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Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir / The Girl Who Stands Behind |OT| From the Makers of Metroid
- Thread starter Deleted member 278
- Start date
- OT
Hopelessly stuck in chapter 8. Will spoiler tag:
I get as far as the train station, where Villager B tells me they saw the old lady at the cliff at midnight. I return to the cliff but can't get Kumada to reappear. I've followed step by step suggestions in two different guides and simply tried selecting every command at both the station and the cliff but I appear to be stuck in an endless loop. I got so frustrated I turned the game off and then started chapter 8 from scratch, but I'm now stuck in the same place once again.
I have the high heels, nobody has anything new to tell me at the station, no one is appearing at the cliff.
I have the high heels, nobody has anything new to tell me at the station, no one is appearing at the cliff.
Talk to the station clerk and show him everything. You need a new reaction from him for the story to proceed, IIRC.
As someone who did get quite far in SNES version of The Girl Who Stand Behind (thanks to the fan translation) It's quite wild to see how info from that game play into the context of The Missing Heir. So for me it's kinda feel like you should play the prequel first lol.
Not gonna talk about it though since not only it's spoilers, it's going to be a while before I get to play the second game (due to my limited budget this month) but I just beat The Missing Heir and simply put: What a ride lol. It's a fun one though. (Which I think will be more impactful if at least you know the basic plot of the second game, but it's okay if you go with the Missing Heir first)
Not gonna talk about it though since not only it's spoilers, it's going to be a while before I get to play the second game (due to my limited budget this month) but I just beat The Missing Heir and simply put: What a ride lol. It's a fun one though. (Which I think will be more impactful if at least you know the basic plot of the second game, but it's okay if you go with the Missing Heir first)
Hotel Dusk is one of my favourite DS games, I think if you enjoy that you'll get enjoyment from Famitan.
The text that appears when you check it make it even funnier. Make me wonder if this was added for the remake.
Which did you find had the better story? Was playing the prequel first really enhance the narrative?
The text that appears when you check it make it even funnier. Make me wonder if this was added for the remake.
There's actually two different Famicom models in that room. With the other one the player characters feels insulted that it was stored away and should be played at least 1 hour a day.
I think both stories are about equally good. As far as game order goes I don't find any issue with playing The Girl Who Stands Behind first, besides the fact that the way it progresses is a bit less obtuse than The Missing Heir.
I did find that funny, but then I remembered that these games canonical take place in 1988.The text that appears when you check it make it even funnier. Make me wonder if this was added for the remake.
I guess it is some 4th wall joke ha
Huh, somehow missed that one. I guess I can look for it later.
Yep. And for what it's worth, the original Famicom version of the game was more sparse and didn't appear to have a Famicom present at all:
Finished the missing heir.
Holy shit that ending.
plz Nintendo come back to the genere and plz keep the production values.
Holy shit that ending.
plz Nintendo come back to the genere and plz keep the production values.
Ok I'm stuck at chapter 8:
I have two locations the clifftop and train station. The villagers at the train station are mentioning that saw Kiku at the clifftop, and Kamuda just wandered off somewhere in the clifftop area. I'm exhausting all my options but can't seem to proceed?
I'm using RPGSite's guide and it says this
Top of the Cliff
I'm using RPGSite's guide and it says this
Top of the Cliff
- Look/Examine - Surroundings
- Call/Engage - Kumada (x3)
- Talk (Forensics B)
- Cause of death
- Time of death
- What they know
- Look/Examine - Body (x2)
- Look/Examine - Where? Examine the corpse's right foot twice.
- Look/Examine - Where? Examine the corpse's left hand twice.
- Look/Examine - Surroundings
- Call/Engage - Nearby people
You did everything you needed in the last part and then called Kumada 3 times?
