Famicom Tantei Club Part II: Ushiro ni Tatsu Shōjo
Encyclopedia
is a text-based adventure game released by Nintendo
in 1989 for the Family Computer Disk System. The original version was released in two discs in 1989, and the game was ported to the Super Famicom and the Game Boy Advance several years later. The Super Famicom version was released for the Wii
's Virtual Console
in Japan on April 30, 2008 and the Famicom version for the Virtual Console on December 22, 2009. Neither version of the game was ever released outside of Japan.
, and is the second game of the Famicom Tantei Club series. Its scenario was written by Nagihiro Asama, based on the concept by Yoshio Sakamoto
. Kenji Yamamoto
composed the game music. The popularity of Part I: Kieta Kōkeisha prompted the release of this sequel, which employed the similar graphic-adventure gameplay. The game was re-released on the Nintendo Power
cartridge rewriting service in 1998 with improved graphics and sound, and the Disk System version was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2004 as part of the Famicom Mini series. The murder and smoking scenes resulted in a CERO
(ages 15+) rating for the GBA release, making it the first Nintendo title to receive a parental advisory rating.
The objective is to solve two cases; the murder of a schoolgirl investigating her school's ghost story, and an older murder nearing legal expiration
. Like the previous game in the series, the game progresses as the player chooses from a set of commands displayed on a menu. These commands are used to interact with other characters and the game's environment, examine clues, or review facts. The results of choosing each command are displayed in the text.
schoolgirl
named Yoko Kojima. Her time of death is estimated to be around 9-10 PM on October 10. Throughout Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3, the protagonist will need to gather information from Ushimitsu High School
to solve the Yoko case, and connect it with the Genjiro Kaneda case. Yoko was deep into an investigation of "The Tale of the Girl in Back"; this rumor involves a ghost of a blood-soaked girl that stands behind a student.
The "Girl in Back" story originated 15 years ago, when a schoolgirl of Ushimitsu, Shinobu Asakawa went missing. This was around the same time of the murder of Genjiro Kaneda; that case's statute of limitations was going to expire soon. In Chapter 4, the player will learn more background about the ghost story. Ms. Hayama, a teacher at the school, admits to the protagonist that she started the rumor. On the night of the Kaneda murder, the then sophomore went to the school to get some forgotten homework, but saw the "Girl in Back".
In Chapter 5, Hayama confirms passing by the old school building during the night she saw the "Girl in Back", but the wall was unfinished. During the conversation, the protagonist catches Tazaki eavesdropping
. He tries to chase him down, but fails. After he returns to the detective agency, Ayumi gives him a cup of coffee that makes him go unconscious
. As this happens, the game flashes back to the previous events.
When he gains his consciousness in Chapter 6, he realizes Ayumi drugged his coffee; a letter from Ayumi says she went to track down Tazaki herself. The game then depicts him searching through a town, and ending up in a downtown galleria. Eventually, he ends up from Tazaki's apartment, to his mother's village, and finally down a cliff, where Ayumi is kept hostage by an unstable Tazaki. He threatens to kill her, but gives up afterward. He confesses about his false alibi and talks of his past. In Chapter 7, the protagonist has the altruistic Urabe admit he lied about Tazaki's alibi, but he showed no regrets. The protagonist will find that many students and teachers - particularly Mr. Hibino - respect Urabe as a fine educator.
Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 provide background information for Shinobu, Urabe, and Goro. The the protagonist notices a portrait of Shinobu in the school; the painter, Ryoko Katsuragi, tells the protagonist about Shinobu's personality. Yoko and Shinobu were also cousins. When the protagonist arrives at Goro's apartment, the game presents a scene of Goro getting murdered. The protagonist realizes that Goro was the man Urabe hanged out with at the galleria. He was holding a pen with the initials "T.U."; these match the initials of Teruhiko Uchida and Tadashi Urabe.
