The Silver Case

peak fiction

Lend me 50,000 yen

The past killed me

kill the past.

Slight spoilers ahead for this review so if you haven't played this game yet and don't want to spoiled, I'd say it's worth giving it a shot and in my opinion is a great visual novel game with some quirks that may be a bit off putting to some people such as the use of certain slurs like the r-word being used multiple times throughout the story, there being a lot of information being dumped on the player that might feel overwhelming to remember for some, and a glitch from my personal playthrough that involved the boxes detailing the place a scene took place in just turning black and back to normal again and just flickering off and on at an almost rhythmic flow. The game has quirks about it that some might not be able to endure but for those who can understand it for what it is, it's truly a deep dive into how this game was the jumping off point for Suda and his stories. I'd give it an overall 8/10 and I do recommend that you should at least try it out for a bit to see if it gels with you. Spoiler section: The time I have spent with 100% completing The Silver Case in full, just like I did with The 25th Ward, was really an amazing experience. The Silver Case as a game when compared to Suda's future and even past works like Moonlight Syndrome is very strange, no one Suda game feels the same and this is especially the case with this game. Although this game has strange things in it like the appearance of ghosts, a conspiracy involving brainwashing children into becoming the perfect model citizens and what can only be described as an idea that is able to move between different bodies at will, the game feels a lot more grounded compared to other Suda works including his previous game that he made before this, Moonlight Syndrome. That more grounded tone even compared to it's sequel, The 25th Ward, works especially well with its characters who are all strange and not exactly who one would call "heroes". They're very imperfect people with flaws that affect their daily lives and can even be described as unlikable to a more casual eye but it ties in well with the themes of the story. This also leads into what I'm sure certain people might get uncomfortable with, the use of certain slurs throughout the game. In most other media the use of slurs and other derogatory language would either be trying to get a reaction out of the audience or just feel like outdated writing but in this game, it actually works since the characters are not only very flawed and weird people but it also highlights even more that this game's world isn't purely black and white, villains and heroes, and the characters here can act in ways that are unprofessional or abrasive towards others around them, just like with real people. Most times I personally don't enjoy seeing these types of things in media but for this game it is actually relevant to the overall story and world this game is presenting and is one of the few exceptions for me where it works for the story's favor and reinforces the realism of the characters. The characters are written pretty well and I really wish that in The 25th Ward that Tokio's relationship with Erika was explored again since it was interesting seeing them interact and how their relationship got rekindled throughout the chapters in Placebo. I think my favorite cases in this game are Spectrum, Parade and Kamuidrome due to how well written they are in general and how the game really manages to get you invested throughout these stories of darkness. A problem that some might feel with this game is that the game can dump a lot of important information on the player and expect you to remember it which is kind of accurate but I personally didn't have much of a problem with that but I know that this is something that could prove a bit much for newcomers so it's definitely something worth noting. I’d say for a more thorough deep dive into the writing of this game and the choices made for how it was localized, I suggest watching GhenryPerez’s video on The Silver Case as it’s very informative on why the game is the way that it is while also explaining the various references to real life events that occurred in Japan when Suda wrote this game back in 1999 that are in this game. In terms of presentation, the game is really stylish and is lovely to look at with not only how the portraits of the characters look but also how the UI and background for the chapters are also nice to see and how, just like in The 25th Ward, it can change to fit the tone of certain moments. The animated FMV cutscenes also look nice despite them being basically 240p quality due to them being ripped straight from the OG PS1 game, I can definitely understand why this was done as reanimating these scenes could've potentially ruined their original vibes/style or upscaling them with AI like with that one Killer7 update would've just made them look weird but it still is very noticeable when you're playing through an HD remake and these scenes aren't HD. The OST for this game is also as good as you can get from a Suda51, Grasshopper title as the songs presented here are perfect as they are and are always nice to listen to while a scene plays out. I definitely recommend listening to this game's OST by itself as it's just that good and some of the songs can be pretty calming to listen to if I'm being honest. For this last part, I unfortunately have a glitch report to share and this bug caused the boxes that display where a scene took place to flicker black and back to normal and this also caused the outlines around the text boxes and the background UI to flicker as well with text outline disappearing and going back to normal while the background UI turned black and into it's original color again. It also caused the D-pad UI to turn into blocks of black and back to normal again. I don't know what causes this as this started happening after I completed part 1 of the TSUKI chapter of Placebo and didn't leave for the rest of my game. It didn't impede my ability to read the text on the screen nor stop me from playing the game but it is a noticeable bug that just happened for me out of nowhere. My experience with The Silver Case was a strange yet captivating one and while it definitely may not be for everyone, I'd highly recommend it for fellow Grasshopper/Suda51 enjoyers or for those wanting a unique visual novel to experience. I'd give this game an 8/10 on the whole, it's a really interesting game that no one else but Suda can really craft similarly to his other works, it just has that Suda touch that really can't be replicated by anyone else and I hope that more people can get to experience this and other works of his just to experience how unique and investing it is compared to its contemporaries.

still good

I never thought I would be so in love with a VN until now I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ LOVE this so much

believe in the net..

Mate o passado.

oh my god