Nintendo Switch Review Code Provided by Capcom
Developer and publisher Capcom initially released Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective back in 2010. They decided to bring an HD remastered version to modern platforms. We’ve seen some pretty good remasters and titles from Capcom in general. Let’s see how the Ghost Trick HD Remaster turned out.
Story
Ghost Trick is labeled as an adventure-puzzle game in the sense that there is a journey you take by solving puzzles. In Ghost Trick you take on the role of a recently deceased who happens upon some spiritual powers. When you “awake” in your new state you are trying to regain some memories but find yourself in an unfavorable position. After finding out about some spiritual powers or “Ghost Tricks” you attempt to save a girl from being murdered in cold blood!
Unsatisfied by that, you need to find out who you are, who killed you, why you were killed, and solve mysteries along the way. The plot is mainly led by your character Sissel being able to possess the recently deceased and travel back four minutes before they were killed in hopes of performing some tricks to keep them alive. In those four minutes Sissel is able to change the fate of those in danger of losing their lives to help him get one step closer to finding the answers he’s looking for.
Sissel and another living character Lynne along with a dog spirit named Missel will all work together in a true detective manor to solve a much deeper crime than just your murder. Perform ghost tricks to assist the living and solve puzzles to unearth some dreadful deeds and to find out exactly what a “Ghost Trick” is.
Gameplay
While the game calls itself an adventure-puzzle game I’d say it’s mostly a puzzle game. The story is quite adventurous but the gameplay down to the T is a puzzle game. The puzzles are fast-paced and tense and make you think quick on your feet. You take the form of a spirit and stop time with the ghost realm to move around the available screen using different possessable items. After possessing certain items you can perform a Ghost Trick in real time and cause the item to move or do something.
Moving from item to item they take the form of small orbs when you’re in the ghost realm and you as a spirit have a small reach that you can use to hop around. The puzzles are solved by moving different items so that you can reach other items and activating them to trigger character reactions with the goal of changing the fate of the characters. The in-game time of the puzzles feels so fast because they take place in a span of four minutes. Whether it was following a real four-minute timer or if it’s triggered by a certain amount of ghost tricks is unclear, but either way, it makes it feel tense.
When you start each mission, you travel to a new place via telephone line. You then watch a short preview of what happened and you can use your own detective skills to find little things you can change to prepare for what you’re going to do since you have a limited amount of time. Hop around the map quickly and activate items with precise timing so that you can reach moving objects. Sometimes you will come to the end of the timer and it’s too late but that’s okay, when you need to, you can restart the timer. Just pay attention to your actions because you can use your new knowledge to your advantage.
Audio and Visual
Capcom always has a way of bringing an epic pixelated soundtrack to life. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective has a soundtrack that makes the already tense situations feel even more dire but the soundtrack pumps you up. The sound bites you get from the game are old school and nostalgic and I find it charming.
The HD remaster however is fantastic in my opinion. While the 2010 pixel graphics were great, I think this game is served very well with its new and improved graphical updates. The now smooth textures make the game seem faster and give it some extra depth.
Replayability
Unfortunately, this is where this game takes its blow. There isn’t really any replayability after you beat it the first time. Unless you’re just a huge fan of this game and you just want to replay the story and see how fast you can beat it, there’s really no reason to keep this game installed after you complete it.
What It Could Have Done Better
There are small things they could have added to improve the game that the developers opted out of. The only “new features” they really added were the ability to view key art from the game and listen to the soundtrack. They could have added either a new ending or some extra levels. A remaster of a puzzle game can be a little redundant as people that are hardcore fans of this game might even still remember the solutions to each puzzle.
Verdict
It looks like Capcom is going to keep their streak going because Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective works really well as an HD remaster. The smoothed-out textures make the game flow a whole lot better. For those who didn’t have access to a Nintendo DS in 2010 or just never heard of this game, this is the perfect way to introduce yourself to it. The game being from the same mind that brought the Ace Attorney series, you get the same sense of urgency and accomplishment from each puzzle. Fans of this game might have no other reason to play it other than nostalgia but people who have yet to experience it should definitely try it out.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective HD Remaster will be available June 30th for PC via Steam, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
How are your detective skills?
