Overview
Just Everything you need to know about jacket.All the Info is from here http://hotlinemiami.wikia.com/wiki/Jacket
Bio
Jacket is the main protagonist and player character of Hotline Miami, and a side character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. His name started out as a fan nickname due to his letterman jacket. Dennis Wedin took up using the name in various interviews, and in Hotline Miami 2 all assets related to him refer to him as Jacket (HM1 assets call him “P” or “Player”).
Over the course of the first game, he dons various animal masks (leading to other fan nicknames) and performs a number of brutal assassinations in response to cryptic messages left on his answering machine.
Phone Calls
Phone Calls
The game opens with an extended nightmare sequence with Jacket in a pig mask being trained by a Bum wearing a veteran’s jacket. He kills three unarmed Russian mobsters when the surreal setting changes to a dimly lit bathroom. Jacket exits and is confronted by a filthy living room featuring a coffee table with a vinyl record player on it, and three comfy chairs each with their own lighting and animal-masked occupant.
The blue-lit woman in a horse mask, Don Juan, cordially greets Jacket, realizes he doesn’t know who he is, and comments that maybe he should leave it that way as he’s done some terrible things. The red-lit man in mobster garb and a piercing glare owl mask, Rasmus, says he doesn’t know Jacket and treats him with hostility. The sickly-yellow lit man in Jacket’s clothes and a rooster mask, Richard, tells Jacket that he knows him, and that they met on April 3rd (the date of both Jacket’s first masked job, and of San Francisco). Richard sees that Jacket is starting to remember his life, and the setting becomes Jacket’s apartment.
April 1989
April 1989
Jacket wakes up on April 3rd in his dirty and notably two-bed apartment. He receives a call from Tim’s Bakery telling him a package of ingredients has been sent to him. The package contains the Richard rooster mask and instructions to pick up a package at a metro and deliver it to a dumpster at “point F-32.” Jacket dons the mask and does so, killing several Russian mafia enforcers on the scene, but at F-32 he is confronted by the tutorial bum in veteran jacket, who attacks him for interfering with the dumpster and is promptly killed. This provokes Jacket to vomit.
Jacket drives to a local convenience store where Beard is the cashier. Beard greets him and says he hasn’t seen him in a long time and was worried about him. He comments that the last time they talked Jacket told him about his girlfriend dumping him. He quickly switches the topic and gives Jacket a midnight snack “on the house.”
On April 8th, Jacket’s kitchen table features several 50 Blessings newsletters from a patriotic organization he’s subscribed to. He gets a call from “Linda” to discipline naughty kids. He arrives at the given address to find it’s a Russian mobster hangout and kills them. He proceeds to a local pizzeria, where Beard is the cashier. Beard gives Jacket his desired pizza before Jacket orders, telling him it’s “on the house.”
On April 13th, Jacket’s apartment contains several newspaper clippings of his April 8th job as mementos or trophies. “Thomas” at the methadone clinic leaves him a message to swing on by. Jacket again arrives to find a den of Russian mobsters, this time seeing the tied up corpse of a walrus-masked killer, Earl. He visits a local VHS store, where Beard is the cashier. He raves about the recent killings, saying that a bunch of Ruskies is no loss if you ask him, and that it all sounds like a cool slasher flick. He gives Jacket a movie, again “on the house.” He encourages Jacket to enjoy himself.
On April 25th, Jacket’s apartment is cluttered with empty pizza boxes and more news clippings. Hotline Miami’s dating service worker “Kate” tells Jacket they’ve set up a date for him. He arrives at the address to find it’s an expensive villa guarded by several Russian mobsters and many security cameras. After dispatching them, the owner, a movie producer wearing a bullet proof vest, attacks Jacket, who retaliates by gouging his eyes out. In the media room Jacket finds a drugged Girl surrounded by cameras who begs him to kill her. He instead takes her to his car. Jacket heads to a bar, where Beard comments that he looks sick. He makes him a custom drink for free.
Questions
Questions
Jacket returns to the dirtied animal living room, now noticeably more littered with broken things. Don Juan comments that Jacket’s been busy. She says that a picture is starting to form and that she doesn’t like the way it looks; Rasmus berates Jacket’s return and says he’s not a nice person and that he makes him sick; Richard comments that Jacket still doesn’t understand his connection to Richard and asks four questions:
1) Do you like hurting other people?
2) Who is leaving messages on your answering machine?
3) Where are you right now?
4) Why are we having this conversation?
