I keep thinking Maria's personality is like...Mary's when she was sick and abusive to James, as if this "Mary" was what made him kill the actual Mary in the first place, that's why the Maria end is kind...At the same time that it shows James didn't learn anything, it also shows him going home with the Mary he has hated all along.
I talked to her on Facebook one time (the voice actress) and asked her how she got in the zone to read the letter and be emotional.. She said jet lag really helped hahah
Damn foo. My favorite is the acceptance ending where he adopts Laura. That's one of the best good endings in video game history. Didja know that when Mary was giving her last letter speech, one of the sound designers cried?
EliteDeltaTeam Yeah, I like Leave a lot, although In Water is also great as well, and that makes Mary's letter even more heart wrenching for some reason.
A friend of mine played the game on a borrowed memory card so the game was already finished, he played it from beginning to end and ended up getting the dog ending as his first ending, and that is why he didn't like silent Hill 2
The way that line was executed makes it VERY clear James has had enough of the shit he's gone through and is very intent on not having to go through it again. The implication gives me chills every time.
Fabbicarus best voice acting in the entire game is that single line. the stern way he said it made ALL the difference. because if she doesn't fix it, well, it's smothering time
H8erfisternator And to think that this particular line has been completely ruined in the HD collection's new voice overs where he says it like it's a lighthearted joke. "Better do something about that cough, haha, lol. I'm fucking Troy Baker."
The entire sequence of leave felt like it was done so much better then the rest. Even the conversation between James and Maria before the final boss fight
TheBlackPigeon when i was a kid, i saw eddie from my instoction booklet... the first time i saw him, with hands on his pizza... how do i say this... i had a boner...
the rebirth ending gives me the MOST chills bc it essentially shows a scenario where james has NOT accepted his sins despite ALL the shit the town had him go through so that he would. the game is LITERALLY all about making him face his darkness and accepting the consequences that come with it, whether that be overcoming the guilt/adopting laura (leave) or being overwhelmed by the guilt/suicide (in water). and yet here he is, not having learned a thing and completely getting lost in his darkness instead. i mean, he literally came face to face with his guilt personified (pyramid head), but he's so far off the deep end that all the lessons/realizations the town should have taught him didn't work at all. not to mention the fact that you can't get this ending without having beaten the game once.. making a replay of all the monsters and puzzles possibly feel mundane and monotonous.. which is how james would be feeling once he's decided to take the town on despite choosing not to accept this reality. after all, what good is a town trying to make him accept his murder of mary when he can just bring her back to life?? there are no lessons to be learned here, just annoying obstacles in the way of him and mary's "happy ending". and yet, the town is the only place that can offer him this "alternative" to facing what he's done. here is this sentient town personifying the things james fears the most so that he can accept his crime, but it's also the only place that can (possibly) help him undo this very same crime. it's pretty ironic. the rebirth and maria ending show that trying to keep mary in some capacity instead of coming to terms that he killed her will only lead to his downfall. in a way, those feel like the bad endings, while in water and leave feel like "good" endings (even if james dies), because he has fulfilled the town's purpose for him. the entire point of silent hill 2 is to help james come to terms with himself, and only leave/in water seem to show what that leads to: he can accept what he has done and live with that while raising laura to help redeem himself. or he can decide death is the only atonement for a crime that can't be forgiven. and ending where james hasn't learned a damn thing and continues the karmic cycle is the real horror.
Which is why I see every new game plus as another round of James going through the same mental torment after not learning a damn thing and losing *another* Mary
Actually the dog licking James' face in the 1st ending symbolizes James getting a "taste of the truth". Proving that the Dog ending is actually the REAL canonical ending.
To anyone who wonders which is the real ending: According to SH4, James never left Silent Hill, ruling out the Leave and Maria endings. In Water is used as the ending of the novelization, and Guy Cihi (Jame's voice actor) and Masahiro Ito (the monster designer) both chose In Water as what they believe to be the ending of James' story. Of course, if aliens abducted James, nobody would have seen him again, thus giving the illusion he never left Silent Hill when he did in actuality. Just some food for thought.
They are all the "real ending." It just depends on how you view the universe. If I'm viewing Silent Hill 2 as a game, they're all fair game. As a series, sure, you can say the in water ending is the "real one."
Robin Powell Just because she said it, doesn't mean that's what he did. If you notice, all through the game James does crazy things just to get to mary. Jumping down bottomless holes, fighting monsters and shoving his hands in places they didn't belong. James didn't care about his life, all he wanted was Mary and without Mary, he had nothing left. Which would explain why he never truly cared for Maria, he took care of her because she looked like Mary but he never truly treated her like he did Mary. Someone below used the argument that "James said he'd never commit suicide", but come on, James was a super hypocrite, he looked at everyone else there almost as though they were crazy people and he was an innocent saint who was there to find his wife, when all along he was a murderer just like Eddie and angela.
Mary's full letter always fucks me up. The dialogue and her delivery of it pairs perfectly, it really feels like she's right there, pouring her heart out to you. It's fucking heartbreaking, especially the final line.
I always get touched with Leave and In Water ending. I think they are the "real" endings that, in my opinion, should happen: Recognize that you killed her because you hated her for stealing your life and either move on with your life or accept that you can't live anymore with what you did and commit suicide. Maria ending looks like he is using her as a bandage for his phsicological issues and, let's say, it shows that he is weak and wants Mary back even though all that happened. I don't think my friend James Sunderland diserves to go through the same hell, he got through with Mary... I appreciate James too much... (Sorry for my bad english)
I mean it depends really. In water is pretty much a fitting end for the game. But at the same time each ending can be canon in one way or another. Like the UFO ending being able to connect SH1, 2 and 3 in one.
@@fuckingking6796 its implied from the detective in sh3 and his dad in sh4 that james died, since no one knows what happened to him after going to silent hill, he just disappeared
Yeah on the wiki it says he smothered her then put her in the back seat rather than the trunk and was going to kill himself in Silent Hill, but during the drive he respressed the memory.
I think the leave ending is actually my favourite. After flipflopping back and forth between them all for a decade, I think it is because James admits the truth. He wanted her out of the way. He hated her for stealing his life. But he isn't happy even when he achieves this. He still can't let go. Finally he receives closure and gets told to move on with his life. That's very powerful, being told to continue living, even when you have made huge mistakes and no longer have your loved ones around. Recently I was seeing this Chinese girl recently, and things got very intense between us. I was thinking everything was moving forwards. I was with the girl of my dreams, starting my business up and everything. At the age of 30, my life was finally coming together. I was wanted and loved by somebody. Now I could stand with all the rest of my friends and prove that I wasn't a failure. I wasn't still that class clown who didn't amount to anything from school. But then she told me that she just wanted to be friends. This is after intense passion, after we'd talked about our future together and marriage, after basically falling for her. I couldn't understand it. It really spun me for a loop, and then the next week she was with some other guy, and I was all over the place. In a real dark place in my mind. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I thought God was telling me I was useless. It sounds stupid and is nothing compared to what other people go through in their life. But to me it just was like someone hit me with a hammer and the impact stayed with me for weeks. As well some of the money didn't come through for the business and it really seemed like it was going to completely fail. Anyway, at some point I realised I needed to move on with my life. I just wanted to post this after I heard Mary speak that line to James.
wow very good advice. sorry to hear what you went through. that's crazy. I don't think I could cope with that. I'm not sure about proving to God that I'm stronger than Him, but I totally agree with the rest of what you said. How is your life going now? what are you fighting and living for? do you mind if I ask this? how you kept going despite the terrible tragedy?
AYO 😭😭😭 for the first time since my dad got it for me on ps2 i played thru it and was pissed i got the leave ending instead of in water but this has me sent! tbh james prolly was straight up following laura
I got the "leave" ending. So sad but it's outcome is the best. In that one James actually realized what he did, stopped lying to himself and also realized there's nothing he could actually do to bring Mary back. All he could do is face his demons (both metaphorically and literally), find forgiveness in himself and find the strength to move on.
@@mhz163 So James acknowledging what he did to his sick wife was selfish and sinister and being able move on with his and being able to move on despite still having guilt and depression towards his actions isn't a nice ending? Then what is, Rebirth?
