The Schoolgirl Famicom Detective, Ayumi Tachibana for Smash Switch (Famicom Detective Club Remakes Coming to the Switch)

[dezeray112]

Oh c'mon really??? Please oh please let this get localized.

We should start a petition or something right? Something like Rainfall?

I'd totally sign the petition for the game to be localised if there is one anywhere.

 

[GoodGrief741]

Surprised no one posted an image of her new design (she wasn't featured in the announcement):

Spoiler

Source: https://www.famitsu.com/news/201909/05182634.html


Probably because they would need to translate all the dialogue is featured in the trailer, the menu and things like that. Nintendo have announced some titles in their japanese direct that they weren't featured in the west direct, but later they were featured, like the last Dillon game. And, if not, people can push other companies to localize them like Culdcept.
Being a heavy-text game and not done by Nintendo themselves probably means it won't have an international release, and it will be localized some time after. The big problems of this game are, probably, they won't translate to other languages like spanish, italian and maybe french and german and a lack of a physical edition.

New design looks awesome! And yeah, I'm really hoping this gets announced for localization later.

I'd totally sign the petition for the game to be localised if there is one anywhere.

I think I might start one.

 

[RileyXY1]

I think that Ayumi could be a serious contender if this remake gets an international release.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

I would honestly love the remakes to be released worldwide. Even if Ayumi doesn’t get into Smash this time around, people will be able to experience these magnificent games. I played the translated FDCII and loved it.

 

[smashkirby]

Surprised no one posted an image of her new design (she wasn't featured in the announcement):

Spoiler

Source: https://www.famitsu.com/news/201909/05182634.html

Aw, she's adorable! Still, I just hope that no one ends up instantly decrying her to be 'That generic anime schoolgirl'....

I hate to bring it up, but I'm pretty sure it's been strongly implied that that complaint is what got her snubbed out of a major reference via Bayonetta wearing her school uniform in Bayonetta 2.

 

[GoodGrief741]

Started a petition! Figured it couldn't hurt. If everyone could share it that would be great.

http://chng.it/vfykGshDZG

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

Started a petition! Figured it couldn't hurt. If everyone could share it that would be great.

http://chng.it/vfykGshDZG

So you made a petition? Nice.

I will sign it and make sure to spread the word. I hope it gets enough attention.

Aw, she's adorable! Still, I just hope that no one ends up instantly decrying her to be 'That generic anime schoolgirl'....

I hate to bring it up, but I'm pretty sure it's been strongly implied that that complaint is what got her snubbed out of a major reference via Bayonetta wearing her school uniform in Bayonetta 2.

It was more that her standard outfit looked like something any schoolgirl would wear and someone in the West would not think the costume in Bayonetta is based on a Nintendo character.

But you are right, some may say her being a schoolgirl would make her a boring Smash choice or how she has nothing to use for a moveset. Reminder that Wii Fot trainee exists. Anyone can have a moveset if they tried. And she was not put in Smash over being obscure to the West than no moveset potential. Sakurai would had thought of something in the past.

 

[chocolatejr9]

Started a petition! Figured it couldn't hurt. If everyone could share it that would be great.

http://chng.it/vfykGshDZG

I signed and sent a link via Facebook. Here's hoping someone will be feeling generous.

 

[RandomAce]

Tbh, I wanted the designs to be matched more closely to the SNES version of the games, but hey, it still looks clean.

Surprised they decided to even do Famicom Detective Club remakes, but maybe the game is a bigger success than a lot of people thought.

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

Tbh, I wanted the designs to be matched more closely to the SNES version of the games, but hey, it still looks clean.

Surprised they decided to even do Famicom Detective Club remakes, but maybe the game is a bigger success than a lot of people thought.

It was a big success. Many Japanese Nintendo fans have vivid memories for how creepy the commercials both games were, many consider The Girl in Back one of the best story focused Famicom games (which it was popular enough for a Super Famicom remake in the past), and it pioneered visual novel games long before they were more common.

This remake could be the case of someone who is so fond of the originals that they want to bring them to life for a modern audience to appreciate it like they did. Which is actually very clever.

 

[RandomAce]

It was a big success. Many Japanese Nintendo fans have vivid memories for how creepy the commercials both games were, many consider The Girl in Back one of the best story focused Famicom games (which it was popular enough for a Super Famicom remake in the past), and it pioneered visual novel games long before they were more common.

