Synopsis: Capcom has surprised me with their DS title Ghost Trick Phantom Detective, brought to us by Shu Takumi, the original maker of the Ace Attourney titles. As a fan of Capcom titles, I have to admit that I have not been looking forward to this title as Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and Okamiden were overshadowing this gem. In Ghost Trick, you assume the role of newly dead Sissel, looking into your reason for death, while altering others' fates along the way. This adventure puzzler is chock full of content, containing 15 stages, 25 areas, and one very short time limit to alter the fates of over 30 characters.
Praise: I must admit that I have not played any of the Ace Attorney titles, but after playing through the numerous puzzles, it looks like I will be picking them up before my weekend trip to Redding. I love a good puzzler, but one of my favorite puzzlers which immediately comes to mind is Puzzle Quest, mainly because it has a story and dialogue, and with Ghost Trick, the humorous dialogue almost overshadows the puzzles. That is not to say that the puzzles aren't fun, in fact the puzzles are a blast and unique, being interactive in a way I have yet to experience. The way in which the puzzles work, is by Sissel going back in time to four minutes before other characters' demise, locating items in which are interactive, before going into the real world and performing a "trick" to prevent death along with learning more about what happened in the few moments leading up to your murder, and the information acquired changes based on how situations play out.
Gripes: In regards to the downsides to this title, there wasn't much to complain about when it comes to the technical aspects behind this title. One thing in which I felt that took away from the gameplay was the lack of help when it came to trying to solve some of the later puzzles and while the game plays out regardless to your actions made, sometimes those aren't the actions in which you intended on. Also, the stages seemed pretty long, making it harder to pick up and play without having a full half hour to play through a stage, because the process consists of watching a character die, then solving a puzzle in both the ghost and real world, then performing tricks to alter fates, learn more about your demise and on to the next stage, so it is ill advised and hard to put down before completing stages.
Overall, Ghost Trick is definitely an experience for puzzle gamers, as its interactive puzzles are a blast to play and see how items act differently to try and see how fate plays out when you can manipulate the outcome. Whether you come for the puzzles and stay for the humor or vice versa, this title provides a good amount of content and with a great story and lots of replay value, it would be a hard title to pass up, and with it being on the Nintendo DS, you can take the phantom detective wherever you go, unfortunately poor Sissel spent most of his time either in the bathroom or in bed with me.
Mashbuttons.com gives Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective a 9 out of 10.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is available now for the Nintendo DS.
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