Hotel Dusk!

TheGreat2nd

Ok, so it's come to the point in my summer where I must ride a subway for about roughly 2-4 hours a day. In lieu of sleeping, I would like to pick my DS back up again. I loooooved (<3 ) Hotel Dusk, with the perfect blend of story telling and artistic style.
I'm currently playing Broken Sword DS, and enjoying it thoroughly. Are there any recommendations for games that I might enjoy? It would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. Long train rides suck.

Vera12

You might try Professor Layton if you can get ahold of it. It isn't a mystery game per se, but the puzzles are challenging and entertaining and the story is pretty good, complete with animated and well-voiced cut scenes.

TheGreat2nd

Forgot to mention that I also loved the everlasting crap out of Professor Layton, and am eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Nappuccino

Then I take it you've also played the Phoenix Wright series? I doubt its quite on the same level as those other games but it is pretty entertaining for what it is

Darlan

Yeah, Hotel Dusk is basically the best portable game. Phoenix Wright is fun but doesn't quite have the punch of Hotel Dusk, and Trace Memory is much worse but worth playing if you just can't wait for more in a similar vein.

Jam Warrior

Another Code / Trace Memory (one name was Europe, one was US, can't remember which was which) was the first game by the Hotel Dusk guys and is well worth playing if a little short.

Touch Detective and Touch Detective 2 and a half are more point and click goodness if a tad surreal for some.

And finally the Phoenix Wrights are as awesome as their reputation suggests.

Gilder

Time Hollow is a pretty good game that got overlooked by almost everyone. It's not very long, but that shouldn't be a problem since you liked Hotel Dusk and that was pretty short too.

Jam Warrior

Oh yeah. I only forgot that one because it's still on my 'to pick up' list.

Nappuccino

Darlan wrote: »

Yeah, Hotel Dusk is basically the best portable game. Phoenix Wright is fun but doesn't quite have the punch of Hotel Dusk,

Yeah, its mostly a fun game about bizarre and absurd court scenarios. But, if that sounds at all appealing they're atleast worth a look-see.

Zerokku

Nappuccino wrote: »

Darlan wrote: »

Yeah, Hotel Dusk is basically the best portable game. Phoenix Wright is fun but doesn't quite have the punch of Hotel Dusk,

Yeah, its mostly a fun game about bizarre and absurd court scenarios. But, if that sounds at all appealing they're atleast worth a look-see.

Thirding/Fourthing whatever phoenix wright. This is how I tried to describe it to someone else who hadn't played it, if it sounds interesting then go for it -

It has an unforgettable cast of characters and a brilliantly constructed story. Each case tends to be interesting and amusing, with its quirky sense of humor. It's not too difficult, but can make you think a lot when you just start piecing things together as to who the real murderer is. It doesn't take itself too seriously, in that there's definitely some wacky humor, but serious enough that you can feel a bit of emotional pull towards the characters and events.

PaperLuigi44

I also support PW. It has one of the best soundtracks in a video game series, and while the story does have some fridge logic moments, it's one of the few which fully engaged me and made me really care for the characters involved.

Didgeridoo

Oh man I fucking love hotel dusk

Let's see, good games to play after it... Henry Hatsworth is supposed to be really great, and Phoenix Wright as well. Pokemon isn't too bad of a timewaster if you don't mind the 'childish' stereotype attached to it. I haven't played it, but The World Ends With You is supposedly a good game.

And Trace Memory that's by the same studio

Bartholamue

How is Trace Memory, anyway?

Blackjack

Bartholamue wrote: »

How is Trace Memory, anyway?

It's not awful, but it is ridiculously short.

Jam Warrior

It was a joy but a brief joy. Certainly well worth getting if you liked Hotel Dusk.

Speaking of which, the Trace Memory Wii sequel is apparently out over here (Europe) in a fortnight.

bash

Didgeridoo wrote: »

The World Ends With You is supposedly a [strike]good[/strike] great game.

It most definitely is a great game. While it's a lot of fun and an all around great game it might be a little difficult or awkward to play while riding a train since battles require heavy and excited use of the stylus.

BigDes

There's also Secret Files: Tunguska and its sequel.

Not awful adventure games.

Not great, but fun, ish.

