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Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective |OT| Spoiler: The Main Character Dies

C

Crash Station

Member
Boney said:
Yay Ghost Trick

Dunno from what I played, GT seems like a better game than all of the PW series. And I'm sure it'll have it's epic moments like 3 later on.

I could be dead wrong here, but I think it's a defensive attitude that's spoiling your GT playthrough.
Click to expand...

I like GT more but they're pretty different games. One is essentially a visual novel while the other is a linear adventure game.
 
Z

zigg

Member
Boney said:
Dunno from what I played, GT seems like a better game than all of the PW series. And I'm sure it'll have it's epic moments like 3 later on.
Click to expand...
Yes and yes. Much love to PW and all--I still plan to revisit the trilogy again sometime soon--but I do think GT trumped it.

Which is good, really. It means that Takumi is bettering himself.
 
T

Tricky I Shadow

Banned
zigg said:
Yes and yes. Much love to PW and all--I still plan to revisit the trilogy again sometime soon--but I do think GT trumped it.

Which is good, really. It means that Takumi is bettering himself.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about better? That doesn't bode well! **starts packing up stuff in preparation for moving far from GAF**
 
F

Fusebox

Banned
I far prefer the pacing of Ghost Trick to Phoenix, the Fate Change sections that need to be replayed never feel like they drag on as long as the Phoenix re-cross-examinations do.

The shared sound-effects between the two games makes GT seem strangely familiar though.
 
H

hosannainexcelsis

Member
Feep said:
999 is a better game, but Ghost Trick's soundtrack is significantly better, IMO. I can't recall a single 999 track off the top of my head.
Click to expand...

I'll agree with this. I'll also agree that Ghost Trick is better than the Phoenix Wright trilogy - it's just more consistent. I was midway through replaying Justice for All when GT interrupted, and I had to really struggle to go back to it afterwards. There are a lot of annoying characters and poor pacing in JFA in particular. Although I'll have to see what I think when I replay Trials and Tribulations - I recall that one as very strong overall.

But as much as comparing games is fun, I would encourage lovers of niche Japanese adventures like these not to squabble too much amongst ourselves. We need to band together to support the future of this genre!
 
C

Crumpet Trumpet

Banned
I guess Ghost Trick is more consistent than the Ace Attorney series. I feel like Ace Attorney has higher highs and lower lows. I guess that may just be due to the episodic nature of Ace Attorney though. IMO, nothing in Ghost Trick came quite as close to the final cases of Ace Attorney 1 or 3. Maybe if Ghost Trick gets a couple sequels I can compare things a little bit more fairly, but just going by the fact that I'm already comparing Ghost Trick to Ace Attorney really is a testament to how great a game GT is.
 
C

Crash Station

Member
The only AA game I actually loved was the first one. The rest I thought were just good. JFA was really inconsistent and I thought the cases were weaker overall even though I really liked the twist in the final case. T&T I didn't like that 3 of the 5 cases were connected and that the first case kind of ruined the 4th one. I thought AJ was great until the totally anti-climactic ending to the final case. Maybe the novelty had just worn off for me or something.

I hope that doesn't happen with GT in the unlikely event it becomes a series. I don't think it will since there's so much potential with
different ghost powers.
 
D

Dark Octave

Banned
ZealousD said:
Policy changed on this a long time ago. Chances are, at least one of the seven GameStops you visited was smart enough not to do this.

With all of the driving around you did to seven different GameStops, you probably paid more than the difference between a new and pre-owned copy of the game in gas money. Congratulations on having your morals wind up costing you extra time and money!
More of an experiment to see how the game is being distributed and well worth it. I had no idea companies put out single copies of their product. I would have never believed it if someone had told me.

Oh, and three of those Gamestops were a few blocks from each other and two of them were literally five stores apart in the mall. The other two were still on the way home from work, so no extra gas lost for me.



GameStop will place a sticker on the case of any gutted games to indicate whether or not the product has been opened or not. You can return a gutted game as long as the sticker is there.

