Since Shattered Memories US Wii release fans and reviewers have complained that it is only like the original Silent Hill game in “names only.” Most believing that it would have been better game if Shattered Memories used completely new characters instead of claiming to be a “re-imagining” if it only has a vague connection to the original. So was it just a marketing ploy by Konami to generate sales from long time fans or can it really be categorized as a true original Silent Hill re-imagining?I’ve played both and as a big fan of the original I honestly believe Shattered Memories can be categorized a true re-imagining.

Many who disagree often cite the major difference between the core plots. In the original game Dahlia Gillespie’s abuse and exploitation of her daughter, Alessa, to birth the Silent Hill cult’s God is the catalyst for the darkness and creatures that consume the town during Harry’s ill fated visit. Harry’s journey for his Cheryl lead not only to understanding the dark history of Silent Hill but the genesis of his daughter as well.

In Shattered Memories this is not the case. The bizarre state of the town, the creatures and even Harry himself are instead only figments of Cheryl’s mind; part of her coping mechanism to deal with her parents divorce and Harry’s sudden death 18 years before. The journey through Silent Hill doesn’t reveal cult activity or any deep dark town secrets with focus on the tragic relationship deterioration within the Mason family and reasons behind Cheryl’s fantasy world.

With their reasons behind the state of the town and the truths revealed at the end of each game differing so much why do I believe Shattered Memories and the original Silent Hill have more in common? If you step back from their major plot inconsistencies one will see both games have so many other things in common including the same premise and overall journey to find out the truth. The places and characters in Shattered Memories may look different then the original but in the end they play the same roles as they did in the original. It’s the same game just with a “re-imagined” major plot!

Like the original the Shattered Memories premise involves writer Harry Mason’s search for his lost daughter, Cheryl, in Silent Hill after suffering a major car accident. The town is strangely vacant and having some bizarre snowy weather. In the original the weather was bizzarre because there was snowfall in April. Shattered Memories took this a step further by making an unusually severe blizzard the reason behind the town’s “closure.”

In both games Harry travels through three distinct areas in Silent Hill to find the truth and his daughter: a residential area, then he crosses a bridge into a business district and lastly ends up in the town’s tourist resort area.

I figured that best way show how the journey in Shattered Memories mirrors the original is to show a step by step comparison of each journey:

Arrival and Journey to Midwich (Silent Hill Residential Area)

Silent Hill		Shattered Memories
	• Harry and Cheryl arrive in Silent Hill late at night and are involved in a car accident. • Harry wakes to find his daughter missing from the car and ventures into a deserted town to find her.		• Harry and Cheryl are involved in a car accident in Silent Hill. • Harry wakes to find his daughter missing from the car and ventures into a deserted town to find her.
	• Harry spots Cheryl wandering ahead of him in the distance and chases her into a back alley and passes a gruesome scene of a dead dog. Air raid sirens pierce the air and Silent Hill shifts into a bloody and rusty Otherworld. Harry is attacked by creatures that appear from the darkness and succumbs to his injuries. • Harry wakes up inside Café 52 and meets Brahams cop Cybil Bennett.		• Harry wanders through several empty stores and goes through a back alley and passes a playground littered with “Dead Dog Posse Graffiti.” Depending on your profile you can meet Silent Hill Cop Cybil Bennett in the Diner 52. • Shortly there after Harry receives a phone call from Cheryl warning of impending danger, Silent Hill quickly shifts to the frozen Otherworld and creatures begin pursuing Harry through the streets.
	• Based on some notes from Cheryl’s drawing pad Harry travels through a home on Levin Street to reach Midwich Elementary.		• Harry escapes the first nightmare Otherworld and reaches his residence located on Levin Street based on the address on his driver’s license. • Harry doesn’t make it inside as a different family resides in his home. He makes a scene and the police are called and Harry and is picked up by Officer Bennett. • The journey to the police station is side tracked by harsh weather conditions, Cybil disappears leaving Harry to travel through the woods eventually making it to Midwich High School.
	• In Midwich Elementary doesn’t find Cheryl but experiences another Otherworld transition. • After surviving a boss fight in the boiler room Harry then leaves Midwich and heads towards church bells he hears ringing in the distance.		• Harry heads for the Midwich High School Gym in hopes of Cheryl being in the emergency shelter usually set up in there during very bad weather. • Harry doesn’t find Cheryl, instead a woman named Michelle who’s the only one to show up for a highschool reunion. Harry hacks the school records and learns that he and Cheryl now live on Simmons Street. He calls Simmons street address’ number and the school shifts into the Otherworld.

