We revealed last week the mysterious Emio teaser, and now we finally have some more concrete details on this thrilling mystery!

Firstly, we have the exciting news that Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club will be available both as a digital and a physical version when it launches on August 29th.

Pictured above: The physical edition heading to the UK this August!

Emio will be headlining the third title in the Famicom Detective Club series of games!

Wait, what series?!

Famicom Detective Club started off life on the Famicom Disk System in the late 80s, an add-on for the Japanese NES, and was spearheaded by Yoshio Sakamoto, who would later go on to create the Nintendo classic Metroid. The series is pretty obscure even for Nintendo super fans, considering it comprises of two titles on the Disk System add-on, which only released in Japan, and had no new entries since the late 80s.

Still relatively obscure, the games are at least now available to a modern audience, on a modern console, and available worldwide, thanks to the surprise 2021 Nintendo Switch remake of both games: Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir & Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind. These remakes boast brand new visuals and sound, full voice acting and an English translation and release! Finally, the series has hit the masses!

It seemed like an odd remake to announce back in 2021, given that they’re such niche titles, but it's a welcome one, as it's a chance to finally discover a piece of obscure Nintendo history, from a genre that Nintendo typically hasn’t dabbled in before or after the 80s duology – That genre being point ‘n click adventures, a typically 90s PC fare.

What is Emio?

But here we are in 2024, and the 2021 remake suddenly makes a lot more sense, as it has paved the way for this new entry, Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, which is again from Yoshio Sakamoto, now with years of Nintendo history and Metroid accolades under his belt!

Here’s a brief overview of the mysterious new detective title:

Junior high school student Eisuke Sasaki has been found dead in a chilling fashion, with a smiley-faced paper bag over his head.

This unsettling visage bears a striking resemblance to a recurring clue in a string of unsolved murders from 18 years ago – as well as the urban legend Emio, aka the Smiling Man, a serial killer said to grant his victims “a smile that will last forever”.

Does the Smiling Man really exist…or is a new culprit continuing on his legacy?

As a member of the Utsugi Detective Agency, you’ve been tasked with investigating the events that led to Eisuke Sasaki’s death. Along the way, scrutinise the clues and testimonies you gather for potential connections to the gruesome events of the past.

While we are lucky to get a physical release here in the UK, Japan get an even better deal, as they can get their hands on a collector's edition of Emio the Smiling Man, which includes an Emio paper bag, artbook and soundtrack, pictured below:

A chat with producer Yoshio Sakamoto

But enough from us, find out what the man himself, Yoshio Sakamoto, has to say about his latest horror title:

Series producer and writer Yoshio Sakamoto shares some insights on the creation of Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, the first new entry in the series in over 30 years.

Discussion and speculation around Emio has been rife on the N-Europe forums, so check out our official thread here.