Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Remaster) (PlayStation 4)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): June 30, 2023
- Release Date (EU): June 30, 2023
- Release Date (JP): June 30, 2023
- Publisher: Capcom
- Developer: Capcom
- Genres: Puzzle-Adventure
- Also For: Computer, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
Game Features:
Review Approach:
A DS Classic Rises From The Dead, As Are You
It's 7:02 PM. Your head feels fuzzy, and you think you've been unconscious for a while. You're swimming through a sea of darkness until, finally, you awake. There's a woman standing near you - a red head whom you don't know, or at least don't recall. Right opposite there's a made man, aiming his gun at her - that's bad news. You can't stand to watch a woman get killed right in front of you, so you try to spring into action. There's only one small problem... You're already dead, and in a rather compromising position to say the least. You hear a voice in your head, a voice that urges you to act, but how? Suddenly, the world changes around you, and the flow of time comes to an abrupt stop. "You" are separated from your mortal coil and you realise that you can "jump" from one object to the next. Not only that, you can manipulate those objects to a certain extent. Are you... a poltergeist now? A certain desk lamp seems to think so - it tells you that you're in the Ghost World, and your new powers will help you solve the only mystery that occupies your mind right now - the mystery of your own death... so long as you can solve it before midnight. You don't need much convincing - after all, you can't rest easy without finding out how you died, exactly. You re-examine the situation and form a plan - if I move this and nudge that... okay, that should work. The gunman doesn't have any treats on him, so... it's time for a little trick.
When at first you don't succeed...
Why Did The Ghost Cross The Phoneline?
The introduction to Ghost Trick tells you everything you need to know in one level - you're dead, and there's no coming back from that. Tomorrow morning "You" will cease to exist and all that awaits is oblivion. That being said, it can be blissful oblivion, if you put your mind to it. As luck would have it, you're one of those cliché souls with some "unfinished business" and all the powers necessary to get it "finished" in one evening. For starters, you can cross between the world of the living and the world of the dead. So long as you're in the Ghost World, time in the real world stops, allowing you to move around quickly.
Traveling to different locations is achieved by possessing... the phone line. Talk about a long-distance call!
You can also possess objects within your range by using the analog stick, and once you've possessed them, you can use them to your advantage in the real world. Can't reach a ledge? No problem - just extend that ladder or raise that flag up the pole and shazam! You've got a new node you can jump to. Need to travel long distance? Not an issue either - you can utilise phone lines to travel between different locations instantaneously. Remember, you're on borrowed time, so you have to move fast - no lollygagging allowed.
Turning back time? Now that's a neat trick!
Of course being a ghost isn't just about mobility - you have two more powers which are invaluable for a Phantom Detective. If you come across a "fresh" corpse, you can talk to the newly-departed, even if they weren't as lucky as you and didn't receive any special powers. Interrogating the dead allows you to collect information about your own predicament, but there's more to it than that. Possessing a dead body also allows you to use your final, probably most powerful ability - change fate itself. As a ghost, you can rewind time by exactly 4 minutes, and while this trick doesn't work on your own body, saving the dead you meet along the way will help you unravel the mystery surrounding your own death. Don't worry - if you mess up, you can always try again and again. Every problem has a solution, some more convoluted than others, and often times you'll have to work across multiple locations to get things on the right track.
Use your powers to change people's fate, but be careful! You only get 4 minutes!
Ghost Trick is a perfect blend of a point-and-click adventure and a puzzle game, and despite being over a decade old it still feels both fun and innovative - there's just not a lot of games like this out there. The port manages to retain all of the mechanics from the DS version without affecting gameplay and is just as enjoyable as I remembered it. As far as the game is concerned, you're getting the same experience as you did on the DS, except this time around you also get to enjoy greatly enhanced visual fidelity, courtesy of the RE Engine.
We *have* to save the dog - look at it! Dog/10!
The jump from 256x192 to HD really makes Ghost Trick pop out of the screen. Smooth character animation combined with the game's colourful art style make for an endearing visual presentation that puts a breath of fresh life into the game. With that being said, there's a chink in the remaster's armor - the aspect ratio. Like many older games, Ghost Trick wasn't made with a wide screen in mind, and as is the case with many "retro" ports, the game implements pillarboxing in order to account for that. I feel like more could've been done to adapt the game to a modern 16:9 display, but I can understand why this choice was made - some levels in Ghost Trick were specifically designed to fit on one Nintendo DS screen, so levels would have to be redesigned and "stretched out" to fill this new-found space. On the bright side, the game does make use of the pillarboxing by displaying some information on the sides of the screen depending on which phase of the investigation you're in, so it's not exactly blank, but it can be annoying all the same. All in all, the game is solid, but does the bare minimum in the remastering department rather than opting to go the extra mile to fully refresh its presentation. In fact, as far as I can tell, this remaster doesn't feature any "extended" content compared to the original besides unlockable artwork - what you see is what you get. This is the same game you played on the DS - nothing more, nothing less. No extra levels, no voice acting, just better visuals and sound.
...To Get To The "Other Side"
As you progress, the levels get busier and busier - more nodes is more fun!
So, is this remaster worth picking up? At £24.99/$29.99 I'd say yes, especially if you haven't played the game before. The average play time of +/- 12 hours might not seem like much, but there's something to be said about games that are a tight package by design. Ghost Trick is a great little title that'll scratch your investigative itch and make fans of games like Ace Attorney feel right at home. The puzzle game elements reminiscent of The Incredible Machine twist the formula just right, so it's not just another run of the mill "whodunit". The characters are fun, quirky and unique, and their humorous interactions will keep you engaged from beginning to end. Enough time has passed for the game to be exciting for new players who may have missed out on it originally while returning DS veterans will get to enjoy the title they know and love looking its best, and with no sacrifices to gameplay in spite of a new control scheme. Who knows, maybe if this release does well, we'll see some renewed interest? I'd certainly like that - Ghost Trick is definitely a franchise that should come back from the grave.
Verdict
- Gorgeous audio-visual presentation of the original looks even better in HD
- Fun pick-up-and-play style gameplay
- Seamless blend of a point-and-click adventure and a puzzle game
- Good conversion of the control scheme from a touchscreen to a traditional controller
- Budget price tag for a popular DS classic
- Pillarboxing, while a necessary evil, is a little annoying
- Bare minimum remaster with no additional "extended" content compared to the original besides unlockable artwork
- The game is still not voice acted despite being ported to far more capable platforms, which would've been a nice addition
