Hot take: Cabanela is the best written Ghost Trick character. He is the epitome of proper pacing, build up and foreshadowing. He “plays” with the audience. The idea of him being “bad” is properly built up. However on replaying the game, the idea of him being “good” is built up instead. The game actually indicates that he is well meaning through the fact that he is the one to create, nearly solve and fully get involved with the manipulator case. However no one takes notice of it. Taking Jowd to the Justice Minister and hiding information from Lynne makes so much sense with context and can be viewed differently when replaying the game. He is the epitome of well written dialogue and subtlety. How he acts can be assumed to be “bad”, but his dialogue is vague on his intentions and at first can be read as him being shady, but it is now interpreted as him being a secret ally. He excels in foreshadowing through dialogue. Everything he says is honest to a large extent and all of his actions are done for the greater good, but it is largely misinterpreted by Sissel, Jowd and Lynne. How the characters interpret him affects how the player views him. For example in Chapter 12 he says “Everybody has certain principles they caaan't go back on... including me.” This makes so much more sense with context as his principals involve not letting his friends suffer, but Lynne misinterprets it as him not caring for Jowd and only caring for his spotless record, straining her relationship with her mentor. Cabanela himself doesn’t not give a proper answer to Lynne when she says that the only thing that matters to him is a spotless record. He doesn’t confirm nor deny, because he doesn’t want Lynne to be involved out of concern for her safety, which is very fatherly of him. Him dying towards the end is payoff for the build up for his moral ambiguity and is very effective. The spotless record is another feature of the character that I adore. He has an inverted colour scheme with Yomiel, indicating how these two oppose each other, how they essentially resulted in the game events to occur, and how they have opposing developments. Cabanela is portrayed most of the time as unsympathetic, even though he has one of the best intentions in the game. Whilst, Yomiel is mostly portrayed as sympathetic (except for chapter 15 and 16), even though he literally ruined the lives of half of the cast. White is symbolised as pure and perfect, but also flawless and selfish. Red symbolises mistakes and blood, flaws and death. The red scarf is stuck to him, like his mistakes which created the game, foreshadowing that he isn’t entirely spotless. The fact he mostly wears white over red shows that he has more goodness and purity over bad intentions and actions. White has been consistently symbolised to represent Cabanela’s determination. This white spotless determination to maintain his record is associated with selfishness however it changes to represent selflessness. Another thing that the game subverts is the meaning of the white coat and how Cabanela is not entirely “spotless”. The white is used to hide his shadows and mistakes, creating this facade as indicated through Jowd’s dialogue whom states that it is impossible to never make a mistake, it is impossible to never stain a pure white coat. Cabanela’s main flaw is that he can be pretty intimidating, which foreshadows his past mistakes. His two very stupid mistakes he makes honestly helps to create a flawed and human character. Cabanela is a man who plays the “villain” willingly for most of the game to protect Lynne and Jowd. His dedication and loyalty towards others is immeasurable. He never gives up and is optimistic. Truth be told I admire that. He dances towards danger and success. Towards hope and optimism. He is a man who learns from his mistakes, the spotless coat is symbolic of it. Never made a mistake since ten years ago, including prior to Jowd’s arrest. Truth be told I like it when people learn. If he cannot be punished by the narrative, might as well learn from it. His high intelligence, competence, perfectionism and meticulous planning, literally being five steps ahead of everyone indicates this. The pocket watch and bullet transmitter are perfect examples of this. He works hard to becomes spotless and to rise to the ranks to help those who need it most, whilst devoting 5 years trying to help Jowd be proven innocent. He perseveres in the most unlikely situations, whilst also never letting the pressure get to him. He is a man who balances the law and his desires. His reasoning for being secretive towards Jowd and Lynne makes 100% sense and I love it. He plays the bad guy for their sake and he owns it. He never stopped believing in them nor did he loose trust in them, despite them committing horrible actions (whilst being manipulated and being accused of murder) suggesting otherwise. Cabanela knows and trusts that Jowd and Lynne will understand his reasons for pushing them away. He even is willing to die for them and his pursuit of his goals actually costs him his life. He has a lot of depth, development and nuance to his character. All I can say is he has swagger dance moves and none of his animations and dialogue are normal. Everyone is a “baby” to him and I adore it, love that he elongates words too. I adore his animations they have soo much character and his theatrics are hilarious too. Shows how flamboyant, confident and carefree he could be. Banger disco theme music! Love how fashionably stylish he is in general, overall amazing character design! I like that his image of being a ladder climbing inspector is important to his character. Also adore how much he contributes to the plot. His writing is the closest thing to perfection and I adore it. It is masterfully done! He is thought to be selfish, when in fact he is very selfless. The more you think about his character, the better he becomes. He simultaneously is cool, weird and complex, balancing seriousness with humour. A very interesting, unique, subversive, dynamic, multifaceted iconic character, who is the definition of showing and not telling. All I can say is “Yeeeah, nothing like it, baby!”