Further, the official terminology for GameStop is not "used", it's "pre-owned".
Click to expand...
A shitty practice is a shitty practice. When I turn on my "new" game for the first time and I'm already at the final boss fight, I know I'm being treated well and respected greatly as a consumer.

Feep said:
No, it isn't. The game is the product, and it was not used. Therefore, it is not a used product.

I don't know why it's so hard for GS reps to send each store an empty display box, so they don't have to gut anything, but this mindset is intractably stubborn and, ultimately, worthless. Especially for DS games, nothing is wrong with the product. It's like your friend sending you a file and claiming the file is "used". Who the fuck cares?

Anyway, this is a derail. Yay Ghost Trick!
Click to expand...
This is true for downloadable titles, but when you buy a retail copy of anything, you are buying not only the software inside but it's shell, it's box and it's instruction booklet. All of that is a part of the overall product and tied directly into the price of the game. If it's tampered with, it's used and should be sold as such.

And a lot of people fucking care. If you don't fucking care, then don't worry about what I fucking care about. Because I do fucking care. Go and play your scratched up, stickered up games with jelly and shit all over them and don't worry about my shiny brand new shit.
 
Nemesis_

Nemesis_

Member
Dark Octave said:
And a lot of people fucking care. If you don't fucking care, then don't worry about what I fucking care about. Because I do fucking care. Go and play your scratched up, stickered up games with jelly and shit all over them and don't worry about my shiny brand new shit.
Click to expand...

I also think a lot of people need to get laid too. U_U
 
D

Dark Octave

Banned
Reading back on that last part, maybe that was a little harsh of me Feep. Sounded different when I wrote it. lol Now it sounds like I was ready to rip your head off and that wasn't my emotion at all.
 
J

jgkspsx

Member
ZealousD said:
Congratulations on having your morals wind up costing you extra time and money!
Click to expand...
Oddly enough, that's what morals almost always do! Why, somebody who really wanted to save time and money could have gotten it from the internets - the game's creators see the same amount of money from it as from a used copy.

But some people just have this hangup about trying to do the right thing, even if it's inconvenient or expensive. I know, crazy.
 
D

Dark Octave

Banned
jgkspsx said:
Oddly enough, that's what morals almost always do! Why, somebody who really wanted to save time and money could have gotten it from the internets - the game's creators see the same amount of money from it as from a used copy.

But some people just have this hangup about trying to do the right thing, even if it's inconvenient or expensive. I know, crazy.
Click to expand...
It wasn't a waste of my time or money at all though. Three of the Gamestops were within blocks from each other and two of them were five stores apart in the mall. The others were relatively close as well. I hit them up on my way home from work. It wasn't out of my way at all. It was an experiment actually.

I could have sworn I already mentioned this, but I can't find it now.

Anyway though, I'm liking the game a lot. I'm really happy that it has a language option. I was looking for it in Spanish. Thanks again to the guy who told me it had a language option.
 
F

Feep

Banned
Dark Octave said:
And a lot of people fucking care. If you don't fucking care, then don't worry about what I fucking care about. Because I do fucking care. Go and play your scratched up, stickered up games with jelly and shit all over them and don't worry about my shiny brand new shit.
Click to expand...
*backs up*

My Ghost Trick was a gutted copy; there were no scratches or damage of any kind to anything in the box. There was one sticker to "seal" it for return purposes, which I easily removed with no trace of "jelly". Even if there were, it's a trivial matter to remove.

I then promptly threw away everything but the small little rectangle of plastic and metal, because I don't care about anything but the experience, but even if I had, it would have been indistinguishable from a new copy. The box was only used in the sense that it was "opened", but I'm sure it was opened at the factory; the instruction manual was not used, nothing was used, the box had merely been opened, something removed, and then replaced there at a later date.

Anyway, this is the last I'm saying on this, because I don't actually care that much. I don't really see an alternative for Gamestop anyway, if they want to prevent ridiculous theft. Zealous' post earlier showed why display cases is an iffy idea, I guess.
 