Myoujin Station
Myoujin Station
- Call/Engage
- Talk (Station Clerk)
- About Kiku
- What they know
- Call/Engage - Nearby people
- Talk(Villager B)
- About Kiku
- What they know
- Legend
- Travel - Clifftop
Opening the game again can also help.
yes literally all it says is "Doctor?! Helloo? *sigh* He went pretty far, I guess" no matter how many times I select it. And yes I did all the stuff at the station beforehand too.
I shared the solution a few posts ago. You need to talk to the station clerk and show him everything, then talk to him again to prompt a new reaction before meeting Kumada at the clifftop.
That guide didn't work for me on several chapters and I had to crosscheck with other guides or find my own solution.
Ah I just realized what the problem was.
I had to show the clerk Yuri's photo and then it triggered the next convo, but none of the guides mentioned this lol
I'm at the start of Chapter 10 in The Girl Who Stands Behind. So far, it's far less obtuse than The Missing Heir, which makes sense given that it's the second game. Though I can't say I ultimately minded the obtuse aspects of The Missing Heir as a historical reflection of the era the game came from.
i understand the emotional string of the ending between Kazuto and Protag-kun was about Yuki.
But...I'm kind of confused though, did they just.. forget that yukiko was a character? She was only briefly mentioned by the station clerk after going to the cliff with Kumada, then we never see her again. Protag-kun's Uncle, the man she was supposedly waiting for for so long, doesn't even mention her at all when he gets introduced to the story. I feel like they just kind of forgot about her. * shrug*
But...I'm kind of confused though, did they just.. forget that yukiko was a character? She was only briefly mentioned by the station clerk after going to the cliff with Kumada, then we never see her again. Protag-kun's Uncle, the man she was supposedly waiting for for so long, doesn't even mention her at all when he gets introduced to the story. I feel like they just kind of forgot about her. * shrug*
I thought Gnosia was boring but this kept me going. Started both games and decided to finish the red one first (can't remember the name) and the graphics are very well done. The story is intriguing enough to keep me going. Music is top notch too. Really liking it.
Finished Missing Heir and man it was so good, really really enjoyed it, the story ended up being like nothing I expected in the first 2 chapters, 1988 Sakamoto did a fantastic job imo
One thing that I really wish was added to these games is an epilogue like the Ace Attorney games, where every character (that is not the criminal) gets a few lines of dialogue to give them some sort of resolution.
Like, for example, what does Zenzou think of the protagonist being Yuri's child? Or what does Tazaki think of the principal now that he was revealed a co-conspirator in a string of murders? We don't get these kinds of scenes and it feels like a missed opportunity.
Like, for example, what does Zenzou think of the protagonist being Yuri's child? Or what does Tazaki think of the principal now that he was revealed a co-conspirator in a string of murders? We don't get these kinds of scenes and it feels like a missed opportunity.
Is this the first time the west has been able to play the Missing Heir in any way? I was looking for fan translations in Youtube and all I found was content of The Girl Who Stands Behind for the SFC
There was a fan translation in progress at one point, but it turns out it uses a lot of pointers and is very tedious to translate... I do believe this remake is the first chance English-speaking audiences will have had to experience this game in native language without translation guides.
Got through Missing Heir yesterday and Girl Who Stands Behind today. Loved both of them, though they do show their ages at points. Only needed to reference a guide once, for the same section mentioned by others. Would love for Ayumi's game to get remade and for more games to be made in this style in general. I think these two titles would definitely be great to recommend to people who are looking for something a bit more "grounded" compared to Ace Attorney, along with them not needing as much time to devote to them.
I will say that
I will say that
Missing Heir in my opinion wraps up nicer than Girl Who Stands Behind.
The mirror not only being placed out in the hallway but lasting as long as it did in a school without getting cracked is the real school mystery.
After finishing both games, man, that was well worth the long, long wait. I've wanted to play these games in English for so long, and now that I can, both stories were intense, gripping, and incredibly well-told. I can't express the sort of simple, cathartic feeling it was to finish The Girl Who Stands Behind and knowing that one of my longest standing white whales of gaming is a white whale no longer.
