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Hotel Dusk: Room 215

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This article is about the game. For the titular building, see Hotel Dusk (place).

Hotel Dusk: Room 215, released in Japan as Wish Room: Tenshi no Kioku (ウィッシュルーム 天使の記憶, lit. "Wish Room: Angel's Memory"), is an adventure game developed by Cing and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in 2007 and is the first game of the Kyle Hyde Saga. The game was later republished in 2008 as part of the Touch! Generations line of DS games. A sequel titled Last Window: The Secret of Cape West was released in 2010 for the Nintendo DS.

While Hotel Dusk is not directly a part of the Another Code series, it was created by the same developer, shares many gameplay similarities with Another Code, and is set in the same fictional universe, yet in a different time.

While the Another Code series was primarily aimed for teenage audiences, Hotel Dusk is aimed for more adult audiences, although it has content suitable for adolescents due to its Teen rating. Hotel Dusk features a gritty narrative, although this game does not feature any graphic or extreme violence, with the exception of characters being clubbed in the head, causing them to lose consciousness and includes a part where the protagonist can die of suffocation if a puzzle is not solved in time.

Gameplay[]

Hotel Dusk is a hybrid of a visual novel game and a mystery/adventure puzzle-solving game. The Nintendo DS is held by its side, as if it were a book, and the two screens show characters looking at each other. The environments in the game are in full 3D and the player navigates Hotel Dusk in a first person perspective. As chapters progress, the player will be able to explore more of the hotel. Players will need to collect useful items, but they need to be careful as doing suspicious activity can get Kyle kicked out.

Kyle during an interrogation with Rosa.

Kyle during an interrogation with Rosa.

During confrontation scenes, the player needs to select the right dialogue options in order to get through the section. If a character flashes red briefly due to Kyle offending them somehow, it is a sign that the player may be heading in the direction of a game over. In order to progress, the player must use their critical thinking skills and be incredibly cautious about jumping to hasty conclusions; the hotel guests sometimes spread misinformation about other residents. Figuring out who is trustworthy and reliable is important in order to uncover the full truth. Additionally, Kyle will ask certain types of questions when having a conversation with others and the icons for these questions has a distinct color, specifically white, yellow and red. Like in Another Code: Two Memories, Kyle attempts to piece information together in his mind whenever a chapter comes to a close and the player has to memorize the information told/presented to them, including events that occurred to pick the correct answer (even if they seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things), so it's advised that the player pays attention during a playthrough.

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Spoiler warning! This article or section reveals major plot details below.

Second Playthrough / New Game+[]

Upon completing the game, the player will unlock a Second Playthrough (Japanese: 2周目) (New Game+) mode, where the gameplay is mostly the same, but with several changes:

  1. After completing the first playthrough, a ☆ mark is added to the far corner of your cleared save file as proof of completion. Loading the save file will begin New Game+.
  2. Dialogue can be skipped much faster.
  3. Rachel's dialogue with Kyle changes, as her tone becomes more casual, teasing, and affectionate towards Kyle. This suggests a more warm and candid relationship between the two compared to the first playthrough.
  4. Lipstick as vending machine prize instead of the Pinkie Rabbit Doll.
  5. A different show is displayed on the lobby TV.
  6. The jukebox has all the songs unlocked from the start.
  7. New events in chapters 9 and 10, which affect the ending.
  8. Guaranteed True Ending, as the penalty from Game Overs is removed.
  9. The post-credits event contains more visual details related to a certain character.
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Spoilers end here.

Development[]

Production took about a year and a half with 20 staff members involved. In an interview with QJ.net, Director Taisuke Kanasaki explained that they wanted Hotel Dusk to have "an unprecedented visual expression not found in any other game".

During the game's creation, Cing managed to contact the Japanese modeling agency (Avocado). The same agency brought said models, so they can be rotoscoped for character animations, thus having the monochrome styled visuals, reminiscent of an old-fashioned chapter book with artwork included, while a brushwork style illustrates the in-game environments with half-finished backgrounds with 3-D objects strewn about.

