably the best one for poor James at this point. I don't think one can just "Oh no Anyway" their way out of a situation like that of James's anymore and continue life after
Just finished this game and got this ending. Honestly, I don't know how though. I met more of the parameters for the standard ending than I did this ending, but oh well.
If you inspect Angela’s knife several times, read most of the suicidal notes you find around the town (neely’s bar Otherworld), and stay injured for half of the game then you’ll get this ending
Was aiming for the in water ending and kinda disappointed how it plays out along with the letter. Insane they removed the scene of James talking to Mary on her death bed. Should’ve also just played the original letter reading as there was no way of capturing what the original actress did and even then the performance is still underwhelming here. The only time I haven’t gotten emotional from this sequence.
Dude. Can we please stop saying this. In sh4 they mention they haven't come back from SH but it can mean multiple things. either he went to escape. or the dad is also in SH thats why he hasn't seen them.
@@troyb4533 No it doesn't. Him going into hiding could also fit into later "hints" regarding Jame's fate. SH2 doesn't have a canon ending and this has been validated by both Guy Cihi and Ito.
@@Nigel222 And it doesnt make any sense,why even play the game if he still just ends it all in the end? It seems they just made it for shock value more then anything.
@@PsevdonimKanalaNahuy They didn't make it for shock value, this is one of the original endings in the original game from 2001. Even if you ask the original voice actor/mocap performer, Guy Cihi, this is the canon ending. It's around the 14:00 mark: th-cam.com/video/rhyT4gjDHM8/w-d-xo.html
So yeah "I've done a terrible thing to you" What do you guys think that was about? Because that was not the yelling at him... It was something much darker. And then she goes on to explain why "I feel so pathetic and ugly" "Lying here, staring at the cracks in the ceiling". Yeah...
I wanted to get this ending so bad, I got the Maria ending by mistake and it is so fucking anticlimatic, I wish I got this since it has the full letter at the end, the reasoning to get each ending is so dumb, how does using a game mechanic make me get the worse ending thematically?
Just finished the remake and got this ending. When I heard the remake Mary read the letter it didn't make me much emotional. As she read the letter I remembered how the OG Mary read the letter and that made me almost burst into tears again but when I focused on the remake monologue again my emotions disappeared. I'm kinda dissapointed from this ending.
While this ending is good, it completely makes the entire course of the game pointless. Silent Hill literally tried teaching James a lesson, that he didnt learn in the end. Accepting reality and coming to terms with the guilt does not mean offing yourself. James not killing himself doesnt mean he wasnt accepting responsibility. He accepted his actions the second he watched that tape. Even then, he came to silent hill to kill himself (which was established in the original version) which means he accepted his actions with his decisions to go. The town purposed lead him on this path. Same with eddie and Angela. He failed to learn with this ending. Personally i believe In Water is still best fitting for a darker story, but Leave makes sense given the entire purpose of the towns message to james.
1:11 *SPOILERS* I wonder if that hints at the Stillness ending, he looks through the mirror at Mary's body, hoping she would appear to comfort him before he dies, which doesn't happen, except in Stillness
Bloober Team did an excellent job crafting subtlety into what's going on in this ending. It's implied, but never truly shown outside of a brief out of focus glimpse; the way a Silent Hill game should be! Bravo 👏
You have to heal a lot, almost immediately. I never let my health get to danger and I got Leave. Then I reloaded my save to before the pyramid boss fight, examined the knife, letter, photo and handkerchief a bunch of times, let my health get to danger and let it stay there after the pyramid head boss fight, and I got In water haha.
Just today finished the game and got that ending. This war my 1st time when I played Silent Hill game and it was awesome. If you still thinking should you buy remake or not i'll say - buy. Bloober team did great job and I hope they'll get work on another SH parts. But I should warn you that game has lack of an optimization i got around 50-60 fps on gtx1660ti
Just finished the game and got this ending. I really enjoyed the game but I felt like the ending was insanely rushed. You kill Maria and then bam you’re in the car and kill yourself. By the end of the game, you get a sense that James is getting over the idea of ever seeing Mary so to go from him finally seeming to move on to teleporting to him committing suicide to be with her is jarring. Maybe if they had a transition in his psyche earlier or even added an extra scene, it would’ve made more sense. Because the way it stands now, it feels empty and forced rather than deserved
You say bad ending but this ending is almost universally agreed to be the "cannon ending" even if there really isn't one. This ending not only makes the most sense thematically and tonally, its in my opinion the most satisfying albeit sad ending to James' story. Spoilers.... Mary's dead body is in the back seat of James' car under a blanket.... He came to Silent Hill to die.
Where do you all guys see James ends his own life? Am I so dumb since everyone sees what I can't? He runs his car, the screen fades, and the wheels squeaking. HE GOES AWAY FROM SH WITH MARY's CORPSE IN HIS CAR! WHERE YOU ALL SEE HIM DYING IN THIS ENDING?!?!?!?! WHERE?!?!?!?!
Dude the line "you made me happy" is such a let down in this version. In the og sh2, that same line made me bawl. The letter itself is also shorter and doesn't really give off the same sense of despiration that maria had either. Still a stellar game, but the remake is a little weaker, I think.
@@alx2903 If the MAIN creator of this game,CONFIRMS that it's canon,then its CANON. Dont give that "novella" bs,I'm talking about games. And what about SH3,SH4? Did they straight up said that "hey,you know James is dead actually"?
