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Have you seen Harry's daughter anywhere? Short, dark hair?

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YatesFox
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Post by YatesFox »

Some very good points made above. I have to say that I too 100% agree that SH1 has something that the others lack. Maybe for the most part it was originality - but even now I think about playing it when I'm sat at work.

It had many things that were due to limitations, that enhanced the feeling of fear and claustrophobia for me.

Right from the intro, Harry in on a lonely empty highway at night, see's Cybil drive past at speed then shortly after sees her motorcycle crashed/abandoned on the road side. Then the figure of Alessa in the road - all weird and wrong. Sets if off so nicely. Then when Harry comes around he's in a town, it's foggy/misty (limitations of hardware) and if I recall it's snowing. So he's alone in a strange place (I know he knows of SH but I assume he's not been to the town before), he's hurt, his daughter is missing (which is probably worse than seeing her dead next to him as he doesn't know if she's dead or alive) and it's cold - it's daunting and makes you feel the situation perfectly and the confusion factor increases the fear element immensly. He sees a figure of what appears to be Cheryl you follow through the foggy, snowy cold cold streets (the thing to me is that being very cold makes me feel weak and vulnerable so I think it was genius to do this at the begining of the game). Down and alley, it gets dark. You light your zippo. The camera does a weird turney thing and you hear a noise. A wheelchair on its side with the wheel slowly turning (WTF!), you see a gurney with a body covered over and flies buzzing over it (WTF!!!), then a body on the chain fence that's been skinned (WTFFFF!!!!). All of a sudden these small squeeking children type whatsits come at you with knives stabbing you, but you can't run - it's suddenly fenced off - nowhere to run, being stabbed PANIC PANIC PANIC! How scary, confusion right from scratch - fear and panic. You meet characters through the game that are just plain old weird - more confusion, more fear. The places you visit are probably the last places you'd want to visit either at night on your own or in what appears to be a veery empty town - the shool, the hospital, the mall...

Then there's the town - this for me (besides the music) was THE BIGGEST mistake not to add throughout the series. I remember wandering aimlessly around all the different parts of SH - and it was just empty. Big, empty, foggy, snowy, lonely - SCARY. Did I mention his daughter was missing. To me it's the Picasso of video games. I loved walking up and down the streets just feeling lost and lonely, sod the rest of the game I spent HOURS just wondering. Even after I finished I could spend about 3 hours just walking around the resort part looking at absolutely everything. They didn't include much [if any] town parts in the other games and that was a FATAL mistake.

Then there's the score/soundtrack what ever you care to call it. Wow, I mean WOW! How many other games can you honesty sit back after playing and say 'the music on that was amazing' - remember going down the alley and the metal baniging noise getting louder and faster as you progressed. Almost to the point that you consider just for a second to stop and go back as you really didn't want to see what this noise was building up to. This gets stronger and better as the game continues - then there's the air raid siren. Now I'm privilaged enough to be too young to know what feelings this must arouse to hear this noise, but I know that even to me it sounds eery and scary.

I love how you could only see about 3ft ahead of you (probably again due to hardware limitations) if not because of snow, then fog or even darkness. It's a feature they've tried to keep strong through the series, but for some reason I always remember not being able to see haf as much in SH1 as you could in the rest of the series.

I could ramble on for hours about this but I think I've made enough of my personal points for now.
Last edited by YatesFox on 06 Nov 2005, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by rabbit in your headlights »

SH 1 is the best, at least for those reasons cited above. I love this mastergame.
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Post by Droo »

Yates: I think Konami scaled back on the town exploration because people complained about it. You have no idea how many user reviews I've read saying "Nothing happens! You're just wandering around this big empty town!"

It's like the (in my opinion) brilliant forest walk sequence at the beginning of SH2. Walking down that narrow path with weird noises all around you, I know I was just shitting myself the whole time, waiting to see what Konami would throw at me this time. I loved it, and found that part very tense. Almost everyone else I know personally around here whines about "that pointless 15 minute walk into town".

Horror fans today, unfortunately, want RE4. They want crazy shit flying at them from the moment they start the game to the very end. They lack the patience and the intellect to understand the subtle nuances of SH1 and 2 that made them truly special. That's why SH3 and 4 bludgeoned you over the head with action, violence and linearity from the getgo.
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Post by rabbit in your headlights »

Drewfus wrote:Yates: I think Konami scaled back on the town exploration because people complained about it. You have no idea how many user reviews I've read saying "Nothing happens! You're just wandering around this big empty town!"

It's like the (in my opinion) brilliant forest walk sequence at the beginning of SH2. Walking down that narrow path with weird noises all around you, I know I was just shitting myself the whole time, waiting to see what Konami would throw at me this time. I loved it, and found that part very tense. Almost everyone else I know personally around here whines about "that pointless 15 minute walk into town".

