Note: This review is based upon the Japanese version of Ghost Trap from Artoon. The game is currently not scheduled for a western release, and there may be some minor omissions from the review due to it's reliance on Japanese text.
Introduction:
The old Game Boy Color struggled to produce a convincing survival horror release, the solid-yet-flawed Alone in the Dark and a largely ignored Resident Evil title being the only releases while a version of the original Resident Evil was canned for not managing to create enough atmosphere. This left those with a handheld as their only gaming platform tragically missing out on one of the more entertaining genres. Enter the Game Boy Advance and if the first title of this unique style is anything to go by, Survival Horror on the little handheld should have a long and great future.
Story:
Those unable to read Japanese will find Ghost Trap rather incomprehensible. Even without being able to understand anything of real substance the game creates a significant appeal to the adventure of the hero. There is a haunted house, the protagonist is able to trap and destroy ghosts and magic books/ portals play an important role, that much is clear just through the visuals. Why this is occurring is a significantly more difficult question to answer, and a rough guess of what the story may tell might be:
“You are a specialist in supernatural phenomena, and it has recently been brought to your attention that an old mansion is suffering from an ghost infestation. Naturally this doesn’t sit well with the current occupants, so they offer you a great deal of cash to rid them of the menace. Equipped with your trusty zapper, you bravely enter the first haunted room, and are drawn into a nightmare that you might never recover from.”
Obviously this “story” is built from a series of video game narrative cliché’s and the reviewer can accept no responsibility if the real game background is entirely different. For once it is an incredible disappointment that the story cannot be followed in detail, as potentially Ghost Trap provides a narrative as worthy as games like Resident Evil or Alone in the Dark.
Graphics:
Theng title screen is more than a little B-grade, but manages to set a decent mood. Whether this is off-putting or not will depend on the individual gamer, but it should put Resident Evil fans in a good mood. Once the game begins, the initial reaction will be one of pure amazement. Movement of the character is smooth and well paced, the pre-rendered static backgrounds are beautifully drawn to suit the small screen, and there is more than enough to create an appropriate “haunted house” atmosphere.
Unfortunately, what could have been one of the better graphical experiences on the GBA crashes to the ground a short time later thanks to the sheer repetitiveness of the rooms and backgrounds. Within a few levels, the lead character has traversed more pool tables and living rooms than any mansion could seriously have. The developers have essentially taken the same ten or twenty odd room designs and recycled them level after level. This could well have been explained within the story, as there are a few new backgrounds displayed as the levels go on, and each time the character has walked through one of the “main” doors, the rooms behind it have changed somewhat in layout slightly, but then the luxury of knowing the story isn’t available here. All foreign players will notice is a lazy effort on the part of the developer in building the mansion to not create a varied series of rooms to explore.
For simple sprites with limited animation, the enemies throughout the game achieve their purpose adequately. Items and the inventory screen are both clear and understandable without being anything spectacular. Perhaps the best description of the game’s graphics is “purely functional.” They never get in the way of the on-screen actions, but they hardly add to what is supposed to be an eerie experience.
Sound:
The soundtrack of Ghost Trap is bad. Ear-bleeding awful. What is meant to pass (though clearly never excel) as ‘ghostly music’ rarely rises above cheap and screeching, and the sound effects are in general pathetic. Although the GBA can’t exactly push an orchestral version of a Mozart song through its speakers, it can and has done far better than this. Even the music off one of the Mario titles would have managed to create a more frightening background soundtrack to this. It is only recommended you keep the sound on if you intend on infuriating the rest of the people on a bus or train, otherwise it’d make for a better experience to hunt down the soundtrack to one of the Resident Evil games to play as you explore the mansion.
Gameplay:
Once the base mechanics of the game are understood, Ghost Trap will absorb time faster than just about any other GBA title. Graphical and sound weaknesses are completely forgotten as you blast the spooks into oblivion, capturing their essence using a combination of special traps that are discovered lying (and glittering) on the floor, then an object that resembles a tazer to dissipate their spectral energies. Close to copying Ghostbusters perhaps, but still great fun. Walking into one of those ghosts will cause damage, but there are plenty of herbs and bandages about to ensure that it is difficult to die if played carefully. Like many survival horror games you have a limited inventory, with any excess in items having to be stored in a special box until needed. Credit goes to the developers for adopting one of the better features from the Resident Evil series, while still attempting to implement some differences, such as the combat system.
There is the occasional irritating feature to the gameplay however, again almost certainly due to the Japanese text. Without adequate explanations, a huge amount of unnecessary trial-and-error is introduced to the game. Having to re-start a number of times in order to obtain enough of an understanding of the gameplay mechanics to progress any great distance through the game does make it difficult to retain any real interest. Of more importance are the hidden keys and locked doors. Keys may be superbly hidden, but any clues as to where they may be and how to obtain them is lost on the player, so the damned door remains locked far longer than is necessary, creating no end of frustration. The best advice would be to search every object within the level, numerous times, and chances are the required key will miraculously appear. Obviously, this aspect of the gameplay does detract significantly from the game as a whole, but that still never prevents it from being a rewarding experience the first time through. As with most games of this nature, motivation to play through more than once is limited, but there is enough depth within Ghost Trap that once is enough for it to be worthwhile.
Overall:
Ghost Trap does have a number of issues, but in the end these are nothing but minor irritants, many of which are likely due to the language barrier that comes with foreign imports. Without a doubt it is solid and somewhat innovative attempt at bringing survival horror to the GBA, proving it can be done, and hopefully pre-empting the announcement of a Resident Evil or Alone in the Dark title. The game provides a great deal of entertainment in it’s own right, and horror or adventure fans will find plenty of value within it.
Giving a score out of ten to an import that is heavily story based, such as Ghost Trap is difficult. The end mark is what an English version should get, provided the story supplements the rest of the game and is of a similar quality. As for its value as an import, a mark of four out of ten is reasonable, as the foreign language version will probably only appeal to die-hard survival horror fans. With any luck, publishers will recognise the market this game would have on western shores, and everyone will get the chance to enjoy the full appeal of Ghost Trap.
