What's the best Silent Hill game?

Your personal best/favorite, basically. From what i can gather about the series, people are torn after 1, 2, 3 and 4.

As for me, well i'll reserve that judgement until i finish at least 1 - 4. My plan is to play the entire series(which is going to take a long time), and i started with Silent Hill 2 on my original Xbox, which i recently finished (excellent game, very memorable and one that i am going to replay wen i'm finished with a couple of more entries).

My 2nd game is the original Silent Hill on my PS1, in which i'm 30 minutes in. First impressions.. far harder to get into than Silent Hill 2 because of the tank controls and much more clunkier combat. I also feel that the game is harder than Silent Hill 2, the dogs and the flying enemies are a real pain in the ass. Got used to it though, and am definitely going to finish it before moving on.

3 is my favorite due to the very creepy and unnerving atmosphere.

From the original team silent games I like part 1 the best but they are all pretty good.

From the newer games I thought Homecoming was really well done and probably my second favorite game in the series, Downpour is ok too has a good story anyways.

As far as pure scare factor and disturbingness goes, nothing beats 3. It's beyond twisted, and has THE MOST hellish environments I've ever seen in a game.

Although SH2 and Shattered Memories both have jiztastic soundtracks and their stories are goddamn masterpieces.

Unfortunately never got to play through 1 or 3.

SH2 is a God-tier game though and is one of the most disturbingly awesome things I have ever experienced. Absolute masterpiece of a game and I find it hard to believe that 1 and 3 could be even better!

me and 90% would say silent hill 2 but so longer you play the series so more you will like silent hill 3. 3 has the best graphics, art design and is the scariest of them all. Silnet hill 2 loses a bit of its scariniess so more you play while 3 feels always like you did played 8 years ago.

For me the first game game feels a bit too old, espacially the dialouge between main characters is very short thanks to the cd unlike other silent hill games that had all this weird conversation going on which contribited heavily to the awesomeness of the story line. And obviously 4 is meh for me.

Yeah, i really loved the soundtrack and the personal journey of the main character. I also thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay as a whole, which i didn't expect to because a lot a people are on the fence about that.

The melee combat isn't good, but once i got the gun i had absolutely no problem, and i got it quite early in the game. Just aim, shoot, there's a little aim assist thrown in there, so yeah. Also a crap ton of ammo. The camera is a little iffy, but didn't hinder me.

I can honestly jump to the conclusion that everyone which hated the gameplay didn't know that there are two control schemes in the options menu. The tank controls, which do indeed suck. And the modern (2D scheme) controls which are pretty much just like any other modern game.

@LostProphetFLCL: 3, to me, is better in the sense that it's much scarier. SH2 was much more subtle and was more unnerving tha anything (outside a few scenes). SH3 is flat out terrifying. It doesn't pull any of its horrific punches; it sams you in the face with how demented and twisted it is.

I'd say SH2 and SH3 are equally good, just for different reasons.

My opinion..

Silent Hill 2 ≥ Silent Hill 3 > Silent Hill 1

....the games that came after these three just weren't in the same caliber imo.

Silent Hill 2 is the most highly regarded overall, but then again, that's because much more people have played SH2 in comparison to SH1 or SH3, mainly because SH2 is it's own self contained story, while SH1 and SH3 are directly connected. Also, SH2 was more widely available on a greater variety of platforms - SH1 and SH3 never came to the original Xbox.

A little advice....if you plan on playing SH3, you'll want to get the either the Good or Good+ ending in SH1 in order for SH3 to make sense.....since SH3 continues off either of the "Good" branch of endings. You can find out how to get the Good+ or Good ending on the web, it involves using a bottle to get a liquid at the hospital and most importantly, finding a secret in a motorcycle at the hotel in the Resort area.

Anyway, Silent Hill 2 is regarded as having the best story, but again, that's because it is it's own self contained story and like I said, more people seem to have only played that one. The overall story in SH1 and SH3 is just as good as SH2, that is, when you take into account that SH3 is a really great continuation of the storyline of the original.