@@alx2903 I understand the game,I played it,and I know that a lot people really wish this ending was canon because it's tragic and shit,but just because they want it to be canon,doesnt mean it is.
@@alx2903 Oh yes, the devs, who have famously insisted for _two decades_ that all of the endings are to be considered equally canon. It's perfectly fine to consider In Water the most fitting ending- it's an opinion shared by many people, including many of the devs themselves- but to claim the devs consider it "canon" is just factually wrong.
They completely ruined this ending. After doing such a good job, seeing how poorly this was done upon completion has me so salty. I regret gassing it up and relentlessly harassing friends to play it. It literally hurts me how hard they missed the landing on this...
The reading of the letter doesn't have the same emotional impact the OG does (still to this day), but it was still overall a great game and a worthy remake.
I got so mad i got this ending on first try and hardly checked the knife. I thought it wad maybe because I killed yoo many enemies.......or kept being them on the ground like they owed me money.
Just finished the game hoping to get this ending but got leave instead :( to me leave is the bad ending and this is cannon. I just dont like the idea of james getting redemption after murder.
@@magplay15 yeah, I am agreeing with you. What you told might be true, we don't if he committed suicide or want to get rid of the body to destroy the evidence
Out of all the endings, this was probably the only “good” one (that wasn’t a joke one). He doesn’t deserve to just walk away. He deserves more, and since there’s not an ending where he goes to the police and turns himself in, this is the only one where he doesn’t get to feel better about things and walk away. Hell, most other endings he comes off as a total a-hole as well.
This is not the bad ending. The actual bad endings are Maria and Rebirth. Many would consider the ‘In The Water’ to be the good ending or at least the neutral ending. Leave is the family friendly ending.
In Water ending is the realisitc ending
Its the canon ending for majority of players(even there are no official canon ending), so I agree it is not the Bad Ending
@@hellkisser Il était venu pour ça au départ...
@@hellkisser
Masahiro Ito (The designer and illustrator of the game) and Guy Cihi (James's original VA) both choose "In Water" as their personal canon ending, and honestly it simply fits the tone of the story and James's character better.
Plus the fact that James's father appears in Silent Hill 4 and claims that James's disappeared in Silent Hill.
@@mrtyrant1680 personal canon ending obviously, not the official true canon ending
The blank stare before James starts his engine is haunting, like he’s finally made up his mind on what he’s about to do.
This was very well acted and beautifully shot, but I miss a line of dialogue from the original: “Now I remember why I came to this town”. It was a fantastic ending to the story, with James remembering that he actually came to Silent Hill, their special place, to end his own life.
I remember I got In water when I played it back in 2002, and just thinking Holy Hell, and being blown away.
In water was also the final, agreed upon ending by the development team, before they introduced multiple endings for the game. So in water is the canon, true ending for the game
*Now i understand. The real reason i came to this town.
Without you Mary ,I’ve got nothing… now we can be together
The facial animations add a lot, but I REALLY wish they kept this line from the OG In Water ending: "Now I understand. The real reason I came to this town. I wonder what was I afraid of?"
Something about this line from the OG... it hit so hard when saying so little.
It's The way he says it for me
That seems too on the nose. That’s like saying “now I know why the red pyramid thing was chasing me. I’m actually evil and he was trying to punish me.”
@@Slaughter_Hill He...he literally said that he knew exactly why they existed and that he wanted to be punished.
Literally the fight against the 2...
@@eternallight523 He said "I know why I needed you. But I don't need you anymore."
Pyramid heads are not James executioner. They're born from James psyche to fight off guilt and frustration. That's why they kill other monsters. That's why they repeatedly kill Maria too. And it's only when James proves he's ready to face his guilt and "don't need them anymore" that the Pyramids off themselves. This is also confirmed by Masahiro Ito as the true meaning of their existence. That 'punisher' thing is a misinterpretation by fans.
@@Thaibiohazard123 No, Ito has clearly stated that Pyramid Head is meant to make James FACE his guilt, not cover it up. He's restated this recently as well.
I got this ending first because I used survival horror instincts and conserved healing items until I absolutely needed them. I feel a tad bit trolled.
This also fits the narrative the most. Before the fight with Eddie, James was in a cemetery where there were 3 dug graves, for James, Angela and Eddie. Eddie obviously died, Angela's last conversation seemed like she wanted to die and James ends up the same way.
I admired angela’s knife
I got the ending after finishing the game myself today. Don't feel trolled it's not the bad ending. It's more of the neutral ending. I didn't even try to get a specific ending I just played the game and like you I tried to conserve healing as well. I also picked the man coin at the bar at the beginning of the game. I heard that has something to do with it depending on what coin you choose in the puzzle.
I got this simply because I walked through the Scarlet Egg door... I reloaded my save afterwards and stepped through the Rusty Egg door instead and apparently that was enough to give me "Leave". Pretty annoying because I made an effort to always heal and check on Mary's photo + letter throughout the whole game, and avoid inspecting Angela's knife. Leave was my favourite ending from the original and I've always hated In Water so it made me a little upset that I got In Water for my first time with the remake.
Man. After the theory being around for 20 years and seeing this for the first time, that moment James’ eyes traveled up to the rear view mirror genuinely gave me chills.
