When Nintendo released remakes of the Famicom Detective Club games, previously unavailable outside of Japan, it was a pleasant surprise as the games were pretty enjoyable. It was a pleasant surprise for Nintendo to announce recently that there would be a new entry in the series; Emio The Smiling Man. Upon hearing the news I was excited to see how a new game in the series would be when it wasn’t built on top of the bones of a very old NES/Famicom game. Now I have done my investigations it’s time to review the information!

A student is found dead with a paper bag over his head. On the paper bag is a smiley face that was tied to a series of killings from 18 years ago. The serial killer was known as The Smiling Man and it’s up to the Utsagi Detective Agency to uncover the truth. What unfolds is a murder mystery that twists and turns across the entire game, which genuinely left me unsure of the antagonist until the end. Your self-named character works with his coworker/co-private investigator assistant Ayumi Tachibana, both treated as main characters as part of this investigation.

I was excited to spend time with these characters again, the previous two games left me wanting more. The first game ends on a note that could really open up a sequel, given the main character was battling an explosive case of amnesia throughout the story. But the follow up game was a prequel - while it fleshed out the origin story of the main character and Ayumi’s involvement with the detective agency, I was left wanting to see what happened next. The good news is Emio is a great sequel, while managing to work as a great stand alone game too. The game provides you with enough information if you are new to the series that you won’t be left feeling like you’re out of the loop. For those who are more familiar with the other games have some callbacks to enjoy, and of course it’s just nice to see the Utsugi Detective Agency team again. 

The initial tease and announcement for the game was surprisingly creepy for directly through Nintendo. The game almost starts off immediately with a student found dead, strangled - it's a pretty macabre start. While Emio isn’t really violent or gory, it is definitely tense. Throughout the entire story I was on edge, with twists and turns hitting effectively. Swapping between the main characters at a good point really ratchets up the surprise or suspense. Even though the overall subject of an investigation around a dead teenager and a potential serial killer who mostly murdered teenage girls is a dark and creepy premise, the general presentation of the game is lighter. The lighter tone really draws a contrast to when things get more serious and much darker, with a lingering unease waiting for the next shoe to drop. While it feels like I shouldn’t have to say it, you should definitely see this game through and play past the credits. 

One of the biggest issues I had with the remakes of the original games was that they retained its very rigid and obtuse mechanics. It wasn’t that they were bad, but after decades of adventure game evolution it’s hard going back. As I say that it is also part of the remakes charm, for good and bad it was very faithful to the original versions. For Emio you have options such as “Call/Engage”, “Ask/Listen”, “Look/Examine” and “Think”, these are the main selections when you are talking to someone or just examining the current scene. In the original games it could feel like it was a game of chance working out the combination of options to keep the story progressing as you would also be able to move between multiple locations. Emio works better by streamlining the process, keeping you in the one place until it’s time to move the story along. You never really get stuck, at most it can be just trying to find which option keeps the dialogue going.  

Emio The Smiling Man is an amazing entry in the Famicom Detective Club series, as both a follow up game and as a great mystery/thriller on its own. Even when some of the game mechanics can feel archaic it is a big improvement on the original games, and it adds to the games charm in its own way. If you enjoy a good adventure, visual novel or mystery game then Emio is worth checking out.