Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective - A Literary Analysis

The Nintendo DS had a lot of underappreciated cult classics, and this weird supernatural mystery from the creator of Ace Attorney is among the best of them. Let's see what Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective has to say about truth, identity, and community!
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[@serpentfrog7211]

I feel like it's a missed opportunity to not point out that the protagonist's motivation is confused explicitly because the cat wasn't let out of the bag.

[@nsalegit9482]

Oh my god. This game is genius.

[@mads_in_zero]

My favorite joke along these lines is that you save exactly nine lives over the course of the game. (Ignore Kamila - Missile's the one who saves her and while that lets her hear ghosts, you never possess her corpse yourself)

[@ralfsstuff]

I never noticed. That's actually brilliant! Just like it being a dead but kind of not dead Schrödinger's Cat inside that bag.

[@SobreDunas]

NO FUCKING WAY

[@old_skyguy]

You won the comment section. Perhaps even the internet itself.

[@mallia52]

Everyone rightly says what a good boy Missle is, but nobody mentions what a good boy Sissel is too.

[@AnaLugia256]

Yeah, just because he is a cat, but cats are just as loving animals as dogs are

[@avocado1845]

Might be cause he didn’t give a shit about the other cast unless it helped him

[@ma.2089]

@@avocado1845 justifiably. He had one night to find out what he needed to before he disappeared. Of course he’s going to look out for himself first. He has no allegiance to anyone cuz he has no memories. *everyone* was looking out for their own self interest. Yes, even Missle. Technically if he didn’t save his family, he’d be all alone. He used Sissel, but it was ok since Sissel got the answers he was looking for cuz of Missel. So why is it bad for Sissel to look out for himself, and everyone else can be “selfish”? Sissel often did way more than he had to for others, and came to care about everyone. So no, he did give a shit, even when it wasn’t going to help him. Cuz even tho everything ended up helping him by the end, in the moment he had no reason to do things cuz there was no guarantee it would help him.

[@avocado1845]

@@ma.2089 I was a little unclear in my original comment, I meant that he initially did not care as we see when he declines Missle’s call for help, which may turn people away from liking him. He does end up helping everyone later for unselfish reasons, it’s part of his character arc after all. I still like him, many people might not though because of his original plan of self preservation.

[@jomaq9233]

@@ma.2089 wasn’t the time limit thing completely made up by Ray, because in the original timeline, Sissel wouldn’t cooperate because he was just looking out for himself Ray essentially lied to Sissel and used his resulting self-preservation priorities to manipulate events in such a way that would lead to the best possible lives for both of them I am curious as to what exactly happened to Sissel in the original timeline that Ray came from after he went through the telephone line and abandoned him

[@l3nsman]

The moral of the story is to treat your pets nicely, since they might travel back in time to save you, when you get in trouble.

[@ケルニコ]

Pretty legit.

[@mads_in_zero]

The moral of the story is that's what little doggies do! [ugly sobs]

[@drewskyyy]

Moral of the story: treat your dog right and then your own dog will start a whole lot of things just to save you and other people.

[@Dracogame]

Fun trivia: Sissel saves the life of nine people during the game, and he was a cat...

[@secondengineer9814]

The biggest foreshadow is that Sissel's ability is mostly to push things off tables. If that's not a cat ability idk what would be

[@Harpagio]

Also a significant number of puzzle solutions involve messing with rats.

[@evilgabe]

@@Harpagio yeah those poor rats

[@GREPAPA1]

OH MY GOD YOU'RE SO RIGHT HOLY...

[@thespeedyyoshi]

HAH. HAH. HAH. My god that’s clever XD

[@crowsenpai5625]

Also he abuses quite a few rats and found joy in it too.

[@randomasspirate3630]

I feel like a point that you missed in Ghost Trick is the implication that even the smallest things can have the greatest effects to change fate. For example, in the overall story, it's not the justice minister or the policeman that saves the day, but the kitten and dog. Even the gameplay points towards this- even the smallest twang of a guitar or flying paper can save a life. (Also, it's only the one mistake in Kamila's contraption that caused it to behave in that way).

[@Fralexion]

Not to mention the whole initial tragedy was set in motion by a new officer being overzealous in interrogating a suspect who wasn't even guilty of anything beforehand.