At this stage, Jacket can’t remember the answers to any of these questions, but respectively: 1) To a degree, yes he does as it’s cathartic; 2) 50 Blessings (Jacket never fully learns this, blaming the Russian Mafia); 3) A local Miami hospital; and 4) To get Jacket to wake up.
May 1989
May 1989
On May 5th, Jacket’s apartment has more newspaper clippings revealing that he was recorded in the movie producer’s villa. The Girl is on his couch next to a vomit bucket. “Blake” from an electrician service calls about fixing a power outage. Jacket arrives to find a large mafia hangout, where he finds and detonates the body of another masked killer, this one in a tiger mask which is damaged and bloodied by the explosion. He visits Beard’s convenience store, the inside of which is empty, and the outside of which features a group of Russian mobsters beating a masked killer to death. Beard comments that the streets are no longer safe and that he was worried about Jacket. He again gives him a snack for free because Jacket’s his friend and his money’s “no good here.”
On May 11th, Jacket’s newspaper clippings and empty pizza boxes have been moved out of the living room and into the kitchen (away from where Hooker sleeps), as has the vomit bucket. Hooker is in the bathroom, looking in the mirror. “Dave” from pest control sends Jacket to a large house full of Russian mobsters. After killing them, Jacket inspects a nearby manhole cover and finds the mutilated dying body of another masked killer, Jones. Jones tells him that he finally understands that it’s all a dream and dies. Jacket visits Beard’s pizzeria, and Beard comments that Jacket looks worried and that business has dried up, saying “maybe they’ve lost their taste for pizza… maybe it’s time to close up shop after all.” As always, Beard gives him his order for free.
On May 13th, The Girl is taking a bath, and pizza crumbs are present on her sheets on the couch. Jacket has further tidied up, moving all his newspaper clippings save the most recent onto the spare bed. “Don” from the Hotel Blue calls Jacket to come in as a back up receptionist, because their other one “went home due to stomach problems” (alluding to Biker’s refusal of the political mission because he didn’t have the stomach for that much heat; Biker instead uses May 13th to investigate the phone calls in the level “Safe House”). On his way downstairs he meets a suspicious Janitor but continues to his car. The Hotel Blue is full of armed waiters, Russian mafia guards, and mafia-affiliated pro-Russian politicians, all of which Jacket kills, but spares yet another suspicious Janitor.
Jacket visits Beard’s customer-less VHS store, where Beard excitedly asks him if he’s following the news of the killings, and says that a friend of his in the police force told him about a rumor that there’s a full group of masked killers. Beard comments that it fascinates him, like something from a movie. He tells Jacket to take whatever he wants on the house, because “that’s what friends are for.”
On May 23rd, all kitchen clutter and clippings has been either thrown away or moved onto Jacket’s spare bed. The Girl sits upright on her couch. “Harry” from condo management tells Jacket about a huge mess he needs to clean up. He arrives at a series of several Russian occupied condos, which he quickly clears out. Before returning to his car, the phone of the top level condo rings, informing Jacket that a prank caller needs to be dealt with at the phone company.
Jacket arrives at Phone Hom headquarters to find a motorcycle parked outside and all the employees inside dead. In the manager’s office he confronts a Biker hacking the manager’s computer, who tells him he’s “dead meat” and attacks him with a meat cleaver. After a long fight and multiple hits with a golf club Jacket apparently defeats Biker prompting a “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING, I’M SO CLOSE” before he apparently destroys Biker’s entire head with the golf club.
Afterward, Jacket visits Beard’s customer-less bar. Beard comments that Jacket doesn’t look happy, and admits he feels pretty bad himself, “something in the air, like something terrible has happened tonight,” and comments that he “hasn’t felt this way since San Francisco”. This foreshadows that Jacket’s failure to actually kill Biker will have repercussions for him that will lead to loss of someone he cares about
Visitations
Visitations
A blood drenched Jacket emerges from the bathroom into an utterly trashed animal living room. Don Juan says Jacket looks ill and should see a doctor, get some rest, and relax. Rasmus says that if Jacket insists on returning he’ll leave. Richard gives no answers, but tells Jacket this is their second to last meeting, and offers three predictions:
1) Someone you know is not who you think he is.
2) Something will soon be taken from you.
3) On July 21st you will wake up in a bigger house.
At this stage, and for the rest of his life, Jacket believes Richter to be under orders from the Russian mafia. He later learns that Richter is a masked killer just like him, but he never fully realizes (but possibly suspects) that the masked killer movement actually isn’t angled from within the mob itself.
