Suda51's The Silver Case series is the pinnacle of thriller games

Dreamboum · Mar 27, 2018

twentytwo22 said:
Guess this is coming off of the shelf!

I'm glad you did. Keep in mind there are two different routes with two very different styles (Transmitter & Placebo chapters), so even if you didn't like one, you could like the other. You should do them in succession, like chapter 1 Transmitter > chapter 1 Placebo, and so forth. They complement each other, so even if one chapter appears inscrutable, the other chapter is going to make the picture clearer.

You just gotta commit that you're not supposed to understand everything right off the bat. Like a thriller, the author holds the cards, and decides when to put them down regardless of expectations.

trinitron · Mar 27, 2018

I was on the fence on buying the game but this thread helped me decided to give it a try. I ordered the game today.

Juan29.Zapata · Mar 27, 2018

Hmmmm, if I like David Lynch I'll probably like this, won't I?

CannonFodder52 · Mar 28, 2018

SephLuis said:
Please, please, post impressions as you go through each chapter. It will make things very, very interesting haha

I played the prologue chapter last night, which was great, but the forest scene at the start of chapter 1 was actually really impressive.

Characters which I'd just become acquainted with already picked off, in such a tense and frightening manner. I liked the use of the radar too, it felt very reminiscent of Alien

So how badly will this affect Moonlight/Twilight Syndrome, in case there's a fan localisation and I decide to play it?

Dreamboum · Mar 28, 2018

CannonFodder52 said:
I played the prologue chapter last night, which was great, but the forest scene at the start of chapter 1 was actually really impressive.

Characters which I'd just become acquainted with already picked off, in such a tense and frightening manner. I liked the use of the radar too, it felt very reminiscent of Alien

So how badly will this affect Moonlight/Twilight Syndrome, in case there's a fan localisation and I decide to play it?

Moonlight Syndrome is pretty much its own thing after this. And Suda was careful to not make overt references because he doesn't own the IP, so the spoiler is not going to affect was Moonlight Syndrome was about, even less Twilight Syndrome.

CannonFodder52 · Mar 28, 2018

Dreamboum said:
Moonlight Syndrome is pretty much its own thing after this. And Suda was careful to not make overt references because he doesn't own the IP, so the spoiler is not going to affect was Moonlight Syndrome was about, even less Twilight Syndrome.

Okay, that's good to hear.

This game is (so far) way more comprehensible than how I remember Killer 7, which was previously the only game I'd played in this series.

I own Flower, Sun and Rain on DS. Do you recommend playing that in between The Silver Case and 25th Ward?

Geg · Mar 28, 2018

I expect a lot of people coming back to this thread disappointed lol

I played The Silver Case for the first time last year and really wasn't impressed at all. Maybe it was due to a shoddy localization but it really felt like nothing coming out of the mouths of any of the characters made any sense half the time and it made some things super hard to follow. It probably would have been worth it if the payoff at the end was good but I can't remember what the payoff/conclusion even was.

Dreamboum · Mar 28, 2018

Juan29.Zapata said:
Hmmmm, if I like David Lynch I'll probably like this, won't I?

Yeah...that's pretty much in the same spirit. Suda is a huge Lynch fan so his work is also equally surreal.

CannonFodder52 said:
I own Flower, Sun and Rain on DS. Do you recommend playing that in between The Silver Case and 25th Ward?

The remaster seems to be quite a few years away, so I definitely recommend it since it's my favorite adventure game but it's more of an acquired taste than The Silver Case so if you want to skip it for The 25th Ward, you wouldn't miss *too* much about the general lore.

My only gripe is that the game became butt-ugly on DS and the (fantastic) soundtrack has been heavily downgraded, so you won't be able to enjoy bangers like this Bolero arrangement.

DrFunk · Mar 28, 2018

I started the 25th Ward last week. I attempt to play a 'case' a night. I'm enjoying myself.

TRAVELING IS DANGEROUS

hopper7 · Mar 28, 2018

Juan29.Zapata said:
Hmmmm, if I like David Lynch I'll probably like this, won't I?

Dreamboum said:
Yeah...that's pretty much in the same spirit. Suda is a huge Lynch fan so his work is also equally surreal.

I don't know, for me TSC and 25th Wards (what I played so far) don't have that surreal dream-like and uneasy atmosphere that I like in the David Lynch movies I've watched, at least not in the same extent FSR and Killer7 had.

anyway, nice thread Dreamboum, I will definitely come back once I finished 25thW, just finished New World Order the other night.

Oh and anyone know why they didn't include the option for original music in the ps4 version?, I thought I was crazy and had to re download the steam version just to be sure it was there.

CannonFodder52 · Mar 29, 2018

Played a bit more, finished the first journalist episode. Still really digging everything, though this is a game I gotta play in chunks.

