Ranking

2. Difficulty Levels

You are required to play on either Hard or any Extreme Action Level, as well as Hard Riddle Level. So you might want to go for 10 stars while you're beating the Extreme Action Levels. To learn more about the Extreme Action Levels and how to unlock them, check the Extras section. I recommend you play on Hard Action Level because you'll have double the amount of health as Extreme Action Levels, and it's not as hard.

3. Endings

No ending is specifically required, but you should know the Revenge ending is instantly crossed off -- you HAVE to fight all the bosses in order to meet the requirements for them. Next, we can cross off the Possessed ending because I wouldn't think it's possible to receive it and still get 10 stars. There aren't enough enemies to make up for that extra 500 points you need (you have to have 500 points in damage or less, you can't have 1000). So the Normal ending is what you should be aiming for.

4. Saves

In order to meet the requirements, you must save your game twice or less. I recommend you use those two saves, unless you really want the bragging rights for one or no saves. The two spots I recommend you save at are: -Right before the Missionary boss in Daisy Villa Apartments -Right before fighting the final battle with the god in the Church These are just recommendations, you can save wherever you want, however, these should definitely be considered.

5. Total Time

Your total time must be under 3 hours, which isn't really hard to do. However, you need to kill 150 enemies in that 3 hours, as well as meeting the other requirements. Another specific thing is items -- don't go out of your way to get items, unless you really need them. Always get every item near you. Read more about items below.

6. Items

Your total items must be at least 100. This shouldn't be a problem whatsoever. Items are very easy to find, and getting them just to meet the requirement is foolish. Get all the items you can find that are necessary (don't get the ones that are far away and aren't worth it). I'm not saying this because of health -- you'll only need a certain amount of health items since you can't exceed 500 points in damage. If you go over 500 points, kiss those 10 stars goodbye.

You must collect the five extra weapons to get 10 stars, and you must have them unlocked first. Read the Extras section to learn how to unlock them. Make sure you know where all the extra weapons are beforehand, and most important of all, remember to get them! Here are their locations:

Unlimited Submachine Gun - On the boxes to Heather's left, just outside the women's washroom window, at the beginning of the Central Square Shopping Center, 1F
Beam Saber - On the northwesternmost door in the north 2F corridor, Central Square Shopping Center
Flamethrower - On the Helen's Bakery counter on 2F, Central Square Shopping Center
Gold and Silver Pipes - The "monster in the water" room, Underpass lower level -- drop your Steel Pipe in the water and answer honestly

Another very important thing is that you must not use these extra weapons. You will NOT receive 10 stars if you use an extra weapon, so don't even think of equipping one.

7. Defeating Enemies

One of the biggest issues in getting a 10 star ranking is defeating enemies. You must kill at least 75 by fighting and 75 by shooting. Near the beginning of the game you'll be using the Handgun, but later on, the Shotgun is your best friend here, so you better get it. If you don't, good luck, but it will be very difficult. The only weapons you should use are firearms. Using melee weapons cause high risks of being attacked, which is not good. Another thing, make sure you have your Bullet Adjust set to x5, or whatever the maximum is for your version -- you will need the extra ammo.

Basically, you should kill every enemy you see. There are around 200 enemies in the game though, so there are still around 50 you should ignore. However, don't ever try to get exactly 150 -- you probably won't get it. Always aim for a bit higher than 75 by both fighting and shooting.

You get the Handgun before dealing with your first enemy, so don't worry about ever using melee weapons -- you shouldn't anyway. Set your Bullet Adjust to x5 before you start because you WILL need the extra ammo. Therefore every Handgun Bullets pickup comes with 50 bullets. Shotgun Shell pickups come with 30 shells, and Submachine Gun Bullet pickups come with 160 bullets.

