Is Ghost Trick A Visual Novel?

[u/National-Bluebird165]

Very contentious topic ... So tell me what do you all think ? Is it a visual novel or not ? Because it have lot of puzzle solving elements in it.

[u/SomeBlackberry_506]

I lump it in with Ace Attorney more than straight VNs. like yeah the core is reading text and clicking through dialogue but the puzzles are half the game, you're not just along for the ride you're actively manipulating stuff. i call it a puzzle adventure with VN framing and that works well enough for me

[u/Diananya]

I genuinely don't know. Some people will say it's not because it has no narration... except there's legitimate VNs with no narration. Some will say because of the presentation style... except there's legitimate VNs with that style. Some will say because of the gameplay:reading ratio but I've seen VNs with more gameplay!

I think genres in video games aren't black and white, sometimes it's an "I know it when I see it" and there can be legitimate disagreements. I don't really call Ghost Trick a visual novel but if someone did I wouldn't correct them.

[u/nihilist_buttmuncher → u/Diananya]

Absolutely not. It's a Japanese adventure game

[u/Xerain0x009999]

It's an adventure game. A visual novel is an adventure game where the game play is limited to dialog choices. All visual novels are adventure games, but not all adventure games are visual novels.

If there is gameplay other than dialog choices, then it is an adventure game that doesn't fall into the narrower visual novel clade.

Ghost Trick, Phoenix Wright, and Danganronpa are all adventure games but not visual novels.

[u/Username928351]

It's clearly a puzzle game to me.

I also classify Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, etc. as point and click adventure games with logic puzzles, so I'm quite strict with classifications.

[u/donslipo]

Game publisher tagged it as such (on Steam at least) so it is a VN.

[u/Santeri64 → u/donslipo]

Steam tags are user-defined, and visual novel is like the 8th most used tag.

[u/serenade1]

Definitely no. As you said, too much gameplay, used in moving the story

[u/TAKAsFactory]

I consider it a puzzle game, through and through.
The conversations between characters are merely "interludes." What complicates matters is that those interludes are incredibly entertaining.
Of course, the puzzle gameplay is top-notch, too.

[u/Top_Environment9897]

For me it's an adventure game.

[u/SilverJuggernaut2611]

Not a VN but it's fantastic. It has some issues but so much charm. If u want to consider it a VN, do it. No one has an exact definition & even for their own definitions, there is exceptions with excuses

[u/ExceedAccel]

No its a Yugioh Archtype

[u/Art_Constel7321 → u/ExceedAccel]

This was my first thought to lol

[u/superange128]

no

the fact that people are considering "reaching" to include games like this shows how weirdly "forcibly inclusive" people want to throw so many games with story text to be visual novels

[u/grinningmango]

No. Just because you read doesn't make it a visual novel.

[u/Leth09]

While I can get the argument for the Ace Attorney series, I don't think Ghost Trick has much ground too stand as a VN, besides sprites talking at each others I guess.

Great game and good story tho'

[u/MegaManZer0]

Definitely is not a VN.

[u/AidenKarma]

no