Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club Developer Interview

This is an English-language version of an interview that was originally featured on Famitsu.com.

By Sekai Sandai Miyokawa

By Giant Kuroda

English-language edits by Ishaan Sahdev

It isn't uncommon for the classics of yesteryear to be remade or remastered for the modern age. It is, however, a far more rare occurrence for these aforementioned classic franchises to receive an entirely new game in this day and age. Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, released on August 29, 2024 for the Nintendo Switch, marks one such rare occurrence—a dream come true for ardent fans of the series.

Emio is the first completely new title in the franchise in 35 years since Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind on the Famicom Disk System. Players take on the role of a detective employed by the Utsugi Detective Agency, and tackle a bizarre case involving an urban legend named "Emio".

Many fans must have been excited at the prospect of a new Famicom Detective Club title. I myself was among them. Suffice to say, I was so anxious to see how things developed that I powered right through the game until I'd reached the end. And while I personally felt a great sense of satisfaction from the story steeped in urban legends, characters with strong personalities, and the enhanced graphics and presentation, I was surprised to find that public opinion of the game was far more divisive.

How do the creators of this game feel about the reactions from players? We took the opportunity to interview two key developers, Yoshio Sakamoto and Kaori Miyachi of Nintendo, and asked them about the development of the game, as well as the opinions of players.

Note: This article frequently touches upon elements that may contain spoilers. In particular, we have included a warning before the part about the ending, which constitutes a major spoiler, so we recommend that you complete the game before reading any further.

Yoshio Sakamoto

The creator of Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir, Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind, as well the Super Famicom remakes of both. He was also involved in the Nintendo Switch remakes of both games. His other notable works include the side-scrolling Metroid series, Rhythm Heaven, and Tomodachi Life.

Kaori Miyachi

As a coordinator, she has worked on Donkey Kong Country Returns, Eshin Kyoshitsu DS, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and more. She also served as a coordinator for the remakes of Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind on Nintendo Switch.

The 35-year absence of Famicom Detective Club, and the impetus for the new game.

First off, could you tell us about the role the two of you played in the development of this game?

Sakamoto: Yes. My official title is "producer," but in truth I was in charge of the story and screenplay, and also served as the director.

Miyachi: I was involved as an assistant producer, but my role was effectively the same as Sakamoto's. I had the opportunity to  participate in the project from the plotting stage, and worked on the script, as well as in a directorial capacity.

Sakamoto: It wasn't as though we were cleanly dividing the work up between the two of us, though.

There was no clear-cut division of labour.

Sakamoto: That's right.

Miyachi: Sakamoto wouldn't tell me what he had in mind for the story, but would recklessly ask me for plot ideas anyway. (Laughs) It was only later, when I first read through the entire project, that I discovered how my ideas had actually been adopted.

Sakamoto: I didn't want to get stuck on the parts that I hadn't yet fleshed out, so I asked her to come up with a variety of ideas early on. Also, I needed to decide on the names of people and places to give final shape to the story, but I'm the sort of person who writes on the spur of the moment, and am not very good at thinking about these things. So I asked Miyachi, who knew nothing about the story at that point, to lend me her aid, and based on the information I gave her, she came up with a list of possible names for places that didn't even exist yet. She also came up with pleasant-sounding names for the characters, while being mindful of their meanings, for which I was extremely grateful.

Miyachi: He says "information," but it was usually just a note consisting of a single line. For example; the only information he gave me about the character of Junko Kuze was that she was "a cool female detective". (Laughs)

Sakamoto: I didn't tell her what was going to happen in the story. (Laughs) It would've been a pity if there was difference in the way names were assigned to less important characters, in contrast to the more important ones.

I see. Although, it is amazing that you were able to name the characters based on such little information, even taking into consideration their family names and meaning.

Miyachi: I developed my own mental image of the characters based on the single line of information I would be given, and named them that way.

I'd like to ask you again about how you came up with the idea of creating a new Famicom Detective Club  game. I had interviewed Sakamoto-san and Asada-san of MAGES. (Makoto Asada is a director at MAGES, and worked on the Nintendo Switch versions of Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind) in a previous issue of Famitsu magazine. At the time, Asada-san told me that they had accumulated a lot of know-how and wanted to put it towards a new game next. Did you also want to make a new title at that point?

Sakamoto: To be entirely honest, I didn't have any fully-formed thoughts about a new game at the time. However, working with Asada-san and his team had given me the know-how needed to create the two Famicom Detective Club remakes for the Nintendo Switch, and also some sense of what we might be able do next. The remakes ended up being so expressive that my desire to work on a new game gradually grew stronger and stronger. I'd already had an idea for another game while working on the original Disk System titles, so I used that as a foundation and asked Miyachi for her thoughts on it. 

Miyachi: One day, out of the blue, he said to me, "I'm thinking of something called 'The Smiling Man'..." and I replied, "The Smiling Man...?"

