Silver Jiken (1999). Play online

Summary

Silver Jiken, known outside Japan as The Silver Case, marks the striking debut of Goichi Suda’s Grasshopper Manufacture. The game thrust players into a grim investigation where recent murders echo a two‑decade‑old government killing spree, all told through a minimalist, window‑based visual novel interface. Its text‑driven puzzles and point‑and‑click interrogation feel surprisingly cinematic despite a crew that started with just five people—later swelling to ten under Takashi Miyamoto’s character designs and Masafumi Takada’s eerie soundtrack.

When the original PlayStation edition finally resurfaced on the PSN in December 2008, I was reminded how ahead of its time the storytelling felt. The 2017 HD remaster for PS4, polished to 1080p and supplemented by two fresh scenarios (“Yami” and “Whiteout Prologue”), lets a new generation experience Suda’s quirky noir without missing a beat.

Storyline

In 1999, Ward 24 of Tokyo is rocked by a string of bizarre killings that echo the infamous “Silver Case” of 1979. The murders match the profile of Kamui Uehara, a legendary serial killer thought dead after assassinating government officials.

The Heinous Crimes Unit of the 24 Wards Police—detectives Tetsugoro Kusabi, Sumio Kodai, Chizuru Hachisuka, Kiyoshi Morikawa, Morichika Nakategawa, chief Shinji Kotobuki and a rookie—pursues the new spree in the “Transmitter” scenario. Simultaneously, freelance journalist Tokio Morishima follows the investigation in the “Placebo” scenario, dealing with his own troubles while reporting.

The remastered edition adds “Yami”, set months later, and “Whiteout Prologue”, a post‑time‑skip chapter, both expanding the aftermath of the case. The game is known in Japan as “Silver Jiken” and internationally as “The Silver Case.”