So she was in the trunk huh
@tennoo160 backseat. And hacking the camera has proven she's literally there covered by a blanket.
@@placebo4573 I need to see evidence of this.
@@Terry-nx8kg 1:44 ?
@@Terry-nx8kgCheck the silent hill subreddit, dude freecamed into backseat and there was blanket with something underneath it
I loved how as we are hearing the letter read by Mary as it’s floating from the bottom of Toluca lake that we get the impression that James never read it . Which makes the contents even more heartbreaking.
Why didn’t James read it in this ending ??
I'm not sure about that. Mary tells him in her letter to go on with his life but James says "I know this isn't what you'd want" in this ending, which could be a reaction to the letter.
@@FlashheadX you may be right about that too. I interpreted it as just an in general statement that he assumed with them being married and all that she would have wanted the best for him. Honestly that was just how I took it on my first playthrough.
Either way I really liked this ending. It’s bittersweet but still very interesting
It creates this notion that he only read what he wanted to read.
@@FlashheadXunfortunately the letter wasn't real. James never got to read it. Laura lost the letter in the hotel section, only the player knows the contents of it
Great ending to a great game. One thing I do want to say, to get ahead of a lot of comments people have on this ending(which is a bit of an essay, so fair warning):
Fans of the game often repeat this idea of "In Water" being the accepted canon ending. It isn't. There IS no canon ending. All the writers and devs deliberately leave it open ended, because they wanted people to just pick their preferred ending. Even if some of them have their preferred outcome, that doesn't make them more canon than the others.
Far as I can tell, this is based largely on an interview with James' original VA saying he believes that the In Water ending is canon, the novelization using it as the basis for the ending, and it being the most common ending players get on a first playthrough (most people either get In Water or Leave). And while I fully concede that it IS a tragically beautiful ending that makes sense thematically, I'd argue ALL of the endings do this.
One personal observation I have (I don't know if this is a common reading) is that the characters pulled into Silent Hill can represent the darker roads James can take at the end of his journey. All of them have one thing in common: they're killers, in some form of denial over what they've done. The town has summoned them for one reason: to force them to confront what they've done. How they respond to it... well, that's up to them.
To me, Eddie represents the Maria ending. He comes to terms with his crimes, but he has taken the wrong lesson out of it. Once Eddie accepts the things he's done, he decides that it wasn't so bad, and that the people he hurt deserved it. He doesn't need forgiveness, he was right all along. Similarly, the Maria ending is James taking the wrong lesson out of Mary's death. Yes, that he was wrong to kill her, but also that replacing her with Maria will make everything better. It shows no matter what, just like Eddie, James will never truly learn from his mistakes, and is always doomed to repeat them.
Angela, on the other hand, represents the In Water ending. Angela confronted the reality of what she had done, but in the end, it breaks her. She loses her will to live, convinces herself that she deserved to be abused, she deserved to be punished, and she deserves the torment that Silent Hill is putting her through. She's not in denial, like Eddie, but her pain completely consumes her. Which reflects James' In Water ending: he confronts the reality of what he has done, but when it's all over, he just can't move on. He can't forgive himself. The pain and guilt is just too much for him to overcome. He'd rather die than keep living in a world where Mary is dead because of him.
That''s why I think there's a good case for the Leave ending being my preferred one. Because it's James finding the path forward that neither Eddie nor Angela could find. Confronting his sins, facing them head on, and accepting them. He can't change the past, he can never forget what he's done, but that doesn't mean he can't have a future where he can honor his late wife in his own way. It also plays into the concept of Silent Hill that I like the most: the town isn't TRYING to kill these people, necessarily. But it IS testing them. If you fail (whether by deluding yourself like Eddie, or succumbing to your pain like Angela), you'll never leave Silent Hill alive. But if you can face your own personal hell and accept your sins while refusing to be crushed by them, the town will let you go, with a new purpose in your life.
That's beautiful
Dude, you should be a writer or something. Its not often i read a long comment but yours are really interesting and intriguing
You nail it Austin 👏😊 cheers my dude 🍻
I’ve read this 10x. Not one or two TEN BRO!! This was so well written!! I love it!!!
I get that not a lot of people have played SH4, but it also kind of implied the In Water ending is canon as James' dad is in it and he confirms James is missing. 4 was the last game Team Silent worked on IIRC and is linked to 2 (Walter Sullivan and James' father being the landlord). This is another reason the fanbase accepts the In Water ending as canon and I wish more people were aware of that :/
I think if you’re in a good marriage or long term relationship this ending is so real and easy to empathize with. I’m married to someone that I love and care about deeply, and we have a great relationship, similar to what James and Mary seemingly had before her illness. If something similar happened to my partner and I, where that illness tore apart everything we had and I did something as terrible as James did in a moment of emotional distress, I wouldn’t know how to live with myself anymore or even think I’m worthy of it.
It's not impulsive, it's premeditated.
Unfortunately, he'd planned to kill himself afterwards too.
He gets the chance to not do that in the game, to not feel guilty because she releases him of the guilt.
But throughout the entire run, James clearly has a death wish, and portraying himself to himself as someone who killed his wife would mean that killing himself won't make her angry.
It would be fair, so it won't upset her. But, she sees right through that..
@@samf.s.7731I see your points but I think this is also subjective enough of a game where speaking is such absolutions just feels…I dunno. A lot.