Each enemy is unique and will require a different amount of ammo to kill. Regular sized Numb Bodies die in 5 Handgun Bullets. Back up while shooting them -- the third shot should stun them a bit, so you should be able to stand still after that and fire twice more. Large Numb Bodies move very quickly and take around 10-12 shots to kill. Fighting Double Heads is a pain. While in caution mode, always sidestep when they come towards you. Shoot at them as they approach and continue doing so even while they're in the air. Other enemies like Nurses and Slurpers take a lot more Handgun ammo, so you should use the Shotgun. Nurses usually take 2 shots from the Shotgun to be knocked down, and Slurpers usually take around 5 shots. Aim at one and let it approach you, then blast it. Slurpers play dead very often -- continue to shoot them while they do so.

Normal Closers take 13 Handgun shots to kill, and one good Shotgun blast to knock down. Insane Cancers require around 5 Shotgun blasts in total, and you should never bother with Pendulums. Scrapers, on the other hand, only take one good Shotgun blast to knock down.

Totally unlike Silent Hill 2, killing by shooting is the easiest, especially with enemies near the beginning of the game, like Numb Bodies. Try to even it out though, and tally each kill on a piece of paper or a notepad, divided into two sections like so:

fighting | shooting
-----------|-----------
           |
           |
           |
           |
           |

Use tally marks (|) to keep track of your kills by each method. Right after you kill an enemy, mark it down so you don't forget.

Always get every box of ammo you can find. If you know where some ammo is, it is probably best to get it. Never waste bullets -- that should be obvious, but only shoot if you're sure the enemy will be hit.

8. Fighting Bosses

First of all, if you're looking for boss strategies, check the Strategies section below. This is just explaining a few things about bosses.

You'll have to fight the five bosses under a certain amount of time. Unlike Silent Hill 2, you can't get an extra ending to eliminate a boss or two -- you have to do the whole thing. I definitely recommend you go through the game on Hard Action Level, practicing bosses. Save before each one, and practice the strategies that are in the Strategies section below. Use a watch or a stopwatch to time yourself. If you go over the time limit, Soft Reset (Start + Select) and load your game, or just use the "Continue" option to start from the beginning of the boss.

Every boss will require firearms to defeat in the time limit. So, once again, make sure you have x5 Bullet Adjust on. If you don't have x5 yet, beat the game a few more times.

9. Total Damage

No doubt, this is a difficult task in getting a 10 star ranking. There are a lot of annoying enemies that will cause a lot of harm.

The damage limit is 500 points. Most of the enemies in the game deliver attacks that inflict around 5-30 points in damage. Large enemies like the Closer are very damaging and can inflict 25-60 points. You should never be hit by a Closer because they are so slow. Its arm swing, however, may knock you down. Insane Cancers aren't really slow, but you shouldn't be hit by them as well. Their attack while raising from the ground never seems to actually hit you, but their other attacks are very damaging. Small enemies like Double Heads and Numb Bodies only inflict around 5-10 points in damage. Normal sized enemies generally inflict around 10-20 points.

For defeating enemies, the Handgun and Shotgun will be used for the majority of the time. Keep your distance with the Handgun and back up or sidestep while shooting moving enemies. With the Shotgun, you want to make use of its widespread blast radius, so try to get close but not too close. In any area with Pendulums, you should always just run. Killing them is a bit difficult and they can easily attack you. However, in areas with Pendulums and other enemies, try to kill the enemies that aren't close to them.

A useful feature for reducing damage is blocking attacks. Try to master this before going for a 10 star ranking. While in caution mode, press Square and Heather will block any attack. Sometimes you might lose a little health, but you won't if you have the Bulletproof Vest equipped.

You should turn the Life Bar on if you have it unlocked. It will show you how much health and stamina you have so you know when you need to use health items. Use Health Drinks for minor wounds, but only if you really need one. First-Aid Kits should be for less than half health, and Ampoules are mostly for the extra stamina -- however, if you plan to use one shortly and your health isn't so good, don't use any health items until you use the Ampoule because it will recover all your health.

10. Strategies

BOSSES:

Split Worm

Time Limit: 2 minutes

This fight can be hard to get under the time limit, and the worst part about it is that you'll have to restart if you don't make it (if you're saving at the two appropriate areas). Always hold R2 for this battle -- this allows you to see which hole the Split Worm is coming from, and it also gives a good view while shooting the thing.

