Mid game. It's got some cool ideas but most of them are squandered, and the cases and the twists surrounding them are incredibly predictable, all things considered. The overarching plot is un-engaging and relies on infodumps near the end of the game to make any sense to the player, halting the game's pacing to a fault, and the ending simply loses a lot of its steam near the second half. Additionally, the game's cast is rather basic and not very noteworthy as well (Kiyotaka & Sakura still slay though).

There's a reason why the Ghost Trick fandom's motto is 'play Ghost Trick', and I agree with the sentiment. Shu Takumi uses his previous experience with the Ace Attorney series in order to create a stunning, complex narrative that spans much more than the simple murder of your player character, Sissel. The plot is far more quicker paced than Takumi's previous works, but the combination of a constant stream of information given by Ghost Trick's characters, the simple yet intriguing dropplings of the game's main mystery, and the jumping from one aspect of a mystery to another is enough to keep the player hooked in. Nearly every character in the game plays an important role in Ghost Trick, and while most characters lack the depth that Ace Attorney has, their quirkiness and ability to charm the player makes up for it.

And of course, the plot twists. Ghost Trick relies heavily on plot twists in order to create its unique story, and fortunately, every one of them hits the mark in that regard. I advise any new players reading this to avoid looking up anything related to Ghost Trick, as the game is best experienced without any prior knowledge of the game.

The puzzles deserve a mention too. While they're not as eye-catching as the story, they're a rather unique kind of puzzle, owing to Ghost Trick's central mechanic, and the way they promote experimentation and quick thinking is something to take note of. At times, they can be somewhat repetitive and irritating (the whole prison segment comes to mind), but it's a minor enough flaw that I can excuse it.

All in all, if you're interested in more of Shu Takumi's works, Ghost Trick is definitely something I recommend. It's very close to being a full 5 stars for me, but there are juuust enough flaws that I can't give it a 5 out of 5, in good conscience.

A charming throwback to games of simpler times. The gameplay, while somewhat repetitive at times, is diverse enough to sustain players on both initial and repeat playthroughs, and provides a surprising amount of strategical play behind Dandy Dungeon's quirky, odd atmosphere. The storyline is simple, yet instantly entertaining in no short thanks to the wide variety of eccentric, memorable characters featured in the game, and the plot soon going off the rails in a fantastic fashion. Add in a terrific OST full of bangers, a metric-ton of references to video games, anime, and films, alongside many more mediums of fiction, and great amounts of humor, the final result is Dandy Dungeon. Definitely try this game out if you want a different RPG experience, as it won't disappoint.