Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (the best story-focussed game of all time)

I feel like we're the most Ghost Trick friendly community on the 'net pretty much, but there'll be somebody here who hasn't played this. I don't know who: even those who normally aren't so keen on wordy games love Ghost Trick, and with good reason. But if it's you, you have to play this, there's simply no bones about it. And if it isn't - well, I know a couple of us will be replaying this anyway, to show Shu Takumi and Capcom that there's still some love for amazing detective yarns with great characters, stonking twists, and lovely artwork. I don't know if I'll replay it myself, because I replayed it relatively recently. I'll buy it though. It's my fourth-favourite game of all time. It deserves some love.

GHOST TRICK!

Aye, and I'm really looking forward to my second play through of this in the summer.

GHOST TRICK!

I've never played this and it's one million pounds everywhere to get it on DS - it's long been something I've yearned for a remake/remaster/rerelease of and it's happening!!

Rum wrote:

I've never played this and it's one million pounds everywhere to get it on DS - it's long been something I've yearned for a remake/remaster/rerelease of and it's happening!!

I am also Rum on this

Though how much did it use the DS? And can that translate to a DualSense?

I'll say this: if they don't have touch screen controls on Switch, especially after the game was released on mobile, they're fools. I feel like playing it on a non-touch screen machine would be a possible experience (you only really need to use it to hop from object to object if I recall correctly), but a noticeably worse one.

Just touch screen from what I remember but it shouldn't be hard to translate to stick/buttons. Though if they really wanted to they could use the ps4's touch pad or have some form of motion/pointer controls.

It's also coming to Xbox which has no motion or touchpad, and maybe Capcom will treat all versions differently, but you'd think it be made in mind of the most limited of it's just a pad.

Yeh, playing to each systems strengths would be the best.

It would, but will Capcom do that for a relatively niche (even though it shouldn't be) title? I'm expecting touch controls for Switch/Steam Deck at most.

True. I'm just happy Capcom realised they have other old games they can remaster.

(console MH4U next pls Capcom)

I forgot I owned this on DS which earned me a probably deserved bollocking from everyone in voice chat, but this was still a really pleasant surprise. I suppose at this point I'm as well as waiting for the remaster, although I suppose if there's not a world of difference between the versions outside of graphical improvements, then it might serve as an excuse for me to dig out my copy and play alongside everyone else tucking into the Switch version.

As somebody who doesn't normally like retro games who played GT in 2020, I'd say the DS version still holds up. I remember the animation being beautifully smooth and that obviously isn't the case when it's running at 15fps or so, so I really hope the remaster is 60fps. Otherwise it's still grand on any machine.

It's more than a decade and two generations of machines old.  It's retro, Buska, and we're getting older.

Fifteen years is the Retro Gamer Magazine rule, and we’re not quite round that nostalgic cycle for Ghost Trick yet.

All the same I’m happy enough to see Ghost Trick back for another go-around. I’m interested to see what they add to it – that’ll make the difference between picking up this remaster for Switch and simply rooting about my cupboard for my still-not-finished DS copy.

Said in ToH discord when talking PS3, that gaming does need new terms as PS3 is two gens ago now and in places do see it in retro collections & collecting has started to bubble up for it. Though does it feel right to me no, but Craig on our cast would say yeah.

Then looking when I started eBay back in 2002 as retrokid, I was selling Mega Drive games etc those would be same age as my PS3 example now.

I think you're right that gaming needs a different term.

In fashion, music, or even film, the difference between 1960, 1990 and 2020 is primarily one of style and taste. In that same time-frame, games went from tic-tac-toe on a machine the size of an entire room to Mario to Elden Ring. There's a technological difference that isn't reflected even in film. Sure, effects technology has changed but I still sit in front of a screen and watch. I can buy Blu Rays of Metropolis, Star Wars and Avatar and play them all in the same way.

I was about to use precisely that to argue that 2011 is retro in gaming. So much changes in gaming in two generations, especially Nintendo's handheld. You could make an argument that the PS3 doesn't feel retro when compared to the PS5, because the difference isn't as stark. DS vs. Switch though? Night and day.

Anyway, I think the conclusion that we've come to is that everybody interprets words differently so they're useless, and we should only use numbers to communicate.

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Yeah, it's bizarre when you actually think about it for games as by that wiki definition Buska posted Metroid Prime would be considered retro but Ghost Trick wouldn't.

Buska wrote:

There's a technological difference that isn't reflected even in film. Sure, effects technology has changed but I still sit in front of a screen and watch. I can buy Blu Rays of Metropolis, Star Wars and Avatar and play them all in the same way.

Yep, I've watched a few 90s/2000s films recently that were in 4:3 which did give them a retro feel though.

There’s a demo available through PSN and the eShop, ahead of the full version’s £24.98 release on June 30th.

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Ghost-Trick-Phantom-Detective-2338699.html

Anybody played it yet? I’m not so familiar with Ghost Trick that I can recognise every single change and update they’ve made since 2010, but it definitely looks brighter and definitely sounds better. Mind you, imagine if they’d somehow made it look duller and sound worse. That’d actually be funny in all fairness.

Only £25 is an utter bargain and I'll hear no words to the contrary. I won't be trying the demo. for reasons given above, but I'm chuffed it's got one. Hopefully lots of people try it out, find out how belting it is, and buy it, setting Shu Takumi up for another weird experimental adventure.

(We all know it'll actually sell 15 copies total, and 14 of them will be on here. Let me dream.)

As mentioned elsewhere had the physical preordered with FF Pixel Remaster but cancelled it, as only really want to play FFVI and only so much time to play games to spend £70 on that, then would end up having to pay postage/taxes for Ghost Trick physical, meaning digital now for me.

Still this may fall under that of not enough time and not that keen on £25 digital, but some other digital games coming, that if I pick up a voucher cheap can see this being bought.

Buy it Mas, or you're banned. It's better than whatever other pish you might play.

Elden Ring or Final Fantasy XVI pish you've heard it hear.