Silent Hill 2 is the smarter game in terms of using mature themes......but it loses to Silent Hill 1 and Silent Hill 3 in terms of being scary. Silent Hill 2 was more disturbing or creepy rather then being actually scary the way SH1 and SH3 was, mainly because SH2 didn't have the dark other-world featured in SH1 and SH3.

Silent Hill 3 has hands down the best graphics and visual presentation of the series, It also has hands down the best protagonist in the series, made even better cause there is a cool twist on her real identity, which you discover mid-way through the game which was a great service to fans. I would also definitely say SH3 has the better voice acting out of the original Team Silent developed titles (I hope you're playing the original versions and not the horribly botched HD Collection).

Anyway, here's my personal breakdown:

Scariest: Silent Hill 1 - with SH3 as a 2nd place runner-up.

Best Story: Silent Hill 2 - with SH3 as a 2nd place runner-up (considering you got the Good+ / Good ending in SH1).

Favorite Protagonist: Silent Hill 3

Best Antagonist: Silent Hill 2's Pyramid Head.

Best Graphics and Sound: Silent Hill 3 - Hands down.

Best Voice Acting: Silent Hill 3

I should also note that some fans consider SH1 - SH3 to be the true Silent Hill series. The first three games had consistent positive acclaim, going by Metacritic the first three games score in the mid-to-upper 80's range.

http://www.metacritic.com/search/all/silent+hill/results?sort=score

After the first three games, the series had a noticeable drop in critical reception, and the series just kept going down.

But also, mainly because Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 are the only games that Hiroyuki Owaku and Masahiro Ito worked directly on, who are considered the two most important people throughout Team Silent's existence. Owaku was the co-writer of SH1 and the main writer of the story of SH2 and SH3. Masahiro Ito designed the series signature look and signature monsters, such as Pyramid head, pretty much the whole visual style of the original games - they both left after Silent Hill 3. So even though "Team Silent" is credited with SH4, the two of it's most important members weren't involved with SH4's development. Also, the ending of Silent Hill 3 can pretty much be seen as a proper conclusion to the core original Silent Hill storyline that encompassed SH1, SH2 and SH3.

Awesome read, very in depth. Yeah, i plan on playing SH3 as soon as i'm finished with SH1. I'm at the school right now, loving the atmosphere and the puzzles, still a long way to go. I'm probably going to try to make it through at least half of the game tonight.

Also, there's something i wanna ask to anyone who has played Silent Hill 4. Now besides the love-hate situation, how is the backtracking? I hate games that suffer from backtracking issues. I mean, there's a little backtracking in SH 1 & 2, but not too much to hinder me. So if it's like that, it's alright. But if there's too much of it, i might as well not even bother.

Only silent hills I could get into were 1 and 2...didn't like 3 because Heather was such an annoying character, whole thing just felt like teen girl angst...and they didn't create a hook that lets you sympathize with the character immediately from the beginning. In 1 and 2 the hook was was in the search for an emotionally significant person, 3 didn't use a hook so I couldn't relate with Heather in any way shape or form, and thus I had no desire to see where the story might go.

Uhg, and then she has that stupid "nobody understands me!" face...christ I hate her. They even used that stupid face on the cover art.

Cool. Yeah, Silent Hill 3 is an awesome follow-up to Silent Hill 1.

As for Silent Hill 1....here are non-spoilers on how to get either one of the two endings that leads into Silent Hill 3 and allows it's story to make the most sense (and most enjoyable).

In Silent Hill 1....the biggest thing that is a must is you at least need to do the motorcycle puzzle when you get to the resort area:

• When you get to the resort area, go straight to Annie's Bar (you'll get a cutscene involving a character). Pickup the envelop the character leaves behind on the floor. Examine everything in the bar and solve all the puzzles in Annie's Bar, if you do everything right, you should get a rear entrance code to open the side-street door of the Motel (the door should be located on "Weaver St").
• Go into motel through the side door using the key code. With the clues you have you should be led to a Room No. 3 at the Motel. Solve the puzzle in this room, which should get you a motorcycle key.
• Use the Motorcycle Key on the Motorcycle in the Motel, this should make Harry open the gas tank of the Motorcycle and find something - you'll get a cut-scene where you're interrupted by a character. As long as you open the motorcycle gas tank and get the brief cutscene with the character, you're pretty much in the clear. **Just don't go down Sanford Street until after you've opened the motorcycle gas tank and saw what's in it, because once you go half-way down Sanford Street, something happens and you won't be able to go back.