Chapter 10 elaborates more on Shinobu's friend, whose last name was Uchida. Sayaka Ishibashi tells the protagonist that the Uchida boy was indeed Teruhiko's son, Tatsuya. This boy later turns out to be Tatsuya Hibino. Hibino tells the protagonist about how he developed his father-son relationship with Urabe. He also shows his extreme resentment towards the Kanedas. He has no alibi for the Goro murder, but throws a temper tantrum when the protagonist considers Urabe a suspect.
Chapter 11 makes up the final chapter of the game's narrative. Conversing with Hayama, the protagonist realizes Urabe was never on any business trip, as he claimed before. When she went to school on the night of the Kaneda murder, through the window of the old school building did she see the bloody girl - this was likely Shinobu. Tazaki reveals that on that night he was indeed plastering the wall of the old school building, but he took a break. The next morning, it looked like someone had used his tools.
Back at the detective agency, a resentful tipster calls to tell that the "lowlife" was at the school. Ayumi was taking a make-up test for Hibino before they went outside to meet the protagonist. The three break through the door into Urabe's office, and the player is shown a visual of the suicide
d Urabe. Urabe had left a suicide letter; on it, he shamefully confesses as the serial killer.
The next scene reveals the shattered Hibino as the serial killer. During flashback cutscenes, Hibino makes detailed confessions of his murders. After confessing about Genjiro, Shinobu, Goro, and Yoko, he tries to slash the cornered protagonist and Ayumi in the hallway with the giant mirror. Instead, he ends up shattering it into pieces. It reveals the corpse of Shinobu; as police, Maruyama, and Utsugi arrive, Ayumi faints.
After the climactic revelations, the game cuts back to the agency; Utsugi and the protagonist discuss their findings. Afterwards, Utsugi introduces Ayumi as an official assistant of his. When the protagonist asks Utsugi about the "T.U." pen, he does not answer why it didn't read "T.H." instead - but he and Ayumi go out to eat, leaving the protagonist behind. The screen cuts to black, as he is left thinking about Urabe's covering up his friends' mistakes and the true meaning behind "T.U."; he thinks it could mean Tatsuya Urabe,showing how Tadashi considered Tatsuya to be his son (hypothetically) .
After the credits roll, the game goes into its epilogue, "two years later." Zenzou Tanabe calls the Utsugi Detective Agency over to his Myojin Village. The protagonist goes out to the village, while leaving behind Ayumi. The game's plot would continue into Famicom Tantei Club: The Missing Heir
; this game is chronologically a prequel to the first game in the series.
The protagonist
Shunsuke Utsugi
Ayumi Tachibana
Yoko Kojima
Tatsuya Hibino
Akie Kojima
Tetsuharu Komada
Tadashi Urabe
Hisako Hayama
Toshio Tazaki
Maruyama
Shinobu Asakawa
Genjiro Kaneda
Goro Kaneda
Hitomi Kawai
Mizuno
Fumi Tazaki
Kato
Ryoko Katsuragi
Sayaka Ishibashi
Teruhiko Uchida
, who composed sound and music for Super Metroid
and for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
. It utilizes the FDS's extra sound channel for the music.
The SFC remake had improved graphics - directed by Tomoyoshi Yamane, object and Samus designer for Super Metroid and designer for Wario Land 4
and Metroid II: Return of Samus
; the remake's music was yet again composed by Kenji Yamamoto. Since the SFC version is on a cartridge instead of a Disk Card, it avoids the load times when saving games and switching between scenes. The SFC version utilized the SFC's 8-channel Sony
SPC700
, which had more channels than the Famicom's 5-channel Ricoh 2A03
and the FDS's channel together. The SFC version generally had extended remixes all of the original version's songs, and a few extra songs. The game uses either waveforms or white noise to "voice" the characters. The FDS version's voice waveforms are all the same frequency square waves, but in the SFC version, each character is designated to one of a number of different voice waveforms. In the original FDS version, for the protagonist's search for Ayumi, the game required the player to manually go through the town as a pseudo-3D maze; the SFC version had this trimmed down to just text and visual descriptions.
