As the days grow longer and Halloween grows closer, mystery-loving gamers have plenty of options during the spookiest season of the year. The current mystery game renaissance began withEmio – the Smiling Man,an unexpected new title in theFamicom Detective Clubseries. This was followed by theAce Attorney Investigationsduology, featuring the long-awaited official English translation of the second game,Prosecutor’s Gambit.A third title, which unfortunately received minimal marketing, was the remake of a classic Japanese mystery title. The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case: The Okhotsk Disappearance Memories In Ice, Tearful Figurineis best known for both its mouthful of a title and being written byDragon Questseries creator Yuji Horii.
Attention towards the mystery genre has been gradually increasing over the past several years; key events included the massive success of indie detective titleDisco Elysium,Nintendo’s surprising remasters of the first twoFamicom Detective Clubgames, and theGreat Ace Attorney Chronicles.Many indie studios have contributed to this boom, releasing titles likeDuck Detective: The Secret Salami, The Case of the Golden Idol,and more.
Nintendo Takes A Dark Turn With Emio –The Smiling Man
Nintendo surprised fans with a grainy found footage-style trailer asking a simple question:“Who is Emio?” Theories ranged from a new survival horror IP to aSilent Hillspin-off, but few guessed the truth: the first new game in theFamicom Detective Clubseries in around 30 years. Hailed as one of Nintendo’s darkest first-party titles,Emiosees the Detective Clubreturn to investigate a bizarre serial killing that seemingly connects to a creepy urban legend.
Although the first two games,The Missing HeirandThe Girl Who Stands Behind,received remakes in 2021, fans generally considered the series to be a relic of the classic adventure game era that would remain in the past.Emio’srelease was a pleasant surprise and could indicate moreFamicom Detective Clubgames are coming.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Completes The Series
WhileAce Attorney Investigationshad seen an official English translation, its direct sequel,Prosecutor’s Path,never had. Theories about its lack of export ranged from mixed reviews for the firstInvestigationsto wanting to promote the series' then-newest main title,Dual Destinies,rather than focusing on spin-offs. However, 2024 saw the two games, which star popular recurring prosecutor character Miles Edgeworth, remastered and bundled together for the Nintendo Switch.
Now, for the first time, all main seriesAce Attorneytitles are available in English. Capcom’s plans for the future of the series remain unclear, but it’s definitely not impossible thatanother main seriesAce Attorneygamecould be in the works, possibly bringing back Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice, or Athena Cykes or introducing a new protagonist entirely.
The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case Flew Under The Radar
Released with shockingly minimal marketing for the Nintendo Switch and PC,Hokkaido Serial Murder Caseinvolves a nameless, player-controlled detective investigating a series of murders scattered around Japan’s Hokkaido Prefecture. Developed in 1984 byYuji Horii, it was a mostly standalone follow-up to Horii’s 1983 detective game,The Portopia Serial Murder Case.
Portopia,which has been cited by Eiji Aonuma and Hideo Kojima as one of the most influential games ever created, received a disappointing re-release featuring AI integration. It was used by Square Enix as a demo to showcase AI capabilities but was widely panned by critics and players. Fortunately,Hokkaido’sremaster is not AI-focused and is much more polished, with improvements such as a redone command menu and voiced dialogue. Mystery fans looking for something new and exciting to play should definitely check outThe Hokkaido Serial Murder Case,which they may have missed. Plus, hopefully, these titles will lead to more remasters of classic mystery games and new releases within the genre in the near future.
