As years go by, the concept of game preservation becomes more critical. After all, we have old games that might become increasingly obscure due to the limited number in existence and the threat of digital storefronts shutting down. But we also have to consider the games that could be lost to time because they were niche enough to appear only in one region. Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind is a situation in which Nintendo and Mages saved such a game. Granted, it doesnāt get a full quality of life upgrade in the process, but it is an instance when something important is preserved in a fashion and shared worldwide.
Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind is one part in a two-part puzzle. While itās the second in the series, its actually a prequel. Which means itās appropriate to play first or second. Players follow an orphaned young man who ran away to the city to learn the truth about who he is. A detective named Shunsuke Utsugi takes him in as his assistant.
Which is rather fortunate for Utsugi, as not long after a case involving the death of a high school girl named Yoko Kojima crosses the agencyās desk. Yoko got caught up investigating a school legend of The Girl Who Stands Behind as part of the academyās Detective Club. So players, with the help of the other Detective Club member Ayumi, look into Yokoās death and The Girl Who Stands Behind.
How does Famicom Detective Club work?
While it might be tempting to classify Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind as a visual novel, it is very much an adventure game. It just happens to have visual novel-quality ambiance. Itās a very cinematic game, with touches like realistic character movements, well-framed set pieces and investigative triggers that actually cause animations to occur in the background or dramatic moments. Itās lavish, to be sure, and looks more modern than many contemporary visual novels Iāve played. (Even ones also made by Mages!) It fully remade the mystery adventure. The story is largely the same, but the script is a bit longer without the technical constraints of the Famicom Disk System.
In Famicom Detective Club, players use menus to ask questions, examine environments and generally investigate incidents to solve a case. Thereās a lot of trial and error here, as youāll ask people about things until you find a clue or breakthrough. Unlike later detective games, though? Thereās no real grading or failure here. You keep investigating until you find what you need, and then the game lets you move on. Success is doing so quickly and efficiently.
What makes The Girl Who Stands Behind special?
One of the most critical parts of any adventure game or visual novel is its story. Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind has a rather good one. It gets its hooks in by suggesting there could be some supernatural element. Thereās a sense of proving yourself, too. The protagonist is a young man who, until Utsugi took him in, was alone in the world. There are also genuinely dramatic and thrilling elements, because we are dealing with murders and the sorts of serious situations that, well, you wouldnāt have expected Nintendo to be dealing with back when it debuted in 1989! Itās interesting and, even when the gameplay tried my patience, the quest for resolution kept me going.
I will also admit a sense of obligation behind playing it. Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind is a piece of history. The Ace Attorney games we play now? They built upon a foundation games like this laid. Like obscure Japanese games? They donāt get more obscure than this. Especially since there were multiple ports of this installment in particular that we never got. Not to mention people get a chance to see a piece of Yoshio Sakamotoās catalog, a game he put so much work into as he wrote the story, before he got involved in series like Metroid.
So… is it good?
Both Famicom Detective Club games are an acquired taste. That doesnāt mean they arenāt fun! But you have to prepare yourself for how it plays.
You need to be patient. The games arenāt bad, but they are three decades old, and that age shows through in the form of tedium. It looks better, sure. But it is still going to do things like ask you to ātakeā someoneās hair to move it, rather than use a more appropriate command. Because thatās all there is! And there might not be a label for something you would need to try, because thatās how things were back in the old days.
You also need to feel invested in the mystery. This is a narrative, through and through. Youāre not going to be able to ride out the campaign with gameplay fun or cute character moments. If youāre so wrapped up in the story that youāre okay with just trying a bunch of menu items for a while? Or when youāre stuck because the language quirks arenāt so easily fixed with localization? Youāll be fine.
As long as you clear those hurdles, youāll find a game with next-level animation that makes it feel at times like an interactive anime. Youāll find a subtle narrative that ramps up over time and takes twists and turns. Youāll find a detective tale that will make you want to take and review your case notes. And youāll also find a window into a part of Japanese games history that we hadnāt been able to see.
There are times when Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind shows its age. It absolutely isnāt user-friendly sometimes. However, its story is surprisingly timeless, and the new presentation is stunning. Itās a gorgeous adventure with a mystery thatās more well thought out and serious than I expected. Iād even say it can be approachable in spite of itself. But more importantly, itās an opportunity to see another side of Nintendoās history that for years we didnāt get to see.
Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind will release exclusively on Nintendo Switch on May 14, 2021. The first game, Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir, is also available.
Managing Editor Graham Russell contributed to this review.
Interrogate suspects and hunt for clues to piece together chilling conundrums plaguing a high school in Japan. Suspense (and a little bit of horror) ensues as you try to free students from their nightmare. Can you figure out who the culprit isā¦before itās too late?
As long as you clear the hurdles in Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind, youāll find a game with next-level animation that makes it feel at times like an interactive anime.
- The animations are especially striking and really go beyond anything Iād expected from series like Steins;Gate or other major visual novels. Everything is smooth, charactersā reactions add to their personality, and it all feels natural.
- The Girl Who Stands Behind's mystery is great if you enjoyed games like Persona that offer the idea of āseven mysteriesā at a school. It feels familiar and similar to other games you've played, which goes a long way for accessibility.
- There is a nice option that helps you catch up with the story briefly if it has been a while since you last played, so you can get a reminder of what went on.