The SFC version adds a "memo" interface that the player can access throughout most of the game. It can be used to look up information on most of the characters (except the protagonist himself, Utsugi, Maruyama, Fumi Tazaki, and all unnamed characters). At some points, the memo's interface is used to fill in question blanks with the names of the correct characters. The memo is also utilized during most "Review" sessions, where the protagonist reviews on what new information he discovered so far. This version also has a "logbook" feature, which summarizes all story and information gathered so far in a save file.
The SFC remake adds an extra, final part to the ending - a personality assessment for the entertainment of the player, based on the player's actions and patterns. For example, analyzing or touching Yoko's skirt could have the game assume a flirtatious personality. In addition, based on how the character treats Ayumi, the game will determine the protagonist's "compatibility" with Ayumi, out of 20 hearts. Actions with Ayumi and other schoolgirl characters would be used to select who to match with the protagonist - this includes the art club member, a flirtatious schoolgirl, and Ayumi herself.
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
in 1989 for the Family Computer Disk System. The original version was released in two discs in 1989, and the game was ported to the Super Famicom and the Game Boy Advance several years later. The Super Famicom version was released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
in Japan on April 30, 2008 and the Famicom version for the Virtual Console on December 22, 2009. Neither version of the game was ever released outside of Japan.
History
Ushiro ni Tatsu Shōjo is the successor of and a prequel to Famicom Tantei Club: Kieta KōkeishaFamicom Tantei Club: Kieta Kōkeisha
is a text-based adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System on April 27, 1988 and June 14, 1988. The game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in the Famicom Mini series as a single cartridge in 2004, and became available on the Virtual Console in 2007 for...
, and is the second game of the Famicom Tantei Club series. Its scenario was written by Nagihiro Asama, based on the concept by Yoshio Sakamoto
Yoshio Sakamoto
is a Japanese video game designer working for Nintendo. He is a key member in the development of the Metroid series, having worked as director, scenario designer, and script writer for many of the games. Sakamoto grew up with Nintendo toys, which he noted to be inventive and occasionally "strange"....
. Kenji Yamamoto
Kenji Yamamoto (Nintendo musician)
is a Japanese video game musician working for Nintendo. He was born on April 25, 1964. He is notable for composing music in many titles of the Metroid series, mainly Super Metroid and the Prime trilogy. Yamamoto also plays a role as a music director at Nintendo, overseeing the audio for several...
composed the game music. The popularity of Part I: Kieta Kōkeisha prompted the release of this sequel, which employed the similar graphic-adventure gameplay. The game was re-released on the Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power (cartridge)
The flash RAM cartridge was a Japan-only peripheral produced by Nintendo for the Super Famicom and the Game Boy, which allowed owners to download Super Famicom/Game Boy games onto a special flash memory cartridge for less than what the full cartridge would have cost.During the days of the Family...
cartridge rewriting service in 1998 with improved graphics and sound, and the Disk System version was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2004 as part of the Famicom Mini series. The murder and smoking scenes resulted in a CERO
Computer Entertainment Rating Organization
The is a Japanese entertainment rating organization based in Tokyo. rating video game content in console games with levels of rating that informs the customer of the nature of the product and for what age group it is suitable...
(ages 15+) rating for the GBA release, making it the first Nintendo title to receive a parental advisory rating.
Gameplay
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
. Like the previous game in the series, the game progresses as the player chooses from a set of commands displayed on a menu. These commands are used to interact with other characters and the game's environment, examine clues, or review facts. The results of choosing each command are displayed in the text.
