Famicom Detective Club is a fantastic revitalised visual novel, let down only slightly by its lacking narrative options and gender selection. I would say that this is the best visual novel game I have had the pleasure of playing.
Despite a few now-outdated design decisions, we were positively surprised how well these games hold up after over 3 decades. The effort that was put into the updated presentation together with the well-written stories and characters make this a package well worth your time.
Despite some progression issues in the first half, Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir is a gorgeous adventure that is well worth experiencing on Nintendo Switch.
Famicom Detective Club is not the new Ace Attorney that many were hoping for, that much is clear. The new graphic design makes a huge (and obvious) step forward compared to the original, but the investigation mechanics really feel the weight of the years and might not meet the favour of less patient players. Two good stories, but condemned to a lethargic narration despite their objective merits. Recommended for visual novel lovers and hardcore Nintendo fans.
Famicom Detective Club bundles two games for 60 euros. The fact that these are old games meant only for the Asian market is clearly visible. The dialogues are in Japanese and the games are clearly polished in various aspects. Still, if you like a good story or two and feel the connection with your inner detective (and have a lot of time on your hands) these games scream for you. The writing of Metroid creator Yoshio Sakamoto only justifies the price even more.
Why take such efforts to unearth them in a remaster that goes above and beyond in so many ways, only to leave basic flaws intact? A puzzle for future generations of podcasters, perhaps. [Issue#359, p.114]
famicom detective club's story was very amazing it had its own little flaws but thats ok but i think the main issue is the gameplay most of the time you don't have a clue to what to do you just randomly selecting the commands or you have to use a guide but all and all its an amazing game
6.5 - Haven't finished it because it barely kept my interest. Although it is a pretty solid point and click. Hotel Dusk/Last Window is better, but if I had to recommend FDC, I'd probably say give it a shot.
This is probably the most disappointing game I've ever played. I have so many problems with every aspect of this game, but I can't say it's the worst as it is still an important part of video game history, and it was the 1st of the Famicom Detective Club duology, so as a standalone thing from its time, it's fine. But as it is now...
The gameplay is so stupid. There was no SNES remake that refined how it worked, and MAGES did barely anything to actually refine it themselves. So much time is spent being sent into town to talk to the pointless, idiotic NPCs who only have one piece of actually relevant information, but you have no idea who would even know it, or how you'd get it out of them.
The cast of named characters are so boring. The Ayashiro family are all **** who I didn't care about at all when they died. I kinda feel like they deserved it. The butler and Genshin are ok I guess, but the maid is annoying. It's stupid that it's extremely obvious she knows crucial information about the case, yet you can't actually pursue and pressure her at all. You only get what you can out of her when the game allows it. The protagonist is a nothing character, and it's all because of the idiotic amnesia plotline, which ultimately adds nothing, ruins everything, and could be so easily written out in favor of an actual personality for the protagonist, and much better character interactions. Not only could it still be understandable for him to not remember his family members, but maybe he'd have an actually good, and tangible arc that doesn't drag down the entire series as we know it. The doctor and Ayumi are the only good characters. I really like when the doctor tries to help you in the case, and Ayumi shows how much she's grown as a person since she joined the detective agency. She's gone from a shy, vulnerable student, to an independent woman who can go to bars to dig up information on the yakuza. I almost would've preferred if the game was about her, or maybe you could switch between her and the protagonist like in the Famicom Mukashibanashi games. Or maybe MAGES could've added a side story to see what she got up to. Or, idk, remake BS Tantei Club for God's sake.
The visuals and animations share the same strengths and weaknesses as the other remake. Music is ok, but it gets much more repetitive as you keep playing.
The best thing about the game is the tone, and how the plot points tie into it. As the game goes on, the curse of the Ayashiro family feels more and more real, as the family members are killed off in more graphic and mysterious ways. While the townspeople are still annoying, their increased hysteria as the game goes on adds even more. It is kinda ruined by the fact that the killer is identified way before the game actually ends, but it shows that this game had potential.
That's the thing. There was so much potential with the content of this game, because as stated before, on it's own, it's a serviceable classic adventure game. But because it seems like a series wasn't in mind with the development of this game, yet the prequel/sequel ended up being better than this game could ever be, The Missing Heir, and the Famicom Detective Club series as a whole, is retroactively ruined.
A port and translation of a 30 year old game is interesting, but there are too many flaws.
The characters and animations somehow look like a flash game vector animation despite being 3D, I think this is because of choppy animation and robotic like movements.
The use of inclusive language in places where is not needed is just annoying.
There's a delay between the menus appearing and being ready to use that is just annoying, also the save game feature is called "quit investigation", not a very intuitive name.
the story is just OK (not bad, not great), but at many points the player has to use a slow cursor to poke around the screen or select random commands just to guess how to continue.
SummarySolve a murder mystery surrounding a wealthy Japanese family. Hunt for clues, talk to suspects, and explore the Japanese countryside after tragedy strikes the wealthy Ayashiro family. Filled with suspense, this tale follows an amnesia-stricken detective trying to unravel his own past amidst the horrors of a harrowing murder investigation...