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-VERSION CHANGES GUIDE-
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Silent Hill 2 Version Changes FAQ
For the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox
Written by cvxfreak
Copyright 2007 by cvxfreak
Version 2.1
December 09, 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can reach me at FireEmblemPride[at]gmail[dot]com if you have any
questions not answered in this FAQ. GameFAQs.com will always contain
the most up to date version of this FAQ available on the net.
========================================================================
Table of Contents
========================================================================
1. Introduction
2. Updates
3. Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 2 Restless Dreams
4. Version Changes and Comparisons
5. Frequently Asked Questions
6. Future of Silent Hill
7. Conclusion
========================================================================
1. Introduction
========================================================================
Just what is the Silent Hill series, anyway?
The Silent Hill series has provided a shocking alternative to Capcom's
Resident Evil series since the release of the first game for the first
PlayStation in 1999. The series had humble beginnings, but popularity
struck and the second game was soon released in 2001 for the PlayStation
2.
However, the entry of Microsoft's Xbox into the console wars gave Konami
the opportunity to spread the series to that platform as well, so Konami
decided to port Silent Hill 2 over to the Xbox. Because the port would
be a few months late, Konami decided to give the port exclusive features
that were developed, but deliberately excluded from the original version
on the PlayStation 2. In North America, this version is known as "Silent
Hill 2: Restless Dreams" and "Silent Hill 2: Saigo no Uta" in Japan.
However, sales on the Xbox were not terribly high, especially in Japan,
so Konami decided to re-release Silent Hill 2 on the PlayStation 2 in
Japan and later North America. Silent Hill 2: Saigo no Uta made it onto
the Japanese PlayStation 2 with its subtitle intact, while in North
America, the Greatest Hits release retained the name "Silent Hill 2"
but included the extra features.
In 2003, Silent Hill 3 was released for the PlayStation 2, while no Xbox
version was developed. In 2004, Silent Hill 4: The Room was released for
the PlayStation 2 in all territories, and the Xbox in North America and
Europe, but not Japan.
Silent Hill 0rigins was released for the PSP at the end of 2007, and
Silent Hill 5 is in development for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In
Japan, Silent Hill 0rigins is titled "Silent Hill Zer0".
In 2001, the Game Boy Advance received a title called Play Novel: Silent
Hill, but this was only released in Japan.
What are those extra features that were included in the Xbox port and
PlayStation 2 rerelease of Silent Hill 2? Read the rest of this FAQ
to find out. Please note that this FAQ does NOT cover the PC version of
Silent Hill 2 as I've never played it.
========================================================================
2. Updates
========================================================================
December 9, 2007
Just updated a few details regarding the game and fixed a few errors.
April 11, 2007
Wow, another one of my archaic, non-updated FAQs on GameFAQs. I updated
the FAQ to be more detailed, added more content, fixed errors, fixed up
the formatting and style of the FAQ, and brought the writing to my 2007
writing standards.
August 18, 2002
Change of e-mail.
July 2, 2002
Changed to reflect the PS2 version of Restless Dreams and Silent Hill
3's announcement.
April 17, 2002
Started and finished the FAQ.
========================================================================
3. Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams
========================================================================
*************
SILENT HILL 2
*************
Platform: PlayStation 2
Regions: North America, Japan, PAL
Silent Hill 2 was the first version of the game ever released, an is
available only on the PlayStation 2. It contained only the main game
featuring James Sunderland's search for his wife in the Southvale part
of the small town, Silent Hill. It only contains five game endings and
the noise filter can be deactivated after finishing the game once with
any ending. Graphically, the game was a masterpiece for its time,
featuring detailed textures, large game worlds and a stable framerate.
The European and Japanese versions came with a "Making of Silent Hill 2"
DVD. The North American version, while it came out first, lacked this
extra, unfortunately.
******************************
SILENT HILL 2: RESTLESS DREAMS
******************************
Platform: Xbox
Regions: North America, Japan, PAL
Alternative Names: Silent Hill 2 Saigo no Uta (Japan)
Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams is the upgraded, "complete" edition of
Silent Hill 2. It features six endings, and two adventures, which are
"Letter from Silent Heaven" featuring James (exactly as in the original
version) and "Born from a Wish" featuring Maria, a new addition to this
version. The features, like turning off the noise filter, are unlocked
even if you haven't beaten the game. The graphical detail was slightly
upgraded, but the overall look of the game remains the same. The game
tends to have frame skips every once in awhile that were not present
in the PlayStation 2 versions.
No DVD extras were included with any country's versions of this game.
*******************************************
SILENT HILL 2: SAIGO NO UTA (PlayStation 2)
*******************************************
Platform: PlayStation 2
Regions: North America, Japan, PAL
Alternative Names: Silent Hill 2 (North America, South Korea)
Silent Hill 2 Director's Cut (PAL)
Silent Hill 2: Saigo no Uta was released in Japan for the PlayStation 2
after the Xbox version was released. The extra features from the Xbox
version were included back onto the PlayStation 2, including Born from
a Wish and the extra sixth ending. The graphics were unchanged from the
original version.
The Korean version of the game runs on Japanese-region PlayStation 2
systems and features the same language options as the PAL versions,
which did not contain Japanese as a language option. Korean gamers also
received a booklet containing translations of the game's content into
Korean, because the game itself was not translated into Korean. However,
Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4: The Room contain Korean language
options.
The North American version was released simply as "Silent Hill 2" and
was directly placed onto the Greatest Hits discount line up, replacing
the original version.
In Europe, while the Xbox version retained the Restless Dreams subtitle
used in North America, the PlayStation 2 re-release was simply called
"Silent Hill 2 Director's Cut".
