the thing I cant ever forget about this game was, "They look like monsters to you?" That line was just terrifying. Because in the first Silent Hill, I did question whether or not Harry was just running around beating and shooting people. And it got so much more disturbing in the school. The child sized enemies have this grab attack where they munch on your leg. The grab attack looks disturbingly like a child grabing your leg, begging for mercy. And the whole "different perception of reality" thing is confirmed in Silent Hill 2. And Vincents line, "They look like monsters to you" felt like a punch in the gut. o_O
Heather Mason was probably the most moving and "real" video game character I've ever had the priviledge to know. What's so good about her especially is how the way the character evolves through the story, from her tone to emotions to the melancholy that shifts inside her. There's something in how she is acted that makes her believable throughout. She has a unique role in video gaming.
My favorite part about Heather is the flavor text when you examine stuff, she always has something cute or funny to say about every little thing & it really hammers home how REAL Heather is. She truly exists, just in digital form. She isn't some tris & textures with a voice actor, she is a real character who came together so well that the seams between "this person exists" & "this is a person voicing a fake animation" is totally blurred, made even harder to see with that ugly ass Noise filter lol
This is rare, but I absolutely love the fact fans are split in their favorite game being either 1, 2 or 3. All 3 are so great for their own reasons. 1 for its pure terror, 2 for its emotion, and 3 for the connection to 1 and just more terror and hauntingly beautiful graphics and smooth gameplay. Heather's rebellious attitude makes it all the more great. Because of my love for these games, seeing fans prefer one or the other but always seem to mention they still love ALL of the Team Silent games makes me feel proud in a strange way. I just love Silent Hill!
That room where the mannequin gets decapitated scared the ever-loving shit out of me when I was 10. I threw the controller in terror and didn't play the rest of the night. I'm not joking.
Man, Silent Hill 1 really needed a PS2 remake on that beautiful engine and with updated voice acting. That would have brought the whole Alessa arc together.
teddyharvester I hadn't played a SH game and only had access to a PS4 so I tried PS Now and played SH2 and just finished SH3 and I mean JUST finished 3 in the sense of I had zero health items and was low on health and only has hand gun bullets at the final boss! It took me countless attempts with 1 hit being enough to kill me I had to run in get a hit and get out not be greedy! Anyway after finishing both SH2 and 3 I like both infact I love them I've finally found games That scare me make me uncomfortable:) I do wish SH1 was in the HD collection as I played 3 not having played 1 so it was harder for me to follow although after watching summaries I get the gist of 1, I prefer 3 as the enemies are tougher and Heather questions what's going on she doesn't accept cryptic bullshit answers.
@@markwheeler4245 That's almost how I finished the game for the first time. I mean, I had a good bunch of supplies left over, because I got really good at dealing with those early monsters and saved up a lot, but that marathon where you go through the amusement park, fight your dark self, then go through basically hell and kill god literally drained me. And only later do I find out that there's a spot in the final boss arena where you're untouchable.
Climax tried it twice, and they became Origins and Shattered Memories. I think it's better to leave it in that way, one of the original creator said in order to remake 1 it needs 3 years, but he won't do it and would do something new.
SH3 was around the time I grew into a teenager and had a better appreciation for games as an art. This game started off with such an unnerving vibe..like some waking dream that’s disguised in warm, melancholic tones.. hiding something nightmarish right around the corner. First time I tried it, the game gave me a scare that I couldn’t recover from for the rest of the day. One of my favourite horror trips for sure.
Thats my favorite thing of the game. The intro is so good. Nightmare unfolding in such creepy and weird way. Such public place and then when you enter some hallway with less light, its like you entered some nightmare pocket dimension. Suddenly no ones around and you have to deal with these things yourself.
SH3 has ALWAYS been my favorite Silent Hill game. I think it has the best story, atmosphere, gameplay, locations, and characters. And the mirror scene in the hospital is the best in-game sequence in the series.
I knew it was coming as soon as I got into that room, because it was spoiled for me. Still freaked me out. It's just not the same watching it. In general, I think 3 is more consistent in making the player uncomfortable. Like, a lot of times you just look around and there's something fucked up to see. Like, not just the moinsters, but the whole environment is there to violate you.
Thank you! Finally someone who prefers 3 over 2... For me too SH3 is the pinnacle of the series, not only because of the points you made but also because this was the first game I willingly quit for a while because it really freaked me out and scared me. The psychological side to the horror in this game is leaps and bounds over all other entries to the series. And I also agree that this game has the best soundtrack of the bunch and specially the mentioned studio version of "I want love" is one of my favorite songs in general to this day.
For me, Silent Hill 3 is the best overall game. There’s a good story, excellent and varied enemy and level design and possibly the smoothest controls in the series. I also love Heather. Her sassy attitude really added an extra level to the somewhat dull protagonists of SH 1, 2 and 4.
I'm partial to 3 as well, but I do appreciate how exceptional 2 is and it's probably deserving of the title of best in the series that it seems to have. I'm also a firm believer that 1 is scarier than 2, 3, and 4, although 3 comes super close to beating it.
I loved SH1, 2, 3 in different ways. SH1 was horrifying. A lot of the ideas/mechanics were previously unheard of or not done in video games. SH2 was a slow burn into madness/depression. The end game made me disgusted. Bravo. Sh3 was the most polished, but short. Least amount of content/endings, but it was visceral. The game was a rollercoaster; short but you felt alive in the moments you were a victim of its grasp.
@@genericsavings And 4 was the most fucked up one. Unlike the first three when there were moments of comfort and release, 4 was fucked up from start to finish, especially when the ceiling fam crashes and the hauntings begin.
Blind Bosnian I really, really tried to get into SH4. I got the Japanese version and Japanese PS2 just to play it(it had an English language option and came out 2 months earlier than the US). Some of the game changes like limited inventory and bullets/health not stacking really irked me. The second half escort mission just made me not want to get the other endings. It had some great ideas and disturbing content. It was too much of a mixed bag for me to say it was a great Silent Hill.
I agree with you in a sense, but nothing in three messed with me quite as much as Maria, a malevolent, sexualized version of James' wife reincarnating herself over and over just to torture him. I remember grinning in pain watching Maria shove James away in the hospital basement while he tried to hug her. Everything she does is to reel James in just to hurt him more deeply. Maria has my vote for the most agonizing, horrible villain in all of video gaming, and that's why I hesitate a little before saying three is my favorite.
I didn’t like the story in Silent Hill 3 too much at all. It honestly felt too similar to the first game. It didn’t have the emotional depth that 2 had. I love the deep and psychological story that Solent Hill 2 had. I also prefer the monsters in Silent Hill 2. They were more memorable imo. I also just think Silent Hill 2 had better atmosphere, music, and characters.
I am disappointed that when you said Douglas looks like a local flasher that you didn't use a clip of him in his boxer shorts. Other than that, great video.
"Silent Hill 3 is my favorite" A single tear rolls down my cheek as the subscribe button becomes red once more. No but seriously the case for 3 is a very strong one and your passion for it shines through in this review in a way that was quite enjoyable to watch. Well done once again. I eagerly await your righteous thrashing of the HD collection.
I love your videos so much man. They're so refreshing especially with the current climate of the gaming industry. Really feel like I can just kick back, relax, forget about all the bs, and enjoy.
Man, I think one of the biggest awesome things in this game for me is how detailed the environments are. How abstract some backgrounds are and also how theres so many points to examine, many of which tell cool tiny details about Heather's personality. No other Silent hill game has this many things to examine. It almost feels like a point and click game, and I LOVE Point and click games.
Great video, Jared. Although SH3 isn’t my favorite in the series, its highs are VERY high. This video brought back a lot of memories. That said, I sincerely hope you do a video on SH4. As the last of Team Silent’s efforts with the series, it’s really a fascinating look at a unique idea corrupted by an impatient corporate overlord (KCET). The game had some wonderful ideas, but a rushed production and a company seemingly disinterested in allowing anything beyond a shoestring budget really paved the unfortunate path to how the series would be handled into the next generation. Even if you don’t feel like wading through the muck that is The Room’s production, keep up the good work on the channel.
This sounds probably weird but I was never that scared when playing those games...even when I was young when I played SH1. I was feeling more comfortable and warm when playing those games but at the same time also a little scared and confused and all. The music gave me so relaxing vibes and for that reason I still listen to the soundtracks of sh1 2 and 3. When listening those soundtracks I feel 100 % relaxed. It goes as far as I can say that I would love to live there 😃 I grew up with Silent Hill and I'm sure that I will die with it. Something about that town.....😊
Damn. I really did forget how good this looked back in the day on PS2. Gonna replay after watching this now, just wish I can wipe watching Silent Hill Revelations last night from my memory...
10:27 holy shit! “Sexy Beam”. Woow!!! I legit haven’t thought of that in over a decade. It’s insane how seeing something as simple as a costume can trigger memories. Thanks for that. Those were good times. ( I was 19 when it came out... My life was so much simpler back then.) For context, SH:3 was my favorite game at the time, not just in the SH series, but in general. I would play it back-to-back, *at least 2 or 3 times a week.* I know it seems INSANE, but I beat SH:3 NO LESS, than 75-100 times, and by the end, I regularly would turn in sub-3 hour times. I could probably have done it even quicker, but I loved engaging with the enemies. SH:3 makes my *ALL TIME* Top 10 list.
@@AvalancheReviews it might not be the most popular opinion, but when you look at it with enough distance and comparison it is difficult to say that 3 is anything less than amazing.
It's not even close to being the best. It's not as good as 4. 3 is overrated and only considered the best by dipshits that think it's cool to hate SH2. It's still good mind you, but it's the worst of the team silent games.
Sam Oslich wow you really cant see any reason someone would think this game is the best other than hating on SH2 because “its cool”?!? Great relatable protagonist, the continuation on the first story that started this amazing series, great acting, horrific environments with improved graphics from SH2, actually challenging combat with much more limited resources and challenging enemies and so on and on. You can still favor 2 over 3. But your opinion is toxic and stupid because you are in fact, toxic and stupid. Dipshit
Great review man, while my favorite of the series is still Silent Hill 4 I also really love 3 and am glad to see someone go into deep detail about what makes it so great.