At the beginning of the battle, find out where the worm is coming from (hold R2) and move to the opposite side of it. Don't go too close to the worm or it might bite you. When it opens its mouth, fire two bullets at it. Do not fire a third because it will cause the worm to go back in the hole and waste precious time. After shooting twice, back up as far as you can and press R3 to reload. Wait there for the worm to do one of two things: Pound the ground with its head, or screech. Whenever it pounds the ground, you'll be stunned for a second or two, but shoot a bullet at the worm's mouth right when you regain control. This should cause the Split Worm to screech, and prepare for its instant kill attack. When it screeches, side step out of the camera angle (while holing L2 as always), and shoot the worm as it does its instant killer. You should be out of the way so you don't die of course. Continue shooting the Split Worm as it goes back to its initial position.

When the Split Worm opens its mouth again, fire two shots and it should close its mouth and either go back into its current hole, or come out and find another one. Either way, shoot at it while it does so. If it tries to find a new hole, you can easily unload 10 shots into the thing, which is great. When it comes back out from another hole, repeat this whole process. Sometimes after you shoot the first two shots (after it comes out of a hole), the worm will just sit there, and you'll be able to fire two more shots -- but only if it doesn't do anything for around three seconds. After, it should do the pounding ground attack.

This fight should take around 40-50 Handgun Bullets, which only one box of Handgun Bullets (with x5 bullet adjust) will cover. This fight is known to be the hardest fight to get under the required time because you only have two minutes, and this boss is quite unpredictable and may spend a lot of time backing into tunnels, wasting a lot of time. I've managed to get 1 minute 32 seconds for this fight, but a very common time is around 1 minute 50 seconds due to the unpredictability of this fight. Use a stopwatch to time yourself, and if you get over two minutes, you'll have to start the whole game again.

Missionary

Time Limit: 2 minutes

This fight is also a bit difficult and can be hard to repeat the killing process. Equip the Shotgun for this battle, along with an Ampoule if you feel you need the extra speed. First of all, the Missionary blocks Shotgun blasts from the front, so you'll need to get a shot off from the behind or the side.

At the beginning of the fight, equip the Shotgun because Heather equipped the Handgun in the cutscene. With your Shotgun now drawn, strafe to the left or right, trying to get behind the Missionary -- he should do a blade attack but it should miss you and will leave himself open for attack. Blast him and he should fall to the ground. While the Missionary is on the ground, move behind him so that when he gets up he'll be facing the other direction, open for another attack. Shoot the Missionary once while he is on the ground, and prepare to shoot him right after he gets up. If you're close enough, he may swing his blades while he's getting up -- this is good, if it doesn't hit you. If you're behind him, blast him again, just after he swings his blades.

If the Missionary does not do the blade attack while getting up, it's either impossible or very hard to knock him down again right after. You can shoot him, but he never seems to fall. If he always does the blade attack while getting up, you can continue the strategy to kill him in around 1 minute 30 seconds.

When the Missionary is running, always use the strafing buttons to dodge his running attacks. Never shoot him from the front, especially if you're close to him. If he's right in your face when you shoot him, he ABSOLUTELY will hit you afterwards (unless you manage to block the attack).

Leonard

Time Limit: 3 minutes

There are two good strategies for this fight, both involving the Sub Machine Gun -- so be sure you get it, along with every magazine for it. One of the two strategies involves the Submachine Gun and the Shotgun. The other involves only the Submachine Gun, which is a hard strategy to perfect, but you can get less than 30 seconds with it.

For the first strategy, have the Submachine Gun equipped. Strafe a bit to the left at the beginning of the fight and unload Submachine Gun Bullets into Leonard until he falls down. Then quickly enter the menu and equip the Shotgun. Reenter the game and start shooting Leonard with the Shotgun while he's on the ground. Count the shots in your head and reload in the menu. You might want to use an Ampoule so you can move faster. You can use this strategy without letting Leonard get up once, but I find that it can be difficult to do. That is why I use the below strategy.