Si si .. todo muy lindo pero no te pusiste a pensar que pasa si James y Laura van al auto de James para ver en la parte de atrás el cuerpo de Mary muerto ???
@@mhz163 You don't get to make up anyone else's mind about "canon" endings. The guy who wrote the story invited players to choose for themselves, so do that and quit being a prick.
With regards to the Maria Ending: You know what'd be really funny and ironic about this Ending? What if it's deliberately made out to foretell James repeating the same mistakes again but the opposite happens. What if Maria falls ill just like Mary and James runs for the pillow again. However, just as he is about to kill Maria he realizes that he's done this before. Perhaps this Ending isn't truly as bad as people think? Perhaps he stops himself and decides to see Maria out even if it means being at her side as she dies. Remember, regardless of whatever ending we get, the Pyramid Heads still kill themselves in acknowledgement of James learning his lesson after the dual PH battle. So even by choosing this Ending James has learnt something. Even with that sinister warning line at the end I cannot help but believe that James will not kill Maria. Perhaps she'll interrupt him as he's about to smother her and ask, "So, you're doing me in like your Mary?" And then he gives in and decides to spare her. As much as Leave Ending has James getting an innocent lil friend as redemption, Maria ending could offer a different kind of redemption. By repeating history over again and offering James the chance to literally stop himself from commiting the same heinous crime again. Too much speculation here.
You're not alone in thinking that. I didn't thoroughly acknowledge what the ending meant when I played this as a kid. But I got older. I've made mistakes. I dare even say grave ones. And you learn to acknowledge the cycle. What I originally saw as a tragic irony, I now see as an opportunity. A chance. A chance to be better and make yourself an example of growth.
I think the real point is that he still lives in denial with the Maria ending. Pyramid Heads kill them self not because he has learnt his lesson but because he faces the truth. Maria isn't real as she's a fantasma that James creates, so in the end he just continues to live in an illusion and he doesn't even really leave Silent Hill. And moreover he is in the loop according to that cough, so he doesn't leave his purgatory. I think that's the darker ending of all.
I honestly believe that all endings are not endings as such, if they would be nothing more than lessons that James learns During the game and that is repeated until ending with a true ending.
Love the OG voice actress for Mary/Maria and her emotional switches between the two. Plus, Maria's eyes when she says "You deserve to die too James!" in the Leave ending is full of purely, genuine, murderous rage.
"In Water" is the best ending because it's the most depressing and really goes well with the theme of the games, it's what Silent Hill does to its victims. James was guilty and just wanted to kill himself, Silent Hill "lured" him back. "Leave" it's surely the most satisfying tho.
And along the game there's a lot of things that points that James do kill himself. (Probably before the game itself start) The dead body in front of the tv that looks exactly like him, the negation of doing it when he speaks with Angela, the same way he hid from himself the fact that he killed Mary, or that he hated her, etc. In my opinion, he commited suicide, and is now on Silent Hill as the others to get punished. And considering that Laura is dead too, the "Leave" ending is just their souls made it to moving on, and finally leaving that town (purgatory/limbo).
In water is the most satisfying to a man who was guilty of killing his wife and came to silent hill for the purpose of dying but was comtemplating if he should really kill himself, james is too dismissive of mary in the leave ending imo.
okay. i just finished silent hill 2. i've been just sitting in my chair in silence for like 1 hour. no movie, book or game has make me feel like this in a LONG time. i can't believe how good silent hill 2 is. im simply spechless, just sinking in the void of my thoughts
I got the leave ending on my first play through and after watching all of these I'm actually happy with my first original ending. It shows James finally moving on with his life after what happened, and he brings the little girl with him BOTH of them moving on. Way better than my first playthrough of the first Silent Hill game where everybody in the end dies. :P
I feel like the good ending is James after his journey gaining the strength to face his demons, atone for his sins and truly change for the better, The Maria ending is James learning nothing and falling further into his awful ways, The in water ending being James breaking down further from his journey and giving up
My favorite part: 5:35. Monica's voice inflection on "I'll be here for you forever." Is very telling.. lonely yet.. "just love me, please" as well as confident. That the magic of SH; so many emotions in one simple sentence.
@@mhz163 besides the water ending I think it's the only one that concludes James story. He moved on with his life and came to accept what he had done and that he did what Mary wanted him to do and move on with his life because of everything he did for her.
Silent Hill is a trip. It can be sad, confusing, awesome then throw you through a loop with something like the dog ending. A mastermind corgi controlling everything behind the scenes. Gotta love it.
In Japan there referred to as "Shiba Inu" If you'd like to get cultural . Shiba by itself just means brushwood. Whereas Shiba Inu means brushwood dog. Ya know, from one uncultured swine to another :)
Leave is my favorite ending. I don't know why, it just is. In Water I find makes the most sense, logically, but......I just prefer Leave. James acknowledges his faults, accepts his sins, realizes he came to hate Mary and wanted her gone-- but still decides to live with it. Despite how much he wants to love Mary, despite how much he still holds in his heart he--tries to move on. Go on and keep living. Anyway, that's why I like Leave.
36:00 THAT moment is some of the most effective horror i've ever seen in a video game and the fact that i can barely explain it with words is probably proof of that
@@yvesheinrich5013 We may never know what they meant by effective horror. Perhaps they saw James become a normal man and decided to help Laura as he promised his wife because of what happened to her parents. He learned his lesson and decided he would fulfill her wishes.
"Leave" The first and only ending I ever get. This game is, still today, amazing. It made me go through a lot of pain as it made me accept the death of a person I loved before a decade after it happenned. Cancer is a scary thing, I only saw sadness with it, even with the people who survived it... But good day on you my friend. I m happy to see people still loving this game
I like the idea that James is stuck in a loop. That he continually chooses Maria, deciding to call her Mary, but she gets sick and dying so he commits his sin again, then is lead back to Silent Hill and meets new players. And that’s the reason in the Remake that there are a few detail differences and changes in tech. In the remake, he finally breaks the loop and accepts what he did and leaves
He gets out of the loop by getting more visible pores on his face. Now we need Harry to go from his low res polygonal model to his cutscene model for gameplay in order to get the secret triple plus good ending.
What if all the UFO endings, in all the Silent Hill world, are reals? o_O I mean: In the first one Harry is abducted by aliens who later are his friend, so he survived until the second one and abduct James, taking him into the spaceship. In the third Heather arrives to her house finding Harry, James and the alien. They eventually destroy a part of Silent Hill, but not ALL the Silent Hill town. So Alex Shepherd, arrives to Silent Hill tricked by Travis (which is part of the aliens too, for the UFO ending of Origins), and thats a trap to abduct him too. That may explain the reason to why the town is empty. Its because all the town was abducted, or destroyed in the third game.
The real ending is all of them at once, whilst at the same time none. For me, that's kind of the point and actually what makes it the scariest game of all time, and is the most powerful thing that it does. A conclusion is something people can deal with, something people can cope with, get their head around ... accept. Talk about in certain terms. Move on. The whole game as you're going through it, trying to work out whats going on, piece it all together, make sense of it. And then at the end, it pulls it straight back to the most terrifying aspect of real life - Kirkegaard's terrifying, dizzying realisation of free will and a lack of divinely ordained (read: game designer as god here, creator) meaning in the universe. Everything is simultaneously valid and invalid at the same time. There is no conclusion. There is only choice and will. Camus' "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide." (give up - In Water Ending) Hamlet's "Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them" (Leave ending) Maria is solipsism and hedonism - the only thing that matters is the self, the self is the center of the world and it should be gratified. The Doge and UFO ending fit very well into the 'leap of faith' conclusion that Kirkegaard came to - that there must be some higher power behind all this. Some design. The difference is the style - the UFO is more in line with giving up the responsibility of self-determination to a God, over-power intervention (as well as themes of external saviour and rescue). The Doge is what Freud would equate to in his essay Civilizations and its Discontents, more on the side of true escape from the situation entirely in inebriation - for humans this would be alcohol, drugs, but as the game cannot force these upon you it gives you its next best medicine - laughter. Do you Will the In Water ending to be real? Then this is your truth. Do you Will the Doge ending to be real (see also: fact)? Then this is your truth. True terror is realising how free you are, and how nothing will ever be truly resolved. Multiple endings : true genius. True horror.
