Silent Hill F: The Only 100% Achievement Guide You'll Ever Need
So, you want to 100% Silent Hill F? Settle in, because this isn't a walk in the park. It's a multi-playthrough descent into madness, and you're going to need a guide.
Before we start, let's get the big, bloody warning out of the way. This guide will spoil literally everything. The story, the endings, the monsters, all of it. If you haven't played through the game at least once on your own, I seriously recommend you bookmark this page and come back later when you're ready to hunt for the scraps you missed. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Also, achievements have just been added, so consider this a living document. I'll be updating it as new strategies and secrets are uncovered.
The Roadmap to Insanity
Getting all 56 achievements requires multiple full playthroughs, plus a partial one if you do things right. The game has five endings, and you'll need to see them all. Here’s the plan of attack.
Run 1: The Story Run. Just play the game. Pick whatever difficulty feels comfortable (I'd suggest Story for both Action and Puzzle to get those out of the way) and enjoy the nightmare. You'll get the normal ending, Coming Home to Roost, and unlock a ton of story achievements. Make sure you grab The Bird that Flies Highest missable achievement during the final boss of this run.
Run 2: The New Game+ Grind. This is where the real work begins. Start a NG+ and pick a different puzzle difficulty. This run is for grabbing collectibles and using some clever save manipulation to unlock three endings in one go: The Fox Wets Its Tail (Good), Fox's Wedding (Bad), and The Great Space Invasion! (UFO). I recommend ending this run officially with the Fox's Wedding ending, as it makes getting an item in the next run much easier.
Run 3: The True Ending & Cleanup. Start NG+2 on a save file where you've completed at least two full endings (the UFO one doesn't count). This run is for the true ending, Ebisugaoka in Silence, and for tackling the hardest difficulties for the Clear Skies and Puzzle Master achievements.
Story Achievements (The Freebies)
These are unmissable. You get them just for playing the game. Consider them breadcrumbs on your path to hell. You'll unlock Surrounded by Fog, The Fox's Guidance, Scarecrows' Whispers, Cleansed, On the Way to School..., Shell of the Past, The Farewell Party, A Dangerous Path, Plucked Wings, Parting on Good Terms, Solar and Lunar Eclipse, The Path of Self-Preservation, and The Path of Exultation simply by progressing through the main story.
Difficulty Achievements (The Bragging Rights)
You have to complete the game on the highest Action and Puzzle difficulties. Action difficulty achievements stack, so beating it on "Lost in the Fog" will unlock the lower ones. Puzzle difficulty trophies, however, do not stack. You'll need to beat the game on Story, Hard, and Lost in the Fog puzzle settings across your playthroughs.
For Action difficulty, you'll get Thankful to Be Here (Story), Grateful for a Worthy Foe (Hard), and Clear Skies (Lost in the Fog). A word of warning: if you die too much on the harder difficulties, the game will offer to lower it for you. Saying yes will void the achievement, so suck it up and push through.
For Puzzle difficulty, you'll earn Intellectual Pursuits (Story), Wise Researcher (Hard), and Puzzle Master (Lost in the Fog).
Missable Achievements (Pay Attention)
This is the big one. Almost everything that isn't a main story beat is missable.
Like the Fleeing Hare. During your first visit to Ebisugawa, you'll be chased by the Fog Monster. You need to escape this sequence without getting hit. If you get hit, just die and select "Continue" to retry.
Untouchable. At the Shrine Path, you need to open the Shrine Vault without getting hit by the new enemy type there. The easiest way to do this is in NG+, where you can just input the door code immediately and bypass the fight.
Acupuncture Specialist. When you reach the scarecrow puzzle, you have to solve it without making a single mistake. The correct answer is always the female scarecrow; the others give you hints with their clothing and colors.
A Federal Offense. During your second visit to Ebisugaoka, find the Key to Sakuko’s Mailbox at the Sennensugi Shrine. You have to backtrack all the way to the Chizuruya General Store and find the alley leading to Sakuko's house to open her mailbox.
The Sound of Silence. During the boss fight with Sakuko, she'll sometimes teleport and start charging a suzu bell attack. You need to hit her to interrupt it. Do this successfully for all six attempts across her two phases to get the achievement.
