A man dressed in black holds a young woman at gunpoint. He's a hitman, hired to erase all those who possess knowledge about something our unlucky gal has stumbled upon. Between her and the barrel of the shotgun is a man, who realizes what's going on and wants to do something to help. Except... he's already dead, his body lying face down in the ground, and his disembodied spirit just watching helplessly.
Not all is lost: with the help of another ghost nearby, he learns of a spirit's ability to possess and manipulate various objects, as well as, when faced with a corpse, the unbelievable power turn back time to just before that person died. After a bit of trying, he is able to prevent the girl from being assassinated. All is well! Only, he's still dead. Even worse... he has no idea who he is, or why he died. With the girl he saved being the only person who might have a clue about what transpired, he elects to follow her, and the night that follows is a sequence of ever more unbelievable events.
Coming out of several years in a row working on the Ace Attorney series, director Shu Takumi wanted to try something different, creating a new IP that pushed the beloved style character-focused stories of his previous works even further. To achieve that, he planned on using a disembodied spirit as a protagonist as a means to explore multiple locations and connect more intimately with more characters, in a way a person with a physical body wouldn't be able to. This opus took years to come into fruition, and how cruel it was that, in the saturated and piracy-ravaged market of the Nintendo DS's later years, it earned the label "cult classic" instead of the shorter and more deserved "classic".
Ghost Trick is an adventure game unlike any other ever made. Its unique style of puzzle gameplay puts the player in control of Sissel, the amnesiac spirit, whose most basic ability is to hop between highlighted objects in a scene and use them in some way, like moving a cart or turning on a light. In the most basic stages of Ghost Trick, that's just his goal: traverse a certain location to cause something to happen, or to eavesdrop on a conversation and obtain a piece of information.
Everything changes once he finds a dead body and travels back in time to exactly four minutes before that person's passed away. We're presented with the sequence of events that led to that death, and are then set loose in the scene with the goal of altering it and preventing that terrible outcome. Naturally, Sissel cannot talk or otherwise directly interact with anyone in the past, so in case he needs to change someone's behaviour, he must use his powers over objects to induce them into the desired course of action.
These sections are superb puzzles. They force the player to go through the scene several times, understanding what are the pivotal moments in the scene and what tools they have to work with. Sometimes, it's a simple matter of finding the right timing to perform a certain action, or finding a way to gain more time. In other occasions, the paths Sissel can take in a certain location must be thoroughly explored in order to gain more information and act appropriately. There's even cases where more elaborate chains of object manipulations must be enacted -- if the thought of preventing crimes by building Rube Goldberg machines sounds appealing in any way, this is the game you need to play.
More than the puzzles themselves, however, what's most intriguing is their execution. A pitfall games centered around puzzles often fall in is that those get in the way of the narrative, especially towards the end of the campaign where the difficulty is at its highest. Ghost Trick, on the other hand, follows in the footsteps of Ace Attorney, interleaving them with action and character moments. In addition, as the story progresses, the game focuses on offering a larger variety of puzzles through exploring different locations and featuring new characters instead of scaling the difficulty. Both of these decisions confer a flawless pacing to the narrative. The final section of the game, in particular, is so extraordinarily well paced that it doesn't feel like playing a game, but being part of a story yourself.
A story which is in itself, exceptional, and alone worth the price of admission. Shu Takumi was cooking he put forth the idea of a ghost used to explore a large cast: there are many, many characters in Ghost Trick, all of them worthy of being someone's favorite, and the game has the time and means to move between scenes, giving each person time on the spotlight and exploring their personality and motivations. Of note is that Ghost Trick is home to the single best dog in all of gaming: Missile, the Pomeranian, based on Shu Takumi's real life dog at the time, is a standout character whose energy and charm wins over just about anyone who plays the game for a bit. The uncontested best boy.
Each scene in Ghost Trick is rendered in a sidescrolling 2D view, which is in itself pretty rare for a narrative game, but the way the story is presented is what really makes the game shine: the scene direction treats each sideways view of a location as a stage, making heavy use of theater language to convey thoughts, emotions and information to the spectator. This is reinforced by the team's rejection of motion capture, which led them to hand-animate the flashiest, most unique and detailed animations for each character, sometimes establishing a character's entire personality simply from the way they walk into the stage. The game's flat colors and strong shapes may make every frame of it a painting, but seeing it in motion is the truly breathtaking part.
Ghost Trick's only debatable flaw is that the story being told here is so extensive and so complex that it makes the experience into one the player has to give credence to, and has to be willing to stick with to the end. The script very slowly unveils its hand, and it might feel, at times, like certain arcs were forgotten or huge plot holes are being opened. And that's not true: the plot is masterfully paced and paints a complete and concise picture by the time the credits roll, but because that process takes time, it demands a certain openness from the player, a willingness to engage with the narrative and let it unfold on its own time.
Which is to say, its only flaw is being too good for its own sake, a demerit that can no doubt be worn as a badge of honor. Ghost Trick is an exhilarating experience, and it is a blessing that it survived its weak sales performance on the DS and went on to be ported and remade for other platforms. Sissel's supernatural adventure between the worlds of the living and the dead deserves to be seen and enjoyed by more people.
Not all is lost: with the help of another ghost nearby, he learns of a spirit's ability to possess and manipulate various objects, as well as, when faced with a corpse, the unbelievable power turn back time to just before that person died. After a bit of trying, he is able to prevent the girl from being assassinated. All is well! Only, he's still dead. Even worse... he has no idea who he is, or why he died. With the girl he saved being the only person who might have a clue about what transpired, he elects to follow her, and the night that follows is a sequence of ever more unbelievable events.
Coming out of several years in a row working on the Ace Attorney series, director Shu Takumi wanted to try something different, creating a new IP that pushed the beloved style character-focused stories of his previous works even further. To achieve that, he planned on using a disembodied spirit as a protagonist as a means to explore multiple locations and connect more intimately with more characters, in a way a person with a physical body wouldn't be able to. This opus took years to come into fruition, and how cruel it was that, in the saturated and piracy-ravaged market of the Nintendo DS's later years, it earned the label "cult classic" instead of the shorter and more deserved "classic".
Ghost Trick is an adventure game unlike any other ever made. Its unique style of puzzle gameplay puts the player in control of Sissel, the amnesiac spirit, whose most basic ability is to hop between highlighted objects in a scene and use them in some way, like moving a cart or turning on a light. In the most basic stages of Ghost Trick, that's just his goal: traverse a certain location to cause something to happen, or to eavesdrop on a conversation and obtain a piece of information.