This remake could be the case of someone who is so fond of the originals that they want to bring them to life for a modern audience to appreciate it like they did. Which is actually very clever.

Yeah, although in my opinion...

I feel like it would’ve been better and more interesting to have it transition to 3D. Like I understand it may be a bit more work and all, but I feel that by doing that it can help give off that eerie atmosphere better and leave a greater impact. I don’t want to sound whiny but, the artstyle from what I’ve seen feels a little too “light”.

Maybe as we learn more it does end up working well, but the 90’s artstyle of the SNES games fit with the gritty atmosphere, and is actually became memorable for me. I think Ayumi shows this more than anything, with her remake design looking more like your modern anime character, where I feel she could’ve looked more distinct if they made her design to be more similar to the older games.

 

[Kirbeh]

Yeah, although in my opinion...

I feel like it would’ve been way better and interesting to have it transition to 3D. Like I understand it may be a bit more work and all, but I feel that by doing that it can help give off that eerie atmosphere better and leave a greater impact. I don’t want to sound whiny but, the artstyle from what I’ve seen feels a little too “light”.

Maybe as we learn more it does end up working well, but the 90’s artstyle of the SNES games worked very well and is pretty memorable for me. I think Ayumi shows this more than anything, with her remake design looking more like your modern anime character, where I feel she could’ve looked more distinct if they kept her design to be more similar to the older games.

I kind of agree with this to an extent, but to be fair, back then Ayumi still just looked like "an anime character", the standard look/style of the industry has changed, but back then she, the Fire Emblem series, and many others all had art styles reflective of anime of the era.

However I do agree that at times the modern "moe" look of many modern anime/game art styles is probably going to make the spooky/creepy aspect a bit of a harder sell for some.

Of course, we're still basing this off of an extremely early teaser, so it's still a bit too soon to really gauge the direction they want to take it in.

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

Both are fair points.

There is a screenshot of a victim with the knife in his chest just like the original, I feel the tonal balance should be just fine.

And as long as they can make the characters expressive in the style in the more serious moments, it should be good. I do wonder, are Japanese fans liking this new style or mixed on it.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

In same ways, I do see FDC of a product as the time. The style matches what is relevant and considered the hot style to use as far as anime.

I will be unbiased and say that the look for her is not too bad. She is what she is, a fairly adorable highschool girl who is a dealing with the loss of her friend. Now I will wait for more screenshots or gameplay to fully judge it for what it is. The murder scene looks grisly as I would expect, and does it for me more than the NES original Missing Heir.

I would be more interested in seeing some updated screens of The Girl in Back, because that is where I feel the stakes would be higher than the first's basic murder mystery in the mansion plot.

 

[Deleted member]

Seeing some more press pictures, it looks a bit better than the trailer made it seem to at first. Though I do still find the light blue/white UI very clashing with the actual tone of the game, being a murder mystery. Same with the character artwork, it just looks too neat. In my opinion, I think the old style, more specifically the SNES one, looked better, having a more realistic style to it, as well as a darker, somewhat more somber color scheme. Or maybe something like Steains;Gate would've looked good, too.

But it's still too early to say for sure. We've barely seen anything (and nothing from the sequel, to compare them with) and if anything, I think MAGES can be trusted to handle a VN. For now, it's a victory the franchise even got a second chance. Would've been amazing if they could've added the entire trilogy, but hey, not like third game is well known anyway.

Probably because they would need to translate all the dialogue is featured in the trailer, the menu and things like that. Nintendo have announced some titles in their japanese direct that they weren't featured in the west direct, but later they were featured, like the last Dillon game. And, if not, people can push other companies to localize them like Culdcept.

Sorry, ain't buying the language excuse. You're telling me a multibillion company can't put subtitles on a 1.5 minute long trailer? And we've had games with Japanese text and dialogue in western directs in the past as well, including the Xenoblade Chronicles X, Xenoblade 2 (and its DLC). Now I'm not saying it can't come to the west, I'm saying I remain cautious and not getting too hyped up.

 

[dezeray112]

Started a petition! Figured it couldn't hurt. If everyone could share it that would be great.

http://chng.it/vfykGshDZG

And signed. We will probably need to spread the petition and pass the message on to other sites if we want to gain further signatures for the localisation.

 

[smashkirby]

With the somewhat different designs Ayumi appears to have now, maybe she could do what Joker does in Smash, and have six alts. based on her school uniform and two costumes based on her casual wear.