That must have been puzzling. (Laughs)

Miyachi:  I didn't think it was actually the seed for a new game, and more of an idea that had popped into his head. So I said, "I look forward to it!"

Sakamoto: Her reaction was both encouraging and pressuring. I got so excited that I thought to myself, "I have to do this!" It almost felt as though I was hearing a voice from the very heavens, telling me to give shape to the idea, and my motivation increased tremendously.

You had something of a revelation. Now, it's been 35 years since the last Famicom Detective Club  game, The Girl Who Stands Behind in 1989, if we aren't counting the Super Famicom remakes and BS Detective Club: The Past that Disappeared in the Snow.(*1)  We've seen sequels to games happen after a few years, or even a decade, but it isn't often that a new title is made after such a long period of absence.

1: The Satellaview was a modem that used satellite broadcasting, and was released as a peripheral for the Super Famicom, allowing users to enjoy "SoundLink" games with voice acting via a live-schedule service. BS Detective Club: The Past that Disappeared in the Snow was one of the titles distributed through this service. The role of Ayumi Tachibana was played by Yuko Minaguchi even back then.

Sakamoto: Yes, I didn't think I'd be able to produce a new game either. (Laughs) And it's only when I think about it objectively that it really sinks in that 35 years have gone by.

Did you ever think that you'd like to make a new game in the series during those 35 years?

Sakamoto: To tell you the truth, after working on the Disk System games, I started to witness the brutality and horror of real-life crimes happening in the world, and it gave me pause. I started to wonder if it was really okay for me to be making games based around the theme of murder.

Also, as you know, Famicom Detective Club is a series where you use simple commands and follow along with the story, but when I thought about how to evolve this system, I couldn't come up with an answer. That was another reason any thoughts of making a new  game faded over the years.

But then I decided to remake The Girl Who Stands Behind for the Super Famicom, as I mentioned earlier. Since this was an original story that we had created before the fact, I was able to work on it without being overly conscious of actual incidents. The level of expression was also much higher with the Super Famicom. I found that interesting, and started to give a bit more thought to a new Famicom Detective Club.

The big turning point came when I worked on the remakes for the Nintendo Switch. I realized that if I made a Famicom Detective Club game that took full advantage of the expressive power of the Nintendo Switch, we could tackle the issues I felt we might run into. We could make a game that was more focussed on the story, and could be better appreciated. I felt I would be able to properly convey what it was that I wanted, and that's when I really began thinking about a new game in earnest.

The most popular character is Detective Kamihara. On the other hand, Mr. Fukuyama is...

So this new game was born from that thought, and the key term, "The Smiling Man," first came from Sakamoto-san.

Sakamoto: Yes, that's right. I decided to go with "The Smiling Man" as our theme. As I mentioned earlier, the idea first came to me when I was making the original Famicom Detective Club games. I had the image of a corpse with a paper bag over its head with a smiley face on it, and I thought it would fit well with the themes I wanted to depict in our new game.

Was The Smiling Man born out of a desire to deal with the topic of urban legends in a Famicom Detective Club game for the first time?

Sakamoto: Every Famicom Detective Club title has scary elements. For this game, I felt the themes I wanted to portray wouldn't come across unless we adopted a sense of fear rooted in reality, as opposed to something more spiritual or paranormal.

Because the main theme centres around an urban legend, I felt that the urban legend itself would serve as our scary element this time around. The idea of a paper bag with a smiley face over a corpse also felt distinctly urban legend-like, and so it was a good fit. In a way, it was lucky that we hadn't already dealt with urban legends in the prior games.

In the "Ask the Developer" section of Nintendo's official website, it was mentioned that the design for The Smiling Man's paper bag was chosen from various designs drawn by Miyachi-san. Did you ask her to make those without a clear image in mind, just like the plot?

Miyachi: Yes. I had no idea where the story was going to go, and without any real details, Sakamoto asked me out of the blue, "Could you draw me a smile?" (Laughs). I didn't know what kind of smile he was looking for, so I drew as many different ones as I could. I thought back to the smiley faces I used to draw when I was a child, and deliberately drew with my non-dominant hand to make the lines squiggly. After agonising over all the smiles, I submitted a bunch of them, and using those, different parts were combined to create the paper bag of The Smiling Man.

Sakamoto: The smiling paper bag is the face of The Smiling Man, a monster said to be from an urban legend. But when I happened upon his origin, I wanted a face that would give a completely different impression.

Miyachi: He neglects to share these details with me when he asks for stuff, though. (Laughs)

Everyone: (Laughs)

Sakamoto: I think it's amazing that she can respond to my requests, even if I don't tell her what exactly it is I want. It's something of an urban legend in itself.  (Laughs.) Besides, if I were to give her specifics, it would be too much of a hint, wouldn't it? I figured that by asking her to draw smiley faces without any preconceptions, she'd come up with a bunch of different kinds, and it worked out as exactly as I'd intended. The smile we created by combining the various eyes, mouths, and noses she came up with became the prototype for the paper bag that appears in the game.

