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Maou
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"Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Wed 18 Aug 14:12:post reply

It seems important that someone talk about Last Window since it's been out for a good while now and I finally got around to buying it. Thoughts up through chapter 2 or so (some books got in the way):

Clearly the quality of the scenario writing means I will play it even if it had the worst system in the world. The writing is still outstanding and leagues beyond most of what has passed for story in story-centric games of late. Kyle Hyde is a fantastic character. So far, I'm slightly bothered that some of the groundbreaking ending events of Wish Room/Hotel Dusk don't seem to be so central to the start of the scenario here---this works so that new players can enjoy it, but honestly, who is going to buy a Cing Game or another Kyle Hyde game besides people who loved the original? Reminds me of Metal Gear Solid 2's sort of skipping the original's ending...good thing I never bothered with that one.

One interesting, logical, and exhausting extension is that if you rummage around in your notes (and use your Angel's Door bookmark, tohoho), you can read through a full novelization of the events you've been playing through to a far greater extent than in the original. It uses the same narrative/interview structure as the articles by Martin Summer for the original that appeared on the Wish Room/Hotel Dusk website that the Professor (+Iggy?) and I talked about in another thread, written decades after the game's events. This does sort of make the book a weird metatextual object (is it really Kyle's inventory anymore? Why do we have this future-item?), but oh well. It's also exhaustingly long to read now, but might be fun to read rather than playing the game again.

Playing the game again: that is what you are doing, since the system right down to the interface is just like the original. Serviceable but not great---I really wish you could directly rummage through things like an old Western point-and-click adventure/RPG rather than going to a different screen. But like with Xenogears, I'll take any amount of system punishment just to enjoy a story.

The music is still very good though verrrry similar. The menu music is almost the same though better mixed, though you can also use the jukebox (maybe Kyle stole the one from Hotel Dusk and carries it around with him, as long as we're justifying the game system with in-game scenario) to set different music for that. Nice!





人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...

[this message was edited by Maou on Wed 18 Aug 14:15]

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"Re(1):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Wed 18 Aug 15:15post reply

I'm really looking forward to this one, I loved the original. I was really really happy when they announced that they are bringing this one to the States and Europe.

I'm gonna do me a favour and order ASAP the revised Jack Hunter DS game and the Miles Edgeworth one as well, now that Ys 7 is coming out in the States.





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"Re(2):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Thu 19 Aug 08:22post reply

quote:
I was really really happy when they announced that they are bringing this one to the States and Europe.


They announced it for the US? When did that happen? All I've heard is a Euro release date.





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"Re(3):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Fri 20 Aug 14:02:post reply

quote:
I was really really happy when they announced that they are bringing this one to the States and Europe.

They announced it for the US? When did that happen? All I've heard is a Euro release date.

Kyle Hyde and the Secret of the Missing American Release. I have this fantasy where even if it isn't released internationally, the brilliant translator of the original would go renegade and translate it anyway. I read a bit of the original's English script and I was like...woah.





人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...

[this message was edited by Maou on Fri 20 Aug 14:02]

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"Re(4):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Fri 20 Aug 16:57post reply

quote:

They announced it for the US? When did that happen? All I've heard is a Euro release date.
Kyle Hyde and the Secret of the Missing American Release. I have this fantasy where even if it isn't released internationally, the brilliant translator of the original would go renegade and translate it anyway. I read a bit of the original's English script and I was like...woah.



Having played through Hotel Dusk, I'm actually interested in knowing how the English script stacks up to the Japanese one. The English one is quite fantastic in how it conveys that noir feeling, and ensures that all the characters have a unique voice that is not excessively caricatured. Sometimes I wondered if the writer of the localized version wanted to drift towards a more pulp or potboiler feel, but who cares; it was great.

I just hope that the sequel doesn't have something like that damned newspaper that blew everything for you in advance.





