Last week, Nintendo released a bizarre teaser trailer titled Emio. (It has since been edited to include the entire title.) It is grainy. It is creepy. I don’t think anyone could make sense of the 15-second trailer consisting mostly of a person wearing a beige trench coat and a paper bag over their head. In Japan, the trailer was titled The Smiling Man. Today, Nintendo revealed the mystery—and it’s an exciting one! A new Famicom Detective Club is on the way for the first time in over three decades. Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is the third game in the classic mystery visual novel series, and it will launch soon: at the end of next month!
The Famicom Detective Club series began in 1988 with The Missing Heir, followed by The Girl Who Stands Behind in 1989. Each game was released across two discs for the Famicom Computer Disc System. The Girl Who Stands Behind was remade in 1988. Both original titles were released as emulations for Game Boy Advance in 2004. Since then, the games have been re-released for consoles like Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS. Planned for a 2020 release, .Mages developed remakes of both games for Nintendo Switch; the titles are available as a bundle and individually. (It is cheaper individually in Canada, which makes zero sense.) DDNet Editor-in-Chief liked the remakes, scoring them 4.5 stars. Thinking about it now, with the recent remakes the brand-new game in the series makes sense and I should have seen it coming… which Matt did. In his review, Matt concluded, “If it finds the audience it deserves, it might just inspire Nintendo and Mages to make a new one. I’d be up for more Famicom Detective Club.”
Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a dark, twisted thriller that has you investigate a crime and unmask the truth. The game begins with a student being found dead, his head covered by a paper bag with the creepiest smiling face drawn onto it. This eerie sight is reminiscent of two things. First, it resembles a recurring clue in a string of unsolved murders from nearly 20 years ago. The second thing it resembles is the urban legend of Emio, a killer who is said to grant his victims a smile that will last forever…he is the Smiling Man.
You play as a private investigator with a detective agency, tasked with helping police solve the crime. You’ll need to be meticulous while scrutinizing clues and testimonies you gather, looking for any potential connections with the past crime.
There are many questions to consider while investigating. Has a serial killer returned? Is this a copycat killer? Is The Smiling Man legend the inspiration behind the crime? Or could it be the origin of it?
Along with the game’s announcement, Nintendo released a video of producer and writer Yoshio Sakamoto where she shares some insights into the game’s creation. You can see that here via YouTube.
Developed and published by Nintendo, Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club will be released for Nintendo Switch on August 29.
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