Miyachi: Now that I think about it, it was a good thing that I'm bad at drawing. (Laughs) Incidentally, there were two different designs for The Smiling Man's paper bag. The one I drew is the paper bag that Eisuke Sasaki wears, and the other is the paper bag that The Smiling Man of the urban legend wears. The design of the latter is a bit different in its design, because it's an image that people concocted in association with the urban legend.

Sakamoto: The face of The Smiling Man from the urban legend appears in a scene inserted at the end of the prologue. Not only the mouth, but the eyes are also shaped like crescent moons, which makes it even more creepy. If the urban legend of the Smiling Man were to take on a life of its own, what kind of face would he have? We pondered that question and actually experimented within the company to find out.

Miyachi: "What kind of expression comes to mind if someone says ‘a scary smile’?" We held a competition and asked people from various departments within the company to draw us a picture, and we found that many of them had eyes and mouths shaped like crescent moons.

Sakamoto: So if you imagine the urban legend of a smiling paper bag, I think it would boil down to a face with crescent moon eyes.

So the design was conceived in a way similar to the way actual urban legends are born.

Miyachi: Yes. I think we were able to approximate something that people might come up with on their own.

Speaking of The Smiling Man, the teaser site that was revealed on July 10, 2024 was also rather impressive. Did you create that site with the image of The Smiling Man from the urban legend in mind?

Miyachi: We created it based on the image of an urban legend that contorts as it spreads, as well as the actual truth behind it. The smiling paper bag used is mainly that of The Smiling Man from the urban legend, but for a brief moment we replace it with the smiling paper bag on Eisuke Sasaki's head. It's a tiny detail, but the way he wears his trench coat and his posture when he's standing are also different.

Sakamoto: There were quite a few people who picked up on that.

So that's how it was. What was the most difficult part of writing the scenario for Famicom Detective Club for the first time in decades?

Sakamoto: It was a tough time. Sometimes, I discard things I've written because I don't think they fit the flow of the story, or they aren't quite right, but this time I didn't have trouble with that aspect. However, as I was working on the script, it occurred to me that I'd find it difficult to write convincing dialogue between some of the characters, given my age. So rather than agonise over it myself, I decided to rely upon Miyachi's sensibilities instead.

You were in charge of some of the dialogue, Miyachi-san?

Miyachi: To give you a clearer example, I wrote the scenes where characters don't hold back and express their emotions more openly, because they're close to one another. I also worked on scenes where immature children, who are still partway between kids and adults, get into fights.

Sakamoto: Maybe it's because of my age, but I felt that if I wrote the scenes where young children clash with each other and girls talk about their feelings in my own image, I wouldn't be able to portray them realistically. I asked Miyachi to write the scenes that I felt would be better left to her, but we both shared our opinions about the script, so I think we've got a good mix of our thoughts throughout the entire project.

I heard this was your first time writing a scenario. Was there anything in particular that you kept in mind?

Miyachi: When we were developing the remakes, Sakamoto told us that the two main themes of Famicom Detective Club were "familial love" and "feelings for others". He said that Famicom Detective Club is a human drama with scary elements layered into it. In this game, in addition to two pairs of siblings, we also see what happens when the fates of characters, who have known each other since childhood, and that grew up like siblings, happen to intersect.

The backgrounds and feelings of the people involved are all very different, and because of this, I wanted to portray the characters' emotions and humanity in a way that feels convincing. I think that's what I paid the most attention to. We were also very particular about casting the voice actors that would play the characters. I was happy to see how well the actors were able to convey the emotions of the characters through their skilled performances.

Sakamoto: We asked MAGES, who have a voice-acting agency, to cast the characters for the remakes. For this new game, however, Miyachi and I had a much more concrete image of the characters in mind, and so we handled the casting ourselves. How does a certain character think? How do they speak, and what kind of language do they use? Miyachi understood them on the same level as I did, and would provide her preferences for the voices, saying, "I think this sounds right". Ultimately, I just ended up leaving it all to her. (Laughs)

Miyachi: More like I left it all to him. (Laughs)

(Laughs) So, the actors you suggested fit the image of the characters nicely.

Sakamoto: Our first choice for every character was a perfect match, and I thought that was remarkable. When Miyachi was putting together the characters' specs, she had cemented their image down to the smallest details, such as using the aura of certain celebrities as examples, or the voice of so-and-so person. And so, it was like, "Of course we managed to find a good match."

I was particularly impressed with Yuuki Ono, who played Mr. Fukuyama. When I heard a sample, I thought, “That's it! That's Fukuyama!" We were very thankful to have Ono-san and the other actors step so perfectly into the shoes  of their respective characters.

Miyachi: I'm extremely grateful. After explaining the image of the character at the beginning, we started recording, and everything went without a hitch. I could effectively leave the performances to the sensibilities of the individual actors. And I still have such strong memories of the members of the Utsugi  Detective Agency, such as Emi Ogata who played the main character, Yuko Minaguchi who played Ayumi, and Riki Kagami who played Utsugi, as well as a number of other characters we recorded. I could go on and on. It was also very encouraging to hear all the positive comments we received from so many people about the game.

