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I realized I never got around to making a second part to my first entry that covered the bosses, soo I'm doing it now!
(images once again sourced from silent hill memories)
Split Worm
The first boss of the game, appears in the Otherworld Shopping Mall. Despite its size, it's not so hard to take down once you get the hang of it (that didn't stop it from giving me problems in my first Hard action difficulty save, though...)
Strategy
You always want to have this guy in view, it likes to move from tunnel to tunnel, and can sometimes even pop back out the same tunnel it just exited. Using the search view button (TAB on keyboard, L2/Left Trigger on controller iirc) is really useful, since you can quickly turn the camera to not lose track of it. Though, obviously you gotta make sure to move out of the way if the thing is moving towards you.
Another point of note, you can't damage it while its head is closed as far as I can tell, so you gotta wait for that to open before you attack. Otherwise you're just wasting ammo and/or time, and could give it an opening to headbutt you and knock you down.
Usually I save up handgun ammo as much as possible throughout the Mall for this fight, as I find it's the easiest way to kill the Split Worm. If you don't have enough ammo, your best best is probably the steel pipe, since it's just generally better than the knife + you want that extra range. You basically just gotta wait til it opens its head, bonk it with your weapon of choice until it starts closing its head again, then be ready to move out of its way.
Be careful not to stand too close (expect for while attacking with a melee weapon), because as previously mentioned, it loves to headbutt you if you stick too close.
Most effective weapon(s): Handgun
Least effective weapon(s): Knife
(you don't have many options at this point anyway lol)
Symbolism
Literally everyone who's ever watched me play came to the exact same conclusion that I can't exactly unsee and am inclined to agree with. This thing is one phallic motherfucker, I mean C'MON. What else could it be? Sperm? Thats not exactly much better lmao
That also fits in with the underlying themes of the game and its monsters. Makes you wonder if Heather has a general apprehension towards of fear of the subject, considering all the horrific ways these kinds of imagery present (but maybe I'm just projecting)...
Missionary
Second boss of the game, who appears at the Daisy Villa Apartments. I always forget how to fight this guy when I get to him, so it usually takes me a while because of that. I definitely wouldn't say he's the hardest boss, but he's a step up from the Split Worm.
Strategy
First off, don't bother trying to attack him from the front, he'll always deflect it, regardless of your weapon choice (far as I can tell). Also, it helps if you turn off your flashlight during this fight, because it makes it more difficult for him to find you. You basically gotta run around in the dark and try to attack him from behind so that he can't block you. ALSO, if he goes down, DON'T kick him. It feels counter-intuitive, but as far as I recall, it's not a good idea. Just, generally you want to be attacking at a distance, preferably with the Shotgun. The trickest part of this fight is really just manoeuvring around to hit him effectively, from my experience lol.
If you MUST use a melee weapon, the Katana is probably your best bet.
Most effective weapon(s): Shotgun, Handgun
Least effective weapon(s): Knife, Maul
Symbolism
As the name itself suggests, mixed with what we know about this guy (and the similar but weaker Scrapers encountered later on), it's likely that this is some twisted version of an Order member. He was sent by Claudia to kill Harry (and is implied to understand her commands), and is easily one of the more human-appearing monsters in the game. On top of that, the Scrapers only appear in the Order's church, so... It makes sense.
There may be other potential things though, that's just the only thing that comes to mind for me. I'd be curious to hear other possibilities!
Leonard Wolf
Don't be fooled by the human-sounding name, this guy is as much a monster as the rest of the bosses. Fortunately, he's not all that difficult to kill (in my experience, anyway).
Strategy
Basically, you just gotta shoot him till he drops into the water. Once he's submerged you can get a few more hits on him and he'll start thrashing around, at which point I think you can even kick him? If he starts moving while underwater, though, you're gonna want to use search view to keep an eye on his movements and move out of the way when necessary until he pops back up.
Similarly to the Missionary, the Katana is your best bet for a melee weapon, if you must use one. Tbh, it's just like, the best melee weapon in general lol
Most effective weapon(s): Shotgun, SMG
Least effective weapon(s): Knife, Stun Gun, Maul
Symbolism
Leonard is an interesting case for a monster, as he very much is confirmed to be an actual guy that exists (namely, Claudia's father). However, he isn't looking all that human at this point... I assume either Heather simply sees him as a monster, or Silent Hill has twisted him into one. We know this is possible, considering what happens to Lisa Garland (and hell, even Cybil) in the first game, although we never see those two reach forms as monstrous as this. It's possible his appearance is actually more influenced by Claudia than Heather, considering we know that he was not a good father to her, and she may have resented him for that.
Also of note, those weird "hands" of his kind of make me think of the Closers with their weird punching bag arms, albeit in a different form. Maybe has some relation with themes of abusive parenting..?
