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The small town of Ushigome seems like any other, until death comes calling. A young boy is found murdered in the woods, a paper bag bearing a creepy smile placed over his lifeless face. For rookie detective Shunsuke Utsugi and his eager assistant, it’s a disturbing new case to solve. Yet as their investigation unfolds, they discover this murder may be linked to unresolved killings from years past.

Long-running challenges like these are nothing new to the intrepid investigators of the Utsugi Detective Agency. For over three decades, from the Nintendo days to today, they’ve solved mysteries through games in the Famicom Detective Club series. Now their latest adventure comes to Nintendo Switch in Emio: The Smiling Man. It continues the franchise’s intriguing blend of small-town intrigue and frightening supernatural elements.

Progressing the story involves chatting with suspects, scrutinizing clues, and making logical choices. While simple, this...

Emio The Smiling Man marks the first new Famicom Detective Club game in 30 years, promising an intense mystery experience. Emio is produced by Yoshio Sakamoto, known for his work on the Metroid franchise, hinting at a dark and complex narrative. The game's Mature Esrb rating suggests a departure from Nintendo's family-friendly image, signaling a powerful and dark storyline.

A new upcoming entry in a classic Nintendo franchise undoubtedly deserves plenty of attention as its release date quickly approaches. Although entirely new games and series are key to the growth of the video game industry, many of the most successful new titles are naturally part of well-established franchises like Pokmon or The Legend of Zelda. However, the revival of older games is also an intriguing avenue for many companies to pursue, combining nostalgia for games of the Nes era with the near-infinite possibilities of the modern world.

Having been producing...

The Famicom Detective Club games are mystery adventures that first debuted on Famicom Disk System in Japan back in 1988, with a second game following in 1989. Now, 35 years later, we're finally getting a new entry on Nintendo Switch titled Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club . The full reveal came after last week's enigmatic teases, in which Nintendo flashed images of a bag-faced character and asked the question "Who is Emio?" While we may not be able to answer that just yet, at least we know which game Emio belongs in now! Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is due out on Nintendo Switch around the world on August 29, 2024, and will receive both physical and digital releases. A trailer and chat with producer and writer Yoshio Sakamoto is available via Nintendo of America's YouTube channel, but since it's age-restricted at the moment you'll have to click through...

Metroid Dread is an unexpected new installment in the original mainline series that goes all the way back to the Samus Aran’s debut on the Nes in 1986. Picking up threads from Metroid, Metroid II, Super Metroid, and Metroid Fusion, the new 2D side-scroller follows Samus on the trail of the X parasite once again. After the Galactic Federation loses contact with an Emmi (Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifiers) unit sent to investigate the planet Zdr, where the X parasite from Fusion is rumored to have survived, Samus takes on the mission herself, and quickly finds dangers and terrors unimaginable.

“The series has chronicled the uncanny relationship between Metroids [parasitic life-forms that can we weaponized] and the heroine Samus, but this game will mark and end to that story arc,” said game designer Yoshio Sakamoto in a developer diary released during E3 2021.

In the trailer for the game, we learn that the Emmi have gone rogue and...

Could lightsabers from Star Wars potentially exist in the real world? A real-life physicist chimes in on these theoretical propositions.

“I’ve never been a Star Wars fan. I’ve seen only one of the movies, The Phantom Menace, and I was eight years old at the time. And yet even I, as a child, owned and played with one of those little lightsaber toys, as have millions of children before and after me.”

Read more at Gizmodo

We wouldn’t be getting Metroid Dread if it weren’t for the infamous addition to the franchise in Metroid M.

“For 35 years, Metroid has been one of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises. But there’s one notable exception to this — Metroid: Other M, a third-person action game released for the Wii back in 2010. ‘We couldn’t just leave this part of the storyline untouched,’ series producer Yoshio Sakamoto told USA Today ahead of launch.

The “true’ ending of 1986’s Metroid is regularly referred to as one of the best video game endings of all time, one of the best video game twists of all time, and one of the most important moments in the evolution of video game storytelling. It is, after all, the ending that revealed that badass Metroid bounty hunter Samus Aran is actually a woman.

Many Metroid retrospectives, and even some members of the Metroid development team, have since claimed that ending shocked the world by introducing one of the most capable and prominent female gaming heroes at a time when such female protagonists were certainly less common in action games. Whatever we say from this point on, there’s no denying that this ending was unusual for its time and is rightfully seen as not just one of the great early video game endings but a touchstone moment for video game storytelling and character design.

Metroid Dread, a game more than 15 years in the making, is finally releasing this year from Nintendo. Not only does the new entry in the series revive a project originally conceived for the DS but it picks up story threads left over from 2002’s Metroid Fusion for the Game Boy Advance. But, while Metroid Dread certainly feels like a 2D blast from the past, this new side-scroller is actually primed to explore Samus’ future, according to game designer Yoshio Sakamoto.

