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Thirty-three years! That’s how long the Famicom Detective Club games have been around, and also how long they have been totally inaccessible to Western audiences. A Nintendo franchise with two (and a half) entries, a remake and ten re-releases? Unreleased outside Japan? Yeah, for three decades.

That all changes now.

Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir, the first game in the franchise, s its prequel in a worldwide release on Nintendo Switch. How does it hold up all these years later? Is it an effective remake? And are Western players going to enjoy it without that extra pull of nostalgia?

How does Famicom Detective Club work? x442o

Developed by Mages and published by Nintendo, Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind fully remake the two mystery adventures. The stories are largely the same, but the script is a bit longer without the technical constraints of the Famicom Disk System.

In Famicom Detective Club, players use menus to ask questions, examine environments and generally investigate incidents to solve a case. There’s a lot of trial and error here, as you’ll ask people about things until you find a clue or breakthrough. Unlike later detective games, though? There’s no real grading or failure here. You keep investigating until you find what you need, and then the game lets you move on. Success is doing so quickly and efficiently.

The largest upgrade here is visual. Replacing the limited, static eight-bit images are well-crafted, detailed environments and animations. These give it an immersive feel and go a long way toward making Famicom Detective Club feel more like a modern release.

What makes The Missing Heir special? 391m6

The Missing Heir is the first game in the franchise, making it a good starting place. (Even though The Girl Who Stands Behind happens first! They’re largely standalone, but generally speaking, this is the intended play order.)

Even though you’re dumped right into the middle of things, you… conveniently have amnesia! This is a bit more forgivable in a 1988 game, as much as we’d roll our eyes at someone using that trope now. But it means the protagonist is as clueless as you are, and getting up to speed on the world and case is natural.

Clearly the big difference between these two games is in the narrative, and we don’t want to spoil anything in a mystery game. But it kicks off with the death of a wealthy company head, and discovering the titular Missing Heir and following the rest of the family drives a lot of the plot.

So... is it good? 1y4y5s

Both Famicom Detective Club games are an acquired taste. That doesn’t mean they aren’t fun! But you have to prepare yourself for how it plays.

You need to be patient. The games aren’t bad, but they are three decades old, and that age shows through in the form of tedium. It looks better, sure. But it is still going to do things like ask you to “take” someone’s hair to move it, rather than use a more appropriate command. Because that’s all there is! And there might not be a label for something you would need to try, because that’s how things were back in the old days.

You also need to feel invested in the mystery. This is a narrative, through and through. You’re not going to be able to ride out the campaign with gameplay fun or cute character moments. If you’re so wrapped up in the story that you’re okay with just trying a bunch of menu items for a while? Or when you’re stuck because the language quirks aren’t so easily fixed with localization? You’ll be fine.

As long as you clear those hurdles, you’ll find a game with next-level animation that makes it feel at times like interactive anime. You’ll find a subtle narrative that ramps up over time and takes twists and turns. You’ll find a detective tale that will make you want to take and review your case notes. And you’ll also find a window into a part of Japanese games history that we hadn’t been able to see.

But that makes Famicom Detective Club an oddity for Nintendo. It’s a company known for universal accessibility, for easy-to-see appeal. Bringing in Mages to remake these games was a smart call: the two are a better match than any internal team. It’s a game for a ionate niche, and Mages is driven by niche ion. This game isn’t for everyone, but it wouldn’t be for anyone if it tried to make that pivot.

Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir will release exclusively on Nintendo Switch on May 14, 2021. The second game, Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind, is also available.

Editor-in-Chief Jenni Lada contributed to this review.

The post Review: Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir Reopens a Cold Case appeared first on Siliconera.

As years go by, the concept of game preservation becomes more critical. After all, we have old games that might become increasingly obscure due to the limited number in existence and the threat of digital storefronts shutting down. But we also have to consider the games that could be lost to time because they were niche enough to appear only in one region. Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind is a situation in which Nintendo and Mages saved such a game. Granted, it doesn’t get a full quality of life upgrade in the process, but it is an instance when something important is preserved in a fashion and shared worldwide.

Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind is one part in a two-part puzzle. While it’s the second in the series, its actually a prequel. Which means it’s appropriate to play first or second. Players follow an orphaned young man who ran away to the city to learn the truth about who he is. A detective named Shunsuke Utsugi takes him in as his assistant.

Which is rather fortunate for Utsugi, as not long after a case involving the death of a high school girl named Yoko Kojima crosses the agency’s desk. Yoko got caught up investigating a school legend of The Girl Who Stands Behind as part of the academy’s Detective Club. So players, with the help of the other Detective Club member Ayumi, look into Yoko’s death and The Girl Who Stands Behind.

How does Famicom Detective Club work? x442o

While it might be tempting to classify Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind as a visual novel, it is very much an adventure game. It just happens to have visual novel-quality ambiance. It’s a very cinematic game, with touches like realistic character movements, well-framed set pieces and investigative triggers that actually cause animations to occur in the background or dramatic moments. It’s lavish, to be sure, and looks more modern than many contemporary visual novels I’ve played. (Even ones also made by Mages!) It fully remade the mystery adventure. The story is largely the same, but the script is a bit longer without the technical constraints of the Famicom Disk System.

In Famicom Detective Club, players use menus to ask questions, examine environments and generally investigate incidents to solve a case. There’s a lot of trial and error here, as you’ll ask people about things until you find a clue or breakthrough. Unlike later detective games, though? There’s no real grading or failure here. You keep investigating until you find what you need, and then the game lets you move on. Success is doing so quickly and efficiently.

What makes The Girl Who Stands Behind special? 5x1r43

One of the most critical parts of any adventure game or visual novel is its story. Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind has a rather good one. It gets its hooks in by suggesting there could be some supernatural element. There’s a sense of proving yourself, too. The protagonist is a young man who, until Utsugi took him in, was alone in the world. There are also genuinely dramatic and thrilling elements, because we are dealing with murders and the sorts of serious situations that, well, you wouldn’t have expected Nintendo to be dealing with back when it debuted in 1989! It’s interesting and, even when the gameplay tried my patience, the quest for resolution kept me going.

I will also it a sense of obligation behind playing it. Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind is a piece of history. The Ace Attorney games we play now? They built upon a foundation games like this laid. Like obscure Japanese games? They don’t get more obscure than this. Especially since there were multiple ports of this installment in particular that we never got. Not to mention people get a chance to see a piece of Yoshio Sakamoto’s catalog, a game he put so much work into as he wrote the story, before he got involved in series like Metroid.

So... is it good? 1y4y5s

Both Famicom Detective Club games are an acquired taste. That doesn’t mean they aren’t fun! But you have to prepare yourself for how it plays.

You need to be patient. The games aren’t bad, but they are three decades old, and that age shows through in the form of tedium. It looks better, sure. But it is still going to do things like ask you to “take” someone’s hair to move it, rather than use a more appropriate command. Because that’s all there is! And there might not be a label for something you would need to try, because that’s how things were back in the old days.

You also need to feel invested in the mystery. This is a narrative, through and through. You’re not going to be able to ride out the campaign with gameplay fun or cute character moments. If you’re so wrapped up in the story that you’re okay with just trying a bunch of menu items for a while? Or when you’re stuck because the language quirks aren’t so easily fixed with localization? You’ll be fine.

As long as you clear those hurdles, you’ll find a game with next-level animation that makes it feel at times like an interactive anime. You’ll find a subtle narrative that ramps up over time and takes twists and turns. You’ll find a detective tale that will make you want to take and review your case notes. And you’ll also find a window into a part of Japanese games history that we hadn’t been able to see.

