Case 4.5 Face

The Silver Case: Case #4.5: Face is a novel written by Naoko Korekata. It is a spin-off of The Silver Case, taking place (as the title indicates) between case#4:kamuidrome and case#5:lifecut of the main game. It stars character Sakura Natsume and portrays a case she and the Heinous Crimes Unit investigated separately prior to her joining them. It was released on November 4, 1999, about a month after the release of the game. An English translation can be read courtesy of fftranslations.

Story

Face follows Sakura Natsume while she is in training to be a detective at the Institute for the Training of Special Agents in Ward 24. During her training, she is assigned to gather data on criminals by interviewing them in jail. In the course of doing so, she interviews the recently arrested detective Sumio Kodai, who speaks to her in a way that shocks her. At the same time, a serial murder case springs up in the Ward when young women of a certain age are being killed by someone who has been nicknamed "Jack the Ripper". Due to being that age herself, she takes an interest in the investigation despite not being a licensed Special Agent yet. Her investigations lead her to discovering information on the Shelter Kids Policy.

Face features many characters from the game in major and minor roles, as well as new characters Minato Sawaguchi, Chinami Otomo and Kana Makino.

Divergences from canon

Although Face positions itself within the canon of The Silver Case and is not directly contradicted by later material in the series, it features numerous plot details that contradict information given in The Silver Case, often in blatant ways. This does not mean that the book is necessarily non-canon, as The Silver Case contradicts itself frequently in the first place, especially in regards to the details of the backstory. Some contradictions, such as Daigo Natsume being dead instead of in a coma, are suggested to be present due to Sakura having less information than the characters in The Silver Case proper. Other information is somewhat more inexplicable, such as Ayame Shimohira's age and whether or not she has records of her past, as well as Sakura having already known Tokio Morishima, despite not recognizing him in case#5:lifecut. Perhaps most curious is the identification of the current incarnation of Kamui Uehara being named Kamui Fujiwara (and Format Kamui's death being more public), something which even the in-the-know Sumio references.