The second part is optional, since either the "Good" or "Good+" ending works with connecting with Silent Hill 3's story. The "Good+" ending is the "happier" of the two....The Good+ one also gives the player the most back-story as to what's happening.

In order to get Good+, do the following (most of these steps come before the Resort area and Motorcycle puzzle listed above):

• Step 1 - In the Hospital, obtain the plastic bottle in Kitchen 1F.
• Step 2 - Use the plastic bottle to pick up the Unknown Liquid on the ground from the smashed vial at the back of the Director's Office 1F in the Hospital.
• Step 3 - (This part comes after the motorcycle puzzle in the resort area), use unknown liquid in the bottle to save a certain character in the Amusement Park. In order to be able to use it on them, you have to evade them until they use up all their weapon and drop their weapon. Once they drop their weapon, run up and use the unknown liquid in the plastic bottle on them.

I suggest you do at least step 1 and 2 for the Good+ ending, then when you get to the Amusement Park, you can decide if you want to save a certain character and get the Good+ ending.

I should let you know there is debate amongst the Silent Hill fandom on which of the Good endings is the "canon" one that leads into SH3 - like I said, either one of the two Good endings works with the story of SH3, but it's been a long time argument among fans which one is more "true".

The director / creator of the original game recently said that it's the "Good+" ending that is the true one....an analysis guide for SH3 and the previous two games published by Konami says it's the "Good" ending....and Hiroyuki Owaku, who was the co-writer of SH1 and main writer of SH2 & SH3, said it's up to the player.

If you like happier endings, as well as want to be filled in on the most backstory, then go for the Good+ ending and save the character at the amusement park.....otherwise all you need to do is the Motorcycle Puzzle.

If you hate backtracking issues and it's a real turn-off for you, then you probably won't like Silent Hill 4. One of the biggest complaints against SH4 was the backtracking (as well as needing to constantly babysit one of it's characters)....SH4 has way more backtracking then the previous games and on top of it the backtracking felt forced, frustrating and annoying.

Excellent guide, thanks a lot for the heads up on the character that needs to be saved aswell. I'll make sure to follow it once i need it.

Yeah, i'll keep SH4 on hold once i'm done with 1 and 3.. i'll at least give it a try. Maybe there's a interesting plot and a good character to move me forward through the horrid backtracking.

@Lucianu:

Out of curiosity, what platform do you plan to play Silent Hill 3 on?

If you're gonna play Silent Hill 3....do either the PC version or PS2 version.....whatever you do, stay away from the HD collection.

The PC version gives the best visual experience, that is if you're willing to do tweaking to get it running well on modern systems and in proper widescreen. This neogaf thread guide will give you everything you need to know if you want to get the best experience of a true HD version on PC:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=41496607#post41496607

Playing the PC version with setting all settings maxed, it's hard to believe that it's a game that was released back in 2003. The graphics looked so good for it's time they didn't even need CGI cutscenes, the cutscenes use the in-game models and in-game graphics renderer (a big plus for running the game nowadays on widescreen monitors). In fact, the character models look better then the later games that came years later. See the screens below, those aren't bull-shots, the game really looked like that on PC back in 2003....and with simple tweaks today it looks even better.

The PS2 version doesn't look as good as the PC version....but I can tell you it looks and plays a hell of a lot better then the HD collection (no joke, the HD collection is performance issues and bugs), so if you're going to console route for SH3, stick with the PS2 version - especially since you'll want the original voice acting.

@rentrak385:

I've had SH3 installed on my PC for a wile now, i've messed around with it and its graphical settings and it does look incredible. It's quite the leap over SH2, it's unbelievable that this game released 10 years ago.