Setting
The game's narrative presumably takes place in modern day Japan. Most of the story takes place in a suburban town, where Ushimitsu High School is located. Nearby is a downtown galleria, housing a subway station, a nightclub, and a bar; the player will also reach the "Sambora Bar & Saloon" at a nearby town, contactable in the game by the phone number "007-1234". Ryoko's house is in this same town. Yoko's house and Tazaki's and Goro's apartments are also visited as well. The past Kaneda residence and snack bar were in this same town as well. When the protagonist needs to search for Ayumi, he will need to visit Tazaki's mother's small fishing village of Marufuku.Prologue
The prologue scene depicts an autumn night "3 years ago" - a 15-year old boy (the protagonist of the game) on the run from two police officers. A man, respected by the police, decides to care of the situation by himself. The man takes the boy to a coffeehouse; the boy ran away from his orphanage to find his parents' whereabouts. The man, a private detective named Shunsuke Utsugi, convinces him to become his assistant.Main plot
A cutscene tells that "a few months later", Utsugi and the protagonist receive a phone call to check over a crime scene; this starts Chapter 1. The victim is a freshmanFreshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
schoolgirl
Schoolgirl
A schoolgirl is a girl attending either primary or secondary school, generally aged between four and eighteen years old.-Academic performance:This has led in some countries to calls for greater equality for education in the school system...
named Yoko Kojima. Her time of death is estimated to be around 9-10 PM on October 10. Throughout Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3, the protagonist will need to gather information from Ushimitsu High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
to solve the Yoko case, and connect it with the Genjiro Kaneda case. Yoko was deep into an investigation of "The Tale of the Girl in Back"; this rumor involves a ghost of a blood-soaked girl that stands behind a student.
The "Girl in Back" story originated 15 years ago, when a schoolgirl of Ushimitsu, Shinobu Asakawa went missing. This was around the same time of the murder of Genjiro Kaneda; that case's statute of limitations was going to expire soon. In Chapter 4, the player will learn more background about the ghost story. Ms. Hayama, a teacher at the school, admits to the protagonist that she started the rumor. On the night of the Kaneda murder, the then sophomore went to the school to get some forgotten homework, but saw the "Girl in Back".
In Chapter 5, Hayama confirms passing by the old school building during the night she saw the "Girl in Back", but the wall was unfinished. During the conversation, the protagonist catches Tazaki eavesdropping
Eavesdropping
Eavesdropping is the act of secretly listening to the private conversation of others without their consent, as defined by Black's Law Dictionary...
. He tries to chase him down, but fails. After he returns to the detective agency, Ayumi gives him a cup of coffee that makes him go unconscious
Unconsciousness
Unconsciousness is the condition of being not conscious—in a mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Being in a comatose state or coma is a type of unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a...
. As this happens, the game flashes back to the previous events.
When he gains his consciousness in Chapter 6, he realizes Ayumi drugged his coffee; a letter from Ayumi says she went to track down Tazaki herself. The game then depicts him searching through a town, and ending up in a downtown galleria. Eventually, he ends up from Tazaki's apartment, to his mother's village, and finally down a cliff, where Ayumi is kept hostage by an unstable Tazaki. He threatens to kill her, but gives up afterward. He confesses about his false alibi and talks of his past. In Chapter 7, the protagonist has the altruistic Urabe admit he lied about Tazaki's alibi, but he showed no regrets. The protagonist will find that many students and teachers - particularly Mr. Hibino - respect Urabe as a fine educator.
Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 provide background information for Shinobu, Urabe, and Goro. The the protagonist notices a portrait of Shinobu in the school; the painter, Ryoko Katsuragi, tells the protagonist about Shinobu's personality. Yoko and Shinobu were also cousins. When the protagonist arrives at Goro's apartment, the game presents a scene of Goro getting murdered. The protagonist realizes that Goro was the man Urabe hanged out with at the galleria. He was holding a pen with the initials "T.U."; these match the initials of Teruhiko Uchida and Tadashi Urabe.
Chapter 10 elaborates more on Shinobu's friend, whose last name was Uchida. Sayaka Ishibashi tells the protagonist that the Uchida boy was indeed Teruhiko's son, Tatsuya. This boy later turns out to be Tatsuya Hibino. Hibino tells the protagonist about how he developed his father-son relationship with Urabe. He also shows his extreme resentment towards the Kanedas. He has no alibi for the Goro murder, but throws a temper tantrum when the protagonist considers Urabe a suspect.