Among  the new characters, I found Detective Kamihara, played by KENN, to be very memorable as well. He's usually a frivolous sort of character, but turns serious during important scenes.

Sakamoto: For video game dubbing, the voice actors often record individually, but for that scene in the car where Kamihara and the main character have a heart-to-heart, we had them record together like in an anime.

Miyachi: I had to ask for a lot of help for that scene.

Sakamoto: I thought it would create a more realistic sense of tension if we used pauses in the dialogue that naturally occur during an exchange. When we conveyed this request to Megumi Ogata and KENN, they readily agreed. I was really happy that we were able to make it happen.

Miyachi: I was listening to it in the booth, together with the sound director and the sound engineer, and everyone was so overwhelmed we all went quiet... The tension on set was incredible.

I could feel the tension from that exchange. I was also surprised at the overall quality of the voice actors featured in the game. For instance, the road construction worker is an industry veteran, Banjō Ginga-san.

Sakamoto: Famous people casually show up in the cast. For example; Natsuki Hanae, who played the cab driver.

Miyachi: Those who are familiar with voice actors might be surprised and ask, "Why is this person here?" However, we didn't intentionally set out to assemble a famous cast, we just cast people who fit the image of the characters, and that's how our cast ended up being so impressive. I'm also really grateful to the casting company that helped coordinate various aspects of the project.

How did you go about creating so many strong characters, such as Mr. Fukuyama and Detective Kamihara?

Miyachi: Each of the new characters was created differently, but Mr. Fukuyama and Detective Kamihara both have something in common, which makes them a little extra special. Both were envisioned as major characters from the start, but it was only later in development that they were given the kind of personalities they were. The story of this game can be fairly heavy, and playing through such sobering developments one after another is bound to get a little mentally exhausting. At times like that, we felt it would be better to include a few characters that would help lighten the mood and give you a breather just by making an appearance, and that's how we arrived at our final list of characters.

Sakamoto: In the Famicom Detective Club games, there are a number of characters with strong personalities. They're designed as such, but what we wanted in common with these two was a strong sense of contrast that would arise from changes in the situation and the emotions at play. That was one of the reasons they turned out the way they did.

Miyachi: Sakamoto also taught me that, even if characters have sharp personalities, it's important to preserve their more human traits, just as if they were real people. And so, my goal with Mr. Fukuyama and Detective Kamihara was to create characters that were unique, but would also feel familiar and easy to get along with.

Detective Kamihara does feel like a mix of cool and serious, as you pointed out. I'd imagine he's popular with female players.

Miyachi: Oh, I'm sure! Good for you, Detective Kamihara! (Laughs)

Sakamoto: He is very popular, yeah.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fukuyama is the sort that's always overenthusiastic. (Laughs)

Miyachi: (Laughs)

Sakamoto: I thought Mr. Fukuyama would see a little more love... but I saw an opinion from someone saying they wanted a "Punch" command to use on him. (Laughs)

Everyone: (Laughs)

It is pretty funny.

Sakamoto: That's what we were aiming for, but it feels like we almost did too good a job.

Mr. Fukuyama also feels like a rival for Ayumi's affections.

Sakamoto: I don't really know how Mr. Fukuyama feels about Ayumi. (Laughs) She's a cute junior from back in their school days, and he certainly wants to get along with her, but I don't know if there's more to it than that. Incidentally, Miyachi was largely in charge of the scenes with Detective Kamihara, while I wrote the scenes with Mr. Fukuyama. (Laughs)

(Laughs) He's a good person to have in your life.

Sakamoto: Thank you. For the people that find him interesting, I think Mr. Fukuyama will feel like a great character. That said, I do think it would be tough to be around him all the time. (Laughs)

Mama Shoko's quite a popular character, too.

Miyachi: Yes, that's right. Mama Shoko is set to be in her mid-30s. She's experienced a number of hardships in life, but is the sort that will continue to maintain a positive outlook, regardless. I feel she radiates a different kind of brightness compared to Mr. Fukuyama and Detective Kamihara, and her positivity is something that's very unique to her.

Very true. Were there any characters whose popularity you were surprised by?

Sakamoto: In terms of popularity, Detective Kamihara has been the most popular by far...

Miyachi: Even internally, he was our most popular character. But other than that... maybe that old guy?

Old guy?

Miyachi: Yes. The old man where you can't quite understand what he's saying. (Laughs)

Oh, the one you meet in front of the apartment towards the end of the game.

Sakamoto: That's right. It's hard to converse with him, but he actually has things of significance to say. And then, there's also the character that ends his sentences with "-ja". That's a recurring  gag in Famicom Detective Club, so fans seemed happy to see it return.

Inspector Kamada is the one who uses "-ja" in this game. (Laughs) Is that a promise of the series, then?