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"Re(5):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Fri 20 Aug 17:28:post reply

quote:

They announced it for the US? When did that happen? All I've heard is a Euro release date.
Kyle Hyde and the Secret of the Missing American Release. I have this fantasy where even if it isn't released internationally, the brilliant translator of the original would go renegade and translate it anyway. I read a bit of the original's English script and I was like...woah.


Having played through Hotel Dusk, I'm actually interested in knowing how the English script stacks up to the Japanese one. The English one is quite fantastic in how it conveys that noir feeling, and ensures that all the characters have a unique voice that is not excessively caricatured. Sometimes I wondered if the writer of the localized version wanted to drift towards a more pulp or potboiler feel, but who cares; it was great.

I just hope that the sequel doesn't have something like that damned newspaper that blew everything for you in advance.



I heard this time the localized version will try to add some spice to many dull aspects of the original Japanese text. To what extent they would succeed remains to be seen, but it sure would be nice to get a message other than a mere "oh, it's a table" the 345th time you enter somebody's apartment and click to check on a desk.

Having already played the JP version I can say that, story-wise, the game holds its own quite well and is a more than worthy sequel to the original Hotel Dusk. I'd say the artwork is even more gorgeous. Oh, and the little novel thing is a nice touch, it also gives you some interesting inputs about our lovable Kyle Hyde's background beyond what we can glimpse on the games.

A well crafted piece of work indeed. It shows it has been done with a good deal of love and care.

EDIT: Bonus track (a nice interview with some of the female staff behind the game; they even get to discuss Hyde's worth as dating material!)





[this message was edited by Maese on Fri 20 Aug 17:35]

Professor
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"Re(6):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Fri 20 Aug 23:04post reply

The script in the English release of Hotel Dusk was undeniably terrific-licious. The JA release just didn't have the same feel to it. Kind of just like the opposite of how Japanese games loose their touch when they're translated to English.

It's been posted in the past and I'm sure everyone's seen it, but just in case.





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"Re(7):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Sat 21 Aug 00:59:post reply

quote:
The script in the English release of Hotel Dusk was undeniably terrific-licious. The JA release just didn't have the same feel to it. Kind of just like the opposite of how Japanese games loose their touch when they're translated to English.

Isn't this what they call Woolseyism?





[this message was edited by sfried on Sat 21 Aug 01:00]

Maou
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"Re(5):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Sat 21 Aug 10:27:post reply

I actually disagree somewhat with the above, since I think that Wish Room had one of the best scripts I'd seen in a game in a very, very long time. From what I glanced at the English script at some point, it seems you could argue that they amped up the noir/渋い factor even more, but it's hardly that much more than the original, which really produces the most authentic gritty/noir American atmosphere I've seen, even in Japanese. Since the original script is striving in some ways to evoke/sound like American dialogue, it becomes even stronger when actually written in English.

It's actually somewhat similar to the earlier, better translations by Alfred Birnbaum of Murakami Haruki's stuff, like A Wild Sheep Chase. I gave someone an English copy of that book and read through the beginning, and found that he'd (arguably unnecessarily) increased the Hemmingway-/noir-ness of it all, but it is understandable in light of the original's influences and what the author was 'going for' in a sense in Japanese. It's also similar to Working Designs' work on Lunar---rewritten and certain parts accentuated, but entirely in the same vibe as the original...and most importantly, written by people who are genuinely good writers in English.

So, Woolseyism? Not quite...I think that if the US 'Hotel Dusk' had contained eight times the exclamation points!!!! and fluent but hyper dialogue of an almost vaudevillian bent, you could call it Woolseyized, but...





人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...

[this message was edited by Maou on Sat 21 Aug 10:41]

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"Re(6):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Sat 21 Aug 13:25:post reply

quote:
I actually disagree somewhat with the above, since I think that Wish Room had one of the best scripts I'd seen in a game in a very, very long time. From what I glanced at the English script at some point, it seems you could argue that they amped up the noir/渋い factor even more, but it's hardly that much more than the original, which really produces the most authentic gritty/noir American atmosphere I've seen, even in Japanese. Since the original script is striving in some ways to evoke/sound like American dialogue, it becomes even stronger when actually written in English.