[@plasmasupremacy9321]

@@Fralexion and another officer throwing himself into a tense situation, gun drawn like a sword of justice, when putting pressure on the already desperate man was the worst thing he could have done. Something that happens with cops all too often in real life sadly

[@bane2201]

Also, when Yomiel possessed Lynne to shoot himself, Lynne resisted so strongly that her first shot narrowly missed Yomiel. So it hit Sissel, who died in Temsik radiation and became a ghost. That one small act of resistance cascaded into a decade-old "fate" being changed. That's some really good ludonarrative harmony, too - as you said, the gameplay is doing small things that snowball into saving lives, which is also the structure of the game's story.

[@katsucandy]

never over the fact that sissel knew what a goddamn rube goldberg machine is like...... yomiel what the fuck did you spend 10 years of your lives teaching him the scene where him and ray accidentally shoot a gun is so funny in hindsight too. *menaces* (fond)

[@voidify3]

When you think about it, Yomiel has a lot in common with Yanni Yogi from Ace Attorney 1-4 Turnabout Goodbyes. “This person, as a child, was involved in the incident that ruined my life years ago, so I am going to get my revenge by luring them to an isolated place and framing them for murder”. Plus the whole “named a pet after dead fiancée” thing. I think the ideas just lived rent free in Takumi’s head and he decided to do them again with a supernatural twist

[@DiegoHernandez-sb3fc]

don’t forget that they were both pretty much ignored and forgotten about (yomiel cause he’s dead and yogi cause he had to pretend to have brain damage) and that both of their fiancés committed suicide due to the events that took place

[@StrawberryShorty]

Spirited newbie in yellow tries to save childhood hero/friend who accepted a murder charge and execution sentence to protect a child from being accused of murdering her mother...complete with phantom detectives and moon rocks!

[@kaygirl10101]

@@StrawberryShorty Oh man, I didn't even see that connection either. Simon is one of my favorite prosecutors.

[@voidify3]

@@StrawberryShorty hmm but DD came out after ghost trick and takumi wasn’t involved in DD

[@saltenspyke]

There’s also Dahlia Hawthorne in a way- *Trials and Tribulations spoilers* Just as Yomiel wanted Jowd to feel the pain of losing his wife, Dahlia wanted Mia to feel the pain of death (albeit in a sickened alternative way.). Not to mention the whole brief “twin” thing with Dahlia/Iris and Yomiel/Sissel before he gets an identity crisis. The only difference being that Dahlia perished living for herself and herself only, while Yomiel developed and realized that being resentful and performing grandiose acts of revenge would do nothing to make him feel better. Dahlia died in her artificial life (quite literally, the body she possessed as she was evicted from the plane of existence was not her own) while Yomiel moved on with the help of others and made an attempt to reach for a real life in his own living body. I didn’t word that well since I finished Ghost Trick months ago, but yeah. There’s more I think, but I do like the insight posed here!! I almost forgot about Yanni Yogi since it’s been so long since I’ve played the original Ace Attorney.

[@mads_in_zero]

Ghost Trick is one of my favorite games to replay. Every other line becomes a _groaner_ on a replay when you notice that it's all painfully on the nose foreshadowing. Like, even down to disarmingly subtle stuff. During the blackout level, Sissel says "so this is what they call darkness" because he _doesn't know what darkness is._ He has night vision. Hence why you can see fine during that level for the most part, but Jowd and the guards can't. Augh!

[@PaulPower4]

It's honestly really telling that a game that, on the surface, should have no replay value - it's a linear puzzle game with a plot that relies heavily on twists - is such a blast to replay and watch other people play.

[@samfivedot]

My personal favorite is one of the prison guards remarking that he wishes he could see in the dark like a cat. Sissel adds, "Or a ghost".

[@humblebee5575]

Or that he saves exactly 9 lives over the course of the whole game, or that so many puzzles revolve around tormenting rats just by coincidence, to name a few a few of my favorites.

