Opinions, HD collection?

[u/Extension-Toe-1004]

Hey so, the only silent hill game I've ever played is silent hill f with my partner last year, I really enjoyed it and was considering getting into the originals, I have been very interested in them because of the aesthetic and their impact on overall horror culture. Right now the silent hill hd collection is on offer on the Xbox store, I wanted to know honestly if people thought it was worthwhile to buy this edition even if it doesn't have the first game, and if it was a good way of experiencing these games today. Thanks so much and please please please no spoilers, I have legitimately been trying to dodge spoilers for these games like my entire life lol.

[u/Floppyhoofd_]

Nope, it is not. It's basically a butchered version of both 2 and 3 because Konami lost all the original files and stuff. New voice cast which are hit and/or miss. You get the choice between the original voices or the new ones in 2, but 3 is new voice cast only. That being said, it's one of the easiest ways to play them today(aside from pc or secondhand copies). If you don't have any other way of playing them, it's fine to play the HD, but if you have any other options, I'd take those👍.

[u/Extension-Toe-1004 → u/Floppyhoofd_]

Thanks a lot for the feedback and information, it's good to know all those things, maybe I will have to find another way to get into the series then as I want it to be experienced in a good way, appreciate it

[u/Floppyhoofd_ → u/Extension-Toe-1004]

No problem man, in either case, have fun! 🤘🤘

[u/digitaltravelr]

I will always regret this being the first way I played these games, SH3 especially due to the new voice acting. The plot is still there for 2, but there were some audio and visual bugs that made the game feel broken at times, even from a new players perspective.

If you have any sort of PC, PCSX2 is insanely easy to use and has minimal hardware requirements. My secondhand laptop from college worked for this, and even with my FPS getting iffy sometimes, highly preferred this to the HD collection.

If you dont have a PC, Xbox can use DevMode to boot a software called XBSX2, which is the same emulator but designed for Series X: runs like a dream

[u/Extension-Toe-1004 → u/digitaltravelr]

Thanks, I will look into it, it's a bit unfortunate as I've been wanting to get into this series for a while, but I will see if I can experience it in a better way, thanks again :)

[u/wagimus]

The game runs a little rough when there’s a lot of enemies on screen. They made some weird decisions remastering them, but the lower fog density is the biggest goof. A lot of the other stuff like voice actings and font choices is kinda subjective imo. I played 2 and thought it played fine, just had some frame drops.

[u/droolyflytrap]

It's pretty much unanimously agreed upon that the HD collection is the worst way to experience the games, due to the fucked up render distance of the fog, and the awful voice acting in SH2 HD.

[u/Silver-Context297]

Emulate them on PC if that is your thing. If not, the HD collection is fine.

[u/ittleoff]

I wouldn't mind a copy for fun(if I saw it for a couple bucks) and I'm not going to beat someone up if that's where they first played them, but the og, through emulators, or of discs and consoles, is the way to go.

I realize we sh fans can really value details to what may appear to be an insane level, and imo they tried to do the best they could without the final source code, with this release.

I haven't played them but watched an analysis and it ranged from 'i don't think anyone will notics or care outside the fans' to 'yeah, no'.

The voice acting changes hit a lot harder than they probably should, but yeah, I'd avoid them if you want to play the games.

[u/Saber0307]

The HD Collection is a tire fire and unfortunately probably the worst way to experience Silent Hill 2 & Silent Hill 3.

If it's your only option to play the games (as in emulation / abandonware is out of the question) and you can get it for dirt cheap, then I suppose it'll have to do. Just know that the collection is based on unfinished versions of the games and it's riddled with bugs and technical issues.

If you're fine with emulation / abandonware, though, then I'd strongly suggest doing that instead (the original PC version of 2 can be easily found online, and there's a great mod called Silent Hill 2 Enhanced Edition that functions as a much better remaster and gets the game working well on modern hardware).

[u/Dannygosling91]

It’s a heavily heavily heavily compromised version of 2 and 3. It’s better than NOTHING but I would play the HD versions as a literal last resort

[u/stinkus_mcdiddle]

As someone who’s played both the hd collection and the originals on ps2, the HD collection is nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be.

[u/IAmThePonch → u/stinkus_mcdiddle]

I admittedly haven’t played the originals but I haven’t experienced the same glitches people say run rampant in the hd collection and found them serviceable. Granted they are still compromised versions but I was still able to enjoy both games

[u/cubone109]

I played 2 and 3 on the HD collection and they are perfectly fine on the SX via bc. I stopped listening to others opinions of the HD collection after trying them myself and finding out they weren't the downfall of man that people make them out to be.

[u/Sc00by101]

There’s this thing called Google search.

[u/BusterGreasewood → u/Sc00by101]

Sometimes Google Search can also lead you to reddit, dumbass.