It's actually somewhat similar to the earlier, better translations by Alfred Birnbaum of Murakami Haruki's stuff, like A Wild Sheep Chase. I gave someone an English copy of that book and read through the beginning, and found that he'd (arguably unnecessarily) increased the Hemmingway-/noir-ness of it all, but it is understandable in light of the original's influences and what the author was 'going for' in a sense in Japanese. It's also similar to Working Designs' work on Lunar---rewritten and certain parts accentuated, but entirely in the same vibe as the original...and most importantly, written by people who are genuinely good writers in English.



Damn that sounds really good. Lemme ask ya, the style of Noir in this game; is it more like more recent Film Noir influenced movies where the hero is really hardened and kind of crass and the story is very dark, seedy and violent like China Town? Or is it more like an old black and white flick where the hero is a paragon of masculinity with a distant tough guy veneer that belies an incredibly gentle and noble heart stuck in a world of evil fast talking tragic geniuses desperately trying to outsmart one another like Out of the Past?






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[this message was edited by nobinobita on Sat 21 Aug 13:26]

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"Re(6):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Sat 21 Aug 13:37:post reply

quote:
I actually disagree somewhat with the above, since I think that Wish Room had one of the best scripts I'd seen in a game in a very, very long time. From what I glanced at the English script at some point, it seems you could argue that they amped up the noir/渋い factor even more, but it's hardly that much more than the original, which really produces the most authentic gritty/noir American atmosphere I've seen, even in Japanese. Since the original script is striving in some ways to evoke/sound like American dialogue, it becomes even stronger when actually written in English.

It's actually somewhat similar to the earlier, better translations by Alfred Birnbaum of Murakami Haruki's stuff, like A Wild Sheep Chase. I gave someone an English copy of that book and read through the beginning, and found that he'd (arguably unnecessarily) increased the Hemmingway-/noir-ness of it all, but it is understandable in light of the original's influences and what the author was 'going for' in a sense in Japanese. It's also similar to Working Designs' work on Lunar---rewritten and certain parts accentuated, but entirely in the same vibe as the original...and most importantly, written by people who are genuinely good writers in English.

So, Woolseyism? Not quite...I think that if the US 'Hotel Dusk' had contained eight times the exclamation points!!!! and fluent but hyper dialogue of an almost vaudevillian bent, you could call it Woolseyized, but...



I don't mean Woolsey'd as in substantially change segments of script or add bits of humor here and there a la FFVI/3, but rather take a few liberties with the dialogue to indeed get the author's idea across. What separates this from regular fansub/word-for-word translation is that they are targeting the intent of the creator as opposed to merely aiming for accuracy.





[this message was edited by sfried on Sat 21 Aug 13:37]

Maou
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"Re(7):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Sat 21 Aug 14:58:post reply

True, though the problem with Woolsey is not that he doesn't write well (he does), but that the feeling doesn't quite get across with his version of VI. Many people note how fluent and well-written the dialogue is as such, and this is true, but the tone is dramatically different because it's just so manic...I guarantee that there are at least four times as many exclamation marks in his script as in the original. His translation doesn't 'clarify' or even match the originial tone, however well-written word-for-word it may be. It really is like FFVI on speed.

The 'Hotel Dusk' script, though, like Working Designs' take on Lunar, does augment a few things while staying in the style and spirit of the original. Outwardly, this appears similar, but functionally, it's very different. The reason being that all three of these games have good, flowing scripts written in good English; the difference is that English 'Hotel Dusk' and Lunar players are able to understand what the original "felt like" (or the intent, if you like), which is simply not the case in VI.

quote:
Lemme ask ya, the style of Noir in this game
Probably closer to the second, though I'm not so sure Kyle Hyde has a "heart of gold" as such. Basically, it's clipped dialogue and many hard-up stories that don't end happily and that are tied together in meaningful if oblique ways. The atmosphere is not akin to the poisonous corruption and depravity of Chinatown, but there is a sense of malaise and above all world-weariness to Wish Room/Last Window's world. Classic noir things are done right---Kyle drinks his whisky and is curt with irritating people without being a brawler. People carry their sorrows and mistakes around and try to solve them as best they can. The original's last chapter revelations are fantastic in this regard.