Late May, Early June 1989
Late May, Early June 1989
On May 27th, Jacket’s apartment is completely free of pizza boxes and newspaper clippings, and The Girl has moved to sleeping on his spare bed instead of the couch. “Pat” from the Club calls Jacket in as a spare DJ. Notably the phone call says beer “is on the house.” Jacket arrives at the dance club to find the body of the masked killer Carl and several Russian mobsters, one of which has a cell phone.
Jacket visits Beard’s customer-less convenience store, which is now marked in the same manner as all other targeted locations. Beard says he has to tell Jacket something important, gesturing to the exploded-head corpse of Biker and saying “that did not happen” and that all of this “is not happening.” He sees that Jacket doesn’t believe him, and demonstrates as the screen turns to surreal static. The corpse of Biker is gone, but a blood stain remains, revealing that Jacket merely wounded Biker. A mysterious man, Richter, appears in the bathroom of the convenience store. Beard seems to “reset” and tells Jacket it’s nice to see him, that friendly faces are “few and far between these days” and to help himself to whatever he wants. The surreal static intermittently continues as Jacket leaves.
On May 31st, The Girl is nowhere to be seen. Jacket’s kitchen table has a new cloth, his NES system is gone, and his TV has been moved from his bedroom into the living room. “Rick” from the real estate office calls Jacket about an apartment showing. Jacket arrives to find the apartment full of Russian mobsters packaging cocaine. Halfway through dispatching them, the place is raided by a SWAT team and Jacket is forced to flee the scene. Jacket visits Beard’s pizzeria, which has a zombie Russian and zombie guard dog out front who are hostile to Jacket. Behind the counter is the corpse of Beard with the new cashier being the mysterious Richter, wiping Beard’s blood off his jacket. Richter tells Jacket to hurry up as they’re closing soon, and Jacket leaves.
On June 3rd, The Girl is again nowhere to be seen, but pink and teal couch pillows are on Jacket’s couch in the living room, as is a potted plant. “Thomas” from Downtown Relaxation Spa calls Jacket to come in as a back up receptionist, mentioning that another “employee” has “called in sick” (alluding to Jake’s assassination in the spa). Jacket arrives at the spa and clears out the Russian mobsters in it, finding yet another masked killer corpse, Jake. Jacket visits Beard’s VHS store, where again Beard’s corpse is behind the counter, Richter toying with the mallet he apparently used to crush Beard’s skull. Richter rudely asks what Jacket’s looking at, and then seems to recognize Jacket and asks if he’s seen him before. Jacket leaves.
On June 8th, an untampered newspaper is open on Jacket’s kitchen table, and a zombie bouncer is looking through his fridge. The two beds are now pushed together. Hooker is in the living room, watching TV. “Jim” from the office asks Jacket for his report, and hangs up the phone fourteen times. Jacket arrives at the office to see it full of Russian mobsters, which he dispatches largely with a silenced pistol. As he heads out of the lobby a van crashes through the entrance and disgorges several Russian mobsters and bouncers while a teal-haired Richter lookalike throws Molotov cocktails at Jacket. The surreal dream static returns as Jacket slowly mutilates and sets fire to the Richter lookalike. Jacket goes to Beard’s bar to find a blood trail leading from the cashier, Richter, to the back room. Richter tells Jacket “VIPs only tonight, I think you’d better leave.” In lieu of customers Russian mobster zombies are being served, implying that Jacket associates Richter as a servant of Russians.
Connections
Connections
Jacket arrives back home from his June 8th job to find it tagged for a hit, and sees The Girl’s corpse riddled with gunshot wounds in the bathroom. He enters the living room where Richter is watching TV with a silenced submachine gun resting on his lap. For the first time, he’s wearing an animal mask, revealing him to be a masked killer just like Jacket. Richter says “Well, let’s get the over with then…” and shoots Jacket in the face.
The dream static returns as Jacket wakes up in his own apartment and walks over to his body. Richter has been replaced on the couch by Richard. Don Juan and Rasmus have gone and Jacket is left alone with Richard. Richard tells Jacket none of this will have a happy ending, that what he does upon waking up will have no consequences, that Jacket will never see the full picture and it’s his own fault. He failed to kill the Biker and he failed to help Biker and Richter investigate the phone calls and now he’s lost The Girl to what could’ve been an ally. Jacket exits the apartment and his outfit changes into a hospital gown and head bandages, he opens the door to the apartment across the hall to find himself in a hospital bed, his head then explodes like Biker’s. The dream static erases his headless body.