I see why In Water is the most accepted ending despite its heavy tragedy on the protagonist, it feels like the most logical and proper closure compared to the alternatives. In Maria James comes off as too out of character and doesn't stay true to himself. Also, the implication of Maria's illness is pretty much pointless since she can't exist in the normal world outside of Silent Hill, regardless of her health. Even within Silent Hill she actively avoided showing herself to other people than James. No matter what, James wouldn't be able to liive with her. Leave doesn't make sense, the last time you see Laura she hates James for killing Mary and doesn't want to see him again, but in the end she leaves Silent Hill together with him for some reason. Not to mention that James wouldn't be able to go on living normally because he would be apprehended for killing Mary (this is also true for the Maria ending). Rebirth is too ambiguous and suggests some form of stronger insanity within James that hasn't been shown before. The other endings are jokes, so this leaves In Water as the most rational finale of SH2.
Does anyone else feel bad for the Mary/Maria "clones"? All they know in their brief existence is they exist for/because of James, and they inevitably go out just to teach him a lesson or be rejected by him.
I just beat this and i don't think it ever truly explained who the little girl was...but then again, in this series just about everything is imagined anyway.
She was also ill with Mary in hospital, and they developed a close relationship there. Mary said she would adopt her, so Laura didn't have any parents.
Also remember that the town draws in people significant to the main people involved, hence why Laura apparently didn't see any monsters and wasn't harmed, because she didn't do anything bad or felt any kind of guilt. She was there because she was like a daughter to Mary and -maybe- subconsciously she felt the need to see her.
I think I figured out why I don't like the Maria ending. I choose to interpret Maria's character as an illusion. While I haven't played the Born from a Wish scenario, I can say the name has implications about Maria. The whole "I'm what you wanted" that she shouts at him. She's an illusion. Eddie, Laura, and Angela are real people, with fleshed out backstories (to varying degrees). Maria is part of Silent Hill giving him what he thinks he wants, and then punishing him. However, the cough at the end... I guess that saves the ending for me. Because to me, Maria represents Silent Hill almost in its entirety. If he leaves with her, he's bringing the baggage of the game with him, and can never have a normal life. He has to reject her in the Leave or In Water endings and whatnot to reach some form of closure. If he doesn't reject her, he will always be reminded of his sin, and doesn't that mean Silent Hill won? Is this a widely accepted theory or do most people view Maria as a real person?
I believe she's just a manifestation of James's wife Mary but since she's what James ever wanted she's very kinky and often reminds him of the stuff that reminds him of Mary
that does not matter, regardless of the fact that Maria is a creation of the town, the cough that she gives at the end indicates that she will die of the same disease as Mary
So unnecessary having so many endings, as well as the ridiculous tasks you must do to achieve them. Just give me the one and only true dog ending and that would have been fine with me.
Jose Lara Ridiculous tasks? Yeah, collect some items/Visit Maria twice in the hospital/Don't heal much and examine Angela's knife and the suicide note in the hospital roof, wow, so difficult
The best thing about the death bed scene is that from the dialogue one can see that it actually was not while Mary was still alive but when she was dead already. Meaning this was her soul having a final talk with him and not blaming him at all.
I got In Water as my 1st playthrough ending, for me it's the Canon ending. Seems most appropriate for James considering that he went through this hell because of his repressed guilt for what he's done, and finally has his release.
What an interesting game. I remember my friend showing me the "leave ending" back when I was in high school. I didn't know this game was deep and psychological.
"If that were true, then why do you look so sad?" Such a gut-punch of a question/observation. And the way the voice actress read Mary's full letter is so heartbreaking ly well done. Just a hell of an ending to one hell of a game.
can I say I cried playing this game when I was young. not from being scared but it was so deep... I hadn't got time to get the doge ending but now that I look at it, it's okay.
People kept mentioning that the Maria ending is the worst ending since it seems to put James back into a loop and shows that he may not yet have changed as of the ending of silent hill 2. While that may be true, it could also be another means of redemption and another therapeutic session for James given to him by Silent hill. Silent hill is strange in a way that it reels in people that have current baggage of their trauma or guilt from the past. After the victim finally accepts their guilt, they're free to their choices; but depending on the individual's choices, the town may or may not add some more trials to change the individual for the better or the worst (it could be a way to reel them back again).
exactly, they all see it as a loop, but it's ambigious. It can just be James fear of facing the same thing again, a ghost that still lives, but doesn't mean it's a hint at Maria's illness, cause she's a creation of his mind. It's more like James being paranoid, since he needs time to let go.
I'm not sure I'd call it a complete loop since he knows his wife is dead, and he read her letter; And let's not forget: he actually thinks he is getting over his wife by being with Maria. Maria isn't even real, nor should she even be alive in that world, and he doesn't seem to show he understands this, or maybe he does, but he simply doesn't care because he'd rather be with a fantasy Maria in Silent Hill than back in the real world and lonely. Is that even more depressing? Unless of course he really is walking around town seeing delusions. In that case it'd be kind of funny, from an outsider's perspective of course. There is the possibility that he just met Maria and he's ready to move on, but that doesn't explain the whole nightmare of a game, nor the fact that Maria looks like Mary. Maria can't possibly be real...or can she be? Maybe Mary was a dream...
Indeed, people with traumas, fears and guilt from the past tend to be brought to Silent Hill, and that has been show with almost every character since SH2, Heather and her insecurities and identity problems, Travis and his traumas with her mom mental problem, Alex and his repressed guilt for killing his brother, Murphy and his fear of accepting his past mistakes, and even Henry, in some complex way, as we can assume he is a kind of an outcast and lonely guy, maybe with fears and insecurities towards rejection (Well, the implications of isolation and marginality in SH4 go way beyond than a common character development, as that is lacking from the game and the subjects mentioned are shown throughout the premise and lore of the game, gameplay and even Walter himself, but it depends too much on how you interpret the game, as ambiguous as it is). I also think that sometimes characters just get stuck into endless loops, as it has been said that Howard (The delivery guy from Downpour) is also going through this, as in Past Life is shown that he has been around the time since centuries, and even do many people point out he could be a ghost from the town, it has also been said that he killed once a man in self-defense, and he feels guilty for it, dragging him to Silent Hill and probably is still trapped there as he still has some sins to pay for. Also, in Downpour's Complete Circle ending the same happens to Murphy, meanwhile in the Reversal ending this happens again but to Anne, in this case, is a loop, but with some variations, like Maria ending in SH2
Maria was "born from a wish".. whichever way you look at her is your own choice. I really like that ending, especially cause Maria isn't the copy of Mary, she has different character and everything. That means he's not substituting Mary with her, but he's realizing that he might like the other type, but to be with her he has to "kill" the memories of Mary (she's not real anyway already in the game, it's her ghosts that keep him traumatized)and move on with Maria. It's more like shaping your own reality, maybe in some disturbing way, but still.
It's a loop, but one that only has the momentum to spin around a couple more times at most I think. I tend to go for the Maria ending on a replay myself. Mainly because it seems like the saddest ending, and that's the most fitting. But also because I like Maria and feel bad for her. Which is part of what makes it so sad, because her only ending is a doomed one...
Not sure what ending is true, I guess they all are, or none also, but I think it should be the "Leave" ending, the entire game was him accepting what he's done, to move on, I feel "in water" kinda throws it in the trash, especially after that epic scene before fighting the 2 pyramid heads, SO AWESOME! Same with Maria ending since she CLEARLY wasn't real, and James SHOULD realize that. Another thing, none of the other endings show what happens to the little girl.
I like to think of the game as a bit of a schrodinger's cat scenario. None are true until you complete the game and we find out what kind of man James is. My first playthrough I got "In Water" which was strangely... okay. (basically I hoarded life items the entire game, waiting for a ramp in difficulty that never really came... and I never realized there was a "green" health level) I mean, in that ending he still admits the truth about his guilt for killing his wife and receives the absolution he desires. The only problem with it is that James fails to find anything to live for. "Maria" I think is the least satisfying for me. It's hard for me to think of Maria as a real person and not just as a manifestation of Silent Hill. And maybe in the Maria ending, she still is... Allowing James to leave with her only to watch Maria die as well (no doubt of the same disease that took Mary) is yet another punishment heaped upon him by that cursed town. Or, perhaps she is a real person after all... but then how did she know the things she knew? Was she under the spell of the ghost of Mary? In which case, who is Maria anyway? "Leave" is probably the most satisfying of all, as James is somehow able to explain his actions to Laura and they leave together to make a new future together.
