9: The Last Resort

Lore & Background

The player inherits a hotel called The Last Resort from their deceased uncle, Thurston Last. The hotel is inhabited by nine muses and has become inhospitable due to a pair of squatters known as the Toxic Twins. Only the aeroplane-man Salty, voiced by Jim Belushi, is brave enough to wander and talk to the player. The player's goal is to reconstruct 'The Muse Machine' and banish the Toxic Twins.

Reader's Guide

Gameplay involves exploring a mansion with carnival-like visuals and solving cerebral challenges, including memory-style mini-games and luck-driven tasks requiring persistent mouse-clicking. The game rewards exploration with vivid animations, surreal 3D art, and character encounters. GameSpot gave it a 7.3 out of 10, calling it 'a far more beautiful and less disorienting ride' than Myst. MacAddict described it as 'the grooviest Made-With-Macromedia-Director game yet' and predicted it would become a 'prestigious cult hit.' The game was developed for Windows and Mac OS and was in development as early as February 1996.

Did You Know?

• The game was produced by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal.
• The voice cast includes Cher, Christopher Reeve, and members of Aerosmith.
• The visual style and artwork were done by Mark Ryden.

Gameplay & Puzzle Design

Nine: The Last Resort throws the player into a bizarre, carnival-flavored mansion with no explanation for why they are there. The core loop is deceptively simple: click on everything, talk to everyone, and piece together what is happening. The game layers its challenges across a wide spectrum—some puzzles are straightforward, like a memory mini-game where you match sound effects, while others lean heavily on luck, demanding that you keep clicking until something finally gives. That persistence is rewarded with bursts of vivid animation, surreal three-dimensional artwork, and memorable character encounters that keep the experience feeling alive. A rotating cast of voiced personalities drops hints throughout the mansion, and the aeroplane-man Salty, voiced by Jim Belushi, surfaces intermittently to offer practical advice wrapped in his trademark grumpy sarcasm. The ultimate objective ties it all together: the player must work to expel the corrupt inhabitants from the property, turning what begins as aimless exploration into a purposeful quest.

Plot & Narrative World

The story begins with a simple inheritance: the player character has just received a hotel called The Last Resort from their recently deceased uncle, Thurston Last. What should be a quiet new chapter quickly reveals itself as anything but. The hotel is home to nine muses, and the atmosphere has curdled into something hostile and fearful. The wacky residents live in constant dread of a pair of squatters called the Toxic Twins, who have taken over parts of the property and turned the once-hospitable establishment into a place of tension and unease. Almost no one dares to engage with the newcomer. The sole exception is Salty, an aeroplane-man who is the only resident brave enough to wander the halls and actually speak with the player. His courage is rare, and his presence becomes a lifeline in an otherwise isolating environment. The player's mission crystallizes around a single objective: reconstruct the enigmatic Muse Machine and use it to banish the Toxic Twins, restoring peace to the nine muses and their haunted hotel.

Production & Star-Studded Cast

Nine: The Last Resort was the debut title from Tribeca Interactive, a studio whose parent company, Tribeca Productions, had been operating since August 1988. The project carried heavyweight backing, with Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal serving as producers. The voice cast reads like a who's-who of Hollywood and rock music: Cher, James Belushi, Christopher Reeve, Ellen DeGeneres, Anne Heche, Tress MacNeille, and both Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith lent their voices to the mansion's eccentric residents. The visual identity was shaped by the distinctive artwork of Mark Ryden, giving the game its signature blend of whimsy and darkness. Development was underway by at least February 1996, and the finished product shipped for both Windows and Mac OS. For a company making its first foray into interactive entertainment, the ambition was clear—pairing A-list talent with a singular artistic vision to create something that felt more like a motion picture than a typical point-and-click adventure.

Reception & Enduring Appeal

Critics met the game with a mix of admiration and measured praise. GameSpot scored it a solid 7.3 out of 10, drawing a direct comparison to the landmark title Myst. Their verdict suggested that while the adventure might not demand the same grueling hours to complete, it delivered a far more beautiful and less disorienting ride—a compliment that positioned it as a more accessible yet equally rewarding experience. MacAddict went further, calling it the grooviest Macromedia Director game yet and highlighting its blend of artsy tomfoolery, good-natured pseudomysticism, and K-A rated brainteasers. The publication explicitly framed it as having all the markings of a prestigious cult hit, acknowledging that its appeal lay not in fast-paced action but in its layered, contemplative charm. Decades later, the game remains playable through DOSBox emulators, a testament to its enduring niche following and the lasting appeal of its surreal, star-voiced world.

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