Crossing the Bridge, Hospital and Mall (Silent Hill Business District)

Silent Hill		Shattered Memories
	• Harry follows the bells into Balkan Church Harry where he meets Dahlia Gillespie. The woman is very cryptic and seems to have information on Cheryl’s whereabouts. • Harry is hesitant to trust Dahlia but since he has no other leads or alternatives he decides to follow her instructions and heads for Alchemilla Hospital in search for Cheryl.		• After Harry survives the Otherworld he meets Michelle outside the school who offers to drive Harry to the Simmons Street addess with her boss’s SUV. The two head for Michelle’s place of employment The Balkan, “the hottest nigh club in town.” • When it’s time to go Harry is surprised to see a young woman named Dahlia in Michelle’s place. Harry is terribly confused about Michelle’s disappearance and how this cryptic young woman knows him and Cheryl. He’s hesitant to go with her at first but consents since she seems to know where Cheryl is and he really has no other options.
	• The road to Alchemilla Hospital is blocked by a raised drawbridge. Luckily Dahlia left Harry the bridge control tower key back at Balkan church and he’s able to lower the drawbridge to cross it.		• The drive to Simmon’s street is halted by the raised Dixon drawbridge. Dahlia urges Harry to go lower the bridge. • Halfway across the world freezes and the SUV plunges into the water. Harry barely makes it out of the car alive but is unable to help Dahlia. Harry makes it out of the water and passes out. • When he next wakes up Cybil is pushing him in a wheelchair inside Alchemilla Hospital.
	• Harry explores the hospital but doesn’t have any luck finding Cheryl. Instead he experiences another Otherworld transition. • Harry meets a distressed and pretty nurse named Lisa Garland who is as confused about the state of Silent Hill as Harry. He offers her protection but she won’t leave the hospital.		• The hospital shifts into the frozen Otherworld and Harry barely makes it out with his life. • On exiting the hospital Harry comes across a distressed and pretty nurse named Lisa who’s crashed her car or ambulance into the ER reception area. Though she has several wounds she’s determined to head home and take care of herself there. Harry offers to walk her there since it’s on his way to Simmons street. On reaching her apartments and checking the tenant mailboxes we find out her last name is Garland.
	• Harry travels down Simmons Street to the Green Lion Antique shop, meets Cybil and explores the “Other Church” • Harry and Cybil are separated and Silent Hill is once again in Otherworld mode. • Harry wanders into the Towncenter, Silent Hill’s downtown shopping mall, and sees a staticky and creepy movie starring Cheryl play on a big screen.		• After leaving Lisa with some medication and a bad headache. Harry heads over to the Toluca Mall to reach the Simmon’s Street residence. • Silent Hill turns into the frozen Otherworld and before exiting the mall Harry is treated to a staticky and creepy video containing either Cheryl (or himself) on a big screen inside a cinema. • Harry leaves the mall and reaches the Mason residence on Simmon’s street, an apartment above the Green Lion Pawn Shop.