Froggy711 It's easier to accept the Maria ending if you play the Born From a Wish scenerio on special edition/the HD remix versions of the game. It goes a little more in depth in a short game where you play as Maria and it does give her a little more character. While Leave to me is the most satisfying, if I had to guess from Silent Hill the Room, the canonical ending would either be the In Water or even the Rebirth endings. I'm not sure if it's a scene you can miss, but the landlord of the apartments that Henry is in is hinted to be James' father and comments how he went missing. So either the in water ending happened, or something terrible happened when he tried to bring mary back to life.
I actually haven't played anything past SH2 (just finished it this week, going to start SH3 soon) buhdanyway... I did play the Born From A Wish scenario, which kind of establishes Maria a bit more, but also reiterates the fact that she is a manifestation and not a real person. For some reason knowing that she's a manifestation, it's just hard for me to imagine that she can even leave Silent Hill at all. But SH is basically magic, and if they want Maria to be able to leave, then I guess she can. *shrugs*
Just finished my first playthrough on the PC version. I got the "Leave" ending and I honestly couldn't be more satisfied with the ending. I was on the verge of tears when the letter was being read. Beautiful story and ending.
Im 30 and unfortunately missed this when I was a kid. I played Silent Hill 2 for the first time just a few weeks ago and... wow. I've played a lot of games throughout my life, and Silent Hill 2 was without a doubt one of the most incredible games I have ever played. The leave ending I got brought me to tears, nothing I play today even comes close to this game. What a masterpiece.
![Back In The Foggiest Of Towns! · SILENT HILL 2 [Part 1]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KaLQX6wlKJM/mqdefault.jpg)
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"I'll never yell at you or make you feel bad!" She says. Yelling at him.
FoxWithAMask and making him feel bad.
I keep thinking Maria's personality is like...Mary's when she was sick and abusive to James, as if this "Mary" was what made him kill the actual Mary in the first place, that's why the Maria end is kind...At the same time that it shows James didn't learn anything, it also shows him going home with the Mary he has hated all along.
Reject this bitch James!!!
You call that yelling? Lol
I laughed so hard my neighbours knocked the walls! True Lol.
The acting of Mary's voice actress when she reads the letter always gets to me, it really makes me want to tear up
DarkHearthLess And now imagine that the people in charge of the HD collection considered her acting shit. Dumb fucks.
I talked to her on Facebook one time (the voice actress) and asked her how she got in the zone to read the letter and be emotional.. She said jet lag really helped hahah
jeremyjealousy Lol, thanks for sharing this.
jeremyjealousy Best piece of Silent Hill trivia ahaha
Yeah just finished the game few minutes ago and I almost couldnt handle it :p
Played the PS2 version
That cough is the best thing about Maria's ending. It's an endless loop.
+EliteDeltaTeam Definitely, it shows that James hasn't learned a single thing since coming to Silent Hill.
Damn foo. My favorite is the acceptance ending where he adopts Laura. That's one of the best good endings in video game history. Didja know that when Mary was giving her last letter speech, one of the sound designers cried?
EliteDeltaTeam Yeah, I like Leave a lot, although In Water is also great as well, and that makes Mary's letter even more heart wrenching for some reason.
She's asking him to move on but babbles like a foo and kills 'im self.
+Nathan Howard sorry but that's a bad ending
A friend of mine played the game on a borrowed memory card so the game was already finished, he played it from beginning to end and ended up getting the dog ending as his first ending, and that is why he didn't like silent Hill 2
But he got the best one !
I don't believe it's possible to get the dog ending upon your first playthrough, as it's classified as an extra ending like the UFO endings.
@@BehindEmptiness yeah but it was a borrowed memory card with the game already finished, so he had to restart a game, in this case it's possible.
That's funny af 😂😂😂 Imagine after all his sufferings, solving puzzles, creepy monsters and miserable story he gets that ending 😂😂
god I WISH the dog ending was my first ending
Dog ending was deep.
maybe it was the one that fat kid killed
Doge Stanhope perhaps?
No...he appears in other games!
Mark Reilly, Dog - God ending))
The most phyosophical one.
Eddie thought he killed that football player's dog but he lived and now spends his days torturing people who have ever been mean to dogs.
who is eddie
hassan herman the fat guy
Lupa737 Mira’s actually a girl (and no, I’m not _that_ kind of person).
lool yes Ya notice how the dog growls at eddies picture?
Good
Mary's voice actor actually cried during recording out of sadness. Pretty hard hitting stuff
too bad she was absolutely terrible in literally every other line in the game, along with all the voice actors.
Doctor [REDACTED] Potts actually she probably cried because of how fucking terrible this game is
+h e l o lmao
+h e l o lmao come on, you can do better than that
@@helo5328 it's not the game is bad, it's just that you have a very bad taste
"You'd better do something about that cough.." HOLY FUCK JAMES. REALLY NOW?
The way that line was executed makes it VERY clear James has had enough of the shit he's gone through and is very intent on not having to go through it again.
The implication gives me chills every time.
Fabbicarus
best voice acting in the entire game is that single line. the stern way he said it made ALL the difference. because if she doesn't fix it, well, it's smothering time
H8erfisternator And to think that this particular line has been completely ruined in the HD collection's new voice overs where he says it like it's a lighthearted joke. "Better do something about that cough, haha, lol. I'm fucking Troy Baker."
yeah it's just him and his fears. I dont buy into the "loop" thing. The ending is left open. Great one, especially after "born from a wish"
"You better do something about that cough. *fluffs pillow menacingly*"
Silent Hill 2 affected my mentality throughout life in a way no other media on any other medium has ever done before.
It's a Masterpiece
James Deal like the dog ending ?
James Deal Play Souls games. Pieces of art, just like Silent Hill.
@@Walamonga1313 they're not like silent hill you moron
is it? I got bored after like 20 minutes... some of the worst controls ever in a game
SAME JAMES... Omg I’m Mary and ur James lol weird
"James...if that were true, then why do you look so sad?" The most heartbreaking phrase in the finale for me. Therefore, I love the ending "leave" ...
Living on Mars!!!!
If they want a happy ending then ok but they will never be saved from reality.
The entire sequence of leave felt like it was done so much better then the rest. Even the conversation between James and Maria before the final boss fight
My favorite ending 😢
Everytime I hear Mary's line " James... You made me happy." I have to hold tears.
the whole letter just destroys me uuuggghhh
@@jivemelon same here
You though you would find your Mary here. BUT IT WAS I, MARIA!
this jjba reference tho
Hoshi Tidy very niceu shibe chan
Even Eddie is afraid!
Johnny Leyenda
What a beautiful Toluca.
TheBlackPigeon when i was a kid, i saw eddie from my instoction booklet... the first time i saw him, with hands on his pizza... how do i say this... i had a boner...
I really think that the "Dog Ending" is the canonical one.
They're all canonical IMHO.
Froggy711 EXACTLY! When game have multiple endings...all of them should be "REAL" endings. Thats how I see it.
it's the dog eddie killed so he used james search for mary to kill eddie (=
Froggy711 No. The dog ending and the ufo ending are bonus endigs only achivable after your first gameplay and not canon.
SantiLokyyo it's Canon actually
J: "you'd better do something about that cough."
M: "ya, or you'll fucking murder me!"
Very very bad! But... lol
Yeah.thats a very sad joke
BEST COMMENT SO FAR HAHAHAHAHA
Transforms into second bed monster
Omg the UFO ending is hilarious. They kept Harry's original model with those creepy one chunk hands.
