Missed Opportunity with the Seal of Metatron

[Burning Man]

I was wondering if I could rack some of you Silent Hill veterans' brains here.

The Amusement Park has a special meaning when it comes to the Seal of Metatron. It was the last place that Alessa needed to place the Seal to annihilate everything in the town. The creators obviously went through a lot of effort to build a very believable and horrifying Amusement Park for Silent Hill 3. They even went through the effort of replicating the Magic ice cream store where Harry comes face-to-face with Alessa. It's there 17 years ago that Harry thwarted Alessa's plans with the Flauros.

Wouldn't it have been an obvious thing to allow players to activate the Seal of Metatron in that same location? The item itself does have a Use option after all. It's also the last event item that Heather picks up before entering the Lakeside Amusement Park. This cannot be a coincidence.

Do you think this might be a case of removed content or is that actually not the place Alessa intended to place the Seal originally? She does walk off into a certain direction (Ferris Wheel?) after she knocks Harry down.

If the creators wanted to troll the Internet with an Ambulance ending for Silent Hill 3, using the Seal of Metatron would probably be it. Hmm, Heather does ask Douglas if she should call an ambulance...

[The Adversary]

With as many easter eggs in SILENT HILL 3, it seems like an obvious choice to throw one in here. Would have worked for a second joke ending, for sure. That she actually does complete the seal and forces the town into oblivion, effectively ending the game—and series—altogether.

[Burning Man]

The novel makes some glaring changes. Specifically, the Otherworld Laws book has a different title translated as "Heretic Laws" in the novel. It also changes the person in the tape to a man, but it's unclear what the intention behind that change is.

The title Heretic Laws does make more sense considering what the Order believes happened 17 years back, but it begs to ask what prompted the change. "Otherworld" has a special meaning in the Silent Hill series. If there was a description of the Seal in a book called Otherworld Laws, the reader would assume that the Seal had some meaning within the context of the Otherworld.

Valtiel had the Seal of Metatron tattooed on his shoulder, but it seems it was removed or smudged out for the final product. It still exists in promotional materials and such, so we know it had some relevance - possibly, Valtiel being the Agent of God. Of course, if the Order's angel had the Seal tattooed on its shoulder, it wouldn't make sense for it to have no significant meaning to the Order either.

My guess is that in the initial phase of development, the Seal had a more prominent role. But later they decided to downgrade its relevance for some reason. Changing the title of Otherworld Laws may have been something they missed to update during development.

[The Adversary]

>The title Heretic Laws does make more sense considering what the Order believes happened 17 years back<
I'm not sure Heretic Laws would make more sense than Otherworld Laws. Since the book is opened to a section about the Virun VII Crest, it seems to relate more specifically to The Order itself and its beliefs, symbols/sigils, u.s.w. A book called Heretic Laws would probably be more along the lines of something written by The Order's opponents, like the pages Henry finds on his coffee table. That text even calls the 21 Sacraments the 21 Heresies, a text written by the Sect of the Holy Woman to show the beliefs of the Sect of the Holy Mother are blasphemous.

[Burning Man]

> Since the book is opened to a section about the Virun VII Crest, it seems to relate more specifically to The Order itself and its beliefs, symbols/sigils, u.s.w.

I felt the same way before. However, it does go against Owaku's commentary about the the Seal of Metatron having no significance to the Order.

Creator's Commentary: To the town's religious organization, the Seal of
Metatron is an ordinary talisman with no particular significance. As Alessa
was unable to spread this crest throughout the entire town in the first game,
its power was never demonstrated. In spite of this, both Vincent and Leonard
misunderstood its abilities.

-Hiroyuki Owaku

There isn't much room for interpretations with a commentary like this.

[The Adversary]

It seems you're overlooking an important part of that quote, that kinda suggest otherwise.

"As Alessa was unable to spread this crest throughout the entire town in the first game, its power was never demonstrated." (emphasis added)

Meaning it does have power—we just never got to see it, and, more importantly, neither did members of the Order. Yet, still, books are written about it, and adherents believe in its power, including Dahlia.

[Burning Man]

That particular word that was translated to "power" also can be translated to "effect," "efficacy," or "validity." While that sentence by itself can be interpreted either way, the following sentence that "Vincent and Leonard misunderstood its abilities" implies that it does not have powers. Claudia is the only one that understood its abilities: it's a piece of junk.

It's not clear if the creators' stance is that Dahlia believed in the Seal's power. She said she was shocked to realize that the Seal was being used. Retroactively, it's possible to interpret this to mean that Dahlia was surprised to see her daughter, Alessa, using an artifact that was outside of the Order's beliefs.

I wouldn't go as far to say the creators retconned anything from the first game, but the connection with regards to the Seal feels disjointed. Heather uses the Aglaophotis instead to repel the god from her body, but its inclusion here also makes very little sense if you think about it. For example, why would Harry give it to Heather if he only witnessed its effect in the Good ending where it allowed Incubus to run amuck and its host died afterwards? The only positive effect Harry can witness is in the plus endings where he saves Cybil with it.

[LittleNightma]

Dahlia also comments, "Just a little longer and all would have been for nought." Why? Because she knew if Alessa had placed that last mark, the town would have been and everyone inside it would perish, foiling her plans for God to be born. Also, if Dahlia believed the Seal to be useless, I imagine she would have taught Alessa the same, and I don't see Alessa wasting her time and energy on using the Seal if she believed it would do nothing.

[AuraTwilight]

It probably doesn't matter what power the Seal has in the Order's theology compared to the power assigned to it by a desperate reality-warping child who's creating the world everyone is currently inhabiting, and Dahlia probably knew that.

[Droo]

It probably doesn't matter what power the Seal has in the Order's theology compared to the power assigned to it by a desperate reality-warping child who's creating the world everyone is currently inhabiting, and Dahlia probably knew that.

OMG Aura posted for the first time in over 3 years!

[AuraTwilight]

It probably doesn't matter what power the Seal has in the Order's theology compared to the power assigned to it by a desperate reality-warping child who's creating the world everyone is currently inhabiting, and Dahlia probably knew that.

OMG Aura posted for the first time in over 3 years!

Lol, I've been reading and such but there hasn't been a lot going on, plus IRL stuff. There's been a divorce, etc.

[lain of the wired]

It probably doesn't matter what power the Seal has in the Order's theology compared to the power assigned to it by a desperate reality-warping child who's creating the world everyone is currently inhabiting, and Dahlia probably knew that.

OMG Aura posted for the first time in over 3 years!

Lol, I've been reading and such but there hasn't been a lot going on, plus IRL stuff. There's been a divorce, etc.

AURA

OMG

hi