“Continuing the saga that began in 1986 with Metroid and continued through Metroid II, Super Metroid, and Metroid Fusion, this is the first new story and new episode for the series in 19 years,” Sakamoto said of Metroid Dread in a developer diary released after the Nintendo Direct. “The series has chronicles the uncanny relationship between Metroids [parasitic life-forms that can we weaponized] and the heroine Samus, but this game will mark and end to that story arc.

While many of us were expecting to learn more about Metroid Prime 4 during Nintendo’s E3 2021 Direct presentation, we were more than happy to see Nintendo instead reveal Metroid Dread: a 2D Metroid title from the same studio that brought us Metroid: Samus Returns for Nintendo 3Ds.

The reveal of Metroid Dread stunned many fans who were prepared for just about every announcement besides this one, but the news has come as less of a shock to those who have been following Metroid Dread‘s development for over 15 years.

Yes, Metroid Dread is the resurrected version of a previously canceled Metroid project, and the story of how it got from there to Nintendo’s E3 2021 showcase is absolutely fascinating.

Metroid Dread reports first began to spread in 2005 when the title was briefly mentioned in Game Informer magazine and appeared on a leaked list of upcoming Nintendo releases. At that time,...

During its Digital Event yesterday Nintendo announced Metroid Prime: Federation Force, a 3Ds online multiplayer shooter set in the Metroid universe. Players control someone not named Samus in a mech suit, and head out on co-op missions to clear up the universe’s alien monstrosities. Afterwards, these hardened Galactic Federation troops can unwind with a game of three-on-three Blast Ball, a soccer-like diversion included with the game and featured during a round of the Nintendo World Championships.

Many have been clamoring for a sequel in the critically acclaimed Prime series, with hopes that perhaps Retro’s long-rumored project would be revealed this year to be exactly that. But according to an interview in Eurogamer with series producer Kensuke Tanabe, this will probably be the closest anyone gets to 3D Metroid at least until Nintendo’s next console, codenamed Nx, which won’t be discussed until next year. Tanabe states that...

Before E3 2015 kicked off in earnest, the We Got This Covered team hunkered down to pinpoint the games we wanted to see announced during the course of this year’s trade show. Among the usual suspects – read: Red Dead Redemption 2 and Half-Life 3 – was an all-new entry in the Metroid Prime series. Since the tepid release of Other M, fans of the esteemed franchise have been left wanting for a bona fide console experience set in the sci-fi universe.

With the Wii U effectively on life support, Series Producer Kensuke Tanabe hinted that the latest installment in the Metroid series may be released for the still-unrevealed Nintendo Nx console.

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Speaking to Eurogamer, here’s what Tanabe had to share on the matter:

If we started for Wii U now, it would likely take three years or so. So it would likely now be on Nintendo’s Nx console.

Super Metroid

Nintendo R&D1

Nintendo

Snes

There’s a moment in the Super Metroid finale, somewhere in between being brain-blasted by a creature that looks like it escaped from Attack on Titan and being saved by a flying alien parasite, that the whole nature of the battle is suddenly revealed to be entirely scripted. The idea of scripted battles, an idea that was still incredibly new back in the 16-bit era of the Snes, made for something of a rarity in the mid-90’s.

Strangely, director Yoshio Sakamoto not only chose to include a scripted battle sequence in Super Metroid, the third entry in one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises, he actually made it the focal point of the entire finale. Stranger still, it worked. Fast forward 20 years and Sm‘s final battle remains the most memorable and iconic moment in the history of the Metroid series, and it...

It all started in Japan in 2006 when Nintendo released Rhythm Tengoku for the Gameboy Advance. A wholly unique, mini-game collection, the game sprang from the minds of Yoshio Sakamoto, one of the creators of the WarioWare series, and Tsunku, a Japanese record producer, songwriter and vocalist. Differentiating itself from other mini-game titles, Tengoku tested the player's sense of rhythm and reflexes as they worked their way through a series of kooky activities. The Gba title never saw release stateside, however, in 2009 Western gamers got a taste of the series when its sequel was released for the DS as Rhythm Heaven. Now, three years later, Nintendo is rounding out their Rhythm Heaven offerings by releasing Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii. With more than 50 new games to keep the beat to Fever holds true to the series, whether you like it or not.

The Rhythm series is pretty basic: try to beat a series of mini-games,...

What you'll be playing in the first quarter of the new year if you're in Japan.

...or importing, if that's your thing.

During yesterday's livestream, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed the company's lineup of first and third-party games coming to the 3Ds for next year, and let's note the key word here: 3Ds. The Wii was—save for one mention—pretty much absent from the broadcast with the majority of software support going towards the new handheld. Of course, this isn't a huge surprise as Nintendo starts to shift their focus towards the 3Ds and presumably start making noise about the Wii U in the near-ish future. As for the release dates themselves, a few were already known, but we're finally getting concrete dates on major titles like Kid Icarus: Uprising and the latest Fire Emblem game.