Mary: I want you to live for yourself and be happy James
James: Guess I’ll drown
Yeah the canon ending is Leave and I refuse to change my mind, but the shot of the letter floating in the lake is so sad and haunting, excellent remake!
Im pretty sure in water ending James doesn’t get to read it thats why in the other endings he leaves because he read it.
It's canon actually, according to Masahiro Ito. In Water ending is canon.
@@reese8050 no its not. He said it’s his fav not that it’s canon. He specifically said that anyone can choose their ending. If you want to go into it then yes it is canon in the novel. The game no. But most team silent devs believe it would be the most likely canon.
@@schizomani4c SH4 also implies In Water is the canon ending as James' dad confirmed he's missing. That was the last game made by Team Silent, so.
@@sugarysweet07 it implies it yes wish I believe it to be.
Never notice how they descended in certain parts of Hell: Eddy Ice (Froze to death by hiding in the fridge); Angela Fire (House Fire); James Water (died by diving into lake), which is how they all ended up in Silent Hill (Hell by their sin of killing people or Sudoku). The other ending options is up to players choice because well he's dead and that's that.
Sounds like it tho, maybe, still think the Silent Hill happens in James had before he "chooses" (player) does choose actual ending
I would've done the same thing if I was in James' shoes. How can a man live with himself after snuffing out his sick wife?
James never killed his wife. Maria had a terminal illness, and she also fought, pushed James away and treated him badly. James's action was an action so that she would not suffer anymore, he feels guilty for making that decision that was not his. This ending is bad, James could never relieve that torturous guilt like the ending 'leaving'
@@IA.M3gan I think maybe I'm projecting a bit here because I've almost driven into the local harbour a few times.
@@Terry-nx8kg Don't let anyone deceive what you think is wrong or right. If you feel like it is the truth for you.
She basically asked for it to end and she was cruel and hostile to James.
He planned the whole thing though, he was gonna kill her per her request, and then kill himself.
That's why they had the OG fight where he came in to reconcile with the flowers, she asked him and he turned her down when she did.
But then he thought she won't have it any other way. So...
In my opinion, this is the canon ending... It really fits the whole narrative of the game.
Its not in your opinion, its confirmed by the developers of the OG that this is the canon ending and his wife was on the backseat all the time. The real reason he came to silent hill was to kill himself.
@@kurusuakira6891And this is the ending selected for the official novel too
yeah, James father in silent hill 4 told Henry his son and daughter-in-law went to silent hill and never came back, further prove in water ending is true, even his father didn't know his daughter-in-law already a corpse taken by James. James killed Maria and drown with Mary in the end, sad story.
@@kurusuakira6891 No it isn't. The developers saying that In Water is the canon ending is a common misconception. They've said that it is their preferred ending, NOT that it is the canon ending. There is no canon ending.
@@HaiYu0 Not necessarily, since James going missing could also imply he's on the run from the police, not that he died.
In water hit me hard, while Leave is the best ending for James to live, In Water hits me so hard. The fact that James while he killed Mary to ease her but for his own reasons is bad, he still loved her. Mary wanted him to live but how can you when your husband or wife is your soulmate, I don’t think James is suicidal in the end just he can’t do the day to day of living knowing he can’t even be with Mary again. Especially in the remake James decision hits hard for me
Agreed 😢
I think "In Water" is the one in which James loves Mary most and finally saves himself from the endless guilty feeling. Actually I like Maria pretty much, and think she deserves a true happy ending. But "Maria" Ending is so horrible that James escaped from his '心魔' and nothing is not solved at all.
Not only does he drive himself into the water, but Mary's corpse is in the back seat.
Well it lines up with the novelisation a bit
The most oldest theory of Silent Hill 2 have been canonized. Woaw.
Wait how if you don’t mind explaining? 😭
@@Ak1rahh
This old theory talked about the fact that James had all along brought his wife's remains with him to Silent Hill to commit suicide with her presence, sinking into the depths of Lake Toluca, together. In the In Water ending of the remake, we see that the theory has been canonized: If you look closely in the back seats, there is Mary's coffin stored.
@@Shub-Nagruth it's not even a theory though, it has always been the truth...Masahiro Ito confirmed it on is twitter...
@@Shub-Nagruth This was confirmed back in 2015
if you look at his eyes, he looks at the back seat while talking to Mary. there's a blanket there covering Mary's body.
Really disappointed to not see the bedside conversation in the remake. Part of what made the ending great in the original was the subtle differences in what he said to Mary in the leave ending and in water ending. I really want to like it, but I feel they did a disservice to this ending by taking out such a large portion of it. I feel like there is so much potential here, but they felt the need to remove some of the ending for no real reason. Realistically feel like the leave ending is the only ending they kept intact in the remake.
Mary in the in water ending says “It’s enough, James.” almost as if she is giving him permission to end his life. In the leave ending she says “Please do something for me… go on with your life.” encouraging him to find meaning elsewhere and continue without her. Both very heart wrenching lines that work perfect within the context of their respective conclusions.
Well if you want her to interact with James the Stillness ending seems to be more fitting since in this one here it's just in your face that she is dead and laying on the backseats of James's Car.
I think it's even more impactful that Mary wasn't there.