I really hope they remake the BS Famicom Detective Club in the same style so that all three games can be played on Switch. And also, they should make Ayumi playable in Smash while they're at it.
I really hope they remake the BS Famicom Detective Club in the same style so that all three games can be played on Switch. And also, they should make Ayumi playable in Smash while they're at it.
I've only just started Chapter 4 on Missing Heir, but Akane better start answering questions soon or I'm gonna freak out.
I'd be more surprised if the missing daughter isn't my mom.
Gotta say, Famicom Detective Club is a pretty bad name, even for it's time, for many years I thought these were family friendly or very relaxed Detective Adventures, but at least The Missing Heir, which Is the one I finished, could get disturbing at times, and violent too. It's not really even a Detective "Club"
I think it's safe to assume that Kazuto does reunite with Yukiko. It's just not a beat as important to the protagonist's own story and their willingness to give up the Ayashiro legacy and, and finding more happiness with his restored memories and the photograph of his mother.
Finished The Missing Heir last night. I don't know why but, I was really expecting to be searching for clues and solving the case. Instead, I was just clicking on dialogue options in order to move the plot. But, for what it's worth, I did enjoy my time even though the gameplay is archaic.
As for the story, it was good and kept me engaged all throughout. One thing I found funny:
As for the story, it was good and kept me engaged all throughout. One thing I found funny:
Each game chapter is supposed to be one day. The main character finds out he has a burn mark on Chapter 9 or 10. So, you're telling me he hasn't taken off his clothes to clean up or bath the whole time. LOL.
The explanation is that the MC just didn't notice it at all. Given he need to use a mirror to see it. So I guess the bathroom he use doesn't have a mirror so something.
I believe earlier it's implied he hasn't changed out of the shirt that was loaned to him on day 1, as he says he doesn't know where he got it when Ayumi questions him on wearing an unusual shirt.
Yeah I...tend to agree, lol. I remember many years ago reading Ayumi's trophy in Smash Bros and, seeing as she had the age and uniform of a high school student, assumed that the titular "Detective Club" was just a group of high schoolers meeting after school to discuss and solve small-scale mysteries around the town or something. Instead we have these actual dark-ass criminal investigations. Speaking of which...I find it pretty funny that the main character is this high school-aged kid but apparently works as a private investigator full time instead of going to school and somehow has sway with multiple local police precincts. Damn what an overachiever lol.
Anyway, I finished The Missing Heir earlier tonight. I really liked it overall, though I definitely wouldn't have minded a few minor quality of life tweaks to smooth out the play experience a bit. I actually don't mind using the same "talk" prompt multiple times for more information, but there are times where if you're feeling stuck and just trying a bunch of stuff, it would help to trim down the number of potential options you had to sort through. There are a lot of times where your inquiry list will contain lots of stuff that either leads to dialog you already heard from a previous scene or options that aren't relevant to the current witness. Even stranger is right near the end of the game there are a few instances where an option will disappear once you ask about it, which actually helped out a lot in narrowing down options, and it made me wonder why this wasn't utilized more throughout the rest of the game.
Plot-wise I was pretty engaged throughout the whole thing, though I will admit the climax and denouement kinda fell short to me after my expectations built up for so long.
The two biggest twists the game throws at you, with the protagonist turning out to be the true Ayashiro heir and Amachi being the true culprit, were both things that I half-jokingly called/predicted fairly early into the experience because they both struck me as the sort of really obvious "big twists" that the story could produce...lo and behold they both turned out to be true after all. Given that the game was originally written some 30 years ago I can give it a bit of slack for that, but I'm a little less lenient on the Amachi reveal being immediately followed up with the completely cliche and unnecessary "Yes I'm the villain, now allow me to recount my entire plan and all of my misdeeds for no discernable reason or benefit!" trap. Add on to that that the main character has no real agency in stopping Kanda or putting an end to the plot, having to instead be saved at the last second by the miraculous(ly convenient) intervention of another character who basically didn't exist before that point. Everything built up to finding the proof of heirship, and the reveal of Amachi as Kanda, and then it felt like everything after that suddenly became super-rushed and wrapped up as quickly as it possibly could, without providing as much closure as I would have liked. After watching Zenzou be devastated by loss after loss, I at least would have loved to see his reaction upon learning that the investigator he's been working with all along was in fact Yuri's son.