You've heard of One Punch Man
Now get ready for...ONE CHUNK MAN
the rebirth ending gives me the MOST chills bc it essentially shows a scenario where james has NOT accepted his sins despite ALL the shit the town had him go through so that he would. the game is LITERALLY all about making him face his darkness and accepting the consequences that come with it, whether that be overcoming the guilt/adopting laura (leave) or being overwhelmed by the guilt/suicide (in water). and yet here he is, not having learned a thing and completely getting lost in his darkness instead. i mean, he literally came face to face with his guilt personified (pyramid head), but he's so far off the deep end that all the lessons/realizations the town should have taught him didn't work at all. not to mention the fact that you can't get this ending without having beaten the game once.. making a replay of all the monsters and puzzles possibly feel mundane and monotonous.. which is how james would be feeling once he's decided to take the town on despite choosing not to accept this reality. after all, what good is a town trying to make him accept his murder of mary when he can just bring her back to life?? there are no lessons to be learned here, just annoying obstacles in the way of him and mary's "happy ending".
and yet, the town is the only place that can offer him this "alternative" to facing what he's done. here is this sentient town personifying the things james fears the most so that he can accept his crime, but it's also the only place that can (possibly) help him undo this very same crime. it's pretty ironic.
the rebirth and maria ending show that trying to keep mary in some capacity instead of coming to terms that he killed her will only lead to his downfall. in a way, those feel like the bad endings, while in water and leave feel like "good" endings (even if james dies), because he has fulfilled the town's purpose for him. the entire point of silent hill 2 is to help james come to terms with himself, and only leave/in water seem to show what that leads to: he can accept what he has done and live with that while raising laura to help redeem himself. or he can decide death is the only atonement for a crime that can't be forgiven. and ending where james hasn't learned a damn thing and continues the karmic cycle is the real horror.
Have you ever watched Infinity Train before? Would James also come in terms with himself too if he got aboard on that train?
@@makmakg242 Jame's number would be absolutely massive lol
Which is why I see every new game plus as another round of James going through the same mental torment after not learning a damn thing and losing *another* Mary
Shit bro that was deep but you right 😮
Mary's letter kills me every time
killed HER too lol
@Shaman Xeed aw you must be like a tween, let your balls drop before you comment TURD
I see someone is angy
Y'all losers
@@ugandahater what did uganda do to u? :(
Actually the dog licking James' face in the 1st ending symbolizes James getting a "taste of the truth". Proving that the Dog ending is actually the REAL canonical ending.
ikr UWU
@@mhz163 We're all controlled by the Mighty Shibe.
Deadass
To anyone who wonders which is the real ending:
According to SH4, James never left Silent Hill, ruling out the Leave and Maria endings. In Water is used as the ending of the novelization, and Guy Cihi (Jame's voice actor) and Masahiro Ito (the monster designer) both chose In Water as what they believe to be the ending of James' story.
Of course, if aliens abducted James, nobody would have seen him again, thus giving the illusion he never left Silent Hill when he did in actuality. Just some food for thought.
Wow that sucks. I prefer if it were the leave ending since that's the one I got, and it shows James and the girl both moving on. Ah well.
"That's why I want you to live for yourself now." clearly shows his suicide wasn't the intended end.
They are all the "real ending." It just depends on how you view the universe. If I'm viewing Silent Hill 2 as a game, they're all fair game. As a series, sure, you can say the in water ending is the "real one."
Robin Powell
Just because she said it, doesn't mean that's what he did. If you notice, all through the game James does crazy things just to get to mary. Jumping down bottomless holes, fighting monsters and shoving his hands in places they didn't belong. James didn't care about his life, all he wanted was Mary and without Mary, he had nothing left. Which would explain why he never truly cared for Maria, he took care of her because she looked like Mary but he never truly treated her like he did Mary. Someone below used the argument that "James said he'd never commit suicide", but come on, James was a super hypocrite, he looked at everyone else there almost as though they were crazy people and he was an innocent saint who was there to find his wife, when all along he was a murderer just like Eddie and angela.
Thats why i love james as a character, he has personality and flaws like a human being
Mary's full letter always fucks me up. The dialogue and her delivery of it pairs perfectly, it really feels like she's right there, pouring her heart out to you. It's fucking heartbreaking, especially the final line.
I always get touched with Leave and In Water ending. I think they are the "real" endings that, in my opinion, should happen: Recognize that you killed her because you hated her for stealing your life and either move on with your life or accept that you can't live anymore with what you did and commit suicide. Maria ending looks like he is using her as a bandage for his phsicological issues and, let's say, it shows that he is weak and wants Mary back even though all that happened. I don't think my friend James Sunderland diserves to go through the same hell, he got through with Mary...
I appreciate James too much... (Sorry for my bad english)
nah water ending IS Canon
@@mhz163 did james die?
@@fuckingking6796 who knows .. but suppose so.
I mean it depends really. In water is pretty much a fitting end for the game. But at the same time each ending can be canon in one way or another. Like the UFO ending being able to connect SH1, 2 and 3 in one.
@@fuckingking6796 its implied from the detective in sh3 and his dad in sh4 that james died, since no one knows what happened to him after going to silent hill, he just disappeared
One of the scariest, greatest psychological horror games ever created...ends with a shiba inu pulling the strings. Doge is Lord!!!
Wanna know the real mindfuck? Mary is in the back of his car all along.
what? when? where? didnt catch it
Wayward Son He meant the car James drove to silent Hill, 1st scene from where the game begins.
You're serious??
Yeah on the wiki it says he smothered her then put her in the back seat rather than the trunk and was going to kill himself in Silent Hill, but during the drive he respressed the memory.
holy crap.. that is FUCKED! (thank u btw)
I think the leave ending is actually my favourite. After flipflopping back and forth between them all for a decade, I think it is because James admits the truth. He wanted her out of the way. He hated her for stealing his life.
But he isn't happy even when he achieves this. He still can't let go. Finally he receives closure and gets told to move on with his life. That's very powerful, being told to continue living, even when you have made huge mistakes and no longer have your loved ones around.
Recently I was seeing this Chinese girl recently, and things got very intense between us. I was thinking everything was moving forwards. I was with the girl of my dreams, starting my business up and everything. At the age of 30, my life was finally coming together. I was wanted and loved by somebody. Now I could stand with all the rest of my friends and prove that I wasn't a failure. I wasn't still that class clown who didn't amount to anything from school.
But then she told me that she just wanted to be friends. This is after intense passion, after we'd talked about our future together and marriage, after basically falling for her.
I couldn't understand it. It really spun me for a loop, and then the next week she was with some other guy, and I was all over the place. In a real dark place in my mind. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I thought God was telling me I was useless. It sounds stupid and is nothing compared to what other people go through in their life. But to me it just was like someone hit me with a hammer and the impact stayed with me for weeks.
As well some of the money didn't come through for the business and it really seemed like it was going to completely fail.
Anyway, at some point I realised I needed to move on with my life. I just wanted to post this after I heard Mary speak that line to James.
wow very good advice. sorry to hear what you went through. that's crazy. I don't think I could cope with that.
I'm not sure about proving to God that I'm stronger than Him, but I totally agree with the rest of what you said.
How is your life going now? what are you fighting and living for? do you mind if I ask this? how you kept going despite the terrible tragedy?
kdreamland
You need a psychiater, talking to yourself is rarely a good sign.
+LukeSparrow Maybe he was replying to someone who deleted his comment...
Kuroperrock
Perchance. Or maybe he's just a wonderfully crazy individual.
LukeSparrow Hahaha maybe
You can make the Leave ending funnier if you pretend James is stalking a child through the graveyard.
Stephen Walsh 😂
Goddammit! Now I can't unsee this😂😂
bruh lmfao
that's what i thought before they walked out together
AYO 😭😭😭 for the first time since my dad got it for me on ps2 i played thru it and was pissed i got the leave ending instead of in water but this has me sent!
tbh james prolly was straight up following laura
"Leave" is the most satisfying ending.
Still made me cry tho 😭
"In Water" is my absolute favorite. Beautiful and tragic.
No
@@symphony137 ikr james will be with mary forever
@@mhz163 unless the message in Neely's bar is correct, then his attempt is questionable.
"it's time to end this nightmare!"
It's really satisfying to hear James become confident after all he's been through.
I got the "leave" ending. So sad but it's outcome is the best. In that one James actually realized what he did, stopped lying to himself and also realized there's nothing he could actually do to bring Mary back. All he could do is face his demons (both metaphorically and literally), find forgiveness in himself and find the strength to move on.
