James DOES Appear In SH4, Possibly

[Droo]

Exactly.

Does anyone know if the comment made by clicking on the picture is the same in the original Japanese version? Clearly in both languages you get Sunderland's key from that picture, but what does Henry say in response to that fact?

It seems like a big enormous fuckup to have Henry comment on this picture in this way, yet at the same time the fact that Frank's key is taped to the back of that picture confuses me.

[Burning Man]

I guess the assumption here is that whatever is said through the main character is always correct. That would be considered a game design like Droo said...

@Droo: I don't think anyone's NOT believing you, but I'm considering a possibility where the developers may have "screwed up." Would it be possible to get an image with the subtitles preferably for both English and Japanese?

EDIT: Wow you read my mind. Droo, you can change the locale to Japanese in the Options menu.

[The Adversary]

I don't think Henry's comment is entirely unlikely, then, when he cannot see Frank's face to confirm the person's identity—he undoubtedly just assumes it's Frank b/c he doesn't know anything about Mike, Rachel, or Rachel's boyfriend.

[Droo]

Why is Frank's key taped to the back of that picture? Mike clearly has a connection with him of some kind. Why else would he have the key?

Was it merely an arbitrary choice of hiding place that Henry misunderstood as being a young Frank when Frank isn't in the picture at all? Even if the developers screwed up in the English version in this comment, there seems to be significance of the fact that Frank's key is taped to it.

It's the combination of Frank comment + Frank key that makes me pause and go "huh?"

Does anyone read Kanji? I want to know what the text says in the Japanese.

[Burning Man]

Does anyone read Kanji? I want to know what the text says in the Japanese.

Post an image of it after changing the subtitles to Japanese. I'll transcribe it for you...

[Droo]

My camera takes extremely blurry pictures on my TV screen, which is also small and low def. The Kanji would be, I think, blurred enough to completely obscure the figures.

Does anyone with a good camera and a HD TV have the ability to take a picture of it?

[AuraTwilight]

Maybe Frank is a Time Lord and he and Rachel used to have space adventures fighting off Daleks, which Mike was jealous of.

The whole "James Sunderland" thing is a total lie, of course. He's just one of Doctor Sunderland's regenerations.

[angelofROOM302]

Well I tried getting a good image with my camera and it does an okay job, but some of the kanji's are hard to figure out because they have a lot of detail. I took a couple of pictures trying to get the more clearer image and even did like videos but nothing is really that that clear as in the game is.
Here is exactly what it says in English;

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

I'm thinking that it's Frank and Rachel, because the guy looks like he is wearing something that Frank would be wearing. Lol, the sweater. And it makes sense that this Mike guy would have scratched out his face and have a key to his room because he's a crazy lunatic and probably wanted to stalk Frank after seeing this photo of him and Rachel together.

I don't know if I should post the images or not, lol. It's a bit blurry but not too bad. I could probably try to draw it out but that might end up looking worse than the picture. Want me to try that?

[The Adversary]

AuraTwilight, seriously: If you have nothing of merit to contribute, don't. Just be quiet.

>Was it merely an arbitrary choice of hiding place
Is every puzzle in the Silent Hill series placed in a distinctly meaningful location? is every key left in a significant place?

If so, what about the key Heather has to grab w/ some tongs beneath a stack of pallets? What's the deep, psychological meaning behind there?

>Mike clearly has a connection with him of some kind.
Mike has connections w/ everyone in the apartment complex: Joseph, Richard, Rachel, Frank, &c. . . .

[alone in the town]

If so, what about the key Heather has to grab w/ some tongs beneath a stack of pallets?

Clearly a childbirth metaphor. *nods*

[Burning Man]

I'm thinking that it's Frank and Rachel, because the guy looks like he is wearing something that Frank would be wearing. Lol, the sweater. And it makes sense that this Mike guy would have scratched out his face and have a key to his room because he's a crazy lunatic and probably wanted to stalk Frank after seeing this photo of him and Rachel together.

But, again, Rachel would have to be pretty old now if Frank was "much, much younger" in the photo.

