Phoenix Wright – Ace Attorney is the first installment of the Ace Attorney series. Originally Japan exclusive for the GBA, this game came out on the Nintendo DS, Wii, and several other platforms. It is a visual novel attorney game where the truth must be found in order to prove one’s innocence or guilt.

The storyline and gameplay is practically the same for all platforms, but I’m going to be reviewing the Nintendo DS port of this game. What makes the Nintendo DS version so special? To answer this, I must explain that the original game only had 4 episodes in its port. So the Nintendo DS comes with a special 5th episode that involves using the microphone and touch screen features. For the Wii version, the 5th episode must be bought separately from the main game; other systems might not even have the whole game released yet.


Gameplay

The first mode the player will be introduced to is the courtroom. The player will have control of Phoenix Wright, attorney at law. His mission is to convince the judge and prosecutor that his client is innocent with supporting evidence.

The courtroom system will be in 3rd person view. In this mode, the witness of the crime will testify to the court on what he/she saw. After the testimony, the judge will grant Phoenix Wright the ability to cross-examine (questioning) the witness. The player can either press the witness for more information, or present evidence that contradicts part of the testimony. This is where all the ‘action’ of the game happens.

Evidence can be checked in advance via Court Record. The Court Record holds all evidence information and character profiles that are needed to win the case. It’s important to check the Court Record frequently.

The second mode the player will have to go through is called investigation. The player will have to control Phoenix Wright and investigate any suspicious looking objects, or talk to people to gain information. Most of the Court Record’s evidence can be found during investigation mode.

Investigation will be viewed in 1st person. This mode has 4 options: Talk, Present, Examine, and Move. The Talk option will let Phoenix Wright have a conversation with the person in the current room. This will let Phoenix know what is going on in the story. Present is when evidence will be presented from the Court Record to the person in the room. While not used frequently, it usually gives out more information about the crime than talking would. Examine will allow the player to inspect the current room for evidence. If the object isn’t evidence, there’s usually some sort of random dialog about the object to keep the player interested. Finally, the Move option will let Phoenix Wright move from one room to another.

*Note – Sometimes a room may be too big to view in the screen. If this happens, arrows will show at the bottom of the screen. This will let the player view from one portion of the room to another.

The investigation mode is most likely the tedious part of the game. It’s not as fun as courtroom mode, but it is vital since majority of the evidence and information needed are located in this section. The ending of each investigation will usually leave the player excited for the beginning of the courtroom battle. Investigation ends once the game decided all information and evidence needed is obtained.

[Breakdown]
-Courtroom system is the fun part.
-Investigation is boring, but essential.
-Court Records must be checked frequently.
__________


Graphics - 8

Like any regular visual novels, the graphics of this game consist of 2D illustrations. The background of each scene is fully drawn and colored to give a great visualization of how the written version of the setting would look like. The characters are probably the most notable part of the graphics; each character has unique personalities and styles. It’s almost unlikely that one could find two characters that are similar to each other. Their styles and appearances may be over exaggerated to explain (or sometimes hide) the type of people they are.

Speaking of characters, their expressions are probably one of the most amusing things in the game. When I first played, I was introduced to my client. He kept saying how he wanted to die, while having a cartoony expression on his face. His dialog and facial expression made it hard to take him seriously, which was probably what the developers of this game wanted to do. Then there are the breakdown expressions. The guilty will sometimes show unusual nervous habits when something unexpected is revealed.

Sometimes cut-scenes will be shown to the player on what has happened, but it’s almost always never the whole story. While the cut-scenes may be mainly still pictures, the animations used give a great emphasis of the emotion behind the scene.

[Breakdown]
-Novel like illustrations.
-Interesting characters and expressions.
-Cut-scenes to keep players guessing.
__________


Sound - 10

How can I describe perfection? The music in this game is so incredible, that I can almost guarantee that people who hate the game will say the exact opposite about its soundtrack. While it may not be similar to the medieval fantasy music, it definitely is one of the greatest
gaming modern music. And it’s not just this game, the whole Ace Attorney series and its spin-offs are complied with outstanding soundtracks. That’s how incredible the music is.

Ominous music will sometimes accompany cut-scenes to enhance the dramatic thriller. Relaxing music will be with casual conversations to help feel what the characters are feeling. Inspiring music will be played when everything’s going to be alright. The themes are just so amazing that it can’t be properly described by a newbie reviewer, like myself.

Not only is the music very fitting for the game, it also plays an important role. Fans of the game will know what I mean when I say; “If the music stops, you’re on the right track.” The music is definitely one of the greatest things about the Ace Attorney series.

[Breakdown]
-Incredible music.
-Very fitting themes.
-One of the greatest things about the series.
__________


Addictiveness - 7

Is this game addicting? Not during investigation mode, probably. Like I stated before, investigation is the boring part of the game. I would often find myself taking a break from the game during this sequence, since it takes so long. But when the courtroom mode starts, it’s definitely hard to put down.

Unlike the investigation mode where you just search on anything to find information, the courtroom mode requires the player to think and find contradictions to the witness’ testimony (if any). This mode can turn an incredibly focused paying attention scene into a battle of objections. It’ll make the player’s heart beat with anticipation with every contradiction they find. This is in fact the most exciting part of the game.

