Silent Hill (video game)
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| Silent Hill | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami Team Silent |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Release date(s) | NA January 31, 1999 JPN March 4, 1999 EUR August 1, 1999 |
| Genre(s) | Survival Horror/Psychological Horror |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Media | CD-ROM |
Silent Hill is a video game, the first in the survival horror series with the same name. The game was released in North America on January 31, 1999, Japan on March 4, 1999, and in Europe on August 1, 1999. It was released exclusively on the Sony PlayStation. A movie adaptation based on this game has been made and was released theatrically on April 21st, 2006.
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[edit] Synopsis
Seven years ago Harry Mason and his wife found a baby by the road and adopted her as their own, naming her Cheryl. Though his wife soon died, Harry Mason continued to love Cheryl as his own daughter.
At the start of the game we find Harry Mason and Cheryl going to the resort town of Silent Hill. Strange events occur before they have even entered the town. A cop on a motorbike drives past them and only moments later Harry sees the bike lying by the side of the road and the cop is nowhere in sight. Soon afterwards a figure suddenly appears on the road, causing Harry to swerve the car and slide off the road. When he regains consciousness, Harry discovers that Cheryl is missing and that he has slipped into a strange dimension shrouded in fog. It's soon clear that this place is unlike any place he's been before. Strange creatures lurk within the fog and as Harry follows what he thinks is his daughter's silhouette all over town, he realizes that the town has a darker and more dangerous side to it.
[edit] Silent Hill play novel (2001)
Released on Game Boy Advance only in Japan. It is a digital graphic novel with a 'choose your own adventure' structure. A brief story is given and then the player is presented with options. Every so often there are puzzles to be solved as well. The game featured a related and unrevealed plot in Silent Hill 1. While playing as the main protagonist, Harry, players will be able to "use" Cybil during the events of Harry's exploits, allowing the player a whole new experience with the original story. After completing the game once the player has the option of playing as Cybil. A plot guide detailing the third protagonists exploits in the Boy Spring Scenario, in which you play Andy, who lives in the house next to Harry and Cheryl Mason, can be found at GameFAQs.
[edit] Reception
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Holds an 8.2 on GameSpot, with an amazing 9.0 on IGN, 8.8 on GameStats, 84% ranking on Game Rankings. And with reviews saying: "A damn scary game", "Best game on the Playstation", and "The best survival horror game".[citation needed]
[edit] Sequels
As of 2006 three sequel titles exist. Another is planned for a next generation console.
Additionally, a prequel is planned for the Playstation Portable handheld.
- Silent Hill: 0rigins (2007)
[edit] Influences and trivia/pop culture references
See Silent Hill influences and trivia
[edit] Endings
Silent Hill has five separate endings. Each ending is achieved based on how the game was played. The Bad ending is the easiest to get as it requires no extra exploring, just for the player to finish the game. The Good+ and UFO endings require experimentation and exploration. Konami has stated each ending is canonical on its own and is its own unique story arc.[citation needed]
- Bad: In this ending, attained by killing Cybil and not rescuing Kauffman, after finishing the game the player sees that Harry is dead and still in his crashed Jeep, suggesting the entire game was a hallucination.
- Bad+: If the player rescues Cybil, but not Kauffman, this ending is achieved. Cybil is present for the ending. Instead of fighting the demon god as the final boss, Harry instead fights Alessa. After defeating Alessa, Harry hears Cheryl's voice through the defeated Alessa one last time. Harry sits on the floor distraught because he realizes he has lost his daughter. Cybil tells him that they need to go, but they are trapped, as fire rains and otherworld starts collapsing around them.
- Good: This ending is achieved when the player fails to rescue Cybil but manages to rescue Kauffman. Kauffman shows up at the final boss confrontation with the demon god. After Harry defeats the demon, Alessa reappears and hands Harry a baby. She then creates a portal where he escapes. Kauffman makes a move to follow him, but a blood-soaked Lisa Garland crawls up through the floor and stops him, dragging him screaming into a pit. In the last scene, Harry ends up running on a dark street when the game ends.
- Good+: If the player rescues both Cybil and Kauffman, this ending will appear. Both Kauffman and Cybil are present for the final battle with the demon god boss. After the demon god is defeated by Harry, Alessa reappears and hands Harry a baby and creates a portal for him to escape. Both he and Cybil go through the portal that lands them where Cheryl was initially found seven years ago. Cybil is then shown standing next to Harry as he looks at the new baby he has, and the game ends. After obtaining this ending, the opening video, in which Harry and his wife find Cheryl on the side of the road, is changed to the ending video where Cybil is with Harry looking at the baby instead. Kauffman's fate is the same as you would achieve if you received the good ending.
- UFO: This is a joke ending, and not considered an "official" ending by many fans, who consider it to be more of an easter egg. Harry uses a 'channelling stone' in certain areas, noticing the presence of UFOs after doing so. The final time it is done, on top of the lighthouse, a UFO lands and abducts Harry after he asks if they know where his daughter is, "She's about this tall, black hair" (a humorous reference to the fact that Harry's line whenever he meets somebody throughout the game is "Have you seen my daughter?", etc.) A credit sequence is then played where a song plays. A voice can be heard repeating the name "Silent Hill" occasionally. The abduction scene is presented in several still images referencing the Mars Attacks series of trading cards. This concept became so popular with fans that Team Silent included alternate UFO endings for both Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3. These endings appear to create a separate storyline, with the third game's UFO ending referring to the first game's UFO ending.
[edit] Music
The original soundtrack for Silent Hill, composed by Akira Yamaoka, was released in Japan on March 5, 1999 and its catalogue number is KICA-7950.
[edit] External links
- Silent Hill at GameSpot
- Silent Hill OST at MusicBrainz
- Silent Hill at MusicBrainz
- Silent Hill at MobyGames
- Translated Memories
- Silent Hill at GameFAQs
- Silent Hill: Play Novel game images
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Silent Hill • 2 • 3 • 4: The Room • 0rigins • 5 |