For this strategy, equip the Submachine Gun for the entire fight. At the beginning, strafe to the left and unload some bullets into Leonard until you notice him starting to fall -- quickly stop shooting and get ready to continue shooting Leonard while he's on the ground. Also make sure you don't waste many bullets trying to bring him to the ground because you'll need a fair amount to keep him pinned down -- if you have less than 10 bullets in the magazine, it's very likely that he'll get up and smack you shortly after you run out of ammo in the magazine. You can reload in the menu instead of in the game, but I don't find that it helps much because you have to aim back at Leonard on the ground.

Try to get very close to him while he's on the ground so that all your bullets (except for the first few while you aim the gun down) hit him.

If you're far away, only a few bullets will hit him and he'll get up. It's hard to perfect this strategy, but it really helps for time. My best time is 19 seconds -- that's right, 19 seconds, that's how fast it is. It only requires four Submachine Gun magazines if you do it right. But once again, it's hard to do. However, if Leonard gets up, try it again later. Note how fast Leonard starts to swim after entering the water, and try to start shooting him before he swims. Always reload in the game for this strategy because it makes it easier to keep shooting him and you can constantly hold down on the left analog stick -- however, after you reload Heather starts shooting ahead, but she quickly aims down.

Memory of Alessa

Time Limit: 3 minutes

This is the easiest battle in getting a 10 star ranking, and only requires around 30 Shotgun Shells (one pickup with x5 bullet adjust).

Equip the Shotgun at the beginning of the fight and wait for Alessa to come towards you. The moment she swings -- it will make a distinct sound -- is when you shoot, with the Shotgun ready of course. Every time she does this, she is completely vulnerable to your attacks. When Alessa starts to run away, run up to her and shoot her from behind.

When Alessa has the Handgun and Submachine Gun, she will aim her gun at you if you are far away -- this is the time to shoot. You can also run up to her and she'll try to do a pistol whip (or whack you with the SMG), which is similar to the melee weapons. She also takes more damage when you're right in front of her as well. If you don't know where she is when you hear the cocking of her gun, just aim your Shotgun and shoot -- it should lock on to her and shoot her.

You might want to reload in the menu, especially if Alessa is in your face. And near the end of the battle in her last form, shoot her while she's on the ground before she gets up, however, she should get up after that. Repeat the killing process and she should die rather quickly. This fight is easy and it should take around 2 minutes or less. You have 3 minutes to defeat the boss, but you shouldn't need all that time.

The god

Time Limit: 8 minutes

This boss is very long and it is pretty hard. However, you're saving just before it so you can't really go wrong here. There are a few good strategies for this boss. One strategy involves the Handgun and the Katana. At the beginning of the fight, back up behind the semi-circle on the ground, and fire 3 shots at the god to make it come down. Wait behind the semi-circle for the god to its arm swing, and then equip and Katana and move in towards the god, doing either the 3-swing combo or the thrust attack. Then quickly move behind the semi-circle and wait for the fire to be thrown. Continue this strategy, and always only fire 3 shots to bring the god down -- don't waste any ammo. You should use any remaining Ampoules for this fight because speed is crucial for dodging the fire. The god starts throwing fire very quickly with this strategy, so you may want to try another.

Another good strategy involves the Handgun and the Shotgun. Use the Handgun to bring the god down and use the Shotgun to blast the god's face. However, you are guaranteed to be slapped (or head butted) by the god right after you shoot it with the Shotgun right in front of it. If you plan to do this, make sure you have the right amount of health items, and that your damage is low enough so that you can do this. You can use the Shotgun to fire twice behind the semi-circle, but fire will be thrown near the beginning of the fight. It's not hard to dodge the fire, it's just more convenient to have the fire thrown later in the battle.

To dodge the fire, simply start at the back of the battle area on the left or right side. When the fire comes, strafe to the other side, following the outside of the semi-circle. When the fire becomes very quick, you might not want to move as fast; move fast to get out of the way, but don't try to get to the other side as fast as you can. I say this because the fire can get to you if you move fast and just stand still at the other side.