Miyachi: We were very much planning to have it make a return. Before we began working on the game, we had a discussion among the people involved, about what fans of Famicom Detective Club would like to see, and came up with a bunch of ideas. We tried to include little jokes and gags that we thought were essential to the series, and one example of this is a character that uses "-ja".

[English editor's note: In the Famicom Detective Club games, these instances of "-ja" are intentionally spelt as ぢゃ (as opposed to じゃ), which is an older spelling that is considered outdated today. Its use appears to be extremely rare nowadays, limited largely to certain local dialects.]

Sakamoto: Prior to this, we had Dr. Kumada in The Missing Heir and Mr. Komada in The Girl Who Stands Behind... so this time, we decided to name the character "Inspector Kamada". He was named by Miyachi, too. (Laughs)

So you have a series of surnames with “K” at the start and “Da” at the end. (Laughs)

Sakamoto: Yes. (Laughs) I thought that if we included these sorts of familiar characters and gags, it would make fans happy. I don't think it would've affected people's evaluation of the game too much, had they not been included, but I'm sure some would have felt a little let down. That's why we made it a point to include these things.

Mixed reactions to the unexpected. What the developers feel constitutes Famicom Detective Club.

While the menu system is similar to that of the remakes, things feel faster-paced here, with better guidance around what commands to pick during the investigation. On the other hand, it were too easy, it would reduce the need for players to think for themselves, and it might even feel as though the game wasn't voluminous enough. How did you find the right balance?

Miyachi: Since this is the first new title in 35 years, we thought it would be a lot of people's first Famicom Detective Club game. If those people were to get stuck, or find themselves looking up a guide, they'd lose interest in the story. We wanted to avoid that as much as we could, so we tried to balance things to where anyone could make progress. We also made sure that the commands the player needs to choose wouldn't diverge too much from what would instinctively feel right. Additionally, while this isn't directly related... we've also made the conversations feel richer this time around, and added various other features, so I don't think the game feels like it's lacking in volume compared to its predecessors.

Sakamoto: We describe the genre of this game as "interactive drama"—a hybrid between a visual novel and a text adventure. The game combines the comfort of a visual novel, where the story progresses with the press of a button, with the thrill of a text adventure, where you feel you've entered that world, and things are unfolding around you. Furthermore, as Miyachi expressed earlier, we designed the game by focussing squarely on what we felt were the most satisfying parts of investigation and deduction, so players wouldn't feel as though we were making unreasonable demands of them.

So you've adjusted parts of the classic Famicom Detective Club system that were difficult to understand, and made them more approachable.

Sakamoto: We were keenly aware of the confusing portions of the prior games. You had to go back and forth between multiple locations, trigger flags one by one, pinpoint the one thing you were looking for in large areas, have alternating conversations with two people... We've reviewed a lot of that tedium to make the investigation flow more smoothly this time around.

Miyachi: We also reviewed the commands that serve no purpose. If there are commands you can use, but the only response you get is "...," it's bound to be disappointing. So we were careful to avoid that, and make it so people could enjoy having conversations and investigating much more.

Sakamoto: Back in the day, the reason we used the "..." response was to make it easy for the player to understand when they were picking the wrong command. In the days of the Famicom Disk System, space limitations made it so the amount of text we could include was limited. This time around, however, we were able to have it so we didn't need to rely heavily on "..." as a response. It was eye-opening for me, too.

The number of outcomes you can see depending on the commands you pick has increased considerably. I was particularly surprised that the text about whether or not you ate curry changed depending on whether you actually went to the curry restaurant or not. I'd imagine that must have been challenging, since the game is fully voiced...

Sakamoto: The curry shop was Miyachi's idea. (Laughs)

Miyachi: I thought it would be interesting to include a shop in the downtown area. When I suggested it to Sakamoto, he agreed right away.

Sakamoto: Miyachi kept coming up with these little ideas. I would always look forward to seeing what she'd come up with next. All the stories involving the downtown area were interesting, so we included those in the game. And we had a finalised script ready before we recorded the voices, so it wasn't difficult at all. It was actually the voice actors that had it the hardest, because the amount of dialogue increased, and they may have wondered about some of the things we were asking them to say! However, I feel all these little elements add up to make things more interesting, and the curry shop appears to have been warmly received, so I'm glad we did it.

I was surprised when the curry actually made an appearance.

Sakamoto: I'm the sort that gets carried away, so I said, "Let's actually prepare an illustration of the curry!" And that's how the number of little things in the game just kept growing and growing. (Laughs)

(Laughs) In the game, there are now more opportunities to solve puzzles than in the past, with summary deductions and fill-in-the-blank questions. Is this something you consciously wanted to do?

Miyachi: Yes. In this game, the mysteries that the detectives have to tackle are a complex mix of past cases, the actions of other characters, and so on, and I thought that if you didn't take the time to stop and think at certain points, you'd get confused or lose track of what you were meant to be pursuing. That's why we've included the summary deductions and fill-in-the-blank questions at key points, to help contextualise all the information you've gathered.