Chapter 11 makes up the final chapter of the game's narrative. Conversing with Hayama, the protagonist realizes Urabe was never on any business trip, as he claimed before. When she went to school on the night of the Kaneda murder, through the window of the old school building did she see the bloody girl - this was likely Shinobu. Tazaki reveals that on that night he was indeed plastering the wall of the old school building, but he took a break. The next morning, it looked like someone had used his tools.
Back at the detective agency, a resentful tipster calls to tell that the "lowlife" was at the school. Ayumi was taking a make-up test for Hibino before they went outside to meet the protagonist. The three break through the door into Urabe's office, and the player is shown a visual of the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
d Urabe. Urabe had left a suicide letter; on it, he shamefully confesses as the serial killer.
The next scene reveals the shattered Hibino as the serial killer. During flashback cutscenes, Hibino makes detailed confessions of his murders. After confessing about Genjiro, Shinobu, Goro, and Yoko, he tries to slash the cornered protagonist and Ayumi in the hallway with the giant mirror. Instead, he ends up shattering it into pieces. It reveals the corpse of Shinobu; as police, Maruyama, and Utsugi arrive, Ayumi faints.
After the climactic revelations, the game cuts back to the agency; Utsugi and the protagonist discuss their findings. Afterwards, Utsugi introduces Ayumi as an official assistant of his. When the protagonist asks Utsugi about the "T.U." pen, he does not answer why it didn't read "T.H." instead - but he and Ayumi go out to eat, leaving the protagonist behind. The screen cuts to black, as he is left thinking about Urabe's covering up his friends' mistakes and the true meaning behind "T.U."; he thinks it could mean Tatsuya Urabe,showing how Tadashi considered Tatsuya to be his son (hypothetically) .
Epilogue
Famicom Tantei Club: Kieta Kōkeisha
is a text-based adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System on April 27, 1988 and June 14, 1988. The game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in the Famicom Mini series as a single cartridge in 2004, and became available on the Virtual Console in 2007 for...
; this game is chronologically a prequel to the first game in the series.
"The Tale of the Girl in Back"
This ghost story circulates in Ushimitsu High School; it serves as the primary plot device in the game (along with the two cases investigated), and the game's subtitle derives from this. It originates "15 years ago", when the then schoolgirl Hayama saw a bloody girl - Shinobu Asakawa - through a window of the old schoolhouse. The Girl in Back haunts a student by calling him/her from behind, presenting herself to the haunting victim as a girl completely covered in blood. A variation of this story tells that she first calls a student behind; after the victim searches, he/she will find the Girl in Back in front of him/her. One version of the story says she appears in hallways; another version says she appears in bathrooms.Characters
The protagoinst is a 15-year old boy, whom Private Detective Shunsuke Utsugi takes in as his apprentice. The protagonist ends up handling a case of the murder of a 16-year old freshman, Yoko Kojima. This connects to the murder of Genjiro Kaneda, a swindler, and the disappareance of a schoolgirl Shinobu Asakawa at the same time. This girl's disappareance is the root of a rumor in Ushimitsu High School, the ghost story of the "Girl in Back"; it started by a then-sophomore Hisako Hayama, in-game a biology teacher in the school. Later on in the game, the son of Genjiro, Goro Kaneda, is murdered. With the help of local freshmen Ayumi Tachibana and Hitomi Kawai, the protagonist eventually discovers English teacher Tatsuya Hibino as the true serial killer. However, the school's janitor Toshio Tazaki, and principal Tadashi Urabe, are considered suspects of these killings beforehand.The protagonist
- The main character of the game is a 15-year old assistant detective for the Utsugi detective agency. The player controls him to solve the case.
Shunsuke Utsugi
- The director of the private detective agency, who is highly regarded by the police force. He is working on the Genjiro Kaneda murder case, and leaves the protagonist in charge of investigating Yoko Kojima's murder. 36 years old.
