This one has been in my “to-play” list for, well, since it originally came out for the Nintendo DS back in 2010. I was a kid that had access to an R4 card and an internet connection and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective was one of hundreds of games I beamed straight to my DS. I’m a huge Phoenix Wright fan so I can tell you why exactly it took me so long to play the beloved cult classic in Shu Takumi’s lineage, but what I can tell you is I don’t like it very much!
Look, I’m sorry, I know Ghost Trick is beloved. People love Lynne! They love Missile the dog! I’m sorry to say that despite thinking Missile is very cute I don’t particularly care for either of them. See - I am somewhat confused by the reaction to Ghost Trick critically, as I seem to have the inverse problem as most other contemporaneous critics: the story just doesn’t do anything for me. It’s not the Takumi goofiness, that’s fine, it’s that I don’t particularly like any of the characters, and most of the scenes feel as though they’re leaning into Takumi’s worst character writing instincts. My least favorite part of the Phoenix Wright games has always been the investigations, because a lot of the games’ “humor” comes from throwing larger-than-life, intentionally annoying caricatures at you. The designs are fun, sure, and several of the characters are endearing, but I always appreciated the character work and drama that came from the court room sections over the more slapstick investigative sections. The story, in Ghost Trick, feels made entirely of the types of Phoenix Wright characters I enjoy least - the broad, overblown gag characters with nonsense quirks and repetitive animations, and I find it impossible to truly attach myself to any of them.
What I like most about Ghost Trick, or at least, what I see the most potential in, is the puzzle design. I think the central mechanic of jumping between pieces of a diorama to experiment with different interactions is really enticing. It doesn’t always work, and of course there are the leaps in logic of how things might actually interact, but there’s some really satisfying moments seeing a Rube Goldberg machine of seemingly disconnected set pieces come together in some fantastical or ridiculous way to accomplish a seemingly simple objective. It’s what I think is so tragic about Ghost Trick’s lack of financial success and certainty that there will never be a sequel: a chance to expand on these mechanics, perhaps even including an actual physics system or puzzle design that allows for greater mechanical expression or multiple solutions would be absolutely stellar.
It truly is a shame that Ghost Trick only found its audience as cult game (I am of course, one of the many people to blame for this), because I do think it’s interesting, I just need someone to wrangle in some of these characters and expand on what’s truly great about it.