A bizarre, entrancing adventure you don't want to miss!
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a unique adventure/puzzle game from the makers of the Ace Attorney series of games I've always had a certain fondness for. Like the Ace Attorney games, Ghost Trick is filled with colorful, crazy characters, great humor and writing, and only the faintest relationship with actual reality. Unlike the other games, however, Ghost Trick also backs up its characters and story with fantastic gameplay that challenges but rarely frustrates and really feels built for the Nintendo DS.
In Ghost Trick you play as Sissel, a recently deceased man with no memory of his life or who he really is. He is informed by an unusual stranger that he is special and able to perform "ghost tricks" which allow him to manipulate inanimate objects to affect the environment. The other big trick he can perform is the ability to wind back time four minutes before the death of a person or animal and manipulate what happened then to hopefully change the fate of the deceased.
Ghost Trick plays out in chapters rather than individual episodes, telling one big long and involved story. Along the way players will meet Lynne, a rookie detective and fiery redhead that has a penchant for getting herself killed throughout the game, Inspector Cabanela, the eccentric and suspicious head detective, Missile, a feisty and hilariously loyal pet Pomeranian, and many many more fleshed out and interesting characters.
Whether in the present assisting living people you communicate with (Sissel can only directly speak with those he has brought back to life) or in the past trying to save the life of a victim, gameplay revolves around the ability to manipulate objects, get around the environment, and change the course of events. This requires careful observation of all the clockwork that went into the events in a scene and correct timing of manipulation to change what happened. The earliest example is in a junkyard, distracting a would-be assassin by making musical instruments sound and objects to get in his way, eventually leading to a wrecking ball being dropped directly on his head.
As the game progresses, puzzles become more complex and build on existing mechanics while introducing new abilities and unique situations. I was afraid that there was going to come a point when a puzzle became so obtuse I couldn't solve it without a guide, but I never once found myself needing to refer to one. I was stumped on occasion, sure, and had to take a break here and there, but once I logically looked through what could be done and how to do it, it was easy enough to work through.
Ghost Trick is pretty forgiving, actually. When you have changed the course of events in any sort of meaningful fashion, it saves as a "fate change" checkpoint, so if you fail you can start from there instead of at the beginning of the four minutes. It's good about letting you know, too, when you have screwed up enough that you cannot solve the puzzle anymore and should restart. Skipping past already-heard dialogue and cutscenes is quick and easy, and it makes the experience as frustration-free as possible.
Also worth mentioning is the overall presentation of the game. You can't really tell from screenshots, but the game has fantastic animation. Characters move in a fluid, believable fashion that shows a lot of flair and adds color to their personalities. The art style is strong in Ghost Trick and helps you forget that you're playing on a 7-8 year old portable handheld. The music, reminiscent of the aforementioned Ace Attorney games, is catchy, fitting, and overall superb.
I cannot recommend trying out this game enough. It's lengthy, intriguing, well-designed and consistently entertaining. It has quite a few crazy twists that make playing through again really eye opening. Also, localization into English and Spanish is fantastic, and I have tested out both thoroughly. If you have ever enjoyed a good story-driven game or an adventure game of any type, Ghost Trick is probably for you.