It also has an absolutely killer soundtrack. But I noticed y'all were saying that people should use the original soundtrack over the remake's.
That unfortunately doesn't seem to be an option on consoles. I own it on Steam, is it worth restarting to get the original tracks?
(Edit: I guess that's not really a question someone can fairly answer. A better question would be, how much better is the original OST?)

Also it seems like looks like Akira Yamaoka was involved in the remake's OST, which has still been very good so far.

Deleted member 1484 · Mar 29, 2018

I like what I played of The Silver Case, but I stopped really soon - the game was just too slow for my mood when I played it. I'll definitely give it another shot in the future, though.

cj_iwakura · Mar 29, 2018

KainXVIII said:
And bad translation.

I think you need to expand on this drive-by, because the translator worked tooth and nail to translate one of the most labyrinthine, complicated scripts known to man.

There's little nitpicks, but by and large he did a phenomenal job. Suda vetted him, too.

CannonFodder52 said:
Played a bit more, finished the first journalist episode. Still really digging everything, though this is a game I gotta play in chunks.

It also has an absolutely killer soundtrack. But I noticed y'all were saying that people should use the original soundtrack over the remake's.
That unfortunately doesn't seem to be an option on consoles. I own it on Steam, is it worth restarting to get the original tracks?
(Edit: I guess that's not really a question someone can fairly answer. A better question would be, how much better is the original OST?)

Also it seems like looks like Akira Yamaoka was involved in the remake's OST, which has still been very good so far.

The original OST is infinitely better. No comparison. There's a playlist on youtube.

KainXVIII · Mar 29, 2018

cj_iwakura said:
I think you need to expand on this drive-by, because the translator worked tooth and nail to translate one of the most labyrinthine, complicated scripts known to man.

There's little nitpicks, but by and large he did a phenomenal job. Suda vetted him, too.

Just my opinion, maybe original script was also nonsensical.

cj_iwakura · Mar 29, 2018

KainXVIII said:
Just my opinion, maybe original script was also nonsensical.

It was.

HAdoubleRY · Mar 29, 2018

WarRock said:
An important information for those who want to experience TSC: when faced with any puzzles, you can click the magnifying glass icon to autosolve it. Unless the DLC patched it, the game doesn't warn you at all about this and there are unlimited uses. It took me a couple times to understand what it did lol

Is this on all versions of the game? I really want to experience the story but I would for sure get frustrated by the extremely nebulous puzzles.Was thinking of picking it up on Steam

cj_iwakura · Mar 29, 2018

HAdoubleRY said:
Is this on all versions of the game? I really want to experience the story but I would for sure get frustrated by the extremely nebulous puzzles.Was thinking of picking it up on Steam

Yep. None of them are that bad, though.

Deleted member 14377 · Mar 29, 2018

Holding off till killer7 and Sun/rain get those rumored PC ports. Waiting too long to continue a story kills me in games :s

CannonFodder52 · Mar 31, 2018

cj_iwakura said:
The original OST is infinitely better. No comparison. There's a playlist on youtube.

Alright, thanks good to know.

About the translation

I have to wonder if there is a comparable word that carries that same harshness and weight as "fag" in Japan, or what specifically was used in the original Japanese script.
I could be wrong, but it feels like western media, even gritty r-rated movies have for the most part moved away from using "retarded" so it's also kind of jarring hearing that throughout.

I guess for both of these (more so the first), I'm not saying they can't or shouldn't be used in any piece of media, but they're pretty evocative and likely unwarranted here. It makes me curious what was said specifically in the original version, since all I'm seeing is the localisation and I don't know how much liberty was taken with the text.

Anyways, just finished the very interesting Hikaru chapter and the adjacent Journalist chapter. The best thing about finding out how much I enjoying this game, is knowing I have two more followup titles to sink into afterwards.

CannonFodder52 · Apr 1, 2018

Parade chapter

Really enjoyed this chapter. I think the experience of being fed partial information and intentionally lost in the investigation and then uncovering the missing information in the adjacent journalist chapter is very well done. Compared to Folklore (which I just played recently and quite liked), I believe The Silver Case pulls off the two protagonist mystery far better.
Also, the overall narrative of the Mikumo chapter was pretty great, the Sumio stuff caught me off guard too.

Just started the next chapter. Interested by the way they discuss and portray the internet at this point in time. Reminds me of Serial Experiments Lain, which I believe also came out of that early internet period.

Dreamboum · Apr 1, 2018

CannonFodder52 said:
Parade chapter

Really enjoyed this chapter. I think the experience of being fed partial information and intentionally lost in the investigation and then uncovering the missing information in the adjacent journalist chapter is very well done. Compared to Folklore (which I just played recently and quite liked), I believe The Silver Case pulls off the two protagonist mystery far better.
Also, the overall narrative of the Mikumo chapter was pretty great, the Sumio stuff caught me off guard too.

