History VideoGame / SilentHillOrigins

* HeroBall: At several points, Travis has no good reason to stick around the highly dangerous Silent Hill. His initial motivation of finding out what happened to Alessa is quickly resolved (he does believe it when he is told by Lisa that she is dead), and unlike the other protagonists of the series he has no personal investment in getting to the bottom of the town's mysteries, and his determination to do so seems to be purely for the reason that there would be no plot otherwise, thouh it is worth noting tht all the roads are gone like in other games if the player tries to leave.

* HeroBall: At several points, Travis has no good reason to stick around the highly dangerous Silent Hill. His initial motivation of finding out what happened to Alessa is quickly resolved (he does believe it when he is told by Lisa that she is dead), and unlike the other protagonists of the series he has no personal investment in getting to the bottom of the town's mysteries, and his determination to do so seems to be purely for the reason that there would be no plot otherwise.

A prequel released for the handheld PSP and later ported to the Playstation 2, ''Origins'' is a retelling of the events that happened seven years before ''VideoGame/SilentHill1''. It stars a trucker named Travis Grady, whose attempts to take a shortcut through Silent Hill get sidetracked by a figure running onto the road and a house on fire. After bailing a mysterious (and very, very crispy) girl out of her house, he passes out and awakes in the completely deserted streets of Silent Hill. His attempts to find out what exactly happened to the girl lead him all over the town and eventually get him embroiled in mysterious cult activity, as well as the [[DarkAndTroubledPast troubled past]] of his that appears to be a prerequisite for ''Franchise/SilentHill'' protagonists.

* HeroBall: At several points, Travis has no good reason to stick around the highly dangerous Silent Hill. His initial motivation of finding out what happened to Alessa is quickly resolved (he does believe it when he is told by Lisa that she is dead), and unlike the other protagonists of the series he has no personal investment in getting to the bottom of the town's mysteries, and his determination to so seems to be purely for the reason that there would be no plot otherwise.

[[quoteright:348:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silenthillorigins_4311.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:348:Now play dead!]]

--> '''Dr. Kaufmann:''' I'm surprised to see you. We had assumed you'd just leave.

* ThemeNaming: The monsters in Artaud Theater (Ariel, Caliban) are all named after characters from Shakespeare's ''The Tempest'', which is being staged when Travis drops by. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonin_Artaud The theater itself]] references a french poet and playwrite that experienced a descent into mental illness.

* ThemeNaming: The monsters in Artaud Theater (Ariel, Caliban) are all named after characters from Shakespeare's ''The Tempest'', which is being staged when Travis drops by.

* HyperspaceArsenal: Travis, like most other ''Franchise/SilentHill'' protagonists, can carry a ''lot'' of stuff on him.

* TheKillerInMe: If the Bad Ending is canon, [[spoiler: Travis is implied to be a serial killer and The Butcher is a manifestation of his "dark side".]]

* EpisodeZeroTheBeginning: Its Japanese title.
* {{Expy}}: The Butcher looks like a more muscular and "sexually repressed" version of [[VideoGame/SilentHill2 Pyramid Head]].

* SprintMeter: Travis can't run very long (compared to other ''Franchise/SilentHill'' protagonists) before he gets winded unless he downs an energy drink or is wearing the Sprinter outfit. It's [[JustifiedTrope justified]] somewhat in that interactions with the game world reveal that Travis is a smoker. [[spoiler:The fact that Helen tried to gas Travis and herself to death when he was a child could also be a factor.]]

* {{Expy}}: The Butcher looks like a muscular and "sexually repressed" version of [[VideoGame/SilentHill2 Pyramid Head]].

* {{Expy}}: The Butcher looks like a muscular and sexually reprimed version of [[VideoGame/SilentHill2 Pyramid Head]].

A prequel released for the handheld PSP and later ported to the Playstation 2, ''Origins'' is a retelling of the events that happened seven years before ''SilentHill1''. It stars a trucker named Travis Grady, whose attempts to take a shortcut through Silent Hill get sidetracked by a figure running onto the road and a house on fire. After bailing a mysterious (and very, very crispy) girl out of her house, he passes out and awakes in the completely deserted streets of Silent Hill. His attempts to find out what exactly happened to the girl lead him all over the town and eventually get him embroiled in mysterious cult activity, as well as the [[DarkAndTroubledPast troubled past]] of his that appears to be a prerequisite for ''SilentHill'' protagonists.

Characters in ''Origins'', with the exception of Travis himself, are all younger versions of the characters found in ''SilentHill1'' -- Dahlia, Lisa, and Kaufmann. They wear different clothes and have slightly different personalities, but are ultimately the same.

* BuffySpeak: Travis, while holding up a piece of the MacGuffin: "Hey! I've got your... your THING for you!" Justified in that he had just faced the most traumatic event of his whole life. He wasn't exactly in the right state of mind. Plus, neither he nor the player (unless they've played ''SilentHill1'') actually know what it is at that point.

* ContinuityNod: The whole game, but specific callbacks to ''SilentHill1'' include a redone version of [[spoiler:Dahlia and Alessa's conversation shortly before the poor girl was sacrificed]], a redone version of [[spoiler:Dahlia and Kaufmann's conversation about the summoning spell to draw Cheryl back to Alessa]], and [[spoiler:the graveyard in which Harry and his wife find Cheryl]].

* DramaticIrony: Near the end of the game, Travis angrily asks Alessa when they're gonna get to see what's in ''her'' sick little head. [[SilentHill1 Oh, if he only knew...]]

* HyperspaceArsenal: Travis, like most other ''SilentHill'' protagonists, can carry a ''lot'' of stuff on him.

