On August 29th, Nintendo will release its most surprising game in decades. Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is an unlikely revival of an NES visual novel series that hasn’t had a new entry since 1989. That’s not even the shocking part: It’s an M-rated game about a masked serial killer. It’s certainly not the kind of game you expect from Nintendo, especially in 2024.
It wasn’t always this way, though. Although Nintendo has a reputation as a kid-friendly company these days, it has occasionally dabbled in darker projects throughout its long career. Just look at the GameCube games. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiema bloody horror game released by Nintendo. Emio is a throwback in more ways than one, as it brings back both an old series and an older version of Nintendo that is ready to experiment with new audiences.
Will Nintendo go all out? Not really. I have now read the opening prologue and the first two chapters of Emiowhich are far more benign than the 18+ rating suggests (apart from one or two swear words). Nevertheless, I’m already hooked on a scary killer story and detective gameplay that feels refreshingly old-fashioned. It’s not the Nintendo game anyone was expecting, but I’m glad it exists.
From Mario to Emio
Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a visual novel with point-and-click gameplay elements. It continues the story of the Utsugi Detective Agency, which investigates a murder after a teenager is found dead. When the characters warn me that the body is a gruesome sight, I brace myself for some disturbing images. Instead, all I learn is that the killer has put a paper bag over his head with a smile painted on it. Not exactly scandalous images.
The horror is quite light in EmioThe first few chapters are devoid of any explicit imagery to speak of. I’m told the victim was strangled, and I get a creepy sequence where the mysterious killer is hinted at, but it’s all pretty benign. The M rating so far seems to be associated with more mature language. I’m not expecting nightmarish violence in a modern Nintendo game, but I’m hoping the later chapters get a little more haunting to convey their grim vision.
I am too Emio Although it was surprising at first, I stuck around until a good mystery emerged. What I know so far is that the murder seems to be connected to a series of murders 18 years ago, as well as an urban legend about a “smiling man” with a purse. The first few chapters set the stage for a slow-developing mystery that I’m eager to read through. In Chapter 2, my circle of suspects begins to expand as I meet suspicious students and teachers. I’m already making mental notes, which is a sign of a solid mystery.
Emio doesn’t just use the texts to make players feel like a detective. I have a sidebar full of options at my disposal to browse and dig through each scene. In addition to questioning characters, I can click around the screen to look for clues, make calls on my phone, pause to collect my own thoughts, and consult my journal where I record each character I meet. All of this helps make the experience feel a bit more active than a regular visual novel, as I have more options than just selecting dialogue prompts.
None of this is particularly unique for the genre, but that doesn’t bother me so far. If anything, Emio feels classic in a way that I appreciate. Its simple interface and light music tracks still make it feel like its NES predecessors, even if the illustrations are more modern. That old-school feel also works in the story, which is still set in the same era. As soon as I was handed a chunky brick phone, the classic style felt right at home.
I have my gripes about the quality of life (the lack of touch controls is odd), but so far there are no red flags. Nintendo seems to be delivering a straightforward serial killer mystery with just enough interaction to keep me hooked. Its success will depend entirely on how well its creepy premise pays off. I just hope it does, otherwise I fear Nintendo could send its 18+ rating experiment back to the graveyard.
Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club will be released on August 29th for Nintendo Switch. Two demos are available now on the Nintendo Switch eShop, with a third coming on August 27th.
