Draft:Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Producer(s)Yoshio Sakamoto
Writer(s)Yoshio Sakamoto
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
Release
  • WW: August 29, 2024
Genre(s)Visual novel

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club[a] is an upcoming visual novel published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the third installment of the Famicom Detective Club series and the first new title in over 35 years.

The game was first announced in July 2024, with a teaser video. The announcement prompted online traction, with many noting its crypticity, dark tone, and M (Mature) rating from the ESRB and related companies, due to its contrast with Nintendo's usual usual family-friendly titles.

Plot

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In the game, Emio, the Smiling Man, is an urban legend of a man dressed in a long coat and a smiling paper bag over his head who appears in front of crying girls. He then kills the girl, and places a similar paper bag over their head. During gameplay, the Utsugi Detective Agency attempts to solve the case of the urban legend. Writer and producer Yoshio Sakamoto said that the ending to Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club might be "divisive for some people".[1]

Development

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Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club was first unveiled on July 10, 2024 when Nintendo released a 15 second teaser for the game involving a man wearing a sack with a smiling face on it. It was accompanied with the social media hashtag "#WhoIsEmio?". At this point, the game was known simply as Emio. The teaser immediately received significant attention online for its cryptic imagery and unusually dark nature, which contrasted with Nintendo's usual family-friendly image.[2][3][4]

On July 17 2024, the game was fully unveiled as part of the Famicom Detective Club series.[5] In an offical interview uploaded to the Nintendo YouTube channels, Yoshio Sakamoto annouced that he would be returning as producer and writer of the game.[6] The Japanese website states it will feature the voices of Megumi Ogata, Yuko Minaguchi and Tatemoto Kagami as the main characters[7]

Rating

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Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club has received an M (Mature) rating from the ESRB, making it one of only a handful of Nintendo published video games to receive such a rating. According to the Australian Classification Board, Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club will contain "strong themes, violence and suicide references" and a separate rating from the New Zealand Classification Office added that the game would involve "cruelty and domestic abuse".[8]

Notelist

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  1. ^ Japanese: 笑み男, Hepburn: Emi otoko, "Smiling Man"

References

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  1. ^ "Emio – the Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club – A chat with producer Yoshio Sakamoto". YouTube. July 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Nintendo's Mysterious Horror Game Teaser Has Fans Scratching Their Heads". Kotaku. July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  3. ^ McWhertor, Michael (July 10, 2024). "What the hell is Nintendo teasing with this creepy smiling man video?". Polygon. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  4. ^ Nintendo of America (July 10, 2024). Emio. Retrieved July 10, 2024 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Emio – the Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club launches August on Nintendo Switch". July 17, 2024.
  6. ^ "Emio – the Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club – A chat with producer Yoshio Sakamoto". YouTube. July 17, 2024.
  7. ^ "ファミコン探偵倶楽部 笑み男 | Nintendo Switch | 任天堂".
  8. ^ "'Emio' Includes a Lot of Horrific Mature Themes, According to Its Rating". Nintendo Life. July 11, 2024.
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Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club at IMDb