* SolveTheSoupCans: At the motel, Travis has to drain a pool in order to get a thing lying on its bottom. The thing is that the water level in the pool is barley waist-height so Travis could easily just climb down there and fish it out, but there is no prompt to make him to do so.
* SprintMeter: Travis can't run very long (compared to other ''SilentHill'' protagonists) before he gets winded unless he downs an energy drink or is wearing the Sprinter outfit. It's [[JustifiedTrope justified]] somewhat in that interactions with the game world reveal that Travis is a smoker. [[spoiler:The fact that Helen tried to gas Travis and herself to death when he was a child could also be a factor.]]

*** This extends to ''SilentHill3'' (the bookstore puzzle) and ''SilentHillShatteredMemories'' (several of the mementos refer to Shakespeare's plays).

* MarketBasedTitle: It's called "Silent Hill 0" in Japan.
* NonAppearingTitle: The first song played in the game is titled "O.R.T." This stands for '''O'''ral '''R'''ehydration '''T'''herapy - which is extremely relevant to Alessa, considering it's used used to treat ''burn victims.'' Of course, the song itself isn't about this type of therapy, and is never even mentioned.

* ContinuitySnarl[=/=]{{Rewrite}}: Much of the game contradicts events and references depicted in''SilentHill1''. Such as the burning house in which Alessa was found in by Travis. In the first game, there was no indication that the fire was part of the ritual and it was an accident in the boiler room. (Possibly caused by a Poltergeist.) Alessa was needed alive to perform the ritual and the fire would had surely killed her. Origins did not clarify the damage the fire has caused, as only the house itself was ablaze and nothing else.
** For that matter, why didn't the Cult members rush in to save her?
** The Otherworld and Fogworld are apparently parallel dimensions now, and not manifestations of the Cult's god influencing the world and taking over reality.
** In fact the ghostly Alessa you interact with throughout the game, the one that gets Travis to stop his truck, among other tasks, makes no sense either as Alessa couldn't have made a mental projection of herself until her soul was split, and she did not split herself in two until the end of Origins. Plus the mental projection in ''SilentHill1'' was only possible due to Cheryl coming back to Silent Hill where Alessa can use her as such a projection as both halves were hole again.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The FinalBoss qualifies. It is entirely independent of Travis' psyche, which has so far inspired and codified the creatures inhabiting Silent Hill. All boss fights up to this point are unconsciously connected to Travis' past and feature as cathartic events, whereas the FinalBoss really comes out of nowhere, has no relation to Travis or his personal history whatsoever, and is only explained through inference of the previous games' canons ([[spoiler:it's Samael]]), rather than being mentioned or referenced by any of the characters or collectible documents.

* MarketBasedTitle: It's called "Silent Hill 0" in Japan.

** In fact the ghostly Alessa you interact in throughout the game that gets Travis to stop his truck and save the burning Alessa, among other tasks, makes no sense either as Alessa couldn't have made a mental projection until her soul was split, and she did not split herself in two until the end of Origins. Plus the mental projection in SilentHill1 was only possible due to Cheryl coming back to Silent Hill where Alessa can use her as such a projection as both halves were hole again.

Characters in ''Origins'', with the exception of Travis himself, are all younger versions of the characters found in ''SilentHill1'' -- Dahlia, Lisa, and Kaufmann. They wear different clothes and have slightly different personalities, but are ultimately the same. [[spoiler:(Except for the fact that Lisa is a real person and not dead - yet.)]]

* BigDamnHero: Travis is possibly the most selfless and altruistic of Silent Hill protagonists yet. He willingly stays in town to help out the girl he just rescued from a burning building, while disinterestedly confronting his troubled past just because it's on the way.

*** For that matter, why didn't the Cult members rush in to save her?

* ContinuitySnarl/Rewrite: Much of the game contradicts events and references depicted in''SilentHill1''. Such as the burning house in which Alessa was found in by Travis. In the first game, there was no indication that the fire was part of the ritual and it was an accident in the boiler room. (Possibly caused by a Poltergeist.) Alessa was needed alive to perform the ritual and the fire would had surely killed her. Origins did not clarify the damage the fire has caused, as only the house itself was ablaze and nothing else.

* ContinuitySnarl/Orwellian Retcon: Much of the game contradicts events and references depicted in''SilentHill1''. Such as the burning house in which Alessa was found in by Travis. In the first game, there was no indication that the fire was part of the ritual and it was an accident in the boiler room. (Possibly caused by a Poltergeist.) Alessa was needed alive to perform the ritual and the fire would had surely killed her. Origins did not clarify the damage the fire has caused, as only the house itself was ablaze and nothing else.

* FanNickname: The FinalBoss has been called Flauros (which is the name of the artifact he inhabits), Alessa's Dream (as an attempt to interpret his nature), Samael (due to WildMassGuessing he might be a proto-incarnation of the The Order's god), The Demon, etc.

* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Quite a few examples through the game, but the most prominent example is when Travis is blocked by a hallway chain he could easily step over.

* SprintMeter: Travis can't run very long (compared to other ''SilentHill'' protagonists) before he gets winded unless he downs an energy drink or is wearing the Sprinter outfit. It's [[JustifiedTrope justified]] somewhat in that interactions with the game world reveal that Travis is a smoker. [[spoiler:The fact that Helen tried to gas Travis and herself to death when he was a child could also be a factor.]]

* DemonicDummy / CreepyDoll: The Ariels.

* HeroBall: At several points, Travis has no good reason to stick around the highly dangerous Silent Hill. His initial motivation of finding out what happened to Alessa is quickly resolved, and unlike the other protagonists of the series he has no personal investment in getting to the bottom of the town's mysteries, and his determination to so seems to be purely for the reason that there would be no plot otherwise.