The DS cult classic returns in this remaster of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. Solve puzzles, avert deaths, and search for the truth about your identity as a ghost who has no memory of his past.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Developer: Capcom
Price: $30
Platform: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, PC
MonsterVine was supplied with a PS4 code for review.
As someone who has loved Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ever since it first came out for the DS in 2013, I was delighted when Capcom announced a remaster. From my preview earlier this month, I had high hopes for how Ghost Trick would be handled on modern platforms, so I was excited to dig into it once again for my review.
Ghost Trick is a puzzle game at heart. You play as a ghost named Sissel searching for his lost memories and the truth of how he died. As a ghost, he’s obtained special powers that allow him to manipulate objects and travel back in time to four minutes before a person’s death. These two abilities form the crux of most puzzles. You will witness a character’s death or its aftermath and travel back to spend the four minutes ahead of their death using the objects in the environment to avert their death before time runs out. Each object has one “ghost trick” you can perform, so it becomes a matter of experimenting with different items to see how they work and how you can use them together to alter events. These puzzles are fun and pretty logical. While some might require more trial and error than others, they’re always constructed in a way that makes sense. The four minute timer might sound stressful at first, but since you can restart the four minutes whenever you want and time freezes when you’re in the Ghost World–the screen you use to move from object to object–it’s not a restriction so much as a natural way to interact with the scene as it unfolds.
While the original game allowed for touchscreen controls, it always had the option to use buttons instead, and that control scheme has transferred well. Moving from object to object without a touchscreen might be slightly less precise, but that’s a rare and minor inconvenience. For some reason, the “Controls” option in the menu loads an online web manual instead of simply displaying the controls, but since relevant controls are displayed on-screen anyway, that’s more a puzzling choice than an actual problem.
The remaster also uses sidebars to account for wider screen sizes now that it’s no longer on the DS. While not the most inventive choice, these sidebars do provide a place for the timer hourglass that was originally displayed on the DS’s second screen. You can also change the look of these sidebars, with new options unlocked as you play. Meanwhile, the remastered visuals are great, with fluid animations and beautiful character models. There’s only one character I felt looked off in the remaster compared to the original, as the old pixelated model didn’t make it as noticeable just how blocky his hair is. The remaster also features a newly-arranged soundtrack, and you can freely switch between the old soundtrack and the new one. I fell in love with the new versions of the songs, but it’s nice to have the option to switch.
While the puzzles are fun, the story is where Ghost Trick truly shines. As part of his search to learn about himself, Sissel encounters numerous people whose fates are entangled with his. The characters are charming and well-written, from the detective who just can’t seem to stop dying or the tiny Pomeranian who wants to help in any way he can. Even the minor characters have memorable quirks. By talking to characters and pursuing new leads from place to place, the mystery slowly unfolds. Playing the remaster after having played the original only made me more impressed with how smart the writing is. Subtle hints foreshadow what is to come, and the big twists and chapter cliffhangers hit well. It’s so well-written, even without taking into account how good the comedy in this game is. I loved revisiting areas whenever possible just to see if any new bits of optional funny dialogue were available.
As you play, you’ll unlock numerous extras for completing “challenges,” which are in-game achievements that correspond to the actual trophies/achievements if you’re playing on a platform that has them. Unlockables include new backgrounds for the sidebars, art and illustrations, and music. It’s always nice to get this sort of glimpse behind the scenes, so it feels like a nice way to reward the player’s progress. Less rewarding is the bonus unlocked once you beat the game, the “Ghost Puzzle” feature. Unlike the puzzles in the main game, these have nothing to do with ghost tricks or any of the game’s mechanics at all. Instead, they’re three sliding block puzzles, each with 3×3, 4×4, and 5×5 versions, where you must slide the panels into the correct position to recreate the scene. They’re fine, but they don’t add much to the experience aside from the additional unlockable art you get for completing them. I was perplexed by why this was the new content Capcom chose to make for the remaster, until I learned the sliding block puzzles were originally included in the Japanese iOS port. In that sense, it’s nice to have this content included.
If you played the original Ghost Trick on the DS, its remaster has brought it to modern platforms in excellent form. If you haven’t, this is your chance to try a puzzle adventure game that never quite got the recognition it deserves.
The Final Word
While it doesn’t have too much new to offer compared to the original, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is as much a masterpiece now as it was when it first launched ten years ago. The passage of time makes some games lose their luster, but Ghost Trick shines as brightly as ever. Its story, humor, and puzzles still stand strong, and it was a delight to revisit this game.
– MonsterVine Rating: 5 out of 5 – Excellent