W2

PaperLuigi44 wrote: »

I also support PW. It has one of the best soundtracks in a video game series, and while the story does have some fridge logic moments, it's one of the few which fully engaged me and made me really care for the characters involved.

Another vote for Phoenix Wright, which I really enjoyed despite not really being a fan of Japanese games in general. Massive credit to whoever did the localization, it's solidly entertaining and actually quite funny in English.

Olivaw

I wish I could find a copy of Hotel Dusk

Alas, it is rarer than a spotted owl and harder to find than a shadow in a pitch black room

Cherrn

Gilder wrote: »

Time Hollow is a pretty good game that got overlooked by almost everyone. It's not very long, but that shouldn't be a problem since you liked Hotel Dusk and that was pretty short too.

I was wondering about this game. Could you elaborate a bit on the gameplay?

I saw it won "best story" for 2008 on one of the adventure game sites, and I found it exceedingly weird that I had never heard about it.

Jam Warrior

Olivaw wrote: »

I wish I could find a copy of Hotel Dusk

Alas, it is rarer than a spotted owl and harder to find than a shadow in a pitch black room

http://www.amazon.com/Hotel-Dusk-Room-215-Nintendo-DS/dp/B000KRXA28/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1244631057&sr=8-1

I don't understand how many people will claim something is impossible to find just because it isn't physically in stock in a shop they walk into. It's called the internet people!

Willeth

Olivaw wrote: »

I wish I could find a copy of Hotel Dusk

Alas, it is rarer than a spotted owl and harder to find than a shadow in a pitch black room

Really? I can't remember if I still have my copy or if I sold it on.

I got an email from Play Asia about a game called Jake Hunter, which seems to be in this vein, but it's being massively criticised. This quote's from 1UP:

Each case is stupidly linear (to the point where you cannot leave an area until you perform the game-moving action), the script is riddled with typos (at one point, a character refers to a mobile phone as a "sell phone"), and the static character art exemplifies the cheapness of the entire package

Olivaw

Jam Warrior wrote: »

Olivaw wrote: »

I wish I could find a copy of Hotel Dusk

Alas, it is rarer than a spotted owl and harder to find than a shadow in a pitch black room

http://www.amazon.com/Hotel-Dusk-Room-215-Nintendo-DS/dp/B000KRXA28/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1244631057&sr=8-1

I don't understand how many people will claim something is impossible to find just because it isn't physically in a shop in a shop they walk into. It's called the internet people!

Well it wasn't in stock when I looked last alright?!

Jeez

AshtonDragon

I think Phoenix Wright is the only recommendation I can make without more knowledge of what genres you like. Stuff like TWEWY or Elite Beat Agents is great and all, but they certainly aren't anything like Hotel Dusk (and neither is Phoenix Wright, actually).

I enjoyed Trace Memory, but I didn't have to pay for it (borrowed it from my sister), and that was long before Hotel Dusk existed. It pales in comparison, but it might still be fun if you can find it for super cheap.

Taya

Trace Memory is excellent yet mindnumbingly short. You can beat it in one sitting easily. If you can get it on the cheap, do it.

Phoenix Wright and the following three games are some of my favourite games for the DS. I love this series so much.

Touch Detective is fun although there are a lot of obscure adventure-game style solutions. You know the kind where you have to use a glow-stick on a tree or something and the only way to figure it out is to look it up or do it randomly. I didn't play the sequel.

Professor Layton is wonderful. I anxiously await the sequels.

By the way, I liked Hotel Dusk but was disappointed in its lack of a real ending.

Well I solved everyone's problems but I'm no closer to finding my partner *drives away with a woman* THE END

Willeth

Taya wrote: »

Trace Memory is excellent yet mindnumbingly short. You can beat it in one sitting easily. If you can get it on the cheap, do it.

I bought it to play on the plane when I was going abroad, finished it that day, and took it back, disgusted.

There was something in there that made me want to play for a few hours straight, but the ending was completely half-assed and left a very bad taste behind.

Taya

Willeth wrote: »

Taya wrote: »

Trace Memory is excellent yet mindnumbingly short. You can beat it in one sitting easily. If you can get it on the cheap, do it.

I bought it to play on the plane when I was going abroad, finished it that day, and took it back, disgusted.