Everything changes once he finds a dead body and travels back in time to exactly four minutes before that person's passed away. We're presented with the sequence of events that led to that death, and are then set loose in the scene with the goal of altering it and preventing that terrible outcome. Naturally, Sissel cannot talk or otherwise directly interact with anyone in the past, so in case he needs to change someone's behaviour, he must use his powers over objects to induce them into the desired course of action.
These sections are superb puzzles. They force the player to go through the scene several times, understanding what are the pivotal moments in the scene and what tools they have to work with. Sometimes, it's a simple matter of finding the right timing to perform a certain action, or finding a way to gain more time. In other occasions, the paths Sissel can take in a certain location must be thoroughly explored in order to gain more information and act appropriately. There's even cases where more elaborate chains of object manipulations must be enacted -- if the thought of preventing crimes by building Rube Goldberg machines sounds appealing in any way, this is the game you need to play.
More than the puzzles themselves, however, what's most intriguing is their execution. A pitfall games centered around puzzles often fall in is that those get in the way of the narrative, especially towards the end of the campaign where the difficulty is at its highest. Ghost Trick, on the other hand, follows in the footsteps of Ace Attorney, interleaving them with action and character moments. In addition, as the story progresses, the game focuses on offering a larger variety of puzzles through exploring different locations and featuring new characters instead of scaling the difficulty. Both of these decisions confer a flawless pacing to the narrative. The final section of the game, in particular, is so extraordinarily well paced that it doesn't feel like playing a game, but being part of a story yourself.
A story which is in itself, exceptional, and alone worth the price of admission. Shu Takumi was cooking he put forth the idea of a ghost used to explore a large cast: there are many, many characters in Ghost Trick, all of them worthy of being someone's favorite, and the game has the time and means to move between scenes, giving each person time on the spotlight and exploring their personality and motivations. Of note is that Ghost Trick is home to the single best dog in all of gaming: Missile, the Pomeranian, based on Shu Takumi's real life dog at the time, is a standout character whose energy and charm wins over just about anyone who plays the game for a bit. The uncontested best boy.
Each scene in Ghost Trick is rendered in a sidescrolling 2D view, which is in itself pretty rare for a narrative game, but the way the story is presented is what really makes the game shine: the scene direction treats each sideways view of a location as a stage, making heavy use of theater language to convey thoughts, emotions and information to the spectator. This is reinforced by the team's rejection of motion capture, which led them to hand-animate the flashiest, most unique and detailed animations for each character, sometimes establishing a character's entire personality simply from the way they walk into the stage. The game's flat colors and strong shapes may make every frame of it a painting, but seeing it in motion is the truly breathtaking part.
Ghost Trick's only debatable flaw is that the story being told here is so extensive and so complex that it makes the experience into one the player has to give credence to, and has to be willing to stick with to the end. The script very slowly unveils its hand, and it might feel, at times, like certain arcs were forgotten or huge plot holes are being opened. And that's not true: the plot is masterfully paced and paints a complete and concise picture by the time the credits roll, but because that process takes time, it demands a certain openness from the player, a willingness to engage with the narrative and let it unfold on its own time.
Which is to say, its only flaw is being too good for its own sake, a demerit that can no doubt be worn as a badge of honor. Ghost Trick is an exhilarating experience, and it is a blessing that it survived its weak sales performance on the DS and went on to be ported and remade for other platforms. Sissel's supernatural adventure between the worlds of the living and the dead deserves to be seen and enjoyed by more people.
This game is such a little gem, impeccable humor and a great mystery to unravel! As expected from Shu Takumi, fans of Ace Attorney will definitely enjoy this one, and a great introduction to what draws people to Shu Takumi's games for those who haven't played any before. Can't recommend it enough, and it only takes around 12hs to complete. Find the reboot in all platforms!
I'm a huge fan of Shu Takumi's work, and this is his style perfected. Consistently engaging and hilarious. The mystery that unravels throughout the story is more creative and deep than any Ace Attorney case.
For most of the game I keep thinking "it's not getting any crazier than this, right?". And every time it suprises me in a new amazing way. Despite how many twists and turns it takes, it never feels pretentious or confusing in the slightest.
Not to mention the 'puzzles' in this game are their own rube goldberg machines that feel amazing to solve each and every time. I'm trying to remain vague in this review so that anyone who wants to potentially play it has the same experience I got when playing this. Where I more or less knew nothing going into it. Please give it a try, it's not that long too. It's shorter than the average length of a final case in a modern Ace Attorney game, but infinitely more satisfying.
For most of the game I keep thinking "it's not getting any crazier than this, right?". And every time it suprises me in a new amazing way. Despite how many twists and turns it takes, it never feels pretentious or confusing in the slightest.
Not to mention the 'puzzles' in this game are their own rube goldberg machines that feel amazing to solve each and every time. I'm trying to remain vague in this review so that anyone who wants to potentially play it has the same experience I got when playing this. Where I more or less knew nothing going into it. Please give it a try, it's not that long too. It's shorter than the average length of a final case in a modern Ace Attorney game, but infinitely more satisfying.
This game is really something special. It's a cute, unique, and engaging little puzzle game that is also really touching and full of character.
As someone who just started playing Shu Takumi games, I gotta say the consistency and quirkiness of their writing is extremely charming to read through. They have such a natural talent of writing instantly likeable characters you can root for, even beyond just feeling basic sympathy for them after their unfortunate deaths. I often found myself rooting for characters I hardly cared for at the start of the game (like the justice minister lmao). Sissel has quickly risen up as one of my favorite vn protagonists; the cool shades, clean fit, and attitude made me instantly vibe with him (literally me)
Also, oh my god, the music and sound design of this game are fucking perfect. It's so goddamn satisfying to just hop around and fuck with various items as a ghost. Masakazu Sugimori never misses, bro.
As a puzzle game where you solve mysteries as a ghost, using the DS stylus to manipulate objects is such a creative idea; it helps that the execution and puzzles themselves are pretty excelent and satisfying to fuck around with. A minor spoiler, but my only criticism of the gameplay is that when you have two ghosts to manipulate and switch between them, it can make navigating objects a bit tedious, as instead of switching, you only get the option to talk to them. But again, that's only a minor nitpick.