Sewers to Lakeside (Silent Hill Tourist Area)

Silent Hill		Shattered Memories
	• Harry travels through the sewers to reach the Silent Hill Lakeside Resort Area. • In the Lakeside area it’s possible for Harry to save a side character from a monster attack in Annie’s Bar. • Harry has converses with Cybil and Dahlia on a boat. • Harry heads for the Silent Hill Lighthouse, some additional sewer trekking, arrives at Lakeside Amusement Park • Enters Nowhere and the final area of the game.		• Inside the apartment Harry experiences another Otherworld Transition and goes through a “Nowhere”-like Otherworld. • He must make a trek through some sewers to reach the Lakeside (resort) area of town. • Meets up with a side character in Annie’s Bar and goes on into Lakeside Amusement Park. • Harry leaves the park and has a conversation with Dahlia on a boat and later another conversation with Cybil outside the lighthouse. • Harry enters the lighthouse and the final area of the game.
	Finds Cheryl and learns the truth		Finds Cheryl and learns the truth

As you can see Shattered Memories Harry pretty much visits all the same major areas as the original. The order and how these places look might not exactly match up but the same overall journey is still present!

I have also seen the arguments that the characters in Shattered Memories have nothing in common with their counterparts besides their names. This really surprises me because I can see common personalities and traits between each. Sure the characters in Shattered Memories may look different but I think other things they share in common makes up for the differences. I figured another side by side comparison was the way to go:

Characters and their roles

Silent Hill		Shattered Memories
	Harry Mason Writer looking for missing (adopted) daughter in Silent Hill after a car accident.		Harry Mason Writer looking for missing daughter in Silent Hill after a car accident.
	Cheryl Mason Harry’s missing 7 year old (adopted) daughter		Cheryl Mason Harry’s missing 7 year old daughter
	Cybil Bennet A cop from Brahams the next town over. She meets Harry in Cafe 5to2 and tries to help him locate his daughter and the truth behind Silent Hill’s bizarre change.		Cybil Bennet a Silent Hill cop who meets Harry in Diner 52 (depends on your playthrough) and tries to help him locate daughter. At the same time she also attempts to figure out the truth behind Harry’s car accident and his bizarre behavior.
	Dahlia Gillespie A mysterious woman who Harry meets in the Balkan church and knows more than what she’s sharing with Harry. Turns out to be the leader of a cult in Silent Hill and the mother of Alessa/Cheryl, she also owns the Green Lion Antique shop.		Dahlia (Mason?) Coy and secretive this young woman knows more than she’s sharing with Harry. Turns out to not only be Cheryl’s mother but Harry’s wife as well. She also lives above and I assume owns the Green Lion Pawn Shop.
	Dr. Michael Kaufmann A middle aged, abrasive doctor and the Director of Alchemilla Hospital. Dahlia placed Alessa in his care shortly after burning her alive in the occult ritual. He’s also distributing the cult’s White Claudia drug supply to tourists and Silent Hill citizens.		Dr. Michael Kaufmann A middle aged, abrasive doctor (Psychologist) at the Lighthouse Clinic. Like Alessa in the original game Cheryl is under his care and I assume Dahlia was the one who convinced her seek help.
	Lisa Garland A frightened nurse Harry meets in Alchemilla hospital. Dr. Kaufmann placed her in charge of the comatose and severely burned Alessa Gillespie under threat of cutting off her White Claudia drug supply. Harry feels a protective of Lisa but in the end is helpless to save her from a tragic “death.”		Lisa Garland A distressed nurse the Harry meets in Alchemilla hospital who has suffered a car accident of her own. A concerned Harry walks her home when she refuses care inside the hospital. She’s overworked and the only thing keeping her going is the her self medication of prescription drugs….most likely meaning she has a drug problem. Like in the original Harry is unable to save her from death and she dies from the injuries suffered from her car accident. Depending on your playthrough a drug overdose may have also played a factor.
	Alessa Gillespie A mysterious woman Harry spots all over town who has a direct connection with Cheryl and her past.		Shadow Girl a silloutte of a girl Harry sees all of town who has a direct connection with Cheryl and her past.

The games share many similarities when you look beyond the lack of cults and rusty Otherworld. At it’s core Silent Hill is still a place you can’t really define but most certainly betrays expectations. Konami and Climax took the risk of turning our own expectations of Silent Hill against us with their reimagined cult free story. I believe it’s those expectations that prevent many from seeing how similar the core games are and in the end don’t give the Shattered Memories enough credit as a true re-imagining.