Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to the Ace Attorney Marathon. This time, we'll be taking a look at a game that, while technically a spin-off, still has a plot that connects to rest of the franchise. It also features slightly different gameplay and now instead of a defense attorney, you're in control of everyone's favorite prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth! This is also the last Ace Attorney game on the DS...at least out of the ones that have come to America. Well, since I'm here anyway, I might as well talk about it. This game has a sequel, however, for whatever reason, Capcom has not released it outside of Japan. So unfortunately, we will be missing one Ace Attorney game in this marathon. Nonetheless, let's find out what I think about this game. This is my review of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth.

Graphics
     This has got to be the best looking game out of all of the Ace Attorney games that have appeared on the DS. Every character has DS quality sprites and animations, which all look amazing. This might even be the best looking game I've played on the DS. The environments have also been significantly improved, being given more detail than ever before, which makes sense because the game focuses around investigating the environments, hence the name "Investigations". Every character also has sprites for walking around the environment, which is something new to the series. Once again, this game just looks amazing and there's only so much I can really say about it before I start repeating myself, so let's move on.

Sound
     The music for this game is really good. Like Apollo Justice, this game was made specifically for the DS, so the quality of the sound is certainly better than the original trilogy. The instruments they decided to use for these songs are excellent choices, especially given the kind of character Edgeworth really is. Of course, when I say instruments, they are of course synthesized, but that's to be expected. Still, I can hear what kind of instruments would be used if these songs were to be played on real instruments. There's a lot of piano and brass in use here, which fits perfectly with Edgeworth in my opinion. It also helps that the music is extremely catchy. I especially like the Objection theme, Kay Faraday's theme, and, of course, the Pursuit theme. I could gush about the music in this game all day, but that's not what you're here for, so we'll just move along now.

Addictiveness
     While I haven't gone back to this game yet, I'm sure I will. The plot is quite intriguing and the gameplay is different from the rest of the series, making it really stand out. Of course, all of these topics will be covered in their respective sections, so I guess it's time to move on to the next one.

Story
     Like my previous Ace Attorney reviews, I will tell you how each case begins and the important characters you'll meet in said cases. The first case takes place shortly after Edgeworth has returned from a trip when he makes the shocking discovery of a dead body inside his office. Shortly afterwards, the police arrive and Edgeworth helps with the investigation. This case introduces us once again to Detective Gumshoe and Maggey Byrde, However, it doesn't really introduce any new important characters. The second case actually takes place before the events of the first case. Edgeworth is on an airplane on his way back home, when a dead body is discovered by one of the crew members, who immediately places the blame on Edgeworth, seeing as how he was the only one there. Edgeworth must prove his innocence by investigating and finding the true killer. This case reintroduces us to Franziska von Karma, but again, no new important characters. The third case takes place after the second case, but before the first case. In this case, you are asked by a man named Ernest Amano to locate his kidnapped son, Lance Amano. This case introduces a bunch of new characters. First, you'll meet Kay Faraday, a young girl who claims to be a master thief known as the Yatagarasu. Next you'll meet Shi-Long Lang and his partner, Shih-na. Lang is an Interpol agent who was sent to investigate the kidnapping. The fourth case actually takes place seven years before the events of the game. This case starts out with a defendant on trial accusing the prosecutor of the case, Bryne Faraday, to be the Yatagarasu and the one who instructed him to commit the murder. The judge then calls for a recess in order to prepare a new prosecutor. That prosecutor was going to be Edgeworth, however, the defendant was murdered during the recess, and Edgeworth decides to investigate this murder. This case introduces us to Tyrell Badd, a rather gruff detective who has obviously handled a lot of cases and loves lollipops. Finally, the fifth case, which does actually take place last, starts when Kay Faraday, who has become Edgeworth's unofficial assistant at this point, is accused of murder. Edgeworth, of course, decides to investigate the case himself in order to find the true culprit. In this case, we'll meet up with Larry Butz and Wendy Oldbag, however, no new characters that will be in future games are introduced here. Overall, I think the story is very well written and while it's certainly better than Apollo Justice and Justice for All, it doesn't quite stand up to the original and especially not Trials and Tribulations. However, it is a very good story definitely worth experiencing.

Depth
     This game has a bit more to offer than previous installments in the Ace Attorney franchise, especially given the different gameplay style. There's a bit more detail to each environment and there are tons of areas to explore and investigate. Honestly, there's not much else I can say here that won't be covered in the next section, so let's just move right along.

Gameplay/Control
     I really like the gameplay style of this game. Because this game focuses more on the investigations, rather than the courtroom, they had to find a way to make investigating more fun and I think they succeeded. Rather than investigating the crime scene from a first person perspective, you instead control Edgeworth in a somewhat isometric point-of-view and you move around the crime scene to investigate different objects. There will be times where you'll need to investigate something a bit more closely and the game will shift to the first person view so you may do so. Occasionally, you'll receive evidence to add to your Organizer, however, you'll also collect knowledge, or as this game calls it, Logic. I actually really like the Logic feature, especially considering that Edgeworth is a very logic-based person. What you'll do is find two pieces of knowledge that connect together somehow and use them to gain new knowledge about the case at hand. This can be used to update evidence or just move the investigation along. You'll also occasionally engage in Arguments. Think of these as your "courtroom" gameplay from the previous games. Press the "witness" for more information, and present evidence to point out contradictions in their "testimonies". I feel like it melds these different gameplay styles together quite well and I kind of wish they'd bring this style of investigating to the main series.

Overall, I think Ace Attorney Investigations is a great game that any fan of the series should definitely check out, especially if you're a fan of Edgeworth. With a good story, amazing graphics, and even better music, I give Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth a 9 out of 10. Join me next time as I, finally, bring the Ace Attorney marathon to a close with my review of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies for the 3DS. Until then, peace out!

Itachi9695 : that was a very nicely written review Itachi, the only thing I might say about it is that you kind of did give off a little too much of the story but other than that it was great .

I was laughing when I saw that this game was being reviewed because I haven't seen many people review this series and I was going to submit a review on it xD as well. Either way keep up the great work man and this was a really awesome review!

Itachi9695 : nice review that guy down there is a little right you can't give off too much of the story some people might get mad

Itachi9695 : nice review it looks cool of a game to get because i like ace attorney