Horror fans today, unfortunately, want RE4. They want crazy shit flying at them from the moment they start the game to the very end. They lack the patience and the intellect to understand the subtle nuances of SH1 and 2 that made them truly special. That's why SH3 and 4 bludgeoned you over the head with action, violence and linearity from the getgo.
Drewfus, thanks for your posts, they are really good and make me a bit happy :) I keep agreeing with you
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Post by YatesFox »

Drefus wrote:Yates: I think Konami scaled back on the town exploration because people complained about it. You have no idea how many user reviews I've read saying "Nothing happens! You're just wandering around this big empty town!"
I'm guessing you'll agree with my next statement then about the above people.

STUPID WHINING BASTARDS!

If not for them maybe SH3 would have been a bit more 'special'.
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Post by boblecon1096 »

no no no

I want the SH1 town back!!!

Seriously, the game is Silent Hill and sh1 was like the only one where we are in Silent Hill (yes, there's South Vale in 2-3 but come on it's bigger than that)

Bring the old/central/resort Silent Hill back!!! PLEASE!!!!

Stupid reviews!!!

At least bring back one of the three
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Post by Chris Sunderland »

Uh buddy the town in SH2 and part of 3 IS Silent Hill.It's just a different district.Drefus you make some good points.I like games like RE4,but they do lack the brillance that made the first two Silent Hill's so special.Another thing that I think makes the first two games so amazing is how different they are from each other.All the connections and tie ins ruin the mystery abit for me.I like the idea of different stories and things happening in the town.The town exploration needs to return,it's what makes Silent Hill it's own game.I'd love to see the SH1 part of SH in PS3 graphics,or better yet a new area of the town.I'm sure thier are other areas,because that would be too small,even for a resort town.

Yate,the other games are different from SH1,but I don't think SH2 lacks anything.I think it took a different aproach to the horror.I feel the same way about SH2's soundtrack as you do about SH1's.Everything is just so brillant,but I made a thread about SH2,time to worship the original.One thing it's "true sequel" as some call it lacked was subtleness.Sure SH3 gets the gore,but SH1 wasn't just about the gore.It was about walking down the darkhallway and then seeing a demon baby pop up on you.Also too many monsters in SH3.I'd love to see SH1 remade.Better voice acting,better controls and seeing everything in modern graphics would make me have a orgasim.
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Post by YatesFox »

Chris Sunderland wrote:Yate,the other games are different from SH1,but I don't think SH2 lacks anything.I think it took a different aproach to the horror.I feel the same way about SH2's soundtrack as you do about SH1's.Everything is just so brillant,but I made a thread about SH2,time to worship the original.One thing it's "true sequel" as some call it lacked was subtleness.Sure SH3 gets the gore,but SH1 wasn't just about the gore.It was about walking down the darkhallway and then seeing a demon baby pop up on you.Also too many monsters in SH3.I'd love to see SH1 remade.Better voice acting,better controls and seeing everything in modern graphics would make me have a orgasim.
I agree mate, don't get me wrong I loved SH2 and for a complete different reason that I love SH1. I don't think I'll ever play another video game with a subject matter that's, well, so deep and serious. SH2 was more emotinaly fearful for me whereas SH1 pretty much mentally disturbed me.

BTW just noticed your sig and was wondering if you have ever seen this;

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Mad eh!
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Post by Chris Sunderland »

LOL!Where is that from?I found SH2 scarier than SH1 because things seemed so real in SH2 for me.SH1 does have more disturbing imagary.The monster diffculty was the best in SH1 too.I just think that the first two games are Silent Hill.Silent Hill 3 has the look and Silent Hill 4 has the atmosphere but only the first two have it both.The team needs to take a good hard look at the first two games and take thier time and try to craft the greatest Silent Hill ever.Because if SH5 isn't amazing I might start losing faith in Team Silent.I might start thinking they've lost what made Silent Hill and it's sequel(not SH3) so special.

Edit:I just want to add that even though SH1 had more disturbing imagery,SH2 is better without it.I think if it would have had the same style as SH1,it wouldn't be as special. :wink:
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Post by YatesFox »

I found them all by myself *pats back* they must have changed the image for maybe copyright reasons or something, who knows?


I remember speaking to Akira and Hiroyuki at the SH3 press event and telling them the the best thing they could do would be to remake SH1 - and I swear they were almost offended by it. With good reason I suppose. They told me that they strive to improve the games with each installment - so going back would be like saying 'we can't do this anymore let's just remake the first one again' (which was almost having a bitch at RE1 on th NGC at the time). I did assure them that there is a VERY strong demand for this, at which they looked at each other for a second and said something that the translator wouldn't tell me???

