Ghost Trick: Phantom Dectective- Review

"Can you solve the mystery of your death?"

Brought to the U.S. on January 11, 2011 for the Nintendo DS by Capcom and the creative team behind the hit Ace Attorney game series (also for the DS) Ghost Trick is a little bit of an oddity in the modern gaming landscape. Making full use of the of the DS touch-screen Ghost Trick: Phantom Dectective is built to be like the more fun and silly "Point & Click Adventure" style games of old.

For those unfamiliar with the term of "point & click" it was a genre of (mostly PC, hence the term) gaming that experienced a great degree of popularity in the U.S. from the late 1980's to the late 1990's. The games featured a large emphasis on storytelling through dialogue, puzzle solving, and interaction with the game environment. Ranging from first to third person style games with 2-D and 3-D graphics the genre helped push videogames towards a more cinematic experience. Some of the more notable games of the era included titles like Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Myst, and The 7th Guest.

Detective Lynne

While the genre has remained strong in countries like Japan it has all but seemingly died here in the States. The advent of more modern gaming features such as high-resolution graphics, more involved gameplay mechanics, and online connectivity have rendered the style archaic and obsolete by many game publisher standards. Videogame developers and publishers alike have become less inclined to develop point & click titles for fear of bad sales over the years, and thus the genre's presence in the U.S. faded.

Thankfully as of this review it is beginning to show signs of experiencing second life. Game developer studio Double Fine managed to bring in over $3 million from the crowd funding site Kickstarter alone for their point & click adventure game. Also with more recent popular titles that pulled inspiration from the genre such as Heavy Rain, The Walking Dead, and The Longest Journey franchise, point & click style games may yet prove to big time publishers that games such as this can still be profitable here in America.

In Ghost Trick players take control of a recent murder victim named Sissel. Devoid of his memories he awakens as a phantom to see a young female detective named Lynne be killed at the scene of his murder by what appears to be an assassin. Initially confused by everything that is occurring in front of him another phantom (possessing a nearby desk lamp) named Ray arrives to explain things. Sissel has an ability few other phantoms have; the ability to possess and move inanimate objects. As well as the ability to possess someone's corpse and travel back in time 4 minutes before they die. Ray tells Sissel this is what is known as "Ghost Tricks" and that he can use them to solve the mystery of his own death; for if he doesn't solve the mystery he will cease to exist by dawn. With no good leads other than Lynne herself, Sissel begins the investigation into his murder by first saving Lynne. What follows next is a series of twists and turns that will affect the lives (and deaths) of numerous people. Can Sissel decipher the clues, find out who he was in life, and why he was killed before time runs out?

If you couldn't tell from the above synopsis, the plot here is a large and labyrinthine one. Twists and turns with numerous quirky characters and heavy emphasis on time travel all make Ghost Trick a game that demands your undivided attention. While none of the story elements ever feel too complex there is still a lot to keep track of. Thankfully an in game glossary feature is provided to more easily keep tabs on the information as it becomes available. Being a Japanese game the story can be a little "weird" at times for those who are not familiar with Japanese storytelling tropes. Thus making some characters such as Detective Cabanela (you'll know him when you see him) potentially seem incredibly goofy to the uninitiated crowd of gamers. If you're already into that kind of story-telling then Ghost Trick can offer a lot of fun. The larger focus on narrative though can make Ghost Trick feel somewhat wordy. Long bouts of characters exchanging dialogue slow the pace quite a bit, but never to a point that the game becomes boring. As the plot progresses, and the mystery more unveiled, Ghost Trick surprisingly enough becomes more dramatic. With moments that were truly suspenseful and even emotional that all lead up to what I considered to be a very gratifying ending. Playing Ghost Trick to completion never felt arduous, and provided a great deal of entertainment. 

The Ghost World looks kinda cool..

The gameplay is based around Sissel's Ghost Trick abilities and is what helps to create scenarios that move the plot forward. Things can get a tad complicated when trying to explain how it works though. Players swap at will between the Land of the Living where time flows naturally, and the Ghost World where time stops. When in the Ghost World Sissel can travel between objects (highlighted in blue) as long as they are within a certain radius to each other. Once he possesses an object he can then animate it and potentially open new paths up to himself or influence others characters. For example, moving a tray of donuts may prompt a character to change their position in the room, thus opening up a new path.

