Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind localized in English for Nintendo Switch, May 14th

[LordHuffnPuff]

By the way, do you have some articles on the history of Japanese adventure games? I gathered everything I know reading some translated interviews here and there (this one is great for FamiTant) and from some forum posts.

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I unfortunately don't have any really great resources about the general history of the genre, what I know I've basically pieced together myself from interviews, articles about individual games, interview books like The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers (not for the casually interested, a lot of the stuff in there is fairly dry) and even just like, reading wikipedia and checking the citations on articles. Scouring VNDB. A lot of learning by osmosis. Heck, people write Twitter threads about the history of these things. There really should be an actual history book published at some point, but I don't know who would write it (or what publisher would feel it was going to sell enough to make it worth publishing. Maybe Kickstarter is the right path for that.)

Can you elaborate on this?

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Er, can you be more specific about which part you want me to elaborate on?

 

[1upsuper]

This was easily the highlight of the Direct for me. Super glad these are getting localized.

I unfortunately don't have any really great resources about the general history of the genre, what I know I've basically pieced together myself from interviews, articles about individual games, interview books like The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers (not for the casually interested, a lot of the stuff in there is fairly dry) and even just like, reading wikipedia and checking the citations on articles. Scouring VNDB. A lot of learning by osmosis. Heck, people write Twitter threads about the history of these things. There really should be an actual history book published at some point, but I don't know who would write it (or what publisher would feel it was going to sell enough to make it worth publishing. Maybe Kickstarter is the right path for that.)



Er, can you be more specific about which part you want me to elaborate on?

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This is somewhat off topic but do you know whether the recent compiled (pared down?) edition of the Untold History book is worth getting over the individual volumes from a few years ago?

 

[Lord Fanny]

Er, can you be more specific about which part you want me to elaborate on?

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The part about why it's an adventure game and not a visual novel, but someone explained it in another post I think

 

[Deleted member 55822]

Is Sakamoto working on theses remakes like the original?

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The development was handled by Mages (formerly 5pb.) which is best known for making these type of adventure games like Steins;Gate and Corpse Party. But Sakamoto himself appear in the Japanese reveal trailer. So he have at least some involvement in the project.

 

[SuperFakerBros]

Hope this means there's a good chance for BOND to be localized too. Happy to see these sorts of games still given a chance

 

[MayorSquirtle]

Did BOND end up being good? I'm super into the aesthetic of the trailers and this gives me hope it could end up coming over here as well.

 

[LordHuffnPuff]

This was easily the highlight of the Direct for me. Super glad these are getting localized.

This is somewhat off topic but do you know whether the recent compiled (pared down?) edition of the Untold History book is worth getting over the individual volumes from a few years ago?

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No idea. I have the three full-length telephone book sized volumes. Do note that there has been some... controversy over the author of these books, and how he handled the entire process. That does not diminish their value as resources, but it might give some pause about how they're spending their money.

The part about why it's an adventure game and not a visual novel, but someone explained it in another post I think

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Yeah that explanation is pretty good. You can basically boil down today where mechanics and systems = adventure game (AVGs or ADVs) and little or no interactivity = visual novel (NVLs). You might ask like "how much interaction is the tipping point?" because visual novels like Steins;Gate have SOME interactivity due to branching narrative, but it's kind of just a thing you get a sense for the more of them you play instead of a hard rule.

 

[Deleted member 21709]

Are these remakes of the Famicom games, or sequels?

 

[Viale]

Yeah that explanation is pretty good. You can basically boil down today where mechanics and systems = adventure game (AVGs or ADVs) and little or no interactivity = visual novel (NVLs). You might ask like "how much interaction is the tipping point?" because visual novels like Steins;Gate have SOME interactivity due to branching narrative, but it's kind of just a thing you get a sense for the more of them you play instead of a hard rule.

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Honestly, that feels like an odd distinction to make personally as I really only think of VN as a style of a game as opposed to the amount of interactivity they have, but meh, fair enough, I guess.

 

[Deleted member 55822]

Are these remakes of the Famicom games, or sequels?

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Remake

 

[Man God]

Watch the Portopia Serial Murders episode of GCCX if you want to see what the grandaddy of Japanese adventure games looks like.