There are times when Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind shows its age. It absolutely isn’t -friendly sometimes. However, its story is surprisingly timeless, and the new presentation is stunning. It’s a gorgeous adventure with a mystery that’s more well thought out and serious than I expected. I’d even say it can be approachable in spite of itself. But more importantly, it’s an opportunity to see another side of Nintendo’s history that for years we didn’t get to see.

Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind will release exclusively on Nintendo Switch on May 14, 2021. The first game, Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir, is also available.

Managing Editor Graham Russell contributed to this review.

The post Review: Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind is a Real Ghost Trick appeared first on Siliconera.

Nintendo’s Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind both release on Nintendo Switch in a few weeks. Want to know what to expect from these two mystery adventures? Siliconera’s Jenni Lada and Graham Russell are on the case.

Graham Russell: So Jenni, we’ve both been playing these new Famicom Detective Club games! Neither of us have finished these stories — they’re not short, and we’ll have our reviews in a couple of weeks for our full assessment — but we know a lot about these games from their first few chapters! And we’d like to share our preliminary findings with our readers.

Jenni Lada: They’re honestly games that I didn’t think we’d ever get to see localized. So this is a big surprise on my part. They’re interesting, both culturally and historically. Let’s look at the facts.

GR: So we should start with a little history. Because it’s really important for these games! Both Famicom Detective Club titles, The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind, originally released on the Famicom Disk System. We didn’t get the Disk System for the Western NES, of course, and these games have a lot of text! So they weren’t localized then.

But they’re here now! They’re getting a deluxe treatment by developer Mages, a team known for its visual novels like Steins;Gate.

JL: Essentially, you’re a teenage detective. You’re trying to solve the mystery of who you are, while also solving other cases happening in the world around you. While Mages is known for its visual novels, these aren’t! They’re Japanese adventure games, for better or worse, which means that there are a lot of old ideas and menus to parse while trying to work out what’s happening.

GR: It’s an important distinction! In some ways. (We’ll get to that later.) So what are your first impressions?

JL: I’m shocked by how fluid it is! It really feels more active and animated to me than a traditional visual novel. I also forgot how critical guesswork is in these sorts of games. What about you?

GR: Yeah, I feel similarly. It’s a real clash between dated game design and thoroughly modern presentation. Which is weird! Famicom Detective Club is a weird thing.

Ultimately, previews are about two things: what we’re liking so far, and what we’re hoping will get better as we keep playing. Which do you want to dig into first?

JL: Let’s start with the things that come across as a bit difficult to deal with. For example, these are remakes of very old games. Even with some modern conveniences, like auto-saving and multiple save slots, there are going to be times when it challenges you. Not because it is difficult, but because it is obtuse.

GR: Sounds fair to me! Yeah, these Famicom Detective Club titles are... I really even hesitate to call them games sometimes. They’re interactive stories, in a way, and that can be really cool. But there’s no fail state. You’re examining scenes and asking questions to witnesses and suspects. And you do that until you see all the messages the game wants you to see, then the game lets you move on to the next step.

And it’s not as simple as “try all the menu options,” that old adventure game staple. Regularly, you’ll need to keep choosing to ask about a particular subject or person, with no real indication that you’ll get a different answer before you do.

JL: It also has the searching element that takes you to a scene to look for specific clues. Except sometimes the actions you need to take aren’t what you expect! So let’s use Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind, which is the one I’m playing, as an example.

There is a very early investigation scene within the first five minutes or so of the game. You’re looking at a person. You can use the “Where?” option to give you a magnifying glass to look at areas, some of which will be highlighted. And you can get stuck here! Because the game doesn’t mention that you could also use “Take” to alter the way the area looks, but not actually take an item. So I spent about ten minutes before, in frustration, I started trying to “take” everything and ended up changing the scene to reveal the detail I needed.

GR: That’s rough. I’m playing The Missing Heir, and it gives you the “Take” option for... ten scenes? Fifteen? Before it actually gives you something productive to do with it.

Okay, let’s turn to the good parts. Because there are good parts! Like we mentioned earlier, the presentation is really something.