On a smaller note, I really would have liked to have seen Ayumi get at least somewhat of a more active role at some point. She gets to do some background investigation that seems to turn up one factoid per day for a while, and then she's just there for the protag to reiterate his day's findings. The working relationship between her and the protag is cool to see but I wanted more, it would have been cool for her to come along to the village with you at least once, so she could properly show off her own investigative skills. I assume she'll have a lot more going on in The Girl who Stands Behind though.
On a smaller note, I really would have liked to have seen Ayumi get at least somewhat of a more active role at some point. She gets to do some background investigation that seems to turn up one factoid per day for a while, and then she's just there for the protag to reiterate his day's findings. The working relationship between her and the protag is cool to see but I wanted more, it would have been cool for her to come along to the village with you at least once, so she could properly show off her own investigative skills. I assume she'll have a lot more going on in The Girl who Stands Behind though.
It's so hard not to wonder what Nintendo's intent was with giving this project the go-ahead. It's cool but kind of random if it turns out they just felt like remaking these two games and that's the end of it, or if this was them dipping the toe back into the water to see if there might be an appetite for more of this style. I wonder what their expectations were for how the localizations especially will be received.
The best I can figure, it's called "Detective Club" because the protagonist and Ayumi are at the age for school club activities (and in fact Ayumi is a member of Ushimitsu High's Detective Club in TGWSB.
Nowadays, though, the title has a sort of sentimental value to it, right down to the localization keeping Famicom in the game title.
For me, the twists at the end were pretty effective. I guessed relatively early on that Amachi was the culprit, and that he and Kanda were the same person...except I was constantly second-guessing myself because Kazuto could have just as easily turned out to be either of them. You get a very brief scene where the protagonist bumps into Kazuto on the street, so he's not entirely unseen beforehand, but having him appear at the end like that, just as Amachi/Kanda finished his villain monologue and attacked, was convenient, yeah, but for me, it was a fun twist.
Regardless, I give it props for such a twisting narrative that doesn't, in general, resort to Ace Attorney asspulls, and whose cast, for all of their dramatic embellishments, felt flawed and human.
Regardless, I give it props for such a twisting narrative that doesn't, in general, resort to Ace Attorney asspulls, and whose cast, for all of their dramatic embellishments, felt flawed and human.
As for Ayumi, she was the playable protagonist in the Satellaview BS Detective Club title, so she did get a turn in the driver's seat. Hopefully that game will be remade someday.
I guess it's possible but then this:
Guy is just running around sleeping in old clothes. I guess he forgot where his clothes are too and Ayumi just couldn't be bothered to give him new clothes or tell him.
Funnily enough this is reminding me a lot of DS adventure The Last Window
That game takes place over the course of like a week, and near every day begins with the main character waking up, having slept in his clothes the night before, and "freshening up" by splashing some water on his face and literally nothing else, lol. Doesn't turn out to be plot relevant like it does here, but it's amusing. Maybe a lack of cleanliness is just a common trait among adventure game protagonists.
Actually, this also reminds me,
Was anyone else taken weirdly off-guard when you return to the office one night and the usual "Ayumi sitting in a chair in her uniform" scene was suddenly and without explanation replaced with "super close-up of Ayumi in different clothes"? The protagonist seemed like he was going to comment on it the first time, but stopped short, and then the fact that this scene changed is not at all acknowledged for the rest of the game. It got to the point where I was expecting it to change again as we got closer to the end but it never did.