 

[Arcadenik]

Wow! So Famicom Detective Club is getting a remake.

Well, at least Ayumi is now relevant which is more than I can say for Takamaru.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

But it's still too early to say for sure. We've barely seen anything (and nothing from the sequel, to compare them with) and if anything, I think MAGES can be trusted to handle a VN. For now, it's a victory the franchise even got a second chance. Would've been amazing if they could've added the entire trilogy, but hey, not like third game is well known anyway.

The way I see it, they only focused on the original duology since they are mire well known. Maybe if they do well, they could do BS Famicom Detective Club as DLC for the future. Which would be a neat surprise for anyone that never has a Satteleview to play the game. I feel it being dependent on a voice app is the main problem. Like knowing how to adapt that to a modern console. Few Nintendo Switch games, even digital only ones even use voice chat.

Wow! So Famicom Detective Club is getting a remake.

Well, at least Ayumi is now relevant which is more than I can say for Takamaru.

What a timeline we are in. Nintendo is probably playing things safe. Too busy teasing with cameos in Mario games than handing him with people that want to revive the IP like Kamiya or the more recent Suda 51.

As for Smash, Ayumi would be a good character. It is a matter of will she sell or be appealing enough to be seen as a fighter. She would need some serious creativity to work and win over the masses.

 

[Deleted member]

I notice that, while Ayumi was shown here, there's still a severe lack of protagonist, so here:

Spoiler

https://gematsu.com/gallery/albums/...019/Famicon-Tantei-Club_2019_09-04-19_007.png
https://gematsu.com/gallery/albums/...019/Famicon-Tantei-Club_2019_09-04-19_009.png
´Direct links because I don't trust Smashboards image uploader right now.

I even dug out my old WIP model of Ayumi in excitement and started working on it with newfound enthusiasm. It's not in a presentable state right now though.

The way I see it, they only focused on the original duology since they are mire well known. Maybe if they do well, they could do BS Famicom Detective Club as DLC for the future. Which would be a neat surprise for anyone that never has a Satteleview to play the game. I feel it being dependent on a voice app is the main problem. Like knowing how to adapt that to a modern console. Few Nintendo Switch games, even digital only ones even use voice chat.

Well, truthfully, I don't know how important the actual Satellaview hardware is for FTC 3. There are quite a few games which would be perfectly playable on a normal SNES, like BS F-Zero, Zelda or Mario Excitebike. But considering we're talking about remakes, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to circumvent the issue by making a more "standard" game. It sure would be a nice surprise, especially because it's literally unplayable right now.

 

[Flyboy]

That's so awesome! And to see Layton and Ace Attorney get shouted out by Shigeru Miyamoto himself?? Wow. A shame we won't be seeing a new game but the candid answer as a fan really makes me happy.

Well.....I have egg on my face!

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Famicom Detective Club is getting a JP exclusive remake

Holy ****! Bois and gurls, it's time to import!

Surprised no one posted an image of her new design (she wasn't featured in the announcement):

Spoiler

Source: https://www.famitsu.com/news/201909/05182634.html

She's beautiful.

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

I notice that, while Ayumi was shown here, there's still a severe lack of protagonist, so here:

Spoiler

https://gematsu.com/gallery/albums/...019/Famicon-Tantei-Club_2019_09-04-19_007.png
https://gematsu.com/gallery/albums/...019/Famicon-Tantei-Club_2019_09-04-19_009.png
´Direct links because I don't trust Smashboards image uploader right now.

I even dug out my old WIP model of Ayumi in excitement and started working on it with newfound enthusiasm. It's not in a presentable state right now though.

Good luck on your model. I assume this will likely still based on the classic appearance.

 

[mediyogurt]

That's insane! Who saw this coming? I want a localization so bad. Even if it doesn't though, I'll always import. Who knows, maybe this will page the way for a sequel.

 

[mediyogurt]

In also just noticed Yoshi's Sakamoto presented it. That's pretty significant since, if you don't know, he wrote the original games.

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

In also just noticed Yoshi's Sakamoto presented it. That's pretty significant since, if you don't know, he wrote the original games.

I am glad they at least have part of the original creators back for some involvement. That means the remake will be treated with care to be as faithful as possible. It only makes me more excited.