[@cottoneud]

This is why I've replayed Ghost Trick so many times

[@plasmasupremacy9321]

Some of my favorite forshadowing hints: - Lynne says she's always loved dark, enclosed spaces, and Sissel says he remembers liking that too. - Sissel says he enjoys knocking things under the couch when saving Missile and Kamila from the assassin. - Sissel can't read - Sissel harasses many rats throughout the night, almost like he enjoys playing with them... and many other minor details... I just love how well the game holds up to a second playthrough once you know the truth

[@haz6908]

Correction: Lovey-dove, the super-intendent's pigeon is actually named in an obscure line of dialogue! When sees carries you up to deal with Yomiel right after saving pigeon man, in a thought bubble he says " *Go, Lovey-dove* !" To which Sissel says "His pigeon's name is lovey-dove? Really?"

[@maybeher0]

I'm pretty sure Pigeon in this essay is supposed to be a nickname for the pigeon man himself, who really ISN'T named anywhere in the game. all we know him as is "Pigeon Man" and "junkyard superintendent"

[@Demonslay335]

​@@maybeher0I don't recall from the original game, but at least in the recent remake, he's called The Professor.

[@rafaelhines1178]

​@Demonslay335 yeah cabenela calls him that in the original

[@PaulPower4]

One time someone described Kingdom Hearts to me as "a simple story told in as complicated a way as possible" and I responded with "ah, so the *exact opposite* of Ghost Trick". And yeah, Ghost Trick's hard-and-fast, weird-but-consistent mechanical ruleset does so much to ground its story and keep everything moving along despite the massive, continuous avalanche of twists - to give a nice example, we're reinforced on the idea that the screen's side-on perspective is just how ghosts see the world, and this plays into things like characters addressing the fourth wall went they want to directly talk to a ghost, or how Missile's "swapping" power works off of how objects *look* from the player's side-on perspective. The game is such a great example of ludonarrative harmony. I've always wanted to see some nice literary analysis of this game. I'm glad I found your video!

[@ma.2089]

This is exactly why Ghost Trick is so amazingly well written and Kingdom Hearts isn’t. So many things in KH could be good but arent executed well and mixed in with bad storytelling. In the end, keeping things simple and then building upon it to make it more complex yet keeping the same sort of simplistic structure helps execute things better.

[@andre_601]

What I really hate in the remake is how there is no screen anymore showing the shape of the objects you possess... It's a core thing in the game, used to find objects Missle can switch, yet the remake throws it out the window because whatever...

[@Okeana_Aster]

There's this one part that really hit me, it's during Cabanela's murder by Yomiel. At that point, we don't know who he is, all we see is another "us". When you manipulate objects, people can't see you. They don't know there's a ghost. So I moved an object to try and save Cabanela. But he saw. This other "us", who's already mysterious and threatening, turns to us, explains how he has full control, and immediatly kills Cabanela. But he doesn't just turn to Sissel. His model turns towards us, the player. Of course he's not aware of the player's existence, he is just talking to Sissel. But the fact that he knows and that he turns to us, it makes us feel immersed. This whole time, no one could see us in the Ghost World. And then this guy shatters this feeling of security, that no one can prevent us from doing what we want, by looking at us, the player, dead in the eyes. This scene was incredible.

[@rafaelhines1178]

I got real chills in that scene playing it for the first time

[@Okeana_Aster]

@@rafaelhines1178 Same

[@emmanuelmatos6368]

I don't know why I teared up almost every time you said "Missile is a VERY GOOD BOY" Man I love this game!!

[@itzanero]

its cause missile is a good boy and we all love him

[@BlueMageDaisen]

Probably the goodest of all boys

[@ventusanimegirl3730]

Missle and Sissle are best boys

[@nathan714]

The best part is that there are little hints to sissel's true identity sprinkled throughout the game... so you could figure it out yourself

[@xfrosty2319]

shu takumi is so incredibly based for making his dog the goodest good boy that ever gooded

[@16BitGamerCat]

I love how everyone universally agrees that Missile is the goodest of boys.

[@cepahreinholt8710]

It's impossible to argue with that.

[@magetsalive5162]

Yeah, Missile Prime is most definitely the goodest of boys. One thing this video missed is that he endured not _one_ but *two* ten-year waits to fix everything. To elaborate: After Missile Prime's first time around, the newly-awakened Sissel (who was sway-dancing in the same red lamp "Ray" eventually used and who I'll call Sissel-1) refused to help. Sissel-1 was more interested in solving the mystery of himself, and didn't see how helping Missile Prime would help him - thus, he promptly zoomed off into the night on the phone lines. Missile Prime thus had to repeat everything again, and endure _another_ ten year wait... just to trick Sissel-2 (the one we play as) into cooperating.