I’m so glad I had the privilege of going into this blind. Not being spoiled on a 13-year-old DS game is insane bro, but I think it speaks volumes to how excellent the story on display is that the entire fanbase could collectively shut the fuck up and not ruin it for newcomers (JJK and CSM fans could learn from them).
I’m not good at writing profound stuff; thats what the reviews under me and video essays are for, but whenever I finish a Shu Takumi game, I end up feeling extremely hopeful. Like things are going to be alright, ya know? his games really hammer home the importance of loved ones, that you can always grow and be better, and I really appreciate that. It's corny, but dammit, I need a little corn in my life sometimes, and ghost trick provided that in spades. I was left feeling very warm when I finished it at 4 a.m.
Anyway, I have a good chunk of Shu Takumi games to go through and need to hop back on Ace Attorney. play Ghost Trick please☺️
Also, oh my god, the music and sound design of this game are fucking perfect. It's so goddamn satisfying to just hop around and fuck with various items as a ghost. Masakazu Sugimori never misses, bro.
As a puzzle game where you solve mysteries as a ghost, using the DS stylus to manipulate objects is such a creative idea; it helps that the execution and puzzles themselves are pretty excelent and satisfying to fuck around with. A minor spoiler, but my only criticism of the gameplay is that when you have two ghosts to manipulate and switch between them, it can make navigating objects a bit tedious, as instead of switching, you only get the option to talk to them. But again, that's only a minor nitpick.
I’m so glad I had the privilege of going into this blind. Not being spoiled on a 13-year-old DS game is insane bro, but I think it speaks volumes to how excellent the story on display is that the entire fanbase could collectively shut the fuck up and not ruin it for newcomers (JJK and CSM fans could learn from them).
I’m not good at writing profound stuff; thats what the reviews under me and video essays are for, but whenever I finish a Shu Takumi game, I end up feeling extremely hopeful. Like things are going to be alright, ya know? his games really hammer home the importance of loved ones, that you can always grow and be better, and I really appreciate that. It's corny, but dammit, I need a little corn in my life sometimes, and ghost trick provided that in spades. I was left feeling very warm when I finished it at 4 a.m.
Anyway, I have a good chunk of Shu Takumi games to go through and need to hop back on Ace Attorney. play Ghost Trick please☺️
meu DEUS do céu que jogo bom. ele se sobressaiu em literalmente todos os aspectos que eu pude imaginar, os personagens são ótimos, o sistema de puzzle é extremamente criativo e te da uma liberdade enorme de brincar com as fases até descobrir a resposta correta, a trilha sonora é muito envolvente, as animações são ótimas pra época e a história é simplesmente incrível e super cativante.
não joguei os outros jogos do shu takumi ainda mas se forem tão bons quanto esse aqui com certeza vale a pena
não joguei os outros jogos do shu takumi ainda mas se forem tão bons quanto esse aqui com certeza vale a pena
Traquinagens Fantasmagóricas: Detetive do Balacobaco.
A melhor experiência com o gênero "point and click" que eu ja tive. A escrita aqui é excelente, sabendo ser engraçado, sério, emocionante, reflexivo e até tragicômico as vezes.
Todos os personagens são extremamente bem escritos e divertidos de se acompanhar, com um mistério e investigação que se desenvolvem de uma forma onde nada fica tedioso ou previsível. O carisma do Sissel é absurdo, top protagonistas com certeza.
A gameplay é super divertida, mexendo com os poderes individuais de cada um dos Fantasmas do Balacobaco. Mexer nos objetos, voltar no tempo, trocar objetos de lugar, tudo isso gera puzzles super criativos, e as vezes bem desafiadores.
A conclusão é excelente, com todos os personagens tendo seus arcos e destinos bem fechadinhos. É algo que eu recomendo pra qualquer pessoa que saiba inglês e não tenha preguiça de passar uma boa parte do tempo somente lendo.
A melhor experiência com o gênero "point and click" que eu ja tive. A escrita aqui é excelente, sabendo ser engraçado, sério, emocionante, reflexivo e até tragicômico as vezes.
Todos os personagens são extremamente bem escritos e divertidos de se acompanhar, com um mistério e investigação que se desenvolvem de uma forma onde nada fica tedioso ou previsível. O carisma do Sissel é absurdo, top protagonistas com certeza.
A gameplay é super divertida, mexendo com os poderes individuais de cada um dos Fantasmas do Balacobaco. Mexer nos objetos, voltar no tempo, trocar objetos de lugar, tudo isso gera puzzles super criativos, e as vezes bem desafiadores.
A conclusão é excelente, com todos os personagens tendo seus arcos e destinos bem fechadinhos. É algo que eu recomendo pra qualquer pessoa que saiba inglês e não tenha preguiça de passar uma boa parte do tempo somente lendo.
No es una mala novela gráfica, aunque el final final me ha decepcionado un poco, la verdad. Gracias a un muy buen trabajo de diseño de personajes, animaciones y guion hace que te quedes con todos ellos, incluso los más secundarios que no dicen ni una palabra, algo loable, pues no hay pocos.
Pero eso, debes saber que no es un juego de misterio, de resolver casos, de lógica... La mayor parte del tiempo estas viendo a personajes conversar y cuando no se suele basar en puzzles de timming, de preparar aquello que deseas realizar y luego ejecutarlo en el momento X para que ocurra. Si no te gusta leer, no es tu juego, en mi caso ha sido el entretenimiento del desayuno durante algunos días.
El tema de los viajes temporales y lo forzado de algunos puzzles hace que no quede del todo natural la mitad de las veces, pero cuándo si pega, lo hace realmente bien.
Pero eso, debes saber que no es un juego de misterio, de resolver casos, de lógica... La mayor parte del tiempo estas viendo a personajes conversar y cuando no se suele basar en puzzles de timming, de preparar aquello que deseas realizar y luego ejecutarlo en el momento X para que ocurra. Si no te gusta leer, no es tu juego, en mi caso ha sido el entretenimiento del desayuno durante algunos días.
El tema de los viajes temporales y lo forzado de algunos puzzles hace que no quede del todo natural la mitad de las veces, pero cuándo si pega, lo hace realmente bien.
i thought this game was really good for the first half, but it just kept getting better and better and better as i continued on. they were not lying about missile being best dog, man.