@@lancillottoI love his character soo much. He is such an icon and he owns it. He is the best written character, because I have very little issues regarding the way he is written. Best Ghost Trick character based on pacing and foreshadowing alone. He is such a seen stealer, always stealing the show every time he appears. Also he is clearly my favourite character in the cast.
@@lancillotto Sorta. I just find him very fascinating and executed very well. I enjoy analysing him for fun. He is just a very unique and subversive character. I did read other people’s analysis of him so it is not entirely my perspective.
@@trashgang_ This. I personally LOVE Lynne, but literally everyone with a name is extremely memorable (minus Sith, Dandy and maybe Amélie) and hilarious/tragic as heck. I have actually seen arguments for why Justice Minister is the best character in the game. Probably the objectively best is Missile, but all of the cast is waaaay above average.
@@Powder-Point Valid, I suppose. I actually really like Jowd outside his death sequence, and Yomiel is actually a VERY good introduction to The Immortal's Plight (or even IHNMaIMS, if lighter) and is much better written than most AA villains. Of course, he has quite some faults, but I would say he's pretty good. For me, the funniest scene probably goes to Tengo. I know Lynne is absolutely hilarious, but she's consistent, and not a singular outstanding scene.
@@trashgang_ The military commander, the one you see immediately after you unlock the ability to use the phone lines. He gets outplayed by Tengo in their call and betrays The Manipulator.
@@QuiGonJoe Actually, he's a combination of both. The look is more remnicent of Elvis, but the poses (especially the one he strikes before he speaks), are all Michael Jackson.
Hot take: Cabanela is the best written Ghost Trick character. He is the epitome of proper pacing, build up and foreshadowing. He “plays” with the audience. The idea of him being “bad” is properly built up. However on replaying the game, the idea of him being “good” is built up instead. The game actually indicates that he is well meaning through the fact that he is the one to create, nearly solve and fully get involved with the manipulator case. However no one takes notice of it. Taking Jowd to the Justice Minister and hiding information from Lynne makes so much sense with context and can be viewed differently when replaying the game. He is the epitome of well written dialogue and subtlety. How he acts can be assumed to be “bad”, but his dialogue is vague on his intentions and at first can be read as him being shady, but it is now interpreted as him being a secret ally. He excels in foreshadowing through dialogue. Everything he says is honest to a large extent and all of his actions are done for the greater good, but it is largely misinterpreted by Sissel, Jowd and Lynne. How the characters interpret him affects how the player views him. For example in Chapter 12 he says “Everybody has certain principles they caaan't go
back on... including me.” This makes so much more sense with context as his principals involve not letting his friends suffer, but Lynne misinterprets it as him not caring for Jowd and only caring for his spotless record, straining her relationship with her mentor. Cabanela himself doesn’t not give a proper answer to Lynne when she says that the only thing that matters to him is a spotless record. He doesn’t confirm nor deny, because he doesn’t want Lynne to be involved out of concern for her safety, which is very fatherly of him. Him dying towards the end is payoff for the build up for his moral ambiguity and is very effective.
The spotless record is another feature of the character that I adore. He has an inverted colour scheme with Yomiel, indicating how these two oppose each other, how they essentially resulted in the game events to occur, and how they have opposing developments. Cabanela is portrayed most of the time as unsympathetic, even though he has one of the best intentions in the game. Whilst, Yomiel is mostly portrayed as sympathetic (except for chapter 15 and 16), even though he literally ruined the lives of half of the cast. White is symbolised as pure and perfect, but also flawless and selfish. Red symbolises mistakes and blood, flaws and death. The red scarf is stuck to him, like his mistakes which created the game, foreshadowing that he isn’t entirely spotless. The fact he mostly wears white over red shows that he has more goodness and purity over bad intentions and actions. White has been consistently symbolised to represent Cabanela’s determination. This white spotless determination to maintain his record is associated with selfishness however it changes to represent selflessness. Another thing that the game subverts is the meaning of the white coat and how Cabanela is not entirely “spotless”. The white is used to hide his shadows and mistakes, creating this facade as indicated through Jowd’s dialogue whom states that it is impossible to never make a mistake, it is impossible to never stain a pure white coat. Cabanela’s main flaw is that he can be pretty intimidating, which foreshadows his past mistakes. His two very stupid mistakes he makes honestly helps to create a flawed and human character. Cabanela is a man who plays the “villain” willingly for most of the game to protect Lynne and Jowd. His dedication and loyalty towards others is immeasurable. He never gives up and is optimistic. Truth be told I admire that.
