Silent Hill f Signals a great departure for the series. It is the first full length in the series since Silent Hill Downpour over 10 years ago, and it chose to leave the titular city of Silent Hill behind in favor of the picturesque, isolated Japanese city of Ebisugaoka. But even so far away from that place you can never really leave Silent Hill behind.
Despite cutting out a solid unique identity to himself, Silent Hill F still praises the previous items in the series in many ways. Some of these are subtle, while others are shockingly direct. However, it is a loving set of references, as much a continuing tradition as it highlights how much Silent Hill has changed over the years.
Ufo dog
Who doesn't love the true Mastermind?
It has been a tradition since the very first Silent Hill game that has something that is a bit outside Kilter in the extra closures for the game, and it has almost unanimously been decided during the years since these ends should always involve foreigners in one form or another. And then the different UFO ends were born, of which Silent Hill F has its own.
Of course, the dog that ends at Silent Hill F is also well known and loved, one of the most iconic endings in the series. So how do you make it better? You combine them, obviously. During the credits of Silent Hill F's UFO end, you can finally get a glimpse of these foreign invaders in their UFOs, and it is none other than a Shiba Inu.
The beam saber
Gifts from Beyond
If you stopped playing after quitting UFO, it is quite possible that you missed the reward it gives you, one that does not mention anything. To get the UFO ending, you have to find a variety of fantastic space invasion posters, and returning afterwards allows you to pick up what is essentially a light saber, with its movement that changes when sustainability decreases.
However, this is not the first entrance to such a weapon. It appeared earlier in Silent Hill 3, which is used by Heather. She did not need foreigners to give it to her, but it still came with the same colored beam and could be extended by getting an even better star rating when she completed the game. Teens need as much protection as they can from monsters that attack them, after all.
The giant Kokeshi dollen
Eileen is watching
As you move on through Silent Hill F, it tends to just become more uncomfortable when you witness more of what Hinako has experienced in his life, and much of this comes to a head in the Shimuzu residence. At the end of a very long hall in a version of the house you will meet a massive Cokesho doll, but with a bulging, fleshy eye.
Hinako has surprisingly little to say about this, and that is because it is a massive reference to Silent Hill 4. In that game, while at the hospital, you can find a room Filt with nothing but a gigantic head of Eileen, her eyes track you across the room. It is, it is very uncomfortable. And Henry has absolutely nothing to say about it either.
White Claudia
Look at yourself for deeper meaning
While White Claudia took a rear seat after the original Silent Hill, only relevant later games such as Homecoming and Downpour, with a stronger re -release in Silent Hill 2 remake. While White Claudia is not shown in Silent Hill F by name, it is very likely that it is in the pills that Hinako consumes.
There is a long thread to follow here, but in short, a foreign missionary brought many herbs to Japan according to a note in the game, and it can be assumed that these are the white flowers found in Shus's garden and nowhere else. SHU also mentions a similar flower in its notes, and how it induces visions that allow you to talk to yourself. Just like White Claudia.
The humble steel pipe
Survival tool for many a horror protagonist
Silent Hill has always differentiated himself from other survival horror play by placing a much greater emphasis on Melee battle, with weapons that takes a rear seat. Silent Hill F goes a step further and removes weapons completely. It's not like they had been common in a secluded Japanese village in the 1960s.
But the very first weapon that Hinako picks up is a steel pipe, a weapon you will meet much more of throughout the game. As Harry can also get in the original Silent Hill. And James in the sequel. And Heather in Silent Hill 3. You get the idea. Steel pipes just look around everywhere in the Silent Hill universe.
High school
You can really see where Silent Hill 1 got its inspirations
Schools are a great source of terror, especially because of the imaginative senses of children who can exaggerate everyday to the extreme. Silent Hill F has you visited Hinako's own average school, far past his own degree, although memories from childhood can stay with us much longer than we would like.
But if the school's layout seems a little familiar, it is because it should. Silent Hill 1, even though we are set in America, has a shocking Japanese-style schoollayout, so we have come the entire circle with a Silent Hill game in Japan with a real Japanese school. Now we just need to get an American government school in Japan and it's even.
The original Silent Hill was always supposed to mix American and Japanese horror together, although this was perhaps more Japanese than they thought.
Doors just not opened
The lock is broken
As a game, it has developed in detail, it has become much more difficult to express the same degree of environmental interaction as much older games could. In the Crunchier graphics, interactions stood out and made it easier to make optional content without extra guidance. In Silent Hill it usually resulted in locked doors. So many locked doors.
In Silent Hill F you cannot interact with most doors, especially only those you can actually open at any point. Except, clearly, in the local medical center. The front door is locked but also from the inside of the house Hinako will point out that the door is locked and the lock is broken. Memories from an earlier era.
Radios
The eerie comfort of white noise
In almost every Silent Hill game, radios are extremely relevant. That crack is such an iconic part of the series and warns you of the presence of nearby enemies that you would otherwise miss. In Silent Hill F, Hinako does not have a portable radio. They were probably not as common then, bulky as the usual ones were.
That said, there are still radios in the game, many of which can be interacted with some unique scenes. But they still retain their enemy detective abilities. If you are near a radio and an enemy is approaching it will the crack will begin. It is not exactly helpful to discover enemies, but it is still a very cool function to keep all the same.