If I don't think it's such a nice ending, let's say, but if you want to believe that false lie then ok
@@mhz163
So James acknowledging what he did to his sick wife was selfish and sinister and being able move on with his and being able to move on despite still having guilt and depression towards his actions isn't a nice ending? Then what is, Rebirth?
Si si .. todo muy lindo pero no te pusiste a pensar que pasa si James y Laura van al auto de James para ver en la parte de atrás el cuerpo de Mary muerto ???
@@mhz163 You don't get to make up anyone else's mind about "canon" endings. The guy who wrote the story invited players to choose for themselves, so do that and quit being a prick.
@@cigoLxeL whatever you want if that's the empty and meaningless ending for you then ok, water ending is better.
Tear drop from my eye because of what Mary wrote to James
lmao that dog ending just takes the scariness out of the whole game
With regards to the Maria Ending:
You know what'd be really funny and ironic about this Ending? What if it's deliberately made out to foretell James repeating the same mistakes again but the opposite happens.
What if Maria falls ill just like Mary and James runs for the pillow again. However, just as he is about to kill Maria he realizes that he's done this before. Perhaps this Ending isn't truly as bad as people think? Perhaps he stops himself and decides to see Maria out even if it means being at her side as she dies.
Remember, regardless of whatever ending we get, the Pyramid Heads still kill themselves in acknowledgement of James learning his lesson after the dual PH battle.
So even by choosing this Ending James has learnt something. Even with that sinister warning line at the end I cannot help but believe that James will not kill Maria.
Perhaps she'll interrupt him as he's about to smother her and ask, "So, you're doing me in like your Mary?" And then he gives in and decides to spare her.
As much as Leave Ending has James getting an innocent lil friend as redemption, Maria ending could offer a different kind of redemption. By repeating history over again and offering James the chance to literally stop himself from commiting the same heinous crime again.
Too much speculation here.
You're not alone in thinking that. I didn't thoroughly acknowledge what the ending meant when I played this as a kid.
But I got older. I've made mistakes. I dare even say grave ones. And you learn to acknowledge the cycle. What I originally saw as a tragic irony, I now see as an opportunity. A chance. A chance to be better and make yourself an example of growth.
Yeah but he still replaced his wife with her biter hotter, showing his inability to think of women beyond what they offer him
@@thefoxoflaurels3437 is that really such a bad thing 😛
I think the real point is that he still lives in denial with the Maria ending. Pyramid Heads kill them self not because he has learnt his lesson but because he faces the truth.
Maria isn't real as she's a fantasma that James creates, so in the end he just continues to live in an illusion and he doesn't even really leave Silent Hill.
And moreover he is in the loop according to that cough, so he doesn't leave his purgatory.
I think that's the darker ending of all.
I honestly believe that all endings are not endings as such, if they would be nothing more than lessons that James learns During the game and that is repeated until ending with a true ending.
Dog Ending. Best Ending. Real Ending.
So?
@@hellstarremina7605 So it's amazing
@@djemid so it's not..
Just because of that ugly dog
killer kitten When did you make your brain melt
killer kitten shibas are the best breed of dog, what are you talking about
Just to clarify, the first ending is the only canon one.
The dog ending
What does canon mean
@@swapfellsans9285 official
@@onejediboi all endings are official tho, it's not like they're fanmade so aren't all endings Canon then
@@joshgroban5291 it means what actually happened in the game's event, Canon means what actually happened to James
Love the OG voice actress for Mary/Maria and her emotional switches between the two.
Plus, Maria's eyes when she says "You deserve to die too James!" in the Leave ending is full of purely, genuine, murderous rage.
"In Water" is the best ending because it's the most depressing and really goes well with the theme of the games, it's what Silent Hill does to its victims. James was guilty and just wanted to kill himself, Silent Hill "lured" him back. "Leave" it's surely the most satisfying tho.
And along the game there's a lot of things that points that James do kill himself. (Probably before the game itself start)
The dead body in front of the tv that looks exactly like him, the negation of doing it when he speaks with Angela, the same way he hid from himself the fact that he killed Mary, or that he hated her, etc.
In my opinion, he commited suicide, and is now on Silent Hill as the others to get punished.
And considering that Laura is dead too, the "Leave" ending is just their souls made it to moving on, and finally leaving that town (purgatory/limbo).
In water is the most satisfying to a man who was guilty of killing his wife and came to silent hill for the purpose of dying but was comtemplating if he should really kill himself, james is too dismissive of mary in the leave ending imo.
@@iansilva7422 wow I never seen it like that...Laura probably is a ghost
@@anomitas how is he dismisive of mary in the leave ending its probably the one where he connects with her the most
Free Trivia: Jeremy Blaustein revealed in an interview that Monica Taylor Horgan cried after narrating Mary's letter.
You would think Harry fucking save Cheryl with the alien's help, but no he's still looking. XD
They do find her by Silent Hill 3 though lol
okay. i just finished silent hill 2. i've been just sitting in my chair in silence for like 1 hour. no movie, book or game has make me feel like this in a LONG time. i can't believe how good silent hill 2 is. im simply spechless, just sinking in the void of my thoughts
Are you still sitting in your chai?
@@rita6276 he is yes
Legend has it this guy is still sitting in his chair
Her voice acting when she reads the letter is so amazing it sounds like she’s actually crying
"You better do something about that cough." the way he said it is so sinister it gave me chills and i said "ooo" outloud
I got the leave ending on my first play through and after watching all of these I'm actually happy with my first original ending. It shows James finally moving on with his life after what happened, and he brings the little girl with him BOTH of them moving on. Way better than my first playthrough of the first Silent Hill game where everybody in the end dies. :P
Silent hill 2 was deep. Dark and twisted, yet right in the feels..
I feel like the good ending is James after his journey gaining the strength to face his demons, atone for his sins and truly change for the better,
The Maria ending is James learning nothing and falling further into his awful ways,
The in water ending being James breaking down further from his journey and giving up
My favorite part: 5:35.
Monica's voice inflection on "I'll be here for you forever." Is very telling.. lonely yet.. "just love me, please" as well as confident. That the magic of SH; so many emotions in one simple sentence.
I just finished the game today 2020/05/27. Leave ending, was so beautifull and sad at the same time.
I just finished the game today, 5/27/2021, dude.
27?
Just finished myself 6/29/21
Yes, but honestly, that ending doesn't solve anything either.
@@mhz163 besides the water ending I think it's the only one that concludes James story. He moved on with his life and came to accept what he had done and that he did what Mary wanted him to do and move on with his life because of everything he did for her.
poor maria, she was born pure out of James' desire, if James doesnt want her, she has no reason to live
doge ending
wow
such ending
much sorry
many deceiving
wow
Silent Hill is a trip. It can be sad, confusing, awesome then throw you through a loop with something like the dog ending. A mastermind corgi controlling everything behind the scenes. Gotta love it.
TheSinisterUndead its a shiba you uncultured swine
In Japan there referred to as "Shiba Inu" If you'd like to get cultural . Shiba by itself just means brushwood. Whereas Shiba Inu means brushwood dog. Ya know, from one uncultured swine to another :)
ghfhbrfbd Damn dat burn.. Gotta need a load of alcohol for that..
AQDuke
I already am....
Leave is my favorite ending. I don't know why, it just is. In Water I find makes the most sense, logically, but......I just prefer Leave. James acknowledges his faults, accepts his sins, realizes he came to hate Mary and wanted her gone-- but still decides to live with it. Despite how much he wants to love Mary, despite how much he still holds in his heart he--tries to move on. Go on and keep living. Anyway, that's why I like Leave.
This game was so depressing, that the dog ending helped balance some of the tragedy in the game.
36:00 THAT moment is some of the most effective horror i've ever seen in a video game and the fact that i can barely explain it with words is probably proof of that
Please explain!!!
@@yvesheinrich5013 We may never know what they meant by effective horror. Perhaps they saw James become a normal man and decided to help Laura as he promised his wife because of what happened to her parents. He learned his lesson and decided he would fulfill her wishes.
I understand, it's how Mary's letter leaves you feeling empty and this scene perfectly complements that.
I got "in water" ending and I can say it's the best ending!
for you ;)
If you know, all SH games have a "joke" ending just to downplay all the gravity and madness.
Leave>>>>
@@BLAM5980 bad taste
@@BLAM5980 really bad end
Almost 20 years..... and its still gold
"Wow, so scare, very prank, much silent hill, wow."