Hee hee funny Michael Jackson cop
It was neat! Conceptually being a ghost and subtly manipulating the world around you is very cool, and the presentation of it all was really cool. Each level felt like a stage set, with props carefully placed in a way that works both aesthetically with the world as well as functionally as tools you can use to move around and do things. The use of basic 3D models from a distance makes the game look and move really damn good on the DS, though I bet the HD remaster scales everything up nicely too.
I do have a few personal qualms with the game tho. The story was okay, but didn't really grasp me all too much. I expected the game to be a lot more hands-off with its narrative structure, without much direct dialogue interaction with the other characters in the story (considering, yanno, ur a ghost), but eventually each of the characters gets the ability to talk directly with you and then it just kinda becomes more of a standard adventure game at that point? idk I might just be weird in expecting that kind of thing out of something like this, I thought it was going to be more of a passive narrative I guess. There were also a handful of twists that didn't hit me the way I assumed the writers were going for, with big reveals leaving me scratching my head going "huh." rather than the likely intended mind blown reaction.
The gameplay is much more focused about timing and space than your usual adventure game fare, which makes the game much more dynamic and puzzley. There are some solid a-ha moments that I had throughout, though unfortunately due to the timing-based nature of a lot of the puzzles, there were a lot of situations where my simple mistakes/curiosity screwed me over and I had to restart. The puzzles really aren't that long in the grand scheme of things but I did find the restarting kinda annoying over time.
The game is cool. It's got character, it's got style, it's unique, and I understand why it's such a cult classic with such high praise from fans (hell, look at the average user score here!). It just didn't click with me the same way in the grand scheme of things I guess. I'm not too big on adventure games in general, and I was also quite neutral on the Ace Attorney games, so maybe it's just me. Can't win em all, I guess.
Memry is peak character design, I love this chicken girl on skates and she needs her own game ASAP
I do have a few personal qualms with the game tho. The story was okay, but didn't really grasp me all too much. I expected the game to be a lot more hands-off with its narrative structure, without much direct dialogue interaction with the other characters in the story (considering, yanno, ur a ghost), but eventually each of the characters gets the ability to talk directly with you and then it just kinda becomes more of a standard adventure game at that point? idk I might just be weird in expecting that kind of thing out of something like this, I thought it was going to be more of a passive narrative I guess. There were also a handful of twists that didn't hit me the way I assumed the writers were going for, with big reveals leaving me scratching my head going "huh." rather than the likely intended mind blown reaction.
The gameplay is much more focused about timing and space than your usual adventure game fare, which makes the game much more dynamic and puzzley. There are some solid a-ha moments that I had throughout, though unfortunately due to the timing-based nature of a lot of the puzzles, there were a lot of situations where my simple mistakes/curiosity screwed me over and I had to restart. The puzzles really aren't that long in the grand scheme of things but I did find the restarting kinda annoying over time.
The game is cool. It's got character, it's got style, it's unique, and I understand why it's such a cult classic with such high praise from fans (hell, look at the average user score here!). It just didn't click with me the same way in the grand scheme of things I guess. I'm not too big on adventure games in general, and I was also quite neutral on the Ace Attorney games, so maybe it's just me. Can't win em all, I guess.
Memry is peak character design, I love this chicken girl on skates and she needs her own game ASAP
Really cool and charming game with an amazing story and cast. Honestly the first half of the game was good but I never understood why people gushed over the game but the 2nd half picks up quickly and ends the game amazingly.
This is a pretty cool and unique game, puzzles were interesting to solve especially in the last third, presentation is great for the DS, it checks all the boxes. The most notable thing here is the story, starts off pretty simple but quickly reveals itself to be much more complicated than it lets on. Despite a few brief moments where character actions/motivations didn’t completely make sense, this was actually pretty great and extremely interesting from start to finish. It ended up going in directions that I never expected but it all ties together quite nicely, very fun time and a pretty great mystery that never becomes stale or predictable. Tons of charm in every department, definitely a cult classic for a reason, glad I checked this one out.
Missile best doggo
Like a cool glass of water on a summer afternoon.
I’ve tried getting into Ghost Trick a few times, but I never managed to stick with it for very long. I don’t really know why this is; Shu Takumi’s earlier Ace Attorney trilogy gripped me at a fairly young age and never let go, so I can’t really fathom why I kept dropping Ghost Trick not long after finishing the tutorial. I think it’s just because I hate timing puzzles. That’s a petty reason, but it’s the best I’ve got. After some consistent prodding from my good friend Chef033, however, I decided that I was gonna get all the way through Ghost Trick once and for all.
I did, and it ruled.
It’s the kind of game that’s hard to talk about without getting too deep into spoilers — it’s a murder-mystery, after all — and it benefits heavily from unearthing its secrets as you play. While some of the twists and turns are incredibly obvious (perhaps intentionally so), others will only become apparent about ten seconds before they happen. These latter moments are obscenely hype, and I wouldn’t dare dampen anyone’s experience by giving them away. If you know, you know; if you don’t, you should experience them for yourself.
The cast is full of colorful, larger-than-life characters, and you’d be hard-pressed to forget a single one of them by the time the credits roll. Each of them are given so much personality purely through these lavish, indulgent animations; Cabenela’s little Michael Jackson-inspired dance that he does when he enters a room reportedly took a month to animate, and it shows. Ghost Trick loves to keep crossing a line from “that’s impressive” to “how the fuck did they even manage to do this” pretty frequently, and it’s nothing short of a visual treat. The incredibly crunchy, pixellated models sell a strong visual identity, and it’s a style I vastly prefer over the remaster’s smooth, high-LOD variants.
And goddamn, the music is good. "GHOST TRICK" — the theme that likes to play at the end of chapters — is one of the best “you did it” songs of triumph I’ve heard in a game. From what I’ve read, a lot of the music was composed without Masakazu Sugimori nor assistant Yasumasa Kitagawa having context for what was actually going to be happening in the game, which is shocking. Everything fits together so neatly, and finding out that it was mostly just the product of “I’ve got a vibe in mind and I’m going to just make things that fit it” almost seems unbelievable. It’s like accidentally creating the final missing piece to a puzzle you’ve never seen before.
It’s an immensely, immensely impressive game, and the only foibles I can find are that having to loop through a lot of the same, slow events when you make a mistake can be frustrating. My emulator let me fast-forward through a lot of the repeated downtime, and I imagine I would have been a lot more annoyed if I needed to sit through it all in real time, every time. Even so, what’s here is still wonderful, and it deserves your attention. It took me far too long to get around to actually finishing it, but I’m very glad I ended up seeing it through to the end.
