Music Box Puzzle



The Music Box Puzzle of Silent Hill 2 is found near the end of the game in Lakeview Hotel. James Sunderland should have three music boxes in his inventory, featuring Cinderella, Snow White, and the Little Mermaid, from exploring the hotel. Insert them into their correct places, play the music box, and it will play correctly. The music boxes will turn to the inside of the large music box on a turntable, and three more music boxes will be revealed, with a key on the one in the middle. If the music boxes aren't in their correct spots, the music will play unpleasantly.

The player must retrieve the flashlight from the shelf if it hasn't been picked up already or else James can't examine the music box in the darkness.

Easy
In each slot, the same thing is written:


 * "When the Lost One is returned
 * the sour note shall turn sweet"

It doesn't matter where the music boxes are rightfully arranged; the player is free to place them anywhere.

Normal
From left to right:


 * "Seat of the Princess
 * who fled at midnight."


 * "Seat of the Princess
 * who awoke from death."


 * "Seat of the Princess
 * who spoke no words."

The princess who fled at midnight is Cinderella, the princess who awoke from death when the prince kissed her was Snow White, and the princess who spoke no words was the Little Mermaid.

Hard/Extra

 * "'Twas shameful greed did stain
 * her shoe with blood."


 * "Even so, I still want to believe
 * that she was happy."


 * "Beauty: both a blessing
 * and a curse thou be."

In the original story, there was blood on Cinderella's shoe when her stepsister tried it on, thus the first sentence is Cinderella. "Even so, I still want to believe that she was happy" is the Little Mermaid, because she gave up her voice to find happiness with the prince. The last sentence is Snow White, because she was so beautiful that it was a blessing, and also a curse because the queen wanted to kill her because of it.

Trivia

 * Two of the inner music boxes appear to be of Rapunzel and Thumbelina. The third is just a pair of legs, which may mean that the music box broke, or it may reference to the "Little Mermaid" box, as the mermaid traded her voice for legs.
 * As the legs on the aforementioned music box are wearing a pair of red shoes, it could instead be a reference to another fairy tale, The Red Shoes. In the original story, to be free from red silk shoes cursed by the devil, the protagonist begs an executioner to cut off her legs with an ax, as the shoes cannot be removed manually. The diabolical shoes, with legs still attached, continue to follow the girl until her death. Both this tale and the Little Mermaid were written by Hans Christian Andersen, which further emphasizes the link between the music boxes.
 * Each of the music boxes' locations is related to their stories:
 * The "Little Mermaid" box is beside a fountain (she lived in water).
 * "Snow White" is found in a pantry among apples (she is killed by a poison apple).
 * "Cinderella" is found locked inside of a briefcase (she was locked inside of her room). In addition, the briefcase has a numerical lock, and must have the correct "fit" (like her shoe).
 * References to Snow White and Cinderella reappear in the Marchen Travel Puzzle in the sequel.