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One of the more memorable puzzles fromSilent Hill 2was the coin box puzzle. Three coins, five holes and a cryptic short story is what the player is given to figure out where the coins go. This puzzle is back in the Silent Hill 2 remake, though the box is now in the office in the lobby of Wood Side Apartments. The location isn’t the only thing that has changed, as this is a completely different puzzle now, save for the basic premise of ascertaining the order of three coins in five holes. Trying to solve this puzzle from memory or using existing guides for the original Silent Hill 2 will prove useless.
This puzzle is more involved now with multiple steps, but the following guide will get James the solution. It should be noted this guide was done on normal puzzle difficulty. In the original Silent Hill 2, puzzles changed based on puzzle difficulty. The hope is that even if the solution is different on the easier or harder difficulty settings, the solution can still be ascertained by following the steps in this guide but by making changes to the details where appropriate.
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A Story Told In Coins
The three coins can be acquired naturally as James progresses, but may take a little searching. The first coin acquired is the Man coin, which was found after cracking thesafe in room 206. The Snake coin is in the buggy someone left in the drained swimming pool in Wood Side Apartments.The Womancoin is in the dumpster outside the apartment complex, which is freed by dropping the case of cans down the trash chute, though unclogging the chute knocks the coin from the dumper and needs to be retrieved from the nearby ground outside the apartments. Both the chute and the cans are found in the laundry room adjacent toroom 312. After the three coins are in hand, it’s time to head to the office.
Three Bright Coins
“Three bright coins in five holes be. First sits the Maiden underneath the tree. The wind from behind the Maiden doth blow, a beautiful Flower alone has to grow. And here comes the Man, so sleek and so fine, in the pale moonlight his eyes doth shine.” That is the first part of the story, and looking at the design on the box, the location of the coins begins to make sense, but the coins in hand are Man, Woman and Snake.
Each coin can be flipped to reveal a second side, which is important in solving the puzzle. The reverse of the Man is a Sword, the Woman is a Stone, and the Snake is a Flower. The far left hole is where the Man goes, the Woman goes into the center, and in the far right hole place the Snake, and rotate it so it becomes the Flower. This advances the story, and the puzzle moves to the next step.
The Man Doth Approach
“The Man doth approach, his blade now revealed, his face disappears behind shining steel. Away from the man doth the Maiden flee, towards the Flower away from the tree.” Flip over the Man coin to make him a Sword, and then move him one hole to the right so he is between the far left hole and the center hole. Move the Woman one hole to the right as well, placing her next to the Flower. This advances the story to the next segment. Things have gotten interesting now. Why is the woman fleeing from the Man? Why is the man drawing his sword?
Where Once Grew a Flower
“Where once grew a Flower, a venomous glee, where once was a Maiden, a Stone doth be. And over her grave, a man doth remain. His blade never met the vile serpent’s vein.” Flip the Sword over so it’s the Man again, and move him into the middle hole. Flip the Woman over, and sadly see that she has turned into a tombstone, and leave her in her current spot. The Flower also does not move anywhere, but it does need to be flipped over to reveal the Snake. Such a tragic end.
The man was not a threat to the woman, he was trying to save her from the snake. It was probably his approach, rushing toward her with his sword drawn probably looked scary, and that’s why she fled to the non-threatening flower that was hiding the deadly serpent. His approach and lack of communication seems to be the problem. The story seems over, but the box has not opened. What is the next step?
The Beast who its Teeth in her Flesh doth Bore
“The Beast who its teeth in her flesh doth bore. He who has failed, she is no more. Now unto you falls a grievous chore, who carries the blame for what fate had in store?” The box is closed, and we have the Man, the Tombstone and the Snake all next to each other in the coin holes. The hole in the top of the tree, directly above where the Man coin currently resides, has now become accessible.
Move the Man to the top hole, as he is now held accountable for his failure that cost the poor Woman her life. The story and puzzle are now complete. When James exits the puzzle, the box will open, revealing its contents to be the key to room 201.
As seen from the guide above, the new version of Silent Hill 2 maintains a lot of core aspects of the original game, but changes them enough to create a new experience and challenges for returning fans. The equivalent coin puzzle in the original Silent Hill 2 simply required one solution, compared to the remake’s four part saga. While some may have hoped for the remake to be identical to the original, this approach makes it feel new over 20 years later.
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