The real disservice is how much this delivery falls flat compared to Monica's performance in the original. This sounded like I was watching a movie or a TV show, the original sounded like someone was pouring their heart out in a letter.
@@RichtofensLittleGirl I’ll admit that this version of the ending has a lot of intrigue with the visual representation of Mary in the backseat. That being said, she is still very much dead in the backseat in the original. Also Mary is “not there” regardless if he speaks to her.
I’d also say that just telling someone essentially that if they don’t like it they should just get a secret new game plus ending is silly. Stillness is a fascinating ending but certainly not giving anywhere near the same feeling as the original in water ending. It also lacks the letter read off which is what drives home the tragedy of James killing himself. And yes, I realize James choosing not to read it is an intentional part of Stillness end.
Either way I am glad you found enjoyment out of the remake’s interpretation. While I don’t think the ending completely missed the mark, it was the first ending I got years and years ago. Simply put it didn’t resonate with me nearly as much on a personal level in this remake.
@@MagnyusG I agree. The original does very well as displaying the ups and downs of her emotions and attempts to hold back tears. I am overall pretty neutral on the remake’s read off, but it certainly didn’t have me breaking down crying like the original.
I feel like this ending fits so much especially with how we see Jame’s grave too
In Water is my favorite ending imo. James' journey was never about redemption rather it was about him uncovering the truth and accepting what he did to Mary.
My interpretation of the story is James kills Mary due to the reasons listed in the Leave ending and takes her to Silent Hill to put her to rest. However after doing the deed he feels overwhelming guilt and regret. This combined with the supernatural powers of Silent Hill causes him to enter a delusion that Mary died 3 years ago. As James uncovers the truth, he realizes that what he did to Mary was a mistake and he can't live on without her despite being completely responsible. He joins her in death in their special place as he drives into the lake.
Also theres a lot of clues that point to In Water as canon (even though technically there is no canon ending).
1. James' dead body is seen all over Silent Hill
2. A lot of the otherworld areas are flooded
3. The constant dialogue with Angela where James says he would never commit suicide is supposed to be ironic and tragic as at that point he still is oblivious to killing Mary.
Just finished the game today, this is my ending. Really depressed, but in my opinion it's the true ending. (This credit song is amazing, just loved it!)
It's a really depressing ending though.
Stillness ending seems the best option. He doesn’t kill himself, but also launches the car into the lake.
That's an interesting interpretation. Like he decided to move on but he left his wife's body behind?
I kind of like that idea, but do you mind explaining how you came to that conclusion, because I didn't see it that way the first time round.
@@swordhunter12 correct! If you watch the stillness ending, once it blacks out you'll hear a moment where the car door opens, and the car gets launched. Alluding that James stepped out before launching it into the lake.
Not a bad ending but depression ending.
It's the true ending. Fits perfectly with James' psyche.
@@Terry-nx8kg I just finished the game, I saw a streamer I watch get a different ending where he talks to his wife. What is that considered?
@JustLunarr that's the Stillness Ending. It's a new ending where the audio implies james gets out of the car while sending Mary to her watery sentimental grave, their special place that is Toluca Lake.
James emotional behavior is very repressive during the In Water ending but in the Stillness ending you got he just pours his emotions and guilt out. Which means he put Mary to rest and may be open to forgiving himself.
Probably the most cannon ending. It's worse than the leave & stillness ending but better than the Maria ending
@@DevlMayDutch I can see the idea but its really just a variation of in water.
So there's no dialogue with Mary after the boss fight? It's not seen when he carry her out of her bed?
That's the leave ending.
Yeah. But here it implies that the Mary's body was actually in the trunk or backseat the whole time.
@@hajfjhxcjthats the water ending in the original.
@@hajfjhxcjUnfortunately he doesn’t carry her out anymore.
@@ismaill-0819The backseat, according to Team Silent.
They should have kept the original credit songs for each ending, as well as the image of James and the replay of various scenes from the game.
I just did my first play through and got this ending. When James looks at the back seat, is Mary supposed to be there? 😧
She is there you can see a glimpse
If you pay attention at the start of the game, you can actually see a large blanket covering "something" in the back seat
@@feelsboyyyy 😧wow! Going to start new game plus. I'll look for that in the beginning. I played the original, loved it. And I love this one too. Lol in the original game I always got the leave ending
@@christined1988 Gonna start as well! The original was a little before my time but I discovered it last year and fell in love. The leave ending is really nice, my favorite ending was the water one. Anyways have fun, its cool noticing the small details that bloober added
There’s so many things that show this is the case. Like when Laura’s birthday was. It was just three days prior to them being there in Silent Hill.
My friend and I both did our play throughs together at the same pace so we’d see what endings we both get, he got the ‘leave’ ending and I got this one... I had to mute my mic I couldn’t contain myself
Why is nobody talking about the way his gaze changed right before he starts the car; as if he just had another breakdown, death haunted eyes, and decided to finish it all right there. To me, that was beautifully acted and done.
so many strange guys say about ito's opinion on his favourite ending. but they forget that original writer was owaku, not ito. and owaku has never stated that in water is canon ending
there's no bad or good ending in this game, all the three original ending are fit to the story, so people don't lose heart if you got any of them
It's weird that the Stillness Ending including going into the water but not this. They really should have had just mixed them both into the In Water Ending. Splitting them is weird, especially since they end the same way. The crying is amazing in the Stillness, but it's not complete without this. Really weird move.
it does include driving and going into the water, a lot of these ending videos cut it
Disagree. In water ending shows James in his truly depressed, hopeless state, unable to even let it out and cry, then the audio implies he offed himself. Whereas the stillness ending, he's a lot more emotional and was able to let it out when Mary spoke to him, and the audio implies he got out of the car and sent her to Toluka Lake, asking her just before if she "would wait for him". The second ending implies that James decided to fulfill her last wish and live for her and start forgiving himself, the first one implies he died and is buried with her in the lake.
