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Hotel Dusk: Room 215

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Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Developer(s)Cing
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Taisuke Kanasaki
Producer(s)Takuya Miyagawa
Designer(s)Rika Suzuki
Artist(s)
  • Taisuke Kanasaki
  • Keisuke Sakamoto
Writer(s)Rika Suzuki
Composer(s)Satoshi Okubo
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
  • NA: January 22, 2007
  • JP: January 25, 2007
  • AU: February 22, 2007
  • EU: April 13, 2007
  • KOR: February 12, 2009
Genre(s)Point-and-click adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (known in Japan as Wish Room: Angel's Memory (ウィッシュルーム　天使の記憶, Wisshu Rūmu Tenshi no Kioku) is a point-and-click adventure game for the Nintendo DS. Originally called Wish Room,[1] the game debuted at E3 on May 9, 2006.[2] It was initially released in North America on January 22, 2007, and later internationally. The game supports the Nintendo DS Rumble Pak accessory.

Hotel Dusk was developed by the now-defunct Cing. It was re-released in 2008 under Touch! Generations line of DS (Dual Screen) games. A sequel, Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, was released in 2010 for the DS.

Gameplay

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Screenshot of gameplay showing both DS screens in their vertical format

The player, as Kyle Hyde, interacts with the environment using the Nintendo DS's touch screen. Gameplay involves navigating the hotel, speaking with hotel staff and patrons, and solving puzzles using the handheld's various features including the touch screen, microphone, and clamshell cover. The game is played with the DS rotated 90 degrees like a book.

Most chapters end with an interrogation of a major character, as a form of boss fight. The player may ask questions about items that Kyle has collected, or topics which have been brought to his attention. By asking the right questions, Kyle will uncover the information he needs. If he asks the wrong question, he makes a wrong assumption, behaves rudely, gets caught with contraband, or is caught in a restricted area, he may confuse, frighten or anger the person, indicated by the character image darkening. This may result in a game over, which usually involves the hotel manager expelling him from the premises, or a crucial character refusing to cooperate, preventing him from ever solving the mystery.

Many of the games puzzles involve using the touch screen to perform a simple task. Movement is performed by leading an iconic representation of Kyle around a map of the hotel on the touch screen or d-pad, while a first-person three-dimensional view is shown on the other screen.

The game includes a journal to record notes in, with the player able to write and erase across three pages. All critical in-game story notes are copied automatically.

Synopsis

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The game takes place on in a Los Angeles hotel, Hotel Dusk, and centers on Kyle Hyde a former N.Y.P.D. detective, now working as a salesman in order to find his missing police partner, Brian Bradley. At the hotel, he checks in to Room 215, which is rumored to grant wishes. At the hotel, Hyde dives into a series of interconnected mysteries about art forgery, kidnappings, murder, his missing partner, and the criminal organization Nile.

Development

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Hotel Dusk was in production for about a year and a half. The development team comprised 20 staff members. In an interview with QJ.net, director Taisuke Kanasaki explained that the development team wanted Hotel Dusk to have "an unprecedented visual expression not found in any other game".[3]

The game uses rotoscoping to animate its characters. Game environments are illustrated in a brushwork style, with backgrounds drawn half-finished and 3D objects strewn about. While not a first in gaming, rotoscoping is still rare in most games (with only a handful, including the original Prince of Persia, using the animation style).[4][5] Many of the character designs were actually influenced by their actors.[6]

Reception

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Hotel Dusk: Room 215 received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregation website Metacritic.[7] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 33 out of 40.[12]

The game was selected as one of Gaming Target's "52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2007".[24] It was the 76th best-selling game in Japan in 2007, with 213,208 copies sold.[25] A retrospective at Kotaku described the experience as "a big puzzle; everyone has a secret, and the writing (and localization) is done so well." The reviewer added that they were "constantly surprised by the characters and their motivations".[26] 411Mania gave it a score of seven out of ten, saying that the game is "easy to like and easier to want to get more of."[27]

The New York Times gave Hotel Dusk an average review, calling it "unrelentingly linear".[28] The Sydney Morning Herald gave it three stars out of five, and said: "Having to wait until the game lets you solve a riddle even though you have grasped the solution long ago is particularly galling. Players too often feel like passengers on a scripted ride, rather than individual auteurs directing their own unique experience".[23] The A.V. Club gave it a D+ and pointed out that "while a mystery should keep you alert for clues and misstatements, Hotel Dusk slaps you in the forehead with every new piece of evidence, then patronizes you with reading-comprehension quizzes after every chapter".[22]

In 2011, Adventure Gamers named Hotel Dusk the 65th-best adventure game ever released.[29]

Sequel

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A sequel, Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, released in 2010 in Japan and Europe.[30] It takes place in Los Angeles, California during 1980, one year after the events of Hotel Dusk. Due to developer Cing's bankruptcy, Last Window was not released in North America.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Anoop Gantayat (October 5, 2005). "Nintendo Announces New DS Games". IGN. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  2. ^ Guy Cocker (May 11, 2006). "E3 2006: Nintendo tips handheld hand". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  3. ^ "Cing talks about Hotel Dusk and Another Code, hints at possible sequels on the Wii". QuickJump. June 20, 2007. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  4. ^ Frank, Allegra (March 11, 2016). "Hotel Dusk team regroups to tell hard-boiled detective story on Nintendo 3DS". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  5. ^ Steven Nguyen Scaife (September 23, 2019). "Undone follows a rich tradition of deliberate rotoscope animation". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  6. ^ Extension, Time (May 25, 2023). "Fan Pulls Back The Curtain On Hotel Dusk & Last Window's Incredible Animations". Time Extension. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  8. ^ Emily Morganti (February 25, 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215 review". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  9. ^ Edge staff (March 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215". Edge. No. 173. p. 80.
  10. ^ EGM staff (February 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215". Electronic Gaming Monthly. p. 97.
  11. ^ John Walker (February 26, 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 13, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  12. ^ a b rawmeatcowboy (January 17, 2007). "A couple of Famitsu reviews". GoNintendo. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  13. ^ Matthew Kato (March 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  14. ^ This Old Man (January 26, 2007). "Review: Hotel Dusk: Room 215". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 3, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  15. ^ Joe Dodson (January 26, 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  16. ^ Alex Navarro (January 23, 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  17. ^ Eduardo Vasconcellos (January 26, 2007). "GameSpy: Hotel Dusk: Room 215". GameSpy. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  18. ^ "Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Review". GameTrailers. January 25, 2007. Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  19. ^ Dylan Platt (May 30, 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - NDS - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  20. ^ Craig Harris (January 24, 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  21. ^ "Hotel Dusk: Room 215". Nintendo Power. Vol. 213. March 2007. p. 88.
  22. ^ a b Chris Dahlen (January 29, 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  23. ^ a b Jason Hill (March 1, 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  24. ^ GT staff (January 1, 2008). "52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2007: Part 2". Gaming Target. Archived from the original on September 6, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
  25. ^ "Top 500 Japanese Games Of 2007". Play-Asia.com. April 14, 2008. Archived from the original on April 14, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  26. ^ Peter Tieryas (June 22, 2019). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Is A Compelling Story About Loss And Guilt". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  27. ^ Adam Smith (February 21, 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS) Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  28. ^ Charles Herold (February 8, 2007). "Talking the Talk and Compiling the Clues". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  29. ^ AG Staff (December 30, 2011). "Top 100 All-Time Adventure Games". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  30. ^ Thomas East (July 14, 2010). "Last Window UK release date confirmed". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  31. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (October 12, 2014). "Five Games Never Released In North America That Would Be Easy To Port". Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
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