-Doge
Puppetmaster of SH2 and doge ending.
Huh.... Dog and puppet... That seems like a FNAF reference
James out here just rowing his boat in the middle of the gray void. Gotta love the HD Collection
In Water and Leave make the most sense in my opinion. Also, this game felt a lot more emotional and psychological than it did scary.
There’s something so utterly sinister feeling about the Rebirth ending, I adore it
"Leave" The first and only ending I ever get. This game is, still today, amazing. It made me go through a lot of pain as it made me accept the death of a person I loved before a decade after it happenned. Cancer is a scary thing, I only saw sadness with it, even with the people who survived it...
But good day on you my friend. I m happy to see people still loving this game
I don't think that's the end but say that makes you happy well ok but never that is really a real ending for James
I like the idea that James is stuck in a loop. That he continually chooses Maria, deciding to call her Mary, but she gets sick and dying so he commits his sin again, then is lead back to Silent Hill and meets new players. And that’s the reason in the Remake that there are a few detail differences and changes in tech. In the remake, he finally breaks the loop and accepts what he did and leaves
He gets out of the loop by getting more visible pores on his face. Now we need Harry to go from his low res polygonal model to his cutscene model for gameplay in order to get the secret triple plus good ending.
I got the "Leave" ending when I first played this. Personally, that's my favorite ending.
Just finished my first play-through. Watching these I'm pretty happy that I got 'Leave'--though I'll definitely have to play again for the dog!
What if all the UFO endings, in all the Silent Hill world, are reals? o_O
I mean: In the first one Harry is abducted by aliens who later are his friend, so he survived until the second one and abduct James, taking him into the spaceship. In the third Heather arrives to her house finding Harry, James and the alien. They eventually destroy a part of Silent Hill, but not ALL the Silent Hill town.
So Alex Shepherd, arrives to Silent Hill tricked by Travis (which is part of the aliens too, for the UFO ending of Origins), and thats a trap to abduct him too.
That may explain the reason to why the town is empty. Its because all the town was abducted, or destroyed in the third game.
Mansilla Lucas perhaps they're just gathering everyone for Downpour's UFO ending.
I like to believe they're canon in an alternate timeline
You're tearing me apart lisa! i mean maria i'm finished with you i cant take it anymore, oh hi mark!
Reading the deep comments while the dog ending theme plays is my reason for living
dog ending is Canon and no one can say otherwise
Is true
can confirm
Such storyline
So meaningful
w0w
It's not
@@ahmada1629 yes it is
The real ending is all of them at once, whilst at the same time none. For me, that's kind of the point and actually what makes it the scariest game of all time, and is the most powerful thing that it does. A conclusion is something people can deal with, something people can cope with, get their head around ... accept. Talk about in certain terms. Move on.
The whole game as you're going through it, trying to work out whats going on, piece it all together, make sense of it. And then at the end, it pulls it straight back to the most terrifying aspect of real life - Kirkegaard's terrifying, dizzying realisation of free will and a lack of divinely ordained (read: game designer as god here, creator) meaning in the universe. Everything is simultaneously valid and invalid at the same time. There is no conclusion. There is only choice and will.
Camus' "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide." (give up - In Water Ending)
Hamlet's "Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them" (Leave ending)
Maria is solipsism and hedonism - the only thing that matters is the self, the self is the center of the world and it should be gratified.
The Doge and UFO ending fit very well into the 'leap of faith' conclusion that Kirkegaard came to - that there must be some higher power behind all this. Some design. The difference is the style - the UFO is more in line with giving up the responsibility of self-determination to a God, over-power intervention (as well as themes of external saviour and rescue). The Doge is what Freud would equate to in his essay Civilizations and its Discontents, more on the side of true escape from the situation entirely in inebriation - for humans this would be alcohol, drugs, but as the game cannot force these upon you it gives you its next best medicine - laughter.
Do you Will the In Water ending to be real? Then this is your truth. Do you Will the Doge ending to be real (see also: fact)? Then this is your truth.
True terror is realising how free you are, and how nothing will ever be truly resolved. Multiple endings : true genius. True horror.
The dog growling at Eddie 😆
I see why In Water is the most accepted ending despite its heavy tragedy on the protagonist, it feels like the most logical and proper closure compared to the alternatives.
In Maria James comes off as too out of character and doesn't stay true to himself. Also, the implication of Maria's illness is pretty much pointless since she can't exist in the normal world outside of Silent Hill, regardless of her health. Even within Silent Hill she actively avoided showing herself to other people than James. No matter what, James wouldn't be able to liive with her.
Leave doesn't make sense, the last time you see Laura she hates James for killing Mary and doesn't want to see him again, but in the end she leaves Silent Hill together with him for some reason. Not to mention that James wouldn't be able to go on living normally because he would be apprehended for killing Mary (this is also true for the Maria ending).
Rebirth is too ambiguous and suggests some form of stronger insanity within James that hasn't been shown before. The other endings are jokes, so this leaves In Water as the most rational finale of SH2.
your wrong. the most logical is the dog ending.
+Lymuel Dignadice ikr
which one is the suicide ending
+Hunter Hutchings In Water is the one.
I agree. The only logical explanation for Maria ending is that he will remain in Silent hill with the woman.
Such a deep story ... gets me every time I’m watching it.
real talk ; the dog and the ufo ending are the best like come on lets keep our tear sacs in storage
Man the delivery of Mary's letter is perfect... Felt my throat get tight at the end
Does anyone else feel bad for the Mary/Maria "clones"? All they know in their brief existence is they exist for/because of James, and they inevitably go out just to teach him a lesson or be rejected by him.
My tearducts dried up for hours after I ended this game, especially with the 'Leave' ending
I just beat this and i don't think it ever truly explained
who the little girl was...but then again, in this series
just about everything is imagined anyway.
She was also ill with Mary in hospital, and they developed a close relationship there. Mary said she would adopt her, so Laura didn't have any parents.
Also remember that the town draws in people significant to the main people involved, hence why Laura apparently didn't see any monsters and wasn't harmed, because she didn't do anything bad or felt any kind of guilt. She was there because she was like a daughter to Mary and -maybe- subconsciously she felt the need to see her.
First time I played I got the leave ending ... this brought back a lot of memories. Thanks for the upload.
These endings are so fitting to the game, many sad endings, especially that dog ending...
I think I figured out why I don't like the Maria ending.
I choose to interpret Maria's character as an illusion. While I haven't played the Born from a Wish scenario, I can say the name has implications about Maria.
The whole "I'm what you wanted" that she shouts at him. She's an illusion. Eddie, Laura, and Angela are real people, with fleshed out backstories (to varying degrees). Maria is part of Silent Hill giving him what he thinks he wants, and then punishing him.
However, the cough at the end... I guess that saves the ending for me. Because to me, Maria represents Silent Hill almost in its entirety. If he leaves with her, he's bringing the baggage of the game with him, and can never have a normal life. He has to reject her in the Leave or In Water endings and whatnot to reach some form of closure.
If he doesn't reject her, he will always be reminded of his sin, and doesn't that mean Silent Hill won?
Is this a widely accepted theory or do most people view Maria as a real person?
I believe she's just a manifestation of James's wife Mary but since she's what James ever wanted she's very kinky and often reminds him of the stuff that reminds him of Mary
that does not matter, regardless of the fact that Maria is a creation of the town, the cough that she gives at the end indicates that she will die of the same disease as Mary
Fun fact, Maria's letter was done in just 1 take
So unnecessary having so many endings, as well as the ridiculous tasks you must do to achieve them. Just give me the one and only true dog ending and that would have been fine with me.
Jose Lara Ridiculous tasks? Yeah, collect some items/Visit Maria twice in the hospital/Don't heal much and examine Angela's knife and the suicide note in the hospital roof, wow, so difficult
OnlyWaifu well, imo it does get a bit tedious
@@jackspedicy Imo it doesn’t
@@OnlyWaifuYT think he was being sarcastic?
Why tf would you want less content?
The best thing about the death bed scene is that from the dialogue one can see that it actually was not while Mary was still alive but when she was dead already. Meaning this was her soul having a final talk with him and not blaming him at all.