I've known about the reputation of the HD Collection, i checked it out a wile ago and it seems they used beta versions of the games. Wouldn't have bothered even if it were a good collection, there's only two games on it and i can play SH3 on my PC just fine.. SH2 on the other hand is almost impossible to find for PC, and it's a no brainer that i'll get the 6th gen. (PS2/Xbox) version that's like everywere for 2 - 5 bucks, over wasting time hunting the PC version down for like 100 bucks.

Anyway, a collection i would like right now is SH1 remade faithfully with a modern engine + SH2, SH3 and SH4. Now that's a collection worth buying a console for.

In order:

1. Silent Hill 2
2. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
3. Silent Hill
4. Silent Hill 3
5. Silent Hill 4: The Room

The rest of them are ass, sadly. Homecoming flirted with being a worthy addition but put too much focus on combat, which while better than other games, still wasn't anywhere near good enough to be a focal point for the game.

@Lucianu:

Cool, as a bonus, here are the steps to unlock the Easter Eggs in the PC version of Silent Hill 3 that make joke references to SH2. You'll fist need a completed SH2 PC save file, and then follow these steps to unlock the easter eggs in the PC version.

• You first need to have some completed SH2 PC save and copy it to your SH3 save directory which should normally be located in "C:\Program Files\Konami\SILENT HILL 3\savedata" (of course, replace C with your drive letter on your machine if it's not C drive).
• Then enter the registry (Start -> Run -> "regedit")
• Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> Konami.
• Then right click on that Konami folder on the left and choose New -> Key. A new folder will appear below Konami, name it "Silent Hill2" (without the quotation marks, and make sure there is no space between "Hill" and "2")
• In that new "Silent Hill2" folder you created in the registry, you must add an additional key named "INSTALLDIR" . To add it, in the "Silent Hill2" folder you created right click on the right side of the screen, then choose New -> String value, and name it "INSTALLDIR" (again, without quotation marks).
• Then right click on it, choose Modify, and type "C:\Program Files\KONAMI\Silent Hill2" (no quotations), again replacing that "C" with your drive if it isn't C drive.

There are 4 easter egg reference to SH2 in Silent Hill 3 if you do the steps above. One is a cut-scene, the other three are just text comments.

1. if you check the toilet in the dark mall, make sure your flashlight is on, you'll get an amusing cut-scene.

2. If you stop over at Heaven's Night on your way to Brookhaven Hospital, there is a poster referencing Maria that Heather will comment on.

3. Heather makes a joke comment if you examine the fence the first time on the hospital roof.

There is also a 4th reference, where Heather makes a comment when you check a mailbox in here apartment, but this one doesn't happen on the first play-through and only happens in Extra New Game.

If you don't have a completed SH2 PC save, I can try to send one.

@Randolph: I'm glad to see some loving for Shattered Memories; it was my first SH game and blew me away, even though it is technically just a spinoff.

Although I didn't think Downpour was bad. Actually, I'd say it is much better than Homecoming (although I enjoyed them both).

How would long time fans rate the "newer" Silent Hills?

This thread kinda inspired me to get back into series after having only played 1-4 but opinions on anything after 4 seem to be all over the place.

@pyratrum:

I honestly haven't played all the newer Silent Hill games.....I stopped after Shattered Memories...and like I said, for me, the true Silent Hill series was Silent Hill 1, Silent Hill 2, and Silent Hill 3 - with SH3 concluding the core original encompassing series story arc.

But that said....Shattered Memories is the best "new" Silent Hill game....what's also good is you can enjoy the game completely on it's own, since it is a re-imagined story that is literally disconnected from the rest of the series cannon.

Shattered Memories is literally a total re-imagining of the first game and takes place in what is essentially a completely different universe with the characters filling very different roles from their original counter-parts and with very different events happening, even the portrayal of the town and monsters is completely different. Like I said, Shattered Memories is it's own re-imagined story based off the basic elements of the first game's plot, but is completely disconnected from the rest of the series....it literally could have been it's own original ip.

That said, the story in Shattered Memories is very good, as is the psychological design....and it's got a really great twist at the end. It's definitely the best game out of the "new" post-Team Silent developed games....and like I said, even if you were a big fan of the original Team Silent developed games, you don't have to worry about Shattered Memories treading on or ruining the legacy of those games, since, like I said, with it being a re-imagined story taking place in a different game universe, it's basically disconnected from the core series and is it's own self contained narrative.