A quick note: since the content of the livestream was in Japanese, I...

Nintendo has discussed a sequel to Metroid: Other M. Series creator Yoshio Sakamoto said that a follow-up to the game wouldn't be possible without developer Team Ninja behind it. "I'm very grateful for the collaboration with Team Ninja coming up with Metroid Other M," he told Cvg. "As far as my opinion is concerned if we are going to make something similar to Metroid Other M in the future I cannot think that it would be possible for Nintendo to make it without collaborating with Team Ninja." Sakamoto added that he has yet to decide the (more)...

Insert Credit endeavors to suss out where you should be allotting your video game allowance, sifting out a single title from many and crowning it as The One Game You Need to Get This Week. Don't consider these reviews, gentle reader. Rather, think of Insert Credit as a mix of hands-on time, informed opinion and intuition.

For the week of August 30, 2010, you should insert credit into: "Metroid: Other M"

Nostalgia's a double-edged sword in all long-running entertainment franchises. On one hand, creators of new James Bond, "Star Trek" or Lara Croft fiction can throw in all sorts of winks and nods at the high points that have come before. But, on the other hand, those high points cast a long shadow over whatever follows them. Nintendo's "Metroid" games often face the same problem. The first game won over fans with a recursive, labyrinthine gameworld and the last-second revelation that Samus...

Yesterday I spoke briefly about the story of "Metroid: Other M" and its heavy focus on cutscenes. Apparently the final game will feature Theater Mode, which allows players to replay every cutscene, back to back, thus making a two-hour long, non-interactive movie.

Yoshio Sakamoto, the series creator, spoke with Famitsu (captured by 1Up) about many aspects of "Other M," including Theater Mode:

"We placed just as much weight on enjoying the story as we did on the action aspects of this game, but it's hard to fully communicate a storyline in a video game with just one playthrough. At the same time, though, it's asking a lot of players to beat the game twice to get it all, so that's where the idea for that mode came from. It lets you make a lot of discoveries, things you missed or dialogue that makes more sense in retrospect. I hope it...

Wario has been around in the Nintendo universe for just about 18 years now, and has his own mini-game series for the last seven. It's safe to say that he's a star in his own right, even if he is a big fan of garlic and passing gas, but apparently he's important enough to be the face of one of this year's most innovative titles, "WarioWario D.I.Y." Like the other games in the series this "D.I.Y." revolves around mini-games, but not in the way that you may be thinking.

The Basics

"WarioWare D.I.Y." may pass itself off as another release in the series that proved that minigame compilations could be successful, but it's actually a fully featured game design tool. In addition to the over 90 mini-games that are included which feature some of the series' favorite characters, like Ashley and 9-Volt, you can also create your own mini-games from scratch,...

The Nintendo 3Ds is coming, whether you like it or not. As it turns out, we're in the "like it" group...at least from the little we've heard so far. But as they say in the gaming world, it's all about the software. Here are five games that need to be made for the Nintendo 3Ds.

Star Fox 3

Yeah, that's right. "Star Fox 3." Nintendo hires Q-Games to jump back on the Lylat Wars bus, with Dylan Cuthbert at the helm to create an official sequel to 1996's unreleased "Star Fox 2." Prepped for the 3Ds launch—and following a "Star Fox 2" release on Virtual Console—"Star Fox 3" will act as a technological benchmark for three-dimensional game presentation, just like it did with the FX Chip back in the day. When you do a barrel roll in your highly detailed, cel-shaded Arwing, the fighter will look like you can touch it in the real world.

Nintendo's "Kid Icarus" hero Pit could have another Wii title left in him. The winged archer appeared as a fighter in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl," and his first game on the Nes is available for the Virtual Console, but he may have a shot at title credits once more if his creators figure out how to make him fit.

"I don't know personally about any project underway regarding 'Kid Icarus,' but if so many of those people are interested in it and really want to see it on the Wii they should really speak up," one of the original "Kid Icarus" developers Yoshio Sakamoto told Kotaku.

Conveniently enough, Nintendo producer Eiji Anouma loves arrow-shooting games. Perhaps they should give him a call. Maybe they could give Pit a crossbow in the new game and get some more mileage out of that Wii Zapper. I actually wouldn't mind a good...

Series co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto has revealed that the upcoming Metroid Other M will focus on storyline and character development. Speaking to Game Life, the Nintendo exec said that the new title will help flesh out the character of Samus Aran and bridge the gap between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. "One of my goals is to present Samus as an appealing human character, and that involves explaining a little bit about what happened in her past as well as the characters that influenced her," he said. "The story will play a big part." Sakamoto's words suggest a departure from the action-driven Metroid Prime trilogy, but (more)...