Developed by Nintendo EPD and Mages, and published by Nintendo, the long-awaited fourth instalment of the Famicom Detective Club series, Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, is finally here.

It has been 27 years since the last instalment in the series, BS Tantei Club: Yuki ni Kieta Kako, was released in 1997, and now in 2024, the Utsugi Detective Agency has a new case to crack. This point-and-click adventure visual novel is a welcome return to the series for long-term fans.

The game is set in Japan, 18 years after a series of infamous unsolved murders were committed, where the perpetrator’s modus operandi was to place a paper bag with a smiling face drawn onto it over the victim’s head.

Now, a new victim has arisen in the form of a middle school boy found near the local pump station, also with a paper bag over his head. This raises the awareness of a particular urban legend about Emio, the Smiling Man. It’s believed that Emio approaches crying girls and offers them a permanent smile in exchange for their lives.

You play as the unnamed protagonist from previous games as well as Ayumi Tachibana in some chapters, two assistant detectives of the Utsugi Detective Agency, who help the police in their investigation to solve the murder of the boy.

You progress through the story by inputting certain commands such as observing the scene around you, asking people questions, listening to their responses, and making notes of everything in your notebook to review back at the Agency.

Progressing through the story can be a little tedious at times however especially when you’re having a conversation with someone. You must pick through each option to find the one that will get you to the next phase of the scene. It could be something like observing their face or asking the same prompt again to get the conversation flowing, but there is a lot of guessing involved. This can make the first couple of hours of the story seem a little stumbled and sluggish, but if you’re interested in the mystery, you power through it to the juicy parts.

The story can be completed in around 12 hours and Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is driven by its narrative. The mechanics don’t allow you to go to places or speak to people unless it’s important to the story at that time.

The story is dark and is the darkest out of the series and remains intriguing and enjoyable with twists and turns throughout, as long as you can power through that pacing issue.

The graphics are great, and each of the characters, scenes, and environments are very well-detailed, drawn in a typical anime style of a visual novel set in Japan. There are English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish dialogue text options but the voiceover is only available in Japanese.

The sound design and mixing are fantastic though. The voice work is great, and the smallest sound effects make all the difference to the intriguing story. If you’re a fan of audiobooks, think of it in comparison with dramatized adaptions of your favourites. Coupled with the whimsical background music, it sets a nice environment to relax and try to solve the case.

I enjoyed Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club as a fan of other visual novels and detect games like Ace Attorney. Although the story can seem to have a bit of a pacing issue due to the mechanics, it remains intriguing and interesting throughout the game. Having played the remakes of the older games, Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a welcome addition and continuation of the series which I believe fans will enjoy.

Written by: Emily France