Ayumi Tachibana
- A first-year student at Ushimitsu high school, and a member of the school's detective club. She cooperates with the protagonist to solve the murder of her closest friend, Yoko Kojima. 15 years old.
Yoko Kojima
- A first-year student at Ushimitsu high school, and also a member of the school's detective club, along with her best friend, Ayumi. She was investigating the school's horror mystery of the "Girl in the Rear" when she was murdered.
Tatsuya Hibino
- An English teacher at Ushimitsu high school. He was Yoko Kojima's homeroom teacher, and seems greatly disturbed by her death. 31 years old.
Akie Kojima
- Yoko's mother. She fell into a shock state after the death of her daughter, but gradually begins to cooperate with the player's investigation. 42 years old.
Tetsuharu Komada
- An art teacher at Ushimitsu high school. He has worked at the school for 35 years; the longest of any of the teachers, and holds some information on the "Girl in the Rear" mystery. He is old friends with principal Urabe. 59 years old.
Tadashi Urabe
- The principal of Ushimitsu high school. He is greatly respected by both teachers and students as a fair and committed educator. He remains calm in the wake of the murder, but feels guilty that he was unable to protect his students. 57 years old.
Hisako Hayama
- A biology teacher at Ushimitsu high school. She is also a graduate of the school. 32 years old.
Toshio Tazaki
- A janitor working at Ushimitsu high school. He is usually quite calm and normal, but is regarded as an oddball because of his quick temper. He has been working at the school for about 20 years, and used to work as a mortarMortar (masonry)Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
mason. 58 years old.
Maruyama
- A detective working for the police force who is a close friend of Utsugi. He is currently working on the final investigation of the Genjiro Kaneda murder, which occurred 15 years ago.
Shinobu Asakawa
- A high school student of Ushimitsu high school who went missing 15 years ago. She was 15 years old at the time, and her whereabouts are still unknown.
Genjiro Kaneda
- A local pub owner and swindler who lived near Ushimitsu high school. He tricked many locals out of their money, and was murdered 15 years ago just as the police began an investigation on his fraudulent activities.
Goro Kaneda
- The adopted son of Genjiro Kaneda. He inherited his father's fortune after his death, and lives off the money instead of finding a job. 31 years old.
Hitomi Kawai
- A first-year student at Ushimitsu high school, and was a close friend of Yoko Kojima. He is suspicious of the protagonist at first, but later cooperates with the investigation. 15 years old.
Mizuno
- A local pub owner, and a friend of Goro Kaneda at the time of Genjiro Kaneda's death. 33 years old.
Fumi Tazaki
- Toshio Tazaki's mother. She lives in a small fishing village in Northeastern Japan. 81 years old.
Kato
- The bartender of the "Sanbola" pub. He appears cold and heartless, but was helped by Hitomi Kawai when he was a teenager. 25 years old.
Ryoko Katsuragi
- An alumnus of Ushimitsu high school, who was friends with Shinobu Asakawa. 31 years old.
Sayaka Ishibashi
- Katsuragi's friend. She was in the same class as Shinobu Asakawa in junior-high school. 31 years old.
Teruhiko Uchida
- A local factor owner who was tricked into losing his factory to Genjiro Kaneda. He was originally the primary suspect in Kaneda's murder, but was found dead several days later after committing suicide.
Version differences
The original Disk System version was released in two separate Disk Cards, released separately from each other. Its music was composed by Kenji YamamotoKenji Yamamoto (Nintendo musician)
is a Japanese video game musician working for Nintendo. He was born on April 25, 1964. He is notable for composing music in many titles of the Metroid series, mainly Super Metroid and the Prime trilogy. Yamamoto also plays a role as a music director at Nintendo, overseeing the audio for several...
