We Need to Talk About Walter. The Lore of SILENT HILL 4: THE ROOM!

Hey, friends. Footage is generally hard to scrape up when the events aren't rendered in game, but SH4 was particularly difficult because KONAMI likes to issue visual copyright claims. It took a lot of "dodging" to make this one work. Apologies for the reused footage in the first part of the video. ( / moralgentleappleonehand )
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----CREDITS----
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
04:06 The 21 Sacraments
09:09 Eileen and Cynthia
13:13 The First Sign
17:44 The Second & Third Sign
24:32 Start of the Game - The Fourth Sign Begins
37:00 After Eileen's Attack
45:03 Finale
Music:
Beloved by Jahzzar
(freemusicarchive.org/music/Ja...) (CC-A 3.0)
2017 12 02 in D Minor by Kevin MacLeod (CC0)
Connection by Brian Boyko (CC0)
Midnight in the Green House by Kevin MacLeod (CC0)
Germ Factory by imp (CC0)
#SilentHill #Horror #Gaming #Lore #Story

[@TiptoeTheTank]

Hey! Future Tiptoe here. Thanks for checking out these videos! If you'd like to keep up on KZbin Community info, I'll be posting extra bits of info here in the future: kzbin.infocommunity As of this post, this is a relatively young channel. I've only really been around since the end of 2020. I hope to be around for the foreseeable future; I'm excited to watch this little passion project grow. More info and content will come with time! Thank you for being here so early in the game. PEACE! -Tip

[@nahthanksno8299]

Also, I really like what you said about Cynthia. It’s so easy to write her off as “should’ve been more sympathetic” but she absolutely had no obligation to put her personal safety at risk for a stranger she didn’t know and had reason to believe was dangerous. Her only obligation was to her own life in that situation, she could never have known what Walter had been through.

[@TheDJman248]

Yeah...It's like she said. It was an unfortunate situation when it came down to it, and I dare say it was doomed to be like that. Cynthia (all her issues aside, cause those are definitely there) was never in a position to interpret Walter's....understandably clumsy (to put it generously) approach in any positive manner the moment she knew that he's basically been low key stalking her for years. Between Walter's social skills being ruined by his life experience along probably not properly understanding the full scope of what he felt towards the girl coupled with Cynthia's sharp-tongued disposition and complete lack of knowledge of who this man was and what he went through...well, how else could that interaction have ended? ....What happened much later is a different, and utterly unjustified matter altogether though. Cynthia absolutely did not deserve that fate.

[@840car]

M Mmm mk Mm mk

[@thegreenmanofnorwich]

While I know that the animation of character emotions is often criticised as understated, her voice acting when dying is gut wrenching.

[@_yikesforever]

This is actually really good, no one talks about this enough. It's really easy to label Walter as a typical antagonist since the game is so vague with the lore. I like how you left those questions open as well since we don't really know how much is Walter and how much is Valtiel's influence. You do find out in the Water Prison that he was a really smart and nice kid, so I always just personally thought it was Valtiel. I wish you went over the endings too! I find the bad ending so heartbreaking since I think it's clear Walter realizes everything he's done has been for nothing.

[@rosaline7549]

Wait really? walter realized his mistakes in the bad ending?

[@_yikesforever]

@@rosaline7549 That’s what I took out of it! Everyone was dead and Walter is just standing in that empty apartment, head down, the sum of all his efforts, all amounting to nothing.

[@rosaline7549]

@@_yikesforever i also found walter weird in the bad ending he looked disappointed but i never thought too much about it until now

[@gRinchY-op5vr]

I don't think it was nessecarily out of regret or feeling bad for his victims though, more he realised he hadn't revived his mother and he was just being used by the cult the entire time.

[@JaketheJedi23]

Yeah that ending is crazy. One thing I like about the series is that they have different endings are good Outcomes and the bad outcomes that you think that would be different. Very hard game too but good in its unique way.

[@14714623]

I did feel bad about Walter's upbringing. It was tragic and unfair. He really didn't have much of a chance to be anything other than a monster. That being said he was killing people so he had to go.