I would say Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is better overall then Silent Hill 4.....but imo not as good as the original three games. But it's honestly not a very good comparison since Shattered Memories feels like a very different game with a very different look and style, more so then SH4 did in comparison to the games that came before it....like I said, it can essentially be it's own original ip.

The rest of the "new" Silent Hill games that were developed from 2007 onward range from mediocre meh to downright bad....and don't even get me started on the horrible handling of the HD collection. The series certainly isn't anywhere near what it used to be.

All I want for the series right now is for them to properly preserve the original three games, like give the original versions a GoG release or a proper HD release with the original content intact...and then let the series rest in peace.

loved Silent Hill 2

Silent hill 2.

One of my top 5 best horror games ever.

@pyratrum: I'm not a "longtime fan" but Shattered Memories is fantastic for its story and music, and Downpour is pretty solid. I enjoyed Homecoming but I can also see why many fans dislike it.

I finished Silent Hill (PS1) yesterday and got the Good+ ending. The engrossing ambient music and raw visuals created this atmosphere which is better than in Silent Hill 2. There was a memorable part that i really loved - that Lisa cinematic in which she bleeds - and i will remember that for a long time.

But it's probably going to be my least favorite in the series. The puzzles were obtuse as hell, on a lot of them i wasted at least 30 minutes to an hour of my time. The lack of direction, even with the map, was ridiculous. I got used to the tank controls, but i never got used to those flying enemies which were a pain in the ass. The story was also a little too vague, and the writing & voice acting was far worse than i could have imagined. Considering Metal Gear Solid came out a year before SH1, and that has infinitely better writing and voice acting, age is no excuse.

I refrained from using a walkthrough because i wanted to experience the game as if i bought it wen it was released. It was worth playing though, i enjoyed some of the exploration and the atmosphere.

But overall Silent Hill 2 is definitely above it, personally, in terms of everything (combat, controls, writing, voice acting, music, characters, story) except for atmosphere. SH2 is going to be replayed as soon as i'm finished with SH3, because i want to experience it again. Such an amazing game.

Now i'm on to Silent Hill 3.

Silent Hill 2-> Silent Hill: Downpour -> Silent Hill 4-> Silent Hill 3-> Silent Hill 1-> Silent Hill Origins-> Silent Hill Shattered Memories-> Silent Hill Homecoming

I like that Wii one they did best.

Silent Hill 1 and 2 were the best after that it just went downhill.

Silent Hill 2 was my favourite in the series and Silent Hill 4 in second

@Lucianu: SH3 is beyond horrific. From what I understand, the atmosphere is much more like 1's, and you'll see why. Easily the scariest game I've played.

I'm planning to play it all night, so that's pretty awesome. I can't wait to see how it compares to SH1 and SH2.

@Lucianu: I'd say it's better than SH2 in terms of being scary. Obviously the story isn't up to par but as far as scare the pants off you goes it's ahead of the game. It has some of the most twisted and corrupt environments of any game ever. Just wait until you get to the hospital.

I honestly enjoyed Silent Hill 2, Shattered Memories, and Homecoming the most. I wasn't too hot on 1, 3 or 4, or Downpour.

I would say Origins and 4 were the worst.

in order:

1. Silent Hill 2
2. Silent Hill 3
3. Silent Hill 1 (not aged very well)
4. Silent Hill 4
5. Silent Hill: Downpour
6. Silent Hill: Homecoming
7. Silent Hill: Origins

Not played Shattered memories or book of memories yet.

I've only played the first 3, but of those I liked 2 best.

Silent Hill 2 for me. Though Silent Hill 1 scared me the most.

I like the first silent hill game.

I recently finished Silent Hill 3.. and i loved it. It's tied with SH2 as my favorite, but for completely different reasons.

SH2 wasn't scary for me, it's more depressing and disturbing than anything els, it was very easy, the enemy variety was sorely lacking, and the pace of the story is slow, and very vague if you don't explore and ponder about what you're seeing. I can completely understand why people would find it boring.