Just started the next chapter. Interested by the way they discuss and portray the internet at this point in time. Reminds me of Serial Experiments Lain, which I believe also came out of that early internet period.

I find Parade to be very well executed in that way too. At this point you really get things moving in the dynamics between characters and chapters.

Kamuidrome might be my favorite TSC chapter and one that is very good at encapsuling "early internet" feel. I'm about to replay that part myself

NovumVeritas · Apr 1, 2018

Is there an option between original ost or remastered ost?

Dreamboum · Apr 1, 2018

NovumVeritas said:
Is there an option between original ost or remastered ost?

Yeah but to be fair I tried it myself and there wasn't any change. I really don't know what it's used for specifically.

In both cases you're going to get the new songs during chapter select and that's the only part where the music is new

NovumVeritas · Apr 1, 2018

Dreamboum said:
Yeah but to be fair I tried it myself and there wasn't any change. I really don't know what it's used for specifically.

In both cases you're going to get the new songs during chapter select and that's the only part where the music is new

Oh I see, that is pretty weird though.

Deleted member 30151 · Apr 1, 2018

Always heard that there was an issue with the Soundtrack. They had to copy the files from the PlayStation 1 Disc because the original stuff was gone. End of the story was that the copied files hadn't had a very good quality and this was the reason the soundtrack was redone, partly with the help of Akira Yamaoka.

Really nice to see that the Franchise is getting attention. I have yet to play the 25th ward but I will save the game a little for later.

The Silver Case can be a troublesome bastard in it's narrative, but the game will reward you, believe me. I will keep following this thread.

Sumio Mondo · Apr 1, 2018

NovumVeritas said:
Oh I see, that is pretty weird though.

All of that music (the remixes) gets put into The 25th Ward anyway, which makes including them in the menus for The Silver Case even more pointless and strange...

NovumVeritas · Apr 1, 2018

Sumio Mondo said:
All of that music (the remixes) gets put into The 25th Ward anyway, which makes including them in the menus for The Silver Case even more pointless and strange...

Sounds like they haven't really thought about those options with an afterthought.

tohlew · Apr 1, 2018

Oh no! I've been playing Transmitter straight through, not bouncing between it and Placebo! I'm only on Case 3 of Transmitter, should I go do the Placebo reports, or start up Case 3 and keep that flow going?

Skel1ingt0n · Apr 1, 2018

So what's the absolute best way to experience this game today?

Trying to find an LE for PS4, but I'm only seeing the option for the sequel, 25th Ward.

Consider me intersted, OP. Are the images a fair representation of the heavy stylization I can expect?

AHA-Lambda · Apr 2, 2018

I still contend that TSC is the most nonsensical thing I've ever played by far.
Completed it and yet couldn't tell you a thing about it.

If anything I'd love to see a plot summary but unsurprisingly that's not simple to find.

Dreamboum · Apr 2, 2018

tohlew said:
Oh no! I've been playing Transmitter straight through, not bouncing between it and Placebo! I'm only on Case 3 of Transmitter, should I go do the Placebo reports, or start up Case 3 and keep that flow going?

You should do Placebo while you still remember things.

Skel1ingt0n said:
So what's the absolute best way to experience this game today?

Trying to find an LE for PS4, but I'm only seeing the option for the sequel, 25th Ward.

Consider me intersted, OP. Are the images a fair representation of the heavy stylization I can expect?

I think both versions has physical, I just got them digital on steam though. Yeah the images are fair, they're not even that stylized compared to some parts of the game.

AHA-Lambda said:
I still contend that TSC is the most nonsensical thing I've ever played by far.
Completed it and yet couldn't tell you a thing about it.

If anything I'd love to see a plot summary but unsurprisingly that's not simple to find.

There is a Suda51 wiki

John Harker · Apr 2, 2018

I can't believe I haven't played this!
Any console platforms for the remake?

Dreamboum · Apr 2, 2018

John Harker said:
I can't believe I haven't played this!
Any console platforms for the remake?

Both on PS4!

AHA-Lambda · Apr 2, 2018

Dreamboum said:
You should do Placebo while you still remember things.

I think both versions has physical, I just got them digital on steam though. Yeah the images are fair, they're not even that stylized compared to some parts of the game.

There is a Suda51 wiki

It doesn't seem to have a plot summary though?

aerie · Apr 2, 2018

I cannot wait to play this, i'm currently doing zero spending on games for a little while as i need to replace my PC, but i'll get to this ASAP. This thread has me really excited.

Dreamboum · Apr 2, 2018

AHA-Lambda said:
It doesn't seem to have a plot summary though?