人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...

[this message was edited by Maou on Sat 21 Aug 15:04]

Professor
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"Re(8):Last Window/Hotel Dusk 2" , posted Sat 21 Aug 17:05:post reply

Here's a short transcript from a part of the intro, coutesy of gamefaqs



KYLE: (Great. An empty lobby with no one home. Where's the front desk in this dump?)
<He looks around and sees the "Open" sign.>

KYLE: (Huh. Cute sign, pal. ...Guess that's where I check in.)
<He rings the bell three times. A door opens.>

KYLE: (Maybe this dump isn't deserted after all...)

DUNNING: Rosa! Hey, Rosa! If I told ya once, I told ya a thousand times! Don't go botherin' me when I'm watchin' a game! Huh? The hell? You ain't Rosa!

KYLE: (Not since I last checked. Oh, this guy's fantastic...) Who's Rosa?

DUNNING: Rosa? She's the hotel maid. Hard worker, but she's got a mouth the size'a Nebraska. Always findin' ways to bust my chops when I'm watchin' a game. Anyway, sorry for thinkin' you was her. No harm, no foul, eh? Name's Dunning Smith, and I own this joint. Welcome to my own little slice'a heaven...Hotel Dusk.

KYLE: (Dunning Smith? Seems like a grumpy piece of leather.)

DUNNING: So! Ya here for a room, or just t'hear me jaw?






[this message was edited by Professor on Sat 21 Aug 17:05]

Maou
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"now in English" , posted Fri 27 Aug 13:14:post reply

Hey English speakers, you can try this game out now, too, as the venerable Court Records informs. While it's tragic that the American market has developed in such a peculiar way that it's now guaranteed to get translations of pandering sludge and moe trash, and not some of the best-written narrative seen in probably a decade, at least there are no regions, so you can enjoy what the Europeans got.

Hmm, come to think of it, this is a weird weird reversal. Wasn't it always the story of Europe's life that they couldn't get half of the games released in the Americas? Like, didn't they not even get the one good (Super Famicom) release of...Chrono Trigger??





人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...

[this message was edited by Maou on Fri 27 Aug 13:19]

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"Re(1):now in English" , posted Fri 27 Aug 15:38post reply

Didn't the original HD garner some modicum of success in America? Could've sworn CiNG mentioned on their blog how they were pleased with the positive reception overseas.

I guess NoA is too drunk on the waning 3D craze to appreciate intellectually-driven games anymore. If Brain Age was pitched to them today they'd likely scoff at it and demand another Pokemon title.





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"Re(2):now in English" , posted Fri 27 Aug 16:44post reply

quote:
I guess NoA is too drunk on the waning 3D craze to appreciate intellectually-driven games anymore. If Brain Age was pitched to them today they'd likely scoff at it and demand another Pokemon title.

Or Mother 3...but that's another story. *Reggie shrug*

What's odd is that they've bothered more with stuff like Starfy and even glory of Heracles.

Oh well, there is one thing they got right: Professor Layton.





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"Re(3):now in English" , posted Mon 8 Nov 01:03:post reply

So I just finished Hotel Dusk, Japanese version. It was pretty amazing. I liked how the ending turned out, although my favorite character was Iris and she wasn't really in the game enough for my taste.

Just curious, should I seek out the English or Japanese version of Last Window? I personally found the tone of the Japanese "Wish Room" quite engaging. While I was playing I was thoroughly engaged and I didn't feel like it was too "standard" Japanese. I loved how Kyle called Melissa ちび、 for instance. Lots of little touches in the script made it a joy to play.

