Trivia / Silent Hill 2

• Acting in the Dark: Guy Cihi was left in the dark about the game's big plot twist while recording his lines so that he could more convincingly portray the lost, confused, and self-deluding James.
• Creator Backlash: Concept artist Masahiro Ito has since grown bitter about Pyramid Head; while Ito loves his design, he feels that Pyramid Head has become far too represented in Silent Hill as the unintended mascot for the series, and is unhappy with the idea of it becoming impossible to make a new Silent Hill game without him, even though he was very specifically made for the plot of this one game.
• Defictionalization: Insert Coin produced a limited run of James' field jacket, and other companies now offer them for sale as well, complete with the unique forest-green hue and custom patches sewn on.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: While the controversial HD Collection is floating around for 7th generation systems, the PC port however has yet to see a re-release in any shape or form, with used PAL region copies commands upwards of $140 for the installation discs alone.
• The Other Darrin: The HD collection had an all-new voice cast, a choice which had caused some controversy. Guy Cihi, the original voice and motion capture actor for James, was very vocal about his opposition against the new cast. According to reports from Cihi and seemingly confirmed by his replacement Troy Baker, the disagreement primarily came down to Cihi asking for residuals for the HD collection, and his request being refused; it's extremely rare for voice actors to receive residuals, especially in video games. Some of the other original actors agreed that fans should get what they want. Fortunately, Cihi and the other voice cast settled an agreement where fans could have the choice to play the game with the original voice cast as well.
• Referenced by...: A Tonberry wearing a Pyramid Head helmet appears as the second opponent in Brawl Royale. The Android and Epic Battle Fantasy Collection rereleases make the reference more blatant, replacing the Tonberry with an Expy named Pyramid Helmet.
• Shrug of God: The game's creative director has explicitly stated that, regardless of Silent Hill 4's effort to force his hand, there is no official "canon" ending to the story, leaving players to choose the one they personally feel gives the best closure. The credits from "Born from a Wish" use footage from the "Leave" version of Maria's final scene, but that's not necessarily indicative of anything.
• Urban Legend of Zelda:
  • Supposedly, turning your flashlight and radio off while dragging the Great Knife around is supposed to make monsters run like hell away from you, believing you to be Pyramid Head. Sadly, all attempts to replicate this easter egg have failed.
  • One longstanding rumour/joke claims that a certain button combination can make Maria perform a pole dance at Heaven's Night.
• Voices in One Room: Taken one step further, as the voice actors acted out scenes from the game with each other before recording to give stronger performances.
• What Could Have Been:
  • According to developer notes, an early idea was for James to have a Split Personality named Joseph. This was meant to mirror Mary/Maria’s dual nature, with their names referencing a Jack the Ripper suspect (Joseph Barnett) and his fifth victim (Mary Jane Kelly).
  • Some early footage from Japanese trailers show Pyramid Head in situations that never made it into the game. He can be seen walking through the corridors of Blue Creek Apartments and even the streets of Silent Hill at one point, suggesting that he were to appear and stalk the player during actual gameplay. In the game proper he is mostly restricted to cutscenes and Boss Battles, and the only time you can get attacked by him while exploring is in an optional part of the underground labyrinth.
• Word of God: Masahiro Ito stated that Mary's body was in the backseat of James' car. Guy Cihi also stated that her body was in the backseat because being in the trunk was more of an American idea than it was Japanese.

---