But i absolutely loved the brilliant writting, the storytelling (the best i've seen in game, only 20% of the story is directly told to you through cutscenes and dialogue. The rest of that 80% is left for you to discover though complex symbology, gameworld, character designs, enemy designs, etc. Also even areas that you explored once, if you return to some of them later in your playthrough, you may discover something different that'll shatter your preconception of the plot, or advance it further), the relateable, character driven story about personal guilt and redemption, the characters and the music.

SH3 story, albeit good 'n interesting, doesn't come close to SH2's complex, genuinly thought provoking narrative. The pace of the story isn't good either; the first half is very subtle and vague, wile in the last half of the game it bombarded me with cutscenes and general plot progression. The voice acting is weaker, and except for Heather, i didn't really care much of the other characters. The music isn't as good as in SH2 either.

But i absolutely loved how much true horror was poured into it. I honestly could not play at night alone, it scared the shit out of me. The sound design and imaginary created such a gross, raw and powerful atmosphere that was easily complemented by the fact that the enemies are much harder than in SH2, they're more terrifying, dangerous and far, far harder to kill. There was also a much more diverse array of enemies, as well as a lot of cool weapons to use on them, like a freaking katana. I also feel that it's more replayable, there are a lot of cool unlockables to get to make a second playthrough much more worthwile. Excellent game.

Now i'm on to Silent Hill 4, after deciding whether it's worth it or not. I've heard many praises for its plot, which is supposedly connected to SH2.

Well according to my Father and Aunt's PS1 adventures, Silent Hill 1 was great but I can also say that Silent Hill 3 was the best, Being the sequel from SH1 it's actually has a good spooky environment, puzzles and combat. For me, this is the best Silent Hill, all and all I can say that 1, 2 and 3 is great :D Though I haven't played the latest such as on the PSP and Silent Hill 4, 5, and the latest, Downpour.

@Lucianu: Haven't played 4 yet, but I read up on its plot... Let me put it this way. There was a certain person mentioned in a newspaper clipping in SH2 that becomes a major character in SH4.

Yeah I agree with pretty much everything you said (although the introduction of vocals in the soundtrack of SH3 was a good choice, IMO). SH2 is definitely more of an "artistic game", while SH3 is just pants shittingly terrifying. I'd say as far as being a pure horror game goes, SH3 is the better game, simply because, like you said, SH2 is supposed to be more saddening and unsettling than outright scary.

Also, for future games in the series, go into Homecoming and Downpour with an open mind, No, they aren't as good as the early games, but I'd say at the very least, Downpour is worth of the series pedigree; it does a lot of interesting things (the main one being the inclusion of side quests, which, to my surprise, actually ft in very well with the series gameplay) and actually has a solid story that isn't the character realizing some horrible act he committed in the past. That being said, I also dig Hoemcoming, simply ebcause of how demented it all feels. It's probably the most violent (or gruesome, at least) game of the series, and has a VERY strong visual design. Let me put it this way... The game has some of the most twisted and downright demonic looking bosses I've EVER seen in a game... The last one, in particular is just... Hellish. I'd say it's the weakest one I've played, but I still enjoyed it for its strengths.

Also, don't skip out on Shattered Memories. Just know this: It is NOT a part of the main series of games, it's a spinoff that uses the names and (somewhat) personalities of characters from the first game to tell something else. Honestly, and I know a lot of people will hate me for this, but I'd say the plot is on par with SH2. It's not a horror story, though, at least, not in the end. Looking back, it's loaded with symbolism and deeper meanings, and leaves a lot open to interpretation, much like SH2. It's honestly my second favorite game in the series, behind SH3, simply because that it does so much with the video game medium to tell its story in a different way. The soundtrack is also killer; Right up there with the first few games.

Silent Hill was best game in Silent Hill series.

I say the best was the original Silent Hill because it opened a new world filled with some unexpected surprises to the franchise, it was fresh and was very creepy at the time. Second I would go for Silent Hill 3 as it is the sequel to the first one and presented more creepiness compared to the original.