[@BlueMageDaisen]

Every dog is a good boy But Missile is most definitely the goodest of all boys

[@SkaiaMechanic]

This is a rather odd choice for an analysis video, considering how obscure it is. But somehow I fall right into that small subset that enjoys your work and actually played this game! I forgot how much I enjoyed it, so thanks for bringing it back from the dead to my memory! Great analysis as well.

[@GameProf]

1) It was requested by a patron ages ago, and 2) strangely, cult hits make for some of the most viewed content on my channel. Glad you liked the video!

[@Parietal-Polymath]

Obsure games do have a large fanbase sometimes. For example Legend of Dragoon is one of my all time favorite PS1 games (just below FF7, and above Star Ocean). No one covered it much and he covered that at length and I've watched it like 5 times (for nostalgia and to avoid buying it AGAIN) and its a pretty long video too. His comment has merit.

[@Parietal-Polymath]

@@GameProf Niche works, long term you can do a mix of mainstream hits and cult classics to engage unsubscribed viewers and keep the indie fans. I'm glad you're making more videos in general. Id like your analysis on the Trilby trilogy (?)/Chzo mythos one day.

[@victoriatran4063]

Playing ghost trick for the first time was an amazing experience (and I teared up at the ending too)

[@peterrealar2.067]

IT'S COMING TO THE SWITCH!! Now MORE people can appreciate this fantastic game's genius.

[@PorpusSchlorpus]

Hey man, one year later and I have just finished the Switch port of the game! You were right to be excited, more people should play this one. It's fantastic!

[@peterrealar2.067]

@PorpusSchlorpus Oh I know the game well.

[@WannabeMarysue]

There's a little reference to Ghost Trick in The Great Ace Attorney, and it made me so happy. :) I wish Shu Takumi could make more games with mechanical experiments like Ghost Trick. Love some Ace Attorney, loved TGAA, but I can't help but feel we don't know what cool stuff we're missing out on. . Location (spoilers? if 'where a reference is' is a spoiler): A certain two red-haired 👀 minor characters briefly mention Temsik Park in TGAA2-4, iirc.

[@2kano113]

Temsik was actually referenced as the name of a university the duo attended. It's definitely the same Temsik, though, since the Japanese version of TGAA referred to it as Ashitaaru, which is the name of the same park in the Japanese version of Ghost Trick

[@Failentin]

Can't believe I missed that! :D

[@artemisfowl1862]

SO ITS CANON ACE ATTORNEY SHARED UNIVERSE

[@JoaoVVTP]

@@artemisfowl1862And it's in England???

[@dominiccaesarok5077]

i know

[@Dainurian]

This is one of the best games I played as a kid. I replayed it recently, and despite the how ridiculous the story seems, every reveal feels very earned. They make you think "ohhhh that makes sense," rather than "ok then I guess."

[@hansgretl1787]

Man, am i glad to have a detailed breakdown of this game's story, it really doesn't get the attention it deserves. I even learned a thing or two about it, and that's amazing.

[@sunshot02]

After watching the whole thing and noticing your (and probably everyone else's) reaction to the story at 22:02, I just thought it'd be neat to point out that "Temsik" backwards is "Kismet" meaning luck, fate, or destiny depending on the context that it is used in and which language you refer to (Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, etc.). Your analysis on the use of "fate" in this game was really fun to sit through as well, and with this little tie-in of the meteor falling in Temsik Park just as the incident from 10 years ago was transpiring brings another added layer of appreciation for how aware the game is of its use of kismet as a theme. I mean, this meteor could've fallen anywhere, but happened to land in that specific park, on that specific evening, with a fragment flying right at that specific person (luck, destiny).What I'm trying to say is that "fate" is just one of the meanings of the word "kismet" as are the powers of the dead that manifest differently in different people (luck), so it'd be a shame to not share that information here in this little pocket of the internet, haha! I've always appreciated seeing people enjoying the game, but seeing you dissect the writing, and then seeing the comments under here all sharing their observations, I couldn't help myself... This is one of my favourite games ever. Really enjoyed your video too ^.^

[@guy-sl3kr]