Not ever story has a happy ending and sometimes the truth hurts but nevertheless it’s what’s right for James story
In water ending is my favorite ending but this is too subtle compare to the original silent hill 2 which is more emotionally charged. I really loved stillness ending the most.
This is the true ending. James travelled to Silent Hill to kill himself. It was always going to end this way for him.
I don't think that's right. James went to silent hill because apart of him was still clinging onto something. As the original voice actor said, if james really planned on killing himself, he wouldn't have travelled all the way to silent hill.
Not even remotely true. Stop stating your opinions as facts
@@jethrojacinto2798 What is truth? More importantly, does truth matter in the grand scheme of things?
@@Terry-nx8kg The game has multiple endings, which was made by the creators so you can CHOOSE which ending you want for James. They never labeled anything as the TRUE ending. So if you're asking "does truth doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things", why would YOU say this is the True Ending? You're not smart bro, and you won't ever be by pretending on the internet. It just makes you a clown.
@@Terry-nx8kg No, but you said it's the truth.
2:40 the bubbles raising from the bottom literally could be james's last breath.
This is not the bad ending man, this is the best ending
Way better than the Maria ending. I think the good ending is leave, but this one is more cannon
That's subjective
@@Alexander-zt9kz even rebirth is better than Maria ending
This is bad ending..bc best ending is def atone for what u did n pay for all ur crime😂
@@ichi127kyu but this ending is James paying for his crimes no?
This is the most realistic ending. He knows he can never be forgiven for what he has done.
I can not for the life of me get this ending. I limped the whole game, spam inspected the knife, never checked on Maria once. I’m so perplexed
It sounds like you did everything right so it’s weird you didn’t get it.
I got this ending and I always kept myself healed up, checked on Maria alot and only inspected the knife once. Swear to God. This is the first Silent Hill game I've ever played. I didn't even know about the different endings and how to get them.
@@MartianOrion it’s crazy because a lot of people are saying they got that ending without even trying and I’ve been actively trying with no luck
i cant say that this works for certain but it did for me: check the knife, letter, the photo and the handkerchief continuously at different points in the game. also take all of the damage you can in the last fight until you run out of healing items
I managed to get the ending by reloading the final save and doing everything you've said, on the same save file I got the Leave ending. Maybe try using the Rusty Egg door after the double pyramid head fight if you've been using Amber, that could be it
От меня ушла любовь всей моей жизни , Мария, из за обстоятельств в которые мы попали , я стал вести себя плохо , срываться на неë. Больше еë не вернуть. В каком то смысле я "убил" Ту Машу , ту которая любила меня ... До сих пор переживаю , а играл в ремейк в самые тяжолые моменты , ещë имя совпадает... Кароче я плакал
1:35 he is looking behind at Mary's dead body so, that means he didn't killed her 3 yrs ago instead he killed her few days ago😅😅😅😅
Yeah James probably means she was dead to him 3 years ago when her illness started. He did the deed recently which explains why he's in silent hill.
Idk i kinda dig the old version of the story since it made James seem more proactive in trying to figure out how he got a letter from his dead wife years after her passing. This remake version just makes him more schizo.
It's so bittersweet but it just feels...mentally this was the cannon choice,he comes to terms with the truth , and fits the whole depressing tone of the game...although the escape ending is a pretty close second for me.
I played this game so long ago and can't remember killing her. Kind of shocked.
I got the Maria ending and I don’t even know how I did that 😭
So Mary’s body is on the backseat after all.. creepy.
you sure this is bad ending? I think it's the logic ending and this what I get also. Compared to other endings, this is the best and most realistic one.
When she tells Jame that she wants him to live for himself and for others the ending where he leaves with Laura would be the more appropriate ending.
For me this is the best ending maybe yes it's tragic but this is more realistic than the other endings.
This is NOT the bad ending, it’s the best ending, the most emotional and fits the themes of the game.
The remake captures this ending so much better than the original.
The end note confuses me. She says she wrote the letter and if James was reading it, then it meant she'd died because she told the nurse to give it to him then. So..... How did HE kill her?
He never got the letter, it was Laura who brought it to Silent Hill. I personally think that after he killed Mary, he planned to take Mary's body to Silent Hill to commit suicide. But whether it was the guilt of killing or the love for Mary that drove him to do this, he didn't know, and he was in a state of confusion. And when he came to Silent Hill, he was impressed. Silent Hill showed him part of the letter. He confusedly thought that he came to Silent Hill because he received the "letter".
The way he is looking back says that her corpse lied right on the Backseat. Insane game 10/10
I cry every time I watch this ending this game is important to me
James suffering expressions on this breaked my heart... even i know what he did... his story with Mary is just so sad
Laura's reaction: 🥳🥳🥳
For the new fans out there. If you wonder why many of the og fans prefer and consider the In Water ending as their favorite they're not referring to this ending, they're referring to the original In Water. They're both different. I won't get into details and make an essay here but you can go watch the og In Water and see and compare it by yourself.