I did take a look at the English script for Hotel Dusk 1, it seems like a masterful localization! I worked in localization before and who ever did this really fell in love with the theme and characters and did an outstanding job, but I can see where they embellished a little bit to add references for the US crowd (I just saw a Scooby Doo reference, for instance). Also Dunning's accent is a bit annoying, it reminds me of Chrono Cross :p

But yea I'm going to get Last Window soon. Is the story on par or better than 1?

quote:
The script in the English release of Hotel Dusk was undeniably terrific-licious. The JA release just didn't have the same feel to it. Kind of just like the opposite of how Japanese games loose their touch when they're translated to English.

It's been posted in the past and I'm sure everyone's seen it, but just in case.


They are tracing over VIDEO of ACTORS???!!
No wonder it looks so nice!!! Jesus...

Thanks for posting this Professor!

Edit: I'm reading the English script now, and it adds a LOT. Item descriptions are better, of course. But some of the new euphemisms feel a bit out of place. I also am not sure I like what they did with a few of the characters. But it does have more personality overall.





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[this message was edited by KTallguy on Mon 8 Nov 02:08]

Professor
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"Re(4):now in English" , posted Mon 8 Nov 19:01:post reply

I remember how someone was telling me that the Japanese script didn't feel like it was written first in Japanese, but instead, almost as though it was a translation from a western film. In a way, I guess Cing succeeded. It's truly a pity that the company flipped. I didn't notice the Scoobie reference though, where was it?

I unfortunately haven't played the English version of Last Window yet so I'm not sure which one is better for it. The first game was a treat.


quote:
They are tracing over VIDEO of ACTORS???!!
No wonder it looks so nice!!! Jesus...

Thanks for posting this Professor!


No prob! Also, here's a few stills from the first game.





[this message was edited by Professor on Mon 8 Nov 20:50]

Maou
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"Re(5):now in English" , posted Tue 9 Nov 12:06post reply

quote:
I remember how someone was telling me that the Japanese script didn't feel like it was written first in Japanese, but instead, almost as though it was a translation from a western film. In a way, I guess Cing succeeded.
People often say this in Japanese about Murakami Haruki, too. That Cing can make its world sound so hardboiled, Hemingway-ian, noir, or "American" truly underlines how good the writing is in the original. It's unfamiliar in certain ways, but also true-to-life and fluent. And like with Murakami, I wonder if maybe the writing rings the truest for people who have lived in both cultures and 'get' the literary and thematic back-and-forth that's going on.





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"Re(6):now in English" , posted Tue 9 Nov 12:36post reply

quote:
I remember how someone was telling me that the Japanese script didn't feel like it was written first in Japanese, but instead, almost as though it was a translation from a western film. In a way, I guess Cing succeeded. People often say this in Japanese about Murakami Haruki, too. That Cing can make its world sound so hardboiled, Hemingway-ian, noir, or "American" truly underlines how good the writing is in the original. It's unfamiliar in certain ways, but also true-to-life and fluent. And like with Murakami, I wonder if maybe the writing rings the truest for people who have lived in both cultures and 'get' the literary and thematic back-and-forth that's going on.



I have a difficult time trying to imagine what noir reads like in Asian languages. It is alternately sparse and loquacious. It is caricatured/characterized by nearly mixed or overwrought metaphors (with a frequency increasing in almost direct proportion to how pulpy/potboiler it is). Its women talk in easily stereotyped ways. Still, this difficulty in comprehension on my part is funny, because Hong Kong and Japan love crime dramas just as much as any Western place in the world, so there's no doubt that there's a deep pool of material there. I just wonder how their versions of it sound. What characteristic crime drama styles are there in Japanese, writing-wise? Though comparing writing styles across languages is difficult, how would they compare to their English counterparts?





