One of my shorter writeups from last year, dealing with the HD remaster of the Nintendo DS cult classic Ghost Trick. Enjoy!
So I beat Ghost Trick yesterday. Wonderful game, though quite a bit shorter than I expected. Shorter even than 999 (especially if you go for the bulk of that game's endings), but hey, at least it’s longer than Stray (totally random comparison, I know). That said, its comparatively short length means that this is an extremely tightly designed and plotted experience, unlike many visual novels that suffer from plenty of filler (you could argue that a game like Apollo Justice is pretty much ALL Filler, though I personally have a soft spot for that one, being my first Ace Attorney and all).
Ghost Trick even starts you off in the thick of the action, with your character lying dead in an undignified position while a cute redhead Waifu is being held up at gunpoint by a nearsighted assassin who may or may not have killed you. You quickly find out that in the case of your main character, being dead actually comes with some nifty advantages, and the game quickly and organically introduces you to a bunch of neat and inventive mechanics involving the manipulations of objects and the way your spirit travels between them. Not to mention game-changing abilities like being able to quick travel across phone lines and, of yeah, TURNING BACK TIME for a chance to undo the deaths of recently deceased characters (*except* for your own death, because I guess that would just be a bit TOO convenient).
The game is consistently fun and well-paced, with lots of clever and inventive puzzles that utilize your various abilities in really cool ways, with several brand new mechanics and updates on old mechanics being introduced along the way to ensure the experience keeps feeling fresh. Furthermore, what initially starts off as a simple enough story (your Ghost MC, suffering from amnesia, wanting to find out who he was, who killed him and why before ceasing to exist entirely) gradually becomes more and more complex, and the scope keeps broadening, every answer you get seemingly only raising more questions. Along the way, you encounter plenty of charming and memorable characters (Missile the Pomeranian being an obvious standout), which beyond the witty writing are further brought to life by lots of fun and funny animations. The characters designs are really good too, and there’s a surprising number of really cute girls, which is always appreciated.
So pretty much everything about Ghost Trick is both enjoyable and high-quality throughout, but it’s during the last third or so of the game where it truly goes nuts, with earthshattering twists that recontextualize everything you’ve previously seen and experienced, a revolutionary new ghost trick mechanic being introduced, and an ever-intensifying sense of urgency as the story builds towards its shocking, yet logical climax. And indeed, the ending to Ghost Trick might just rival Xenoblade 2 as my favorite video game ending, despite me not yet having fully processed it at the time of writing:
I actually figured out Sissel’s true identity during the final Chapter’s opening. With every notable human character accounted for, and the presence of a black cat at the scene of the meteorite impact inexplicably being emphasized, it all suddenly made sense – I’d previously been annoyed by Sissel’s weird and random inability to read, and all those huge, seemingly pointless gaps in knowledge that you usually don’t see with vidya amnesiacs, but now suddenly it all clicked – he’s not actually human! I love how the game eases you into accepting this, through your interactions with Missile, and the revelation that Missile himself is capable of powerful ghost tricks. That way something that would otherwise have felt like a ridiculous last-second shock twist (even with the foreshadowing) instead ends up feeling like the only answer that actually makes sense.
And boy, as someone who adores both cats and dogs there’s something so lovely, pure and powerful about the two heroes of this game turning out to be that starving little stray kitten who was so desperate for someone to notice him, and the loyal little doggo who ended up traveling through multiple timelines and devoting, even sacrificing his entire afterlife just to save his owner. Everything about Sissel and “Ray”s backstories just hits so hard. I cried. In fact, I’m crying right now.
Creating a “good timeline” that undoes so many of the main story’s tragedies might feel like a cop out to some, but for me it works perfectly. I’m all for these characters getting their happy ending, God knows they earned it.
And boy, as someone who adores both cats and dogs there’s something so lovely, pure and powerful about the two heroes of this game turning out to be that starving little stray kitten who was so desperate for someone to notice him, and the loyal little doggo who ended up traveling through multiple timelines and devoting, even sacrificing his entire afterlife just to save his owner. Everything about Sissel and “Ray”s backstories just hits so hard. I cried. In fact, I’m crying right now.
Creating a “good timeline” that undoes so many of the main story’s tragedies might feel like a cop out to some, but for me it works perfectly. I’m all for these characters getting their happy ending, God knows they earned it.
If there’s ever a Ghost Trick 2 I hope it’s a brand new story, because for me there’s really no improving on how this one ended.