Synopsis[]

Hotel Dusk stars Kyle Hyde as the protagonist, a 33-year-old ex-detective who works as a salesman for the company, Red Crown. He quit his former job after he shot his partner Brian Bradley in 1976. He shot his friend because Bradley betrayed the police department to the criminal organization, Nile. However, Kyle knew that Bradley wasn't killed by the bullet from his gun and searched for him since then.

Kyle sees a young woman on the way to Hotel Dusk.

Kyle sees a young woman on the way to Hotel Dusk.

On December 28, 1979, the president of Red Crown, Ed Vincent, orders Kyle to drive to Hotel Dusk, where he has to receive a package with the instructions. On the way to the hotel, Kyle sees a lone young woman in a white dress wandering the side of the highway. In the hotel, Kyle meets many people that confront him with their own stories and at the end, he finds out the reason behind Bradley's act.

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Spoiler warning! This article or section reveals major plot details below.

Endings[]

Hotel Dusk contains three endings, as well as two variants of a post-credit scene.

It is unclear what the requirements are for each ending, although it is commonly believed it has to do with the amount of game overs a player receives, as well as the method by which the player wakes up Mila (poking her face, closing the DS, or blowing into the microphone). The common belief is that getting more game overs and poking Mila's face instead of the other methods will increase the odds of Kyle leaving alone.

  • Kyle leaves alone: Kyle simply leaves the hotel alone.
  • Mila goes with Kyle: As Kyle exits the hotel, Mila follows him, asking where he's going. He doesn't answer, suggesting he doesn't really know. Mila asks if she can go with him anyway and he nods. She smiles and gets into the passenger seat and they drive away.
  • Mila goes with Kyle and he gives her the treasure: This ending is only available on New Game+ if the player obtains Mila's Treasure located in Room 220. It is similar to the above ending, although before Mila enters the car, Kyle asks if the box is hers. Mila is shocked, and they both smile, with Kyle doing one of his rare full grins.

In a post-credits scene, a certain young woman will visit Dunning. There are two variants:

  • The woman's upper face is obscured: Shown as the end of the first playthrough.
  • The woman's upper face is shown: Shown at the end of every New Game+.

Characters[]

  • Kyle Hyde – The protagonist, a 33-year-old old salesman. He previously worked for the New York city police department for eight years.
  • Ed Vincent – Kyle's and Rachel's boss at Red Crown.
  • Rachel – A secretary at Red Crown. Kyle phone calls her to research information.
  • Dunning Smith – The manager of Hotel Dusk.
  • Rosa Fox – The maid of Hotel Dusk.
  • Louis DeNonno – The bellhop of Hotel Dusk.
  • Mila Evans – A mysterious young woman who is mute and can't speak. Kyle saw her on the highway near Hotel Dusk.
  • Melissa Woodward – A little girl who resides in Room 219 (Bravery) with her father.
  • Kevin Woodward – Melissa's father who resides in Room 219 (Bravery). He works as a doctor.
  • Martin Summer – A middle-aged man who works as a author, residing in Room 211 (Honor).
  • Helen Parker – An elderly woman who resides in Room 212 (Angel). She is searching for someone dear.
  • Jeff Angel – A 19-year-old resident of Room 213 (Trust).
  • Iris – A woman residing in Room 216 (Success).
  • Jenny – A girl who is connected to Dunning.

Mentioned characters:

Chapters[]

The game consists of 10 chapters that take place during the course of one night.

Music[]

The music in the game was composed by Satoshi Okubo and Yuhki Mori. There was no official soundtrack for the game, although fans ripped it and used the song names from the jukebox.

Reception[]

Hotel Dusk received generally positive reviews and holds a 78/100 on Metacritic. The game was also the 76th best-selling game in Japan in 2007, with 213,208 copies sold.

GameZone gave it a 89/100 and said in their review that, "Hotel Dusk is one of those games that should be used as Exhibit A in the discussion of games legitimacy as a storytelling medium, or even as art. A brilliant art and graphical style, innovative use of the DS’s features, and one of the best noir stories to be told recently in any medium add up to a must-play."