My favorite game of the series by far! I related so much to Heather when I played this game as a teen. Also, this game doesn't get enough credit for its graphics. The facial animations especially still hold up to this day. Half Life 2 gets a lot of credit for its revolutionary facial animations but this game was out a year before!
This is my all time favorite silent hill and the prefect end to this arc. 2 is great and all but 3 is special. Plus heather is a great character! Very human and relatable!
@@AvalancheReviews exactly i dont unserstand why so many people disliked it i nean its the culmination of the series to me they made everything better and the better plot too! First time i played i loved it and it made me buy a ps2 back then!
SH3 is my favorite too, I love how you talk with so much passion in this video, even when you say there's a part of what you can't describe I couldn't agree more, art is about that and what it makes you feel and this saga is pure art - well, the first ones. Also, the music of this particular game is what introduce me to this games - well, I played the first 3 before that, but I was a child and I was too scared to play, hahaha
Akira has been one of my favorite musicians since playing the games as a kid. Its like the sound sadness, pain, and melancholy expressed through a lens of beauty.
That scene you use for the end card, echoed from the first game... something you can easily just run by, but so haunting in its construction. One of the most memorable and horribly beautiful bits of art I've seen in a game.
I'm 32 now and I've played a load of spooky-ass games, but this one ALWAYS stuck with me even from playing it years back. Its the unsettling feeling from traipsing about common locales that really gets to me. Being alone in a Subway system is pretty scary, being alone in a construction zone is pretty intimidating, being alone in a shopping mall with all the lights turned off is straight up horrifying. I noticed that it wasn't really your eventual arrival at "silent hill" or the monsters that scared me so much, its that atmosphere from the first opening shot when you're wandering around a defunct carnival with broken down rides, only to be greeted by mascots covered in blood, and then getting to that haunted mine cart track is deeply unsettling. The game is a masterpiece for its subtle, unnerving background noise, sound effects and music. The game play isn't my favorite, and I won't deny that I played those puzzles on easy or normal because most of the time I had no clue how to solve the more complex ones, but all that aside the actual detail on these facial expressions still holds up even today. The actual visuals themselves are still quite good, and even if the story isn't as focused or well written as Silent Hill 2, its still sufficient overall. To me this is the most accessible title in the holy trinity of Silent Hill games, and sadly the only one I've finished due to Silent Hill 2 becoming way too confusing or unnerving to finish. To this day I'm not even sure how I finished the third game, but I did.
It's the same for me. 3 just stayed with me and remains my absolute favorite. Even though I've finished them all, those one remains the best in my eyes
One of the mechanics that I really enjoyed about SH3 was when you unequipped the bulletproof vest. It was simple but that added to the gameplay you either choose to run or fight with more health. Overall, nice video.
I love this game so much. So many memories. My favorite SH no doubt. Here some anecdotes if you want: 25:26 that damn mannequin. My dad was playing at the time, he was not the best at it, but I was young and the game was scary. He explored those building, but missed the mannequin in that room, so he went on and got stuck on the other building. After a while without knowing what to do he went back and looked everywhere, entering that room again and finding the thing. For some reason we stood there observing it and talking (we both find mannequins uncanny and like to tease each other), so resuming with the exploration, my dad goes to the window to see if he could escape there and then the fucking ps2 scream pierced the room (he had been there previously and nothing happened, so our guard was lowered times two). We were so scared to find the headless mannequin we left the room and went to the living room where my grandma was watching a movie before going to bed. Took us 10 or so minutes to go back to the game. 29:16 One morning I wake up to see my dad distressed, "what happened?" I ask... he had a nightmare in which he walked that place and suddenly "the thing in the wall" dropped the nurse and came for him, chasing him for the rusty corridors to the end where the door didn't open. It's funny how a game can get this much to one's head. 33:31 When my dad got to the hospital, he had to go on a trip for a while. So me, in all my young teenager being, rose up to the occasion and decided to keep playing without saving to see what was ahead, wasting all the shotgun shells to feel secure. I played all the hospital inboth normal and otherworld versionand felt pretty brave by the end. When my dad came back I was boasting how I explorer the whole thing alone and how I could give him a tour... only I didn't explore the *whole* thing. When I got to that one room with the mirror that I haven't seen before, got locked inside and the corruption started, I panicked. And my dad had no better idea than to scream "There's a baby there! In the corner! He's watching you!" I can't explain the level of panic I felt "Where!?" "There, in the corner! Dont you see it!?" "No! Where!" "He's coming at you!" Heater died and I didn't touch the game again for some years. Good memories.
Thank you so much for this review, I always felt like my justification for SH3 being my favorite wasn't usually shared by many people in the fandom so seeing this video absolutely nail my love for the game on the head with all your points, is extra nice.
Valtiel is still the scariest monster in this game, it always felt so ominous and powerful and yet is not hostile and the secret death cutscenes with it are super creepy
I made a minor HXD fix to the exe. Pre fix it would detect 100's of new resolutions since it's release and make the ingame options menu took too long to open in an otherwise excellent port.
@@systemshocker2557 Untrue, Silent Hill 2's is bad but there are enough community made patches and improvements to make it as good of not better than the PS2 version now. Silent Hill 4's shoddy port saw some fixes in terms of working and recently including the option to disable the cutscenes 15 fps limit.
@@GuyOnAChair Nah, I replayed SH2 (European Director's Cut) a couple of years back and it plays and looks perfect on my win 7 pc, without any fan-made patches or mods. Also it has a fuckton of options compared to consoles such as control type options, remapping, better textures, lighting, save anywhere function, toggle for grain effect etc. (some exclusive to pc, some are not, all available from the get-go) and the addition of the Maria side story, that make it the definitive version. Mods and community patches just sweeten the deal even more. The same applies to 4. It was a little blurry from what I recall, but it always has run perfectly fine. Plus check out their prices on ebay, they're by far the most expensive of the bunch. And bare in mind that pc retail games with the exception of some old dos/win98 big box releases, are relatively cheap. Who in their right mind would want to pay more to get something bad...?
honestly the best way to play SH3 is to emulate the PS2 version. Get PCSX2, use the OpenGL GS renderer, pick a modern resolution and set Accurate Blending to medium or high. game looks incredible still
I like the nice little added detail of the mace having weight when it's equipped and that thing drags you away. The heavier weighted end stays where it is, whereas the lighter end you're holding gets dragged with you. A lot of games, even nowadays, would have it just zoooop along with ya.
What made part 3 stand out for me was the themes it explored: motherhood, femininity, fertility, body image, and a sense of belonging. Sure James dealt with his inner demons throughout part 2, but the perspective changed radically in part 3. What was especially noteworthy was the tie-in to part 1. I still think part 2 is the pinnacle of the series, but 3 took the “passion project” of 2 and built on it further. As always, thanks for the video, Jared
It is amazing how I went from an entire military base and ambulance worth of resources to literally nothing thanks to that godforsaken Alessa boss fight.
That scene where Heather meets Allyssa on the merrygo round is super creepy. The way the horses are covered in death shrouds surrounded by darkness is magnificent beyond words
An another fantastic entry into your retrospective my friend! Long awaited and very much worth it! I look forward to the absolute roasting the HD Collection has coming next lol xD!
Great Video man! Big fan from the gate! Also, SH3 song (No Small Sanctuary) when she escapes out of the mall window was ALWAYS my favorite. Love it! Timeless!
Silent Hill 3 is the best in the series. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Fun Fact: one of my favorite songs from DDR Extreme was the song "You're Not Here" which featured Heather singing and dancing. Good times!
I wouldn agree about it being objectively the best one since SH2 is a very weird case, it's one of the few games that transcends the scope of the medium and becomes basically a work of art that can change you on the personal level and the case of hands down the best implementation of psychological horror. But nontheless SH3 is my most favourite game in the series too. I didn't feel catharsis after finishing it, but ever since I played it, SH3 has become my personal frame of reference for works in genres of horror and surrealism.
I think this is the first time I've disagreed with one of your reviews. For me SH2 is the best of Silent Hill, but each to their own. Edit: Silent Hill 3 is a great game though, just to be clear. And your closing thoughts were absolutely on point.
Silent Hill 2 being your favourite is fair enough. It's highly regarded by fans and critics alike, so it is, by all means and measures, a fantastic game. One of the best of all time. I can only speak for myself, but I suspect that many who prefer Silent Hill 3 to Silent Hill 2, prefer it for reasons similar to my own: 1) Some people prioritise character before atmosphere and story. If the character isn't engaging or relatable, then the story and the atmosphere are just Christmas decorations. For those people, Heather would be a far better pick than Harry, James and Henry. She's the most engaging and relatable character in the series. I get that James was supposed to be the way he was presented, but for anyone who values character as the most important aspect of the story, James would never be something they cling to. He'll unfortunately just be too monotonous. 2) Some people may just prefer Silent Hill 3's darker and more menacing aesthetic. Silent Hill 2's aesthetic is much more sombre and reflective, whereas Silent Hill 3's aesthetic is oppressive and hellish. Neither is inferior to the other, but some people may gravitate to one rather than the other. In this sense I like both equally, but it can't be denied that Silent Hill 3's Otherworld is basically as close to Hell as you're ever going to get. 3) Simply, some people may just like Silent Hill 3's story better than Silent Hill 2's. Some people may really just like the cult aspect of Silent Hill more than the introspective aspect of Silent Hill 2. I for one have a lot of sympathy for Alessa, and Alessa is the angle that gives Silent Hill 3 its punch, the same way Mary gives Silent Hill 2 it's punch. Again, it's different strokes for different folks, but I just find Alessa's story better than Mary and James's. In the end they're both great games. Silent Hill 2 gets most of the spotlight, deservedly so, but that's also what's appealing about Silent Hill 3. The fact that it never really gets a mention is what makes it kind of a "niche" kind of thing.
@@ant2901 I didn't say that relatability is a prerequisite to liking a character. I said that some people prefer relatable characters - I'd even go as far as to most people. Besides, that was only the first half of my point. The second being engaging. A character doesn't have to be relatable, but then the character has to be engaging. If a character is neither then it's little more than a cardboard cutout.