[@Jen1-2-]

Always felt like SH4 was so underrated. This channel deserves more attention, I can't believe a video with so much effort put in doesn't even have a thousand views!

[@recneps1230]

I think people are turned off by the flaws in the gameplay, it’s a shame because it might be my favorite story of the original 4 games.

[@j.c.denton2060]

This is my new favorite KZbin channel. You have the perfect voice for this.

[@TiptoeTheTank]

Thank you so much! That's a serious confidence booster!

[@InfiniteQuandary]

100% Agree!

[@pumpkinpie7591]

@@TiptoeTheTank loved the video!

[@daxernsthenobody]

Frank's weirdness must be hereditary, because James I pretty weird too, like Father like Son, am I right

[@neapolitan_pyro5620]

Probably less hereditary, more taught me thinks

[@golemofwill4728]

Walter is the perfect antagonist for the series. All of the first four did something great and Walter was the best of 4. He is one of the most evil characters in a game, yet he's understandable when you see how he was raised.

[@someone2746]

He was one of the few memorable characters of that franchise, antagonist or otherwise. He was the first time since Star Wars that the villain was the main character where I had an appreciation for the writing (though I didn’t care much for the prequels) and until Thanos I never knew one that I either found particularly interesting or compelling. The lore of the Silent Hill games was their main draw and it’s something that tended to fall to the wayside; you would learn more reading other people’s time and effort put into studying it than from playing the game, which didn’t come across to me as particularly good design. Enjoyable games nonetheless however for those first 4. I can’t comment on the others apart from what I have seen and haven’t felt much reason to aside from maybe Downpour but even then…I think they spent more time racing against Resident Evil than building on their strengths. And then “Team Silent” was disbanded anyway. Dead Space fell victim to similar issues unfortunately.

[@DiloConHelio]

I don't think the ghosts roaming through Walter's nightmare are projections or ideas. We get to see Cynthia die and later reanimate in the same spot, it is more likely that what Walter created with the Holly Assumption resulted into this derranged collage of Walter's life, where his victims' souls are trapped and probably also powering that demonic dream. A nest of sorts, where once enough victims are gathered, it becomes stong enough to give birth to God once again.

[@nathanholte7573]

Your work is fantastic. As a dude in his thirties who harbors a ton of nostalgia for older horror games, this is quite the perfect analysis. Thank you.

[@TiptoeTheTank]

Thank you so much! I'm a few years (or decades) late on a lot of the games on the channel, but I'm so happy to experience them now. Silent Hill 1-4 was definitely special.

[@WrenchNinja]

I've always loved the story in Silent Hill 4, this was a great recap. You've got a really good voice for this.

[@someone2746]

Walter Sullivan was born in 1967 and “came back to life” in 1994. He bares some similarities with a particular musician too. I always thought that was a bit odd and just me looking into the character a bit too deeply.

[@TheOriginalShoneBoyOnYT]

JFK grassy knoll

[@devikalitara9832]

Elvis? 🤣🤣🤣

[@OZSzymonek]

Kurt Cobain

[@spooksbukowski63]

All apologies…

[@stuckinavase1586]

Walter Sullivan is Travis Meeks

[@masoomtajdini5138]

This game is still fresh after all these years, the story touches every soul especially

[@BUckENbooz]

I played Silent hill 4 more than ANY other silent hill game. It was so brilliant. RIP team silent.... I would of KILLED to see your game in 2021

[@penance8717]

You are going to see it on PS5💥

[@ninjaeris131]

Between you and thegamingmuse, I'm having my Silent Hill lore obsessions fulfilled!!!

[@aubryjames0412]

I love your narration, makes it sound like a true crime show.

[@nillynush4899]

SH games usually have good OSTs, 4 is no different. 1 is the most scary and industrial. 2+3 sound similar but capture emotions very well, and 4 has some great ambient and voiced tracks.