I recommend you use the Handgun and Katana strategy for this fight because it's better for damage. You should need around 100 Handgun Bullets, and make sure you don't waste them. Only shoot when they'll actually do something.

OTHER STRATEGIES:

Nightmare Hospital Madness

Both versions of the hospital can be hard to avoid taking damage. The main factors that cause this are Nurses and Slurpers. The latter is the larger factor. The are some great solutions for when fighting Slurpers. You should pick up the several packs of Beef Jerky lying around in the game, and place them on the floor for Slurpers to chomp on. Turn your Flashlight off so they don't see you. While the Slurper is eating the jerky, blast it with the Shotgun. It should start to move towards you -- hopefully you're a fair enough distance away so it can't knock you to the ground. It can be hard to deal with Slurpers like this in groups, but sometimes they get stuck on each other and can't pass. You should have plenty of Beef Jerky, so put them in a few places around the room.

Another strategy is using the Handgun with the Silencer. You can use this with Beef Jerky as well, and the Slurpers won't be able to find you nearly as well. With your Flashlight off, shoot them from a fair distance away, however, move close enough so the bullets actually hit. You can also use the Submachine Gun with the Silencer, however, try not to use all your bullets; you'll need them for Leonard.

Nurses aren't as annoying as Slurpers but can still cause a lot of harm. Always go for the Nurses wielding Revolvers first, they are the most threat. Quickly run up to them and give them a Shotgun blast to deal with. In some rooms you will be ambushed by three Nurses. It's okay to receive damage from them, but only one hit at the maximum. Right after entering a Nurses-filled room, use the Shotgun to blast them as they come towards you. Use the left analog stick to aim the Shotgun on another Nurse after shooting one -- this will either stun them or knock them down. Usually one shot will hit two Nurses, which is great. Keep switching targets to the Nurse the closest to you. When they're all knocked down, either kick or shoot them to death.

Haunted House Spiky Roof

If you just walk through the spiky roof area in the Haunted Mansion, you will die (on Hard Action Level, which is required). What you want to do is to make Heather a little lower so the spikes don't hit her. Enter caution mode and walk through the corridor. The spikes will fall and you won't. There is a weird noise when the spikes fall, sounding like you got hit, but don't worry about that.

Red Glow Hallways

Running through these hallways can be very hard, especially if you're playing on any Extreme Action Level (that's why you should play on Hard). You should spend a play through practicing running the hallways (along with bosses, et cetera). Remove all weapons before starting to move down the first hallway. Weapons just slow you down. Know the path -- use the map below if you need to -- and make sure you don't hit any walls. Before pretty much every corner, tap Square (with Walk/Run Control Reversed) so that you walk for a slight second, not running into the wall. Do this for every corner where you've been moving fast enough to run into a wall. Below is a map of both the hallways (they're identical) that should make things easier. Also, there is a door before the actual door in the first hallway -- it has a broken lock; you should already have known that.

     Start
    |
    |__
       |
       |___
        ___|
       |
      _|
     |
     Finish

11. Puzzle Solutions

Shakespeare Anthology: The resulting code is 8352. Don't pick up the books

2F Patient Wing: The resulting code is 4896

Room M4 Clock: View the time on the clock and change it to 24 hour time. Enter the 24 hour time on the briefcase on the left bed

B3 Crematorium: The resulting code is 9271

Tarot Card Door: Use the following solution to unlock the door.

12. Extra Weapon Upgrades

Upon receiving a 10 star ranking, you'll receive two upgrades for certain extra weapons -- the Beam Saber and Flamethrower.

Beam Saber

The Beam Saber will extend to double its normal length. For those of you who have used the Beam Saber, you'll know that it's already long -- imagine that length x2. It's not any more powerful than normal, it's just longer, which is plenty good enough.

Flamethrower

I bet you were excited when you first unlocked this after beating the game once or twice. But when you got it, you weren't so happy, right? Initially the Flamethrower is VERY impotent. I swear, there were some instances where I was flaming enemies for over a minute. Upon receiving ten stars, the Flamethrower will become MUCH more powerful and it can actually be considered a weapon.