As the culmination of the series, the mystery adventure sees Utsugi Detective Agency investigating the dreaded Smiling Man.

After releasing a creepy teaser with a mysterious, smiling individual, Nintendo has officially announced Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club. It’s the first new entry in the mystery adventure series and launches on August 29th for $49.99. Check out producer Yoshio Sakamoto discussing it in a new video.

The idea for creating a new Famicom Detective Club title emerged after the 2021 remakes of the first two games. The story concerns an original urban legend where Emio, the Smiling Man, appears in front of crying girls and places a paper bag with a smile on their heads, killing them.

Naturally, this attracts the attention of the Utsugi Detective Agency. Though it sports a more contemporary art style like the remakes, Sakamoto says he made “full use of the knowledge gained from the past titles and remakes” along with “ideas I’ve been sitting on,” to go “all out on the screenplay and animations.”

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is considered the culmination of the series, with an ending that may be “divisive” for some players.