S

storafötter

Member
I wonder if I am the only one feeling a bit unsatisfied after the ending`?
I felt the game started on a high note, but the pacing of the story and some of the puzzles didn't make it as enjoyable all the way through. I like the twists, but I am confident to say this game did not satisfy me more than the Phoenix Wright series. Maybe I had too high expectations?

You can say in gameplay terms its obviously more fun, but the risk with more complicated gameplay mechanics is that despite being more enjoyable if it gets cumbersome (often it felt like a drag and annoying to manipulate objects) it is way more offensive than presenting evidence or scrolling through text (which doesn't require much effort).

What did people think of the ending?

Was a fun twist that the lamp was Missile in a previous alternative lifeline.

I can say that the ending left me the same way as with PW4, unsatisfied and the game being plagued with uneven pacing and tying loose ends too sudden. The quality feels like PW4 to me, which means on a lower scale when it comes to amazing games. Feeling satisfied at an ending is a very decisive factor. Like with PW2, it had many lousy moments but the end was a very high note. The same can be said for PW1 and PW3. However that was lost on PW4,
Happy endings are expected, but I wasn't exacly amazed by the ending and twists
I guess you could say I didn't like the ending that much.

If I had to grade it, it would have to be around 7/10. If people can only spend money on one game I wouldn't recommend this game (despite it original gameplay mechanics).
 
J

Jintor

Member
storafötter said:
I wonder if I am the only one feeling a bit unsatisfied after the ending`?
I felt the game started on a high note, but the pacing of the story and some of the puzzles didn't make it so enjoying. I like the twists, but I am confident to say this game did not satisfy me more than Phoenix Wright series.

What did people think of the ending?

So Sissel and Yomiel kept their memories. But what confuses me the most is how Sissel didn't age at all despite being "alive" and not inhabiting the meteorite. Was a fun twist that the lamp was Missile in a previous alternative lifeline.
Click to expand...

You realise he got hit by the metorite and died right
 
D

Dark Octave

Banned
Jintor said:
I'm going to use this Ghost Trick cartridge to force you two to kiss and make up

do it
Click to expand...
Feep is cool with me. I do like him as a poster here on Gaf.

No need to back up, man.

*hugs Feep*

Bro love, no homo.
 
O

OMG Aero

Member
storafötter said:
You mean the cat? instead of Yomiel or the Detective? Actually I didn't notice it actually
Click to expand...
The meteorite went through Detective Jowd's leg and hit cat Sissel. It's ambiguous whether he died or whether the meteorite just stuck in him, but the ghost world bit at the end implies that he died and the meteor is keeping his body in a constant state between life and death like it did for Yomiel.
 
protonion

protonion

Member
Just finished it. I liked it a lot!
However I think it was too story driven. The early set-pieces like the murder machine and the prison cells got me really excited. But as I progressed I think the focus on the story kept it from getting "bigger" gameplay wise.

Also the final plot twist has to be the most ridiculus in the history of humanity.

I really want a sequel or something similar. The concept has a lot more to offer.
 
E

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Playing it now for review and really enjoying it so far, but some of the trial and error puzzle solving can fuck right off.
 
C

Crash Station

Member
I'm actually surprised at how much people are complaining about the trial and error gameplay. I honestly loved possessing new objects just to see what they would do and then trying to find the solution based on what I learned. Having to rewind a few times wasn't a big deal to me.
 
E

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
cosmicblizzard said:
I'm actually surprised at how much people are complaining about the trial and error gameplay. I honestly loved possessing new objects just to see what they would do and then trying to find the solution based on what I learned. Having to rewind a few times wasn't a big deal to me.
Click to expand...

I love checking stuff out, it just adds unnecessary tedium to story progression in my opinion. Its always such simple, basic shit that you can only find out is the wrong path after you've done them. Its not like chosing the wrong path changes events either, it simply changes nothing so there's no exciting difference.

To each their own of course, but its a weak design decision in my opinion.
 
C

Crash Station

Member
EatChildren said:
I love checking stuff out, it just adds unnecessary tedium to story progression in my opinion. Its always such simple, basic shit that you can only find out is the wrong path after you've done them. Its not like chosing the wrong path changes events either, it simply changes nothing so there's no exciting difference.