 

[smashkirby]

I notice that, while Ayumi was shown here, there's still a severe lack of protagonist, so here:

Spoiler

https://gematsu.com/gallery/albums/...019/Famicon-Tantei-Club_2019_09-04-19_007.png
https://gematsu.com/gallery/albums/...019/Famicon-Tantei-Club_2019_09-04-19_009.png
´Direct links because I don't trust Smashboards image uploader right now.

I even dug out my old WIP model of Ayumi in excitement and started working on it with newfound enthusiasm. It's not in a presentable state right now though.

Wow, the protagonist also looks amazing! Maybe this is just me, but a part of me kind of wanted him to retain his black jacket from the original games, yet another part of me feels that blue seems like a fitting upgrade.

Also, good luck on your Ayumi model! I don't suppose it'll be based off of her Melee trophy model will it (as that's currently Ayumi's only known appearance in 3D, if I remember correctly)?

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

Wow, the protagonist also looks amazing! Maybe this is just me, but a part of me kind of wanted him to retain his black jacket from the original games, yet another part of me feels that blue seems like a fitting upgrade.

Also, good luck on your Ayumi model! I don't suppose it'll be based off of her Melee trophy model will it (as that's currently Ayumi's only known appearance in 3D, if I remember correctly)?

Yes, Melee is the only time we will ever see Ayumi or an FDC Character in 3D. Unless the remake get CG cutscenes, which I doubt knowing how most VN games work.

I will not lie, I miss the Black Jacket. Unless that one will only be in The Missing Heir while her gets the black jacket in The Girl in Back. The two artworks we see of both characters don’t tell much, since the only scene we saw is from The Missing Heir. I guess we will see soon.

 

[BZL8]

Famicom Detective Club and The Portopia Serial Murder Case (the first game created by Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii) are arguably the most influential visual novels in the medium. Ace Attorney? Fate/Stay Night? Steins;Gate? Zero Escape? Danganronpa? Chances are, they all have Famicom Detective Club and Portopia to thank for essentially laying the groundwork.

Sure Ayumi may not be as well known as some visual novel characters like Phoenix Wright, Saber, Rintaro Okabe, and Monokuma, but with the remake coming and the possibility of a localization, that might change. The only thing holding her back (that is if you view it as an obstacle) is that she is already a spirit in-game.

I'll welcome the inclusion of Ayumi if she gets in, especially a character that has been considered for a while by Sakurai since Melee.

 

[KatKit]

Although I really like her new design and I'm hoping that the remake eventually makes it overseas (and I'm sure it will once they get a company like Aksys to localize it), I still prefer her classic look (and hope she looks more like that in Smash). I'm a sucker for that old school art style.

 

[DogManStar]

I hope this comes over here. I still want Ayumi and now would be a better time than ever for that to happen

 

[Deleted member]

Wait, where does the black jacket come from? I've never seen him in one. The FDS has him in a red cardigan and the SNES remake in a blue denim jacket, albeit in a darker color due to the entire art being darker to begin with. Only other image I could find was him in a brown jacket, but the previous two outfits (red and blue) are pretty much his default ones, depending on game.

Good luck on your model. I assume this will likely still based on the classic appearance.

Also, good luck on your Ayumi model! I don't suppose it'll be based off of her Melee trophy model will it (as that's currently Ayumi's only known appearance in 3D, if I remember correctly)?

It's based on a combination of the SNES artwork and the Melee trophy, to be exact. There are quite a few subtle differences between them. I might go into detail when you can actually upload images again.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Me and Denoxkun came to a conclusion, Operation Tachibana will come in full force now that we hav e something bigger to fight for. Both Smash and to get the remakes localized. We will have a Twitter for the movement ready by next week, I will let you all know when it is down.

Also, we do have a FDC Ayumi Discord server worth joining. If anyone is interested in it, PM me and I will personally give you an invite. We could use more active users and we plan to use the place as a hub for people who are excited for the remakes.

It's based on a combination of the SNES artwork and the Melee trophy, to be exact. There are quite a few subtle differences between them. I might go into detail when you can actually upload images again.

Nice, it all sounds very promising. I do hope that newly found spark inspires more progress, maybe even down to a rough draft at least. This should be a piece of cake for you.

Famicom Detective Club and The Portopia Serial Murder Case (the first game created by Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii) are arguably the most influential visual novels in the medium. Ace Attorney? Fate/Stay Night? Steins;Gate? Zero Escape? Danganronpa? Chances are, they all have Famicom Detective Club and Portopia to thank for essentially laying the groundwork.