It’s “Missile”!
I’ve tried getting into Ghost Trick a few times, but I never managed to stick with it for very long. I don’t really know why this is; Shu Takumi’s earlier Ace Attorney trilogy gripped me at a fairly young age and never let go, so I can’t really fathom why I kept dropping Ghost Trick not long after finishing the tutorial. I think it’s just because I hate timing puzzles. That’s a petty reason, but it’s the best I’ve got. After some consistent prodding from my good friend Chef033, however, I decided that I was gonna get all the way through Ghost Trick once and for all.
I did, and it ruled.
It’s the kind of game that’s hard to talk about without getting too deep into spoilers — it’s a murder-mystery, after all — and it benefits heavily from unearthing its secrets as you play. While some of the twists and turns are incredibly obvious (perhaps intentionally so), others will only become apparent about ten seconds before they happen. These latter moments are obscenely hype, and I wouldn’t dare dampen anyone’s experience by giving them away. If you know, you know; if you don’t, you should experience them for yourself.
The cast is full of colorful, larger-than-life characters, and you’d be hard-pressed to forget a single one of them by the time the credits roll. Each of them are given so much personality purely through these lavish, indulgent animations; Cabenela’s little Michael Jackson-inspired dance that he does when he enters a room reportedly took a month to animate, and it shows. Ghost Trick loves to keep crossing a line from “that’s impressive” to “how the fuck did they even manage to do this” pretty frequently, and it’s nothing short of a visual treat. The incredibly crunchy, pixellated models sell a strong visual identity, and it’s a style I vastly prefer over the remaster’s smooth, high-LOD variants.
And goddamn, the music is good. "GHOST TRICK" — the theme that likes to play at the end of chapters — is one of the best “you did it” songs of triumph I’ve heard in a game. From what I’ve read, a lot of the music was composed without Masakazu Sugimori nor assistant Yasumasa Kitagawa having context for what was actually going to be happening in the game, which is shocking. Everything fits together so neatly, and finding out that it was mostly just the product of “I’ve got a vibe in mind and I’m going to just make things that fit it” almost seems unbelievable. It’s like accidentally creating the final missing piece to a puzzle you’ve never seen before.
It’s an immensely, immensely impressive game, and the only foibles I can find are that having to loop through a lot of the same, slow events when you make a mistake can be frustrating. My emulator let me fast-forward through a lot of the repeated downtime, and I imagine I would have been a lot more annoyed if I needed to sit through it all in real time, every time. Even so, what’s here is still wonderful, and it deserves your attention. It took me far too long to get around to actually finishing it, but I’m very glad I ended up seeing it through to the end.
It’s “Missile”!
i literally cannot look at any pomeranian without immediately thinking of missle anymore. i think we could all be a little more like missle
Shu Takumi just cannot miss with the creativity and story telling of his games. A really creative idea that is executed greatly with the ghost and trick mechanic, that is also incredibly implemented into the story. The characters are all fantastic as per usual with Shu Takumi's games.
My favorite character was obviously Missile :)
My favorite character was obviously Missile :)
this game is so good it doesn’t feel real
I can't believe it's taken me this long to play this. I was expecting just an above average story but nah this is a Good Game. Shit got me like Danny Devito i get it now gif, you know?
Ok, from the top. I played this on my trusty old DS, which has a screen resolution of about 4x3, and not only that but this is a 3D game, on a console that quite frankly, struggled pretty hard with passable-looking models. So you would expect the game to look like shit but nah, man, it's great. Super stylish, from the portraits to the transitions, but the animation in particular is so expressive and carefully crafted, I'm genuinely mind-blown at how well it manages to convey each character's personality despite you not even being able to see their faces. Music's great too, for the record.
I'm not a puzzle game guy but I know a good idea when I see it, and Ghost Trick is quite genius. All of the mechanics make perfect lore sense and play into the storyline, which right after playing Layton and the Unwound Future (good game but it ties its puzzles into its story as subtly as a lego block ties into an unaware child's heel) was quite the whiplash, but even beyond that it just works. The core loop of "figure out how person died, rewind time over and over to save them" works super well and is built upon in many nice ways throughout the game, with the exception of a really annoying stealth level in the middle of it.
The story is good and I can't talk about it without spoilers but every character has their own really believable and engaging arc which all ties together extremely nicely, the world's supernatural mechanics are very consistent and cleverly used, there's a super cool twist that I was kinda spoiled on but was still super good also there's a dog and he's really cute go play it 👍
Ok, from the top. I played this on my trusty old DS, which has a screen resolution of about 4x3, and not only that but this is a 3D game, on a console that quite frankly, struggled pretty hard with passable-looking models. So you would expect the game to look like shit but nah, man, it's great. Super stylish, from the portraits to the transitions, but the animation in particular is so expressive and carefully crafted, I'm genuinely mind-blown at how well it manages to convey each character's personality despite you not even being able to see their faces. Music's great too, for the record.
I'm not a puzzle game guy but I know a good idea when I see it, and Ghost Trick is quite genius. All of the mechanics make perfect lore sense and play into the storyline, which right after playing Layton and the Unwound Future (good game but it ties its puzzles into its story as subtly as a lego block ties into an unaware child's heel) was quite the whiplash, but even beyond that it just works. The core loop of "figure out how person died, rewind time over and over to save them" works super well and is built upon in many nice ways throughout the game, with the exception of a really annoying stealth level in the middle of it.
The story is good and I can't talk about it without spoilers but every character has their own really believable and engaging arc which all ties together extremely nicely, the world's supernatural mechanics are very consistent and cleverly used, there's a super cool twist that I was kinda spoiled on but was still super good also there's a dog and he's really cute go play it 👍
own a physical copy of this on the DS and have since at or close to launch but only just now getting to this more than a decade later. clownery.
this was as great as i expected it to be, not that i expected anything less from a Takumi game. wonderful sprite work, music, and dialogue/narratives but more than anything i was most impressed with the animations. every single character and each of their movements have so much charm. characters like Bailey have small presences in the grand scheme of the game at large but i'll remember them forever.
i think in 2024 i'm going to make a project out of targeting specific portions of my backlog, mostly games that i have owned for extended periods of time without playing or finishing yet. i feel like i've missed out on so much.
this was as great as i expected it to be, not that i expected anything less from a Takumi game. wonderful sprite work, music, and dialogue/narratives but more than anything i was most impressed with the animations. every single character and each of their movements have so much charm. characters like Bailey have small presences in the grand scheme of the game at large but i'll remember them forever.
i think in 2024 i'm going to make a project out of targeting specific portions of my backlog, mostly games that i have owned for extended periods of time without playing or finishing yet. i feel like i've missed out on so much.
