I teared up... Shortly after my dad walked in and I had to pull one of those pretend yawns.

If any movie or game makes me tear up, I automatically love it, because I never cry.

My roommate walked in and asked, "Who died?"

I just looked at him gravely and said, "Harry did."

It felt like a lost a family member or something.

I feel the same way, in general: If it makes me cry, then it automatically jumps up to "Top 10" status.

Kinda says something for how oversaturated in stimuli and desensitized we are if "making us feel something" becomes a legitimate (or even important) criteria, but there you have it.

This game hit me on so many levels, but what i find weird is that the part that makes me tear up most is when Harry tells Cheryl to turn the camera off, and when he says to her "even though mommy and daddy don't love eachother anymore, we still love you and we always will", it struck me hard because i've had that exact same experience, parents going through a divorce it was very painful and that scene really hit home. I applaud Climax for making such an amazing game and such a touching story.

P.S: Did anyone smile when they thanked all Silent Hill fans in the credits?

Me too, children who had to go through the same thing should feel really sad about the ending. I think this is why the game can relate to so many people.

"Your dad wasn't a hero. He wasn't your knight in shining armor, he was a human being. You never knew him, and you never will," I totally cried on that part. When Cheryl said "You were always with me", responded by a "I always will be" literally ripped my heart out.

And then the divorce video really did more to that.

The Wicked and Weak ending tore up my insides; my mother's been particularly abusive in my family.

The whole bit that culminated with "you never knew your father, and you never will" was what really got to me. My dad wasn't a perfect person, and we fought a lot. Sometimes I felt like I could hate him even; he told me I'd get his point of view one day. Well now that I feel like I am ready to empathize with where he was coming from for those seventeen years, I can't exactly go tell him, can I, seeing as he's dead? I think now that I would have been able to finally sit down with him for a talk and figure out what he's all about, knowing that I can't--it's awful to me.

The only other video game that moved me that much was SH2. [spoiler]At the end - Mary's letter, in her own words and voice.[/spoiler]

Shattered Memories managed to move me to tears. I beat the game several hours ago, and now I feel depressed a lot. I'm mentally unstable, have suffered clinical depression in the past, and that doesn't help me now. On top of that, just before to beat the game I heard from a friend that he maybe saw the woman that I love more than anything, in the tram. But he's not sure if it was her. She's the woman I haven't seen since three painful years, and will probabli neveer see her again, and I love her like crazy. And as I'm writing that, tears come into my eyes. Sorry, that was somewhat off topic...

I played FFVII through and didn't cry at all when Aeris died. In fact, i was only happy to get rid of that bitch. But if Yuffie would have died ...

I got the most 'standard' ending of all, but it was still very emotional... I guess I'm a pretty standard and open-minded guy so the game probably worked that out about me.

I agree that this game was pretty sad and I genuinely felt sorry for Harry, especially when we see how much of a nice and caring person he is throughout the game (Well through my first playthrough anyway). It didn't help that I got the ending where he is pretty much physically and emotionally abused by Dahlia, which added to the sadness of it all.

I think what makes this game so powerful is the fact that many ccan relate to its characters or the lives of them. this is the most realistic silent hill. id say more can relate to what cheryl went through more than james. to me the story was MORE thought out than SH2 and the others, and is my current favorite now for its great story. it ripped my heart out, but im guessing become i can relate to it alot. the most i can relate with silent hill 1 is...well nothing really. sh2, i can onoly relate to having the same name as the protagonist.(the letter at the end is about the only part of that game that made me choke a little and made me think,but not as much as this game did after beating it. still choke) well, homecoming made me think it was kinda sad with alexs problem and parent issues, but thats about it for that one.
climax did a great job with this game, or interactive story really. id like to see them top it though.weve seen how well team silent did with that after sh2(story wise) and sh3 ( all around game wise)
end of rant.

To me, Shattered Memories was more relatable because it was more universal. All of us have a father and thoughts about our fathers, even if we don't like him or don't even know who he is. Part of the reason why this game resonated with me so strongly was because I thought of my own father. While Silent Hill 2 was disquieting, I don't have a wife so there was a limit to how far I could empathize with James.

Yeah, I think ultimate enjoyment of this game hinges on whether it connects with you on the level of your own father and your feelings for Harry Mason as something of a heroic paternal archetype, much like how MGS4 is only powerful if you've been fond of Solid Snake for a significant stretch of time.

my point exactly. the game was relatable and had more to work with than your attachment to a character, which most series use to get some emotional effect. MGS4 being a good example.

Shattered Memories most definitely brought me to tears. I lost my mother before I ever got a chance to know her, so in a sense I can relate to Cheryl and her want to cling to the memories of her father. When Kauffman drops the final plot twist that the person you've been playing as in the therapy sessions is in fact Cheryl, I couldn't help but well up (the whole "You've never known your father" line absolutely tore me up).

Without turning this too much into a psychological rant, I am of the mindset that the absense of a certain kind of parental figure in our childhood does indeed effect the kind of person we become. I myself, mostly without consciously doing it, try to surround myself with mother figures or become attached to strong female types, because of the fact that I never knew my own mother.

I got the encounter where Harry basically says he has always been with Cheryl, and always will before she lets go of her fantasy, and that likewise hit me very hard for the same reason. In saying that, the line about Dahlia not being the monster Cheryl makes her out to be is something I also relate to, but reversed with it being my father. I don't view him as a monster per se, I just have a lot of issues with him and the way he speaks of my mother. For the ending I got the Love Lost video and while I cannot relate to divorce, it still was emotional to hear that no matter what, Dahlia and Harry would love Cheryl.

Phew, I think this is the most personal I've ever been in the six years I've been a part of this forum, but the game really touched me and I feel it's alright to share this bit of myself with you all.

I can't for the life of me see how anybody can be brought to tears or choked up by the story.

Are you simply here to bash the game, or would you like to elaborate on why you disliked it?

Uh...how about the fact that some people can actually relate to Harry/Dahlia/Cheryl's story here? If you read the few posts above you, especially Silent Fantasy's, you would know. And just because the game doesn't make you cry, doesn't mean you can throw down the opinions of a few others who have gone through the same goddamn thing that others have had, especially AuraTwilight.

Unless you have gone through the same things, in which I apologize for the above few comments, but seriously. Or unless you're a tough Dante and don't cry, in which I apologize for this (somewhat useless) post

Anyways, this Silent Hill really is the most relatable to some. How many of us have killed our own wives and forgot?

Some people are just more emotional than others. And as already mentioned, if you've been through a similiar situation it is easier to relate to it and become more empathic with the characters.

The ending where the video shows that Harry and Dahlia are having a divorce is what made me so emotional about the game. It put everything into perspective, especially because my parents divorced at the same age Cheryl's did, and it was like reliving those emotions surrounding divorce as a child and as a young adult.

But beside that, there are countless other reasons I got emotional about the game, mainly on replays because it all made more sense to me. Even through my first play through, I got the sense that it was all about Cheryl, though the pieces didn't make sense until they were all tied together when the secret of the story was revealed at the end.