Sure Ayumi may not be as well known as some visual novel characters like Phoenix Wright, Saber, Rintaro Okabe, and Monokuma, but with the remake coming and the possibility of a localization, that might change. The only thing holding her back (that is if you view it as an obstacle) is that she is already a spirit in-game.

I'll welcome the inclusion of Ayumi if she gets in, especially a character that has been considered for a while by Sakurai since Melee.

Exactly. We should owe it all to FDC for inspiring all VN novels that we have to this day. It is the grandfather of them all and does have a legacy more people should give credit to. Maybe that is why Sakurai initially thought of wanting her as a fighter, to be that representative for VNs of Nintendo's past. Even before the Shin Onigashima duo.

We can hope that Sakurai thinks about it again, now that she is relevant enough for a modern audience to enjoy.

 

[smashkirby]

You know, now that I take a closer look at Ayumi's second outfit... I have to say, I don't know what it is, but she's pulling off this design REAL well.
View attachment 237293

Wait, where does the black jacket come from? I've never seen him in one. The FDS has him in a red cardigan and the SNES remake in a blue denim jacket, albeit in a darker color due to the entire art being darker to begin with. Only other image I could find was him in a brown jacket, but the previous two outfits (red and blue) are pretty much his default ones, depending on game.

Since I can't seem to get the actual artwork uploaded here:
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/nintendo/images/f/fb/Protagonist(FTC).gif/revision/latest?cb=20100715003651&path-prefix=en

 

[Deleted member]

Also, we do have a FDC Ayumi Discord server worth joining. If anyone is interested in it, PM me and I will personally give you an invite. We could use more active users and we plan to use the place as a hub for people who are excited for the remakes.

Maybe I'll try to check it out later. I downloaded Discord months ago, but never used it so far.

Nice, it all sounds very promising. I do hope that newly found spark inspires more progress, maybe even down to a rough draft at least. This should be a piece of cake for you.

Oh, I do have more than a rough draft, I pretty much finished one the most obnoxious things already, the sailor collar. Right now I'm messing around trying to get the skirt right, before adding details like folds to the clothes.

Man, Ayumi's second outfit... I have to say, I don't know what it is, but she's pulling off this look REAL well.
View attachment 237293



https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/nintendo/images/f/fb/Protagonist(FTC).gif/revision/latest?cb=20100715003651&path-prefix=en

Well, either ya messed up or Smashboards broke again, cause the attachment link isn't working. And as for the protagonist, it is the blue jacket that I mentioned. The game just has a darker artstyle, but it's very noticeable when you compare the jacket to his pants and the link I sent that it is blue.

 

[smashkirby]

Well, either ya messed up or Smashboards broke again, cause the attachment link isn't working.

Man, SB really needs step up their game with these links not working. Anyways, here's a link to which version of Ayumi I was talking about. Again, the new artstyle really compliment this look, IMO.
https://www.famitsu.com/images/000/182/634/z_5d70582168bbe.jpg

And as for the protagonist, it is the blue jacket that I mentioned. The game just has a darker artstyle, but it's very noticeable when you compare the jacket to his pants and the link I sent that it is blue.

Yeah, I think I see it now. Weird question, but is that artwork of the main protagonist taken from the Super Famicom remake?

 

[Deleted member]

Man, SB really needs step up their game with these links not working. Anyways, here's a link to which version of Ayumi I was talking about. Again, the new artstyle really compliment this look, IMO.

I get what you mean, really feels like it's been worse than usual with images breaking everywhere.

Yeah, I think I see it now. Weird question, but is that artwork of the main protagonist taken from the Super Famicom remake?

Yeah, it's from the remake. That one had a different, darker artstyle, which I personally love. It's almost like watercolor and reminds me of early Sugimori artwork from Gen 1 and 2, though where Sugimori had bright, almost white highlights, FTC went for the inverse.

Speaking of artwork though, it's also worth noting that both Famicom games also had a change in style:
the first game went for an almost realistic style, while the second one has a more traditional anime one. And to round it off, let's also talk about the SNES remake, which seems to be a combination of both, featuring more detailed art like FTC1, but with the more traditional anime style from 2. That style was then seemingly kept for the third game. Sadly info is very scarce due to the expendable nature of the Satellaview games and this is the only artwork of said game I could find. Probably even the only one they did.

 

[Garteam]

I don't know how I didn't hear about this. I played the SNES translation of Famicom Detective Club awhile ago and I loved it. It's a super charming game with good dialogue and some genuinely unsettling moments (being translated by Clyde Mandelin also helps, that guy is amazing at what he does). I even had Ayumi in a few of my rosters!