This review contains spoilers
still a better cat story than stray
(Jogado em sua versão original, de Nintendo DS, em um Nintendo 3DS. Jogarei o remaster lançado recentemente em breve)
A era do Nintendo DS foi marcada por uma criatividade que caminhava junto com as limitações tecnológicas de sua época; um escopo menor dava espaço a uma liberdade maior, livre das garras do alto investimento de tempo e dinheiro, das expectativas de executivos.
Da grande mente que é Shu Takumi, o criador de Ace Attorney e pupilo de Shinji Mikami, Ghost Trick é um daqueles jogos que te fazem lembrar do potencial que os videogames tem de proporcionar experiências únicas sem nem precisar sair de casa. Claro que isso também pode ser dito de filmes ou música, mas os jogos conseguem englobar o que faz tudo isso ser especial, de forma ativamente interativa e conectando todos os seus diferentes aspectos para a síntese de uma obra que se eleva acima da soma de suas partes.
Se inicia sem muito contexto: uma mulher está prestes a ser assassinada. Assim como o jogador, o protagonista assiste de fora e não faz ideia de quem ele é, do que se desenrolou para chegar até aqui, e do que está acontecendo. Isto é, com a exceção de um pequeno detalhe: ele já está morto.
Por meio de um diálogo com um espírito misterioso possuindo uma luminária, o protagonista, chamado Sissel, descobre que também pode possuir e controlar objetos, e é o único que pode salvar a moça em apuros de sua morte.
Existem dois comandos principais: Ghost, que pausa o tempo e permite que o espírito do protagonista se movimente de objeto em objeto (mas com um raio de efetividade limitado à objetos próximos), e Trick, que permite executar uma ação específica ao objeto possuído no momento. Ao se deparar com um cadáver, é possível retornar aos 4 minutos anteriores à sua morte, que podem ser reiniciados quantas vezes forem necessárias, afim de reverter esse destino. Quando combinadas, essas habilidades abrem espaço para um leque de possibilidades e descobrir como utilizá-las perante aos obstáculos fornece um desafio simples, mas satisfatório.
O jogo inteiro não desvia muito disso, apenas aumenta a complexidade, alternando entre esses momentos de gameplay e diálogos. Conta com modelos 3D animados em um espaço bidimensional, que são sobrepostos por uma arte 2D representando o interlocutor, com expressões variadas demonstrando diferentes emoções de acordo com o que estão falando, como uma visual novel. O gênero de Ghost Trick é difícil de se descrever, e mesmo os mais próximos como aventura ou puzzle não são precisos o suficiente; mesmo na parte visual/narrativa, é um jogo ímpar, com múltiplas influências.
Após salvar a jovem, Sissel aprende que os dois estão intrinsecamente conectados, e se ele quiser se descobrir e desbravar os segredos por trás dessa noite misteriosa, ele deve segui-la; mas com um detalhe: há um prazo até a manhã do dia seguinte. Após esse limite, ele desaparecerá para sempre.
Com o mistério central estabelecido, Ghost Trick abre sua largada, e não para de acelerar até a linha de chegada. Dos personagens coloridos até os conflitos que se desenrolam e enrolam e desenrolam de novo, o jogo não decai, só segue em queda livre, em suas 10 horas de duração. É uma experiência concisa e marcante; não é apenas tudo o que precisa ser: é surpreendente.
Os jogos do Shu Takumi têm uma energia bem única, não só no jeito que seus conflitos são apresentados e se desenrolam, de forma leve e descontraída sem perder a seriedade, mas na caracterização de seus personagens. Existe um equilíbrio perfeito entre o exagero em suas caricaturas e a empatia com que os trata, entre os seus comportamentos surreais e o realismo em suas decisões.
É engraçado e charmoso: o Inspetor não precisa fazer poses e gestos exagerados à la Michael Jackson toda vez que entra em cena, mas ele o faz porque pode e deve e é maravilhoso. O chefe da polícia não precisa tirar seus sapatos e coçar suas pernas com os pés toda vez que fica nervoso, escondendo isso atrás de sua mesa para ninguém perceber, mas por que não?
São pequenos detalhes presentes em cada personagem, independentemente do quão pequeno é seu papel, que não servem só para charme, eles adicionam profundidade de forma sutil e efetiva, levando o jogador a se importar, mesmo se subconscientemente.
Isso vale também para a história. Pontos importantes são entregues de forma gradual e leve, às vezes até inesperada, ou ainda cômica. Podem até passar despercebidos, mas mesmo de forma subconsciente a narrativa vai formando uma imagem gradual na mente do jogador, que se fortalece a medida que o jogo avança, às vezes até se aproveitando disso para ludíbrio, reviravoltas.
A qualidade do roteiro não desaponta. Todas as perguntas que o jogo planta são respondidas de forma satisfatória, e mesmo as mais absurdas são devidamente desenvolvidas e não destoam do que as procedem. Os personagens incríveis que protagonizam essa história -e não dá para deixar de mencionar o melhor lulu da pomerânia da história, Missile!- recebem desfechos dignos; ninguém fica de fora.
Nunca existiu e nunca existirá outro Ghost Trick. Uma ideia única, executada de um jeito único, em uma época que nunca mais irá voltar. Não é popular e nem influente, não moldou tendências; mas vai ficar marcado em quem jogou, do jeito que merece: como um jogo perfeito.
A era do Nintendo DS foi marcada por uma criatividade que caminhava junto com as limitações tecnológicas de sua época; um escopo menor dava espaço a uma liberdade maior, livre das garras do alto investimento de tempo e dinheiro, das expectativas de executivos.