========================================================================
4. Version Changes and Comparisons
========================================================================
Here is a chart that compares the various versions to easily tell the
differences between versions.
==========
| LEGEND |
==========
SH2 NA = Silent Hill 2 (North American PlayStation 2)
SH2 JP = Silent Hill 2 (Japanese PlayStation 2)
SH2 EU = Silent Hill 2 (PAL PlayStation 2)
SH2 RD = Silent Hill 2 Restless Dreams (North American Xbox)
SH2 SU = Silent Hill 2 Saigo no Uta (Japanese Xbox)
SH2 IF = Silent Hill Restless Dreams (PAL Xbox)
SH2 GH = Silent Hill 2 Greatest Hits (North American PlayStation 2)
SH2SNU = Silent Hill 2 Saigo no Uta (Japanese PlayStation 2)
SH2 DC = Silent Hill 2 Director's Cut (PAL PlayStation 2)
UNLOCKED FEATURES = Unlocked Features
DVD = Comes with Making of DVD
ENDING # = Number of Endings
GAME# = Number of Scenarios Available
CONSOLE = Console
GAME = Game Name
========================================================================
| GAME | CONSOLE | UNLOCKED FEATURES | DVD | ENDING # | SCENARIOS |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|SH2 NA | PS2 | None | None | Five | One |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|SH2 JP | PS2 | None | Yes | Five | One |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|SH2 EU | PS2 | None | Yes | Five | One |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|SH2 RD | Xbox | Yes | None | Six | Two |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|SH2 SU | Xbox | Yes | None | Six | Two |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|SH2 IF | Xbox | Yes | None | Six | Two |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|SH2 GH | PS2 | Yes | None | Six | Two |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|SH2SNU | PS2 | Yes | None | Six | Two |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|SH2 DC | PS2 | Yes | None | Six | Two |
========================================================================
========================================================================
5. Frequently Asked Questions
========================================================================
Q: Which version is worth it?
-----------------------------
::Any version that features that Maria scenario is worth it. The
differences between versions is so small that it doesn't really matter
six years after the game's initial release.
Q: What are the differences?
----------------------------
::Refer to the above two sections for the differences between all the
versions.
Q: Which version has the best graphics?
---------------------------------------
::The Xbox version features the best visuals by a very small, hardly
noticeable margin. Silent Hill 2's graphics are nowhere near as good
as its sequels, so worrying about the slightest details between the
two versions shouldn't be a problem.
Q: When did the PS2 Restless Dreams come out?
---------------------------------------------
::It was released in all territories at some point in 2002, all
after the Xbox versions were released.
Q: Why are all these SH2 versions out?
--------------------------------------
::To keep a long story long, it was for Konami to increase the
popularity of the Silent Hill franchise while earning extra money.
The tactic worked for the Resident Evil series for years, with Capcom
bringing that series to many platforms like the Saturn, N64 and
Dreamcast. The Xbox version more or less sold below Konami's
expectations, so they decided to bring the extras back to the
PlayStation 2 to offset their losses on the Xbox, and, of course,
make a quick buck. It helped that the Maria extras were initially
developed on PlayStation 2 hardware, making a re-release a simple
matter of pressing new discs.
Q: Which version is your favorite?
----------------------------------
::The Japanese PlayStation 2 version is my personal favorite due to
the boxart, but I also like and will play any other version with the
Maria mini game (i.e. the Xbox version).
Q: Which is the cheapest version?
---------------------------------
::In 2007, the game has long been discontinued on all platforms in
North America, so you'll only find used copies nowadays, for prices
between $5 and $15. In Japan, Konami's discounted the game so many
times new copies on the PlayStation 2 can still be found. They retail
for around 1600 Yen (~$14).
Q: Why didn't they port Silent Hill 2 to the GameCube?
------------------------------------------------------
::Konami felt that the GameCube fanbase and the Silent Hill series were
a mismatch, so Konami has never brought the series to Nintendo consoles.
Recently, Akira Yamaoka made a similar statement regarding the Wii.
Q: I have a gameplay question.
------------------------------
::Please refer to a dedicated FAQ for gameplay help on any version of
Silent Hill 2. Sorry about that, but because I don't play Silent Hill
2 as often as I did years ago, my automatic memory for the game has
faded in recent times.
Q: Can the various versions of Silent Hill 2 be played on next-gen
consoles like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360?
------------------------------------------------------------------
::Silent Hill 2 and its PlayStation 2 re-releases, as far as I know, can
be played back on PlayStation 3 models with PlayStation 2 backwards
compatibility. Sony released 40GB hard drive PlayStation 3 models in
November 2007 that omitted the PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility, so
those models cannot support Silent Hill 2.
Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams recently became playable on the Xbox 360
via a backwards compatibility update to the Xbox 360's firmware.
========================================================================
6. Future of Silent Hill
========================================================================
Silent Hill 5 is in development for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and
will be released sometime in 2008. As this is a FAQ, you'll have to get
the most up-to-date news on Silent Hill 5 and the Silent Hill series in
general from news outlet websites.
========================================================================
7. Conclusion
========================================================================
Thanks to:
CJayC for posting this FAQ
Konami for making the Silent Hill series
Friends, family, and you, the reader
cvxfreak
FireEmblemPride[at]gmail[dot]com
This FAQ is copyright 2007 by cvxfreak. All Rights Reserved. Konami
owns the rights to the Silent Hill series that this author does not.
Sony owns the rights to the PlayStation family of consoles, while
Microsoft owns the rights to the Xbox family of consoles. 
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