Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective preview: A good game but a cheap trick
This year is not only a spectacular year for games, but it is an amazing year for remakes. Dead Space, Resident Evil 4, Live A Live, and Metroid Prime; 2023 is showing gamers what good remakes can be.
While the original RE4 can still be played on a number of different platforms, others, like Metroid Prime, are stuck on older consoles. This is where Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective comes in. Originally and only released on the DS, there are plenty who haven't had the chance to sample its charm.
Ghost Trick was directed by Shu Takumi, who is best known for the Ace Attorney series. While Phoenix Wright is by far the more well-known gamer, Ghost Trick managed its own cult following, but sadly did not become a fully-fledged series.
While the two both have detective work in common, they play out very differently. Ghost Trick is more about solving environmental puzzles than mysteries, as you repeat four-minute scenarios trying to figure out the correct path to take. And this is where the ghost part comes in, because, unlike our objectionable lawyer, our protagonist this time is dead.
Capcom
Puzzles are solved by haunting objects nearby and using them to encourage the living to perform actions that ultimately alter their fate. The idea is that you will be unable to do this the first time around, and will repeat each scenario until you find how to manipulate it correctly.
One thing that Wright and Ghost Trick do have in common is the humor. Those outlandish storylines and jokes are still very much here, and you'll still be coming up with wacky solutions in order to solve the game's puzzles. If you like one, you'll like the other, even though the gameplay is very different.
There was something that left us wanting more. This new version of Ghost Trick isn't a remake or a remaster. It's pretty much a direct port with very little change. Vertical bars have been placed at either side of the screen to make up for the change in aspect ratio, and very little information is displayed here.
Capcom
You can see your time remaining here, but time doesn't pass like in real life. Instead, it passes every time you solve a part of the puzzle, making this indication almost useless. There is obviously the adjustment from two screens into one, and the new controls over the touchscreen work well. We just would have liked a little more from a game repackaged like this one.
However, we only got the chance to play the first two chapters as part of the preview, and we're eager to see more. There could be more changes in the final build, and we're hoping that Capcom can add a little more pizzazz.