[@shadowclaw7210]

Make you wonder. How would Walters live would change. If he meet a kind person from his birth. If was raised by kind people and never visited god forsaken orphanage.

[@b0lt_thr0wer15]

I discovered you channel looking for Dishonored Lore and your videos were 11/10! Soooo good. I decided to watch your other videos of games I have never had the courage to play ( horror games ). I love how you structure each video so well taking into account information spread out in each game and putting it in order. Really really great job!

[@TiptoeTheTank]

Thank you for checking it out! Those timelines are key 🗝️

[@rickybustamante167]

Glad i got this recommended this

[@lostgirl.1987]

Your storing telling skills are beautiful and unique to the gaming lore videos ive seen I've been watching your videos every night for the past week and have become a patreon today. I look forward to Your future content and hope this can become a full time job for you soon. X

[@TiptoeTheTank]

Thank you, and thank you for joining the Patreon! Turning this into a full time job would definitely be the dream.

[@lostgirl.1987]

@@TiptoeTheTank You deserve that dream to come true ❤ Also thank you for introducing me to Brian Boyko Connection.....its epic 👌🏼

[@elihentai8242]

i had an absolute blast watching this, thank you so much

[@TiptoeTheTank]

Thank YOU for checking it out!

[@JaketheJedi23]

This was a dope ass video! Very good job on it. I remember playing this game on a demo and that’s how I got into the whole series, played them in order and once I played this one again it was different and cool for a silent hill spin off.

[@guidomartinez]

Wow this is amazing thank you! ♥️

[@ScaerieTale]

I had my guitar in my lap when KZbin reminded me you did this video. I could not help myself. *sings* We don't talk about Walter no no no We don't talk about Walter! Okay complete silliness aside, I'm really enjoying your Silent Hill series. I feel like so far, you've hit on the lore of each game better than I did when I first played these games (actually, I had to replay Silent Hill 2 2-3 times before I began to fully understand what the heck was going on :D) Can't wait to check out your Chrono Trigger and Zelda videos next

[@andypmz07]

Liked and subed, amazing. Also, the continuity in silent hill is amazing, Walter started life as nothing more then a news paper clipping in sh2. Now he's immortalised as one of the best villains in video games, in my opinion at least.

[@TiptoeTheTank]

Thank you! And that's an opinion I would agree with. Walter Sullivan is a cut-above.

[@ameera3284]

I’ve watched this video everyday for the last few weeks. This game is one of the first that I’ve ever played and I loved ( and still do ) it so much. You told the story so well and I really loved how you explained Cynthia’s character. Thank you so much 💖

[@Ruinari]

Your content is criminally under-rated. Well fricken done!

[@thescottishgeektwitch7125]

Really enjoyed this video 🙂 I do feel sorry for Walter to an extent. I really enjoyed his character and the story of SH4

[@TheHalloweenSpirit]

Fantastic video! ❤️💜💖

[@andycano]

Best video ever... the history is much clear than the other videos I have seen... thank you for sharing!

[@danielharris6743]

I stumbled upon your channel with your Resident Evil video. I watched all of those and am now working thru Silent Hill. Love your content

[@micklefox]

43 seconds into this video and I’ve already liked and subscribed!

[@BBaaaaa]

Same.

[@PWizz91]

I cant put into words just how good you are at this! Seriously I have just binge watched aload of your vids.. perfect story teller! Much love from across the pond

[@h.p.lovecraft7286]

this is a remarkable video, great work

[@ederfernandez2318]

This is so good! I've not skipped a single second of any of your videos!

[@IntrusiveThot]

I adore your coverage of this, as someone who can’t nail down a copy of the game! You make some DAMN good video essays.

[@jmora1703]

Thanks for the story breakdown! I played this game years ago and never fully understood it until now.

[@BBaaaaa]

Thank god I watched this video This is amazing! Please keep up!

[@GeoffDoll]

Still my favorite video of yours! So well done and the reason I love Silent Hill 4 as much as I do

[@SoramiUchiha]

I just found your channel not too long ago and I love your narrations. Keep up the good work!

