Kyle Hyde games on the Nintendo DS

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Last Window: The Secret of Cape West follow Kyle Hyde, an ex-NYC detective working as a door-to-door salesman. Try as Kyle may to move on with his life, he finds ghosts from the pasts haunting him in his travels. 

While Kyle does try to sell unremarkable house products, he also works on special cases given to him by his boss, Ed Vincent, at Red Crown. For his first adventure in Hotel Dusk: Room 215, he was asked to find certain lost items. Unknowingly, he finds clues to the whereabouts of his former colleague and partner, Brian Bradley. To make his trip more complicated, the current patrons of the hotel in the middle of nowhere have their own hang-ups, which Kyle can't seem to stop himself from getting involved in. Nevertheless, he reaches his ultimate goal after a wonder climax in the story. He gains new friends along the way and finds more information about Brian and the underground organization, Nile, responsible for most of the mess.

In Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, Kyle's adventure continues, facing a threat of losing his home. His current apartment building had just been sold, and all tenants, including Kyle, only had a few months to find a new place to move into. Even if Kyle had just a short term left, he finds more mysteries that linked his father, the building, and Nile. 

The two games, aside from the amazing stories and characters, also utilize the Nintendo DS well. Admittedly, playing the either two in a long session leads to hand and wrist strain. But if you can play through the strain, the experience is worthwhile. 

In 2025, I find myself wanting a follow up to these games. Kyle Hyde is an amazingly relatable, humane character. Even in the midst of thick plots and supporting characters with personalities that burst through the screen, he follows his own small arcs. He makes logical, in-character decisions that move the story to places, some expected and others imaginative.

Last year, a remake of Another Code: Recollection was released for the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo owns both IPs (as far as I recall), so, even if Cing is defunct, I hope for a new entry in the Kyle Hyde series.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

The Ace Attorney series is one of my favorites of all time. When I saw the sale on The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, I immediately bought the collection of two games.

While the game is set on the far past, the characters physically and characteristically resemble the cast in modern time. Up and center are Ryunosuke, Susato, Kazuma, Sholmes, and Iris. 

The games also follow familiar story beats, but have more connections among the cases. Many characters, therefor, reappear in the second game from the first.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a good addition to the series. Sholmes and Iris, two of the more-prominent characters, heavily influence the story. Ultimately, the pair and the final case weren't exactly my preference, so I can't hold the games in as high regard as others do.

Isekai'd into a familiar world as a minor character! Some manhwa reviews

The Novel's Extra

Amazing! "The Novel's Extra" and "Demon King of the Royal Class" share many similarities, but this series gives a more consistent experience and character progression so far. The main character remains human even a hundred chapters into the story. He remains true to the premise and even evolved far from his original characterization for good, logical reasons. The main characters of both mentioned series are the strongest points of both. Action, art style, character design, while all are good, can take a back seat and let the character and story lead the series into outstanding moments.

Demon King of the Royal Class

The earlier chapters are a bit underwhelming compared to "The Novel's Extra", but the humanity and character development of the main character makes up for the weaker start. The lows are lower than the preceding series, but the peaks are just as high.

The Extra's Academy Survival Guide

A harem isekai story. The premise itself isn't unique. The characters, settings, and storylines are also just a hodgepodge of elements from other series. Truthfully, I dropped the series 38 chapters in, but there were short glimpses of originality and a good story. However, the good parts are mired by too many bad parts.

The Academy's Genius Tamer

While I didn't expect my venture into this subgenre to get any worse, "The Academy's Genius Tamer" defies the already-low bar. Ten chapters in, the main character has already betrayed his intention to lay low and away from the main story. Plots move due to convenience without any good motivation or proper character progression. I dropped this even earlier.

Pokemon Scarlet

I have to commend the vast improvements in the quality-of-life features introduced by Pokemon Scarlet. However, the immense graphical and performance issues hamper my enjoyment of the game. Not to mention, that the series has now obviously moved away from dungeon-type locations. I feel no more sense of awe and wonder playing through the games.

Quick Anime and Manga (Comics) reviews: 17 January 2025

Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun 3 (Anime)

Iruma and friend's shenanigans are still hilarious, three seasons in. Much of the animation and audio design stay the same, but the series retains its childlike charm in new adventures.

 

Mob Psycho 100 III (Anime)

Thus, the Mob Psycho 100 series ends with another amazing season.

ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. (Anime)

This was a really great series. It's a seinen series with a well-done mystery and drama. Oh, I hope I didn't forget that the characters were also very cool.

Play It Cool, Guys (Anime)

How can a short anime about guys acting cool be so good? Characters? Good. Character designs? Good. Storylines? Also good. A strong recommendation.

Handa-kun (Anime)

Hilarious! It's very much different than Barakamon. Handa-kun emphasizes on comedy. While it does suffer from lacking a straight man or a lack of varied supporting characters, this series can be enjoyed by fans of the series.

My Love Story!! (Anime)

One of my favorites. Takeo and Rinko are such cute characters. Makoto is also good. I wish he had more development, but the focus on Takeo and Rinko delivered a good story. 

Shibuya Goldfish (Manga)

Freaky in the first chapters. I lost interest somewhere in the middle, but it wasn't bad. 

Suicide Notes Laid on the Table (Manga)

Touching and a good read. I recommend this for a short read in the evening.

When in a slump

When in a slump, just go back to the basics (or the fundamentals). No need to think that far since they're well rooted in my mind.

A rational mind helps me.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 on Nintendo Switch

And to rival Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth, there is Monster Hunter Stories 2. This is one of the definitive games on the Nintendo Switch. The game managed to keep its battle mechanic fresh throughout by a wide variety of enemies and enemy movesets. The story is also quite good, a palate cleanser after indulging in dull 3D Pokemon games.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition on Nintendo Switch

It's been a while since I last played the game, but I think Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth is a better monster-collecting, role-playing game, 3D game than any 3D Pokemon game.