, who composed sound and music for Super Metroid
Super Metroid
, also known as Metroid 3, is an action-adventure video game and the third game in the Metroid series. It was designed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, programmed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console...
and for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a first-person action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. It is the tenth game in the Metroid series, and the final entry in the Metroid Prime trilogy—excluding two spin-off titles. It was released in...
. It utilizes the FDS's extra sound channel for the music.
The SFC remake had improved graphics - directed by Tomoyoshi Yamane, object and Samus designer for Super Metroid and designer for Wario Land 4
Wario Land 4
Wario Land 4, known as in Japan, is a video game released for the Game Boy Advance system in 2001. In this game, Wario has to gather four treasures to unlock a pyramid and save Princess Shokora from The Golden Diva...
and Metroid II: Return of Samus
Metroid II: Return of Samus
is an action-adventure video game, the second game in the Metroid series, and the only one developed for the Nintendo Game Boy. The sixth installment in the overall series story, the game was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 , and published by Nintendo in North America in November...
; the remake's music was yet again composed by Kenji Yamamoto. Since the SFC version is on a cartridge instead of a Disk Card, it avoids the load times when saving games and switching between scenes. The SFC version utilized the SFC's 8-channel Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
SPC700
SPC700
The Nintendo S-SMP is the audio CPU of the SNES video game console.The SNES contains a sound module called APU which is almost completely separate from the rest of the system: it is clocked at a nominal 24.576 MHz in both NTSC and PAL systems, and can only communicate with the main board via 4...
, which had more channels than the Famicom's 5-channel Ricoh 2A03
Ricoh 2A03
The Ricoh 2A03 or RP2A03 / Ricoh 2A07 or RP2A07 is the 8-bit microprocessor in the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. It was manufactured by Ricoh...
and the FDS's channel together. The SFC version generally had extended remixes all of the original version's songs, and a few extra songs. The game uses either waveforms or white noise to "voice" the characters. The FDS version's voice waveforms are all the same frequency square waves, but in the SFC version, each character is designated to one of a number of different voice waveforms. In the original FDS version, for the protagonist's search for Ayumi, the game required the player to manually go through the town as a pseudo-3D maze; the SFC version had this trimmed down to just text and visual descriptions.
The SFC remake adds an extra, final part to the ending - a personality assessment for the entertainment of the player, based on the player's actions and patterns. For example, analyzing or touching Yoko's skirt could have the game assume a flirtatious personality. In addition, based on how the character treats Ayumi, the game will determine the protagonist's "compatibility" with Ayumi, out of 20 hearts. Actions with Ayumi and other schoolgirl characters would be used to select who to match with the protagonist - this includes the art club member, a flirtatious schoolgirl, and Ayumi herself.
Graphics
For the SFC version, all of the scenes were redrawn, and some were extended into multiple drawings. Unlike the FDS version's art, directed by Tetsuji Tanaka, the remake uses the SFC's graphical capabilities to execute cinematic techniques, including scrolling, transparency, stylistic, and fading effects. In addition, the SFC versions adds close-ups of characters during specific scenes; examples of this enhancement include Tazaki's holding Ayumi hostage and Hibino's temper tantrum. Flashback sequences are given more detail - for example, the cutscene of Hayama's account of the Girl in Back shows a younger Hayama and the background of the school behind her. Other stylistic changes in the artwork include a blue silhouette of the Girl in Back during a cutscene about the ghost and the sketched style of one of the ending screens. In the original FDS version, some of the anonymous characters cannot be seen; however, the SFC version provides visuals of nearly all anonymous characters the protagonist encounters.Easter eggs
- If the protagonist calls specific numbers on the phone - in the detective agency or in Ryoko's house - the player can receive special messages. Calling 110 would lead to a prank call to a police emergency operator, and calling 119 would lead to a prank call to a medical/fire emergency operator. Dialing 104 contacts a directory inquiry operator, dialing *16 contacts a lunch delivery service, and dialing 177 provides weather forecast information. If before the 10th day of the investigation, it will tell that "today" was mild, but started with "light" rain; otherwise (if not in Ryoko's house), it will tell of a prediction that "tomorrow" will have rainy thunderstorms. Additionally, the player can call the Sambora bar (007-1234) when it's not needed or even if the protagonist doesn't have Hitomi's matches, which the player normally needs to know the Sambora's phone number.
