Was this your first Silent Hill game?

[CrypticIdentity]

I'm curious, because there's been a lot of discussion about how this game is both a twist on the series for people familiar with it and a possible introduction to the series for newcomers, but it seems like most of this discussion has been looking at it from the development end--what Climax must've done to make newcomers interested and engaged in the game--rather than people's actual reactions to the game.

While I get the feeling that the people for whom this was their introduction to the Silent Hill series are few and far between, I'm curious to know if there are any on this forum, or forum members who had friends/family who had never played and were turned onto the series by them. It'd be interesting to see their reactions.

Alternatively, for those who were familiar with the series before this game (which I'm guessing is the majority of people on this forum), do you think this is an adequate intro to the series? Did it get anyone you know interested in the series enough to play the other games, watch the movie, etc.?

[QuestionSleepZz]

Nah, Silent Hill 2 was my first.
Also, whenever I try to introduce the series to a friend or family i try to encourage them to start with one of the earlier installments.

I can see how this one can draw a new audience, being a re-imagining of the first one, people will be more obligated to start off with it, since the one for the Playstation 1 is kinda hard to obtain, and they wouldn't want to start in the middle of the series.

[Video Gamer]

Origins was my first, this was a lot of family members'/friends' first. General reaction:

"You can't kill the monsters? Gay."

[AuraTwilight]

My first was the first Silent Hill, but one of my best friends played Shattered Memories with me on my birthday. She doesn't really like scary games, so it really got to her. Her speculations and theories were so adorably close but far that I had to keep from laughing.

"Okay, Michelle and Dahlia are the same person with split personalities, and she has like super wardrobe changing powers."

[Kenji]

I, also, started with the original. Waaaay on back in 2000 or 2001. It's far enough back that I don't remember, though I do remember hitting the Mall on Thanksgiving Day.

I have a friend, though, who watched (and contributed to the psych evaluations and ordered me on what to investigate) and it was her first. She very much enjoyed it, considered it very scary and very interesting. In fact, it's Shattered Memories that prompted the formal "Horror Night," which went on into SH2 (which she also enjoyed).

From that, I would guess that it makes a perfectly good intro game, in that my friend had no problems understanding what was going on. Well, aside from the thematic ties to the original game, of course.

Actually... wait. No, she saw me play about half of SH1, once upon a time, so I guess it technically wasn't her first. But, it was the first she saw from beginning to end.

[Yuki]

My first SH game was SH3, which freaked the shit outta me. I was less scared for this one, and though I've not beaten SH3 yet, I really liked this plot, probably more than what I know of SH3.

I think it's a decent intro to the series... provided you know that it's not like the other ones in terms of gameplay and atmosphere, and that it doesn't relate to the other ones in any way other than a few names.

I have a friend who played it/watched me play it, and I'm fairly sure it was her first SH, though she was familiar with some stuff from the other games (mainly, she knew a bit about Pyramid Head). She hated the ending, and in her opinion the best ending is any one that results in Cheryl NOT letting Harry go. She didn't quite understand it, though she enjoyed it, and she had nightmares after playing it despite it being in the daylight.

[NanayaShiki]

Of course it wasn't my first, but it was my sister's first full playthrough of one game when she played. Not sure if it counts, since she played about half of the first game, an hour of the second, and bits of Homecoming. She played SM all the way through and loved it, though.

She loved the story, at least. Otherworld segments frustrated her and I did them for her. But she's not really a gamer, so.

[Harlequin]

This wasn't my first - SH2 was, years ago - but my boyfriend wants to borrow it from me so he can play it and it'll be his first. When he does, I'll post his reaction.

As a longtime fan of the series I thought it was definitely a new approach to the series. On the one hand, it's a good introduction to the psychological horror aspect that makes Silent Hill so famous, but on the other hand it's skewered just enough from the original games that if the new player went straight from SM to say... SH3 or even one of the "black sheep" games of the series like Homecoming or Origins, it's still almost like experiencing the series for the first time. Though I guess that could be a good thing if you really think about it. Being able to experience the same series like new multiple times... keeps your mind fresh. Because let's admit it: after three or four of the games, when a new one's released we all suspected what was going down in that godforsaken town and could pretty much pinpoint a lot of what happens.

[simeonalo]

No, but I forced my sister to :3

She, however, already knew all about SH due to me ranting and telling her theories from this website. So I guess I'm awesome like that. I think my first game was 4, I don't remember. I'm pretty sure I made a post about it a few days, weeks, or months ago. Maybe I'll go back and check.

[angelofROOM302]

Oh hell no!
I would feel sad for anyone who has played this game for their first! They will be confused as ever.

Silent Hill 2 was my first.

[ashatteredmemory]

It wasn't my first one, but it was for my friend.
He never got it why everyone kept freezing except him, so i had to explain for him.
Funny was that his little sister (11 years old) just kept seeing that the game was stupid because she didn't understand why Cheryl was frozen on the cover and why the "zombies" got her daughter.

[AuraTwilight]

....why were you letting an 11 year old anywhere near the game? XD

[NanayaShiki]

I was younger than that the first time I "played" SH1.

[SPRINGS02]

Nah my first was silent hill 3, played it when i was around 12 or 13. I went in thinking it would be like another version of resident evil, man was I wrong it was one of the scariest games i ever played and it scared the shit out of me the first time i played it, it was great.

[Yana]

Nah, the first one I played was the first Silent Hill around the time it was out, so I'll have been about... 11? My parents didn't know I had it though, I borrowed it from my mums boyfriends son who was older than me. Suffice to say I kept it, he never asked for it back so...

I couldn't imagine anyone playing this one first and understand the old ones. It would baffle the hell out of you.

[Jecht]

It wasn't my first, I had first play 2 and 3 as my first entries but I remember watching my brother play the original when it first came out. I watched him play it enough that I sometimes say I beat the game back then because it was something we always did. My brother played games and I watched.

Anyway, SH3 was my first and even though my girlfriend sat and watched me play it when I bought it, she never saw it all the way to the end. So months after I beat this game, I got her to "play" it. I say "play" because she would do the puzzles and I'd watch and smile as she did them wrong then corrected her or when it got to the nightmare scenes, she would toss the controller to me, knowing there was something going to chase her.

She really liked from how much she played, which was just at the strip club scene with Michelle. She knew what the other games were like so she knew from me, what was different.

[ashatteredmemory]

....why were you letting an 11 year old anywhere near the game? XD

She was just in the same room and was playing on her laptop (ofcourse The Sims) XD

[Mephisto]

I haven't played Shattered Memories yet.

But my first SH game was Silent Hill 2. I can't remember my age at the time, maybe I was 13 or 14. The only thing that I can remember right now is that I finished the game on a Easter. That's about it.

[Skylerness]

Silent Hill 2 was my first, I played it this year in June.
SM was the first time my mom ever saw a SH game since I played all the other ones on the computer. She thought the therapist parts were interesting but not enough to ever make her want to play a SH game.

[simeonalo]

I lost my virginity (SH virginity) to The Room when I was around...15 years old? I could have been younger or older. I should have waited until I was married. I regret losing my v-card to The Room... *sigh* I still have to deal with the diseases.