There was something in there that made me want to play for a few hours straight, but the ending was completely half-assed and left a very bad taste behind.

Also, I played it way back when it first came out and there were fewer great games back then.

I liked the atmosphere and I liked the puzzles. The ending seemed fine to me. Maybe you got the Bad End.

AshtonDragon

Willeth wrote: »

Taya wrote: »

Trace Memory is excellent yet mindnumbingly short. You can beat it in one sitting easily. If you can get it on the cheap, do it.

I bought it to play on the plane when I was going abroad, finished it that day, and took it back, disgusted.

There was something in there that made me want to play for a few hours straight, but the ending was completely half-assed and left a very bad taste behind.

That game had multiple endings. I apparently got the "good" one and didn't have any complaints. I remember hearing other people complain, though.

Hotel Dusk also had alternate endings, but they weren't much different. It wasn't a big deal if you missed something, there.

Willeth

Taya wrote: »

Willeth wrote: »

Taya wrote: »

Trace Memory is excellent yet mindnumbingly short. You can beat it in one sitting easily. If you can get it on the cheap, do it.

I bought it to play on the plane when I was going abroad, finished it that day, and took it back, disgusted.

There was something in there that made me want to play for a few hours straight, but the ending was completely half-assed and left a very bad taste behind.

Also, I played it way back when it first came out and there were fewer great games back then.

I liked the atmosphere and I liked the puzzles. The ending seemed fine to me. Maybe you got the Bad End.

I don't mean the ending ending. I'm talking about

the whole run-up to the ending where there's no gameplay at all - you're just running through a cave scrolling through text

.

AlienCowThatMoos

Cherrn wrote: »

Gilder wrote: »

Time Hollow is a pretty good game that got overlooked by almost everyone. It's not very long, but that shouldn't be a problem since you liked Hotel Dusk and that was pretty short too.

I was wondering about this game. Could you elaborate a bit on the gameplay?

I saw it won "best story" for 2008 on one of the adventure game sites, and I found it exceedingly weird that I had never heard about it.

I freaking loved Time Hollow. It's my favorite adventure game for the DS, although, like all adventure games it's lacking in replayability. You're a teenager who wakes up one morning and find that your room looks different, your parents have been missing for years and you're the only one who remembers it differently. Your pet cat has a note from your missing dad and a pen with no ink (the Hollow Pen).

The gameplay is all about using the hollow pen to change the past. Some one has changed history and you need to get it back to the way it was. Everytime that you or someone else changes the past, you see images of things that have changed. If you can find the place time and details of one of these images you can draw a hole in time at that spot to make your own changes. However, you can only send things through or pull things back, you can't go to the past yourself for reasons that the excellent plot will divulge.

The story starts out light and gets seriously dark as you move along. You're not the only one who can change the past, and not everyone is so happy to save lives and make things right...

Also, the game features fantastic anime cutscenes for major events in the storyline. Here's the opening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sACLmz5j3BQ

NickTheNewbie

Hotel dusk is the best game ever made.



Ever.

UncleSporky

AlienCowThatMoos wrote: »

Time Hollow

Ok, I just bought it on Amazon. Sounds like something I can't live without.

Post Blue

NickTheNewbie wrote: »

Hotel dusk is the best game ever made.



Ever.

Haha. My friend Lindsay was big on this game, and I always wanted to try it.

UncleSporky

NickTheNewbie wrote: »

Hotel dusk is the best game ever made.



Ever.

Hotel Dusk was a pretty good game that missed out on big potential. It's hard to say much without spoilers, but I thought the ending was lame, given the sort of characters we saw throughout the game.

This was a noir style game, but while you are in a life and death situation at one point, there was no encounter with a villain, or even the important people from the past we were expecting. No guns or tense moments of revelation, and a tame ending that whimpered out rather than being spectacular. Even Trace Memory had a better ending, because we had an antagonist messing with our head. In TM's case the early game was somewhat dull and it ended well, but Hotel Dusk had good writing and an interesting story that just petered out.

NickTheNewbie

UncleSporky wrote: »

NickTheNewbie wrote: »

Hotel dusk is the best game ever made.



Ever.

Hotel Dusk was a pretty good game that missed out on big potential. It's hard to say much without spoilers, but I thought the ending was lame, given the sort of characters we saw throughout the game.