I didn't know that about the word kismet! In Spanish it was instead localized as "Onitsed" which is destino backwards (meaning destiny of course). I wonder why the translators changed it because it's not like temsik/kismet means anything in Spanish. In fact, it made it a little more confusing because I first read it as "Onit sed" (Onit thirst) and kept wondering wtf an Onit was and why it was thirsty haha

[@McBehrer]

it's also worth mentioning that now there's a multi-platform port, on Switch and other platforms, so people should DEFINITELY check it out

[@GameProf]

If the comments on my Alan Wake video are any indication, I'm forever going to be getting comments on here saying, "Why did you say it's only on DS and iOS, it's on all the modern consoles, how did you get that so wrong." 😩

[@ah2190]

​@@GameProfWell, if ever you choose to remake this, you can use the Switch or PC remasters.

[@kassandrajack3818]

I know its been a while since you made this but I squealed everytime you said Missile was a good boy. Because he really is. Also I'm so glad I found this video. I've played Ghost trick so much I've memorized the answers to all the puzzles and I wish I could still play it with that feeling of curosity and challenge that I first played it. Honestly I loved this story more than Ace attorney.

[@fern1146]

The story definitely is better than any Ace Attorney, I agree. Much better written, less plot holes and more charismatic characters. That Capcom didn't advertise it properly/more is a crime...

[@leftovernoise]

Missle is the best fuckin boy

[@EHH246]

When you got to the end of the synopsis, I was tearing up. You reminded me how much I loved playing this game on my iPhone and how invested I was in the story and characters.

[@helixdr2623]

Great to see that more and more people are talking about Ghost Trick

[@rileykurtz1803]

I'm so glad today's direct has made that intro age so badly

[@bluecat3338]

I remember playing this game on the iOS back in high school and just being thoroughly charmed and intrigued with it.

[@stagelights_]

When I beat this game I jokingly thought "wow the dog was the true protagonist all along"

[@Carcosahead]

And that’s true, Missile is in fact a VERY GOOD BOY

[@emperortgp2424]

The difficulty curve analogy was a great insight!

[@over_klicked]

so happy you were one of the 3 people that played this game! same as twewy, always happy to come here and listen to other people analysing games i liked years before

[@Verdelish]

Great video!! I actually played this game for the first time earlier this year and holy crap, breaking Jowd out of prison was such a nightmare. Worth it tho.

[@xcar0982]

I played this game years ago, I really enjoyed, and despite the story was bonkers, it had a lot of sense.

[@shyguypro9876]

Just finished the game and now I want to replay just so I can pick up on all the foreshadowing.

[@Noonycurt]

All through the video I thought: "Wow, that Jowd voice actor sounds a lot like Emcee Prophit..." Well, that's because he is.

[@kathleenfullin6098]

God this game is SO GOOD it's always great to see people enjoying it and even better to see them critique it seriously Also, Missile is the bestest boy

[@ChimeratAlpha]

Okay... I want a fully voice acted version now. And not like some LPs out there, where the people make jokes on the side and such, but of the high quality you're using in this video. Meanwhile, it is a little odd to see an analysis of the story that takes creative liberties with when certain story beats are revealed, but I can also appreciate that it leaves people room to experience it. EDIT: What I love most about this story is the fact that it keeps hitting you over the head with "Don't make assumptions about people! You don't know all the facts."

[@letolegaosaure]

Ghost Trick is one of my favourite games so I was very, very happy you decided to tackle it. And you did it so well! Congratulations and thank you ♥ On another note, the voice acting for the characters took me by surprise (4 or 5 times playing the game would do that ^^) but it was well-done, so congrats to the voice actors too!

[@tuffemily1431]

I'd love if you covered the AA games at some point as they're made by the same person. Also I love that you gave AJ a shout out it deserves way more credit then it gets

[@drewskyyy]

He knows, that's why he mentioned "Oh this is also made by a same guy that cross examined a parrot"

[@joedav67]

TV Tropes has a whole page on the foreshadowing this game does. It's just so insane how well thought out this game was

[@andre_601]

I'm sure this is the only game where you will scream at the screen "Damn girl. Can you stay alive for more than five minutes please?!", because howdy does Lynn die a lot.... A small detail I also like is how that clock when you go back in time ticks back a lot longer at the final "4 minutes before death", since it's so far back. It's a nice detail that I enjoy more than I probs need too... Also, on another video about this game, someone pointed out that conversations of Sissle already give clues on his true identity. What I can remember being mentioned: - He mentions to like being in dark, small areas - He prefers a black suite over a white one - He understands the mother of that girl hating rats Like... This is some details I never noticed playing this game, but now I can see them...