I love this game so much because of how deep, dark and emotional it is unlike the majority of the games these days.
so yeah...japan
no, i did not know lol
I lol at how they didn’t bother to remaster Harry in the UFO ending
TheReverantChoir Pretty sure it was intentional. Definitely made it even funnier to see a PS1 model.
I got In Water as my 1st playthrough ending, for me it's the Canon ending. Seems most appropriate for James considering that he went through this hell because of his repressed guilt for what he's done, and finally has his release.
0:18 yes hello this is dog
What an interesting game. I remember my friend showing me the "leave ending" back when I was in high school. I didn't know this game was deep and psychological.
I was 15 years old when I rented this from blockbuster and first played this game. I'm 35 now and I will never forget this game.
i love how they used harrys old ps1 model for the ufo ending,they didnt even bother making a better model
"If that were true, then why do you look so sad?" Such a gut-punch of a question/observation. And the way the voice actress read Mary's full letter is so heartbreaking ly well done. Just a hell of an ending to one hell of a game.
I just finished this great game for the first time (played the PS2 version) and i got the "In Water" ending.
"Leave" is beautiful ending for the story like this. Romantic in some kind of ways and it's my choice. But I know that "In water" canon ending.
I have to admit...for such a dark game I really love the dog ending. I just lose it every time I watch it.
can I say I cried playing this game when I was young. not from being scared but it was so deep... I hadn't got time to get the doge ending but now that I look at it, it's okay.
People kept mentioning that the Maria ending is the worst ending since it seems to put James back into a loop and shows that he may not yet have changed as of the ending of silent hill 2. While that may be true, it could also be another means of redemption and another therapeutic session for James given to him by Silent hill. Silent hill is strange in a way that it reels in people that have current baggage of their trauma or guilt from the past. After the victim finally accepts their guilt, they're free to their choices; but depending on the individual's choices, the town may or may not add some more trials to change the individual for the better or the worst (it could be a way to reel them back again).
exactly, they all see it as a loop, but it's ambigious. It can just be James fear of facing the same thing again, a ghost that still lives, but doesn't mean it's a hint at Maria's illness, cause she's a creation of his mind. It's more like James being paranoid, since he needs time to let go.
I'm not sure I'd call it a complete loop since he knows his wife is dead, and he read her letter; And let's not forget: he actually thinks he is getting over his wife by being with Maria. Maria isn't even real, nor should she even be alive in that world, and he doesn't seem to show he understands this, or maybe he does, but he simply doesn't care because he'd rather be with a fantasy Maria in Silent Hill than back in the real world and lonely. Is that even more depressing?
Unless of course he really is walking around town seeing delusions. In that case it'd be kind of funny, from an outsider's perspective of course.
There is the possibility that he just met Maria and he's ready to move on, but that doesn't explain the whole nightmare of a game, nor the fact that Maria looks like Mary. Maria can't possibly be real...or can she be? Maybe Mary was a dream...
Indeed, people with traumas, fears and guilt from the past tend to be brought to Silent Hill, and that has been show with almost every character since SH2, Heather and her insecurities and identity problems, Travis and his traumas with her mom mental problem, Alex and his repressed guilt for killing his brother, Murphy and his fear of accepting his past mistakes, and even Henry, in some complex way, as we can assume he is a kind of an outcast and lonely guy, maybe with fears and insecurities towards rejection (Well, the implications of isolation and marginality in SH4 go way beyond than a common character development, as that is lacking from the game and the subjects mentioned are shown throughout the premise and lore of the game, gameplay and even Walter himself, but it depends too much on how you interpret the game, as ambiguous as it is).
I also think that sometimes characters just get stuck into endless loops, as it has been said that Howard (The delivery guy from Downpour) is also going through this, as in Past Life is shown that he has been around the time since centuries, and even do many people point out he could be a ghost from the town, it has also been said that he killed once a man in self-defense, and he feels guilty for it, dragging him to Silent Hill and probably is still trapped there as he still has some sins to pay for. Also, in Downpour's Complete Circle ending the same happens to Murphy, meanwhile in the Reversal ending this happens again but to Anne, in this case, is a loop, but with some variations, like Maria ending in SH2
Maria was "born from a wish".. whichever way you look at her is your own choice. I really like that ending, especially cause Maria isn't the copy of Mary, she has different character and everything. That means he's not substituting Mary with her, but he's realizing that he might like the other type, but to be with her he has to "kill" the memories of Mary (she's not real anyway already in the game, it's her ghosts that keep him traumatized)and move on with Maria. It's more like shaping your own reality, maybe in some disturbing way, but still.
It's a loop, but one that only has the momentum to spin around a couple more times at most I think. I tend to go for the Maria ending on a replay myself. Mainly because it seems like the saddest ending, and that's the most fitting. But also because I like Maria and feel bad for her. Which is part of what makes it so sad, because her only ending is a doomed one...
I just love how you ordered the endings from the worst to the best.
Not sure what ending is true, I guess they all are, or none also, but I think it should be the "Leave" ending, the entire game was him accepting what he's done, to move on, I feel "in water" kinda throws it in the trash, especially after that epic scene before fighting the 2 pyramid heads, SO AWESOME! Same with Maria ending since she CLEARLY wasn't real, and James SHOULD realize that. Another thing, none of the other endings show what happens to the little girl.
I like to think of the game as a bit of a schrodinger's cat scenario. None are true until you complete the game and we find out what kind of man James is.
My first playthrough I got "In Water" which was strangely... okay. (basically I hoarded life items the entire game, waiting for a ramp in difficulty that never really came... and I never realized there was a "green" health level) I mean, in that ending he still admits the truth about his guilt for killing his wife and receives the absolution he desires. The only problem with it is that James fails to find anything to live for.
"Maria" I think is the least satisfying for me. It's hard for me to think of Maria as a real person and not just as a manifestation of Silent Hill. And maybe in the Maria ending, she still is... Allowing James to leave with her only to watch Maria die as well (no doubt of the same disease that took Mary) is yet another punishment heaped upon him by that cursed town. Or, perhaps she is a real person after all... but then how did she know the things she knew? Was she under the spell of the ghost of Mary? In which case, who is Maria anyway?
"Leave" is probably the most satisfying of all, as James is somehow able to explain his actions to Laura and they leave together to make a new future together.
Froggy711 Yeah, Leave was the best. Also, it's impossible for Maria to be real, she died in front of him 3 times!
Froggy711
It's easier to accept the Maria ending if you play the Born From a Wish scenerio on special edition/the HD remix versions of the game. It goes a little more in depth in a short game where you play as Maria and it does give her a little more character.
While Leave to me is the most satisfying, if I had to guess from Silent Hill the Room, the canonical ending would either be the In Water or even the Rebirth endings.
I'm not sure if it's a scene you can miss, but the landlord of the apartments that Henry is in is hinted to be James' father and comments how he went missing. So either the in water ending happened, or something terrible happened when he tried to bring mary back to life.
I actually haven't played anything past SH2 (just finished it this week, going to start SH3 soon) buhdanyway...
I did play the Born From A Wish scenario, which kind of establishes Maria a bit more, but also reiterates the fact that she is a manifestation and not a real person.
For some reason knowing that she's a manifestation, it's just hard for me to imagine that she can even leave Silent Hill at all. But SH is basically magic, and if they want Maria to be able to leave, then I guess she can. *shrugs*
The last ending in this video show the little girl is alive and leaving with james though.
Just finished my first playthrough on the PC version. I got the "Leave" ending and I honestly couldn't be more satisfied with the ending. I was on the verge of tears when the letter was being read. Beautiful story and ending.
The in water ending makes the most sense of redemption and the bed sequence is just too heartbreaking & easily my favorite ending
_You expected Mary, BUT IT WAS I, DIO!!!!_
What the hell was that dog ending?! hahahahaha
Yeah, the U.F.O was hilarious too. A bit scary, if I say so myself.
Im 30 and unfortunately missed this when I was a kid. I played Silent Hill 2 for the first time just a few weeks ago and... wow.
I've played a lot of games throughout my life, and Silent Hill 2 was without a doubt one of the most incredible games I have ever played. The leave ending I got brought me to tears, nothing I play today even comes close to this game. What a masterpiece.
Give the other three games a try too, they're great.