A murder gripping a town, a mysterious urban legend, and a string of unsolved killings haunting the past. This is Emio: The Smiling Man, a thriller by Nintendo, and the newest entry in the Famicom Detective Club series that had been in hibernation for far too long. Emio: The Smiling Man is a dark and violent entry that wildly contradicts Nintendo’s usually family-friendly approach to entertainment. What’s it Like? Get a notepad, sharpen your pencil and wits, and charge your mobile phone as we dive into a SPOILER-FREE review of Emio: The Smiling Man for Nintendo Switch.
Emio: The Smiling Man tells a gripping and haunting narrative after the body of a teenage boy is discovered with a paper bag with a smiling face drawn on it over his head. Your detective agency works alongside police, uncovering the urban legend of Emio: The Smiling Man who kills his victims and gives them a smile that will last forever. I can’t really go further into detail as I don’t want to spoil the story but it was honestly a heart-pounding and intriguing ride from start to finish. This is largely part to its excellent pacing, superbly written characters, and mature-themed story that was less Nancy Drew, and more Law and Order which I wasn’t really expecting… and that’s a good thing. It’s a huge deviation from Nintendo’s usual bright and colorful family-friendly vibe and veers into a dark, brooding, and creepy adventure that will leave you with chills running down your spine. It’s not quite the horror game many were expecting but plays to its strengths by remaining grounded and gritty while not shying away from its mature content.
Emio: The Smiling Man is actually my first time playing a visual novel, and the gameplay acts very similar to a point-and-click adventure game of old but is far more engaging than I anticipated it to be. Your job as a junior detective is to unravel the mystery of a middle school student’s murder by interviewing people, chasing down leads, and even investigating unsolved crimes to try to see if there are connections. You will play as 2 different characters, a male detective with a name of your choosing, and Ayumi Tachibana, who work together on different leads to piece the mystery of Emio. You take actions in conversations, like asking about certain topics to open up new avenues of dialogue. Astute detectives will know when your interviewees subtly change their behavior, in which you can examine the person more closely, or their surroundings to further open up more investigation channels. You will often refer to your notepad, which automatically adds entries and pages under different subjects to help you with your investigation, and even becomes a way to input answers and solve mysteries by highlighting the respective keywords or people.
You will complete daily briefs with your colleagues, usually at the end of the chapter that act as a refresher and make sure you’re paying attention. These might be multiple-choice questions, or you may have to enter text manually. You can’t really fail as your colleague will correct you if you’re wrong and give you some words of encouragement like “You were a little fuzzy, but you shook it off” which is a nice touch. I only really got stumped on one particular entry which was having to enter someone’s name in Japanese which forced me to quickly google it despite being told 30 seconds beforehand. Aside from that, it’s smooth sailing for most of the adventure.
What may not be smooth sailing is the trial-and-error nature of the gameplay which may frustrate budding detectives. While new text options are highlighted, you often have to select the same topical question repeatedly to progress the story. Sometimes, you even have to select the first line of questioning multiple times, then go to the next line, and then return to the first line of questioning for it all to play out. I wish that the text would be dulled out when that line of questioning was exhausted to save pointlessly clicking each topic until you get the right one. As mentioned before, you can’t really fail in the game, so selecting the wrong option doesn’t penalize you in any way, but seeing a character respond with ellipses for the 5th time in a row can be a little disheartening until you realise you had to select “Engage” over “Talk.”
While the trial-and-error frustrations may add small speedbumps to your adventure, the rest of the game will still keep you engaged with its outstanding story and exceptionally well-written characters. There may be some tropes we’ve seen in recent anime games, but Emio: The Smiling Man manages to somehow turn your first impressions of the major players on their heads, illustrate emotion and the sense of a loss, and reunite old friends with complex depth hidden under thinly veiled misconceptions. The pacing of the story (which is spread over a prologue, 12 chapters, and an epilogue) will have you hooked by the 3rd chapter, slowly planting theories and threads into your mind that you have to follow up, as well as red herrings which kept me fooled right until the thrilling conclusion of the story.
Graphically, Emio – The Smiling Man uses brilliant artwork with subtle animations to immerse you in the mystery. Each character had their own personality and expressions brought to life by sharp and detailed artwork. The locations range from desolate and chilling areas of isolation to bustling towns and cafes, that create a sense of safety and simultaneously unease while traveling around to chase leads. There are also moments where comic book-style animations appear on screen, usually when something shocking is revealed, usually accompanied by an upbeat in the tempo of the music, creating a sense of desperation and urgency. It’s all exceptionally well done with high production values.
For my detectives looking for accessibility options while they investigate a murder, there are no specific options. As the voice acting is 100% Japanese, the subtitles designated are on a dark, contrasting background, making it easier to see. There’s also a great feature when returning to the game and loading a save that allows you to quickly recap what has been happening. As someone who has lived with Episodic Amnesia, this is a great addition to make sure people aren’t left behind after putting the game down for a day or two, as most people won’t smash through Emio in one sitting.
Speaking of playtime, Emio is a robust adventure that will take anywhere from 12-15 hours to complete. It is an incredible story masterfully told with superb writing, stellar pacing, and its incredibly haunting and dark mystery. Emio: The Smiling Man is an amazing game from start to finish, and left me hoping that the Famicom Detective Club will receive another case to solve in the near future.
So, What’s it Like? Emio: The Smiling Man is like Ace Attorney, crossed with LA Noire’s interrogation aspect.
In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by Nintendo Australia, but this does not influence my score.