Sakamoto: Since this is a game in which you play the role of a detective and conduct investigations, we wanted to add a bit more depth to the parts of the game where you see the outcome of all the legwork you've done.

I was happy to see more scenes with Ayumi and Utsugi praising me.

Sakamoto: That would be Ayumi and Utsugi expressing our feelings on our behalf.

Miyachi: And of course, it's always nice to receive praise.

Sakamoto: Especially from Ayumi. (Laughs)

After its release, some people said that the game didn't feel like a Famicom Detective Club title. Personally, though, I've always felt that Famicom Detective Club was more of a suspense drama than a mystery riddled with trickery. What are your thoughts?

Sakamoto: It's true that we've never employed trickery. Since the Disk System, I've thought of Famicom Detective Club as a film of sorts, that you progress through while thinking for yourself, and so it's not really a "mystery game" in the broad sense.

The player, in the role of a detective, conducts investigations and gathers information. The player then matches his or her deductions with the truth of the case, and either feels a sense of satisfaction, thinking, "Oh, that's exactly what I thought was going on," or alternatively, "I didn't really pick up on that". In other words, I think of it as a form of entertainment that can be appreciated in the same manner as films or TV dramas. Famicom Detective Club was conceived as something that you enjoy by solving mysteries in your head.

In addition to the main character, this title also incorporates new perspectives from Ayumi and Utsugi, as well as recollections from other perspectives that don't belong to either of them. The player serves as something of an "invisible detective" in all this, and is then able to make use of all these viewpoints as an observer, which we believe broadens the scope of the investigation.

There are also many aspects of the story that we haven't dared to describe in any further detail. We want player to mull these over in their heads, and ponder what they mean. In that sense, The Smiling Man leaves a lot open to further contemplation, and in that sense it may be the most "Famicom Detective Club-like" of all the games.

Miyachi: When we were working together on the Nintendo Switch remakes, Sakamoto said to me, "Famicom Detective Club is not a game where you see through clever tricks and try to guess who the murderer is. It's a game that emphasises depicting human beings in a nuanced way." I think that's what makes the Famicom Detective Club series interesting and sets it apart from so-called detective stories or mystery games.

Sakamoto: Famicom Detective Club is a human drama that you can follow. However, it is easy for it to be mistaken for a mystery series. That's why we refer to it as an interactive drama, and our task for the future is to spread that image further.

The reason for this, which you and the team may not have foreseen, could  be that over the past 35 years, every player has developed his or her own viewpoint of just what Famicom Detective Club is.

Sakamoto: That may be a factor as well. This game's story is structured differently from The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind. In the previous games, suspects would thin out one by one, and the story would gradually narrow down to the answer. This time around, the suspects and mysteries remain all throughout, and the revelations only come at the end of the story, all at once. During the climax, we connect the dots just as in the prior games, but the way the big reveals all come at once is perhaps a little out of character for Famicom Detective Club.

Miyachi: In the days of the Disk System, both Famicom Detective Club games were released in two parts each, so I'd imagine a lot of story content had to be designed for the endings of both the first and second parts. But in the case of The Smiling Man, it takes longer for the mystery to unravel. I think that's the unique characteristic of this title, that differentiates it from the prior games. Also, because it deals with urban legends, there's a slow, gradual sense of dread. The fact that the element of fear comes not from supernatural or bizarre phenomena, but unpleasant rumours and stories of suspicious individuals that may creep into your mind on an otherwise normal day, such as when you're walking back home, could also be one of the reasons for the divisiveness.

I see. When you said in the reveal video that the game might feel divisive to some people, you were specifically speaking of the ending, weren't you? (*2)

Sakamoto: Exactly. I expected mixed reactions—that people would either accept or reject the resolution of the story.

2: In the "A Chat with Producer Yoshio Sakamoto" video that was released alongside the announcement of Emio – The Smiling Man, Mr. Sakamoto stated, "The script cuts right to the heart of what I had in mind from the start, so the story's ending may be divisive for some people."

I'll ask you more about that in a bit, since it's a major spoiler.

Sakamoto: While not all of it was expected, we're very grateful for the myriad of valuable opinions we've received, regardless. It's also been very encouraging to hear from those that did understand what we wanted to convey and are showing their support.

Miyachi: Among the many games out there, we're very happy that people are picking up and playing ours. This game is available in several languages (*3) in addition to Japanese, and it's been well received overseas as well. It's very interesting that, despite the fact that the story is set in Japan, it's been accepted by overseas players.

*3: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional)

Sakamoto: I'm surprised that so many people overseas praised the themes and story of this game as much as they did. The overseas market for adventure games and visual novels isn't that large, and the remakes didn't even support certain languages, so I'm glad that this game has been well received. That said, there are a lot of people overseas that are interested in Japanese subculture these days, so we did suspect that if we conveyed our themes in earnest, they would resonate in other countries as well.

