Damn do I love you reviews. For a scrotal anomaly, you're able to type on a keyboard pretty well. ;)
Silent Hill did a lot of things right, and the fact it was put together by a team of developers considered "troublesome" and "unfocused" and "not team players" by Konami is a testament to just how brilliant the concept was. It's a pity Konami decided their future is basically Pachinko machines at this point, and there hasn't been a "Team Silent"-developed SH in, what, fifteen years now?
I think part of the reason SH2 gets all the love is just how accessible it made everything. Same basic formula of a guy wandering around in a mist-shrouded town, but with much better graphics and sound design. Also, we don't learn a whole lot about who Harry Mason is as a main character -- he's left as a fairly blank slate that we can project ourselves onto, just a dutiful father looking for his daughter who never quite seems to know what's going on, but pushes forward anyway because that's what video games expect us as players to do. James Sunderland, by contrast, is much more developed: he has a backstory, he has a mystery in the form of a letter from his dead wife, he's keeping secrets (both from himself and from the player), and very early on, he admits that while the town of Silent Hill might be dangerous, he really doesn't care if he lives or dies. Plus, it helped that you didn't need to be familiar with the original to play SH2, since they weren't connected except in the loosest sense of title and setting.
SH3 is equally beloved, I think, because it's the only one with a female protagonist, and serves as a direct sequel to the original game. Heather is easily my favorite main character from any of the games, because she has the best character arc. Also, it's graphically the most (least...?) gorgeous of the PS2-era titles. There are all sorts of special touches and evil tricks that Team Silent played in this one, and they're all wonderful. Plus, this is the one that finally nailed the soundtrack. The first one is dense and chaotic, the second one was more appropriate and approachable, but the third is the one where Yamaoka married beauty to horror, and it's a standout for sure.
Shit, I'm writing a post of my own on your wall here. All that just to say "great job, here's an upvote"? Thanks for nothing, you tooth-anused savage. :D
Today has been too shitty for me to have a funny response, so I'll just say thanks for the kind words, dood.
Hope you're doing well.