Women in Silent Hill are smothered to death, bleeding from the waist down, and tortured by their fathers. It's not my idea of the perfect spring break, but sometimes it's unavoidable. So Silent Hill f, the newest title in Konami's survival horror series, won't make life any easier for its female protagonist, but writer Ryukishi07 at least vows to empower her.
"Up until now, I have played every Silent Hill game," says Ryukishi07, the mythic creator behind the When They Cry visual novels, in Konami's recent Silent Hill transmission. "One thing I noticed is that many of the female characters are put through a great deal of suffering throughout their lives, which is why I thought, if this game is going to have a female protagonist, then I want her to be able to make her own decisions. For better or for worse amid her struggles."
Ryukishi07 continues: "I don't want her to just be pulled along by the story, but to find her own answers. That was the kind of protagonist – or, at least, the kind of story – that I wanted to create."
As a loyal Silent Hill fan, I'm relieved to hear this. Part of me has always been comforted by the chthonic gods and disasters that surrounded the franchise's female characters in rusted terror.
Like these girls, light and family-oriented until they got hold of knives, I feel that I've also experienced fear beyond my desire, beyond my choice. I've felt represented by Angela in Silent Hill 2, by Maria, by Heather Mason in Silent Hill 3 – with them struggling along with me, I didn't have to be alone.
But I've also always wished that blood-spattered sadness wasn't presented as intrinsic to womanhood, though many pieces of horror media – not just Silent Hill – make the connection seem impossible to break.
That said, Silent Hill f can end the curse of expectation. I look forward to seeing what Silent Hill f's teenage protagonist Hinako Shimizu does to escape the town blooming like mold around her. With a steel pipe in her hand, anything is possible.