Spoiler Warning! A few tidbits for fans and thoughts on the ending.

I'd like to ask you a few spoilery questions next. Starting with a minor spoiler, I was happy to see the appearance of cell phones in this game, and that, when you call numbers that have appeared previously in the series, the calls go to places reminiscent of the Kanda Law Firm from The Missing Heir and Sambora from The Girl Who Stands Behind. Should we take this to be among the series' trademark elements as well?

Miyachi: We included that feature assuming that players familiar with the series would call those numbers to see what happened, and wanted to meet their expectations.

There's no hint of those phone numbers in this game specifically, is there?

Miyachi: No. Unless you've played the prior titles in the series and remember the numbers, you wouldn't have a clue.

Sakamoto: But we'd prepared elements for making phone calls in the prior games, too, such as dialing 110, so it seems that those who remembered that were calling the numbers that came to mind when they played the demo version.

Fans of the series know what to do when they see a phone. (Laughs) In this game, there's a "Mr. Fukuyama's Report Card" feature that is similar to the compatibility test with Ayumi in The Girl Who Stands Behind. This was quite impressive to see, but could you tell us about its creation?

Sakamoto: The report card feature is very detailed, indeed, and Miyachi was in charge of it.

Miyachi: In this game, instead of a compatibility test, we included a report card as an element to evaluate the player's prowess as a detective. Back in the day, the results of the compatbility test with Ayumi changed depending on what commands you had picked throughout the game, and this is an enhanced version of that. But there's another reason we did it, too. We felt that after completing the story, there would be those who felt a sense of heaviness, so we decided to have Mr. Fukuyama help with lifting some of that weight off their shoulders.

With his natural cheeriness.

Miyachi: Sakamoto was like, "Him of all people?!"

Sakamoto: And that is the point. You can't help but laugh at the prospect of Fukuyama, of all people, grading you.

And he's quite the harsh critic, too.

Sakamoto: That's why you feel even more like, "You have no right!"

I thought it was fun how Mr. Fukuyama grades you with a stamp, like an actual report card.

Miyachi: The stamp was Sakamoto's idea. The faces are the same, but the hand gestures are different.

Sakamoto: I thought that when people saw the stamps, they'd think, "You're the one that's going to evaluate me...?"

It's so true. (Laughs) Also, while I thought I'd gotten most of the answers right, I still got a pretty low score.

Sakamoto: There are many things that affect the evaluation.

Miyachi: The evaluation begins in detail right from the start of the game, but it's subtle, so I think many people clear the game without even noticing it's there. In addition to commands to advance the story, there are also commands to determine whether you've acted conducted yourself in the manner a detective would. Therefore, no matter how many correct deductions you make in the “Deducing” section, if your everyday actions don't amount to detective-like pursuits, your grade will be average. It might be quite difficult to get a perfect score, honestly...

I see. I hadn't picked up on that at all...

Miyachi: For example; when you talk to the policeman at the scene where the body was found in the first chapter, and you ask him about the cause of death, he tells you that it was strangulation. If the word "strangulation" triggers any thoughts, you might deduce that there was a murder weapon involved, and ask about the cause of death again. If you do it this way, the way the protagonist asks about the cause of death will change as compared to when you choose another command and then ask about the cause of death a second time. Correspondingly, the officer's response will change, too. This is how the evaluation system works. If you ask for the cause of death once and then choose another command, such as "estimated time of death," you won't get any points. And in addition to conversations, there are also moments during which the background changes, and points are awarded for noticing and investigating accordingly. There are a number of such detailed things that we evaluate you on, scattered throughout the game.

Sakamoto: In order to further enrich the conversations, we put a lot of effort into the order in which you select commands.

Does that mean that there are certain pieces of conversation you can miss entirely, unless you pick commands in a specific order?

Miyachi: Yes, there are quite a few of those. Naturally, as a developer, I want everyone to enjoy all of the conversations, but these hidden pieces of conversation are a reward specifically for those that are extra observant.

You mentioned earlier that you made the choices easier to understand so that more people can enjoy the game... but given that you had to design around the evaluation system as well, didn't that make it very difficult?

Sakamoto: It was quite the challenge.

Miyachi: Yes, it was. If you like to have a good think, I'd suggest that you listen carefully to the conversations and pay attention to the backgrounds as you play the game!

Your reputation as a detective is on the line...

• Editor's note: Major spoilers follow from this point on. We recommend that you complete the game before reading any further.

Once you've cleared the final chapter, you can play a new episode. Could you tell us more about this? This episode is different from the main story, and plays out like a monologue by Utsugi, following which a certain format is used to tell the rest of the story. Could you tell us the intent behind doing it that way?

Miyachi: We did briefly consider making that episode in the same command-based format as the rest of the game, but we actually decided very early in development that we wanted to portray it from a very objective, matter-of-fact point of view instead.