Great job, Jared. Words are lacking to describe the dedication and care for this video! Silent Hill 3 was the culmination of all the expertise of the Team Silent, now, true veterans in they field!
Thank you for the kind and wise words for a piece of media-art that I also share the same feelings for.... 2 and 3 of this series changed my life; took me down the rabbit hole of Avant Garde horror and a passion for it. You've become my favorite games reviewer. Keep up the good work!
Jacobs Ladder was inspiration for the very first Silent Hill. I remember when there was only one game and it led me to discovering Jacobs Ladder because I was thirsty for more horror content like that game, there was nothing like it at the time. I was disappointed that Silent Hill 2 had no Otherworld areas like Silent Hill 1 did, tho I was un-disappointed by how amazing the story and writing was. I was able to pretty quickly recognize that Heather had to be Cheryl from Silent Hill 1 just because I had read SH 3 and 1 would actually be connected. So I was pretty excited but I figured out what the story was pretty early since I was obsessed with silent hill 1 as a kid when it first came out, def one of its biggest fans. I guess I was the opposite of avalanche making this review, I needed to know the story for every game of SH after I played them.
I did eventually go through a phase of researching every little thing about the series, but it was kind of bitter sweet. Now I know exactly what was going on and while that's satisfying, my imagination was coming up with all kinds of other explanations. That is the way it goes though.
Thank you! This was my favorite SH game. I played this game more than anything else at that time. Unlocking all the shirts. Thanks for explaining the music. I don't understand it's intent but I always loved the feelings it evoked. Very unsettling and relaxing at the same time. Thanks also for explaining what was happening when Heather would fall to the floor in pain. I didn't understand exactly. One of my favorite parts was the Haunted House and how obviously cheesy it was except for when the ceiling of spikes dropped and killed me. Same with the light that you have to run from. I wonder if it inspired the red light you have to run from in Downpour. I was mad that only in Japan, you had access to the sexy beam. What was the point of the transformation if she didn't have the power.
While there is a lot that SH3 did better than SH and SH2 I really wish it was longer. It was a decent amount shorter than the others which bummed me out. I also think it's soundtrack wasn't as good as SH2's. While it did have some of Akira Yamaoka very best tracks on it, the number of excellent tracks on SH2's soundtrack was far higher. I used to go back and forth as to which one I like more but at the end of the day I think Silent Hill 2's soundtrack was better from beginning to end (as a whole) than Silent Hill 3's. I've also always felt the atmosphere of the first two games was richer than SH3's. I do think, however, the character of Heather Mason is one of the main contributing factors that made Silent Hill 3 as good as it was. Her character design, voice acting, dialogue and overall personality were so damn well done that it made the game immensely more enjoyable than a more generic character would have. Playing as a, pretty much defenseless, teenage girl who is terrified by what is going on around her really pulls you into the game and makes you feel more scared. I do believe that with a more generic character the things that SH3 wasn't able to do as well as the first two games would've stuck out much more. You mentioned you like SH3's story the best out of the three games but I, as well as many others, feel it is the weakest. True, it's a good story but the main plot line of Heather's true nature was given away very early in the game leaving the rest of the game more predictable. The first two games were full of mystery from beginning to end. They always kept you guessing and had far more subtlety and nuance to their storylines than SH3 did. It was very obvious to me that SH3 had a smaller team and budget than SH2. I still love it though and think those first 3 games are all masterpieces.
Can I just say that I absolutely adore your channel, man? I got into watching your vids because of the Resident Evil retrospective. Now I watch every video you put out, even for games I've never played, such as SH3. Top-quality content. I just enjoy listening to you analyse and dissect stuff. Keep it up, dude! I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your work.
Alright, just finished, great video and I now look forward to SH4. As mentioned in your last vid, my order goes 1, 3, 2 and 4. To me the beginning back to back Other World areas felt like a marathon though I have always loved them and thus it loses some points but what a creepy and amazing time I had with this.
I always felt SH3 was more lovecraftian than the others. And unlike other "lovecraftian games" (well except maybe bloodborne) it actually pulls it off well.
SH3 was always my favorite next to SH1 it really improves on what made the first game so great, and the visuals really are in line with the first game, where as with 2 it was mostly muted colors and textures 3 brought back in pops of color and all the motion in the textures in the otherworld blew me away. The moment when Heather is looking in the mirror and the lines of blood swirling and crawling in the mirror get sucked intot he sink and then start crawling out of the sink on your side of the mirror was one of my favorite moments super creeped me out as a kid
I just finished beating SH3 for the first time. So.... Well, I have an unusual stance on the first three SH games (which are the only ones I've played). It goes like this: SH2 and 3 are better overall stories, but SH1 is better at *telling* its story. What I mean is, with SH1 I always kinda understood what I was doing and why I was doing it. SH2 and 3 meanwhile have a lot of parts that feel almost arbitrary. With SH3 in particular I actually got frustrated at the office complex because so far the game had just been a random string of horrifying things happening to this gal just trying to get home and I was like "Will this game have a POINT, please?" I didn't feel particularly motivated, I felt like I was being strung along. I had the same feeling with SH2's apartments, which are just a drag and to me the game doesn't really begin until you pass those apartments... but SH3 has like, three areas that are just as bad, and again the game doesn't really get rolling until you've passed them. So basically, if these games were remade today, and if I were remaking them, I think I would tweak the pacing a bit, eliminate a lot of the dead air. I will say tho, SH3 is the most terrifying of all the games. SH1 suffers mainly just from being the first game in the series and thus it falls short only in retrospect (very few scares and the monster design feels a little conventional), and SH2 is more sad than scary. SH3 really had me just wishing each room would have a save point.
Ok, I can see where your coming from. That trip home can last a long time (especially on a first playthrough) and there's no real story during that time.
I loved the short dive into your personal connection to the game. That's why I love video games. All those memories and feelings you have from those certain games. There's nothing like it.
@fuck terfs Hard disagree Silent Hill 4 I think has one of the worst openings of any video game ever when it the mobs you with unkillable enemies Then the last portion of the game is just one annoying escort quest Homecoming is far more polished than the turd that is origins. Shattered memories would be the one that I could see people arguing for being a better quality game but I think that the Chase sequences are pretty dull. Which was also one of my problems with downpour, that and that that game also felt like a pretty unoptimized mess with bland enemy design. I don't think homecoming is some masterpiece, it's basically Silent Hill the movie the game. But it at least functions, has some great art direction, and the atmosphere is creepy enough if not quite the same as the team silent games. My biggest gripes with that 1 are the lack of exploration, the forest combat and many sequences, that stupid attic puzzle, and then the sequences where you have to fight human enemies. 1-3 overall still represent the series ro me. And 2 and 3 are really the only ones I enjoy replaying out of those.
I got this game for Christmas in 2003. It was the first M rated game I was allowed to play (I was 10) and it truly changed my life. I had never experienced anything like it and haven’t since. It blew my fucking mind. Silent Hill 3 also became a really, really personal game to me much like your sentiments.
I legit don't know how anyone could witness that bit on the road to Silent Hill in the middle of the game and not fall in love with Heather. The actress just pours the soul in it, man. And it's only got better from here. Also, this game has hands down the best implementation of those MC thoughts in the text form that you got while exploring. "Liar"
Yes. Her performance is mind bogglingly good. I mean this is great with even todays standards. And yes the elaborate and personal text thoughts on different things are one of the best things in the game. You could so easily miss them too.
The intro scene with the vivid orange sunset and shadows in an empty mall and the soundtrack in particular is my late 90s/early 2000s summer nostalgia condensed into a tangible aesthetic. I love the whole game, but at least a few times each winter I'll replay to the first save point to raise my spirits and be somewhere else for a while.
Still the best female protagonist ever for me. Modern female protagonists in games are all typical hollywood feminist girls who act all masculine. Heather on the other hand, manages to be both capable AND feminime, vulnerable. Such a great and believable character.
GreedAndSelfishness yup they nailed her. She has this crazy dark history that slowly unfolds before her eyes. Team Silent letting us play as the “child” from SH1 was genius!
@@nemesis4551 Unfortunately, the PC version is quite rare and so it's usually very expensive to come by. So for the average person, their best hope is downloading a copy. That's not me condoning piracy is any way, but personally I've owned these games brand new on multiple platforms, and so wouldn't feel particularly bad about getting it that way. Your other, far cheaper option is buying a copy of the PS2 version, ripping it to an ISO file and running the game on PCSX2. That's a completely legal way to play the game and some would argue the best, as the PC version has some graphical effects missing. That's the route I would go in the absence of having access to the PC version.
The SH3 HD remaster was horrible for the new voice they gave Heather alone. The original actress had such a believable confused/angsty teenage voice with a tinge of maturity. The new voice actress sounds horrible and ruins some of the most heartbreaking cutscenes for me. Horrible.
Just found your channel,loved this video and subscribed! Silent Hill 3,I agree is the best of the franchise. Followed by the second and first game. When I had first started playing Silent Hill 3, I started having nightmares and stopped playing it. Needless to say, curiosity got the best of me and nightmares aside,I started playing again. Heather is my favorite character of the franchise, followed by Claudia,Vincent,James and Angela. I was going through some personal things at the time,and Silent 3 was very therapeutic at the time. I could identity with Heather a lot through the game. That's why I loved the 3rd and second game so well. It had that emotional pull. It helped you face things you put off with dealing in your own life. Team Silent did such an amazing job on this game. Loved the 4 games of the franchise that they worked on. The music to me, felt like a character of its own. Akira Yamaoka is a genius. Great review. Glad your channel was recommended! Still have my PS2. Nothing against Xbox, but I prefer the PS2.