 

[Deleted member 32106]

Did BOND end up being good? I'm super into the aesthetic of the trailers and this gives me hope it could end up coming over here as well.

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Ign japan give it 9/10. Only downside it cheap QTE

任天堂とコーエーのタッグによる新規バディアドベンチャー『バディミッション BOND』レビュー

任天堂＋コーエーによる新規IPは、新たな物語の幕開けを予感させる

jp.ign.com

 

[Deleted member 21709]

Remake

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It'd be perfect if you could unlock the originals. Always thought they looked really charming.

 

[LordHuffnPuff]

Honestly, that feels like an odd distinction to make personally as I really only think of VN as a style of a game as opposed to the amount of interactivity they have, but meh, fair enough, I guess.

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I think it's honestly about frequency of exposure! Western players tend to not have seen very many "pure" VNs, so things like Phoenix Wright or even 13 Sentinels are lumped into the category. Many visual novels are basically books with voice acting and paperdolls. You press a single button to advance the text and that's it. Compared with a Famicom Tantei Club (or Ace Attorney, or YU-NO, or Danganronpa, or Zero Escape, or the non-JRPG segments of Persona, or... &c.) where you take significant action and there is gameplay involved. I hope this makes the distinction clearer.

 

[El_TigroX]

This was my announcement of the Direct. Already preordered The Missing Heir. I think that was the first game... so going to start there and then do second one if it clicks with me. Looking forward to this!

 

[Viale]

I think it's honestly about frequency of exposure! Western players tend to not have seen very many "pure" VNs, so things like Phoenix Wright or even 13 Sentinels are lumped into the category. Many visual novels are basically books with voice acting and paperdolls. You press a single button to advance the text and that's it. Compared with a Famicom Tantei Club (or Phoenix Wright, or YU-NO, or Danganronpa, or Zero Escape, or... &c.) where you take significant action and there is gameplay involved. I hope this makes the distinction clearer.

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I mean, I certainly wouldn't consider myself a stranger to the genre and have played a solid amount of visual novels and "adventure" games. I just generally see VN as a genre more broadly though. Fata Morgana/Umineko are VNs in the same way Danganronpa and Zero Escape are to me, and I just see the latter two as VNs with additional genres tied in as opposed to a separate genre on its own.


I can appreciate if the original definition is more rigid in its meaning though. Genres, in general, can already be funky at times, so meh.

 

[The Spoony Hou]

I was excited thinking they had translated the original games...

Guess I'll take remakes.

 

[Man God]

It all stems from the classification of PC adventure games. Then Adventure became a murky genre as they moved from text based to graphical point and click, and then the console genre of numberless RPGs/platformers also started using the title.

 

[Scruffy8642]

Actually looking really good. Know nothing about these games, wonder how good they are.

 

[metsallica]

Collector's Edition up on Amazon JP:

Amazon.co.jp: ファミコン探偵倶楽部 消えた後継者・うしろに立つ少女 COLLECTOR'S EDITION -Switch (【Amazon.co.jp限定】オリジナルロゴ入りブックカバー(調査ファイル同等A4サイズ) 同梱): ゲーム

Amazon.co.jp: ファミコン探偵倶楽部 消えた後継者・うしろに立つ少女 COLLECTOR'S EDITION -Switch (【Amazon.co.jp限定】オリジナルロゴ入りブックカバー(調査ファイル同等A4サイズ) 同梱): ゲーム

www.amazon.co.jp

 

[edamame]

Regardless of whatever genre you want to classify them as, I'm just glad the games are getting localized! Definitely one of the highlights of the Direct for me.

 

[Zonic]

Figured this would stay Japan exclusive, so seeing it be the 3rd game in the Direct was a shock. I kinda wish it was physical given the $60 total (which I fear most people will miss that memo of "buy 1, get the 2nd at a $10 discount"), but if this is basically similar to the investigation parts of Ace Attorney, then I'm on board.

Something I would've loved is the ability to instantly swap between the new & old graphics like with the LucasArts adventure games, but given the UI, that may have been a bit hard.