Da grande mente que é Shu Takumi, o criador de Ace Attorney e pupilo de Shinji Mikami, Ghost Trick é um daqueles jogos que te fazem lembrar do potencial que os videogames tem de proporcionar experiências únicas sem nem precisar sair de casa. Claro que isso também pode ser dito de filmes ou música, mas os jogos conseguem englobar o que faz tudo isso ser especial, de forma ativamente interativa e conectando todos os seus diferentes aspectos para a síntese de uma obra que se eleva acima da soma de suas partes.
Se inicia sem muito contexto: uma mulher está prestes a ser assassinada. Assim como o jogador, o protagonista assiste de fora e não faz ideia de quem ele é, do que se desenrolou para chegar até aqui, e do que está acontecendo. Isto é, com a exceção de um pequeno detalhe: ele já está morto.
Por meio de um diálogo com um espírito misterioso possuindo uma luminária, o protagonista, chamado Sissel, descobre que também pode possuir e controlar objetos, e é o único que pode salvar a moça em apuros de sua morte.
Existem dois comandos principais: Ghost, que pausa o tempo e permite que o espírito do protagonista se movimente de objeto em objeto (mas com um raio de efetividade limitado à objetos próximos), e Trick, que permite executar uma ação específica ao objeto possuído no momento. Ao se deparar com um cadáver, é possível retornar aos 4 minutos anteriores à sua morte, que podem ser reiniciados quantas vezes forem necessárias, afim de reverter esse destino. Quando combinadas, essas habilidades abrem espaço para um leque de possibilidades e descobrir como utilizá-las perante aos obstáculos fornece um desafio simples, mas satisfatório.
O jogo inteiro não desvia muito disso, apenas aumenta a complexidade, alternando entre esses momentos de gameplay e diálogos. Conta com modelos 3D animados em um espaço bidimensional, que são sobrepostos por uma arte 2D representando o interlocutor, com expressões variadas demonstrando diferentes emoções de acordo com o que estão falando, como uma visual novel. O gênero de Ghost Trick é difícil de se descrever, e mesmo os mais próximos como aventura ou puzzle não são precisos o suficiente; mesmo na parte visual/narrativa, é um jogo ímpar, com múltiplas influências.
Após salvar a jovem, Sissel aprende que os dois estão intrinsecamente conectados, e se ele quiser se descobrir e desbravar os segredos por trás dessa noite misteriosa, ele deve segui-la; mas com um detalhe: há um prazo até a manhã do dia seguinte. Após esse limite, ele desaparecerá para sempre.
Com o mistério central estabelecido, Ghost Trick abre sua largada, e não para de acelerar até a linha de chegada. Dos personagens coloridos até os conflitos que se desenrolam e enrolam e desenrolam de novo, o jogo não decai, só segue em queda livre, em suas 10 horas de duração. É uma experiência concisa e marcante; não é apenas tudo o que precisa ser: é surpreendente.
Os jogos do Shu Takumi têm uma energia bem única, não só no jeito que seus conflitos são apresentados e se desenrolam, de forma leve e descontraída sem perder a seriedade, mas na caracterização de seus personagens. Existe um equilíbrio perfeito entre o exagero em suas caricaturas e a empatia com que os trata, entre os seus comportamentos surreais e o realismo em suas decisões.
É engraçado e charmoso: o Inspetor não precisa fazer poses e gestos exagerados à la Michael Jackson toda vez que entra em cena, mas ele o faz porque pode e deve e é maravilhoso. O chefe da polícia não precisa tirar seus sapatos e coçar suas pernas com os pés toda vez que fica nervoso, escondendo isso atrás de sua mesa para ninguém perceber, mas por que não?
São pequenos detalhes presentes em cada personagem, independentemente do quão pequeno é seu papel, que não servem só para charme, eles adicionam profundidade de forma sutil e efetiva, levando o jogador a se importar, mesmo se subconscientemente.
Isso vale também para a história. Pontos importantes são entregues de forma gradual e leve, às vezes até inesperada, ou ainda cômica. Podem até passar despercebidos, mas mesmo de forma subconsciente a narrativa vai formando uma imagem gradual na mente do jogador, que se fortalece a medida que o jogo avança, às vezes até se aproveitando disso para ludíbrio, reviravoltas.
A qualidade do roteiro não desaponta. Todas as perguntas que o jogo planta são respondidas de forma satisfatória, e mesmo as mais absurdas são devidamente desenvolvidas e não destoam do que as procedem. Os personagens incríveis que protagonizam essa história -e não dá para deixar de mencionar o melhor lulu da pomerânia da história, Missile!- recebem desfechos dignos; ninguém fica de fora.
Nunca existiu e nunca existirá outro Ghost Trick. Uma ideia única, executada de um jeito único, em uma época que nunca mais irá voltar. Não é popular e nem influente, não moldou tendências; mas vai ficar marcado em quem jogou, do jeito que merece: como um jogo perfeito.
Peak Video Game Entertainment for me as of now and I don't say something lightly.
If you look at my bio my requirements for a good game, I said: "if it does have a engaging gameplay with variety and depth, fun characters that I can fell in love and admire, really good at pacing with throwing my face a new content at least in every 20 minute." etc. This game have every one of them.
Before starting this game, I really didn't know what should I expect. I knew it was on the list that shows what games Shu Takumi created and I also saw the cover art of it. I love Shu Takumi's works even at his worst of times but seeing the cover... it looked boring. There is a goofy looking man, his head at the ground... sleeping/thinking/resting? And an aura surrounds him. Only thing I felt from the cover is this game is gonna be about shitty cartoon comedy with how goofy the cover looks. But I am glad I was wrong, very very very wrong.
I still think the cover looks atrocious and think that an aura that connects to multiple characters like a spiderweb in the cover would explain this game better. Also I couldn't find any adverts for this game, did Capcom market this game or not? I don't know but if they didn't they made the greatest disservice for this game.
Story
You wake up, you found yourself as a lamp for some reason. You see your body. Dead at the ground. But for some reason your soul isn't on the other side? Your soul somehow stuck in this lamp. Then you see a suspicious person... WITH A GUN. He runs to a lady with his weapon at his hand, he will shoot her!? And then you use a trick to shield her. The next time you look, the killer is dead with your trick and lady is safe. But you started to wonder, why am I dead? And why there is suspicious people that tries to murder this poor lady?
And you go into an adventure while trying to follow the lady to remember your memories, your loved ones, your experiences while you are alive and solve the mystery about who killed you and why?
And damn... what a mystery that is with lots of lovable characters and emotional moments in it. I can't say no more. Go and play it. Even if you don't like it I guarantee you that at least it's gonna be a unique one and that's something rare in this age.