Memory of Alessa
Not gonna lie, possibly one of my favourite bosses from presentation alone. I mean, the carousel as the battle arena? Actually sick. Plus, I'm a sucker for "Dark Link"-style things where you get to fight some mirror of yourself, and it works SO WELL for a story like this one. Definitely the most human-looking enemy in the game, since she's meant to be a direct mirror of Heather.
Strategy
Because she has multiple forms, it does vary a little depending on the situation. Personally I preferred to keep her in melee range, using the Katana mostly. This way, even when she's in her final version (wielding the SMG), you're forcing her to basically bonk you with the gun instead of shooting you, which is much easier to block. Oh yeah, also. If you're not good at blocking yet, this fight will probably make you get good, especially if you're on hard difficulty lol. I got stuck on this one a while in part because of that.
Most effective weapon(s): Katana, Shotgun
Least effective weapon(s): Not actually sure, but I'd assume the Maul and Stun Gun would suck against her lol
Symbolism
This seems to be a manifestation of Alessa's will to prevent the birth of the Order's God at all costs, even to the point of killing Heather to achieve that. There are also lingering signs of the horrific pain and torment Alessa endured during her years in that sick room after being immolated, seen in elements such as Memory of Alessa's burned flesh and sooty, dark clothing.
Also I've seen it pointed out before that the carousel itself as the fight location could be symbolic of the cyclical nature of Alessa's existence, of both endless suffering and in being reincarnated. Whether or not that's the case, it's cool to realize that Harry fought Cybil on the same carousel back in the first game...
God
(couldn't find a nice full render of her like the others sorry :( )
The final boss of the game, fought under the Order's church. I, admittedly, have only defeated her on Normal action difficulty thus far. Her health in hard mode is actually wild, like it's an intense fight that I always end up losing in the end lol. One day I'll get there. Regardless, It's a pretty sick fight.
Strategy
It's strafe city babeyyyy
For real though, you're gonna be moving around a lot. First thing of note, there's this semi-circle pattern on the floor. If you're outside of the inner circle, she can't use her arm-sweep melee attack on you. However, she still has her other attack, where she sends fire at you. What I usually do, is stay in one place until she starts sending the fire towards me, at which point I immediately strafe out of the way. While using the handgun from afar is great, I've found it's totally possible to end up running out of ammo before she dies. So, I usually do a mix of the handgun and katana. Shooting her until she falls down, waiting for the arm sweep, then running in to get a few hits with the katana (probably about 2 or 3) before turning and running back out of the inner circle. It can be tricky for sure, since if you're too slow she can easily get you with her arm sweep attack, but it seems like it should be possible.
Oh yeah, also I prefer not to use the bulletproof vest, since all the speed you can get feels pretty important for this fight. That being said, it's up to you lol
I've heard and seen people somewhat cheese the fight in the PC version by finding a "blind spot" where she cant hit you and then just wailing on her with something like the Maul. However, I don't actually know how to do this properly myself (I experimented with it a bit but haven't figured it out), so I can't really advise there.
Here's a screenshot where the semi-circle pattern mentioned is visible, for reference. Sorry it's higher res than everything else so might take a sec to load lol
Symbolism
We know that even though Claudia ultimately "births" God, she was still feeding off of Heather's hatred and emotions for quite a while. So, it's hard to say fully what influenced the God's final appearance. However, I do think it's likely that its "unfinished" appearance, with the incomplete lower body and such, could very much be a result of Heather disrupting the way God was supposed to be born. Also, the God does somewhat resemble Alessa, which is most likely because of Claudia. She strikes me as being at a point where she's kind of obsessed with the idea of who she thinks Alessa was, seeing her as the saint and bringer of Paradise that the Order convinced her she was, rather than just the friend she knew her as.
Tbh I'm sure there's actually a lot more that could be said about all the things God means, but I'm not smart enough to see it all lol
However, i do think it's interesting how both in the Order's mythology, and in the events of the first and third game, God is created by human beings. The Order's God is always human desires and fears manifest, much like the rest of the town's creatures. They desire so much for their God to exist, that they make it exist. Idk where I'm going with this, just thought it was interesting.
Anyway, that's all I've got! Hope you enjoyed the read :)
Comments
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☆VAMPBOYMATT☆
I've always thought that the worms were also kind of yonic, perhaps a combination of both sets of genitalia? It's definitely related to that fear of being forced to birth a god and whatnot, so I believe that really both theories could be possible ^_^
Oh yeah, that definitely makes sense too!! It's interesting how these things can read many different ways at once, but all still apply and make sense.
by AEther Friskets; ; Report
Absolutely :]]
by ☆VAMPBOYMATT☆; ; Report