July 21st And July 23rd
July 21st and July 23rd
At some point during his coma, Jacket drowsily overhears a conversation between a nurse and a cop, informing him that he’s recently out of surgery, The Girl’s dead, and Richter’s in the local precinct. The cop mentions Jacket is the prime suspect in a major case, and that Richter isn’t talking.
On July 21st, Jacket wakes up in his hospital room. He shimmies out the window and dodges several nurses and guards to escape the hospital. He drowsily returns home, finding it a gang-trashed former crime scene. There seems to be blood near the fridge, implying Jacket walked over there or was dragged by Richter after being shot in the head, potentially explaining the June 8th fridge zombie in his dreams. Moving to the laundry basket in the bathroom, Jacket gets another burst of dream static before donning his clothes, implying he fell asleep and some time has passed, making it either July 22nd or July 23rd as he heads downstairs.
Jacket proceeds to his trashed DeLorean and drives it to the local precinct, where he proceeds to kill around thirty cops to get to Richter and the evidence room. Richter confirms that he takes orders from the same mysterious phone messages as Jacket, prompting Jacket to spare him and turn to the police file on the case for clues. The police have traced some of the calls to a club of suspected Russian mafia ties (deemed the Golden Truck Stop in the sequel), but have insufficient evidence for a warrant.
On July 23rd, Jacket again heads out of his apartment and takes his Acado GT to the Golden Truck Stop. The place is lavishly decorated with golden floors and monster trucks and of course guarded by several Russian mobsters. A Russian mafia associate in the main office has opened the safe for Jacket and begs him not to kill him. He tells Jacket his boss isn’t here today, and gives Jacket his address. He moves toward the desk with an open drawer with a magnum in it, but stumbles and falls over well out of reach of it. Regardless, Jacket bashes his head in for a solid minute and proceeds to the Russian kingpin’s house.
Now at what he assumes is the source of the calls, Jacket kills his way through the Russian Father’s home. In the main room, the Russian Father comments that Jacket is the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ who’s been killing his men, but commends Jacket for his senseless bloodlust and looks forward to seeing his face after killing him. Jacket beats the Father’s attack panthers and ninja body guard to death with nearby trophies, and uses the dead ninja’s throwing knives to maim the Father from a distance. The Father, realizing he is defeated, denies Jacket catharsis by killing himself.
A dejected Jacket then hears the phone on the Father’s desk ring. Jacket answers, and the elderly Grandfather asks what the noise down there is. When there’s no reply, the Grandfather says “♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ phones! I hate these things!” Jacket takes the Father’s revolver and heads upstairs, following the ever more tenuous idea that the phone-hating voice is behind the calls, where he finds a wheelchair-bound and unarmed Grandfather, who briefly wonders who Jacket is before deciding it doesn’t matter. He expresses regret for all the wrongs he’s committed and is resigned to his fate. “Nothing really seems to matter anymore, does it?” he asks before Jacket shoots him in the face, killing him.
Stepping outside onto the balcony, Jacket throws off his mask and removes from his pocket the picture alluded to in the animal room in his coma dream. He lights a cigarette and throws it to the wind as the credits roll.
Answers
Answers
Answers rewinds to the events between May 13th and May 24th, this time from Biker’s perspective. Biker backs out of the May 13th political job assigned to him, likely due to the associated political heat (or due to the fact that Clean Hit actually can’t be completed with Biker’s default layout of meat cleaver and 3 darts), becoming frustrated and bored. He quickly finds that the nationalistic 50 Blessings newsletter that both he and Jacket are subscribed to is using Phone Hom to screen calls and frame The Golden Truck Stop, making Jacket’s post-coma actions effectively meaningless (as Jacket slightly understood).
Biker also has a warped view of the events at Phone Hom on May 23rd, and imagines giving Jacket a fair chance to leave (“Get out of here if you don’t want to die,” as opposed to simply “You’re dead meat.”), and also imagines killing Jacket easily and completely destroying his head (consistently shown previously to represent a failure in assassinating a 50B agent). On May 24th he meets the Janitors and confronts them about their goals, but when he finds out the political nature of their operation and its goal to end the Russo-American Coalition, he flees Miami, saying they’ve “wasted enough of his time,” leaving the operation intact to call Jacket again on May 27th.