Mystery Adventure Games Codexery

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club

A new Famicom Detective Club title after 27 years.

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In this adventure game and visual novel, the person playing takes on the role of an assistant private detective looking into a homicide.[1] For certain parts of the experience, the user takes charge of Ayumi Tachibana, another detective.[2]

Making and release

Sakamoto expressed a desire to continue the series through a new entry during development of the Nintendo Switch remakes of the Famicom Detective Club duology.[3] Sakamoto designed the game to center around an urban legend instead of a ghost story because he believed it was more vivid due to being "grounded in reality"[3] A demo was released in three parts.[4] Yoshio Sakamoto, who had previously worked on earlier Famicom Detective Club titles, handled the design of Emio – The Smiling Man, taking responsibility for the story, the writing, and the cinematic sequences.[5]

A gap of 27 years separates this game from the last new installment in the Famicom Detective Club series.[3] Critics and social media users engaged in discussion and conjecture about the initial teaser trailer.[6] August 29, 2024, was the date when the game became available for purchase.[4]

What the cited sources add

McWhertor reported that Nintendo prefaced the trailer with a warning that it "contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing" in some countries.[7] McWhertor noted that some Nintendo fans speculated Emio could be something new from Koei Tecmo's Fatal Frame team or a project from Bloober Team.[7]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Manuel, "With Emio's reveal, here's what to know about the Famicom Detective series", Destructoid, 2024-07-17; Lada, "Emio – The Smiling Man Is a Famicom Detective Club Game", Siliconera, July 17, 2024; "謎の動画『笑み男』の正体は35年ぶりの「ファミコン探偵倶楽部」の新作だった！ 『ファミコン探偵倶楽部 笑み男』が8月29日（木）に発売決定！", Nintendo Dream, July 18, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Norman, "'Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club' Launches On Switch Next Month", Nintendo Life, July 17, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club – A Chat with Producer Yoshio Sakamoto", Nintendo of America, July 17, 2024; Saiton, "Switch『ファミコン探偵倶楽部』インタビュー。企画の発端から開発中のエピソードを少年探偵ばりに聞く【ネタバレあり】", Kadokawa Game Linkage, June 12, 2021; "35年ぶりの完全新作『ファミコン探偵倶楽部 笑み男』8月29日発売 任天堂・坂本賀勇Pが作品を語る映像も公開", Crank In, July 18, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Valentine, "Nintendo Is Teasing an Unsettling New Horror Game With a Creepy Smiling Man", IGN, July 10, 2024; McWhertor, "What the hell is Nintendo teasing with this creepy smiling man video?", Polygon, July 10, 2024; Lada, "Nintendo Emio Australian Rating Mentions Suicide, Violence", Siliconera, July 11, 2024; Lada, "Emio – The Smiling Man Is a Famicom Detective Club Game", Siliconera, July 17, 2024; Lada, "Emio – The Smiling Man Is a Famicom Detective Club Game", Siliconera, July 17, 2024; Norman, "'Emio en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Phillips, "Nintendo's mysterious, creepy horror game revealed", Eurogamer, July 17, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Valentine, "Nintendo Is Teasing an Unsettling New Horror Game With a Creepy Smiling Man", IGN, July 10, 2024; Phillips, "Nintendo fans believe The Medium developer behind bizarre Switch horror", Eurogamer, July 11, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. McWhertor, "What the hell is Nintendo teasing with this creepy smiling man video?", Polygon, July 10, 2024. facts only, no text reused. polygon.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. Which company published "Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club"?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Nintendo.

From the source: “is a 2024 adventure video game developed by Nintendo and Mages and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch.”

2. In what year was "Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club" first released?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 2024.

From the source: “is a 2024 adventure video game developed by Nintendo and Mages and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch.”

3. Who designed "Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club"?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Yoshio Sakamoto.

From the source: “thumb|upright|right|Writer and Producer Yoshio Sakamoto in 2010”

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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