Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a point-and-click adventure and suspense game aimed at a mature audience. The mechanics of the game are more like a visual novel. It is the third game in the Famicom Detective Club series, but the first title released in 27 years, the previous duology having been published between 1988 and 1989. The story has a link to the first games, and some characters, such as Ayumi Tachibana, return. It is not necessary to have played the first games to fully understand this title. However, if you’re interested in these previous games, they were remastered in 2021 and are available on Nintendo E-shop. Police Chief Kamada and Detective Utsugi. In Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, the player takes on the role of an assistant detective who works for a private agency tasked with solving a mysterious murder, that of a 15-year-old teenager. The circumstances of the crime link it to another series of unsolved murders that occurred 18 years earlier and that all have one disturbing element in common: the victims are found with a paper bag over their heads, on which a smiley face has been drawn. Strangely, a popular urban legend features a killer with a hidden face who preys on teenage girls crying alone on the street, offering to give them a smile that will last forever. According to the same legend, the victims are then found dead, with a paper bag on their heads, wearing the same strange smile… Are the murders the work of a criminal seeking to recreate the circumstances of the urban legend? On the contrary, is the urban legend the result of the unsolved crimes that occurred years earlier? This is what the protagonist will have to discover. The narrative becomes more complicated and unveils as the bonds are forged between the characters and new clues are discovered. The protagonist must work collaboratively with the police department and their fellow detectives to interview suspects and witnesses, gather clues, and put all the pieces of the puzzle together and solve the crime. The game has been making a few waves, as the game’s trailer was Nintendo’s first video on YouTube with an age restriction.
Details
Release date: 29 August 2024
Developer: Mages/Nintendo EPD
Publisher: Nintendo
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Available format:
Physical and digital
Version tested: Nintendo Switch
Game genre: Point and click, visual novel
Themes covered: Murder, mystery, problem solving, deduction
Duration of a game: The game can be stopped and saved at any time
Duration of the main game/story: 12 hours approx.
Total time to complete everything: 12 heures
Text languages:
English, French, Japanese,
Voice languages:
Japanese,
Number of local players: 1
Number of online players: 1
Level of experience required
Age
3+
7+
12+
16+
18+
Beginners
Intermediate
Experienced
It is a game that has dark and scary themes throughout, such as the murder of children, disappearances, and urban legends. Even if there are few disturbing graphic elements, the game remains very adult and suitable for a mature audience.
There are a lot of texts and subtleties to grasp in order to progress. It’s a game that requires almost nothing from the player, except knowing how to read well. However, the language level is accessible and it is possible to read at your own pace since you have to click to progress in the narration.
The characters try to solve a murder and a series of mysteries. So the characters have positive values, but the game has a very dark theme that suits a mature audience.
The game is a visual novel and does not require any special dexterity with the controller. The speed of execution is also irrelevant, so it is possible to play at your own pace.
Local game modes
There is only one game mode, the story mode (single-player).
Online Game Modes
None.
Expansions/Add-ons (DLC)
None.
Our opinion
For those who are not too familiar with this type of game that is very popular in Japan, the beginning is a bit arduous. This is the kind of game that plays like reading a novel, so it is possible to save at any time and resume the game in the middle of an interrogation, for example. This is a very interesting element for those who like shorter game sessions, but it leads to several lengths when playing for hours in a row, since the dialogues are very short and repetitive to ensure that you haven’t missed anything. For example, you have to click on the ask/listen button several times in a row to get the whole story, which is often not instinctive, because it is sometimes difficult to know when a character has really finished telling the facts before changing the subject. It can be annoying during longer gaming sessions. However, the story is interesting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Once you understand how the game works and what is expected of you, you are quickly caught up in the story and you stop fumbling around a bit. The soundtrack and the visuals are very nice, and despite the static aspect of the visual novel, the whole thing remains strangely dynamic thanks to the animations and the real-time reactions of the characters during the interrogations. The protagonist and his colleague share their notes after each work day. The game also challenges the player by regularly asking them to answer questions about the clues they find, encouraging them to review their notes and become familiar with the circumstances of the crime. However, these regular quizzes do not seem to have any impact on the course of the game itself, since the game has only one possible ending and the relationships between the characters are not affected by wrong answers. It is therefore a very linear progression and a game that poses no real challenge, which will please many and displease others. Despite this, we quickly find ourselves focused on the dialogues, which is quite stimulating. If you like true crime series or reading suspense manga, you will undoubtedly like this game, which offers about 12 hours of content for those who want to get the most out of each interaction. Our biggest disappointment is that since the game is linear and the choices have no impact, the replayability factor is practically null. And at over $60, it’s an expensive game for the duration of its content. Still, we spent more than 5 hours playing late at night without being able to let go of the Switch, so it’s still a very fun and intriguing game, not unlike a good TV series or a book full of twists and turns.
This game was offered to us for free for review purposes, but that doesn’t influence our opinion.
Traductrice agréée aussi détentrice d'un DEC en animation 3D et synthèse d'images, Myriam est constamment à la recherche d'opportunités afin d'allier ses passions pour les jeux vidéo, les TTRPG et la rédaction. Armée d'un solide bagage journalistique, elle est outillée pour vous rapporter toute l'actualité et l'information sur vos jeux favoris.