[@chudzy7031]

Thank you for your channel! Always enjoyable

[@JOSClaudess]

What an amazing video, your voice really adds to it as well. I absolutely love this game and its lore! 😍

[@matttyree1002]

Excellent video series!

[@SinclairLore]

Great job, your vids are really cool!

[@Roje.D.Santos69]

It's a REALLY GOOD content, sh4 was the first silent hill game i ever played and as a Young latino i was just playing for the scare and stuff It brings me so much memories playing this Thank you so much and please keep with the awesome work

[@moskito6874]

Not to be disrespectful or anything, but I want to point out how you sound like naoto from persona 4 here. Very professional sounding

[@BBaaaaa]

True

[@alwaysxnever]

Been enjoying your catalogue of videos. This is set to be one if my favorites I'm sure considering the subject matter. ❤

[@xxvaltielxx1789]

The saga that gave birth to my username in a lot of platforms more than 20 years ago, ah, how time flies

[@peachy8408]

People gave this game too much hate its actually pretty good. great video!

[@time4manmode945]

Yeah this is my 2nd favorite in the series my number 1 being SH2, though the other games were disturbing, the room actually scared me because it take place in your own home, on a side note Henry looks kinda adorable I wanna cuddle him🥰

[@cameronstrife1659]

You are seriously amazing. How do you not have more subs?

[@hectorlumbagoCringe]

I LOVE your work!

[@dannymaurice5543]

I stumbled onto this channel. best thing that's happened to me

[@kewynmichnea7229]

The one dislike is from walters parents.

[@Connor_Queen]

You voice is truly perfect for what you do and I would just like to say...if this doesn't sound too odd given the video context, you are very relaxing

[@Trip2280]

I've just been through all of your Resident Evil stuff. Now this. Your pieces are pretty great! Next on to Bioshock!

[@YasugoLiehu]

This game would've felt very different if Room #302 were the size of _my_ apartment. Can't really hide the rotting corpse of a serial killer in 200 square feet of space.

[@darran311]

I always found the handprints on the wall through the spy hole creepy and how there's an extra one after each new death

[@kpc298]

Great video. Gained a subscriber!

[@skullman-us7wn]

Waltuh. Stop performing the ritual of the 21 sacraments Waltuh. Room 302 isn’t your mother Waltuh

[@MrKilljoyZero]

She's. In. High heels. Love the emphasis on that.

[@AyZeD]

So he's pretty much a supernatural serial killer. Cool

[@zhhicks]

This is incredibly well done.

[@GirtheAlienGoldfish]

This came out on my birthday and this is my favorite video game. A belated gift.

[@michaelkragseth3877]

Supposedly there is a strong connection between Walter and Valtiel, yet not shown. The only thing we do see of valtiel is in the staircase of 4, someone had to camera hack so that we could see the dead valtiels, but its them/it. Anyway this a interesting listen ^^

[@TiptoeTheTank]

From what I'm remembering of the scripting, a lot of Walter's backstory came from the SH4 section on the Konami site that I had to WayBack-Machine into to read. Team Silent put a lot of lore love into their games, but it really stinks that it wasn't put into the actual game. I wasn't able to find the SH4 archive, but I had this saved as a bookmark if you wanna browse! web.archive.org/web/20170919073906if_/www.translatedmemories.com:80/tome.html

[@michaelkragseth3877]

@@TiptoeTheTank Oh thanks , I used to get my info from konami sh4 section way back then. Nice refresher on reading this ^^

[@Magenta6977]

Awesome video!!! The wispers in the beginning remind me of the wispers that were in rule of rose 🌹 😊

[@martymason6262]

Thanks , this is pretty accurate, love it.

[@bobtummins6263]

Awesome video

[@dimisbam7725]

Great video

[@kimberlys8422]

I do miss this game; when my PS2 stopped working it low key made me sad

[@mckilltv]

Amazing video ✌👍

[@ChasoGod]

I can understand why some people don't see this as part of the SH series, it was originally an unassociated game that got Silent Hill lore added on top of it during development. But it does show that even if you don't enter Silent Hill, or have a personal connection to the town yourself, its paranormal effects can still reach outside the town limits and affect you.