I've watched all three of these retrospectives so far, and they're very well-made, but if I may offer a dissenting opinion... You keep bringing up your initial disappointment that SH2 and 3 didn't feature any recurring characters from SH1, but that never bothered me personally, because the actual story of SH1 was just... never very interesting. The whole thing can be summed up by "crazy devil cult did crazy devil cult things," and I've always been more interested in just experiencing the current state of the town and its atmosphere rather than learning how it got that way. The mystery and ambiguity is the main draw of these games for me and a lot of others who play them, and the cult stuff is just not something I've ever wanted any real answers to. No, the moment in SH1 that stuck out to me the most was Lisa's final cutscene. The tragic and somber nature of it, the hint of "she didn't deserve this," the beautifully understated weight of her final moments was incredible to me, and it was that personal connection to that moment that made me fall in love with the game. That's probably why SH3, despite my acknowledging that it is still a good game in its own right, never resonated with me in the context of the first four games as a whole. There are no moments in SH3 that rival Lisa's from the end of SH1, or James or even Angela's stories from SH2. Really, the most harrowing emotional moment in SH3 was probably the death of Harry... a character who was literally just a vessel for the player in the first game with no real personality or defining traits of his own. So I wasn't exactly invested in him. Like, yeah, it sucks for Heather, but I wasn't exactly attached to the dude. SH3 spends most of its narrative on the cult and tying up loose ends from the first game... loose ends that didn't really need tying up and that I was never all that interested in in the first place. Silent Hill is an interesting place *because* we don't have all the answers, we don't know how it all works. SH3 just kept giving me answers that I never really wanted to know. So maybe I am one of those "fake" SH fans who hold SH2 on a pillar, but... that's why I've always preferred that game's approach to the lore. Focusing less on the town and cult themselves and more on the characters experiencing them and what ultimately happens to them is what makes these games so great. Not "crazy devil cult doing crazy devil things." I'm one of those who would have *preferred* for SH to become an anthology series of largely unrelated stories, because in all honesty, the larger lore of the town and how it came to be that way just isn't all that compelling, nor is it anything that even needs a proper conclusion or ending. The idea of random people being drawn to Silent Hill to face their inner demons is far more interesting -- but I'll agree that the later games that returned to that approach stuck too close to SH2's template rather than trying to tell their own emotional stories.
I can kind of understand. The cult stuff in 1 barely interested me and I definitely prefer the town's history being in the dark and the lore being confusing. Honestly though, the cult isn't the reason for the town's craziness. It always had a power to manifest the subconscious and the natives saw this. It wasn't even evil but the actions of European settlers and then the cult twisted it to being even worse. So it's just another crazy chapter in the history of the area. But I agree it should have been more confusing and vague. Leaving this past vague makes it scarier. And then we have everyone after Team Silent not understanding the story at all
Well, I think the idea of Harry being a "vessel" for the player is yours only. Harry is a incredible character and simple as such, he was a loving and protective father looking out for the only thing he had in the world, when suddenly, it is taken from him and all he wants to do is to have it back. The endings of the game are all him failing to do his task of saving Cheryl, even tho there are "good" and "good+" endings, there are no good endings for his story cause he can't have Cheryl back and you can see how much that hurt him on his notes in SH3. The scene of him dead in the sofa isn't the emotional one, it's the car scene when Heather opens herself along with the scene where she realizes all she did was for nothing, cause she can't have her dad back...
@@docc_ I definitely agree that the car scene in SH3 was an emotional peak in the story, but for me, it was because I cared about Heather as a character, not Harry.
I find 1's story a lot stronger than 2's... because it actually has one. 1 has an underlying mystery, a tangible goal that feels a lot more pressing and real with potential pressure, tension and urgency compared to James' dead wife quest. Occultic stuff is just interesting to me, but it also accounts for the more dense and horrifying atmosphere in the other world as well (Alessa's Chad nightmare vs. James virgin one). Things like seeing Alessa's childhood room are just more interesting, meaningful and disturbing than anything we see in 2's environment. 2 on the other hand has a premise of people with trauma... and that's it. Eddie is just an uninteresting character that doesn't go through any development, he just goes full psycho. Angela has her trauma pulled off really well, but she has no agency in the story at all. She's there for us to feel sorry about and that's it. She feels like a glorified prop. James as the protag has more going on, but other than him being deluded and finding the truth (which again was done very well in the final portion of the game), he almost instantly gets 'over' it (or at least comes to accept it), and overall his journey is not THAT complex, layered or full of that much content or nuance. Its cool and again pulled off well, but in order to get to this set up they gutted the world-building of the first game, the mystery is not as prevalent, pervasive, interesting, or tangible in relation to the plot and moment-to-moment play of the game (I think most people wouldn't have even caught on that there is a mystery to begin with and were blind-sighted by the video cassette reveal [I mean the mystery that there is more to James and his dead wife than we initially think]). 2 feels like its missing substantial filling, and what it has feels stretched out to cover the duration of the game. I like Alessa as a character a lot more than anyone in 2, and she doesn't even have dialogue in 1, we know all about her through inference, and that's so cool. We get a lot more and a lot more interesting details about the town in 1 than in 2, in 1 it actually feels like a real town, while in 2 it almost feels like its not a place that exists, like a purgatory or something similar, its not as clearly defined or detailed. I like 2's strongest moment like everyone else, I just feel the game dropped the ball when it came to filling out the rest in terms of what 1 brought to the table. I chalk it up to the new hardware and the increased graphical fidelity taking up most of their time and not being able to produce more content. That's also why 3 feels like a return to form in some sense, since they had already developed the tech and had experience with it.
I have NEVER been more engaged in a boss fight like the one the immediately follows Harry's death! I played the first Silent Hill to death and loved Harry! My heart was honestly racing when that fight began! As a player, and a fan, I was honestly out for blood and revenge!
Amazing review. Graphics are top notch for PS2, gameplay is good but feels clunky for melee weapons(guns are great though). Story is not as great as of SH2 for me but characters convey the story nicely through their expressions and solid voice acting. Otherworlds are quite terrifying. Boss fights I think so are not quite engaging I don't like any one of them except for Alessa.
Been watching you're vids on survival horror these last few days and would just like to say that you sir, are a superb YT content creator. As a survival horror fan(mostly of the old days) it has been a blast to watch and it's reminded me on how great survival horror was before. So yeah. Thanks and I hope you're career on TH-cam will grow to a point worthy of the work you clearly put in. Now I'm gonna go have a pizza in the bowling alley.
![[Live สด] การออกรางวัลสลากกินแบ่งรัฐบาล งวดวันที่ 16 พฤศจิกายน 2567](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wPd7VFfWHIA/mqdefault.jpg)
After all these years, Silent Hill 3 still looks graphically beautiful for the PS2. Facial animations to the background visuals, they're beautiful.
I couldn't agree more!
*
fr looks better than a lot of ps3 games
The textures are almost PS3 quality infact there are PS3 games that look worse
@@roberthackney5554 They really did a great job!
the thing I cant ever forget about this game was, "They look like monsters to you?"
That line was just terrifying. Because in the first Silent Hill, I did question whether or not Harry was just running around beating and shooting people. And it got so much more disturbing in the school. The child sized enemies have this grab attack where they munch on your leg. The grab attack looks disturbingly like a child grabing your leg, begging for mercy.
And the whole "different perception of reality" thing is confirmed in Silent Hill 2.
And Vincents line, "They look like monsters to you" felt like a punch in the gut.
o_O
hm, that line left me cold... ^^; i was more like " yeah, i call bull shit... this is silent hill, dude." for some reason...
Don’t worry. It isn’t actually real people. Either he was joking or the monsters look different to him
You mean fellacio attack
He was just making a cynical joke, seems very much his character
finally! I'm not a lone. I spent my early high-school days thinking this. He killed peoples dogs as well.
Heather is one of the best female characters in all of interactive arts, and you explained it very well.
@@IamPussy she saves the world, homie
Yep. Heather is love. Heather is life.
@@IamPussy Robbie is a meme, not a character
If we ever get another Silent Hill, I hope that it'll continue the plot of the religious cult and somehow include Heather.
@@IamPussy not very bright, are you?
"Monsters??.... they look like monsters to you? " that line always got me cold lol
Ikr, line is hella scary
Me too. Kinda gave me chills just now hearing it.
"It was just a joke."
It's my description on Facebook lol
You're not the only one
Heather Mason was probably the most moving and "real" video game character I've ever had the priviledge to know. What's so good about her especially is how the way the character evolves through the story, from her tone to emotions to the melancholy that shifts inside her. There's something in how she is acted that makes her believable throughout. She has a unique role in video gaming.
Yes! I could not agree more!
My favorite part about Heather is the flavor text when you examine stuff, she always has something cute or funny to say about every little thing & it really hammers home how REAL Heather is. She truly exists, just in digital form. She isn't some tris & textures with a voice actor, she is a real character who came together so well that the seams between "this person exists" & "this is a person voicing a fake animation" is totally blurred, made even harder to see with that ugly ass Noise filter lol
This is rare, but I absolutely love the fact fans are split in their favorite game being either 1, 2 or 3. All 3 are so great for their own reasons. 1 for its pure terror, 2 for its emotion, and 3 for the connection to 1 and just more terror and hauntingly beautiful graphics and smooth gameplay. Heather's rebellious attitude makes it all the more great. Because of my love for these games, seeing fans prefer one or the other but always seem to mention they still love ALL of the Team Silent games makes me feel proud in a strange way. I just love Silent Hill!
Yeah I can understand that. There's really no way to choose wrong with the original trilogy. They're all amazing.
That room where the mannequin gets decapitated scared the ever-loving shit out of me when I was 10. I threw the controller in terror and didn't play the rest of the night. I'm not joking.
Yeah that shit was scary as hell
Same here
I still remember the absolute shriek I made at ten years old in 2003, the sound and how I dropped the controller 😂
"The longest journey home ever taken"
Odysseus: "Am I a joke to you?"
My future novel (that I assure will complete soon even though saying that for 2 years) : "That's cute."
I'm still erring on heathers jaunt thru those maintenance tunnels. Sure oddeseus took the scenic route but heather got Theseused
Any isekai: "Hold my sake."