I got this ending today. I guess I didn’t heal enough or looked at Mary’s picture 1 too many times? Regardless, I started new game plus and found it interesting that in the book store you can find three books that basically tell you how to lead a healthy life, manage your relationships, and what to do if you feel depressed. I don’t believe those are in the “standard” version of the game, only in new game plus. Regardless, I wonder if different books appear based on what ending you got before. Like, does silent hill know James came here once, and is it trying to force James to properly reconcile with his mistakes? Is it saying that suicide was not the answer in the Leave Ending, and to try again?
Regardless, I don’t much care for how the endings work in the game. They seem very random and don’t illustrate well how the character interacted with the world. Still a great game, though
I believe this is the saddest ending but not a bad one. The bad ones imo are "Maria" and "Bliss". Rebirth is also just plain delusion from James. " Stillness" is also sad but it's just a little bit better because he survives and believes that Mary is waiting for him happily on the other side.
This does not hit nearly as hard as the original, but I really enjoy James' delivery before driving off.
Very interesting when you realise his wifes corpse is on the back seat and he looks straight at it.
Best remake ever made. PERIOD.
As much as I wish James could get a happy ending, I can see why many prefer to consider this as canon... cause it's the most realistic one and probably the best one for poor James at this point. I don't think one can just "Oh no Anyway" their way out of a situation like that of James's anymore and continue life after
Just finished this game and got this ending. Honestly, I don't know how though. I met more of the parameters for the standard ending than I did this ending, but oh well.
How else got this ending on its first play? I don’t know what I did in order to get this one instead of Leave.
If you inspect Angela’s knife several times, read most of the suicidal notes you find around the town (neely’s bar Otherworld), and stay injured for half of the game then you’ll get this ending
Was aiming for the in water ending and kinda disappointed how it plays out along with the letter.
Insane they removed the scene of James talking to Mary on her death bed.
Should’ve also just played the original letter reading as there was no way of capturing what the original actress did and even then the performance is still underwhelming here. The only time I haven’t gotten emotional from this sequence.
This is the canon ending (not the bad ending).
SH3 & 4 confirms James is missing, It's also the one in the novel.
Not canon, just the favorite ending. There’s no canon ending to SH2
@@TheShockVox it is the ending that best fits the references and insinuations of later games and media.
Dude. Can we please stop saying this. In sh4 they mention they haven't come back from SH but it can mean multiple things. either he went to escape. or the dad is also in SH thats why he hasn't seen them.
@@troyb4533 No it doesn't. Him going into hiding could also fit into later "hints" regarding Jame's fate. SH2 doesn't have a canon ending and this has been validated by both Guy Cihi and Ito.
Wasnt confirmed,so not canon.
The story made me cry. It's so depressing.
Calling this a bad ending is more of an opinion rather than a fact.
Its not a good ending.
@@PsevdonimKanalaNahuy he's ending his suffering
@@Nigel222 Or he can live with the guilt and redeem himself by raising Laura.
@@Nigel222 And it doesnt make any sense,why even play the game if he still just ends it all in the end? It seems they just made it for shock value more then anything.
@@PsevdonimKanalaNahuy They didn't make it for shock value, this is one of the original endings in the original game from 2001. Even if you ask the original voice actor/mocap performer, Guy Cihi, this is the canon ending.
It's around the 14:00 mark:
th-cam.com/video/rhyT4gjDHM8/w-d-xo.html
So yeah
"I've done a terrible thing to you"
What do you guys think that was about? Because that was not the yelling at him...
It was something much darker.
And then she goes on to explain why
"I feel so pathetic and ugly"
"Lying here, staring at the cracks in the ceiling".
Yeah...
new maria's delivery on the word "unfair" reminds me on new james "ridiculous" delivery, great work
I love this ending even though I prefer the leave ending, the acting is so good
I don't know why people think this is exactly a bad ending. I feel like it would be the most likely to be cannon
I wanted to get this ending so bad, I got the Maria ending by mistake and it is so fucking anticlimatic, I wish I got this since it has the full letter at the end, the reasoning to get each ending is so dumb, how does using a game mechanic make me get the worse ending thematically?
Just finished the remake and got this ending. When I heard the remake Mary read the letter it didn't make me much emotional. As she read the letter I remembered how the OG Mary read the letter and that made me almost burst into tears again but when I focused on the remake monologue again my emotions disappeared. I'm kinda dissapointed from this ending.
While this ending is good, it completely makes the entire course of the game pointless. Silent Hill literally tried teaching James a lesson, that he didnt learn in the end. Accepting reality and coming to terms with the guilt does not mean offing yourself. James not killing himself doesnt mean he wasnt accepting responsibility. He accepted his actions the second he watched that tape. Even then, he came to silent hill to kill himself (which was established in the original version) which means he accepted his actions with his decisions to go. The town purposed lead him on this path. Same with eddie and Angela. He failed to learn with this ending.
Personally i believe In Water is still best fitting for a darker story, but Leave makes sense given the entire purpose of the towns message to james.