[@tuffemily1431]

This is very good I've noticed a lot of parallels with the AA games, especially the stuff on truth and community which I think is important there too

[@gabrote42]

Congratulations! Your worry that it was never gonna be ported has been averted!

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

I think you did a fantastic job of illustrating how great the story and writing truly is, by also emphasizing how ridiculous it is and it working in spite of the convolution. When laid out in a summary, it sounds like a complete mess, yet the game makes everything work not just in the moment, but also in retrospect. Yes, it *sounds* silly when you plainly explain what happens, but remarkably, the game is able to seamlessly go from point to point in the game without losing the plot and overwhelming the player, it dolls out its information effortlessly and wraps itself up in a neat little bow.

[@kowagaruwolf320]

That was a nice reminder of this game. I remember playing it years ago and most of the major themes sticked with me since then, but it's cool to remember such an awesome game

[@Thatguypat]

I've never heard of this game before watching this video, which I expect to be something of a running theme as I watch this series, but it seems really sweet and fun. I really enjoyed the video, thank you for putting in the time and work it took to make it! I'm looking forward to the next project you make, and I'm wishing you the best in turning KZbin into a sustainable career professor

[@NawidN]

Really good analysis. It let me figure out everything about this game that made me love it.

[@Cammymoop]

Sissel is a good boy, after all, he learned from the best.

[@LibraScope]

Some of the voice actors in this video sound familiar for some reason... Great video as per usual! Having not played the game, I think your summary of its narrative does a surprisingly good job of capturing why the narrative twists work, despite how off the wall they are. Because by the time you started revealing said twists in your summary, I was already invested enough to be intrigued and surprised, rather than put off by all the craziness.

[@Blue_Lunacy]

I played this game on my DS. It is one of the best DS titles I played. I love the DS era. Even 3DS seems dull in comparison.

[@ilmina7491]

im surprised nobody mentioned this from what i saw, but Temsik is reversed Kismet, which is a synonym or "Fate/Destiny"

[@danielsher5439]

wonderful analysis. I wonder if you'll ever look at ace attorney chronicles, because I think it's the most interesting in how it treats it's themes and characters. That theme of truth you mentioned is quite nicely expanded upon in those games, and the characters are actually quite well written compare to the trilogy. It's probably the best in the series.

[@GameProf]

For what it's worth, I have been guesting on a friend's blog called Wright Wednesdays, where we've talked about the original trilogy in more detail. We're working on Apollo Justice now.

[@danielsher5439]

@@GameProf I'll check it out, thanks.

[@weirdberry2886]

I'd say chronicles characters and trilogy characters are written equally well

[@yoavzack]

I knew I'll enjoy this, but I wasn't ready to such level of fun from a video. Well done!!

[@xsillyxcorex]

I played the iPad port and loved it so much and wish more of my friends had played it. Was looking forward to this video

[@wyattmason8838]

I think it's worth noting that this is a crime story where everyone can be truly happy at the end because they didn't have to live through a timeline where violent crime took place. Maggie Byrd's life is never the same after one crime in which she was innocent, but here there's not ghosts in the ending photograph. Violent crime does damage that can never be undone. Of course after he wrote so much ace attorney we get a game where violence can be undone, and in the end the cycle of pain is erased. Also the "like sisters" meeting for the first time in this new timeline and not knowing what happened reads to me as very counter to the "truth is always good" you saw.

[@Phantom1356]

Anyone else excited for the Switch re-release? :D I played Ghost Trick back in the days of it's original release, and I loved it. I'm glad that others will now have the chance to play through this great story/mystery, and that those of us who played it way back when will be able to more easily relive that story.

[@AzhreiVep]

"But what does it meeeaaaaannnn...!?" *Best* possible line read.

[@CrasherX2000]

This will be an interesting video to revisit once this summer rolls around

[@ler74]

Oh wow, someone else who things Ace Attorney 4 is the best. I always feel majorly alone on that.

[@YandMProductions]

Another wonderful analysis. I hope one day you can analyze a game in the Tales series, one of my favorite JRPG series of all time, mostly due to the great stories of each entry.