Man, Silent Hill 1 really needed a PS2 remake on that beautiful engine and with updated voice acting. That would have brought the whole Alessa arc together.
teddyharvester I hadn't played a SH game and only had access to a PS4 so I tried PS Now and played SH2 and just finished SH3 and I mean JUST finished 3 in the sense of I had zero health items and was low on health and only has hand gun bullets at the final boss! It took me countless attempts with 1 hit being enough to kill me I had to run in get a hit and get out not be greedy! Anyway after finishing both SH2 and 3 I like both infact I love them I've finally found games That scare me make me uncomfortable:) I do wish SH1 was in the HD collection as I played 3 not having played 1 so it was harder for me to follow although after watching summaries I get the gist of 1, I prefer 3 as the enemies are tougher and Heather questions what's going on she doesn't accept cryptic bullshit answers.
@@markwheeler4245 That's almost how I finished the game for the first time. I mean, I had a good bunch of supplies left over, because I got really good at dealing with those early monsters and saved up a lot, but that marathon where you go through the amusement park, fight your dark self, then go through basically hell and kill god literally drained me.
And only later do I find out that there's a spot in the final boss arena where you're untouchable.
Climax tried it twice, and they became Origins and Shattered Memories. I think it's better to leave it in that way, one of the original creator said in order to remake 1 it needs 3 years, but he won't do it and would do something new.
End of Small Sanctuary hits me in the heart every time 🖤
SH3 was around the time I grew into a teenager and had a better appreciation for games as an art. This game started off with such an unnerving vibe..like some waking dream that’s disguised in warm, melancholic tones.. hiding something nightmarish right around the corner. First time I tried it, the game gave me a scare that I couldn’t recover from for the rest of the day. One of my favourite horror trips for sure.
Thats my favorite thing of the game. The intro is so good. Nightmare unfolding in such creepy and weird way. Such public place and then when you enter some hallway with less light, its like you entered some nightmare pocket dimension. Suddenly no ones around and you have to deal with these things yourself.
SH3 has ALWAYS been my favorite Silent Hill game. I think it has the best story, atmosphere, gameplay, locations, and characters.
And the mirror scene in the hospital is the best in-game sequence in the series.
I knew it was coming as soon as I got into that room, because it was spoiled for me. Still freaked me out. It's just not the same watching it.
In general, I think 3 is more consistent in making the player uncomfortable. Like, a lot of times you just look around and there's something fucked up to see. Like, not just the moinsters, but the whole environment is there to violate you.
Todd Howard should learn the meaning of "16 times the details" from a 2003 game.
The whole series has been influence by Jacob’s Ladder though.
Thank you!
Finally someone who prefers 3 over 2... For me too SH3 is the pinnacle of the series, not only because of the points you made but also because this was the first game I willingly quit for a while because it really freaked me out and scared me. The psychological side to the horror in this game is leaps and bounds over all other entries to the series.
And I also agree that this game has the best soundtrack of the bunch and specially the mentioned studio version of "I want love" is one of my favorite songs in general to this day.
I prefer SH3 over 2 aswell.
It's not just you. SH3 is, by leaps & bounds, my favorite SH.
I like SH3 the most too.
Same here
Awesome! I Want Love (Studio Mix) is also one of my favorite songs!
The music, the atmosphere, the characters....are all just awesome.
I totally agree.
For me, Silent Hill 3 is the best overall game. There’s a good story, excellent and varied enemy and level design and possibly the smoothest controls in the series. I also love Heather. Her sassy attitude really added an extra level to the somewhat dull protagonists of SH 1, 2 and 4.
Zz has always had the
I'm partial to 3 as well, but I do appreciate how exceptional 2 is and it's probably deserving of the title of best in the series that it seems to have. I'm also a firm believer that 1 is scarier than 2, 3, and 4, although 3 comes super close to beating it.
I loved SH1, 2, 3 in different ways.
SH1 was horrifying. A lot of the ideas/mechanics were previously unheard of or not done in video games.
SH2 was a slow burn into madness/depression.
The end game made me disgusted. Bravo.
Sh3 was the most polished, but short.
Least amount of content/endings, but it was visceral.
The game was a rollercoaster; short but you felt alive in the moments you were a victim of its grasp.
@@genericsavings And 4 was the most fucked up one. Unlike the first three when there were moments of comfort and release, 4 was fucked up from start to finish, especially when the ceiling fam crashes and the hauntings begin.
Blind Bosnian I really, really tried to get into SH4.
I got the Japanese version and Japanese PS2 just to play it(it had an English language option and came out 2 months earlier than the US).
Some of the game changes like limited inventory and bullets/health not stacking really irked me.
The second half escort mission just made me not want to get the other endings.
It had some great ideas and disturbing content.
It was too much of a mixed bag for me to say it was a great Silent Hill.
For me SH3 is easily the best in the series, it took everything that made the first 2 games great and perfected them.
Yes exactly!
Everything else sure but it didn't even came close to sh2s depth.
I agree with you in a sense, but nothing in three messed with me quite as much as Maria, a malevolent, sexualized version of James' wife reincarnating herself over and over just to torture him. I remember grinning in pain watching Maria shove James away in the hospital basement while he tried to hug her. Everything she does is to reel James in just to hurt him more deeply. Maria has my vote for the most agonizing, horrible villain in all of video gaming, and that's why I hesitate a little before saying three is my favorite.
@@1theprince1 And see I would fundamentally disagree with that. Just more proof that it's all subjective in the end.
I didn’t like the story in Silent Hill 3 too much at all. It honestly felt too similar to the first game. It didn’t have the emotional depth that 2 had. I love the deep and psychological story that Solent Hill 2 had. I also prefer the monsters in Silent Hill 2. They were more memorable imo. I also just think Silent Hill 2 had better atmosphere, music, and characters.
This is such a beautiful love letter to SH3. Thank you for giving this game the love and appreciation it deserves.
To this day the room with all the mannequins is the one room that just creeps me the hell out no matter how many times i play the game.
I am disappointed that when you said Douglas looks like a local flasher that you didn't use a clip of him in his boxer shorts. Other than that, great video.
"Silent Hill 3 is my favorite"
A single tear rolls down my cheek as the subscribe button becomes red once more.
No but seriously the case for 3 is a very strong one and your passion for it shines through in this review in a way that was quite enjoyable to watch. Well done once again. I eagerly await your righteous thrashing of the HD collection.
Red? When you subscribe to a channel It becomes gray.
Wait, what? Doesn't it turn yellow or something?
@@AWISECROW I think It becomes the Lgtb flag
@@AWISECROW
"...as [I unsubscribe from your channel]..."
It turns transparent. Very trippy/scary actually.
All this praise to my favorite game in the whole series feels like music to my ears
I couldn't agree more!
I agree with alot of what u just said, But sh1 is the scariest imo because of the graphics they are terrifying when it was more pixelated
I love your videos so much man.
They're so refreshing especially with the current climate of the gaming industry.
Really feel like I can just kick back, relax, forget about all the bs, and enjoy.
I'm very fucking happy to hear that. Glad you like the content.
Man, I think one of the biggest awesome things in this game for me is how detailed the environments are. How abstract some backgrounds are and also how theres so many points to examine, many of which tell cool tiny details about Heather's personality. No other Silent hill game has this many things to examine. It almost feels like a point and click game, and I LOVE Point and click games.
Great video, Jared.
Although SH3 isn’t my favorite in the series, its highs are VERY high. This video brought back a lot of memories.
That said, I sincerely hope you do a video on SH4. As the last of Team Silent’s efforts with the series, it’s really a fascinating look at a unique idea corrupted by an impatient corporate overlord (KCET).
The game had some wonderful ideas, but a rushed production and a company seemingly disinterested in allowing anything beyond a shoestring budget really paved the unfortunate path to how the series would be handled into the next generation.
Even if you don’t feel like wading through the muck that is The Room’s production, keep up the good work on the channel.
Man, the models in this game are still CRISP today.
They really are!
This sounds probably weird but I was never that scared when playing those games...even when I was young when I played SH1. I was feeling more comfortable and warm when playing those games but at the same time also a little scared and confused and all. The music gave me so relaxing vibes and for that reason I still listen to the soundtracks of sh1 2 and 3. When listening those soundtracks I feel 100 % relaxed. It goes as far as I can say that I would love to live there 😃 I grew up with Silent Hill and I'm sure that I will die with it. Something about that town.....😊
Damn. I really did forget how good this looked back in the day on PS2. Gonna replay after watching this now, just wish I can wipe watching Silent Hill Revelations last night from my memory...
God I wish I could wipe that movie from my memory.......
My favorite silent hill. I love how prominent the music is. It really enhanced the experience!
10:27 holy shit! “Sexy Beam”.
Woow!!! I legit haven’t thought of that in over a decade.
It’s insane how seeing something as simple as a costume can trigger memories. Thanks for that. Those were good times. ( I was 19 when it came out... My life was so much simpler back then.)
For context, SH:3 was my favorite game at the time, not just in the SH series, but in general. I would play it back-to-back, *at least 2 or 3 times a week.*
I know it seems INSANE, but I beat SH:3 NO LESS, than 75-100 times, and by the end, I regularly would turn in sub-3 hour times.
I could probably have done it even quicker, but I loved engaging with the enemies.
SH:3 makes my *ALL TIME* Top 10 list.
Finally, a reviewer independently thoughtful enough to recognize the greatest entry in the series as such.
Man I love how many people agree with this! I thought I was alone in thinking 3 is the best in the series.
@@AvalancheReviews it might not be the most popular opinion, but when you look at it with enough distance and comparison it is difficult to say that 3 is anything less than amazing.
3 is the best
It's not even close to being the best. It's not as good as 4. 3 is overrated and only considered the best by dipshits that think it's cool to hate SH2. It's still good mind you, but it's the worst of the team silent games.
Sam Oslich wow you really cant see any reason someone would think this game is the best other than hating on SH2 because “its cool”?!?
Great relatable protagonist, the continuation on the first story that started this amazing series, great acting, horrific environments with improved graphics from SH2, actually challenging combat with much more limited resources and challenging enemies and so on and on.
You can still favor 2 over 3. But your opinion is toxic and stupid because you are in fact, toxic and stupid. Dipshit
Great review man, while my favorite of the series is still Silent Hill 4 I also really love 3 and am glad to see someone go into deep detail about what makes it so great.
