Phoenix Wright : Ace Attorney was released in Japan for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. Nintendo of America decided to bring the Phoenix Wright series to America as well. However, the DS was already released. They decided to port all 3 of the original trilogy games onto the DS, and Phoenix Wright : Ace Attorney was released onto the Nintendo DS on October 2005. This port of the GBA series has improved graphics, an improved soundtrack, and touch screen controls. They even added a new episode, Episode 5, making use of the new touch screen and microphone mechanics.

Graphics - 9

The graphics in Phoenix Wright : Ace Attorney are awesome, despite the few issues I have with them. Each of the characters have their own distinct personality, and you can figure that since they have their own unique animations. Some of the animations are kind of dorky, but that's not always a thing to frown upon. The character's facial expressions show the mood they are currently in perfectly. The backgrounds are sort of nice, too. You can examine areas with the touch screen, if you see anything suspicious. Although sometimes, it is kind of hard to see whether or not something should be examined, but this is just one of those games where you have to look closely.

Sound - 9

The music in this game is awesome, specifically the music that plays at different times in the courtroom. For example, The Truth, Cross-Examination (Allegro), and of course, Objection!, are all amazing songs from this game's soundtrack. The songs I listed really give you that feeling that it would give you in real life if you were in this courtroom. The feeling of almost being defeated, or the feeling of almost winning. Even the feeling of losing someone dear to you. The only complaint I have with the sound is that some of the sounds sound like exactly how they were in the Game Boy Advance version, although this is just a minor complaint.

Addictiveness - 8

This game can get addicting, especially while you're in a trial. Even after the short recess you sometimes get in some of the trials, I keep on playing after I save. I have the feeling of wanting to help out my client, because I know they're innocent. Nobody deserves to go into custody if they're not guilty. The only time I can recall when you won't be playing this game a lot is when you get frusturated or confused, although that can just be gamer's instinct. Whenever I lose a game too many times, I wait a bit before I start playing it again.

Story - 10

This game is a game where you are an attorney. This is the perfect opportunity for many amazing stories to be told throughout the series. The main storyline has to do with an incident known as DL-6, which has been the topic of speculation for a while. 15 years, to be exact. The cause of the accident is unknown, and the day the case gets closed for good is soon approaching. You don't go deep into the DL-6 incident until Episode 4, but it's a thrill ride nonetheless. It is constantly mentioned throughout the game. And when you figure out the truth of the incident, you will DEFINITELY be surprised. I was on the edge of my seat the whole case, waiting to find out the truth. It was amazing.

Depth - 6

Pretty much the only thing you'll be doing is following instructions and looking for clues in each of the episodes. That, and there are only 4 episodes that have to do with the main storyline. The 5th Episode is just for fun with the DS' new mechanics. There's not much you can really do after you complete all the episodes after that other than mess around. This is the only semi-bad score this game is going to get, this is still a very good game.

Difficulty - 8

This game's difficulty changes depending on the episode you are on. The puzzles and trials get harder and harder as you progress through the game, and I love the way they present the difficulty. There are some cases where you have to exhaust all of your options until there's nothing left for you to do, then someone jumps in and turns things around to help you. It's amazing how they handled the difficulty with this game.

Overall - 9.1

This game is a great game, as you read in the review, and it has grown with a giant fanbase, a lot of which are here on Vizzed. This series is getting another game to add to its collection of amazing titles, and the game, currently known as Ace Attorney 6, is scheduled to come out this year. If you're a fan of puzzles and mind-boggling questions and mysteries, this game is definitely for you. I hope you enjoyed this review.

I've got a few things to point out here, so if you would...

Objection!

The fifth episode is one of the longest overall episodes in the entire series. I'm surprised you let that slip by you in the review, because it stuck out like a sore thumb to me. It was a really enjoyable case, too, but God, was it long. Hey though, I guess you might have thought differently of it?

Hold it!

I wish you would've gone into more detail on addictiveness. You just sort of threw it up in the air, and didn't seem to express your reasoning clearly as to what makes this game addictive. I definitely agree with it, though; don't you get me wrong there. But this is one area where you shouldn't spare the details, minus obvious spoilers (although this shouldn't be happening a lot when explaining this section, I would imagine.

Take that!

You did really well explaining the graphics and sound categories in way fewer words than I ever have yet (I have a tendency to write exceptionally long and detailed, if you haven't noticed), especially the sound. While short, you said almost everything you probably wanted to say, and everything you needed to say. Short and to the point is definitely a good way to do reviews.

Guilty

You nailed it talking about the depth. It's unfortunately not too deep once you get through the cases. There's very little, if anything, of note that you can do afterward. It's fairly straight-forward, and replay value is difficult to come by.

Not Guilty

Very solid review overall. You really got your points across in an overall swift manner, and that can be very important in some cases. I'd enjoy a little more detail in certain categories as I mentioned, but that's also partially subjective overall. Great stuff.

SWTerra :

I appreciate the constructive critisicm! I really do, it's rare to find a post like this one. I'll be sure to improve upon some of the things you mentioned. Sorry for forgetting mostly about Episode 5, too, eheheh. By the way, do you think the picture I put at the end of the review is a good idea? Do you think I should do this for my future reviews as well?

LunarDarkness2 : I think for things like the addition of pictures, just do you. Used well enough, they can certainly add on to the reviews, although it's hard in this forum format to use it like that. I definitely don't think that they'll hurt your review at all, unless you get spammy with them, for obvious reasons.

And no problem for the criticism. Analysis is one of the things I do best, so I might as well use that talent for something productive!

LunarDarkness2 : Another good review here. It seem swterra has pointed out on what you have missed in. That's good so then you can improve more as time goes on. I await another review from you.

...Honestly, the more I look at my reply analyzing your review, the more I want to see a review done in that fashion for an Ace Attorney game, as opposed to the standard "list into categories" review. It might be pretty unconventional, but it would be a pretty nice change of pace for me to see.

...Or I could do one like that myself if I stop being lazy.

Another good review of yours lunar. The structure is clear and you used enough details to say what the game is about. However (and if it applies to you) it would have been great that you compare the game with the original Game Boy ones.