After a long three-decade break, Famicom Detective Club has finally made its return with a new game. Emio – The Smiling Man marks the first installment in the series since The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind were released for the Famicom Disk System. The game debuted today, August 29, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch, but physical copies are currently hard to find. If you’re looking to purchase Emio – The Smiling Man, GameStop is currently the only retailer with stock, as Best Buy and Target are already sold out, and Amazon/Walmart are not carrying it at this time.
$50
Emio – The Smiling Man is priced at $50 for the standard edition in the US. There is also a collector’s edition available for import with English language support, if you can manage to find it in stock. Additionally, the digital version is available on the Switch eShop for the same price.
This visual novel follows a duo of investigators as they delve into the murder of a student, a death that may be linked to the Smiling Man urban legend. As an assistant private detective at the Utsugi Detective Agency, it is up to you to uncover whether this murder signifies the return of Emio. Ayumi Tachibana, a key protagonist from the first two games in the series, is now a playable character for the first time.
It should be noted that Emio – The Smiling Man diverges from Nintendo’s usual kid-friendly releases by carrying a Mature ESRB rating–a rarity for a game developed/published by the company.
If you are interested in exploring the previous titles in the series, The Girl Who Stands Behind and The Missing Heir, consider picking up The Two-Case Collection for $60. This digital compilation includes the remastered versions of both games, which received significant enhancements for the Switch in 2021.
Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club | Producer Overview Trailer
Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.
This video has an invalid file format.
Sorry, but you can’t access this content!