3/5 ★ – ElementaryGaming's review of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.

There are a lot of quality adventure game features here: a mystery story that keeps you asking questions, well-written characters, a colorful art style, and inventive gameplay. The logic-based puzzle-solving in particular is very visual in nature and can be fun to explore and tinker around with. The entire game is reminiscent of Ace Attorney, in a good way- the dialogue and humor have the same beat- while also being its own unique experience altogether. The Ace Attorney-esque soundtrack is great, too. Unfortunately, being entirely based around logic puzzles, it is a game that almost requires a guide to assist through some steps of puzzles or what to do next. During the first half, the puzzles make sense and are intuitive, but lmany of the later puzzles rely on concepts that one would never grasp without a guide (like "hop on to the tiny water droplet that occasionally falls from the ceiling to continue!" or "swap this hat with a book to continue!"). The gameplay is based around trial and error, and this leads to an occasional feeling of wasted time and repetition which isn't fun, especially with the more difficult ending chapters. The story, while imaginative and full of intrigue, feels a little crowded with characters and events. It's far from bad, but does become haphazard with its large cast. By the ending chapters, the plot becomes far too convoluted for its own good, losing the focus necessary for an effective mystery. This is disappointing, because the buildup for its mysteries is excellent, but it doesn't stick the landing. The rules of the supernatural world feel arbitrary and unclear, and the ending itself features many reveals which lack impact for this reason. It's awesome that this was rereleased, as it was previously stuck on the DS and cost infinite amounts of $$ to play. It's not every day that you get to play a DS hidden gem on modern consoles, and if you can overlook the trial-and-error nature of the gameplay and convoluted plot, you'll find a unique game and story which deserves props for its sheer creativity. But it's not one of Shu Takumi's best when compared to his other works, and certainly not one of the best adventure games on the DS.