Was this necessary?





























Bonus half a point because Sackboy is awesome.

Ghost Trick was one of the first games I put in my Amazon wish list back when I made an account in 2017. I remember a Youtuber I liked, Nintendocaprisun, streamed the game and the little I watched from the stream looked really cool. It sat in that wishlist for ages, eventually skyrocketing in price. It wasn't until last year, that I decided to bite the bullet and buy the game physically off eBay. It was expensive but it was a game I wanted to own for a while now, and I figured playing it on the DS would have been awesome. By this time, I was already a big Ace Attorney Fan, and knowing that this was another Shu Takumi game..I was pretty excited to play it. While I personally still prefer AA1 and AA3 over this, this was still a great time overall.

This game makes great use of the touch-screen. So, the basic premise of the game without going into story details, you the main character have died. You are a ghost and find out you have the ability to go back to the past, four minutes before someone has died, and have the potential to save them. You also have the ability to move to different objects and control them. You do this by going into ghost mode and moving your little wisp icon from object to object. The catch is, you can only move it a specific distance away. If something is too far away, you have to figure out how to get there by possibly interacting with the object you're on. This is called "tricking" and it can vary depending on the section of the story you're on. Some can be very simple while others you need to time specific actions in the real world. It might seem a bit confusing with how I explained however, it's very easy to understand in game. Either way, this gameplay loop is really fun and is perfect for a DS game. Near the end of the game, it also throws another character at you with some different mechanics. And it even combines the two at once and it can lead to some really fun puzzles. The game was never that hard, I never even had to look up a guide, however I never found them super easy.

Story-wise, like I said the premise is you die at the start. You play as Sissel, someone we know nothing about, and not even he knows who he is. His main goal from the start is to figure out who he is and how he dies, but along the way he meets a colorful cast of characters, and the game gets more complicated from there. Overall, I enjoyed the story and cast of characters for sure. Like Ace Attorney, they're all very distinct and can be very goofy. The main cast is very good tho I have to say I didn't connect to them as much as I do with the main cast of Ace Attorney. Probably because this game is shorter than your average AA game, and I was able to connect to that game's cast through the span of three games! Either way, while I didn't love any character here, Sissel..Lynne..Jowd..Cabanela..Missile..the entire cast is memorable and entertaining. The story is also full of twists and turns throughout. The ending may be a little convoluted imo but I think it was executed well and I did not see it coming at all. While not mind-blowing overall, I can at least commend the story and overall concept of the game for being unique. Always love seeing really out there stories like this.

This may be weird to here, but I don't think the absolute best aspect of this game is the story or the gameplay. It's the visuals. Honestly, some of the best sprite-work I've ever seen in a game. Every animation is so buttery smooth and really gives the game a lot of character. The look of each character sprite too, idk how they did it, but it has this very distinct look to it. Since the game is very goofy at times, the characters animations are goofy as well. The art style on the portraits is very distinct too tho those aren't animated. They're nice but it would have been cool if they had little animations as well, like Ace Attorney. Along with the sprites being full of personality, so is the dialogue. If you played Ace Attorney before this, you'd be right at home here. It feels just like Ace Attorney. Goofy and witty when it wants to be, serious when it wants to be, and full of heart throughout. In this regard, it may be better than Ace Attorney because I didn't notice any spelling errors lol.

The OST is probably my biggest disappointment compared to Ace Attorney tbh, especially since the AA1 composer did this game. The first Ace Attorney's ost is now in my top 10 OSTS of all time. I just love it so much, so I might've hyped myself up too much with this game. That's not to say this game has a bad soundtrack, I just don't find it comparable to the Ace Attorney games personally. Maybe I just haven't listened to the OST enough, as I know this is probably a hot take and others will disagree. Still, there were songs I did like. Four Minutes Before Death probably being my favorite since it reminded me of Ace Attorney the most haha.

I do wish I ended up liking this a bit more, especially since this game is praised so much and has a 4.5 average, however in this case I can totally see why it is as this game is really great. I guess maybe it just comes down to my personal preferences. Or maybe I'll like this even more on replay, who knows. Either way, while it seems I do prefer the Ace Attorney series more (sorry I keep comparing them, it's just hard not to with the type of game this is), this is still must-play DS game imo and worth all the praise it gets.

Pokemon X&Y is often considered one of the worst pokemon titles, and I honeslty can't see myself hating on it as much as other.

Yes, they are not perfect games and a potential pokemon Z would have fixed a LOT of issues.
But honestly I can justify a lot of the choices they went for: this game came out as a response to the fifth generations, that even if today is considered on of the best in the series, at the time wasn't financially successful, since most of the past fans where turned off by most of the bolder choices Black&White presented.

In a way, the decisions behind X&Y are not different to what other series did when they crumbled financially: Street fighter 4 was designed as a way to appeal to the "golden age" of SF after third strike went on its own hardcore direction; Fire emblem tried to capitalize on the nostalgia for the first game with the Shadow dragons remakes on DS and even with Awakening after the series was selling almost zero copies....

And similarly, the sixth generation focused more on the nostalgia for past titles: the new pokedex of Kalos is shorter, in favor 0f bringing back every past mons with new stunning 3D models instead of the spriteworks of past titles; you get your starters only to receive the Kanto trio after the first gym, alongside their NEW COOL MEGA FORMS; you even get plent of references to Kanto to say to older fans that "pokemon is back to its routes": the sleeping snorlax blocking the route, a cave literally called after Zubats, popular past mons like Lucario or Lapras given for free, and even a cave where Mewtwo resides.... today the appeal to Kant can feel saturated, but at the time it was apparaised adn accepted as a response to past games.

X&Y didn't just stopped to "just fanservice": the game was full of new gimmicks that while not incredibly developed, felt experiemntal and new: Horde encounters, Sky battles, the introduction of a literal new type after decades, character customization, and new ways to interact with the overworld... and this without even metioning mega evolutions, an incredible way to resurrect more underrated pokemon in the roster like Mawile, Medicham, Houndoom, Pinsir or Manectric. And the ability to find new encounters in every route was honestly pretty cool.

THe issue is that all of this new mechanics... weren't really mashed together well: Megas are cool but you can only obtain most of them in the almost non-existing post game (meaning that I made a team with Absol only to be able to try its new form after I beat Diantha), the game gives you a mega lucario and a mega charizard for free after the third gym, meaning that the game becaomes incredibly easy even if you nuzlock it, and most of the more creative mechanics are not implemented well and result more like a novelty that a fun experience.

Not to mention that the game is filled with mkre nauseating and slow pacing, due to the less interesting story that is shoved into your mouth, the least interesting rivals and villains, and the overall just inenteresting set pieces... only exception being AZ and the story of the giant Kalos war.

Overall it is still a decent time, I can respect a lot of the things X&Y does.... but really we needed a Pokemon Z. I can't get why the holy deer, the bird of death and the funny green snake are either just there to be used as battery or just chilling in a cave (seriously, Mewtwo gets a cool cutscene but not Zygarde?)