With the recent localization of the Famicom Detective Club games to the Switch, I've been interested in checking out the original games just to compare the graphics and scenes.
I loaded up the first game, The Missing Heir, using the latest version of Win32 FCEUX downloaded fresh from the website. However, the graphics for characters in the game are often corrupted and glitchy. Some people look fine, others don't, but outside of that the game seems to run fine.
A normal forensics officer, looking fine:
A glitched doctor:
Here's what the doctor is supposed to look like:
...Ok, yes, I'm kidding. But this sort of comparison is what I've been trying to do, and it doesn't work very well when half the people are screwed up!
I also tested this on puNES, apparently one of the most accurate Famicom emulators out there. Same situation.
This is not only my problem...the only other footage I've found of the game also has the same issue:
I don't know what emulator this person was using, but it's not FCEUX, the menu structure was different.
My question is, where does the problem likely lie? Do most emulators have a coding flaw when it comes to interpreting the way Famicom Detective Club handles people? Or is the only widespread copy of Famicom Detective Club corrupted in some way?
And does anyone know how we can go about fixing this?
If anyone else goes searching for this game, you may find it under the name Famicom Tantei Club: Kieta Koukeisha.
And if anyone decides to look into this, here are the in-game steps to reproduce in order to get to the first glitched person:
Boot up the game and press start on the first title screen menu option to start.
きく -> じぶんのこと
しらべる -> じぶんのからだ
ばしょいどう -> じこげんば
しらべる -> じこげんば
きく
しらべる -> どこ? -> Move your cursor and select the person up on the cliff.
ばしょいどう -> がけのうえ
きく -> なまえ
きく -> じぶんのこと
ばしょいどう -> うつぎじむしょ
きく -> じむしょ
きく -> うつぎのこと
きく -> うなかみのがけ
しらべる -> どこ? -> Move your cursor and select the note on the table.
ばしょいどう
おもいだす -> Enter your name.
Watch the intro sequence of the game, then when prompted, eject the disk, flip it to side B, and re-insert.
The first scene that comes up will show a glitched train station clerk.