He dances towards danger and success. Towards hope and optimism. He is a man who learns from his mistakes, the spotless coat is symbolic of it. Never made a mistake since ten years ago, including prior to Jowd’s arrest. Truth be told I like it when people learn. If he cannot be punished by the narrative, might as well learn from it. His high intelligence, competence, perfectionism and meticulous planning, literally being five steps ahead of everyone indicates this. The pocket watch and bullet transmitter are perfect examples of this. He works hard to becomes spotless and to rise to the ranks to help those who need it most, whilst devoting 5 years trying to help Jowd be proven innocent. He perseveres in the most unlikely situations, whilst also never letting the pressure get to him. He is a man who balances the law and his desires. His reasoning for being secretive towards Jowd and Lynne makes 100% sense and I love it. He plays the bad guy for their sake and he owns it. He never stopped believing in them nor did he loose trust in them, despite them committing horrible actions (whilst being manipulated and being accused of murder) suggesting otherwise. Cabanela knows and trusts that Jowd and Lynne will understand his reasons for pushing them away. He even is willing to die for them and his pursuit of his goals actually costs him his life. He has a lot of depth, development and nuance to his character.
All I can say is he has swagger dance moves and none of his animations and dialogue are normal. Everyone is a “baby” to him and I adore it, love that he elongates words too. I adore his animations they have soo much character and his theatrics are hilarious too. Shows how flamboyant, confident and carefree he could be. Banger disco theme music! Love how fashionably stylish he is in general, overall amazing character design! I like that his image of being a ladder climbing inspector is important to his character. Also adore how much he contributes to the plot. His writing is the closest thing to perfection and I adore it. It is masterfully done! He is thought to be selfish, when in fact he is very selfless. The more you think about his character, the better he becomes. He simultaneously is cool, weird and complex, balancing seriousness with humour. A very interesting, unique, subversive, dynamic, multifaceted iconic character, who is the definition of showing and not telling. All I can say is “Yeeeah, nothing like it, baby!”
Bro wow
@@lancillottoI love his character soo much. He is such an icon and he owns it. He is the best written character, because I have very little issues regarding the way he is written. Best Ghost Trick character based on pacing and foreshadowing alone. He is such a seen stealer, always stealing the show every time he appears. Also he is clearly my favourite character in the cast.
@@Powder-Point did you figure all these details out yourself? That's such an overwhelmingly great analysis
@@lancillotto Sorta. I just find him very fascinating and executed very well. I enjoy analysing him for fun. He is just a very unique and subversive character. I did read other people’s analysis of him so it is not entirely my perspective.
@@Powder-Point the particular of the opposite colors he and Yomiel wear is amazing. I too find him a great character indeed
Have you ever seen a detective with more swag?
Gumshoe
His swag is so great that it doesn't even look like swag
@@Shy_Guy980gotta act the part too
And Gumshoe’s an idiot with a nice jacket
Damon Gant
Never
herlock sholmes is a close 2nd
Nothing like it, baby!
Such a great character. I love him
It's really hard to pick a favorite to be honest...
@@trashgang_ This. I personally LOVE Lynne, but literally everyone with a name is extremely memorable (minus Sith, Dandy and maybe Amélie) and hilarious/tragic as heck. I have actually seen arguments for why Justice Minister is the best character in the game. Probably the objectively best is Missile, but all of the cast is waaaay above average.
@@gabrote42 who's Sith?
@@Powder-Point Valid, I suppose. I actually really like Jowd outside his death sequence, and Yomiel is actually a VERY good introduction to The Immortal's Plight (or even IHNMaIMS, if lighter) and is much better written than most AA villains. Of course, he has quite some faults, but I would say he's pretty good.
For me, the funniest scene probably goes to Tengo. I know Lynne is absolutely hilarious, but she's consistent, and not a singular outstanding scene.
@@trashgang_ The military commander, the one you see immediately after you unlock the ability to use the phone lines. He gets outplayed by Tengo in their call and betrays The Manipulator.
Ahhh. The smell of REALITY REWRITING. Nothing like it, baby.
the man who dances throught life
the silly swagger he always walked with made me know he couldnt be the villain :)
have you ever played an ace attorney game? if anything that's what had me suspicious of him at the beginning
@@kingcrimson4133 oh I haven’t, but I’ve seen things about ace attorney before haha
Inspector Cabanela trying to walk normally (he has too much swagger):
Nothing like it baby!
swag swag swag swag swag
It's killing me that this is the exact same melody as the "Mid-Boss" theme from the Kirby series. Weird coincidence, but anyway I love Cabanela.
He reminds me a lot of Michael Jackson.
I wonder why
I agree
His full name is Michael "Cabanela" Jackson /j
personally he reminds me more of elvis than michael jackson, primarily due to both his poses and way of speaking
@@QuiGonJoe Actually, he's a combination of both. The look is more remnicent of Elvis, but the poses (especially the one he strikes before he speaks), are all Michael Jackson.
“But Inspector Cabanela is really a very nice person!”
@@Play-Ghost-Trick Love how Cabanela is canonically a prankster
@@Powder-Point Yeah it is kinda funny-
the GOAT Takumi creating the best and most charismatic detectives in all of gaming
MY GOAT
This man is the love child of Michael Jackson and Kramer.
Ok who letted bro have this swag?
LANKY AND LOOSE LAWMAN
Why do I imagine Cabanela having Johnny Bravo’s voice?
piano sounds like gsc game corner
Speed it up to 1.5x
No way it’s Mr. No-Neck