Since the release of Silent Hill 2 back in September of 2001, I have been a dedicated fan of Konami's Silent Hill games. Since that time I have played through each of the three titles on multiple occasions, each time uncovering new wrinkles in their multi-layered fabrics of terror and despair. A seamless blend of surreal visuals, moody sound design, unsettling art direction and compelling storylines has propelled these games to the top of their genre. These key aspects, coupled with a very palpable sense of dread and a cacophony of cerebral scares, typically make the world of Silent Hill much more emotionally affecting than the majority of its horror game brethren. It is absolutely one of my all-time favorite game franchises.

When a game as fascinating as Silent Hill comes along, I find myself clamoring for supplemental material that explores the processes, personalities and creative influences that bring such works to fruition. Last year Konami released a comprehensive making-of title for the PlayStation 2 entitled The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2, an excellent product that proved just how dedicated they are to producing the type of supplemental materials their fans crave. While not quite as interactive, the newly-released Lost Memories: The Art & Music of Silent Hill is nonetheless an excellent compendium of Silent Hill audio, video and production material that no fan should be without.

This handsomely-packaged DVD is available only in Japan, but it is very import-friendly considering that all of the videos and menu options are in English. The disc is divided into 7 main sections, each of which explores a different aspect of the Silent Hill universe. All three Silent Hill games are equally represented here, so you don't have to worry about missing out on your favorite title. The first section, Sound, provides the original soundtrack to each game, complete with selectable track listing and a nifty slide show. The slides depict various sequences from each game, and though they tend to repeat a little too often it's still a cool feature. I'm very pleased to have all of the OSTs neatly stored in one place, but I wish Konami would have provided a few unreleased bonus songs or ambient sound tracks.

Next is Trailers, which contains much more interesting material than you'd initially suspect. This section culls together many of the game trailers that Konami has presented at various events, including Tokyo Game Show, E3 and Konami Gamer's Day. The production values seen in these trailers are top-notch, with a host of cool editing tricks and visual effects to enhance their presentation. The Silent Hill 2 trailers are particularly fun to watch, as they contain a lot of unused footage (Pyramid Head walking around on the streets?), some early CG work (an alternate version of the jail scene with Maria) and a few alternate music tracks (such as an extended guitar mix of "Theme of Laura"). Additionally, the opening cinematics and UFO endings from each game are included. There's a lot of cool stuff to watch here, even if you've played through each game completely.

Again I'm pleased with the selection of videos Konami has provided, but I would also like to see them include all of the endings from the three games. Considering that it is often very time-consuming to obtain the various endings in the games, having them all handy on this DVD would have been a very welcome feature. Before I move on to the next segment, I simply must mention the extremely goofy "You're Not Here" music video from the Silent Hill 3 section, which shows Heather lip-synching the words to the song as she walks through various locales from the game. Its goofy nature makes it feel somewhat out of place with the rest of the material, but I just can't stop watching it, probably due to my unhealthy fascination with Heather.

The Pictures section presents a wealth of screenshots from both in-game and pre-rendered sequences, as well as some conceptual art and storyboards. Most of the material here is stuff you've seen before, but there are a few surprises, like some of the more sexually suggestive demon visuals from Silent Hill 2. There's also an extra Silent Hill 2 section that contains some screen grabs from Maria's sub-scenario, Born From a Wish. (Press the right arrow key while Silent Hill 2 is highlighted to activate it.) Similarly, the Creatures section presents illustrations of all the monsters from the three games, which allows you to compare designs across the three games. Here you can take a nice long look at your enemies without the fear of being killed.

Perhaps the most interesting content on the disc is found in Art of Silent Hill, in the form of a pair of full-length music videos. The first, "Ki-no-ko", is a strong conceptual piece with some obvious nods to Nine Inch Nails, both visually and musically. The second is entitled "Fukuro", which probably translates to "crazy monster orgy" in Japanese. Here we get to see Masahiro Ito's Silent Hill 2 demons cavorting around to beats by Akira Yamaoka. Pyramid Head, patient demons, mannequins and those unused crotchless naked women are all showcased here in hi-res glory, and the video even includes some of the "rape" footage from the actual game. It's weird and a little repulsive, but if you're a fan of Silent Hill like I am then you'll likely find it fascinating.

Production Materials contains... well, production materials like posters, box art and the like, and contains some unused designs from the three games. Nothing too exciting, but nice to have. The final section is called Bonus and contains two items. The first is a storyboard comparison of an early scene from Silent Hill 3, in which Heather finds a handgun and then is forced to use it against a Closer. The final sequence plays on the left of the screen, while the corresponding storyboards are displayed on the right. While I've seen this done a number of times before, I still find it very enlightening to watch a concept evolve from paper to screen. And if nothing else, you'll get to see some funny cartoon drawings of Heather.

The other feature here is called "Usagi", which probably won't mean anything until you realize that this piece is referring to the bloody rabbit mascot from Silent Hill 3. Oh yeah! This short music video, directed by Takayashi Tanaka and set to another original tune from Akira Yamaoka, finds Usagi prancing about the nightmare world of Silent Hill 3. One moment Usagi is riding an elevator, head twitching all the way, and the next moment he's wheeling around one of his brothers on a hospital gurney. It's very weird and very cool, and reveals a seldom-seen playful side of Team Silent's developers.

All told there is well over an hour of material on this DVD, a great deal of which is hard to find legally. I wish there were more items to flesh out each section though, especially unreleased musical works and a complete set of game endings. But I can't complain too loudly here, as Lost Memories is still an excellent product that comes highly recommended for fans of Silent Hill. I personally think it's a much better value than the previously-released Art of Silent Hill disc, as it encompasses all three games and provides a better historical perspective for the entire series. If you've got the cash and the proper equipment, this disc will make a great addition to your collection. Just make sure to freak out your friends by showing them the Usagi video.

Note: This is a Region 2 DVD, so you will need both a modified DVD player in order to watch it. I ordered mine from Play Asia, a clean, well-organized site that provided prompt shipping.