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The Mandarin is an uncommon and unique monster. Just one of the variations of gross representations of Mary when she was dying of a disease. She saw herself as a monster and thus we have the Mandarin as well as others like Flesh Lips. In the original Silent Hill 2, Abstract Daddy became a common nonboss enemy that walks the halls of Lakeview Hotel taking up enough space to prevent James running around them. As James destroyed Angela's demon it became one of his own demons, perhaps a result of two unique alternate worlds crossing over through James and Angela's interactions. In this remake the Abstract Daddy encounters in the Hotel are replaced with a miniboss Mandarin and shortly after that is a stealth section in which James must sneak around Mandarins that hang from the ceiling in the basement. I like this change as it makes more sense for Jame's personal monsters to became more dangerous and aggressive as he comes closer to acknowledging the truth of why he is here and moving passed his guilt.

It is worth noting that the Mandarins are not the same as Closers though the town does have a way with projecting creatures with similar shapes for each protagonist. The Mandarins have a mouth on the ends of their arms and always are underneath a surface as if they feel the weight and pressure of the world above them, whereas Closers always walk above a surface and tower over the human. Closers do not have mouths on the ends of their arms, however a sharp bone unfolds from the inside of their arms to impale their target. Closers are the culmination of multiple things, ranging from Alessa's fear of adults towering over her to her reincarnation, Heather's fear of sexual objectification. Closers and Mandarins are similar both in their appearance and that their whole appearance was heavily influenced by the female characters.