About this game
Famicom Detective Club Part II: The Girl Who Stands Behind is a mystery adventure game released in 1989 on the Famicom Disk System, and a prequel to the 1988 original. The player investigates the murder of a high school student whose ghost appears standing behind people — and the secret of an unsolved case at the same school from years prior. Produced by Gunpei Yokoi and directed by Satoshi Okada, the game was inspired by Italian horror director Dario Argento's techniques of synchronizing music with imagery to generate dread. It remained Japan-exclusive for 32 years until the Nintendo Switch remake brought English subtitles in May 2021.
Key Features
Classic Japanese adventure game command-based investigation. Two-part structure across separate FDS disks. Composer Kenji Yamamoto deliberately mixed regular game music at half-volume, then maximized volume for the game's climactic final scene for maximum impact. Full voice acting added in the 2021 Nintendo Switch remake. Option to switch between the original 8-bit soundtrack and the new score.
The Story Behind
Producer Gunpei Yokoi cited Dario Argento — specifically Deep Red (1975) and Suspiria (1977) — as the primary creative inspiration, marking one of the earliest documented cases of Italian giallo horror influencing a Japanese video game. The game's scenario writer hid their name as an anagram in the credits, and the packaging artwork was sketched in a shojo manga aesthetic by designer Toru Osawa. For 32 years, this was inaccessible to non-Japanese players — a masterpiece of interactive mystery fiction hidden behind a language barrier.
Tricks & Tales
Composer Kenji Yamamoto's sound design is a deliberate psychological tool: regular in-game music runs at approximately half the standard volume throughout the game, conditioning the player to a certain audio level — then the final climactic scene hits at maximum volume, creating maximum physiological shock. The scenario writer's credit uses a deliberate anagram of their actual name. The 2021 Nintendo Switch remake by MAGES. is the first version with English text, ending a 32-year wait for international players.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Japan-exclusive until the Nintendo Switch remake (May 14, 2021), which added English subtitles and Japanese voice acting. All previous versions — Super Famicom (1998), GBA (2004), Wii (2008), 3DS (2013) — were Japan-only. Original FDS disks (both parts) are considered rare collector's items.
Available in our shop
Hand-cleaned and tested units shipped worldwide from Toyohashi, Japan. HP direct purchase exclusive: we include a printed shop owner's note card with every order.
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