To each their own of course, but its a weak design decision in my opinion.
Click to expand...

It's interesting you say that. There were actually a couple of times I knew something would lead to a dead end but I wanted to try it anyway just to see what would happen. Though I can see it getting annoying if that's not what you want to do.
 
M

megalowho

Member
Finished this last night, what a great way to kick off 2011. Totally unique while still feeling very much like a Shu Takumi game. I was almost frustrated that I was nearing the last chapter with so much of the story left unresolved, but everything wraps up even nicer than I could have hoped for. Bravo for satisfying plot twists, would love to play another one someday.
 
A

Air Zombie Meat

Member
About the trial and error, the way that you're free to rewind at any moment and that the game is always good at telling you if you've missed a chance or done something wrong made it tolerable to me. Failing at something was often just as entertaining as succeeding as well. The only part of the game which I found annoying was the
stealth section with Jowd and that was mostly because it seemed harder than the solution actually was.
 
C

Cow Mengde

Banned
All the puzzles are pretty shitty. Just simple trial and error. There was no sense of achievement when you solved a tough puzzle. The only tough one that stumped me was when you first get the Swap ability. After I beat the puzzle, I just felt like I want to get it over with and it was missing the triumphant "Ah ha!" feeling.

BTW, I'm at the submarine's end and the plot revelations are also pretty shitty. I'm only playing through to see the end and hope the ending can salvage it.
 
C

Crash Station

Member
Cow Mengde said:
All the puzzles are pretty shitty. Just simple trial and error. There was no sense of achievement when you solved a tough puzzle. The only tough one that stumped me was when you first get the Swap ability. After I beat the puzzle, I just felt like I want to get it over with and it was missing the triumphant "Ah ha!" feeling.

BTW, I'm at the submarine's end and the plot revelations are also pretty shitty. I'm only playing through to see the end and hope the ending can salvage it.
Click to expand...

It won't if you don't care about the mystery by now. Might as well finish it anyway since you're so close. Could probably do it in a half-hour.
 
C

Cow Mengde

Banned
Ok, just beat it.

Verdict: Meh, but better than 999. I couldn't even finish 999.

The plot twists and revelations generally suck, but the ending is a very happy one. I'm a sucker for happy endings.
 
N

Nemo

Will Eat Your Children
Cow Mengde said:
All the puzzles are pretty shitty. Just simple trial and error. There was no sense of achievement when you solved a tough puzzle. The only tough one that stumped me was when you first get the Swap ability. After I beat the puzzle, I just felt like I want to get it over with and it was missing the triumphant "Ah ha!" feeling.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing they didn't flesh it out because it's a new concept but I would agree that more items and more open fields would help the gameplay tremendously. More dead end (heh) sequences and random items could give the game great extra value. Trial and error is cool but they should make it a bit more difficult. Even Phoenix Wright's gameplay is harder and that's saying a lot. They could also attach random silly dialog to it so it wouldn't be entirely pointless.

However I have to disagree with one puzzle, the one with the minister and the water, that was pretty clever.
 
H

Hours Left

Member
Just finished it today, a very cool game.

Plot line was wacky with a few dubious moments, but it wrapped up sweetly. Nice music, nothing spectacular to me though. Game play was intriguing. Some interesting characters, though I didn't start to really feel a connection to them until near the end of the game.

Oh, and the animation changes lives, is all things to all people, has become ingrained into our very fabric, etc.

All and all, I prefer Mr. Takumi's work on the Ace Attorney series but this is an interesting ride and a neat experience for any adventure gamer.
 
J

Jintor

Member
emot-panicdance.gif
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
I would do horrible things for that centred in avatar form.
 
J

jgkspsx

Member
Jintor said:
emot-panicdance.gif
Click to expand...
Seems to be running really slow for me, unless that's intentional. Definitely not computer-constrained ;)

I hope that image has a long and fruitful life ahead of it here, especially as the New Handheld Wars kick into high gear.

I may have missed something, but why is there talk of a sequel?
What, Missile's Lost Years or something?
 
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