Gameplay
It a puzzle game that you need to solve part by part to advance and uncover the mystery. You are a ghost that can't explore far away, because you have to stay inside of something to not disappear. But you can impersonate an object to do a "trick" to make a way for you. With doing a "trick" you can create a way to an another object that connects to your way and with that you can carry your "ghost" to that object.
For example you are inside a ball, with using the "trick" button for ball to roll, you can arrive to an umbrella. If they are next to each other, you can carry your "ghost" to that umbrella. After that you become the umbrella and now you can use umbrella's "trick" to advance to the next object. Now it's sounds doesn't interesting that much probably?
Until I say, the "Death" comes in. Killers are everywhere and they are here to KILL EVERY ONE OF YOUR LOVED ONES! And you, being a ghost doesn't mean you can't help them. You HAVE TO help them and that's where things get complicated to what trick to use what objects to impersonate and there is looooots of objects to impersonate so don't worry about the variety I would say.
There is lots of planning to do and strategies to create! I would say, this gameplay is probably the best Shu Takumi did to this date. You are not passively trying to find lies here. You are actively trying to save lives and that's why it does make things more exciting.
My favourite game of all time that I recommend to everyone that still have the childish exploration soul in it to experience unique things
If you look at my bio my requirements for a good game, I said: "if it does have a engaging gameplay with variety and depth, fun characters that I can fell in love and admire, really good at pacing with throwing my face a new content at least in every 20 minute." etc. This game have every one of them.
Before starting this game, I really didn't know what should I expect. I knew it was on the list that shows what games Shu Takumi created and I also saw the cover art of it. I love Shu Takumi's works even at his worst of times but seeing the cover... it looked boring. There is a goofy looking man, his head at the ground... sleeping/thinking/resting? And an aura surrounds him. Only thing I felt from the cover is this game is gonna be about shitty cartoon comedy with how goofy the cover looks. But I am glad I was wrong, very very very wrong.
I still think the cover looks atrocious and think that an aura that connects to multiple characters like a spiderweb in the cover would explain this game better. Also I couldn't find any adverts for this game, did Capcom market this game or not? I don't know but if they didn't they made the greatest disservice for this game.
Story
You wake up, you found yourself as a lamp for some reason. You see your body. Dead at the ground. But for some reason your soul isn't on the other side? Your soul somehow stuck in this lamp. Then you see a suspicious person... WITH A GUN. He runs to a lady with his weapon at his hand, he will shoot her!? And then you use a trick to shield her. The next time you look, the killer is dead with your trick and lady is safe. But you started to wonder, why am I dead? And why there is suspicious people that tries to murder this poor lady?
And you go into an adventure while trying to follow the lady to remember your memories, your loved ones, your experiences while you are alive and solve the mystery about who killed you and why?
And damn... what a mystery that is with lots of lovable characters and emotional moments in it. I can't say no more. Go and play it. Even if you don't like it I guarantee you that at least it's gonna be a unique one and that's something rare in this age.
Gameplay
It a puzzle game that you need to solve part by part to advance and uncover the mystery. You are a ghost that can't explore far away, because you have to stay inside of something to not disappear. But you can impersonate an object to do a "trick" to make a way for you. With doing a "trick" you can create a way to an another object that connects to your way and with that you can carry your "ghost" to that object.
For example you are inside a ball, with using the "trick" button for ball to roll, you can arrive to an umbrella. If they are next to each other, you can carry your "ghost" to that umbrella. After that you become the umbrella and now you can use umbrella's "trick" to advance to the next object. Now it's sounds doesn't interesting that much probably?
Until I say, the "Death" comes in. Killers are everywhere and they are here to KILL EVERY ONE OF YOUR LOVED ONES! And you, being a ghost doesn't mean you can't help them. You HAVE TO help them and that's where things get complicated to what trick to use what objects to impersonate and there is looooots of objects to impersonate so don't worry about the variety I would say.
There is lots of planning to do and strategies to create! I would say, this gameplay is probably the best Shu Takumi did to this date. You are not passively trying to find lies here. You are actively trying to save lives and that's why it does make things more exciting.
My favourite game of all time that I recommend to everyone that still have the childish exploration soul in it to experience unique things
I'm about to be so annoying when the remake of this comes out.
This was my first visual novel, and I enjoyed it enough to check out other entries in the genre (namely Ace Attorney, also by Shu Takumi)
While I did raise my eyebrows a bit at one particular plot point, overall I thought it's a story that wraps up very neatly, with all twists and turns properly explained, and nothing feeling overly convoluted for complexity's sake.
Talking about the memorable, colorful characters and all the incredibly smooth animation is very cliche at this point. S-tier stuff.
Head-bopping soundtrack that sadly gets repetitive, feels like the OST features about 4 different tracks.
While I did raise my eyebrows a bit at one particular plot point, overall I thought it's a story that wraps up very neatly, with all twists and turns properly explained, and nothing feeling overly convoluted for complexity's sake.
Talking about the memorable, colorful characters and all the incredibly smooth animation is very cliche at this point. S-tier stuff.
Head-bopping soundtrack that sadly gets repetitive, feels like the OST features about 4 different tracks.
ace attorney devs so u already expect it to be good and then it turns out to be the best game ever (subjectively)
unbelievably pro-divorce. goty
Its a pretty good puzzle game that manages to stay consistently engaging through the novelty of its mechanics and quick pacing.
But more than its mechanics, the game is really elevated by just how charming it is. Put the two together and Ghost Trick makes for a really enjoyable experience without any major drawbacks. An easy recommendation overall.
But more than its mechanics, the game is really elevated by just how charming it is. Put the two together and Ghost Trick makes for a really enjoyable experience without any major drawbacks. An easy recommendation overall.
[ Story: 10/10 | Gameplay: 10/10 | OST: 10/10 ]
From the very beginning, everything was thought out and set up to create one of the most elaborate, continuity heavy plots I've seen any video game attempt to make. A genuine storytelling masterpiece, through and through; I can't even STRESS it, dog. Shu Takami, you're a fucking madlad.
From the very beginning, everything was thought out and set up to create one of the most elaborate, continuity heavy plots I've seen any video game attempt to make. A genuine storytelling masterpiece, through and through; I can't even STRESS it, dog. Shu Takami, you're a fucking madlad.