My favorite game of the series by far! I related so much to Heather when I played this game as a teen. Also, this game doesn't get enough credit for its graphics. The facial animations especially still hold up to this day. Half Life 2 gets a lot of credit for its revolutionary facial animations but this game was out a year before!
Half Life 2 is more about the physics
Always felt like the odd man out for preferring SH3 over 2. Great to see a fellow kindred spirit that can articulate why well.
Yep same here, but this video has me a little more confident in it now.
This is my all time favorite silent hill and the prefect end to this arc. 2 is great and all but 3 is special. Plus heather is a great character! Very human and relatable!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
@@AvalancheReviews exactly i dont unserstand why so many people disliked it i nean its the culmination of the series to me they made everything better and the better plot too! First time i played i loved it and it made me buy a ps2 back then!
SH3 is my favorite too, I love how you talk with so much passion in this video, even when you say there's a part of what you can't describe I couldn't agree more, art is about that and what it makes you feel and this saga is pure art - well, the first ones.
Also, the music of this particular game is what introduce me to this games - well, I played the first 3 before that, but I was a child and I was too scared to play, hahaha
This is the best Silent Hill 3 analysis I ever seen.
Thank you.
That's a hearty compliment. Thank you!
Agreed.
Akira has been one of my favorite musicians since playing the games as a kid. Its like the sound sadness, pain, and melancholy expressed through a lens of beauty.
Agreed. His music is now the sound of nostalgia for me too.
That scene you use for the end card, echoed from the first game... something you can easily just run by, but so haunting in its construction. One of the most memorable and horribly beautiful bits of art I've seen in a game.
I'm 32 now and I've played a load of spooky-ass games, but this one ALWAYS stuck with me even from playing it years back. Its the unsettling feeling from traipsing about common locales that really gets to me. Being alone in a Subway system is pretty scary, being alone in a construction zone is pretty intimidating, being alone in a shopping mall with all the lights turned off is straight up horrifying. I noticed that it wasn't really your eventual arrival at "silent hill" or the monsters that scared me so much, its that atmosphere from the first opening shot when you're wandering around a defunct carnival with broken down rides, only to be greeted by mascots covered in blood, and then getting to that haunted mine cart track is deeply unsettling. The game is a masterpiece for its subtle, unnerving background noise, sound effects and music. The game play isn't my favorite, and I won't deny that I played those puzzles on easy or normal because most of the time I had no clue how to solve the more complex ones, but all that aside the actual detail on these facial expressions still holds up even today. The actual visuals themselves are still quite good, and even if the story isn't as focused or well written as Silent Hill 2, its still sufficient overall.
To me this is the most accessible title in the holy trinity of Silent Hill games, and sadly the only one I've finished due to Silent Hill 2 becoming way too confusing or unnerving to finish. To this day I'm not even sure how I finished the third game, but I did.
It's the same for me. 3 just stayed with me and remains my absolute favorite. Even though I've finished them all, those one remains the best in my eyes
'They look like monsters to you?'
Silent Hill 2 is a masterpiece but Silent Hill 3 has always been my favourite.
Amazing retrospective! I can't wait for your take on SH: The Room. I believe it's pretty underappreciated...
One of the mechanics that I really enjoyed about SH3 was when you unequipped the bulletproof vest. It was simple but that added to the gameplay you either choose to run or fight with more health. Overall, nice video.
I'm still upset they killed off Harry Mason.
I share your pain.
It sucks, but they had balls to do it.
Yeah that shocked the hell outta me
I love this game so much. So many memories. My favorite SH no doubt.
Here some anecdotes if you want:
25:26 that damn mannequin. My dad was playing at the time, he was not the best at it, but I was young and the game was scary. He explored those building, but missed the mannequin in that room, so he went on and got stuck on the other building. After a while without knowing what to do he went back and looked everywhere, entering that room again and finding the thing. For some reason we stood there observing it and talking (we both find mannequins uncanny and like to tease each other), so resuming with the exploration, my dad goes to the window to see if he could escape there and then the fucking ps2 scream pierced the room (he had been there previously and nothing happened, so our guard was lowered times two). We were so scared to find the headless mannequin we left the room and went to the living room where my grandma was watching a movie before going to bed. Took us 10 or so minutes to go back to the game.
29:16 One morning I wake up to see my dad distressed, "what happened?" I ask... he had a nightmare in which he walked that place and suddenly "the thing in the wall" dropped the nurse and came for him, chasing him for the rusty corridors to the end where the door didn't open. It's funny how a game can get this much to one's head.
33:31 When my dad got to the hospital, he had to go on a trip for a while. So me, in all my young teenager being, rose up to the occasion and decided to keep playing without saving to see what was ahead, wasting all the shotgun shells to feel secure. I played all the hospital inboth normal and otherworld versionand felt pretty brave by the end. When my dad came back I was boasting how I explorer the whole thing alone and how I could give him a tour... only I didn't explore the *whole* thing. When I got to that one room with the mirror that I haven't seen before, got locked inside and the corruption started, I panicked. And my dad had no better idea than to scream "There's a baby there! In the corner! He's watching you!" I can't explain the level of panic I felt "Where!?" "There, in the corner! Dont you see it!?" "No! Where!" "He's coming at you!" Heater died and I didn't touch the game again for some years.
Good memories.
i dont even care what this video is, it deserves my like. this dude's reviews are FIRE FLAME.
Lord Chippydip facts. big ass facts✨
Thank you so much for this review, I always felt like my justification for SH3 being my favorite wasn't usually shared by many people in the fandom so seeing this video absolutely nail my love for the game on the head with all your points, is extra nice.
Valtiel is still the scariest monster in this game, it always felt so ominous and powerful and yet is not hostile and the secret death cutscenes with it are super creepy
Love silent Hill, looking forward to your take on the rest the Silent Hill games.👌
I had no idea this had a good pc port. Getting it now!
I made a minor HXD fix to the exe. Pre fix it would detect 100's of new resolutions since it's release and make the ingame options menu took too long to open in an otherwise excellent port.
All Silent Hill games have excellent pc ports, except Homecoming.
@@systemshocker2557 Untrue, Silent Hill 2's is bad but there are enough community made patches and improvements to make it as good of not better than the PS2 version now. Silent Hill 4's shoddy port saw some fixes in terms of working and recently including the option to disable the cutscenes 15 fps limit.
@@GuyOnAChair Nah, I replayed SH2 (European Director's Cut) a couple of years back and it plays and looks perfect on my win 7 pc, without any fan-made patches or mods. Also it has a fuckton of options compared to consoles such as control type options, remapping, better textures, lighting, save anywhere function, toggle for grain effect etc. (some exclusive to pc, some are not, all available from the get-go) and the addition of the Maria side story, that make it the definitive version. Mods and community patches just sweeten the deal even more. The same applies to 4. It was a little blurry from what I recall, but it always has run perfectly fine. Plus check out their prices on ebay, they're by far the most expensive of the bunch. And bare in mind that pc retail games with the exception of some old dos/win98 big box releases, are relatively cheap. Who in their right mind would want to pay more to get something bad...?
honestly the best way to play SH3 is to emulate the PS2 version. Get PCSX2, use the OpenGL GS renderer, pick a modern resolution and set Accurate Blending to medium or high. game looks incredible still
I like the nice little added detail of the mace having weight when it's equipped and that thing drags you away.
The heavier weighted end stays where it is, whereas the lighter end you're holding gets dragged with you.
A lot of games, even nowadays, would have it just zoooop along with ya.
SH3: Not my favorite in terms of aesthetic, gameplay, or story, but a *damn* fine game in its own right. Great coverage, Avalanche!
That's the good thing about the first 3 games. No matter which one you prefer, they're all amazing.
Excellent stuff! Sitting back with a glass of wine watching this listening to Jarred's dullcet tones is the apex of my week.
Yes!! Finally! Glad you're back with this retrospective ♥️
What made part 3 stand out for me was the themes it explored: motherhood, femininity, fertility, body image, and a sense of belonging. Sure James dealt with his inner demons throughout part 2, but the perspective changed radically in part 3. What was especially noteworthy was the tie-in to part 1. I still think part 2 is the pinnacle of the series, but 3 took the “passion project” of 2 and built on it further. As always, thanks for the video, Jared
It is amazing how I went from an entire military base and ambulance worth of resources to literally nothing thanks to that godforsaken Alessa boss fight.
This is one of the most interesting and honest retrospectives I’ve ever seen. Love this game so much and you made me want to play it all over again.
Thank you! Very fucking happy to hear that
That scene where Heather meets Allyssa on the merrygo round is super creepy. The way the horses are covered in death shrouds surrounded by darkness is magnificent beyond words
Literally been counting the days for you to release this new episode, love all the retrospectives keep it up dude
An another fantastic entry into your retrospective my friend! Long awaited and very much worth it! I look forward to the absolute roasting the HD Collection has coming next lol xD!
Great Video man! Big fan from the gate! Also, SH3 song (No Small Sanctuary) when she escapes out of the mall window was ALWAYS my favorite. Love it! Timeless!
Silent Hill 3 is the best in the series. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Fun Fact: one of my favorite songs from DDR Extreme was the song "You're Not Here" which featured Heather singing and dancing.
Good times!
I wouldn agree about it being objectively the best one since SH2 is a very weird case, it's one of the few games that transcends the scope of the medium and becomes basically a work of art that can change you on the personal level and the case of hands down the best implementation of psychological horror. But nontheless SH3 is my most favourite game in the series too. I didn't feel catharsis after finishing it, but ever since I played it, SH3 has become my personal frame of reference for works in genres of horror and surrealism.
Team SH3 rise up!
Took you long enough, feels like I waited a month for this... get on the SH4 ASAP haha love the vids
I think this is the first time I've disagreed with one of your reviews. For me SH2 is the best of Silent Hill, but each to their own.
Edit: Silent Hill 3 is a great game though, just to be clear. And your closing thoughts were absolutely on point.