Anyway, they didn't dismiss the idea but then they didn't say they would either.

Back to what we were talking about. I remembered another thing that captured me about SH1 (and even though SH2 didn't have much of this, I loved it all the same) and that was attention to detail. I mean in EVERYTHING from street names, to posters, to shops - everything was thought through right to the end. Every little detail. Even bloody cardboard boxes had references to things. But there is a distinct lack of this in the rest of the series (forgiving SH2). I went back to SH1 over and over and over and over again just to see if I could find something else. I did a bit for SH2 but I've never ever gone back to SH3, not even contemplated it. Oh and I didn't find the want to finish SH4. Shocking I know, I'll do it eventually though. :roll:
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Post by Droo »

That and remakes are so overdone now. I completely agree that it's best to look forward rather than backward. SH1 was absolutely fucking brilliant. Why tarnish its name by remaking it, possibly ending up with an inferior product?

What I want for SH5 is a return to the mood and atmosphere of SH1.
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Post by Chris Sunderland »

It's like the first two Star Treks.Each one has something that the fans love,but the other ones will never get thier own movies. :lol: I've been replaying the second game for the 6th time and I know what you mean by detail.Seeing all those shops with the different names and it seems every building is uniqe.SH1 is the same way(I try to explore it like SH2,but those damn bird demons won't let me :P ).SH4 is a sad case for me Mr.Yates because I feel it could have been absolutly brillant if given another 6 months to a year of work.One it had a awsome concept.The story is my second favirote next to SH2 and the combat is fun sometimes.It just seems so unpolished though.The graphics arn't as good as SH3's and thier is no need for a attack bar thing.SH3 just lacked a good story and it went way too far with it's special effects.Like Star Wars Episode I.Looks great but is shallow.Also something I loved was those defining moments in the first two games.
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
In SH1 you had that part where you were being chased by all those monsters and needed to get too the tower.It was awsome.Dodging the dog monsters and avoiding getting pecked by those annoying dinosaurs.

In SH2 for me it was after you watched the tape in Room 312.After the shock of finding the truth of James wife,you get that message from her.It sent tingles down my spine.Even after learning the truth about his wife and himself he still was journeing through hell.
Stuff like that didn't happen in SH3 and SH4. :?
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Post by Droo »

Yeah, the claustrophobic mad dashes were sorely missing from SH3 and 4.

Although I do count the sewers from SH3 as being pretty tense, it was nowhere near the same thing as those parts from 1 and 2.
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Post by YatesFox »

PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
Jeez, I remember when I realised James had put her out of her misery as it were. Wow, defining moment in video game history that is.
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Post by Chris Sunderland »

The only level SH3 that I can say I truely felt was great was the office.I didn't like the sewers myself.It's too over done in horror games.Nice water effects though. :P
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Post by Harrys_Girl »

I loved SH1 becuase it was my first tatse of this dark side of humanity and religion.I had never seen or experenced anything like thst before.It was like the first time I went to the snow or the first time I kissed someone or saw a dead body for the first time.It was like wrapping everything that was good:love,worry, care and everything bad:fear,death, decite all put in a seringe and pushed in to my bloodstream and it will never leave my bloodstream.

I feel like it is part of me,weird I know,but I can't help it. :roll:
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Post by Tom Servo »

The finest moment of SH1 for me, ironically, was one of its simplest. When Harry goes up to the roof of the nightmare Midwich, it's raining, and everything beyond the limits of the roof is in total darkness. Something about that scene - the isolation, the sense of a world completely of evil - reached inside me like nothing else ever has. I'll tell you, that part sent shivers down my spine, that did.

SH1 remains the scariest game I've ever played.
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Post by F »

Am I the only one that actually gives out a large grin whenever many of the moments depicted here happen? The "race" to the lighthouse, for one, is definitely a fine moment for me--I kill everything in my sight rather than running like hell. Anyhoos, from the first day, all the moments of Silent Hill 1 have just amused me as no other game can. Yes, amuse. I don't get chills on my spine, but rather a feeling of comfort when going through this game. It just feels good. Boy, does it feel good.
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Post by Tom Servo »

^ I also try to kill everything with extreme prejudice when I'm going there. It always freaks me out though how the angles make it impossible to see whether it's right in front of you or up the stairs and around the corner.

I was extremely comforted after killing the Lizard - everything was foggy and relatively normal again, and the monsters were gone.
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Post by Chris Sunderland »

I don't find SH1 perfect,I loathe some of the enviroments(I'm looking at you Sewer) but it does have some magic moments. :twisted:
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