Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind
By Marc Saltzman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Intriguing murder mystery, but not without issues.
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Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind
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What’s It About?
FAMICOM DETECTIVE CLUB: THE GIRL WHO STANDS BEHIND is a murder mystery that looks like a graphic novel come to life. The story surrounds the mysterious death of a high school girl, Yoko Kojima. Her body washes up on shore with what looks like strangulation marks around her neck. Her teachers and fellow students are unsurprisingly distraught. And is there any connection between this alleged murder and a rumored bloody ghost that haunts the school? To find out, you play as a young detective working for a private investigator, so you must gather information and clues with dozens of people you'll meet (and interrogate). That means scouring environments for items to collect and analyze, interacting with police, and trying to put all the pieces together. Dialogue is handled through drop-down menus, and you'll select what to ask about by selecting one of the topics. Areas and objects are searched with a magnifying glass, which you move around using the Nintendo Switch analog stick. After a short while, you'll unlock a Notepad to review your notes at any time. This adventure game contains a lot of dialogue, which is written in English as subtitles, but the audio is all in Japanese. Along with updated graphics, music, and sound effects, players can choose a new orchestral score ("Arranged" option) or original audio, for both the Famicom/NES version and one from Super Famicom.
Is It Any Good?
This title is for retro gamers who like old Nintendo titles that haven't been released outside of Japan and armchair sleuths who enjoy detective stories and murder mysteries. But everyone else need not apply for Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind. Sure, this game can be fun and offers a unique visual style, but it doesn't live up to the hype. First, the good news: Along with attractive graphic novel-like visuals (including some animations) and a good musical score, there's a great story here, taking place mostly in a high school. Without giving anything away, those who enjoy a good story won't be disappointed, plus many of the characters are memorable. But there are a few nagging issues. While the conversations are good, many won't like scrolling through all the pull-down menus to select a topic of discussion, then exiting back to make things progress, and so on. There's no touchscreen support, so you'll need to use the analog stick and buttons. What makes the interactions more taxing is that the game only has Japanese audio. It's disappointing, as strong English voice acting could really bring this story to life for a U.S. audience.
Another problem is having to comb a screen with the cursor (controlled by the Nintendo Switch analog stick) to look around an environment for clues or to closely examine an object. Looking for clues can also be a bit of a pain, as you must "window wash" the screen and look for key words to pop up, because sometimes nothing shows up and you must click on what you think might be something (and isn't always obvious). Another issue is the lack of replayability once you solve the crime, coupled with the relatively steep cost of $35 for what it is. Overall, those who like these kinds of sleuthy adventures, including Capcom's Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney family of games, might get some fun from these Famicom Detective Club titles, but it's not worth the price of admission.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind would appeal to a typical Nintendo Switch gamer. Would the Japanese audio and English subtitles, and the narrative-driven game, be appealing to a mass audience? Or does Nintendo understand there's a limited audience here?
Are there any cultural differences between Japan and the United States that don't translate over well? Is there anything inappropriate for a Western audience that's perfectly fine in the East? Also, do the topic and approach in Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind play as well in the 2020s as they did in the 1980s, or is the world a different place today?
Game Details
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Nintendo of America
- Release date: May 14, 2021
- Genre: Adventure
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Adventures, High School, Science and Nature
- ESRB rating: T for Blood, Violence, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Last updated: September 30, 2021
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