Silent Hill 2 being your favourite is fair enough. It's highly regarded by fans and critics alike, so it is, by all means and measures, a fantastic game. One of the best of all time.
I can only speak for myself, but I suspect that many who prefer Silent Hill 3 to Silent Hill 2, prefer it for reasons similar to my own:
1) Some people prioritise character before atmosphere and story. If the character isn't engaging or relatable, then the story and the atmosphere are just Christmas decorations. For those people, Heather would be a far better pick than Harry, James and Henry. She's the most engaging and relatable character in the series. I get that James was supposed to be the way he was presented, but for anyone who values character as the most important aspect of the story, James would never be something they cling to. He'll unfortunately just be too monotonous.
2) Some people may just prefer Silent Hill 3's darker and more menacing aesthetic. Silent Hill 2's aesthetic is much more sombre and reflective, whereas Silent Hill 3's aesthetic is oppressive and hellish. Neither is inferior to the other, but some people may gravitate to one rather than the other. In this sense I like both equally, but it can't be denied that Silent Hill 3's Otherworld is basically as close to Hell as you're ever going to get.
3) Simply, some people may just like Silent Hill 3's story better than Silent Hill 2's. Some people may really just like the cult aspect of Silent Hill more than the introspective aspect of Silent Hill 2. I for one have a lot of sympathy for Alessa, and Alessa is the angle that gives Silent Hill 3 its punch, the same way Mary gives Silent Hill 2 it's punch. Again, it's different strokes for different folks, but I just find Alessa's story better than Mary and James's.
In the end they're both great games. Silent Hill 2 gets most of the spotlight, deservedly so, but that's also what's appealing about Silent Hill 3. The fact that it never really gets a mention is what makes it kind of a "niche" kind of thing.
@@armandvanzyl4937 not every main character has to be relatable lol
@@ant2901 I didn't say that relatability is a prerequisite to liking a character. I said that some people prefer relatable characters - I'd even go as far as to most people. Besides, that was only the first half of my point. The second being engaging. A character doesn't have to be relatable, but then the character has to be engaging. If a character is neither then it's little more than a cardboard cutout.
@@armandvanzyl4937 Hey, good points man.
Great job, Jared. Words are lacking to describe the dedication and care for this video!
Silent Hill 3 was the culmination of all the expertise of the Team Silent, now, true veterans in they field!
It is so fulfilling seeing other person that likes Silent Hill 3 so much as I do. Never had loved/feared a game like this one.
Thank you for the kind and wise words for a piece of media-art that I also share the same feelings for.... 2 and 3 of this series changed my life; took me down the rabbit hole of Avant Garde horror and a passion for it. You've become my favorite games reviewer. Keep up the good work!
Yup finding out Heathers connection to SH 1 was one of my coolest gaming moments
My man with the retro reviews. Love ya man!
Jacobs Ladder was inspiration for the very first Silent Hill. I remember when there was only one game and it led me to discovering Jacobs Ladder because I was thirsty for more horror content like that game, there was nothing like it at the time.
I was disappointed that Silent Hill 2 had no Otherworld areas like Silent Hill 1 did, tho I was un-disappointed by how amazing the story and writing was.
I was able to pretty quickly recognize that Heather had to be Cheryl from Silent Hill 1 just because I had read SH 3 and 1 would actually be connected. So I was pretty excited but I figured out what the story was pretty early since I was obsessed with silent hill 1 as a kid when it first came out, def one of its biggest fans.
I guess I was the opposite of avalanche making this review, I needed to know the story for every game of SH after I played them.
I did eventually go through a phase of researching every little thing about the series, but it was kind of bitter sweet. Now I know exactly what was going on and while that's satisfying, my imagination was coming up with all kinds of other explanations. That is the way it goes though.
Thank you! This was my favorite SH game. I played this game more than anything else at that time. Unlocking all the shirts.
Thanks for explaining the music. I don't understand it's intent but I always loved the feelings it evoked. Very unsettling and relaxing at the same time.
Thanks also for explaining what was happening when Heather would fall to the floor in pain. I didn't understand exactly.
One of my favorite parts was the Haunted House and how obviously cheesy it was except for when the ceiling of spikes dropped and killed me. Same with the light that you have to run from. I wonder if it inspired the red light you have to run from in Downpour. I was mad that only in Japan, you had access to the sexy beam. What was the point of the transformation if she didn't have the power.
While there is a lot that SH3 did better than SH and SH2 I really wish it was longer. It was a decent amount shorter than the others which bummed me out. I also think it's soundtrack wasn't as good as SH2's. While it did have some of Akira Yamaoka very best tracks on it, the number of excellent tracks on SH2's soundtrack was far higher. I used to go back and forth as to which one I like more but at the end of the day I think Silent Hill 2's soundtrack was better from beginning to end (as a whole) than Silent Hill 3's.
I've also always felt the atmosphere of the first two games was richer than SH3's. I do think, however, the character of Heather Mason is one of the main contributing factors that made Silent Hill 3 as good as it was. Her character design, voice acting, dialogue and overall personality were so damn well done that it made the game immensely more enjoyable than a more generic character would have. Playing as a, pretty much defenseless, teenage girl who is terrified by what is going on around her really pulls you into the game and makes you feel more scared. I do believe that with a more generic character the things that SH3 wasn't able to do as well as the first two games would've stuck out much more.
You mentioned you like SH3's story the best out of the three games but I, as well as many others, feel it is the weakest. True, it's a good story but the main plot line of Heather's true nature was given away very early in the game leaving the rest of the game more predictable. The first two games were full of mystery from beginning to end. They always kept you guessing and had far more subtlety and nuance to their storylines than SH3 did. It was very obvious to me that SH3 had a smaller team and budget than SH2. I still love it though and think those first 3 games are all masterpieces.
Can I just say that I absolutely adore your channel, man? I got into watching your vids because of the Resident Evil retrospective. Now I watch every video you put out, even for games I've never played, such as SH3. Top-quality content. I just enjoy listening to you analyse and dissect stuff. Keep it up, dude! I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your work.
The best voice acting you've ever heard?
Have you heard Douglas talk?
Alright, just finished, great video and I now look forward to SH4.
As mentioned in your last vid, my order goes 1, 3, 2 and 4. To me the beginning back to back Other World areas felt like a marathon though I have always loved them and thus it loses some points but what a creepy and amazing time I had with this.
I always felt SH3 was more lovecraftian than the others. And unlike other "lovecraftian games" (well except maybe bloodborne) it actually pulls it off well.
I agree completely
SH3 was always my favorite next to SH1 it really improves on what made the first game so great, and the visuals really are in line with the first game, where as with 2 it was mostly muted colors and textures 3 brought back in pops of color and all the motion in the textures in the otherworld blew me away. The moment when Heather is looking in the mirror and the lines of blood swirling and crawling in the mirror get sucked intot he sink and then start crawling out of the sink on your side of the mirror was one of my favorite moments super creeped me out as a kid
I just finished beating SH3 for the first time. So....
Well, I have an unusual stance on the first three SH games (which are the only ones I've played). It goes like this: SH2 and 3 are better overall stories, but SH1 is better at *telling* its story. What I mean is, with SH1 I always kinda understood what I was doing and why I was doing it. SH2 and 3 meanwhile have a lot of parts that feel almost arbitrary.
With SH3 in particular I actually got frustrated at the office complex because so far the game had just been a random string of horrifying things happening to this gal just trying to get home and I was like "Will this game have a POINT, please?" I didn't feel particularly motivated, I felt like I was being strung along. I had the same feeling with SH2's apartments, which are just a drag and to me the game doesn't really begin until you pass those apartments... but SH3 has like, three areas that are just as bad, and again the game doesn't really get rolling until you've passed them.
So basically, if these games were remade today, and if I were remaking them, I think I would tweak the pacing a bit, eliminate a lot of the dead air.
I will say tho, SH3 is the most terrifying of all the games. SH1 suffers mainly just from being the first game in the series and thus it falls short only in retrospect (very few scares and the monster design feels a little conventional), and SH2 is more sad than scary. SH3 really had me just wishing each room would have a save point.
Ok, I can see where your coming from. That trip home can last a long time (especially on a first playthrough) and there's no real story during that time.
I loved the short dive into your personal connection to the game. That's why I love video games. All those memories and feelings you have from those certain games. There's nothing like it.
So glad this was in my recommended. Subbed. Glad to see people still talking about these awesome games
Thanks for that!
I respect your personalized analysis. Excellent.
Thanks! I was worried people would find it kind of boring.
i'm excited for the Black Sheep of Silent Hill
SH: HOMECOMING
Me too
I would replay homecoming before any of the other sequels past Silent Hill 3
I think he said he would just be doing the Team Silent games.
Well then that's not really a silent hill retrospective then!
That would still include 4 though wouldn't it
Man I hated 4
@fuck terfs Hard disagree
Silent Hill 4 I think has one of the worst openings of any video game ever when it the mobs you with unkillable enemies
Then the last portion of the game is just one annoying escort quest
Homecoming is far more polished than the turd that is origins. Shattered memories would be the one that I could see people arguing for being a better quality game but I think that the Chase sequences are pretty dull. Which was also one of my problems with downpour, that and that that game also felt like a pretty unoptimized mess with bland enemy design.
I don't think homecoming is some masterpiece, it's basically Silent Hill the movie the game. But it at least functions, has some great art direction, and the atmosphere is creepy enough if not quite the same as the team silent games. My biggest gripes with that 1 are the lack of exploration, the forest combat and many sequences, that stupid attic puzzle, and then the sequences where you have to fight human enemies.
1-3 overall still represent the series ro me. And 2 and 3 are really the only ones I enjoy replaying out of those.
I got this game for Christmas in 2003. It was the first M rated game I was allowed to play (I was 10) and it truly changed my life. I had never experienced anything like it and haven’t since. It blew my fucking mind. Silent Hill 3 also became a really, really personal game to me much like your sentiments.
It's such a special game. I love hearing from people who also formed a unique connection with 3.
I legit don't know how anyone could witness that bit on the road to Silent Hill in the middle of the game and not fall in love with Heather. The actress just pours the soul in it, man.
And it's only got better from here.
