How to solve the Silent Hill 2 Remake music box puzzle

Silent Hill 2 Remake music box
(Image credit: Konami)

The Silent Hill 2 Remake music box puzzle in the lobby of LakeView Hotel is the last of the game's larger puzzles that acts as the central point of an area. Like the Silent Hill 2 Remake rotating cube puzzle, the music box is your main focus throughout your time in the hotel, with numerous puzzles you'll complete towards the larger goal of solving the box itself.

Your overall goal is to find three princess figurines, of Snow White, Cinderella and the Little Mermaid respectively. Once you find them all, you can install them in the music box, and solve it by winding the different mechanisms just the right amount, using the clues of the poem below - but we get ahead of ourselves. Here's how you solve the music box puzzle in Silent Hill 2 Remake, and find all the princess figurines in the hotel.

How to solve the Music Box puzzle in Silent Hill 2 Remake

Silent Hill 2 Remake music box

(Image credit: Konami)

The music box in Silent Hill 2 Remake is solved through the following process:

  1. Open the music box with the Ornamental Key, found in the Check area.
  2. Locate the three Princess Figurines around the hotel: Snow White, Cinderella and the Little Mermaid. This will take a lot of time.
  3. Install the figurines into the Music Box.
  4. Rotate the sections of the pathway so that each of the princess figurines has a track directly to one of the built-in doors.
  5. Wind up the three keys that appear below to differing amounts, to control the speed that the princess figurines move along the track. 
  6. When the mechanisms are wound so that the three princesses each enter the doors at the same time, you'll have completed the puzzle.

I'll cover each of these stages in more detail below, but again - keep in mind that this will be a long process. The different princesses are spread around the hotel and you'll have to do a lot to find them, but keep in mind that you're in the final stretch of the Silent Hill 2 Remake now - this is the last major area of the game…

How to find the Ornamental Key and open the music box

Silent Hill 2 Remake music box

(Image credit: Konami)

The ornamental key that opens the music box is found in the "Check" reception area just Southeast of the music box itself. You'll find it under the counter, bundled with the key to room 312. Bring it over to the music box and you'll be able to open it properly.

All Princess Figurine locations

Silent Hill 2 Remake music box

(Image credit: Konami)

There are three princess figurines you need to find across the hotel, but each of them is locked behind a series of puzzles and obstacles. Here's where to find them all, and what you need to do to reach them - we also recommend doing them in the order we've written them out in.

  • Snow White Figurine (2F, Room 201)
    • The Snow White figurine will appear in room 201 when you complete the mirror puzzle in Room 202 in the next room. That means assembling the pieces of the mirror to reform it (including the loose piece in the bedroom), then placing the Ripe Apple you get in the 2F hall in front of it (you can also use the rotten apple in the garden). This will cause the Snow White figure to materialise on the other side of the wall in 201.
  • Cinderella Figurine (3F, Conference Room)
    • The Cinderella Figurine is inside the fireplace of the conference room on the third floor, but it's locked when you reach it. You'll open up the fireplace in the process of solving the Silent Hill 2 Remake Suitcase and Vanity Mirror puzzle, but you need to search the Gazebo in the Eastern Section of the hotel Garden for the fireplace key. This can be accessed through room 107, the key to which is in the conference room itself (it also goes without saying you'll have to solve the Silent Hill 2 Remake book puzzle that cuts off the suitcase itself, if you haven't already).
  • Little Mermaid Figurine (Basement, Venus Tears Bar)
    • The basement of the hotel is accessed via the employee elevator on 2F (which you get the key for by opening the suitcase), but you'll have to leave your weapons and gear in the cabinet next to it. Down below, you'll have to stealth around foes and solve the Silent Hill 2 Remake gem box puzzle to progress, then use a valve to reach the Venus Tears Bar - once inside, the Little Mermaid is lying just in front of the jukebox. Make sure you get your gear back from the cabinet when you return to surface level! We put together a guide on where to get your items back in Silent Hill 2 Remake if you find yourself getting turned around.

Music Box puzzle solution

Silent Hill 2 Remake music box

(Image credit: Konami)

After you bring back all the figurines and install them, you'll have the option to rotate the circular sections to control the paths the figurines move along. We've got the correct layout on the image above; the goal is to make sure that each of the princesses can reach one of the doors, all at the same time.

After that, you need to turn the three keys below to wind up the motion for each of the princesses. They innately move at different speeds, which changes how much you need to wind up the keys for each of them - they all need to go through the doors at the same moment that they open to receive them.

The solution is:

  • Left Key: 7 Turns
  • Middle Key: 5 Turns
  • Right Key: 1 Turn

Silent Hill 2 Remake music box

(Image credit: Konami)

This isn't something you guess randomly - each poem mentions several numbers, but only a certain number is mentioned positively. "Seven kindly souls opened up the door" for Snow White, "The love of five would bring her back home" for the Mermaid, and "Leaving one behind, she has found a way" for Cinderella. Turn the keys accordingly, and the three princesses will traverse the music box and enter the doors at the right moment.

Complete this, and the Music Box will give you the 3F Corridor Key, which will finally allow you to access the other half of the Hotel's highest floor. I'm sure there's only good things in there.

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Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.