Yeah, it's probably common in these games and most especially with detective protagonists.
Normally I don't think about it, but in this game, you notice it because of the plot. There's a chance he would have noticed the burn mark if he took a bath. But then again, it probably wouldn't have made a difference if he noticed it earlier or not. I just find it funny.
Normally I don't think about it, but in this game, you notice it because of the plot. There's a chance he would have noticed the burn mark if he took a bath. But then again, it probably wouldn't have made a difference if he noticed it earlier or not. I just find it funny.
Loved Hotel Dusk by the way, I'm sad that I couldn't find a copy of The Last Window.
just got to chapter 5 of the missing heir really enjoying the game so far cant wait to see what happens next.
Finished The Missing Heir and enjoyed it. I do think it could have benefitted from some kind of QoL update--there was one specific spot where I was stuck for a while and still have no idea what finally triggered the plot letting me progress, since it felt like I just went through dialogue trees for repeat answers a few times before it gave up. It was only really glaring because the visuals were so current and clean that the throwback approach to gameplay occasionally felt a little weird.
Plot-wise, I enjoyed it well enough for a 30+ year old mystery. Ultimately I tricked myself into making it work better--I spent a substantial chunk of the game working off the theory that
Looking forward to playing The Girl Who Stands Behind and wouldn't mind seeing Nintendo continue this series; just have to hope the audience is there.
Plot-wise, I enjoyed it well enough for a 30+ year old mystery. Ultimately I tricked myself into making it work better--I spent a substantial chunk of the game working off the theory that
Kanda, Amachi, and Kazuto were all going be the same person, out for revenge due to anger about the way his mother was treated. This theory obviously fell apart as soon as they remembered the suicide family's name was Kanda, at which point I was still pretty sure Amachi was one of them but not entirely sure which.
The end did feel ridiculously rushed; it probably stood out less at the time, but it would have 'felt' better if we'd skipped most of the exposition in the last room and instead had some kind of wrap-up scene in the mansion where they could do the same exposition dump and just finish with the characters. I get that the butler called the police, but like... how? He was right outside the door. Did Kanda just leave him alone while he went in to do a murder and steal some stuff? Also would have been nice to get more into how that miraculous rescue happened, see Yukiko again, etc. But given the age of the game I get why it played out the way it did.
The end did feel ridiculously rushed; it probably stood out less at the time, but it would have 'felt' better if we'd skipped most of the exposition in the last room and instead had some kind of wrap-up scene in the mansion where they could do the same exposition dump and just finish with the characters. I get that the butler called the police, but like... how? He was right outside the door. Did Kanda just leave him alone while he went in to do a murder and steal some stuff? Also would have been nice to get more into how that miraculous rescue happened, see Yukiko again, etc. But given the age of the game I get why it played out the way it did.
Looking forward to playing The Girl Who Stands Behind and wouldn't mind seeing Nintendo continue this series; just have to hope the audience is there.
The uncle tells you what happened he ran over to the mansion when he felt something was wrong and found the butler knocked out at the entrance, woke him up and told him to go back into the house and call the police. Then the uncle went in and tackled him.
Of all of Nintendo's adventure titles, FDC1&2 are their most fondly remembered, I think, and certainly, FDC2 had the benefit of already being remade once before on the Super Famicom. It's hard to say what NOA's expectations are for the localization (keeping them as digital-only releases was probably a safer bet on their part), but there's also a night-and-day gulf between the NOA of the late 80s, when quality localizations were rare and NOA had strict guidelines on allowed content, and today, where they're obviously far more comfortable with releasing games that aren't kid-friendly.
Has anybody who picked up the Japanese physical release able to confirm that they definitely don't have English on cart? I know the jp eShop didn't list english but I want to be double sure before I buy them off the NA eShop.