Truth be told, I had never actually heard of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective before, but when I noticed its exceptionally high average rating on Backloggd, I decided to eventually give it a go. That was roughly a year ago, and despite how I've only just beaten the game a few minutes ago, that doesn't mean that I wasn't constantly thinking about how good it was all this time. Right from the very first frame, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective had me hooked, and I knew that I was playing something special long before I even reached the halfway mark. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is one of those games where I can barely put my love for it into words, as it accomplishes everything that it sets out to do with flying colors and does it all in such a charming, unique and lovable way.
Above all else, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a combination of a visual novel and a puzzle game, and not only was I surprised by just how well this combination ended up working, but also how each of these two main elements of the game were executed perfectly. The gameplay consists of possessing and manipulating objects in order to save people's lives, access new areas, and just generally progress the narrative, and I thought that these mechanics were awesome. On top of being a brilliant use of the touchscreen on the Nintendo DS, the actual puzzles are all incredibly well-designed, and the amount of satisfaction that came from their "Aha!" moments made me feel like an absolute genius for solving them each and every time. Along with the fun gameplay and terrific puzzles, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective features a gripping and superbly written storyline. Every single member of the game's cast is linked together in some way, and it helps that the characters were all incredibly likable and loaded with eccentricities. What starts out as a quest to find out more about the protagonist's past turns into a sprawling mystery filled with jaw-dropping twists, but despite just how many directions the game's story went in, all of its many plot points came together brilliantly, and the game's lighthearted sense of humor had me laughing the whole way through while still knowing when to be serious in order to have its emotional moments be as impactful as possible.
Although the mystery plot and the puzzle gameplay were the two core elements of what made Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective work so well for me, that doesn't mean that they were all that it had to offer. Like everything else on display here, the presentation of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective oozes with personality, as both the music and the visuals were terrific in their own ways. This game has some excellent art direction, as the distinct character designs meshed really well with their lively in-game animations. Masakazu Sugimori's music here was also incredible, as pretty much every song is catchy and funky while still perfectly matching their context within the story and the puzzles. I loved absolutely everything about Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, and I'm really glad that it's getting a multi-platform remaster this June, as it means that more people will get to experience this wonderful game.
Above all else, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a combination of a visual novel and a puzzle game, and not only was I surprised by just how well this combination ended up working, but also how each of these two main elements of the game were executed perfectly. The gameplay consists of possessing and manipulating objects in order to save people's lives, access new areas, and just generally progress the narrative, and I thought that these mechanics were awesome. On top of being a brilliant use of the touchscreen on the Nintendo DS, the actual puzzles are all incredibly well-designed, and the amount of satisfaction that came from their "Aha!" moments made me feel like an absolute genius for solving them each and every time. Along with the fun gameplay and terrific puzzles, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective features a gripping and superbly written storyline. Every single member of the game's cast is linked together in some way, and it helps that the characters were all incredibly likable and loaded with eccentricities. What starts out as a quest to find out more about the protagonist's past turns into a sprawling mystery filled with jaw-dropping twists, but despite just how many directions the game's story went in, all of its many plot points came together brilliantly, and the game's lighthearted sense of humor had me laughing the whole way through while still knowing when to be serious in order to have its emotional moments be as impactful as possible.
Although the mystery plot and the puzzle gameplay were the two core elements of what made Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective work so well for me, that doesn't mean that they were all that it had to offer. Like everything else on display here, the presentation of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective oozes with personality, as both the music and the visuals were terrific in their own ways. This game has some excellent art direction, as the distinct character designs meshed really well with their lively in-game animations. Masakazu Sugimori's music here was also incredible, as pretty much every song is catchy and funky while still perfectly matching their context within the story and the puzzles. I loved absolutely everything about Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, and I'm really glad that it's getting a multi-platform remaster this June, as it means that more people will get to experience this wonderful game.