Regarding the chances of a localization and Smash addition, I feel like a localization has a good chance of happening. My guess is that they're waiting to see how the game performs in Japan before sinking the localization money into it. I believe they did something similar for Fire Emblem: Awakening when that game was releasing. So it's probably coming, albeit slightly later than ideal.

Smash is admittedly something I'm a little less optimistic about. It really comes down to two factors, when the game started development and when Sakurai selected the next batch of characters. If Sakurai was aware of the game's development when choosing the second wave, I think the sudden return to the spotlight of Ayumi may motivate him to add her. Likewise, if Sakurai was unaware of this happening when selecting new fighters, it's gonna be somewhat difficult for Ayumi to stand out unless he decides to go back to the NES. Likewise, there's the issue of Ayumi being a Nintendo character. We have no idea if Nintendo characters will finally get a fair shake this wave, but Sakurai's "adding new worlds" makes me a little less optimistic. Then again, Famicom Detective Club is barely represented in Smash (only one spirit of Ayumi), so perhaps that's not stopping him? Likewise, the fact the game is Japan only for the time being could hurt, as Takamaru was rejected for similar reasons. However, if Ayumi is later in the wave, they could possibly sync up her Smash release with Famicom Detective Club's western release ala Corrin?

Point is, there's a lot of moving pieces in this situation, but I believe she could very well be in the running.

Also, could I possibly be added to the support list? I think the idea of a small schoolgirl beating up the likes of Bowser, Ike, and Terry Bogard to be too much fun to pass up.

 

[smashkirby]

Yeah, it's from the remake. That one had a different, darker artstyle, which I personally love. It's almost like watercolor and reminds me of early Sugimori artwork from Gen 1 and 2, though where Sugimori had bright, almost white highlights, FTC went for the inverse.

Speaking of artwork though, it's also worth noting that both Famicom games also had a change in style:
the first game went for an almost realistic style, while the second one has a more traditional anime one. And to round it off, let's also talk about the SNES remake, which seems to be a combination of both, featuring more detailed art like FTC1, but with the more traditional anime style from 2. That style was then seemingly kept for the third game. Sadly info is very scarce due to the expendable nature of the Satellaview games and this is the only artwork of said game I could find. Probably even the only one they did.

It's funny, I legit just found high-quality versions for art of the SNES remake's poster ad and a 'bare-bones' version of the third game's boxart(?) today.

 

[Deleted member]

Well, I come bearing some unexpected news. You guys remember the mystery of Ayumi's spirit artwork? We all were quite puzzled about the source last December, but while looking for artwork for my above post (in Japanese this time), I actually stumbled over the source. This might get a bit lenghty, as usual for me though. Well, let's start.

While going through Google Images, a particular image caught my eye (more on that shortly), which in turn led me to a Japanese fan blog talking about FTC. Scrolling through it didn't reveal much new in terms of art, except for two particular pictures:

Spoiler

One was the artwork used for Ayumi's spirit, but the other had her in a swimsuit, which I've never seen before. Seeing those two pictures piqued my curiosity and I decided to actually take a closer look. First thing I did was check the date and the blog entry is from March 2016, which predates Ultimate by nearly 3 years (December 2019). And that's when I was all like:

Running the site through Google Translate didn't reveal much about about the school uniform artwork, but it said the swimsuit is from the official site:

The official website also shows Ayumi Tachibana in a swimsuit for some reason, is this a service? Then I would like you to make a new illustration version (laughs).

Seeing that the blog is from 2016 and mentions the official site, I took the chance to see if it's still up and luckily the Japanese Wikipedia article for the first game did indeed have a link. While it seems to mostly be focused on the SNES remake and the history of the series, celebrating the "10th anniversary of FamiTan", it does have some FDS era stuff, too. Well, to stop beating around the bush, after going through the pages, I ended up on this page, featuring Ultimate's spirit artwork. And clicking on the left FDS era Ayumi, bring up this page with swimsuit Ayumi. And for good measure, here's the page with the biography of the protagonist and Ayumi, as well as their best known SNES era artworks.

So, there you go, two of the probably most obscure Ayumi artworks straight from Nintendo's very own website. Also writing all this down in a somewhat meaningful order took me way too long than I'd like to admit. But hey, case close, I'd say, I consider it a victory.