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No matter how I much I fumble and strain for the proper vocabulary, I can't quite stress my love for Silent Hill 2 eloquently enough. It was the game that made me decide that horror games were giving horror films a run for their money, not to mention the first game that was not an RPG that affected me enough to warrant tears. It's a truly perfect gaming experience, and normally I'd want for that to remain untouched, as a crystalline milestone of my gaming history.

At least, until this morning. I got an email from our own Dtoid community member Fana7ic, innocently titled "Silent Hill 2 NES style". While this sounds cool, I get a lot of emails about remakes (or "demakes", as they are called) and honestly, a lot of them aren't as cool as the idea sounds. Still, my interest was piqued, and it was free, so I downloaded the file that would allow me to play.

I quickly discovered that Soundless Mountain II is fantastic, but it has a lot more going for it than just novelty. From the opening scene to the descent into Silent Hill, this demake wordlessly communicates a devotion and love to the original game that is not only stunning, but something any devotee of the game can relate to directly. The sound is of special mention, as it manages to recreate the eerie atmosphere to perfection, which is no small feat for a demake.

Creator Superflat talks briefly on the TIG Forums about what he used to bring the project to life:

It's using my usual framework in BlitzMax (includes animation, tile-editor, scrolling, zooming, collision etc.).  I chose the 160x120 to fit on a 640x480 screen, in some ways it's more of a GBC with NES palette.

While the game does have an actual ending, it is a work in progress and is currently being discussed in a TIG Forums thread. I shamelessly encourage you to check out the game, join the thread and give support and feedback if you have it. This is a truly inspired project, and I can only hope to see more like it in the future (although I might actually pass out if this kind of game was made on a regular basis).


Continue: More Silent Hill stories





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30 comments | showing # 1 to 30

pedrovay2003's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 14:24
pedrovay2003
I'd like to give this a shot.

See, I don't know if there's something wrong with me or something, but I tried Silent Hills 2, 3, and 4, and I just couldn't get into them. And I'm someone who LOVES horror games. I just wasn't pulled in.
Happyhead's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 14:29
Happyhead
My fucking god, that looks so good! Wow, is all I can say!
grafkhun's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 14:29
grafkhun
hehe, SH2 retro style? sounds like an interesting demake. I'll have to check this out more.
Crackpot360's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 14:36
Crackpot360
Very nice. Makes me wish I had a retro controller hooked up to the PC.
The-Excel's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 14:42
The-Excel
There should be an entire genre dedicated to demakes.
mistic's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 14:43
mistic
my god... this demaking business sounds great, gotta check that out! nice find Fana7ic!
Subenu's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 14:56
Subenu
I also liked Silent Hill 2 and this really looks interesting...
vexed alex's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 14:57
vexed alex
Eh. I see nothing but novelty.

Maybe it's because I never owened an NES (my first console was the SNES), but I just don't see what the rest of you are seeing.
Matthew Blake's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:04
Matthew Blake
Hells yes, TIGSource represent! This particular game was an entry for our current Bootleg Demakes competition- I would highly recommend checking it out. We've got a ton of these competitions all of the time, and the results are usually pretty awesome to play.
randombullseye's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:06
randombullseye
Taking a survival horror game and making it a maniac mansion style adventure game is awesome. Anyone whose played both can see the influence from the adventure genre in Resident Evil and Silent Hill, as well as their survival horror genre-mates.

Only problem would be combat. Adventure games never have good combat.

Someone combine an adventure game and beat em up with a horror theme, please.
pendelton21's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:18
pendelton21
Before I give this a download, I gotta say I've never played SH2, but love the idea of this game. Will I still have fun, not knowing the source material?
The Amazing Shenazin's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:20
The Amazing Shenazin
shucks, I wanted to see what the actual town looked like
Mr Wilson's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:25
Mr Wilson
Impressive
stevesan's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:31
stevesan
I bet the camera is better in this version.

ZIINNNNGGGG!!!

I loved SH2, but the camera sucked at times.
DarkSaint76's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:32
DarkSaint76
I'm liking this more than the source game. I never liked SH2.
Colette Bennett's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:36
Colette Bennett
@matthew Blake -- yay! I'm so glad to see you here. The entire demakes competition thrilled me -- I'm just sorry I caught it after it was over. I'll keep my eye out for future entries!!
Gangles's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:43
Gangles
Wow, are they offering the soundtrack to download anywhere? That's amazing
KMCC's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:46
KMCC
Wow. Just wow.

As a fellow SH2 fanatic, that looks to have actually captured the feel of it. And the soundtrack was awesome!
CypherVR's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 15:55
CypherVR
downloading now!
mix's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 16:08
mix
This looks pretty cool and as a Silent Hill lover I will be giving this a go!
Gameboi's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 16:22
Gameboi
Loves me some Silent Hill. Interesting, this is.
el_chack's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 16:37
el_chack
If you didn't own a NES nor played SH, you will see nothing great about this "demake". I love it!
NihonTiger90's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 18:12
NihonTiger90
I'm definitely giving this a shot, and I'm gonna check out the rest of the site while I'm at it.
Puppy Licks's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 19:23
Puppy Licks
Hahaha it took me a second to click the the name 'Soundless Mountain' :D

Also did anyone else notice that when he picks up the map in the video he says it's a map of Silent Hill? Oops :P
DarkSaint76's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 20:00
DarkSaint76
Hey pedro, you should play the first Silent Hill on PS1 if you haven't and like horror titles.
nintendoll's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2008 20:24
nintendoll
I love Silent Hill! <3<3<3 I still play the original from time to time.
fullspectrum's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2008 03:20
fullspectrum
Amazing work...we should all head over to Tigsource and vote for this to win the Demake Compo! Link to thread below..

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=2481.0
superflat's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2008 08:46
superflat
Hi everyone. Thanks for your kind comments. And thanks for your incredibly kind review, Colette.

Re: the camera - hopefully it's as 'bad' as the original, as that was a big part of the atmosphere. I spent a long time making the camera have a life of its own, and push you up against the edge of the screen to make it more tense!
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