While they may not be blockbuster-level releases, Nintendo's obscure Famicom Detective Club games arrive on Switch next week, making this a notable moment for the system. As Nintendo itself has called them, these two games are "deep cuts" from the company's early years, a pair of previously unlocalized visual novels that originally launched for the Famicom Disk System (hence their namesake) back in the late '80s. This marks the first time either title is ever being released outside of Japan, and I hope Nintendo continues to bring more of these kinds of curiosities to the West.

If nothing else, the Famicom Detective Club remakes are noteworthy for their historical value. As with Fire Emblem, my own introduction to the series came through Super Smash Bros. Melee. The fighting game featured a number of trophies calling back to Japan-only titles, including one of Famicom Detective Club's heroine, Ayumi Tachibana. That small Easter egg was a fascinating glimpse at a lesser-known piece of Nintendo's oeuvre, but I had long assumed the series would remain just that--a footnote in the company's history. Their release on Switch, however, finally gives players outside of Japan their first official chance to experience the titles, and introduces the forgotten series to a modern audience.

What also makes Famicom Detective Club interesting is the team behind it. The games were originally developed by Nintendo R&D1, the division that produced Kid Icarus and Metroid (among other titles). Many of the developers who worked on those classics had a hand in Famicom Detective Club, including Yoshio Sakamoto. While he is perhaps best known for his work on the Metroid series, Sakamoto was responsible for penning the script for both Famicom Detective Club titles--some of his earliest writing credits on a video game.