Unboxing: The Silver Case - Limited Run Games PC Physical Edition (Visual Novel)

Back in 2016, not only did the remake of a Suda51 classic make its way to the west but also a special physical release was announced from Limited Run Games. Originally due for December, the physical copy got pushed back to March and I was only able to view my copy a month later.

The Silver Case. It's a Suda51 classic that never made it outside Japan back when it was released for the original PlayStation in 1999. Much like other games at its time, visual novels never really get an official release to western markets but this game was unique - it also had interactive elements and also puzzles that even Japanese players couldn't figure out unless they had extensive knowledge of their language, so translating it into English was effectively at the time pretty much useless.

However that didn't stop Suda51 (real name Goichi Suda) and Grasshopper Manufacture from wanting to bring the game towards the western audience. They initially planned to bring the game onto the Nintendo DS but eventually it got cancelled because Suda himself was not happy with the outcome of the product. In 2016 it was finally getting a release in the form of a remake but one that would be able to see a release in the west. The translation for the most part is noted to be as faithful as it can.

The game was released on Steam to everyone on October 6th 2016, and a month prior to this it was announced that Limited Run Games would offer a special physical edition of the PC version in a pre-order on demand style format to see how many would be willing to pick up the game. Unfortunately it effectively became one of their least selling products but nevertheless the product itself was nice enough. Even more unfortunate is the fact that a PlayStation 4 version was announced not long after under NIS America with the exact same special contents included in their release (even the artbook was hardcover), which as you expect angered fans even further. More unfortunate events occurred with the LRG release delayed to March 2017 due to quality control issues with the physical box.

Anywho it's finally here and honestly the LRG box looks better than the NIS America version. The contents included are as follows: A physical copy of The Silver Case on disc (DRM free) housed in a CD Jewel case, a physical copy of the game's original soundtrack housed in another CD jewel case, a 22-page manga prequel to the story, a full-colour artbook featuring old and new HD artwork, and two mini fold-out sheets with info (one's a manual and another's a quick synopsis of sorts), plus a digital Steam key of the game which was given to everyone who backed the game at launch. All of this was sold for around $59.99.

Visual Novel Specs:

Format: PC

Language: English text, Japanese voices

Exclusive: No (also on PlayStation 4)

DRM: Free

Eroge Content: No

PC Requirement Specs:

OS: Windows Vista/7/8/10

Processor: SSE2 Instruction Set support or greater

Memory: 4GB RAM

Resolution: 1920x1080p

Graphics: DX9 (shader model 3.0) or greater

HDD Space: 7GB

That's it for the set. It's a nice package overall, but if I had known that it would have been released on PlayStation 4 I would have saved my money and gone for the NIS America one instead. Some of you may be wondering whether I would be interested in acquiring more games from Limited Run Games since I like physical games. As much as I like having a physical game I'm not a big fan of their model (release a physical game at a certain time point where if you don't turn up for it, tough luck) so I won't be interested. I am aware they're putting out Japanese games in physical releases like Darius Burst, Ray Gigant and Ys Origin but I won't be getting their release - plus international shipping is expensive.