Nuts to think I learned of this series thanks to Ayumi's trophy in Smash Bros. Melee, and here we are now almost 20 years later finally seeing the series come over.

 

[Alex4]

Collector's Edition up on Amazon JP:

Amazon.co.jp: ファミコン探偵倶楽部 消えた後継者・うしろに立つ少女 COLLECTOR'S EDITION -Switch (【Amazon.co.jp限定】オリジナルロゴ入りブックカバー(調査ファイル同等A4サイズ) 同梱): ゲーム

Amazon.co.jp: ファミコン探偵倶楽部 消えた後継者・うしろに立つ少女 COLLECTOR'S EDITION -Switch (【Amazon.co.jp限定】オリジナルロゴ入りブックカバー(調査ファイル同等A4サイズ) 同梱): ゲーム

www.amazon.co.jp

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Very tempted to order, thanks.

Anyone know if this version will include english?

 

[SiG]

I'm interested but Im afraid it's too anime. Is it too tropey, or is it just the artstyle?

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Considering its basis is that of something from the 80's before all this isekai crap, I'd say it's just the artstyle.

 

[Deleted member 32106]

Very tempted to order, thanks.

Anyone know if this version will include english?

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No, only Japanese and Chinese

 

[Koppai]

Will this have the English on the physical Japanese version? I hate digital

Amazon.co.jp: ファミコン探偵倶楽部 消えた後継者・うしろに立つ少女 COLLECTOR'S EDITION -Switch : Video Games

Amazon.co.jp: ファミコン探偵倶楽部 消えた後継者・うしろに立つ少女 COLLECTOR'S EDITION -Switch : Video Games

www.amazon.co.jp

Looks like they are separate releases. I checked the Japanese eShop and their version says Languages are Japanese and Chinese Traditional and Simplified.

Damn that collection looks nice. What a bummer!!!

 

[kurahador]

Never heard of this series until now and I'm intrigued. They really went above and beyond with those animations.

 

[purseowner]

Japanese eshop version only supports Japanese, traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese.

Reasonable therefore to assume there's no English on the JP physical cart or via patch either.

Shame, that CE looks ace.

Any confirmation/deconfirmation of a retail release in the West?

 

[Deleted member 55822]

Any confirmation/deconfirmation of a retail release in the West?

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Seems to be digital-only.

 

[Josh5890]

Looking forward to trying this. Here's hoping for a physical copy to become available, if only for a limited run.

 

[Wanderer5]

If there is a physical release overseas, I think they would have said so today. Probably too niche, although a limited release would have been sweet.

 

[Koppai]

I'd say everyone start tweeting @NintendoAmerica if you want to see a physical copy.

 

[AIan]

This looks interesting, will probably buy down the road.

 

[PspLikeANut]

Wow... One of the only few highlights during the Direct.. love how Aesthetic it looks

 

[metsallica]

Bought the JP CE and will buy the US digital. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Arthands]

I am interested. Switch is the best platform for narrative adventure/visual novel games like this. So i am going to buy them

 

[Waxwing]

This was announcement of the direct for me too (followed by Triangle), but the following quotes concern me:

says 7 hours for the second game on howlongtobeat

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I usually clear replays of Girl Who Stands Behind in about 5-6 hours. Don't remember how long it was the first time though.

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Are these games really that short? $35 (or even $30) per each seems a bit steep. I'm used to spending $30-$40 on say Ace Attorney or Raging Loop or what have you- and those games are generally 3-5 time as long. Like...tempted to preorder to show the powers that be we want more content like this, but 6-7 hours is sooo short. That's the length of AA DLC...

Edit: found a let's play of the second game, and the total length is under 7hrs. Bummer...

 

[Wrighteous86]

Weird that I was just looking into the Jake Hunter games right before this direct. I'm definitely picking these up, but in the meantime, anyone know if Jake Hunters are any good?

 

[Poltergust]

This was announcement of the direct for me too (followed by Triangle), but the following quotes concern me:




Are these games really that short? $35 (or even $30) per each seems a bit steep. I'm used to spending $30-$40 on say Ace Attorney or Raging Loop or what have you- and those games are generally 3-5 time as long. Like...tempted to preorder to show the powers that be we want more content like this, but 6-7 hours is sooo short. That's the length of AA DLC...