Also, this game has hands down the best implementation of those MC thoughts in the text form that you got while exploring.
"Liar"
Yes. Her performance is mind bogglingly good. I mean this is great with even todays standards.
And yes the elaborate and personal text thoughts on different things are one of the best things in the game. You could so easily miss them too.
You make the best retrospectives on youtube my friend. Thanks for all your hard work, just know its really appreciated.
7:00 Antagonist ? Alessa was probably the hero of SH1
That's why I corrected myself. She's a conduit for the antagonist.
I think Hideo would use the word Catalyst
The intro scene with the vivid orange sunset and shadows in an empty mall and the soundtrack in particular is my late 90s/early 2000s summer nostalgia condensed into a tangible aesthetic. I love the whole game, but at least a few times each winter I'll replay to the first save point to raise my spirits and be somewhere else for a while.
27:28 - please have a look at the cover of the movie Session 9. You're welcome.
Wonderful job! I feel as great as SH3 is, it is still extremely underrated
The video in a nutshell: Heather is my waifu
Agreed! Shes a great character
Still the best female protagonist ever for me. Modern female protagonists in games are all typical hollywood feminist girls who act all masculine. Heather on the other hand, manages to be both capable AND feminime, vulnerable. Such a great and believable character.
GreedAndSelfishness yup they nailed her. She has this crazy dark history that slowly unfolds before her eyes. Team Silent letting us play as the “child” from SH1 was genius!
@@FimbongBass
You say that as if there's other waifus to choose from lol
*X,D*
X-Play!!! Also loving this silent hill retrospective!
Also the studio version of “I Want Love” is indeed life changing lol
It's one of the best songs ever. I love it!
If you get the PC version and the graphics fixes, this game still looks incredible now. Absolutely the best way to enjoy SH3
For sure. It looks incredible to this day.
where do you get it?
@@nemesis4551 Unfortunately, the PC version is quite rare and so it's usually very expensive to come by. So for the average person, their best hope is downloading a copy. That's not me condoning piracy is any way, but personally I've owned these games brand new on multiple platforms, and so wouldn't feel particularly bad about getting it that way. Your other, far cheaper option is buying a copy of the PS2 version, ripping it to an ISO file and running the game on PCSX2. That's a completely legal way to play the game and some would argue the best, as the PC version has some graphical effects missing. That's the route I would go in the absence of having access to the PC version.
Jamie Chorley thanks I appreciate your response it sucks that it is too expensive nowadays
I've never really moved on from Silent Hill. And I loved SH3 the most. I never got tired of playing it, really. The soundtrack was beautiful.
The SH3 HD remaster was horrible for the new voice they gave Heather alone. The original actress had such a believable confused/angsty teenage voice with a tinge of maturity. The new voice actress sounds horrible and ruins some of the most heartbreaking cutscenes for me. Horrible.
Just found your channel,loved this video and subscribed!
Silent Hill 3,I agree is the best of the franchise. Followed by the second and first game. When I had first started playing Silent Hill 3, I started having nightmares and stopped playing it. Needless to say, curiosity got the best of me and nightmares aside,I started playing again. Heather is my favorite character of the franchise, followed by Claudia,Vincent,James and Angela. I was going through some personal things at the time,and Silent 3 was very therapeutic at the time. I could identity with Heather a lot through the game. That's why I loved the 3rd and second game so well. It had that emotional pull. It helped you face things you put off with dealing in your own life. Team Silent did such an amazing job on this game. Loved the 4 games of the franchise that they worked on. The music to me, felt like a character of its own. Akira Yamaoka is a genius. Great review. Glad your channel was recommended! Still have my PS2. Nothing against Xbox, but I prefer the PS2.
I've watched all three of these retrospectives so far, and they're very well-made, but if I may offer a dissenting opinion...
You keep bringing up your initial disappointment that SH2 and 3 didn't feature any recurring characters from SH1, but that never bothered me personally, because the actual story of SH1 was just... never very interesting. The whole thing can be summed up by "crazy devil cult did crazy devil cult things," and I've always been more interested in just experiencing the current state of the town and its atmosphere rather than learning how it got that way. The mystery and ambiguity is the main draw of these games for me and a lot of others who play them, and the cult stuff is just not something I've ever wanted any real answers to.
No, the moment in SH1 that stuck out to me the most was Lisa's final cutscene. The tragic and somber nature of it, the hint of "she didn't deserve this," the beautifully understated weight of her final moments was incredible to me, and it was that personal connection to that moment that made me fall in love with the game.
That's probably why SH3, despite my acknowledging that it is still a good game in its own right, never resonated with me in the context of the first four games as a whole. There are no moments in SH3 that rival Lisa's from the end of SH1, or James or even Angela's stories from SH2. Really, the most harrowing emotional moment in SH3 was probably the death of Harry... a character who was literally just a vessel for the player in the first game with no real personality or defining traits of his own. So I wasn't exactly invested in him. Like, yeah, it sucks for Heather, but I wasn't exactly attached to the dude.
SH3 spends most of its narrative on the cult and tying up loose ends from the first game... loose ends that didn't really need tying up and that I was never all that interested in in the first place. Silent Hill is an interesting place *because* we don't have all the answers, we don't know how it all works. SH3 just kept giving me answers that I never really wanted to know.
So maybe I am one of those "fake" SH fans who hold SH2 on a pillar, but... that's why I've always preferred that game's approach to the lore. Focusing less on the town and cult themselves and more on the characters experiencing them and what ultimately happens to them is what makes these games so great. Not "crazy devil cult doing crazy devil things." I'm one of those who would have *preferred* for SH to become an anthology series of largely unrelated stories, because in all honesty, the larger lore of the town and how it came to be that way just isn't all that compelling, nor is it anything that even needs a proper conclusion or ending. The idea of random people being drawn to Silent Hill to face their inner demons is far more interesting -- but I'll agree that the later games that returned to that approach stuck too close to SH2's template rather than trying to tell their own emotional stories.
I can kind of understand. The cult stuff in 1 barely interested me and I definitely prefer the town's history being in the dark and the lore being confusing. Honestly though, the cult isn't the reason for the town's craziness. It always had a power to manifest the subconscious and the natives saw this. It wasn't even evil but the actions of European settlers and then the cult twisted it to being even worse. So it's just another crazy chapter in the history of the area. But I agree it should have been more confusing and vague. Leaving this past vague makes it scarier. And then we have everyone after Team Silent not understanding the story at all
Well, I think the idea of Harry being a "vessel" for the player is yours only. Harry is a incredible character and simple as such, he was a loving and protective father looking out for the only thing he had in the world, when suddenly, it is taken from him and all he wants to do is to have it back. The endings of the game are all him failing to do his task of saving Cheryl, even tho there are "good" and "good+" endings, there are no good endings for his story cause he can't have Cheryl back and you can see how much that hurt him on his notes in SH3.
The scene of him dead in the sofa isn't the emotional one, it's the car scene when Heather opens herself along with the scene where she realizes all she did was for nothing, cause she can't have her dad back...
@@docc_ I definitely agree that the car scene in SH3 was an emotional peak in the story, but for me, it was because I cared about Heather as a character, not Harry.
I find 1's story a lot stronger than 2's... because it actually has one. 1 has an underlying mystery, a tangible goal that feels a lot more pressing and real with potential pressure, tension and urgency compared to James' dead wife quest. Occultic stuff is just interesting to me, but it also accounts for the more dense and horrifying atmosphere in the other world as well (Alessa's Chad nightmare vs. James virgin one). Things like seeing Alessa's childhood room are just more interesting, meaningful and disturbing than anything we see in 2's environment. 2 on the other hand has a premise of people with trauma... and that's it. Eddie is just an uninteresting character that doesn't go through any development, he just goes full psycho. Angela has her trauma pulled off really well, but she has no agency in the story at all. She's there for us to feel sorry about and that's it. She feels like a glorified prop. James as the protag has more going on, but other than him being deluded and finding the truth (which again was done very well in the final portion of the game), he almost instantly gets 'over' it (or at least comes to accept it), and overall his journey is not THAT complex, layered or full of that much content or nuance. Its cool and again pulled off well, but in order to get to this set up they gutted the world-building of the first game, the mystery is not as prevalent, pervasive, interesting, or tangible in relation to the plot and moment-to-moment play of the game (I think most people wouldn't have even caught on that there is a mystery to begin with and were blind-sighted by the video cassette reveal [I mean the mystery that there is more to James and his dead wife than we initially think]). 2 feels like its missing substantial filling, and what it has feels stretched out to cover the duration of the game. I like Alessa as a character a lot more than anyone in 2, and she doesn't even have dialogue in 1, we know all about her through inference, and that's so cool. We get a lot more and a lot more interesting details about the town in 1 than in 2, in 1 it actually feels like a real town, while in 2 it almost feels like its not a place that exists, like a purgatory or something similar, its not as clearly defined or detailed.
I like 2's strongest moment like everyone else, I just feel the game dropped the ball when it came to filling out the rest in terms of what 1 brought to the table. I chalk it up to the new hardware and the increased graphical fidelity taking up most of their time and not being able to produce more content. That's also why 3 feels like a return to form in some sense, since they had already developed the tech and had experience with it.
I have NEVER been more engaged in a boss fight like the one the immediately follows Harry's death! I played the first Silent Hill to death and loved Harry! My heart was honestly racing when that fight began! As a player, and a fan, I was honestly out for blood and revenge!
Amazing review. Graphics are top notch for PS2, gameplay is good but feels clunky for melee weapons(guns are great though). Story is not as great as of SH2 for me but characters convey the story nicely through their expressions and solid voice acting. Otherworlds are quite terrifying. Boss fights I think so are not quite engaging I don't like any one of them except for Alessa.
Been watching you're vids on survival horror these last few days and would just like to say that you sir, are a superb YT content creator. As a survival horror fan(mostly of the old days) it has been a blast to watch and it's reminded me on how great survival horror was before. So yeah. Thanks and I hope you're career on TH-cam will grow to a point worthy of the work you clearly put in. Now I'm gonna go have a pizza in the bowling alley.