Our idea of a detective isn't someone that apprehends the culprit, but uncovers the truth. In this game, we go back in time to unearth the truth of the Smiling Man urban legend. However, these events aren't an ongoing story in which the main character or the player can intervene... Rather, they're part of a past that has long since played out, and all you can really do is bear witness to the truth.

Sakamoto: When the final episode begins, it isn't the main character, the detective, but the player that is facing Utsugi, who is reporting the results of his own investigation. Of course, we don't explicitly say so in the script, but we wanted people to see it from the perspective of a player. It is only when you combine the main story with this episode that they form a complete whole.

Miyachi: Also, because of the content involved, we wanted people to be able to prepare themselves to watch it, and so we separated it from the main story. There were opinions within the company that it might actually be too difficult to watch.

It certainly was very heavy. I was surprised to see the monologue by Utsugi turning into an [REDACTED].

Sakamoto: While that was based on Utsugi's findings, it wasn't conveyed from his viewpoint, but from an objective point of view.

How do you see that episode? Some found it cruel, while others were deeply moved. There are many ways to look at it. Ultimately, it comes down to how people that have played through the story up until that point, and then heard Utsugi's report, interpret it, and what goes through their minds at the time. They're then able to use that as a basis for further contemplation.

Miyachi: I believe the answers to Utsugi's questions will change depending on the player's feelings, position, age, experience, and so on.

Sakamoto: I think this part of the game is something that the player doesn't directly intervene in, but rather interacts with in their heart, so I think the episode being depicted in the way it is, is also part of the interactive drama. In other words, as Miyachi said, each person will have their own interpretation. I'm convinced that this was the only way to convey the entire story, so I feel a sense of satisfaction that we did it the way we did.

This ties back to what we were discussing earlier. When you said that the reactions to the ending would be divisive, you were taking the weight of this episode into account, weren't you?

Sakamoto: What we originally contemplated was whether people would reject it, saying, "No, this is no longer acceptable," or if they would accept it, thinking, "It's tragic, but I need to find to interpret it my way." It was all about how people would interpret things after seeing the story through to the end. Furthermore, we were also expecting divisive reactions to the fact that we were conveying such messages through the medium of a video game. We wanted to determine just how much of a challenge we were up against, based on the various possible opinions.

There may have been players who expected the protagonist to identify the culprit and solve the case himself.

Miyachi: In so-called detective dramas and games, the police often share information with the detectives... but in real life, the police wouldn't share anything with a civilian. In this game, Inspector Kamada and Detective Kamihara do share information with you, but we can't have the police and the [Utsugi agency] detectives both doing the same thing. They both have a different role to play. So maybe there's a contrast between the kind of detectives people imagine in their heads, and the detectives we feature in Famicom Detective Club.

Despite the divisiveness, do you feel you've done all you could for the first new Famicom Detective Club in 35 years?

Sakamoto: I feel we've done our best, and made the best possible game we could. But, to be honest, I don't think the interactive drama that is Famicom Detective Club is done just yet.

How can we improve upon the aspects of this game that were positively received? What more can we do to evolve the series as an interactive drama? Those are the things I'd like to think about.

I think there are a lot of fans that are looking forward to how Famicom Detective Club develops further in the future, now that it's been revived after 35 long years. And during the "Ask the Developer" feature on Nintendo's official website, you said you had found your successor in Miyachi-san...?

Sakamoto: At this stage, I'm not sure where things will go, but if we can continue the Famicom Detective Club series, I'd like to continue to work with Miyachi, with whom I have seen the same things, shared the same thoughts, and shared in the same outcome through the making of this game. As an "heir that won't go missing," so to speak. (Laughs) What should the future of Famicom Detective Club look like? What challenges will we need to deal with? It falls upon us to address these things together.

Miyachi: There's a certain pressure to being the "heir that won't go missing,"  and it's going to take a lot of resolve to nurture this franchise. However, there's great value in the fact that we've been able to revive Famicom Detective Club after 35 long years, and there are many characters I'd like to explore, so I would like to proceed with preparations while being mindful of all the possibilities available to us.

I look forward to seeing more  Famicom Detective Club in the future!

Sakamoto: Thank you very much. Each Famicom Detective Club game contains a theme I want to convey. What was the theme of this game? How did you feel about it, and what conclusions did you come to? Based on that, what can you do for others in the future? I would be very happy if people took the opportunity to ponder these things. It may sound idealistic, but it would make me happy if we could help realise a kinder world through this game. If you haven't played it yet, please take this opportunity to pick it up.

Miyachi: There's a demo version that lets you play up to the third chapter.

Sakamoto: That sounds like sales talk. (Laughs)

Miyachi: (Laughs). This game was a challenge for Nintendo in many ways, and it's chock full of things we wanted to convey, despite the challenges. Every person will have their own takeaway from it, but I'd be happy if, after playing it, people were to feel a little more empathetic towards others around them, and smile at them a little more. And I hope that your interactions with this game, no matter what shape they took, will remain in your heart and mind.