First, I must admit that I am a dirty, filthy Silent Hill junkie. Hell, I actually made the trip to Centralia PA just to see the place that is the inspiration for Silent Hill. The only game from the existing line-up I haven’t played is 4, since it wasn’t designed to be a Silent Hill game and I don’t consider it canon.
I have a soft spot for Harry Mason, the hero of the original game and father of the main character (Heather) from 3. Harry is the only lead/major character who isn’t insane, or possessed, or a murderer, or some other awful thing. He’s a good-hearted guy, who despite being just a regular schlub, beats down an evil god and its minions with little more than a flashlight and a deer rifle. He loves Alessa/Cheryl/Heather and does his best to protect her and give her a normal life. In fact, he is eventually murdered for this. He is, in short, a stand-up guy.
Contrast this with James, who is a murderer and, arguably, bat-shit insane. Alessa/Cheryl/Heather is crazy, murderous, has been possessed by the above-mentioned evil god and has lots of issues; though she did love her daddy. Travis Grady, depending on which ending one gets in Origins, may be a loathesome, perverted serial killer. Alex Shepherd, from Homecoming , is delusional and has 9000 other things wrong with him as well.
So now they’ve “re-imagined” the first game as Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. A quick perusal of the wiki article will show that the “re-imagined” Harry has basically none of the real Harry’s sterling qualities. The different endings vary mainly in how much of a louse Harry is. Admittedly, this new Harry is a better match with the messed-up losers who are the leads in all the other games. The real Harry was kind of the odd man out as the lone decent, normal lead.
Thus, I am torn about getting Shattered Memories. Like any junkie, I can’t resist the drug that has me hooked through the bag. On the other hand, I hate to see my favorite character get pissed all over like this. Have any of you actually played it yet?
p.s. I don’t believe the real Harry is dead. One constant in Silent Hill games is that the dead are just that. Dead. There are countless corpses littering the games and none of them ever get up and walk. Towards the end of 3, we see the bed where Harry’s corpse was laid to rest. The corpse is gone and there is a blood trail leading away from the bed. Harry may have been sore wounded but he evidently lived! Yay real Harry!