However, some of the critic reviews were on the mixed side with some 6/10 and 7/10 reviews. The A.V. Club in particular posted a very negative 33/100 review, saying people should "save [their] time and money for some real L.A. crime novels."

Despite this, the game has a 8.5/10 user score on Metacritic. Many of the game's fans feel the story is engaging and underrated, with a good sense of humor, emotional moments and fleshed-out well-written believable complex characters with understandable motives and justifications for their actions.

Despite being enjoyed by its adult demographic, the game only got one sequel and didn't receive a anime or manga adaptation, sharing a similar fate to Another Code: Two Memories.

Timeline[]

Note: The timeline is extracted from the Shogakukan Strategy Guide.[1]

  • TTi1956: Robert Evans follows in the footsteps of his parents and becomes the owner of Gallery May.
  • 1958: Mila and Jenny are born.
  • 1959: Hotel Dusk opens and is visited by Helen Parker.
  • 196O: A plane crash occurs in Las Vegas. Iris' mother, Evans' wife, and Dunning's wife lost their lives in this accident. Evans and Dunning, who were college classmates, were reunited and rekindle an old friendship.
  • 1963: Evans discovered a 19th-century painting of Osterzone and published a book about it.
  • 1969: Evans buys Hotel Dusk and becomes its owner.
    • At the direction of Evans, Dunning and Jenny stay at Hotel Dusk.
    • When Mila and Jenny were playing, Mila was thrown by someone and lost consciousness, and from then on she fell into a coma.
    • Helen is reunited with her son Alan at Hotel Dusk.
    • Hotel Dusk is closed.
    • Martin Summer publishes the novel The Secret Word and makes his debut as a novelist.
    • The novel The Secret Word wins the Mystery Grand Prize.
  • 1972: Hotel Dusk remains closed and the owner changes to Dunning.
    • Evans closes Gallery May and disappears.
  • 1974: Dunning resumes operations at Hotel Dusk.
    • Rosa is hired by Dunning as a maid at Hotel Dusk.
  • 1976: From a museum in Manhattan, Osterzone's painting Angel Opening a Door was stolen.
    • Kyle Hyde and Brian Bradley of New York City are investigating the criminal organization Nile.
    • Danny is killed.
    • Kyle shoots Bradley and he falls into the sea.
    • Louis left Manhattan and goes to Hotel Dusk where he becomes a bellhop.
    • Kyle retires from the police department due to the failure of the robbery investigation.
  • 1977: Surgeon Kevin Woodward causes a medical accident and is expected to pay a large amount of compensation.
    • Grace stays at Hotel Dusk.
  • June of 1979: Evans, who came to the hospital to visit Mila, was shot dead by someone.
    • Mila is visited by a curious visitor named Kyle Hyde.
    • Mila suddenly regains consciousness.
    • Grace runs away from home, leaving Kevin and Melissa behind.
    • Grace sends mail addressed to Iris.
    • A man named Kyle Hyde (Bradley) stays at Hotel Dusk. Dunning receives a painting and a bell this Kyle Hyde.

Trivia[]

  • The game has Rumble Pak support in these moments:
    • When Kyle shoots Bradley in the opening
    • Opening the door to Hotel Dusk
    • Whenever Kyle's pager goes off
    • Whenever Kyle selects a question, a question is gained, the yellow triangle icon is selected to follow up, and choosing an answer during the chapter quizzes
    • During the bowling minigame
    • When Kyle is bashed on the head near the end of the game
    • When the bricks are poked
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Gallery[]

Logos[]

Box Art[]

Magazine promos[]

Wallpapers[]

Characters[]

E3 2006 screenshots[]

Screenshots[]

Videos[]

Trailers[]

Commercials[]

Gameplay[]

Credits[]

See Hotel Dusk: Room 215/Credits.

External links[]

  1. ↑ Shogakukan (ed.). Wish Room: Angel’s Memory Nintendo Official Guidebook (ウィッシュルーム 天使の記憶 任天堂公式ガイドブック). Supervised by Nintendo Co., Ltd. Shogakukan. 7 March 2007. ISBN 978-4-09-106356-4. (in Japanese).
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