[@HParadoxa]

I definitely would call Jowd's secret selfless 🤔 Part of it is to protect Kamila from thinking she killed her mother, for sure, but also explicitly, he is punishing himself for having killed or decided to kill Yomiel in the past. He knows he hasn't killed Alma, but bears the guilt of another death, and is seeking a punishment because itwould soothe him, regardless of the obvious pain it is causing to the people around him, Kamila included. I think, in many ways, his secret is very selfish. He wraps in selfless intention to justify it, but the punishment is something he wants, not just something he is willing to go through to help others.

[@DracoGalboy]

So... After seeing her shoot, a cat literally leaves a bag... Perfection

[@elsiebartlett6808]

I finally got to play this for the first time since they released it on Switch-and I gotta say the graphical improvements are just beautiful and incredible. A lot of times I’m a bigger fan of the original, but wow they knocked it out of the park-and when it went on sale for $20 compared to the DS asking price (last I checked) of more than $100…it’s a no brained to buy this people. The story is truly amazing, and while so dark literally seeing tragic stories of meaningless death over and over it ends on such a happy note that if we let bygones be bygones, and work together with those we may have wronged or who may have wronged us, then we can forge a new, better future, Only things I didn’t see mentioned in comments or in video (doesn’t mean it’s not there, I didn’t read through all of them) are the meaning of Yomiel’s name, and the reference to Schrödinger’s cat that is Sissel him/herself (not sure gender of cat is ever specified?). “Yomiel” is a reference to he Book of Enoch in the Bible, he is a fallen angel who interferes with human beings and was cursed. Could also be a pun in the Japanese verb “yomigaeru” which means “to revive”. The Schrödinger reference is obvious, since the cat in the box/bag at the beginning is either alive or dead (or sort of both! Since we see it emerge appearing to be alive but was actually just being possessed by Yomiel).

[@IRFine]

Thanks for the recommend, I’ll be back once I’ve finished the game

[@Youtube_Hivemind_Member]

YOU'RE BACK!!! Or, at least, finally showed up in my subfeed! I love your stuff, have never played this game, haven't even finished the intro, and am ready to learn omg

[@GameProf]

I'm back! And trying to do this full-time so I can make more content! Details in the video uploaded before this one if you wanna know more. :)

[@leftovernoise]

Recently found your channel and love it, can't wait to watch this video, but, I'm only 2 hours in to ghost trick and don't want to spoil it. I'll be back!

[@Klemeron]

I applaud you for doing one of the all-time masterpieces justice. There's a lot of awesome visual novel stuff out there worth examining. If you're up for a real nutter, go for Umineko, a million words of modern Shakeaspeare made of silly anime tropes and it is pure literature.

[@cameronphillips2696]

I spent this entire video thinking that was the actual voice cast.

[@evecampbell3069]

Do you who the voice cast for this is? If it's an actual playthrough then I'd love to watch it!

[@GameProf]

These voices are actually various friends of mine that I got involved! They're credited in the end, along with their respective channels and other content.

[@evecampbell3069]

@@GameProf That's amazing, but there's no actual voiced playthrough of the game that you made? Because I'd watch that shit in a heartbeat. Thank you for responding so fast and I hope you can get the money to do this as your actual job! I freaking *Love* your vids!

[@PescadorGama]

I did insta buy on the remake at steam and cried again replaying more than 10 years after the first time I played it.

[@amogh4093]

Also I love how he played best boy missile's theme for the end credits

[@SoraKingdom3]

You do know that you will have to make a video about Apollo Justice after what you said right? I mean, it's definitely an over looked episode, so please do! Also... Yes, Missile is a very, VERY good boy! Great video! It really makes me wish Capcom could make more bold experimental projects like this!

[@GameProf]

Honestly I've been doing most of my Wright-related content in my friend's blog Wright Wednesday (linked in the description since Roy voiced Cabanela in this video), and Apollo Justice is the next game on the list! But yeah, who knows, Ace Attorney videos are always in the back of my mind and I may very well do more sometime.

[@Mayeur000Donz]

Still haven't played this game. I'll hav to com back here once I have!