As the story progresses and scenarios become more complex, timing becomes essential for performing all of the tricks. So knowing when to switch between the Ghost World and the Land of the Living is key. In a way I guess one could think of it as almost being like "Rube Goldberg" the game. Except that you're the ghost of a dead man powering the machine. Heh... I just made a funny... Ghost in the machine...

Although initially complex, it didn't take long for me to adjust and start pulling off cool tricks. Ghost Trick throws challenges at the player with the learning curve of the game's mechanics very much in mind. By the time more advanced puzzles came, I felt like I was a gaming genius due to how quickly I was able to figure out a solution. Now mind you, the puzzles here are not exactly easy either. As I said before, timing and positioning become essential to success. Should you find yourself on the failing end though, the game is rather forgiving for a botched scenario. Any mission can be started over from the beginning as many times as the player needs. So if you can't figure out the solutions you have infinite tries to do so. 

Detective Cabanela: SWAG!

Special mention I feel must go to Ghost Trick's design and overall graphical package. Designed by industry veteran Shu Takumi. every character has an immediately identifiable and iconic look to them. Takumi felt that the characters needed to not only have a unique look, but a unique silhouette too in order to leave a better impression on the player. Not once did I ever run into a character sprite that was just a repeat of another. Granted there are a few that look similar to each other, but there is a bit of a visual joke there when it comes to those guys. Silky smooth animations that simply ooze personality and charm whenever characters start moving across the screen really do help to sell the story. It is interesting to note that the sprites were rendered and animated in 3-D first, and then changed to 2-D to help create the more "cartoony" appearance they have. Apparently the style was born out of Mr. Takumi's own boredom with 3-D graphics and only succeeded by the chance that he had found the right staff to help him work on the project.

The backgrounds are also truly something to behold on the DS. Due to Sissel being able to control strewn about objects a lot of emphasis on detail was put into all of the scenarios. The variety of ways the player can explore a given set is likely to keep one entertained for hours on end alone. Practically every location in the game features gigantic and elaborate layouts that the player needs to explore in order to better achieve success in the missions. Ranging from the cluttered junkyard at the game's opening, to a fancy restaurant, or a sinking military submarine, every backdrop in Ghost Trick is unique in both its visual presentation and puzzles the player solves. There is even a chapter select option that unlocks once the game is completed for those who want to go back and experience their favorite missions again.  

The giant fried chicken really brings the whole thing together.

The game's awesome score also deserves mention. Masakazu Sugimori's composition is an audible delight and compliments Ghost Trick's tone quite well. All the characters not only have iconic designs but are even punctuated by iconic themes. The music that plays during the missions are the stand out numbers as they are legitimately pulse pounding when the need arises.  Tracks such as "4 Minutes Before Death" and "The Last Desperate Struggle" play during the more climatic moments of the story and actually had me trying to solve the puzzles faster. Of the more recent games that I've played, Ghost Trick features one of the more catchy and identifiable soundtracks.

Sadly Ghost Trick is lacking in replay value. Beyond the chapter select that unlocks, there really isn't much reason to come back other than to just experience the story again. As is the problem with most mystery stories though, once the mystery is solved there isn't much reason to go back because you already know all the answers. Such things as a challenge mode or even a simple time trial mode may have brought some much needed re-playability to the game.

Overall Ghost Trick is an incredibly fun ride while it lasts with a fun and captivating mystery involving fun and quirky characters. Its beautiful graphics coupled with an iconic art style make the game instantly recognizable, and a visual feast for more old-school videogame fans. The gameplay almost perfectly recreates the sensation of playing the point & click adventure games of old and provides a good deal of challenge for those who like puzzles. Not everyone will be into this kind of game, but for those who are curious you can still get Ghost Trick on the Nintendo DS as well as iOS. If anything else Ghost Trick proves that the point & click genre isn't entirely dead yet in the States, it is merely a specter waiting to pull off a cool trick...

(The DS version of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective was used for this review. Completion of the initial playthrough was 9hrs. 23mins.)

Positive Factors

• Recreates challenging point & click gameplay very well on the DS.
• Fun mystery story with fun characters and a gratifying ending.
• Beautiful animation and iconic character designs.
• Large detailed backgrounds give it a good sense of scale and challenge.
• Music is catchy and even pulse pounding with some tracks.

Negative Factors

• Quirky characters and complex aspects of the story may turn some players away.
• The game can become very wordy in spots and slows the pace down.
• Little replay value other than to experience the story or certain missions again.

Final Rating: Splenderiffic!