Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club

As a visual novel connoisseur Emio – The Smiling Man doesn’t go to the top of my list. However, it does gain points for taking risks with how horrifying the story is willing to go, and for the few instances of breaking the fourth wall. The pacing and characters are strong, but the way you interact with the world can be repetitive and ultimately frustrating. It’s one for those who love a mystery and don’t mind occasionally hitting a brick wall.

A visual novel rated 17+ that will appeal to fans of the genre and the Famicom Detective Club series, and will be able to capture the general player audience with its story and visuals.

Emio – The Smiling Man tells a thrilling and engaging story. It’s a visual novel, so don’t expect complex gameplay there – and I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.

Emio - The Smiling Man is ok. The game is faithful to its 80s Famicom roots and it does have an intriguing story to tell. However, it’s full of dull sections, outdated mechanics and unremarkable characters that almost ruined our experience.

Although not without its faults in due part to the trial-and-error situations that require exhausting all options in conversations, Emio - The Smiling Man is a game that will keep fans glued to the end, topped off with a very appealing art style and fair 10+ hour storyline that doesn't overstay its welcome. There isn't much else to see and do once the full story is done, but it is one worth experiencing.

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club delivers a captivating blend of murder mystery and urban legend, enhanced by atmospheric visuals and strong voice acting. Despite some frustrating gameplay mechanics, it remains a must-play for fans of thrilling narrative games.

The marketing for Emio suggested a much darker game than it actually is. Nevertheless, in addition to the colorful scenery and the slow-moving plot, there are also a few wonderfully spooky moments. It owes this above all to its namesake.

Emio - the Smiling Man has a good story to tell, held hostage by mechanics from the early days of Japanese interactive fiction that refuse to give way to fresher, more current game design ideas. It's a bit of a trial-and-error fairground and excessive verbiage, but if that doesn't scare you off (there's a demo to try out that might suit you) you'll be rewarded with an investigative tale of unquestionable value.

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club lives trapped in the cases of the past, and will continue to drag the heavy chains of archaic, clunky gameplay for all eternity.

Emio - The Smiling Man has been hyped up a little too much in terms of how dark in tone the whole thing is. This is still silly, kooky stuff, just like its predecessors. The sometimes frustrating core mechanics also haven't seen any refinement this time around, which is a shame. And so it's left to some top-notch writing to save the day, which it just about does. Once this troubling and intriguing story has its hooks in you (remember there are three demos to try if you're unsure), it's hard to put down. And that, at the end of the day, is all Tantei Club fans will be looking for.

Emio - The Smiling Man looks like it came out from the '80s, thanks to gameplay mechanics unbelievably dated that hold up its true potential.

Emio - The Smiling man is a dark and gruesomely gripping mystery that’s held back from reaching greatness by its lack of improvement on the series’ existing flaws.

Most notably, Emio establishes a surprising amount of heart and sincerity in its brief runtime. Strangely, though, it achieves very little in the way of thrills or chills. More a small-town crime procedural than a dark murder mystery, players will find their best experiences driven by a genuine care for these characters and how they process the impact of tragedy in their insular community rather than sensationalising their trauma for our entertainment. The serial killer thriller lurks on the furthest edges of this story, only ever coaxing the player along with the threat of its darkly exciting carrot. This long-awaited entry in the Famicom Detective Club series is clean, well animated and voiced, and has some seriously good visual novel writing. Despite this, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to recommend this to fans of either detective games or visual novels unless their backlogs are running low.

Emio - The Smiling Man is a game from a classic series returning for Nintendo Switch. It's a linear game that focuses on exploration, investigation, and puzzle-solving, but lacks much interactivity. It constantly forces you to guess the next option, which can be frustrating. Its story based on an urban legend and its enigmatic enemy are the most striking aspects, but its low replayability makes it just another boring game.

Emio - The Smiling Man struggles to remain as interesting as its premise, a battle it loses over the course of the more than 10 hours of gameplay it has to offer. The simplicity of the narrative adds nothing to the linear and predetermined gameplay, diminishing the initial interest I had in seeing an answer to the interesting mysteries presented at the start of the game. On the other hand, this safe, simple and even quite competent path could serve as a gateway for those interested in taking their first steps in a thriller visual novel with a subdued horror narrative.

How curious to find Nintendo's most contemporary tale hidden in a format so beholden to the past. [Issue#402, p.120]

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is an interactive narrative with a terrifying lore, an absorbing mystery and charismatic characters, marred by a very linear structure and little gameplay.

Hobby detectives with a focus on the narrative should feel right at home with Emio, while investigators who prefer to think and investigate for themselves might be a little disappointed by the gameplay.

A missed opportunity to both evolve the Famicom Detective Club concept and allow Nintendo to experiment with more adult-oriented content, resulting in a game whose only real appeal is nostalgia.

This game presents you with an adventure that is quite entertaining, but it lacks a bit of tension and urgency, which is pretty crazy in a murder case. In addition, it is often too unclear what to do, making it trial and error which takes you out of the immersion. This is due to an illogical structure. Nevertheless, the adventure in itself is otherwise fine thanks to the well-developed characters and excellent voice-acting.

As the third game in the Famicom Detective Club series, Emio: The Smiling Man is a faithful entry that fits perfectly alongside the 2021 remakes of the first two titles. It fits in a little too well, however, because its gameplay hasn't changed much from the 1980s originals, meaning its 'choose every option until you move on' dialogue system ends up feeling like a boring box-ticking exercise rather than an intuitive investigative process. The story is great but it's strictly for those who love visual novels, no matter how linear.

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a successful homage to the venerable series, which tells an enticing story despite its repetitive nature.