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"Re(5):now in English" , posted Tue 9 Nov 16:16post reply

quote:
I didn't notice the Scoobie reference though, where was it?

quote:
KYLE: Check out the wall.

LOUIS: Huh?

KYLE: There's a strange line running through it.

LOUIS: What do you think it is?

KYLE: It's a door, Louie. The wall's a door.

LOUIS: Aw, man! This is like that cartoon with the dog and the dude that's
always hungry!



I'm probably gonna grab the Japanese version because it's readily available where I am. But I'll read the script of the English one if someone goes to the trouble like for Hotel Dusk!

quote:
And like with Murakami, I wonder if maybe the writing rings the truest for people who have lived in both cultures and 'get' the literary and thematic back-and-forth that's going on.



Man I love Murakami, I think there are some parallels between the styles, but I love how Murakami spins metaphors and has very detailed, interesting ways of describing scenes, objects, and people. Hotel Dusk was a bit dry in this area (compared to the English). I will pay attention to this more in Last Window.

quote:
What characteristic crime drama styles are there in Japanese, writing-wise? Though comparing writing styles across languages is difficult, how would they compare to their English counterparts?



This is an interesting topic.
I really liked "Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World", it kind of had a noir feel to it, but Murakami isn't really a noir writer. Is that the closest equivalent in Japan?
My friend mentioned the well known "探偵 神宮寺三郎" series in Japan (Jake Hunter in the west), but I haven't played them.





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"Re(6):now in English" , posted Tue 9 Nov 19:58:post reply

quote:
LOUIS: Aw, man! This is like that cartoon with the dog and the dude that's
always hungry!



Holy Moses, I must've blindly skimmed through that part! Thanks for pointing it out.


quote:
[snip]

What characteristic crime drama styles are there in Japanese, writing-wise? Though comparing writing styles across languages is difficult, how would they compare to their English counterparts?


Like KT said, the Jinguuji adventure game series is probably a good example of Japanese noir. you've got a heavy smoker private eye with slick greased hair. He's got connections in both the mob and the police and
his office is in Shinjuku, a borough with two faces. In the west, the expensive commercial district with tall skyscrapers and city hall. In the east, Kabukicho, the most crime infested red-light district in Tokyo.





[this message was edited by Professor on Tue 9 Nov 20:15]

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"Re(7):now in English" , posted Sat 13 Nov 03:28post reply

Speaking of rotoscoped adventure games....

I have a sudden urge to find and play a game I never finished: The Last Express.

Has anybody else here played it?
The idea of the events of the game taking place in largely real time and being set in the time period just prior to WW1 make it terribly compelling.





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"Jinguuji/ Jake Hunter" , posted Sat 13 Nov 05:09:post reply

quote:
My friend mentioned the well known "探偵 神宮寺三郎" series in Japan (Jake Hunter in the west), but I haven't played them.


quote:
Like KT said, the Jinguuji adventure game series is probably a good example of Japanese noir. you've got a heavy smoker private eye with slick greased hair. He's got connections in both the mob and the police and his office is in Shinjuku, a borough with two faces. In the west, the expensive commercial district with tall skyscrapers and city hall. In the east, Kabukicho, the most crime infested red-light district in Tokyo.


I have one of the DS Jake Hunter collections, which I picked it up in hopes that it would be an engaging mystery, but the translation was pretty bad with quite a few grammar and spelling mistakes. If any of the characters had some kind of personality in the original games, it didn't really show. Eventually I finished it just to finish it, but was left kind of unimpressed.

Is the series popular in Japan? I'd never really heard of it before playing this.





[this message was edited by Gojira on Sat 13 Nov 05:14]

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"Re(8):now in English" , posted Sat 13 Nov 16:32post reply

quote:
Speaking of rotoscoped adventure games....

I have a sudden urge to find and play a game I never finished: The Last Express.

Has anybody else here played it?
The idea of the events of the game taking place in largely real time and being set in the time period just prior to WW1 make it terribly compelling.

