Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is the epitome of what a good spinoff title should be. While fictionally unrelated to the Ace Attorney games, it borrows heavily from the best aspects of that series while adding enough new game mechanics to make for a completely fresh gaming experience.

Despite completely divergent gameplay and a very different art style, Ghost Trick feels like a creative extension of Ace Attorney; as though the team at Capcom is able to expand on the ideas in their flagship franchise, without being tethered to either those conventions or characters.

It turns fetching a bottle into just as heroic an effort as preventing a hitman from reaching his target. And I don't think I've had a better time doing either elsewhere.

Ghost Trick is a masterpiece, made by developers who thoroughly understand the medium they're working in and the hardware they're working with.

Its inventive and addicting gameplay was clearly built in such a way as to place maximum value on the DS touch screen. A compelling and engrossing story was constructed around these gameplay mechanics, and an attractive and unique visual style was created to display such a game.

When I was done, I was disappointed that I couldn't start it up all over again as like any adventure game, there's no real replayability here, but ultimately I was glad that I got to spend time with these characters and set up endings for them that allowed them to be as happy as they had made me.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a fantastic combination of absurd Japanese humor and point and click mechanics. It's filled to the brim with charm, good laughs and brilliant puzzles that will keep you locked to the screen for hours on end.

Ghost Trick consists of an impressively well written story told in an amazing way, combined with entertaining puzzles that will give your brain a workout. Even though it could be a tad more challenging and lacks the rewarding feeling you get when figuring something out in the Ace Attorney games, this is still an experience you don't want to miss.

A dead good story, cleverly told. Easy and short, but essential for adventure buffs. [Feb 2011, p.84]

Trick Ghost: Phantom Detective is a well of originality, an inventive game given to eccentricities.

It's just incredible how the plot can keep you nailed from the start to the very end, how the characters feels real and the whole experience so polished. A must have.

Having come up with an intriguing premise, it would have been all too easy for Capcom to cut corners beyond that, relying on the gimmick alone to garner sales. Thankfully, that is definitely not the case with Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, which is a quality piece of work at every level.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a superbly pleasurable puzzle effort with a wonderfully crafted storyline draped over it. Definitely one of the finest on the Nintendo DS.

Ghost Trick: Detective Fantasma is a great adventure game with a strong personality, an awsome look and pretty dialogs. The original gameplay is able to keep the interest constantly alive, but the lack of variety and the trial and error mechanics could be a problem for someone.

With around fifteen hours of gameplay that keep you compelled to play until the end in combination with a storyline that continues to surprise, Ghost Trick may be crammed full of tricks but is most definitely an absolute treat.

The story continues to get better and better with each step. Since it was written by the same people who did the Ace Attorney games, I'm not surprised at the quality of these games. Unfortunately, when it ends, the game is pretty much over since it is linear and doesn't have any alternative endings.

Like a supercharged Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick positively thunders forwards with an awesome narrative drive. Dead clever. Dead pretty. Dead good.

Ghost Trick's unusual premise, unique gameplay, satisfying puzzles, and wonderful characters make it an adventure game you don't want to miss.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is cheerful, funny and interesting, and the puzzles, while simple, are engrossing and never grow boring.

If you're an Ace Attorney fan, a point-and-click adventure fan, or simply a fan of quality storytelling in general, don't miss out on Ghost Trick. [Jan 2011, p.86]

A must-have for fans of the Phoenix Wright series, as it is even better than those, and not very recommended for those who don't have much patience or don't like very much to read, as sometimes there is a lot of story to be told. Everyone who likes graphic adventure games should try it for its originality and surprising plot.

If you're on the lookout for a puzzle game that has a gripping story, a funny script and a cast of colourful characters that offers something a little different, Ghost Trick is a resounding success.

Ghost Trick is a little bit linear and drive the player into the epilogue without difficulty, but it is one of the most articulate, engaging and funny adventure published in recent years for Nintendo DS.

Ghost Trick is about problems and solutions, and while there's some fun in exploring the possibilities along the way, the game is only really concerned in wrapping you up in one memorable, start-to-finish run. Give it a chance to haunt you, and you won't be disappointed.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a perfect storm of clever puzzles, suspenseful storytelling, and spectacular visuals that hasn't been witnessed since the heyday of LucasArts adventures. The linear plot makes this a one-time experience, but one that is so enthralling and witty that you'll be thankful for the opportunity.

Original, quite fun and incredibly surprising. Shu Takumi's latest work's probably his best so far, although it's far from perfection. Buy it and you'll have tons of hours to have some fun dealing with the misterious death of Sissel, the ghost detective.

Provided you're not averse to reading, you'll find this Trick to be a treat.