I don't know if I should post the images or not, lol. It's a bit blurry but not too bad. I could probably try to draw it out but that might end up looking worse than the picture. Want me to try that?

Please go ahead and post the image.

[angelofROOM302]

OOO! That makes sense Burning Man.
I am starting to see it!
Maybe it's a picture of James and Rachel. Because didn't she work as Mary's nurse when she was in the hospital? Mike probably assumed that it was the super if him and Frank really look alike when he was younger and Henry does say, "The super when he was really, really younger." YAY I'm now starting to understand this now.

Okay, I'll post the images now.

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:

[Littlestardweller]

"It looks like a photograph of the superintendent at a quite young age."

[angelofROOM302]

^^
Sweet! Thanks for decoding that for us!

[Burning Man]

Littlestardweller beat me to it. *tackles you*

But, yeah, the only difference in the Japanese script is that there's an implication that it gave Henry the impression that the photo was of the super at a younger age. Nothing definite.

[The Adversary]

>I'm now starting to understand this now.
That's not quite what Burning Man was suggesting. . . .

The problem is we know Rachel is young, and we know Frank in the photograph is "at a quite young age." This means, going by the photograph, Rachel must be much, much older than we're led to believe b/c Frank is already reasonably old in the game.

Of course, the other problem is the man in the photograph is wearing Frank's sweater:

[Droo]

Well, we know Mike was obsessed with Rachel back when child Walter witnessed Braintree and co. beating the shit out of him. Mike and Rachel are obviously much older than we might think. Also, Rachel was a nurse in SH2 in 1994.

The picture may indeed be of Frank and Rachel. After all, Rachel lives in Frank's building and he seems to be somewhat chummy with his tenants (He gave Henry the painting, Eileen seems comfortable chatting with him, etc.). Also, Rachel was his daughter in law's nurse. There's a familial connection there.

Frank may have gotten a pic taken of them together and Mike, being the obsessed little freak he is, scribbled out his face. Henry is just able to recognize him based on his clothes and the inference from the key taped to the back.

Plausible explanation?

[Burning Man]

Yeah, we're missing something here...

I'm starting to wonder if Little Walter didn't superimpose Frank's image on top of Rachel's boyfriend.

It's worth mentioning that there's an odd connection with Little Walter chanting that he can't see his dad's face. If Little Walter thinks that Room 302 is his mother, then who does he consider his father? Frank seems like an obvious choice as the super.

I remember back when people were discussing Silent Hill 2, there was a picture of a couple in Woodside Apartments with the face of the man crossed out, and we speculated that this had something to do with James.

A photo of a couple would give Walter an impression of "mommy and daddy."

This would explain:

1. Why the male figure in the photo is wearing Frank's outfit.
2. Why Frank is "much, much younger" in the photo.
3. Why Little Walter chants that he can't see his dad's face.

I think Droo brought up something interesting.

Well, we know Mike was obsessed with Rachel back when child Walter witnessed Braintree and co. beating the shit out of him.

That's Little Walter, not Walter as a child.

Besides, Frank is in his 70's at the time of Silent Hill 4 -The Room-. Rachel would have to be quite old.

[Droo]

What do you mean? Braintree identified child Walter as the same kid he saw poking around. Frank said he saw child Walter back in the day too, and thinks he is the same kid. Obviously child Walter hung around at a time when Frank inferred they were the same person. Hence a couple years after he was born. Are you suggesting this happened after Walter was a child? Why would Frank make that inference, then?

I think the Skinned Mike incident happened YEARS and YEARS ago, and Walter witnessed it as a child.

What if the woman in the picture is not Rachel, but Walter's MOTHER? If Frank was chummy with his tenants, he might have been chummy enough with Mrs. Sullivan to have a photo taken of her. Then again, why would Mike have that and scribble out Frank?

Oy, this is confusing.

[Xev]

edit -Maybe that is why Frank saved the umbilical cord - because he was the real father.

So if Mike acquired Frank’s key somehow and went in to his apartment snooping, found that photo and brought it back to his room, that would be a reasonable place to hide the key - taped to the back. There’s not a meaning to every single thing in Silent Hill but the fact the key was tapped to this photo is much too coincidental!