[@Bgdk]

Love your channel

[@zacharyhawley1693]

Loved the stream, got a cat out of it because the landlord left my door open. :D Anywhos thank you for covering this particular entry. Silent Hill is a nexus point between the supernatural and the normal world and its largely left up to the interpreter if the long history of tragedy and horror corrupted this particular place or was it always this way. Does the concept of human morality even apply to Valtiel? This is a series where if you don't have more questions than answers you've done it wrong. So enjoy it and I can't wait to see what you cover next

[@TiptoeTheTank]

Oh Sourdough!! I almost forgot about that cat! We need a 'pet' section in the Discord. I know so little about the other Sects of the Order, and so little of Valtiel, and Dahlia, and the Sunderlands, and even Silent Hill itself. I'm excited to learn more about SH 1-3. I think it'd be foolish of me to not to try Silent Hill 1 again.

[@hermeticbasementstudiosinc4904]

I played through the whole game as soon as it came out (I loved Silent Hill back then). It was kinda disappointing. Looking back, it's such a great game! Got it on GOG last week and can't stop playing! Your video was great, I wasn't worried about spoilers because I already finished the game when I was younger. I just wanted to understand the story better, and this helped a lot. Thanks.

[@MadamFoogie]

Great analysis! I watched this a couple times, just to be sure I agreed with everything, and you hit the nail on the head. I _hated_ this game upon initial experience. For the longest time, I thought it was the worst in the quadrilogy. But over the years, it's really grown on me for its difficulty and oppressive atmosphere. There are so many crazy details to find, if you really hunt for them! Maybe it's because I've played the others to death and rebirth again, but SH4 is slowly clawing its way towards the top. Weird, huh? But, hey, I do have to mention one teeny tiny thing about your essay, which was driving me nuts. The journalist is named Scheriber, not Scriber. I mean, he's literally a scriber, so I totally get the confusion. Regardless, I've been binging your videos for a while now. You really do put in a ton of work on your research and editing!

[@nahthanksno8299]

Somehow, I missed most of the personal connections Walter had to the Sacrement Sacrifices when I played SH4. So glad I watched this.

[@pokepew]

Great video! :) The way you speak sometimes sounds like Vera Keyes on FNV DLC (Random and off topic sorry, you have an awesome narrating voice :))

[@iamjackspyramidshapedhelmet]

Imagine if Walter just got therapy

[@slowmercy69]

38:15 TheGamingMuse made an interesting observations in one of her videos: the body shown here could be Claudia Wolf's, or at least the model

[@Sansonius3rDaSlayer]

Damn the story of Walter was sad😢

[@bottyuup6885]

Walter... Put your... wait, wrong video

[@DarkManSonian]

Between you and PushingUpRoses, I literally go to sleep to y'all reading to me all night. It's awesome, games and murder she wrote, what more could a man ask for. Thanks.

[@theonlybilge]

Waltuh is the way he is because he was circumcised.

[@Xehanort10]

10:22 Sad that despite Walter still targeted Eileen as a victim years later.

[@Chris_MarMar]

I like to think that at some point, Valtiel just overtook Walter completely.

[@NATE-op9tq]

awesome channel

[@damiancrowley569]

This was my introduction to the series, I've always had a big place in my heart because of it. It also solidified my love of horror gaming. I think I was 12, maybe 13 when I got it. My uncle couldn't get passed the part where you have to use the whole to put the key in your chest to get out of that loop in the orphanage level(first time). It's one of the few games, that metal gear solid 1 is one of, where I beat it several times to get all ending and unlockables. I never understood why it got so much hate, it was probably the last great silent hill before p.t and that got scrapped. I'm excited for the silent hill remake coming to ps5

[@TiptoeTheTank]

I'd tried to play Silent Hill 1 a while ago (when I first started streaming at the end of 2020) and lost my mind with how frustrating the tank controls were and how strange the progression went in the game. I didn't even get through the school on my first attempt at the game. But someone had recommended I try SH4, to see if it'd be a better intro into the series. They were absolutely spot on: it pulled me in. I tried SH1 again after beating SH4 and made it through. The Room is mechanically tough, but such a WONDERFUL experience. If I hadn't met Walter Sullivan, I would never had gotten to know Harry Mason or James Sunderland. A great introduction to the Silent Hill series!

