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Last Window: The Secret of Cape West

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Last Window:
The Secret of Cape West
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
  • Yu Tominaga
  • Shunichi Nakagaki
Composer(s)Satoshi Okubo
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
  • JP: 14 January 2010
  • EU: 17 September 2010[1]
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single player

Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, known in Japan as Last Window: Mayonaka no Yakusoku (ラストウィンドウ 真夜中の約束, lit. "Last Window: Midnight Promise"), is an adventure video game developed by Cing and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is the sequel to Hotel Dusk: Room 215, starring protagonist Kyle Hyde, and takes place one year after those events.[2] Set in 1980 Los Angeles, the Cape West Apartments, the story deals with a new mystery in a new location, but it also delves into some unanswered questions from Kyle Hyde's past.[3] Last Window was the last game developed by Cing before the company filed for bankruptcy on 1 March 2010. Unlike its predecessor, it was never released in North America. A spiritual successor entitled Chase: Cold Case Investigations - Distant Memories developed by Arc System Works was released in 2016 with many former developers of Cing working on the game.

Gameplay

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The Nintendo DS is held vertically, like a book. Last Window introduces an 'Ignore' feature which allows the player to let go the lines of questioning they don't find useful. Ignoring too many lines of questioning, as well as not ignoring enough, may cause an early game over. The player can also get a game over if Kyle says something that can get him in trouble, gets caught with something that isn't his, or is caught within a restricted area by the landlady.[citation needed]

A new story-based feature is the in-game novel Last Window. Every time a chapter of the game is cleared, a new chapter in the Last Window book is made available. The contents of the book complements the game's story, and they can be influenced by the decisions the player makes.[3]

The player can unlock a "Pinkie Rabbit Land" mini-game by either completing the story or by winning it in an optional in-game prize-contest. The game is in the style of a handheld electronic game from the time period of Last Window, based around fictional cartoon character "Pinkie Rabbit".[4] Post-game, the player also unlocks the ability to play the 9-ball mini-game whenever they want.[5]

Plot

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The game takes place in Los Angeles in December 1980, one year after the events of the previous game.

In Cape West Apartments, a soon-to-be-demolished apartment block owned by Margaret "Mags" Patrice, ex-detective Kyle Hyde is fired from his job at Red Crown for slacking and receives a mysterious letter. While everyone has secrets and parts of their past they would rather leave buried, for Hyde, the case is taking a more personal twist. As he investigates, Hyde uncovers a story that links his fellow residents, a priceless diamond called the Scarlet Star, and the death of his father Chris. At one point, he reunites with Mila, a character from the original game. Additional discoveries include an incident on Cape West's closed off fourth floor involving a murder and a fire, learning that one of the guests is an old partner of Chris', a crime ring called Condor that is part of the crime syndicate Nile, learning that one of the apartments' employees is working for Nile, and a secret room owned by Condor that is accessible through Cape West's elevator via a secret code (which explains the elevator's technical issues). He also gets his job back at one point. In the end, Kyle finds the Scarlet Star and after having a long talk with Mags, who had found the secret room before, he sends the Scarlet Star to a museum.[6]

Reception

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Last Window: The Secret of Cape West received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[7] In a Kotaku retrospective, Peter Tieryas described the game as one of the best murder mysteries in gaming and that "the narrative is much more organic and one reveal ends up being just one small glimpse through the window of their lives".[19] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one nine, two eights, and one seven for a total of 32 out of 40.[11]

References

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  1. ^ East, Thomas (14 July 2010). "Last Window UK release date confirmed". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 January 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  2. ^ Ishaan (12 November 2009). "The Last Window Is A Sequel To Hotel Dusk". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  3. ^ a b The News Team (13 November 2009). "Last Window (Hotel Dusk sequel) details reveal the reason for the 'Last Window' name, and more". GoNintendo. Archived from the original on 15 November 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Last Window: El secreto de Cape West". www.guiasnintendo.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Last Window: El secreto de Cape West". www.guiasnintendo.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West for DS". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  8. ^ Beulink, Astrid (26 November 2010). "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West review". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  9. ^ Edge staff (November 2010). "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West". Edge. No. 220.
  10. ^ Parkin, Simon (15 September 2010). "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  11. ^ a b Brian (5 January 2010). "Famitsu review scores". Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  12. ^ Wales, Matt (17 September 2010). "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West UK Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West". Nintendo Gamer. October 2010.
  14. ^ Stockdale, Henry (16 September 2010). "Review: Last Window: The Secret of Cape West". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  15. ^ Blundon, Matthew (11 October 2010). "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  16. ^ Scullion, Chris (17 September 2010). "Last Window: The Secret Of Cape West review". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  17. ^ Kelly, Neon (4 October 2010). "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West Review". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  18. ^ Hoggins, Tom (29 September 2010). "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West video game review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  19. ^ Tieryas, Peter (8 February 2020). "Last Window Is One Of The Best Murder Mysteries In Gaming". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
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