[@shiromatsunoki]

Do you have any plans to cover Neo TWEWY at some point? I'm simply curious

[@cameronphillips2696]

At the risk of sounding like Samuel's PA or something... kzbin.info/www/bejne/amW9cnZjaMiFhNE

[@KudoTsurugi]

@@cameronphillips2696 NEO: The World Ends with You is the sequel to the original TWEWY game that came out recently. As for if/when it’s covered, that’s up to him.

[@Chairman_Miao]

31:02 Hello there, discount Phoenix Wright.

[@ケルニコ]

Oh my gosh, Missile seems to be the goodest of boys.

[@skydiamsteam6005]

Along with Sissel

[@chellastation]

Missile is such a good boy 🐶🙏

[@dekushrublily]

12 years later and Missile is still Best Boy. 💞💞💞

[@kingdomarc9]

I'd never seen the whole story of this game before, and now I kinda wish I still had a DS. Great video!

[@GameProf]

It's on iOS too! Also last I checked you could get a used DS Lite at Gamestop for like $20, so there are options! Glad you liked the video, thanks!

[@calummacritchie7840]

Other DS Games that had exceptional plots were the Professor Layton series.

[@GameProf]

Love me some Professor Layton, for sure. Unwound Future is top-tier stuff.

[@actone4822]

@@GameProf I can't say enough good about Unwound Future, too. Despite being my introduction to the Professor Layton, it was the first and only game to make me cry. It's simply masterful.

[@calummacritchie7840]

@@actone4822 Pandoras Box, Unwound Future and Spectres call all made me cry. I also really liked the Eternal Diva movie. Layton even had a crossover with Phoenix Wright.

[@kolorless-cat]

Masterpiece

[@CharlieandCelina]

Excellent job with this video, as always!

[@TheIvoryDingo]

I honestly gave you a like (which I don't often give) just for having a positive opinion on Apollo Justice. It may not be my favourite (that's between AA3, AAI2 and GAA2), but it has gotten enough undeserved crap throughout the years that I appreciate it all the same.

[@zio2329]

Well, Apollo Justice is infamous for its portrayal of AJ and PW.

[@FabulousJejmaze]

Ghost Trick is my favorite story I have seen in any game

[@Dracobyte]

This masterpiece is back!

[@martinrose2668]

i had no idea this game existed and now i do and this makes me happy might go find a walkthrough and watch

[@calummacritchie7840]

Thank you once again for raising awareness of Video Games as literary Art. I look forward to more analyses. In light of Halo Infinite coming soon, I hear your intending on analysing Halo 3. Perhaps making it in November nearer the release date could work in your favour.

[@theoneand0nly874]

Awesome man! Glad your back on it full time! Can’t wait for halo 3, ODST, Dante’s inferno, here is a special one grand theft auto iv(4) and The darkness 1

[@Veralos]

I like how "after all, do you see any other dead bodies around here?" feels like a random quip initially, but incredibly blatant foreshadowing in hindsight. I'm keen to see an Apollo Justice literary analysis to qualify that "the best one" claim. I feel it's the weakest Shu Takumi led Ace Attorney game overall, but it has enough good parts that it could be interesting to see why you rate it so highly. Plus there's an Apollo Justice remaster coming out early next year, so could be good timing.

[@cottoneud]

The best story in all video games and I'll defend that to the end of time

[@trycon40]

update summer 2023 ghost trick is getting an HD release to pc and modern consoles so happy it is no longer ignored by capcom

[@SojournToAlkaiser89]

This is exactly the kind of thing I'm here for

[@xsillyxcorex]

This video was a very. Good. Boy. It was just as bonkers as I remember it being

[@shinyrayquaza9]

I just played this last year, loved it glad it is getting attention with a port to switch The parrot happened irl too get him for the dolphin scene my guy

[@ajmosutra7667]

Finally - my kind of review!

[@mads_in_zero]

(22:24) Well, sure, when you put it like _that_ it sounds absurd.

[@Cheezmonka]

Every time I see a video about this game (and other hidden gems from the DS era) I get bummed that I have far less time to play games than I used to.

[@HolyDeviant1]

YO! semi-notable videogame playing guy Raocow just finished a full playthrough of this game, for those of you who want to see everything in action but don't have the stuff to play it!

[@esuelle]

This game has really cool graphics and animations. Really charming. Wish I had heard of it before when I used to play a lot of DS games!

[@sleepycowboy18]

MISSILE IS A VERY GOOD BOYE