Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a puzzle adventure game from Capcom, released in 2010. It centers on Sissel, a ghost who has lost his memory and possesses supernatural abilities, as he tries to discover who he was before dawn. The game is known for its distinctive gameplay: players explore a ghostly dimension and use ghost tricks to interact with objects, solving environmental puzzles and saving characters from death.

The story unfolds over a single night, split into 18 chapters. Gameplay alternates between two phases: gathering information by moving through the city as a blue flame in the Ghost World, and preventing deaths by traveling back in time to four minutes before a victim’s demise. In the Ghost World, Sissel can hop between objects via their cores, while in the real world he can possess and manipulate items—like moving a cart of doughnuts to distract someone or open a path. Telephones let him trace calls, add numbers to his phone book, and instantly travel to the caller’s location. By possessing a corpse, Sissel can speak with the victim’s spirit and rewind time to alter events. If he fails, he can try again; success brings the victim back to life and grants them a permanent core for future conversations. Later chapters introduce Missile, a ghost Pomeranian who can reach farther and swap objects of the same shape.

The game was directed, written, and designed by Shu Takumi, creator of the Ace Attorney series. Development began after the Japanese release of *Trials and Tribulations* in 2004, aiming to craft a mystery beyond Ace Attorney’s conventions. It was announced at TGS 2009 and launched for Nintendo DS in Japan in June 2010, then in North America, Europe, and Australia in January 2011. An iOS port followed in Japan in December 2010 and internationally in February 2012, with an Android port exclusive to Japan in November 2012. An HD remaster arrived worldwide for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in June 2023, and for Android and iOS in March 2024.

Critics praised the characters, art direction, animation, music, and story, but criticized the puzzle design and traversal mechanics. Despite positive reception, the game was a commercial failure in Japan, with Capcom citing its performance as one of several underperforming titles in Q1 2010.