This was a noir style game, but while you are in a life and death situation at one point, there was no encounter with a villain, or even the important people from the past we were expecting. No guns or tense moments of revelation, and a tame ending that whimpered out rather than being spectacular. Even Trace Memory had a better ending, because we had an antagonist messing with our head. In TM's case the early game was somewhat dull and it ended well, but Hotel Dusk had good writing and an interesting story that just petered out.

It's really true. I just wish more people would make games like this to perfect the formula.

Cullen

Jam Warrior wrote: »

It was a joy but a brief joy. Certainly well worth getting if you liked Hotel Dusk.

Speaking of which, the Trace Memory Wii sequel is apparently out over here (Europe) in a fortnight.

Yeah I'm really looking forward to the Wii sequel. I loved the original even more than Hotel Dusk despite its length.

[EDIT]: and now I've been sold on Time Hollow. Thanks guys!

WotanAnubis

AlienCowThatMoos wrote: »

I freaking loved Time Hollow.

Sold.

Funny really. I seem to remember the point-and-click adventure genre to be almost exclusively Western and now it looks like it's going to be largely Eastern.

Then again... maybe it just seems that way since it used to be pretty darn hard to get Japanese games over here (other than the usual big titles, obviously).

TheGreat2nd

Time Hollow looks goooood
I think I'll give that a spin after Broken Sword

And yes, IMO, Hotel Dusk is the best game ever made, next to Tetris.
First of it's kind in story telling. Just perfect, like a book.

EDIT: And I also love the Phoenix Wright series.
I kinda left it after a while though, I lost track of how many games there were in the series.
I know Edgeworth got his own game coming out in a bit.

DeathPrawn

NickTheNewbie wrote: »

UncleSporky wrote: »

NickTheNewbie wrote: »

Hotel dusk is the best game ever made.



Ever.

Hotel Dusk was a pretty good game that missed out on big potential. It's hard to say much without spoilers, but I thought the ending was lame, given the sort of characters we saw throughout the game.

This was a noir style game, but while you are in a life and death situation at one point, there was no encounter with a villain, or even the important people from the past we were expecting. No guns or tense moments of revelation, and a tame ending that whimpered out rather than being spectacular. Even Trace Memory had a better ending, because we had an antagonist messing with our head. In TM's case the early game was somewhat dull and it ended well, but Hotel Dusk had good writing and an interesting story that just petered out.

It's really true. I just wish more people would make games like this to perfect the formula.

I agree 100%.

You've got this great noir story building up with conspiracies and evil underground organizations and it turns out the big climactic moment is "ooh, dude's secretly a painter". Seriously?

PaperLuigi44

DeathPrawn wrote: »

NickTheNewbie wrote: »

UncleSporky wrote: »

NickTheNewbie wrote: »

Hotel dusk is the best game ever made.



Ever.

Hotel Dusk was a pretty good game that missed out on big potential. It's hard to say much without spoilers, but I thought the ending was lame, given the sort of characters we saw throughout the game.

This was a noir style game, but while you are in a life and death situation at one point, there was no encounter with a villain, or even the important people from the past we were expecting. No guns or tense moments of revelation, and a tame ending that whimpered out rather than being spectacular. Even Trace Memory had a better ending, because we had an antagonist messing with our head. In TM's case the early game was somewhat dull and it ended well, but Hotel Dusk had good writing and an interesting story that just petered out.

It's really true. I just wish more people would make games like this to perfect the formula.

I agree 100%.

You've got this great noir story building up with conspiracies and evil underground organizations and it turns out the big climactic moment is "ooh, dude's secretly a painter". Seriously?

Although that twist with the manager was pretty cool, I'll agree that the overall conclusion (namely in relation to Bradley) was a tad lacking.

Arcus

Gilder wrote: »

Time Hollow is a pretty good game that got overlooked by almost everyone.

AlienCowThatMoos said it best already, but everyone reading and responding to this thread should play Time Hollow. I think it came out during a time that completely hid it under the rug, but it is a fantastic game (especially if you like anime) and the soundtrack is pretty nifty too. From what I recall, there isn't a lot of stylus gimmicks like Hotel Dusk had (besides time hollows) but I enjoyed the storyline. I guess you could say it was sort of close to interactive fiction as a genre.