Silent Hill: Shattered Memories: Difference between revisions

 

 

 

 

'''''Silent Hill: Shattered Memories''''', released in 2009, is a reimagining of ''[[Silent Hill 1]]''. The underlying story remains the same: Harry Mason is searching for his daughter, Cheryl, in the seemingly-abandoned town of Silent Hill after a car accident strands him in the titular town.

The similarities between ''SH1'' and ''Shattered Memories'' are primarily in terms of character names; many new elements were introduced in ''Shattered Memories'', including a much-touted psychological survey which [[Content Warnings|tells players]] the game will be "[getting] in [their] head". This survey -- as well as a player's actions throughout the game -- will alter accessible areas, character appearances, and even characters' attitudes. ''Shattered Memories'' also alters nearly all the audio files and notes players find during the course of the game in subtle ways -- while the context of these "flashes" will be generally the same, the content will be subtly (but significantly) altered, which means no two playthroughs will be exactly the same.

 

 

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* [[Abandoned Hospital]]: A staple of the series returns.

* [[Abuse Is Okay When It Is Female On Male]]: Utterly averted in the ending {{spoiler|1=[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akYdjHkleek "Wicked and the Weak"]}}.

* [[Alternate Continuity]]: To the first game, though it could be a sequel to the {{spoiler|Bad End's Dying Dream}}.

* {{spoiler|[[The All-Concealing "I"]]}}: Rare video game example. The first-person viewed therapy sessions {{spoiler|are Cheryl's point of view, not Harry's}}.

* [[Body Horror]]: The Raw Shocks all exhibit more or less of this, especially depending on how you play.

* [[But Thou Must!]]: A variation during the Kaufmann sessions in that he'll screw with you no matter how you answer. For instance, he'll ask you "Never cheated on a partner? Really?", and it's vague if the answer is "yes, that's true" or "no, I haven't". Also, during the session of "who's dead and who's sleeping," Kaufmann will tell you they were all either sleeping or dead depending on which side has more photos. If you place all the photos on only one side, he simply laughs because you thought it was a trick question.

** The girl who constantly shoplifts from the mall and ends up defensively stabbing a security guard. {{spoiler|Turns out to most likely be Cheryl}}. She does appear to show remorse for it, however.

* [[Evil Is Deathly Cold]]: The Otherworld in this ''SH'' is a frozen-over wasteland.

* [[Eyeless Face]]: The Raw Shocks

* [[Expy]]: {{spoiler|Dahlia and Cheryl}} are channeling [[Silent Hill 3|Heather's]] character design. {{spoiler|Never mind that Cheryl's full name is Cheryl Heather Mason.}}

** Voice messages near the start of the game are of various people, such as a woman complaining about her wedding video being recorded over and a father and son out hunting. About halfway through, messages start focusing on two distinct character groups, one of a family of three (father and mother who fight a lot and their daughter) and one of a mother and rebellious teenage daughter. {{spoiler|This is indicative of how Harry is no longer around once Cheryl becomes a teen.}}

* [[Framing Device]]

* [[The Game Plays You]]: You're even warned about this at the beginning.

* [[Happier Home Movie]]: The game's opening cutscene. Whether or not the trope is played straight or subverted depends on which ending you get.

* [[Insurmountable Waist High Fence]]: The snow piles that block you are at least two feet taller than you, but judging by their formation could definitely be climbed over. A bizarre example is when Cybil takes you to the cabin in the woods, there's a knee high snowbank in front and behind the car you got there in and it apparently formed in the fifteen seconds it took for the car to park and you to get out (if you invoke [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]] by moving as quickly as possible rather than trying to wait for her). Given that Silent Hill is more or less a malevolent [[Genius Loci]]...

* [[Invincible Minor Minion]]: The Raw Shocks, who are also the only enemy in the game.

* [[Kleptomaniac Hero]]: Harry picks up various keys and mementos throughout the game. Subverted with the mementos in that {{spoiler|he's been dead from the beginning, and Cheryl already owns all those objects.}}

* [[Living Memory]]: {{spoiler|Harry}}

* [[The Reveal]]: {{spoiler|Kaufmann's patient is actually Cheryl; Harry has been dead for years.}}

* [[Rewind, Replay, Repeat]]: The opening cinematic is a [[Happier Home Movie]] given this treatment.

* [[Set Piece Puzzle]]: Generally to obtain a key. Most keys are found right next to the locked door, even.

* [[Shaped Like Itself]]: In the Brady Games player's guide, its explanation on the monsters in the game on page 41 has this as its first line:

* [[Shrug of God]]: Producer Tomm Hulett initially introduced the game as being set in an alternate continuity from the rest of the series; he later retracted his statement, instead saying that that might or might not be the case. As for the question of {{spoiler|whether Harry's a [[Living Memory]] interacting with real people, or the whole adventure is inside Cheryl's mind}}, his answer is that whatever interpretation the player relates to better is the right one.

* [[Snow Means Death]]: The whole game takes place during a terrible snowstorm.

* [[Stealth Pun]]:

** {{spoiler|"My mother was a bitch." As spoken by a dog.}}

* [[Stylistic Suck]]: Graphic design elements for many of the game's in-universe flyers, posters, etc. tend to mimic what the average person would make; hence the familiar, badly-put-together, honest layouts with a liberal, liberal amount of Comic Sans.

* [[Surreal Horror]]: The effect is somewhat more subtle than in previous games, however.

* {{spoiler|[[Through the Eyes of Madness]]}}: Eventually the whole game, though for one specific example, what objectively happens when {{spoiler|Dahlia replaces Michelle in the Balkan}}. Harry later tries to find out how {{spoiler|Michelle}} perceived that situation, but his question gets interrupted.

* [[Title Drop]]: From the official soundtrack is the song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9yeCEkbxdE "When You're Gone"]:

* [[Tomato Surprise]]: The therapist's appointments lead you to believe {{spoiler|you are either in control of yourself or Harry}}, but the camera is always in the first person. After the twist, the camera turns to see who has been sitting in the chair - {{spoiler|it's Cheryl, looking like a dark-haired version of her [[Silent Hill 3|SH3]] self}}.

* [[Trick Twist]]/[[Wham! Episode]]: Reaching the final stage of the game to find out that {{spoiler|you, Harry, have been [[Dead All Along]], ''and'' that some (if not all) of the things you encountered while exploring Silent Hill were ''all experienced by Cheryl''!}} Climax Studios earned its name with this one!

* [[Video Game Remake]]: It's a "re-imagining" of ''SH1'' with the same premise but is otherwise handled in a completely different fashion.

* [[Walk It Off]]: There's no health meter. Instead, the more hits Harry takes from the monsters, the more he stumbles about. Given enough time, he can recover. Justified by the fact that the monsters are not actively hitting him; they are lowering his body temperature, basically making him freeze to death.

* [[Wham! Line]]: A rare ''three''-fer.

** First, {{spoiler|"I know you're not Harry Mason!"}}

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Survival Horror]]

[[Category:Wii]]

[[Category:Akira Yamaoka]]

[[Category:Video Game]]