Despite its linearity, Ghost Trick still is going to provide you with anywhere between eight and ten hours of gameplay and story, each hour more compelling than the last as the mysteries unfold. Its a completely fresh experience on Nitnendo's handheld, or anywhere else for that matter, and certainly not one you'll want to skip.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is no doubt one of the best games for Nintendo DS in months. It's original, exciting and brilliant in some of its puzzle mechanics, while the plot and the characters are beautifully developed. It doesn't last too much, but the overall experience is worth it.

Funny gameplay, interesting story and rich characters. Ghost Trick is a mysterious and grateful videogame.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is innovative, features unique gameplay and is always between cheerful, funny and challenging at times. It's sometimes a bit limited and linear, but for one go, it's great.

Ghost Trick is worth a playthrough, if only to experience something completely unique in the graphic adventure genre.

It's a moment to be savored by gamers with eclectic taste. Ghost Trick is just one indication that the DS, in its twilight years, is also in its prime.

Ghost Trick also proffers a satisfying and rewarding conclusion, wrapping up quite nicely, even with a complex plotline (a rarity in gaming).

An engaging storyline, memorable characters and wonderful animation make this game a true treat.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a clever concoction that will stretch your brain in pleasantly unusual ways. It strikes just the right balance between whimsy and challenge, always just the right amount of difficult and bizarre.

I wouldn't suggest purchasing a DS for Ghost Trick - it isn't a system seller. While it's definitely worth experiencing, it is more a story than a game and while I've reread plenty of my favourite books more than once, some time needs to pass before I can.

A puzzle gem for the Nintendo DS. Great animations and characters and an interesting way of telling a (ghost) story.

Whilst the ending is a disappointment, the game gets so many things right it is all too easy to succumb to its charms.

One of the best puzzle adventures for the DS. A quirky idea with great animations and easy control.

Graphic adventure fans would be drop dead crazy to let this this fantastic adventure pass. Pun intended.

An excellent concept and story is essentially bogged down by at-times confusing and slow-paced gameplay. Story fiends will eat it up, but the casual crowd might be turned off.

Great script and solid gameplay mechanics. Possibly the last great adventure for the Nintendo DS.

One of the most original games we've seen in a long while. You play as a ghost, tasked with solving your own murder case, and in the process saving witnesses and others from the same potential fate by manipulating the enviroment in the precious few minutes before their would-be killer tries to take their life. The puzzles often border on genius and will challenge your imagination regularly. A well-thought out and well-executed puzzle game.

The puzzling, while fearsomely inventive and effortlessly pleasurable, unfortunately doesn't fulfil its obvious potential. But if you are possessed by Ghost Trick's charms, you will find an affecting, charismatic game with a whole lot of spirit.

How apt that interactivity and fiction should finally merge in a fiction about interactions. The dead are restored, and the genre with them. [Feb 2011, p.103]

The interesting characters and the unique gameplay make Ghost Trick a game that can be enjoyed for hours. The search for solutions of puzzles, combined with the many plottwist, give the game a vibe present in the old point-and-click adventures.

It's one of the freshest, most original and genuinely funny games to hit the DS since a certain lawyer raised his first objection.

Despite occasional frustration though, the more active gameplay of Ghost Trick is a welcome change from the mostly passive adventures of Ace Attorney (a series we also love!).

The biggest fault of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is not a poor gameplay experience, but rather one that's over a bit too quickly.

The conclusion the plot hurtles toward you may not be one you saw coming (I didn't), but the satisfaction of getting there cancels out all the tufts of hair you ripped out along the way working out the tougher puzzles.

With its ludicrous storyline and its super-cool characters, Ghost Trick blows a fresh wind on DS adventure games. Its designers undoubtedly loved making it. Capcom didn't lie on the goods. After a brilliant success like Phoenix Wright, its designers have done it again. Congrats.

This kind of game - essentially a visual mystery novel - isn't as strong as an adventure title like 999, and might not win over too many players looking for a brand new experience, but if you can look past some small flaws in characters and some issues along the lines of a cheesy M. Night Shyamalan story (which would confuse even him), it's a fun, little distraction for a while. Just don't expect the next Sherlock Holmes and you'll probably be fine.

This being a Takumi videogame, each environment lies awash with engaging characters capable of development over a period of hours.

It's an elegantly crafted thriller that stands out as an original, charming and beautiful adventure.

Technically superb, the game quickly enough, however, shows its limitations as a "ghost simulator".

The flaws are obvious, and in many cases needless, but personality (and fantastic animation) go a long way in this eccentric puzzler.

Part of the appeal of the Ace Attorney series is the "Eureka!" moment, that feeling of brain satisfaction that can only come out of solving a particularly grueling puzzle using nothing but your wits. Ghost Trick has no eurekas, only "Oh … is that it?"