What In The World Is Famicom Detective Club? Preparing For Emio - The Smiling Man
July 17, 2024
Turns out that Nintendo isn't going to make a first-party, action horror game; we probably shouldn't be too surprised about that. But what will be a surprise to people is the announcement that the previously teased game, only known as Emio just a week ago, will be a part of the Famicom Detective Club series. Given that the franchise didn't have its first worldwide release until 2021, I wouldn't blame you if the name meant absolutely nothing to you. Here, we're going to help catch you up with the series and we'll see what qualities and features may translate over to the new, upcoming title.
The Big Murder Mysteries Before The Likes of Ace Attorney
Long before the Wright Anything Agency was even conceptualized, there was the Utsugi Detective Agency encharged with handling murder mystery cases. The first Famicom Detective Club game released in 1988. That actually makes it one of Nintendo's oldest franchises to continue getting new releases. To describe it to a modern audience, The Missing Heir — the name of the first game — is a visual novel adventure game that has a blend of mechanics from games like King's Quest and Ace Attorney. It's not quite a modern visual novel given that you have command prompts (like Talk, Show, and Examine) to interact with characters and the environment — it's a more archaic style of gameplay.
The Girl Who Stands Behind would be released a year later in 1989. It was more of the same; though, it's actually a prequel to the original. To spare you the details (and some heavy spoilers), it effectively functions as an origin story for the titular protagonist and goes through one of their first cases as a high schooler. It also establishes the protagonist's relationship with Ayumi Tachibana, who is an important supporting character in every single game (including the upcoming one).
Until now, that was the end of the line for the Famicom Detective Club series. The two games have been re-released (2004) and remade (2021), but I don't think there have ever been expectations for a sequel. The franchise was dead for decades, after all. But that's clearly changing now. And speaking of change, what should we expect to be different with this new title? Well, we have a few answers to that question.
Everything We Know About Emio — The Smiling Man
To get us started, here is Nintendo's synopsis of the game on their product site:
A student has been found dead! His head was covered with a paper bag with an eerie smiling face drawn on it—much like the victims of Emio, the Smiling Man—a killer of urban legend who is said to place such a bag over his victims' heads.
As an assistant private investigator, you are tasked with helping police solve this crime, which is reminiscent of a series of unsolved murders from 18 years ago. Has a serial killer returned, or is this the work of a copycat? Are these crimes inspired by the Smiling Man story, or the origin of it?
Famicom Detective Club hasn't generally had a titular antagonist before, but I don't see how it could be a problem here. While the villain of the story is as clear as day, players are still going to have to figure out who's under that paper bag. What's distinct about this story is how it incorporates the past in the investigations of the present. The Smiling Man of today murdered a male, middle-school student. The urban legend Smiling Man of the past targeted crying girls as his main demographic. What's up with that? The game definitely wants you doubting yourself every step of the way.
One of the cool new features of this game is that you'll actually be part of an investigative team. And by that, I mean, Ayumi Tachibana will actually be playable in some sections of this game. That's never been a thing before. One of the pages that Nintendo has set up for the game describes her as a very capable interrogator; I'd imagine that line isn't just flavor text...Ultimately, this game isn't going to operate all that differently from the previous two games. While the UI has been touched up ever so slightly, the gameplay will basically be the same. You're still going to collect items and evidence, talk with suspects and civilians, et cetera.
If you enjoyed the first two games of the franchise, Emio — The Smiling Man is only going to give you more to rave about. The team behind Famicom Detective Club has set out to not only create a distinct experience, but also a definitive one. All the wisdom they've accumulated over the years is being used to make this game as good as possible. And if you've not played any of the games, this is a great opportunity to get into the genre. The best visual novels are as engaging as any other game; don't be afraid to get into an experience like this just because you know it's story-heavy.
Emio — The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club releases August 29, 2024 on the Nintendo Switch.