JL: Right. Famicom Detective Club is very visually appealing. These aren’t like Live2D character portraits that do that unnerving thing in which a portrait “breathes” or has micromovements. Rather, there are natural animations as people drink coffee, engage in workplace activities or respond to your queries. If you search an environment, you’ll actually see other people you can interview walk past in the background as a cue that “Hey! People are here!” I’m accustomed to visual novels that have static portraits or CGs, so it is refreshing.

GR: This is a cool touch, for sure. And one that most certainly wasn’t in the Famicom Disk System games, so all credit to Mages on the visual direction here.

Also, and this is of course crucial for a game like this: the writing is legitimately compelling. The localization is... fine. I haven’t encountered too many issues there, outside of some occasional menu command confusion. But the characterization! The plot points! I want to know more, which is helpful, because it’s the only reason to keep playing.

JL: Right. That’s a big deal here too. And in Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind there’s a whole ghost story. We have an urban legend we’re hearing about and trying to figure out while also deciphering details about a crime. I have to know what happens.

GR: In The Missing Heir, there’s also some rumblings of supernatural nonsense, but I’ll leave that to our readers to discover as they play.

We’ll each get into more details in our reviews, but for now: what do you most hope to see from the game as the tale progresses?

JL: I definitely hope to see more answers. Like I would like to know what is going on with this mystery. And I like seeing the character animations and setpieces, so seeing where things go would be fun. What about you?

GR: I’d really like to see more complex crime scenes! Or something to ramp up the difficulty to add to the tension. But I’ll be happy enough with a satisfying ending.

Check back in a few weeks for our full reviews of these two games! Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind will launch on the Nintendo Switch on May 14, 2021.

The post Preview: Digging Deeper Into Famicom Detective Club appeared first on Siliconera.

Nintendo has released two new Famicom Detective Club trailers, focused on the game's characters and overall premise, as well as show some gameplay elements. Two other short-form web commercials also appeared on the channel and set the overall tone of both Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind.

The Japanese trailers were ed through the official Nintendo Japan YouTube channel. The Famicom Detective Club Introduction video focuses on the plot of both games. Additionally, it includes new footage of gameplay such as the evidence searching mechanic, in which players will be able to point out unusual aspects in a room. The next scene also shows the "Detective Command" dialogue options that are available, such as "Look/Investigate," "," and "Deduction."

Here's a better look at the Introduction Trailer:

https://youtu.be/sU3of_1d0KI

Secondly, Famicom Detective Club Character Introduction video focuses on the story's characters and respective voice actors. Some notable VAs include Megui Ogata who voiced Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Tomokazu Sugita who voiced Joseph Joestar in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

You can check out the Character Introduction Trailer below:

https://youtu.be/kbkowNIX048

Originally released in 1988 and 1989, both The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind are detective mystery games. Neither games made it to the west during their original run.

However, remakes for Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind were announced for the Nintendo Switch during the Nintendo Direct back in February 2021. While the previous trailer was available both in English and Japanese, these trailers have only been ed in Japanese.

Both Famicom Detective Club games are currently available for pre-order, and will be available for the Nintendo Switch on May 14, 2021. A collector's edition is also currently available for pre-order in Japan, and includes an art book along with other exclusive goods.

The post New Famicom Detective Club Trailers Focus on Characters and Gameplay appeared first on Siliconera.

Nintendo revealed the Famicom Detective Club Collector's Edition alongside its Nintendo Direct announcement. It will include both Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind on a single cartridge, as well as an artbook showcasing character and concept art. The Famicom Detective Club Collector's Edition will be a Japan-exclusive release and debut on May 14, 2021 for ¥9,980 (about $94). [Thanks Dengeki!]

The 174-page artbook included in the Collector's Edition includes character art created for the remastered version of the game, as well as design documents from the original game's development. Also included in the set will be two reprints of promotional flyers from the game's original release and a 75-song official soundtrack that includes songs from Famicom version of the game.

