Operation Backlog Completion 2024

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club

 Celebrating All Things Spooky, Reviews, Video games  12 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Oct 042024
 

It had to come up, right?

Back when Emio was first teased, most of us thought it would be a new horror game from Nintendo.

It turned out to actually be a dark new entry in the Famicom Detective Club series, which was a pleasant surprise to me after I’d played the Famicom Detective Club remakes just this past May and wished the series would continue.

We discussed it a few times leading up to launch, but not since the full game has come out. So let’s talk about Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club.

I would not actually call Emio a horror game or even a horror visual novel, despite the expectations when it was first teased. It’s very much a mystery, albeit one with dark and disturbing elements, and I’d even say most of it has less tension than the first two games in the series. However, when I say most of it, that’s very important to why we’re still talking about it today.

Now, I wrote a full review of Emio over at MonsterVine, so be sure to check that out for my thoughts on the game as a whole.

Instead of repeating all my thoughts here, I’ll just say that I definitely recommend Emio as long as you don’t mind a strangely-paced story that feels like it saves almost everything for the very end. That end does make it worthwhile, but it left me wishing some of the reveals had been woven through the earlier parts of the game too. Meanwhile, as I’d hoped from the demo, the new function of the “think” command to give a hint means you’re much less likely to get caught in a loop of trying every action without knowing what to do, so it feels like the most player-friendly game in the series. There are also a lot of fun optional scenes, like I mentioned in my review.

Getting back to the matter of Emio as a horror game and the fact that most of it is not, that ties into my comment on the unusual pacing. The final segment of Emio gets much darker, delves into some very disturbing scenes, and earns its M rating right there.

I would say the final part of Emio is basically a short horror story in its own right.

I have a theory about why they handled the game this way – that last part is so much darker than the rest of the series that I think they wanted to keep the bulk of the game more in line with the previous ones – but it does make it an odd experience.

In short, Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a great choice to play in October, but mainly for the payoff at the end.

Thoughts on the Emio Demo So Far

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Aug 212024
 

When we discussed the demo for Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club last week, I said I wasn’t sure if I would play the demo or just wait for the full game.

But when the first part of the demo became available yesterday, I decided I couldn’t wait and downloaded it to give it a try!

The current demo contains the prologue and Chapter 1, introducing the player to the start of the game. It definitely feels like a Famicom Detective Club game, with a presentation and controls very much in line with the Switch remakes of the first two.

Like in those games, you pick commands such as “call,” “ask,” “look,” etc. from a menu as you interact with other characters and investigate areas. And yes, sometimes you’ll need to choose the same option multiple times in a row or come back to actions after having chosen others.

However, the “think” command seems to have been improved so that when it’s not necessary for progression, it provides you with a slight hint toward what you should be trying. If that holds up throughout the whole game, it will go a long way toward avoiding the tedious “try every option and then try every option again” cycle the first two games often fell into.

It’s too early to have a good feel for the mystery in Emio, but the prologue and first chapter provide the basic setup for the case and introduce some new characters. There are a couple of fun easter eggs, too.

(And like with the first two, if you have save data from either of the others you can transfer the name you used for yourself instead of entering it again.)

One thing that feels a little strange is that the main character and Ayumi decide to split the investigation work, which means you spend the first chapter talking to the police while she meets with the victim’s family off-screen. Having that part handled off-screen is odd, but since the game’s description says Ayumi will be playable, I wonder if that means the next chapter will show that investigation from her perspective instead of picking up where Chapter 1 ended.

Either way, I’m looking forward to playing Chapter 2 when it becomes available tomorrow, and of course, I’m looking forward to the full game. Have you tried the Emio demo?

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club 3-Part Demo Announced

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Aug 162024
 

I still can’t believe that only a few months after I said I wanted a new Famicom Detective Club game, not expecting it to happen, one is actually coming out.

We’re less than two months away from the release of Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club for the Switch, and now a demo has been announced to let us try it even sooner.

Nintendo has opted for an unusual format for this demo, as it will be released in three parts. The prologue and Chapter 1 will be available on August 19, Chapter 2 will be added on August 22, and finally Chapter 3 will be added on August 27. Demo progress can be transferred to the full game.

This is an interesting way to handle the demo, and it makes me wonder if they’re imagining it almost like a book club format. Give players one chapter at a time to discuss while awaiting the full release. That could spark more discussion around it. And since Emio drew so much attention from the marketing campaign, a lengthy demo is a good way for new players to see if they’ll like it.

Releasing the first three chapters as a demo also supports my prediction that Emio will be significantly longer than the first two games, since that would be a significant chunk of an 11-chapter game.

I’m not sure yet if I’ll play the Emio demo or not. I’ve got plenty of games in my backlog to occupy me until the full release… but on the other hand, I’m excited to experience this new mystery (and a head start will help me finish ahead of the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection)!

Are you planning to play Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club? How do you feel about this 3-part staggered demo format?

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