[Review] Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective - Nintendo Switch

Developed and Published By: Capcom
Categories: Puzzle
Release Date: 06.30.23

Hey, that girl is about to get shot! You need to save her!…too bad you’re dead. But you gotta do something, right? Well, why not a trick? Your spirit is just floating around, so why not put it in something. No not your corpse, an inanimate object like that bike or that wrecking ball! Kind of a Ghost Trick if you will. Lets just press the L button to see those objects to posses. Not just one object will do sometimes, you need to get a bit of a chain reaction going. Open a suitcase, turn on a fan to get a flag moving. Or perhaps posses someone else’s corpse? Doing this can set you back four minutes in time before that person’s death, long as it’s fresh. Maybe you have to see someone fall before you can really figure out how to save them.

Ok, that sounds complicated. And it kind of is, but you got this. Welcome to Ghost Trick. Ghost Trick was the project Ace Attorney creator Shu Takumi worked on after Apollo Justice. While Ace Attorney was more of a visual novel with puzzle aspects, Ghost Trick is full on puzzle with a story. The Nintendo DS and iOS was home to this title back in 2010, but now it’s 2023 and all modern consoles and PC can finally play Ghost Trick…does it hold up though?

Back in 2010, Ghost Trick stood out by having a very striking art style and excellent animation. It’s no surprise that thirteen years later it still is an amazing looking game. I don’t know if it’s fair to say the DS held the game back, but being in HD just brings this game to life. The colors, the hard shapes, the smooth movement of everything. It’s just such a joy to see as clear as ever. I reckon that the fun characters just do wonders to make everything work as well as it does.

Masakazu Sugimori’s music as always is quite the snack for the ears. I’ll never get sick of hearing it whether it’s in Ghost Trick, the Ace Attorney games, or even Viewtiful Joe or Vanquish. Dig in to a bit of funk, some tension, a few electric bops, melodies of triumph and when it needs to be quiet, absolutely nothing at all.

Lets touch upon the gameplay a bit outside of what to do. There’s objects, but just sitting around won’t do anything. Lets move to the Ghost World. Within Ghost World, you can go into these objects. You’ll use them to both move around and to posses. Go from object to object, as long as their close. Activating these objects can either make moving around easier or do what you’re probably want to happen, cause something to happen or a chain reaction. If you ever get stuck, you can occasionally go into a thought bubble to get a bit of a push. But be hasty, you have only but four minutes. If you do goof though, you can always restart.

Why exactly should anyone play this port as opposed to the original DS game anyway? The big one is something I previously mention, the HD presentation. Getting great looking games to look even better is never a bad thing. Truthfully, you’re not missing much at all if anything. The lack of a second screen becomes a non-issue as this modern port on Switch allows for touch screen controls and the top screen’s info is put in borders from the game’s retained 4:3 aspect ratio. There’s the original music to use or even a new arranged version of the OST. Your choice, but you can’t go wrong with either, especially in the game’s music player. As you play the game, you’ll unlock art pieces to view in a gallery for that too. It’s minimal when it comes to extras, but it’s appreciated to be included nonetheless. On top of all of that, you can even try challenges, a bit of a mainstay from Capcom’s other re-releases and ports.

How many can you save before morning comes? Does this ghost have enough tricks in their sleeve? Do you? If you enjoy logic puzzles, Ghost Trick is definitely up your alley. The clever puzzles come with Shu Takumi’s clever writing, and when you have that Capcom flair, it just all comes together to make a game that while underappreciated back in it’s day, should not be overlooked a second time. Play this game! Show Capcom more of their lost gems need to be re-released and given new love.