You can also opt for the able version of the collection, which will replace the game cartridge with a code for the two games at no additional cost. Whether or not the game in the Collector's Edition will include an English language option has yet to be confirmed.

Nintendo originally released Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind in 1988 and 1989 for the Family Computer Disk System. This remake will mark the first official localization of games in the series and will feature an updated soundtrack, graphics, and animations.

The Collector's Edition physical and able versions of Famicom Detective Club are all immediately available for pre-order on the Nintendo Switch in Japan. Both games will launch worldwide on May 14, 2021.

The post Famicom Detective Club Collector’s Edition Includes an Art Book appeared first on Siliconera.

Two Famicom Detective Club games will appear outside Japan on the Switch. During the Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind. Both adventure games will appear on May 14, 2021. Pre-orders are open now.

Here's the first trailer for both games.

The Famicom Detective Club games originally only appeared on the Famicom in Japan. These are full remakes with new graphics, completely prepared for a worldwide audience.

The post Famicom Detective Club Games Heading Westward in May appeared first on Siliconera.

Today on the Japanese Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced two remakes of the classic Famicom Tantei (Detective) Club games Kieta Koukeisha and Ushiro ni Tatsu Shoujo.

The games are being developed by MAGES in cooperation with the developers of the original game at Nintendo, and features a modern artstyle:

Famicom Tantei Club: Kieta Koukeisha and Famicom Tantei Club: Ushiro ni Tatsu Shoujo release on Nintendo Switch in 2020.

The post Famicom Tantei Club Gets Two Remakes Developed By MAGES appeared first on Siliconera.

During the latest investor’s meeting, Nintendo was asked two surprising questions by for once ionate investors, regarding the Famicom Detective Club series and the Nintendo Tokyo store in Japan set to open this year in November.

Here are them below:

Q7: It’s been 30 years since the release of Famicom Detective Club, yet thanks to the presentation and story it still tugs on my heartstrings. I hope that these sorts of game software that can be talked about for a long time can be constantly released. In the current state of Nintendo, is it possible to make these sorts of adventure genre games? I would like to know about how game development for this genre is structured, as well as communication with overseas developers.

Shinya Takahashi, president: “Nintendo’s software development structure involves thousands of people around the world between the company and second parties that help with development, with various games created under many types of producers. Each producer has their strengths and weaknesses, but we don’t just ask them to make games they’re good at, but take on different roles and challenge themselves on making different genre games.[…]”

Shigeru Miyamoto, Creative Fellow: “Thank you for this question that can also be taken as encouragement. We also want to make games that we won’t be embarrassed about 10 years later. We’re told sometimes that we only keep making sequels, but we have many brands that have continued for 30 years. We also keep working hard on releasing games in new series.

Regarding adventure games, I have also helped develop many of them beginning with Shin Onigashima, but it’s very hard to make one in the current environment. Nowadays, games are localized in over 10 languages, and adventure games’ localization costs are massive in of voices and text. Furthermore, younger gamers trend towards being uninterested in this genre. However, deg adventure game mechanics is fun, and are used well in Capcom’s Ace Attorney and Level-5’s Professor Layton series, so while we can still have hope for the genre, please understand that actively making one is hard in the current mainstream.”

Q15: I felt really envious seeing videos of Nintendo fans reacting in excitement while watching the E3 presentation together at the NYC Nintendo store. With Nintendo opening a store in Tokyo, will similar events be held here?

Satoru Shibata, board of directors member: “In November, Nintendo Tokyo will open at Shibuya Parco, the first domestic Nintendo store. At Nintendo Tokyo, we will sell hardware, software, and accessories, as well as Nintendo IP character goods. Additionally, we will be holding events proactively like the ones at Nintendo New York. This place will be a new headquarters from which to receive Nintendo news, and we are planning on holding various events there.”

The post Nintendo Got Asked Two Cute Questions In The Latest Investor’s Meeting appeared first on Siliconera.