[Breakdown]
-Investigation = not addicting.
-Courtroom = very addicting.
__________


Story - 9

Since this is a visual novel type of game, the story plays an important aspect of whether or not the game will succeed. So in short, Phoenix Wright – Ace Attorney wouldn’t have been well known if it didn’t have a good story. Also note, the characters are just as important as the story itself.

Phoenix Wright is a defense lawyer. Why did he become a lawyer? His reason is integrated with the main story. For now, he must prove his clients innocent from the charges they face. Unfortunately for him, all his clients seem to have been accused with murder.

The story consists of four episodes and a special fifth episode for the Nintendo DS. The special fifth isn’t required to understand the main story; it’s basically just an extra that can be played.

During the storyline, Phoenix battles head to head with prosecutor Miles Edgeworth in order to find out who is the guilty party. The first episode is a tutorial for the gameplay, but the next two are when Phoenix faces Edgeworth. Why does Phoenix have to face Edgeworth twice before going to the final part of the game? Capcom wanted the audience to know what kind of character Edgeworth is and what kind of relationship Phoenix has with him. When that’s done, the final part of the game will reveal the whole truth of what happened, and why it happened.

The fifth episode happens two months after the main storyline. It isn’t related to it, but Edgeworth and Phoenix still goes face to face in this one as well. And like the rest of the episodes, it is also a murder case. This one; however, is notably the longest case out of all the episodes.

In this episode, chief prosecutor Lana Skye admits to the murder of Bruce Goodman. Her sister, Ema Skye, doesn’t believe it. Phoenix Wright, with the help of Ema, must find out who the real murderer is. During the investigation, they unfold a dark past that could turn everything around.

[Breakdown]
-Amazing story.
-Cases are always about murder.
-Characters and their relationships make the game.
__________


Depth - 7

The depth portion of this game is based upon whether or not the player likes reading and thinking. Being a visual novel, the game doesn’t offer much freedom to the players on what they can do. However, the game offers a lot of dialog to keep the players interested in the investigation mode. Some may be random, but majority are intended humor.

The thinking portion comes from the courtroom mode. It’s necessary to pay attention to what the witness says, while checking the evidence for contradictions. This multitasking keeps the players occupied throughout the gameplay.

[Breakdown]
-Amusing dialogs in investigation mode.
-Careful tactics in courtroom mode.
__________


Difficulty - 5

This game is not all that difficult to complete. However, I’d like to point out that the game follows a certain pattern of actions in order to complete the game. What I mean by this is that the player may have figured out a way to solve the case; unfortunately, the game will be much slower to process it. There’s a chance that evidence in the Court Record will finally prove the client innocent, but it can’t be presented unless it contradicts the witness’ testimony.

The courtroom system has these things called ‘penalty points’. When Phoenix presents evidence that does not relate nor contradict the testimony, he gains a penalty point. What a penalty point does is take away Phoenix’s exclamation mark-like health points. If he loses all health points, it’s automatically game over. Making wrong decisions can sometimes cause Phoenix to lose a health point, but the game can be saved anytime before the decision.

The only hard part about the investigation sequence is trying to find and gather all evidence and information for the case. Sometimes Phoenix has to backtrack in order to find them. This is a long and tedious process, but the developers put in extra work on this part to make sure it isn’t too boring to go through.

[Breakdown]
-Game’s intellect might be slower than player’s.
-Penalty points given as a warning to not present irrelevant evidence.
-Investigating takes more time than courtroom mode.
__________


Overall - 7.7

I just want the reader to know that Phoenix Wright – Ace Attorney is definitely NOT for those who seek action in the game. It is a visual novel, so there isn’t much freedom to what the player can do. It is also a dialog based game, so those who hate reading will hate this game. The game’s puzzles are different from regular ones. It doesn’t have mini-game puzzles like the Professor Layton series. Also, this game has a balance of drama thriller and humor. So those expecting it to be a seriously realistic type of game; a button mashing type of game; a game with a vast variety of puzzles; or a game one can go through without having to read anything, will be utterly disappointed.

If the above warning has not turned you off, then I really do recommend you try out the game. It’s probably one of the best visual novels that Capcom has ever made. The story and music are amazing, the graphics are good, and it can be very addicting once you go into the courtroom. And this is only the beginning of the series!

[Summary]
-Read underlined portion for warnings.
-One of the greatest visual novels with a lot of humor.

YES. I WAS WAITING FOR THIS REVIEW.

As you can tell by a few things, I love, love, love Phoenix Wright. Just not as much as FunnyFurret. In fact, I'm watching a "What is Love?" video with Phoenix Wright characters put into it. Heehee. If you want the URL, tell me.

ANYWAYS. What I was gonna say was, nice review. I loved the depth you put into it, the emphasis, everything. Grammar is impeccable, no bias, just... awesome.

goodboy :

Thank you. xD But truth be told, this review was already on Vizzed for several months. It was just in another forum. Now if you can do me a favor, could you ask the local mods to close the other thread? I'll send you the link to it via PM.

Mistress :

I'll be happy to. On it.

This was a pretty good review, but there is such thing as too much detail, and this had some unnecessary detail.

Barathemos :

Which parts are unnecessary to include? I'm really hoping you don't mean the breakdown portion though, since I put them in all my newer reviews.