One of the biggest surprises of 2024 was undoubtedly the release (and accompanying marketing campaign) of Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club. It marked the first proper new entry in the Famicom Detective Club franchise since 1989, bringing with it a whole bunch of dark, mature themes that we don't often see from Nintendo these days.
In fact, in a new interview with Inverse, producer Yoshio Sakamoto and assistant producer Kaori Miyachi commented on the game's development, with Sakamoto specifically noting how surprised he was that Nintendo opted to approve the project so willingly considering its more mature content. Miyachi, meanwhile, was significantly more confident:
Sakamoto: There was a theme and message that I really wanted to convey through this game, and in order to do so, there was no other way but to go in the direction we did. However, this game is clearly doing something different from most Nintendo games, so I expected that we would have a hard time getting approval from Nintendo teams internally.
Miyachi: While Sakamoto expected an uphill battle for internal Nintendo approval, I had the opposite thought. In fact, there were times during the production when a worried Sakamoto would say to me "Is it alright for us to make this kind of story?", and I would always reply, "I'm sure it'll be fine!"
Sakamoto: I was honestly surprised how smoothly this project was approved. I was convinced that if we approached this theme sincerely and conveyed the message we truly wanted to convey, that would be the best way to live up to the expectations of Nintendo, who gave us the go-ahead, and that motivated us to do our best.
Miyachi: Thinking back, I think this was an ambitious game for Nintendo in many ways. I hope that players sense that through what we’ve done in this game.
It's worth checking out the full interview when you have a moment, as the pair go into all sorts regarding the game's background design, similarities to the originals, and even the epilogue, but just be mindful that it does stray into territory that some may consider to be spoilerific.
Sakamoto and Miyachi end the interview by touching on the potential future of the series, with both expressing interest in working together on new entries should the opportunity arise.
What were your thoughts on Emio - The Smiling Man? Would you like to see more entries in the Famicom Detective Club series? Let us know with a comment.
[source inverse.com]
Comments 19
I knew I wasn't crazy, the orange highlighted words are hints, they literally mention that in the first paragraph of the interview from Miyachi
"However, we felt that if we simply copied the format of previous installments, it may be difficult for today’s players, so we added some tweaks, such as coloring key words in conversations to give players a hint about what to do next. "
Yall here at Nintendolife told me it wasn't real but it was. I had so much trouble in The girl who stands behind and The missing Heir, because the commands were obtuse, but in Emio I was speeding through the story demo because of this.
I need to actually buy this game.
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/help/psa_pay_attention_to_the_orange_text_in_emio
I'll read the rest of the interview after I wake up, but I'll just say it right now: Emio: The Smiling Man is one of my top games of 2024. I greatly enjoyed it, but that epilogue haunted me after it finished.
I've yet to buy any of these games, yet I am very interested in them. This article was a good reminder to put these higher on my wishlist. If only they were all available physically...
Ok nobody spoil the ending please!
As for the dark theme - yes very much so. I’m halfway through and kinda wondering how they are going to resolve it in a manner that’s not disturbing.
I wasn't surprised tbh. Many years ago they would of been shot down instantly but people forget Nintendo produced the last 2 Fatal Frame games, those storylines aren't exactly rainbows and puppies.
Out of pure curiosity I'd love to see a realistic M rated title solely developed by one of Nintendo's internal teams. That would be fascinating, especially if Miyamoto was heavily involved in it!
I know there can be a lot of PR talk and advertising in interviews these days, but this one was very inspiring.
The team wanted to tell a story and send a message, and the producer worried the only way to do it "just right" might clash with the publishers views.
That's why Nintendo games feel different to this day. They didn't sanitize art for the market. I was on the fence on Emio but if I ever buy it, it was this interview that tipped me
@TheSaneInsanity
I was surprised reading reviews, how many people were saying that they thought it was still too close to the old games in obtuseness.
Changes like the one you mentioned and the fact that the 'think' command actually suggests what the next step is (most of the time) made the flow of this game so much better.
It's great to see Nintendo being so open minded and willing to resurrect niche dormant series.
I like darker Nintendo. Perhaps this will translate to Nintendo allowing Sakamoto to go darker with the next Metroid entry. Really lean into the horror aspect.
Loved Emio, definitely hope this is a series Nintendo ends up doubling back around to every few years.
@Axecon or a Metroid text based adventure game!!!
I hate these comments that makes Nintendo feel like a toy for kids with no adult content. Why is Emio such a surprise when we have Doom, Resident Evil, No More Heroes, Bayonetta, Metal Gear, Arkham games, Alien Isolation, Nier Automata, or SMTV?!
It's surprising and at the same time it isn't that we got a new Famicom Detective Club in Emio as that's Nintendo for you but anyway, so glad it happened and looking forward to eventually playing it myself (most likely after playing the remakes of the previous games although I wish Nintendo even just slightly discounted those) - won't read the full interview for now also considering that, but at some point for sure!
I really want to start with the first two games, but I really don't feel like downloading them digitally since Nintendo never gives good sales. I don't know what was so hard about Nintendo releasing the first two physically in the west.
@Znake Play through Emio fully and it'll make sense why this was such a surprising game for them to tackle.
Emio was a joy to playthrough, the final chapter of that game was very dark and it honestly surprised me in a good way. It deals with some heavy themes that I wasn't expecting and hopefully we get more of these type of games in the future.
I really enjoyed the demo for this game, enough to pick up and play the earlier two FDC titles first. I hope to play the full game soon.
Very interesting. I already bought the physical months ago but haven't played it. I plan to play the others. I'm glad to be in a visual novel mood again as took a fair break from them for a while other than games with smaller visual novel segments but longer form more visual novel and subtle aspects of gameplay (so reverse then more gameplay and less visual novel dialogue moments).
But no matter how dark (I am not that into Raging Loop's story but am fine with dark themes if appealing enough in other games). I am fine with a mature type story line or teen even Nintendo game. It would be interesting to see them try different things besides the others that work well for other IPs of their themes, gameplay, level design and artstyles.
I'm intrigued to play a Nintendo visual novel and not to just compare to others I have played of certain eras and their text highlights, choices, inventories, etc. but just curious about this series in general and getting a chance to (then a translation patch and Famicom/NES emulator) to overseas and a series we never would have till now but can now buy, play and enjoy.
It's great to see it. I enjoy the niche Nintendo series and any that may be interesting to have a chance today or reworked. But more so if they translate well (not just in localisation and dialogue but gameplay wise or how they keep the themes and core of the game like many of us want the same but just made overseas accessible and stays enough of the same).
Like if Urban Champion was reworked it could work. But other series would be fine just in the modern era (I don't mean just new entries or remasters with tweaks but they help for sure).
Or others. I'd love a Disaster Day of Crisis Switch release too.
Or seeing what else they could revive in interest ways as well but seeing Famciom Detective Club get support and a new entry is so great to see.
That was a good interview by Inverse. It was nice to get some insight into how Sakamoto and Miyachi went about designing Emio - The Smiling Man. They really stepped up on delivering a quality product with detailed background environments, improved animations, full voice acting, and richer conversations. Their approach as to how the mysteries get unraveled and the slow burn story progression are huge risks, yet they delivered with a potent impact. The way they structured the narrative also helped to create one of the finest tragedies, and by being so singularly focused on a specific subject it's unrelenting and harsh. The dark themes made for a heavy and somber experience. Depicting just how raw and unforgiving the realities of human nature can be is what makes it hit so hard on a personal level.
Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is an outstanding title that deserves greater attention as one of the main highlights of 2024.
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