Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

[Chris Nahr]

That's apparently a new detective game by Capcom for the Nintendo DS, and it's out this week in America and Europe. I was totally unaware of that game until I saw it in Tom's weekly release post (http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2011/01/10/january-10-2011-wallet-threat-level-red-tights/), and preordered it immediately since it might be as good as the Phoenix Wright series!

[ImpAtom]

I enjoyed Ghost Trick a lot more then I was expecting. It's very Phoenix Wrightish in tone, as you might expect from the developers, but it manages to avoid feeling like a Me Too knockoff. I really love the way the animations are handled and the game is legitimately funny and has a quite enjoyable cast. It certainly relies heavily on fanciful and supernatural elements to drive the story, but considering it is about being a ghost that is to be expected. Some of the eventual plot resolution feels a little weird, but I had a great time with it.

Honestly, my only problem with it is that it's pretty short and, like Phoenix Wright, you're probably not going to be replaying it any time soon. It's a one-and-done sort of game.

[sam and the firefly]

What I've played of the Japanese version has been really fantastic.

[Toohoo]

Ace attorney 1 and 3 are two of my favourite games, so I suspect I'll enjoy this. It looks like they've actually given the gameplay its own proper set of mechanics, as opposed to just allowing it to be a product of the writing.
The attorney games were often mystical in certain ways, so it's nice to see the developers go crazy with magic and ghosts in this game.

[Larsen B]

I was following this but avoiding any previews for fear of spoilers so I had no idea that this is out this week!

I had promised not to buy any games in the first half of 2011 so this has come out at the worst time.

[porousnapkin]

Demo: http://www.gamespot.com/misc/presentations/ghost-trick/index.html

It looks really awesome.

[Pogue Mahone]

Fantastic, I had no idea this game was so close to release. Looks like I'll be cashing in Christmas gift certificates for this one.

[Chris Nahr]

Finished! There are 18 missions in total, for those who are still playing. And each is more batshit insane than the previous one. The story is incredibly convoluted but I can't really say anything without spoilers!

One complaint: the start is really extremely slow. You don't understand anything because you have lost your memory, the trademark zaniness of the typical Capcom characters doesn't help when you're trying to establish the situation, and the tutorial chapters treat you like a three year-old.

I almost lost interest in the early chapters, but I'm glad I kept playing. The convoluted story comes together very nicely in the end, and the puzzles get pretty clever despite the simple mechanics. Amazingly I could finish the game without consulting GameFAQs which has to be a first for an adventure game. Highly recommended.

[nabeel]

I have played the first few chapters of the game so far and I am really enjoying it. I absolutely love the art style and animation, and the story and characters are quite fun too. Apparently the game will also be out on iOS, exactly the same but the graphics easily scale up to the higher resolution so it probably will look even better.

[Misguided]

I finished it a couple of nights ago, and it is a lot of fun. Like a slightly more action-y Phoenix Wright. It doesn't take as long to play through as a PW game would, but I thought the length was just right for me. Each scene is a nice bite-sized piece that makes you want to do just one more before you put it down.

BTW, the flash demo is poorly put together, IMO. The pacing is really slow compared to the regular game. I had decided not to get it based off the demo, but then started hearing good things after it came out, and gave it a shot. Glad I did.

In general, I'd say this is a strong recommend if you are a fan of adventure games with wacky PW-style humor and characters. If you didn't like those games, this isn't liable to bowl you over, though it is a bit different.

Interestingly, I've played three DS adventure titles back to back ranging from good (Last Window) to great (999) to very good (Ghost Trick).

[Chris Nahr]

I have played the first few chapters of the game so far and I am really enjoying it. I absolutely love the art style and animation, and the story and characters are quite fun too. Apparently the game will also be out on iOS, exactly the same but the graphics easily scale up to the higher resolution so it probably will look even better.

An iOS port, so soon after the DS release? I guess that's why they conspicuously underused the second DS screen... Assuming they redo the graphics the iOS version should be much better. The game has great animations but they suffer tragically from the gigantic blocky Atari 2600-like pixels on the DS.

Also, anyone who has ever played a Phoenix Wright game probably knows this, but anyone who's still playing should make sure to watch the entire credit sequence at the end!

[Bandersnatch]

I finished up this game tonight and loved it for the most part. The story was very engaging and had lots of heart. I found it pretty touching towards the end. The only low point of the game for me was Chapter 9 with its annoying stealth sequence. If you own a DS, do not pass this one up.



Interestingly, I've played three DS adventure titles back to back ranging from good (Last Window) to great (999) to very good (Ghost Trick).

Interesting, I bought Last Window but since I hadn't completed Hotel Dusk I played through that, then 999, then Ghost Trick.

[Ginger Yellow]

If you own a DS, do not pass this one up.


Or an iDevice. Great game.