Go Away! You'll Ruin the Shop's Reputation! In your third visit to Ebisugaoka, instead of ignoring the Giant Monster in front of the General Store, you have to kill it.
No One Left Behind. Inside the Worship Hall, you need to kill eight enemies within the light of the blue lanterns to stop them from reanimating. This requires luring some of them into the light.
Agile Escape. The second Fog Monster chase in Sugisato. Same as the first, escape without getting hit. There are a couple of enemies in the path this time, so be ready to dodge.
Echoes of Jealousy. During the boss fight with Rinko, she spawns puppets. You must defeat her without ever being hit by one of them. Take them out as soon as they appear.
O Divine Tree. You'll need to visit the Thousand Year Cedar to get the Sacred Sword for the other endings, so this will unlock naturally on your NG+ run.
Just Shut Up for Once, Dad! In the Shimizu residence boss fight, you have to defeat Hinako's father (the big one with the blade) before you defeat her mother.
Sly Like the Fox. During the Inari statue puzzle in the Treasure Hall, you must choose the correct door every time without making a mistake. Find the fox statue with a knife in it; when you remove the knife, it will look at the correct door.
Where Are You Going? During your sixth visit to Ebisugaoka, you'll be chasing the Fog Monster. You need to get close enough to it three separate times to trigger its teleport before it just wanders off into the fog.
The Bird that Flies Highest. This can only be done during the final boss of the Normal ending (Coming Home to Roost). You have to defeat the Shiromuku without dying once. Make a manual save before the fight. If you die, quit to the main menu and reload your save; don't use the in-game "Continue" option.
Fox Tamer. This is for the Good ending (The Fox Wets Its Tail) boss. The boss will summon enemies three times during the fight. You must kill every single summoned monster before you attack the boss and end the phase.
Puppetmaster. This is for the Bad ending (Fox's Wedding) boss. During its arrow phase, you must not get hit by a single arrow. The Suzuran and Boar Omamori are your best friends here, making dodges easier and stamina recovery faster.
God Slayer. This is for the True ending (Ebisugaoka in Silence) boss. You have to defeat both the Tsukumogami and the Kyubi within 10 minutes. The timer doesn't increase if you die and continue from a checkpoint, so you can take your time learning the phases.
Winners Don’t Do Drugs. For several of the endings, you cannot use any Red Capsules throughout the entire game. You also must not pick up the capsules on Shu's desk in his workshop. Just leave them there.
The Malevolent Blade Never Rusts, Treasured Belonging, Be Free of Your Hatred, and A Gift I Cannot Accept. These are all key item achievements tied to the process of getting the Bad and True endings. You'll get them by acquiring, purifying, and offering the Sacred Sword and the Brooch.
Close to the Sun. Fully upgrade your Health, Sanity, and Stamina by finding all the upgrade items across multiple playthroughs.
Fervent Collector. Find all six of the items that increase your inventory size.
Omamori Collector and Omamori Sage. There are 23 Omamori charms to get from Hokora shrines by spending Faith points, and another 17 hidden Omamori to find in the world. You need to collect all of them.
Inari-sama’s Secrets. In NG+, you can use the Brooch to open 4 sealed doors and 7 sealed boxes. You have to find and open all of them.
The Paper Trail (Collectible Documents)
These require you to find every page of specific diaries and notes, often scattered across multiple playthroughs. You'll need to be thorough to get The Truth about the Tsuneki Family, Fate of the Apostate, A Miko Possessed, Fires of Jealousy, and Good Intentions....
The Endings
Coming Home to Roost (Normal). You get this automatically for beating the game the first time.
Fox's Wedding (Bad). On NG+, don't use Red Capsules, acquire and purify the Sacred Sword, and get the Agura no Hotei-sama.
The Fox Wets Its Tail (Good). On NG+, don't use Red Capsules, and acquire the Sacred Sword but do not purify it.
The Great Space Invasion! (UFO). On NG+, listen to a specific hidden radio broadcast near the start, find three movie posters in the correct order, find a movie review, and then head to the General Store before your objective tells you to. This triggers a secret boss and the ending.
Ebisugaoka in Silence (True). On a NG+2 save with at least two other main endings completed, don't use Red Capsules, acquire and purify the Sacred Sword, and offer the Brooch to the Ancient Jizo Statue.