Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective review: new life for a DS cult classic

Ghost Trick follows Sissel, a recently deceased spirit who can’t remember who he is or how he died. But he can possess objects, setting up the game’s mechanical core: interfering in the Rube Goldberg-like puzzles to save others from their own grisly fates. This game switches between puzzles and story sections, which are dialogue-heavy and unfold a sweet twisty plot in surprising ways.

Originally launched for Nintendo DS back in 2010, Ghost Trick didn’t sell especially well. But it did develop a cult following, particularly among those who were already fans of writer-director Shu Takumi’s better-known series, Ace Attorney. Being involved in the latter fandom for almost 20 years, I’ve heard the pleas — “Play Ghost Trick! Don’t look anything up first, just trust us!” — since it first came out.

Having now played it, I’ll hand it to them: They’re right. It’s possible that I am not as unreserved about my affection for Ghost Trick as someone who’s been trying to convince people to play it for a decade or more (there’s one truly awful stealth section, for a start), but it’s a real little joyful gem of a game. It’s fun to fiddle with the ghostly interactions and see the puzzles fall into place. Characters like the dog are also great, as is the music.

Missile, a ghost dog character in Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, wags his tongue out while standing in front of a swirly red background, saying: “That’s right. I’m Missile. Nice to meet you!”

Even though I was happy to have finally seen it after 12 to 14 hours, I couldn’t ignore what I saw. Ghost TrickIt is now an outlier in its generation. Access to this game was severely restricted when Nintendo shut down the 3DS and Wii U online shops in March. It was still one of the lucky ones as it had both an iOS version and a physical launch (although these cartridges are going to stop working eventually). Nintendo is cracking down with jail and fines for those that don’t already own the games digitally.

Remaster forwarded Ghost Trick a second shot, but it’s not a sustainable solution for every game in Nintendo’s back catalog that’s now vulnerable to becoming — or already is — lost media. Which games are chosen to be treated is up entirely to the corporate whims, and their financial calculations. Nintendo’s back catalog has been patchily available through its online services, but the Switch and DS versions of said service are not the same, meaning that many vanished once again in March. Capcom, meanwhile, celebrated its 40th Anniversary by offering playable versions for some of the company’s early classics, including Mega Man You can also find out more about the following: Street Fighter II, online. These and other major players such as Resident Evil 4 might get preserved through frequent ports and remakes, smaller titles likely won’t.

A redhead character in Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective shrugs while saying, “I would say it’s going well enough, about fair to average, if I had to say. Yes, it’s going all right.”

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective protagonist Sissel sits back in a chair that’s off-kilter, with other living room furniture swirling around him

A blue-skinned, suit-wearing man with a shotgun aims it at a pale redhead woman, facing away from him with her hands up. In the background, there’s a huge pile of junk and garbage

You can also find out more about the following: Ghost TrickI was lucky. It feels as if a phantom has manipulated events behind the scenes. It’s just So. The persistence of fandom may have contributed to the feeling that the re-release would be profitable. But in the current ecosystem, being loved isn’t enough to stop art from being erased. Returning to Takumi’s library (although he wasn’t directly involved in the spinoff), Ace Attorney Investigations 2,It was not released in English but an entire team dedicated to localization spent years making it. English is the second most popular language in its fanbase. Ghost Trick’s has ever been, but it’s difficult to see it ever getting its own re-release.

Even that is just one game, and it’s big enough that I’m aware of it. It’s difficult to envision the scale of the games that are now vulnerable. It’s hard to imagine the scale of games that are now vulnerable. Ghost TrickThe developers have put a lot of care into the game. Detectives dance, puppies bounce, and romance novelists — well, I can’t at all do justice in words to how this woman winches up a chandelier. They went absolutely berserk. The All-InOn making Ghost Trick The game should be as funny, stylish and dramatic as possible. But every game (and other piece of media, like the recent spate of TV shows deleted from streaming) has something similar — something in it that someone has poured their heart into.

I’m thrilled that the remaster has given Ghost Trick A new lease of life. But Sissel spends the whole game making sure that nothing falls through the cracks — and that just doesn’t square with his game’s now lonely survival.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Released on Nintendo Switch on 30 June. Capcom supplied a download code to be used for the review. Vox Media maintains affiliate relationships. Vox Media earns commissions from affiliate products, although this doesn’t influence the editorial content. Find out more about affiliate links. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.