Last Express! I have heard nothing but good things about it. I distinctly recall reading about it in the American magazine Next Generation, which sort of underlined that LE was one of the last great entries in a genre that had its life cruelly cut short by the flood of miserable Myst clones; the inane 3D rendered Myst-types sort of made sure that Last Express would be the last great one of its kind. The setting and the realtime unfolding always grabbed me as well...wish I'd been more of a PC gamer just for the great graphic adventures.





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"Re(9):now in English" , posted Mon 15 Nov 11:38post reply

The Last Express is incredible! Get it however you can!

I will say that it can be pretty hard and that I relied a lot on a FAQ so I could get the most out of the game. Because everything is in real time, you have to be very careful to finish tasks before a certain time limit. Otherwise you'll get a game over. Thankfully the game lets you rewind to any time, but I still found it kind of tricky. I enjoyed the little action sequences too, I thought they were very well made.

The writing and story are great, the voice acting is stellar, music is great... it's a crying shame that it didn't sell well. So much love was put into it.

So yea, go find it!





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"Re(10):now in English" , posted Sat 20 Nov 02:06post reply

At risk of turning this into the general adventure game thread, 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors seems quite intriguing, and I've heard that the localization is very solid. It doesn't have the unique styling of Hotel Dusk, but it's at the very top of the DS games I want to play right now.





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"Re(2):Re(10):now in English" , posted Sun 21 Nov 02:58:post reply

quote:
At risk of turning this into the general adventure game thread, 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors seems quite intriguing, and I've heard that the localization is very solid. It doesn't have the unique styling of Hotel Dusk, but it's at the very top of the DS games I want to play right now.



I haven't played the Eng ver, but 999 was very good. It's totally apples and oranges to Hotel Dusk since that's a noir-style novel and this is a survival thriller.

It feels kind of weird at first to see Kinu Nishimura's art in cell style and animating, but you get used to it.

Lots of replay value. Or rather to say, it's expected that you replay the game a few times to learn the truth.

It subtly makes an interesting use of the DS' double screen, though whether the player can come to realize it is... humm. I'll leave it underneath for anyone who's played the game.




Don't read this if you're planning to play out the game, you'll regret it.



Spoiler (Highlight to view) -
The top screen is taking place during the game while the bottom screen is actually something that was taking place 9 years ago; the heroine in the past is sending the images that she's seeing to the protagonist in the present.

End of Spoiler







[this message was edited by Professor on Sun 21 Nov 04:14]

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"Re(3):Re(10):now in English" , posted Mon 22 Nov 00:05post reply

I heard about the game but it seemed more like a very typical Japanese adventure game with strictly text. Do you bump around and search through things at all? I guess I should give it a chance.





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Professor
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"Re(4):Re(10):now in English" , posted Mon 22 Nov 00:24:post reply

quote:
I heard about the game but it seemed more like a very typical Japanese adventure game with strictly text. Do you bump around and search through things at all? I guess I should give it a chance.


Yes, there's a lot of bumps & searchings.
It's an "escape-the-room" game with lots of dialogue.





[this message was edited by Professor on Mon 22 Nov 00:56]

sfried
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"Re(5):Re(10):now in English" , posted Mon 22 Nov 14:44post reply

quote:
Yes, there's a lot of bumps & searchings.
It's an "escape-the-room" game with lots of dialogue.

I wish all visual novels played like that. In fact, I've been toying around with the idea of constructing a point-and-click adventure game using a visual novel engine.





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"Re(6):Re(10):now in English" , posted Mon 22 Nov 16:02post reply

I like "escape the room" too, but for me if the story isn't engaging I just get bored. I do like some sequences with a little action to help with the pacing, but it's hard to balance that (and hard to make it fun too!).

I'm really a big fan of the old PC adventure games, like Gabriel Knight and such. I played Beneath a Steel Sky on my iphone recently, you can play it for free now on PC though. It was fun but too short and sometimes a bit too obtuse. But the atmosphere and writing were great.





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