After your first playthrough...

[Whitney]

Did you guys hate or feel sympathetic towards James? I believe I got the Leave ending my first time through which painted James is a slightly better picture so I felt a little bad for him and was convinced Mary's murder was a mercy killing.

[Ratiocinator]

I got the "In Water" ending on my first playthrough and felt sympathetic for him. I remember just how shocked I was after Jimmy and I learned the "truth" from the videotape. May go so far as to say I got goosebumps when I found out.

[tiprun]

I remember feeling sympathetic for James on my first playthrough, especially at the part

REVEAL SPOILER:

where he realises what he has done and slumps down in that chair.

That part hit me hard, it was a moment I'll never forget in video game history.

[JpD]

I got In Water as my first. I actually liked James, my opinion of him didn't really change after I found out what he did, and in the end I kinda felt sorry for him. Kinda.

[St. Aatos]

At the time I felt ambivalence towards him. On one hand I hated him, but on the other hand I sympathized with him.

[Amy]

Since the very beginning, James' love for Mary was as plain as day to me. The fact that he would go through hell; do incredibly questionable things (obvious examples: the toilet and hole incidents) without any second thoughts, just to find her--to find the truth--was proof enough of unconditional love.

That being said, I never felt even the tiniest pang of anger or doubt toward James. I was not negative after the videotape, rather shocked and confused, desperate to find the explanation. My friend was with me at the time, and I remember verbally expressing my emotions to her with a start. She hadn't watched me play the start of the game, so I was proclaiming that he very obviously loved her to death, that the explanation was certainly justified, and that I had to see the end. My mind was racing... I was just as eager as James himself to reach the conclusion.

I was so glad to see that my convictions were true and that it was a mercy killing. I got the "Leave" ending and was absolutely touched. My sympathy for James and Mary was immeasurable, as well as the emotional impact the conclusion and overall game had on me. Silent Hill 2 is the only game that has ever made me cry, let alone more than once. I cannot begin to construe the place in my heart those characters, their relationship, and their story holds in my heart.

[iodinesky]

I always felt pretty indifferent about him until I grew older—now I think there's a sort of beauty to his journey and character, so I like him a lot more.

[Hannah]

Well, I got the Leave ending and I honestly think that's the canon ending, so I felt a little sympathetic towards him.

REVEAL SPOILER:

He had pure motives for wanting to kill Mary, mainly because he really did love and care for her so he decided to end her pain.

[HellFrozenJames]

I got the Leave ending, though I can't remember how I felt about James. I was still filled with the blood freezing terror of playing the game itself. But as of now, I honestly think James and Alex are the two Silent Hill characters that I can relate to the most.

[Karian]

One sentence; "the end justifies the means."

That's what I think about it. He went through hell and back for his beloved Mary, and that's what it's all about. The fact that he killed her on the way and that he couldn't take it any longer to take care of her, that woman pitying herself and blaming herself for everything (which I can understand perfectly, in some strange way), didn't mean that he didn't love her anymore.

I didn't feel symphathized, but I didn't hate him either. I just understood him (and really admired him for his guts to go through Silent Hill! )