[@luisreyes9177]

Bro is that silent hill ps5 remake real ? Only thing I could find was a fake vid on KZbin. I got so happy when I read your comment lol

[@damiancrowley569]

@@luisreyes9177 I think it might be, man. There's a lot of back and forth on it, but I'm keeping my hopes up. If enough of us cry about it, eventually we'll get what we want lol but I saw that video and immediately had to change my pants. It's possible though, you know how much kojima likes to fuck with us before giving us his brilliance

[@damiancrowley569]

@@TiptoeTheTank absolutely, I'm so glad to hear that! It's a great place to start, and doesn't deserve all the hate that it got. It was definitely difficult adjusting to the mechanics of it, but was worth it every step of the way! I'm honestly so glad you feel this way, because it really was a worthwhile experience for any fan of horror, especially Silent Hill. It's terrifying, thought provoking, and at the time, was groundbreaking. At least, in my opinion. It introduced me to a lot of mechanics I hadn't really had a lot of experience with at the time. Like the first person parts in the room where you have to use the candles to exorcise the spirits, or puzzles revolving around inventory management while going back and forth to your apartment (the key in the woods) and having enemies that don't die, but can be stopped if you explore the world deeply enough to find the swords. Not to mention all the detail in the environments... Sorry lol I definitely fan girl over this game hard

[@Coreisus]

I remember when I was 10, my babysitter Jonathan excitedly brought home Silent Hill 4 as a rental -when it was new- and played through it in a night. It was my first experience with Silent Hill! It was great, and formative... lol Then we watched the first movie a few weeks later.

[@claudiomallea7792]

Good podcast 👌

[@salazar556]

I find Walter to be the most interesting of all of the villains in Silent Hill. He's very dangerous and scary but at the same time, he has a sad backstory. I think it was brilliant that they had both Adult Walter and Child Walter in the game, especially when it came to Eileen almost dying. You got to witness two very different Walter's.

[@kimberlys8422]

One of my favorite SH games; underated in my opinion. No RE4 in terms of Japanese horror games released in the early 2000's but still really emersive and haunting.

[@stevenpassmore5740]

Anyone remembers when a silent hill wiki editor went crazy in his belief that Walter was evil because he was a victim of circumcision. Weird times

[@swarler]

sorry i fell asleep from the asmr at the beginning and missed the whole video

[@nickypoundtown9568]

So he was like Bartlett from the frighteners in the guise of Kurt Cobain

[@eileenscat]

I love this game so much. It builds up the Silent Hill lore quite nicely, and Walter Sullivan is a perfect twist on the grim serial killer trope. This may not be my favorite of the original four games, but the story alone is magnificent.

[@user-uw1ke6fs7u]

your work about Walter is fantastic. SH 4 has the most depressive story,

[@yarubaltaweel5685]

I really enjoy watching your videos and I hope you make a lore video about Fatal Frame crimson butterfly and the whole Fatal Frame franchise. I played 3 of them on PlayStation 2 long time ago.

[@Viryl_TV]

She streamed Fatal Frame 1 last Halloween and really enjoyed the story, not so much gameplay though. We've heard the sequels are a bit more refined so she's thought about diving into them again eventually 👌

[@yarubaltaweel5685]

Fatal Frame 2 is best

[@chrisb6079]

lol "on some men" - now that is an understatement

[@axelch.3280]

Amazing content, let me help you with the algorithm

[@Coreisus]

Goddamn, so maybe we should be *extra* stern about our kids approaching strangers