- There is a falseFalse endingA false ending has two contexts; in literature it is a narrative device where the plot seems to be heading to its conclusion, but in reality, there's still more to the story. In a musical composition, it is a complete stop of the song for one or more seconds before continuing.The presence of a...
game overGame overGame Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
easter eggEaster eggEaster eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans...
in the game. The protagonist needs to over-analyze a police officer's breasts, irritating her. If they are analyzed for a third time, the police officer jokingly unleashes a (false) game over onto the player, breaking the fourth wall; after that, the police officer will degrade the protagonist when he introduces himself. Alternately, the protagonist can explicitly sexually harassSexual harassmentSexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
the police officer by attempting to grab her breasts; this will almost immediately lead to the fake game over.
- Even after complimenting her painting to convince the art club member to talk with him, the protagonist can still irritate her. If the player analyzes her torso, she will assume that the protagonist is a pedophile. If the protagonist discusses all topics and questions her about the Girl in Back again, the schoolgirl will be irritated and return to her painting.
- When Mr. Komada uncovers his prank to the protagonist, he usually leaves the art room right after. However, occasionally he will just reveal his prank and not leave the room. Mr. Komada will not respond to anything the protagonist asks him; to proceed, the player needs to select "Quit". Subsequently, the protagonist jokingly pretends to be depressed about his prank to convince him to talk; then does Mr. Komada leave the room.
- On his search for Ayumi, when the protagonist asks a pimp about Ayumi, references are made to two of Neon Genesis EvangelionNeon Genesis Evangelion, commonly referred to as Evangelion, is a commercially and critically successful Japanese anime series that began airing in October 1995. The series was highly influential, and launched the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. It garnered several major animation awards...
's characters, ReiRei Ayanamiis a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, a Japanese anime from Gainax. She is the First Child and pilot of the Evangelion Unit 00....
and AsukaAsuka Langley Soryuis a 14-year old fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. Within the series, she is designated as the Second Child and the pilot of the Evangelion Unit 02...
; he offers two girls of these names to the protagonist. This is only on the SFC remake; it is not on the original FDS version, which was released on 1989, before the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise began on 1995.
Legacy
- "Ayumi Tachibana" appears as a collectible trophy in the Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
title, Super Smash Brothers Melee. The game includes a short paragraph explaining that she first appeared in Famicom Tantei Club Part II, which her first appearance was actually in Famicom Tantei Club: Kieta KōkeishaFamicom Tantei Club: Kieta Kōkeishais a text-based adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System on April 27, 1988 and June 14, 1988. The game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in the Famicom Mini series as a single cartridge in 2004, and became available on the Virtual Console in 2007 for...
. It also claims that she solved the murder of "one of her friends" (Yoko) in the first installment, but that was in the second installment, not the first. Contrary to what the description says, Ayumi never opened her own detective agency; at the most, her backstory tells that she opened a school detective club with Yoko, and she becomes an assistant of Utsugi's agency.
- A fan translation of the SFC version was released on October 10, 2004 by a fan translation group named "Neo Demiforce", and "Tomato" of Starmen.Net. Besides text changes, some aspects of the game are also somewhat Americanized, including the accents and slang in Tazaki's and Hitomi's speech, a reference to the American Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
the change of a Japanese character on the Ushimitsu High School sign to a "U", and the removal of the Japanese characters on the detective agency window blinds. The schoolgirl ghost's name can be literally translatable as the "Girl who Stands in the Back"; the fan translation trims this down to the "Girl in Back". An easter egg is integrated onto the old schoolhouse's wall; the graffiti there says "Demiforce forever!".
External links
- Official Nintendo website (Japanese)
- Famicom Detective Club Part II at NinDB