Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
An amnesiac ghost solves his own murder in one night.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a puzzle adventure game from 2010, developed and published by Capcom. Its protagonist is Sissel, a ghost who has lost his memory and possesses supernatural abilities; he spends a single night trying to figure out who he is. The project was directed, written, and designed by Shu Takumi, the creator of the Ace Attorney series. The gameplay has two main phases: exploring the city to collect clues, and rewinding time to prevent deaths.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
- Developer
- Capcom
- Designer
- Shu Takumi
- Programmer
- Toshihiko Honda
- Director
- Shu Takumi / Atsushi MaruyamaDirected 2023 remaster
- Producer
- Hironobu Takeshita / Shingo IzumiProduced 2023 remaster
- Artist
- Koki Kinoshita
- Composer
- Masakazu Sugimori / Yasumasa KitagawaRearranged 2023 remaster soundtrack
- Platforms
- Nintendo DS · iOS · Android · Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · Windows · Xbox One
- Genre
- Adventure, puzzle
- Modes
- Single-player
- Engine
- RE EngineUsed in development of 2023 remaster
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective was developed and published by Capcom. Direction, writing, and game design were headed by Shu Takumi, creator of the Ace Attorney franchise. Development began after the Japanese release of Trials and Tribulations in 2004, with the goal of creating a mystery beyond what the conventions of Ace Attorney had allowed. The game was announced at TGS 2009, and released for the Nintendo DS in Japan in June 2010, and in North America, Europe, and Australia in January 2011. An iOS port released in Japan in December 2010, and internationally in February 2012. An Android port was released exclusively in Japan in November 2012.
The story follows Sissel, an amnesiac ghost, who uses supernatural powers called 'ghost tricks' to interact with objects and travel back in time to four minutes before a person's death. Gameplay is split into two sections: gathering information by navigating through the city, and saving lives by traveling back in time. Players can swap between the real world and the Ghost World, where Sissel takes the form of a blue flame and can travel between objects. Ghost tricks allow possession and manipulation of objects to create paths or influence characters. Possessing a telephone allows Sissel to trace calls and travel to other locations. At multiple points, players arrive at a corpse and must avert the victim's fate within four minutes. Successfully saving a character brings them back to life and allows direct conversation with them in the Ghost World.
Reader's Guide
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective was positively received, with praise for its characters, art direction, animation, music, and story, and criticism for its puzzle design and traversal mechanics. The game was a commercial failure in Japan, leading Capcom to cite its performance as a cause for lackluster Q1 2010 revenue. Despite this, it was nominated for several industry awards, including Game of the Year by GameSpot and Nintendo Power, and has garnered a cult following. An HD remaster released worldwide for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in June 2023, and for Android and iOS in March 2024. The game's legacy is tied to its unique time-manipulation mechanics and narrative structure, which distinguish it within the puzzle adventure genre.
Did You Know?
- Ghost Trick was a commercial failure in Japan, cited as a cause for Capcom's lackluster Q1 2010 revenue.
- An HD remaster released worldwide in June 2023 for multiple platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective?
It is a 2010 puzzle-adventure game published by Capcom in which you play as Sissel, a memoryless ghost given a single night to uncover the truth behind his own murder. The core loop alternates between exploring a city for clues and using an eight-minute time rewind to stop people from dying.
What supernatural abilities does Sissel have?
Sissel can possess inanimate objects and manipulate them to interact with the living world, and he can rewind time by eight minutes to prevent a death from occurring. These two powers drive every puzzle and every major story beat in the game.
How does the story of Ghost Trick end?
After piecing together the conspiracy behind his killing, Sissel regains his lost memories and learns he was a scientist whose work was targeted. By saving the key people tied to his murder, he secures a second chance at life rather than remaining a ghost forever.
Who directed and wrote Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective?
Shu Takumi, the creator of the Ace Attorney franchise, handled direction, writing, and game design for the project. Capcom both developed and published the title.
On which platforms can I play Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective?
The game originally launched on the Nintendo DS in June 2010 in Japan and January 2011 in North America, Europe, and Australia. It was subsequently ported to iOS and Android, so it is also available on modern smartphones and tablets.
More in Adventure Games of the 2010s, Part 2 1-24
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