Ah, no there isn't, but that's because we just discuss it among fans (and it was recently released all things considered). There's this thread by Iwakura but it's not exhaustive https://www./threads/the-silver-case-spoiler-thread-the-quest-for-the-50-000-yen.1309167/

IwazaruK7 · Apr 2, 2018

You can also try research forum of old fansite, where they discussed plot long before english version was released, but good luck finding exact information among offtop there :)

mogster7777 · Apr 2, 2018

I've bought both Silver Case games on PS4 on disc.

Are these games hard to understand story wise? Is the story really complicated and open to interpretation or arty farty? Hope not

I'd prefer a gripping story but one that doesn't make you wonder what the fuck is going on?

Are they gonna be worth a lot physically?

IwazaruK7 · Apr 2, 2018

Just remember to play TSC like "one chapter for police guy, one chapter for journalist guy". Journalist episodes pretty much explain what happens during police episodes. Though as mentioned above, some of stuff only becomes clear closer to end of game.

imho, killer7 and FSR are much more surreal/metaphoric, while TSC (cant comment on 25W yet) starts like noire detective and transforms into social-political thriller that really references many things that happen even nowodays (despite "outdated" details like internet depiction).

cj_iwakura · Apr 2, 2018

AHA-Lambda said:
It doesn't seem to have a plot summary though?

25W has a very good summary in Placebo 0.

NovumVeritas · Apr 2, 2018

By the way, I've never played FSR, I know the PS2 version is superior, but also only in Japanese.
I would like to try FSR on DS, would that be a good idea, or should I wait when they release a remaster/remake of FSR ?

cj_iwakura · Apr 2, 2018

NovumVeritas said:
By the way, I've never played FSR, I know the PS2 version is superior, but also only in Japanese.
I would like to try FSR on DS, would that be a good idea, or should I wait when they release a remaster/remake of FSR ?

The DS one is fine, but at least watch the PS2 OP.

Dreamboum · Apr 2, 2018

NovumVeritas said:
By the way, I've never played FSR, I know the PS2 version is superior, but also only in Japanese.
I would like to try FSR on DS, would that be a good idea, or should I wait when they release a remaster/remake of FSR ?

I think FSR DS is very playable but you do lose a lot of the charm of the game. My take is that you could very much play it, and if you enjoy it, play it again with the upcoming remaster (within 10 years according to Suda so you're going to wait a very long time most likely)

NovumVeritas · Apr 2, 2018

cj_iwakura said:
The DS one is fine, but at least watch the PS2 OP.

I watched some of it yesterday, PS2 version and DS version are miles away, in the graphics department, thanks for the advice.

Dreamboum said:
I think FSR DS is very playable but you do lose a lot of the charm of the game. My take is that you could very much play it, and if you enjoy it, play it again with the upcoming remaster (within 10 years according to Suda so you're going to wait a very long time most likely)

Sounds like a good idea, I will probably do that, at least I can use an emulator, to pump up the internal graphics a little bit. I hope DesMume runs it without to many glitches.

cj_iwakura · Apr 2, 2018

NovumVeritas said:
I watched some of it yesterday, PS2 version and DS version are miles away, in the graphics department, thanks for the advice.

Sounds like a good idea, I will probably do that, at least I can use an emulator, to pump up the internal graphics a little bit. I hope DesMume runs it without to many glitches.

The DS version also has a ton of new, very difficult puzzles.

NovumVeritas · Apr 2, 2018

cj_iwakura said:
The DS version also has a ton of new, very difficult puzzles.

You probably mean the Lost & Found puzzles?
I thought they were also included with the PS2 release, sounds good that the DS version has a little bit more content.

IwazaruK7 · Apr 2, 2018

Just imagine you're playing Duke Nukem 3D spinoff :D

Actually i liked some DS arrangments of tunes, but of course they pale in comparison with PS2 version soundtrack, and some songs didnt made it into DS version.
Additional puzzles are cool.

cj_iwakura · Apr 2, 2018

NovumVeritas said:
You probably mean the Lost & Found puzzles?
I thought they were also included with the PS2 release, sounds good that the DS version has a little bit more content.

Yep, DS exclusive, along with some bonus costumes.

NovumVeritas · Apr 2, 2018

IwazaruK7 said:
Just imagine you're playing Duke Nukem 3D spinoff :D

Actually i liked some DS arrangments of tunes, but of course they pale in comparison with PS2 version soundtrack, and some songs didnt made it into DS version.
Additional puzzles are cool.

Makes sense, and I like riddle games, so this will suit me well :)

cj_iwakura said:
Yep, DS exclusive, along with some bonus costumes.

Sweet, looks like it is decided then.

Dreamboum · Apr 2, 2018

I could never do the Lost & Found Puzzles, they are super hard for me. Plus I feel it kinda breaks the pace for a first playthrough

The exclusive music for it is very good, though. I wish Takada could release a high quality album of every track in the game.

Suda51's The Silver Case series is the pinnacle of thriller games

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