Edit: found a let's play of the second game, and the total length is under 7hrs. Bummer...

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These games are adding voice acting and more complex animation work, so even if nothing else is changed about the game (which isn't confirmed at this point; it's entirely possible for new story elements to be introduced since the games are being made from the ground up), the runtime should increase by quite a bit from the original.

 

[Hours Left]

Weird that I was just looking into the Jake Hunter games right before this direct. I'm definitely picking these up, but in the meantime, anyone know if Jake Hunters are any good?

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If you like potboiler, retro style mysteries, then yes. The very first western DS release is trash though, so avoid that. (They cut out a ton of content.)

Also, Alternate Jake Hunter: Daedalus is very different from the main series.

 

[night814]

No a huge fan of the genre but I'm psyched they kept the name Famicom Detective Club

 

[Vareon]

I hope there's a physical release for NA, it's like having a book on my shelf.

I mean, I certainly wouldn't consider myself a stranger to the genre and have played a solid amount of visual novels and "adventure" games. I just generally see VN as a genre more broadly though. Fata Morgana/Umineko are VNs in the same way Danganronpa and Zero Escape are to me, and I just see the latter two as VNs with additional genres tied in as opposed to a separate genre on its own.


I can appreciate if the original definition is more rigid in its meaning though. Genres, in general, can already be funky at times, so meh.

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It all stems from the classification of PC adventure games. Then Adventure became a murky genre as they moved from text based to graphical point and click, and then the console genre of numberless RPGs/platformers also started using the title.

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Complaining about people's broad usage of genre terms sounds a bit too pedantic to me, unless we're discussing it in an academic way. Genres are very fluid nowadays and their definitions were established like 30 years ago. While there are merits in distinguishing ADV and VN in games like Danganronpa and Umineko, correcting random people on the internet (talking about Tom James, not this thread) over its usage is a bit much. Especially when in the end people are just interested in something that looked similar to something they liked.

 

[mattiewheels]

🎉🍾Yay! 🥳

 

[peekaboo]

Weird that I was just looking into the Jake Hunter games right before this direct. I'm definitely picking these up, but in the meantime, anyone know if Jake Hunters are any good?

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See my previous post. I personally think they're great. But then I grew up with Snatcher and old proto-adventure games where mood and atmosphere sometimes trumped gameplay.

 

[ghostcrew]

Such a cool announcement. Really excited to pick these up.

 

[FormatCompatible]

damn! well that's cool - i'm guessing the first was the famicom translated one i'd not played yet?
had a blast with the latter, looking forward to a replay!

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Missing Heir is the first game in the series yeah. Unlike FTC2 it was never remade on the snes, if I had to guess is that they wanted to do it chronologically by starting with second game but a remake of 1 never happened before this new release. The fact that Nintendo is not only remaking both games but actually bringing them to the west is pretty incredible.

 

[Mr. Virus]

These are (currently) only available as a 2 pack digitally on the UK eshop for £50, which is a very hard sell. £25 a piece would've been fine if they did them separately like the US seems to have, but alas :(.

 

[wrowa]

These are (currently) only available as a 2 pack digitally on the UK eshop for £50, which is a very hard sell. £25 a piece would've been fine if they did them separately like the US seems to have, but alas :(.

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I don't know what the usual pound pricing is, but the individual games are $35 each in the US and 60€ bundled together in Europe. So, given the usual €=$ conversion we are actually saving 10€ in this case. I think the target audience for this kind of games is so small (and dedicated) that 35€ for one game or 60€ for two games isn't going to make much of a difference in sales.

 

[Dany1899]

My hope was that there was a single SKU worldwide, but unfortunately it is not the case, so I cannot pre-order that amazing collector edition.. And for the West it has been confirmed to be a digital-only release in the Direct, this is killing my desire of buying it at D1.

 

[Jazzem]

So excited for this 😊 Love these unexplored parts of Nintendo history and love me a good mystery visual novel!

Been meaning to play the fan translations for the longest time, and I'd still like to to compare to the remakes, but will definitely be picking this up.