1:11 *SPOILERS*
I wonder if that hints at the Stillness ending, he looks through the mirror at Mary's body, hoping she would appear to comfort him before he dies, which doesn't happen, except in Stillness
This ending is one of the saddest endings I've even seen in a game! And the letter slowly flowing down makes it worse!
Bloober Team did an excellent job crafting subtlety into what's going on in this ending. It's implied, but never truly shown outside of a brief out of focus glimpse; the way a Silent Hill game should be! Bravo 👏
I really recommend getting the Stillness ending if you haven't. Earn it through the game, don't watch it online.
Peak voice acting and animation, this was the best ending imo
This is not the bad ending. This is the true ending
Not sure what i did but i got this ending for the first time lol, i dont even inspect Angela's Knife
You have to heal a lot, almost immediately. I never let my health get to danger and I got Leave. Then I reloaded my save to before the pyramid boss fight, examined the knife, letter, photo and handkerchief a bunch of times, let my health get to danger and let it stay there after the pyramid head boss fight, and I got In water haha.
"you're not here. are you?"
Just today finished the game and got that ending. This war my 1st time when I played Silent Hill game and it was awesome. If you still thinking should you buy remake or not i'll say - buy. Bloober team did great job and I hope they'll get work on another SH parts. But I should warn you that game has lack of an optimization i got around 50-60 fps on gtx1660ti
Just finished the game and got this ending. I really enjoyed the game but I felt like the ending was insanely rushed. You kill Maria and then bam you’re in the car and kill yourself. By the end of the game, you get a sense that James is getting over the idea of ever seeing Mary so to go from him finally seeming to move on to teleporting to him committing suicide to be with her is jarring. Maybe if they had a transition in his psyche earlier or even added an extra scene, it would’ve made more sense. Because the way it stands now, it feels empty and forced rather than deserved
I got this ending in my first playthrough, it felt sad.
You say bad ending but this ending is almost universally agreed to be the "cannon ending" even if there really isn't one. This ending not only makes the most sense thematically and tonally, its in my opinion the most satisfying albeit sad ending to James' story.
Spoilers....
Mary's dead body is in the back seat of James' car under a blanket.... He came to Silent Hill to die.
Yep.
As much as it pains to say it, to me this is the canon ending
Where do you all guys see James ends his own life? Am I so dumb since everyone sees what I can't? He runs his car, the screen fades, and the wheels squeaking. HE GOES AWAY FROM SH WITH MARY's CORPSE IN HIS CAR! WHERE YOU ALL SEE HIM DYING IN THIS ENDING?!?!?!?! WHERE?!?!?!?!
At 2:06 you can hear a massive splash of water, which implies that James must have drove into the lake
This is the true canon ending to me
Dude the line "you made me happy" is such a let down in this version. In the og sh2, that same line made me bawl. The letter itself is also shorter and doesn't really give off the same sense of despiration that maria had either. Still a stellar game, but the remake is a little weaker, I think.
For people saying that its a "canon" ending: It's not. No one confirmed that it's canon.
SH3, SH4, devs and novella, sure 😂. Some people rerally dont understand the game.
@@alx2903 If the MAIN creator of this game,CONFIRMS that it's canon,then its CANON. Dont give that "novella" bs,I'm talking about games. And what about SH3,SH4? Did they straight up said that "hey,you know James is dead actually"?
@@alx2903 I understand the game,I played it,and I know that a lot people really wish this ending was canon because it's tragic and shit,but just because they want it to be canon,doesnt mean it is.
@@alx2903 Oh yes, the devs, who have famously insisted for _two decades_ that all of the endings are to be considered equally canon.
It's perfectly fine to consider In Water the most fitting ending- it's an opinion shared by many people, including many of the devs themselves- but to claim the devs consider it "canon" is just factually wrong.
The UFO ending is the canon, it connects all games.
They completely ruined this ending. After doing such a good job, seeing how poorly this was done upon completion has me so salty. I regret gassing it up and relentlessly harassing friends to play it. It literally hurts me how hard they missed the landing on this...
The reading of the letter doesn't have the same emotional impact the OG does (still to this day), but it was still overall a great game and a worthy remake.
I got so mad i got this ending on first try and hardly checked the knife. I thought it wad maybe because I killed yoo many enemies.......or kept being them on the ground like they owed me money.
Just finished the game hoping to get this ending but got leave instead :( to me leave is the bad ending and this is cannon. I just dont like the idea of james getting redemption after murder.
That could be james out of the car before get into water. You can hear he was opened the car's door
This is just my opinion haha
I think it’s him shifting gear
you know what i thought for a sec that what you said might be true maybe he wanted get rid of the body like drown the body with car and he doesnt
@@kaworu8040 he turned on the car and make it high speed and jump out of the car's door and let the body drowned with the car. That's what i mean 😅
@@magplay15 yeah, I am agreeing with you. What you told might be true, we don't if he committed suicide or want to get rid of the body to destroy the evidence
This was a fantastic remake.
Out of all the endings, this was probably the only “good” one (that wasn’t a joke one). He doesn’t deserve to just walk away. He deserves more, and since there’s not an ending where he goes to the police and turns himself in, this is the only one where he doesn’t get to feel better about things and walk away. Hell, most other endings he comes off as a total a-hole as well.
@Dan Allen, why do you consider this ending to be the bad one when so many others don't?
This is the best ending.
first time getting this ending!! it was so beautiful.