Survival horror title silent hill It’s on track to be my game of the year. I’ve even written about how I can’t stop thinking about its story and New Game Plus’ creative approach.
Someone else who might not have been able to stop thinking about silent hill is Konatsu Kato, the actor who plays the protagonist Hinako Shimizu in the game.
In an interview with Japanese gaming outlet Famitsu, Kato talks about her time as Hinako and the mental toll it may have taken on her during Silent Hill f’s development.
“I think the recording went smoothly at first,” Kato told Famitsu. “However, as the recording progressed, the story became more and more diversified. As we recorded various developments, I found myself thinking, ‘It was the same scene now, but the words and emotions are different… Eh… Where am I, what am I doing now, Hinako?'”
As an example, Kato mentioned a scene that occurs at the end of the game. (oh, spoiler warning for silent hill f, by the way!).
In the scene, Hinako comes face to face with another version of herself. When we first encounter this scene, in the opening game, we’re not immediately sure if this is a hallucination on Hinako’s part, or perhaps a past version of herself.
“I was Hinako, but the other person was also Hinako,” Kato said in reference to the iconic scene, “and I became confused and lost track of who I was, both in character and in reality. At that time, there were times when I would burst into tears without even thinking about anything. As the time in front of her increased, my confusion also increased, and I remember that there were days when I felt like I was becoming crazy”.
Hinako seems to have left a fairly profound impact on Kato, who praised the character’s independent nature, although he also seemed somewhat fearful of her. “I’m impressed that she has such diverse perspectives despite still being a high school student. But I hope she never appears before me. Just imagining meeting her makes me lose my mind.”
Kato’s final comments, however, almost make the recording process sound a bit like a fever dream. “This may seem like a negative statement, but strangely enough, I don’t really remember how I was involved in this project from the beginning to the end of its planning, or how I approached it,” she said.
“The only thing I remember vividly is, as I mentioned before, not knowing where I was or who I was. Other than that, I can only remember fragmentary parts, like the dubbing. What I have talked about today is something I have extracted from those fragmented memories…”
In my opinion, Kato’s experience portraying Silent Hill f’s The main character sounds pretty good for the series’ many problematic protagonists. It seems like his comments in this interview could easily be read in an in-game note or a note left by a character you never meet. It’s almost disturbing.
However, Kato’s comments do an excellent job of summarizing why I personally rate silent hill so highly. It’s an incredible and unique take on the series’ brand of painful psychological horror. Hinako’s journey is one I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I constantly wondered what exactly was real.
silent hill It’s one of the best horror games I’ve played in years, right up there with Alan Wake 2. And honestly, handing the story assignments to Umineko Creator Ryukishi07 turned out to be an unexpected stroke of genius.
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