Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies Review by: Itachi9695 - 9.5/10
Return of the TurnaboutGreetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the finale of my Ace Attorney Marathon! Before I begin, I would like to congratulate Vizzed Board on reaching a million posts! Now for the actual introduction. The last game in the Ace Attorney series to be released to the US before this one was released in 2010, which was Investigations, so fans in the US were quite excited when they heard that we were finally getting a new Ace Attorney game, this time on the 3DS. A lot of fans, including myself, were kind of upset that the game was going to be a digital-only release, but since I had already been playing all the games in the series up to that point and I wasn't about to let myself miss out on Phoenix Wright's return as the main character just because I wasn't going to be able to have a physical copy. So after all the hype, does the game live up to it? Let's find out! This is my review of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies.
Graphics
Because this is on the 3DS, Capcom felt the need to go with 3D models rather than sprites for this game and the models are simply amazing. The animations are really good as well, even for older characters including Phoenix Wright himself, who's finally making his return to law and is looking pretty good in that new suit. Of course, there are quite a few new characters, and they too look pretty good with the 3D models. And because this is a 3DS game, let's talk about the 3D effect. Turning the 3D effect on certainly gives the game more depth and, in my opinion, makes it look even better. With the 3D on, everything really stands out and almost makes it like you're right there watching everything unfold. The backgrounds for this game also look really good. They really put a lot of effort into how this game looks and the background are no exception. With a lot of added detail thanks to the 3D models, there are certain areas you can view from different angles, letting you know just how much effort they put into this. Once again, a superb job. I hope to see more Ace Attorney games in this style in the future.
Sound
This game's soundtrack is probably one of the best overall soundtracks in the entire series. I'm listening to it as I write this review and I'm having a really hard time finding a track that I at least dislike. Every song in this game is simply beautiful. I even find it difficult picking a favorite song from this game, the soundtrack is just that good. If I had to pick a few songs, though, I'd say, all 3 main characters' Objection themes, Blackquill's theme, the Pursuit theme, the courtroom music, and even the cross-examination music. The vast majority of the soundtrack is new music, but I really like the new versions of some old themes, like Phoenix's Objection theme in this game is an
updated version of his Objection theme from Trials and Tribulations, Apollo's Objection theme, is an
updated version of the one from his game, and even Trucy's theme got a nice
update. The instruments they used for this soundtrack work very well. Once again, a masterpiece of a soundtrack and definitely worthy of the Ace Attorney series.
Addictiveness
Not much to say here except that this game is actually very addicting. I'm already going back through it for my second playthrough and I'm having just as much fun as the first time. I think I'm going to find myself going back to this game quite often in the near future.
Story
The story for this game, like the other, is very well written. As always, I'll give a brief overview of the beginning of each case, including the DLC case. The first case opens up with...a courtroom bombing...well, this game's got my attention now. You'll be defending Juniper Woods, best friend of the new lawyer in the Wright Anything Agency, Athena Cykes. Juniper does make appearances in later cases, so that's why I gave you her name. This case reintroduces us to Apollo Justice, who sustained injuries during the bombing and is unable to take the defense bench, and Phoenix Wright, who finally managed to retake the bar exam and become a lawyer again. The second case starts off with the murder of the alderman of a place called Nine Tails Vale. You control Apollo for this case as you defend the mayor of the neighboring town. This case introduces us to Simon Blackquill, the new prosecutor for this game who's apparently a convicted murderer. It also introduces us to the new detective, Bobby Fulbright, who clearly loves justice and will use the word at almost every given opportunity. The third case opens up with a murder at a place called Themis Legal Academy. One of the professors has been murdered and Juniper has been accused of the crime, leading Athena to take on her defense. No other important characters are introduced here except the ones who are exclusive to this case. Now, for the fourth and fifth cases, I'm treating them as one big case because giving you the beginning of Case 5 would spoil the end of Case 4. The fourth case opens with a space shuttle getting bombed just before take off and the murder of Apollo's best friend, Clay Terran. Accused of the crime, is a famous astronaut named Solomon Starbuck, who, despite all his fame for an event known as the HAT-1 Miracle, is actually pretty depressed. Once again, no really important recurring characters are introduced here, but Pearl Fey does make a reappearance here, as does everyone's favorite prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth. Now for the DLC case. This one takes place shortly after Phoenix regains his attorney's badge as he takes on the case of the murder of an aquarium owner's murder. Your defendant is, and I'm not kidding, a killer whale. Well, if that wasn't enough to make you want to spend the extra 5 or so bucks on this case, then I don't know what will. Anyway, it is a full fledged case and well worth the extra cash to get it. However, even with all of this, the one thing I will continue to appreciate this game for is the fact that every main character gets some actual character development. Remember how I said I wasn't a hug fan of Apollo in his own game? Well, I really like him in this game because he finally gets the character development he needed. All in all, though, this game's plot is simply awesome.
Depth
This game has quite a bit of detail, in both the background and the character models. There's certainly a lot of places to explore in this game and each one is just dripping with detail. There's a lot to do in this game, however you're probably just going to stick to the main story because that's the way the game is designed. While you unfortunately can't examine every place you go to, when you do get to examine unnecessary items, it can lead to some interesting conversations. Again, while this game does pack a lot of depth, I feel like they could have done more.
Gameplay/Controls
This game plays just like previous games in the Ace Attorney series. The investigations are once again in the first person view, however a lot of times, you're able to see the scene from different viewpoints in order to gather more clues. Returning gimmicks are Phoenix's magatama and Apollo's bracelet, but there are a few new gimmicks making an appearance in this game. The main one being Athena's Mood Matrix, which pinpoints conflicting or unusual emotions in a witness's testimony. Another thing that's introduced here is when you actually go inside a character's mind and piece together what really happened, however this usually happens near the end of a case so you won't be using it that often. I'd say that with the added gameplay, this game is certainly a bit more interactive than the others in the series, which makes it a bit easier to come back to.
Overall, Dual Destinies is a great addition to the Ace Attorney series and one that fans should definitely buy. And if you're not a huge fan of Phoenix's new suit, you can get the costume DLC pack that includes his old school suit. Or if you want to wear that pink sweater he had at the beginning of Trials and Tribulations, just beat the DLC case. With a great story, amazing music, and having some of the best graphics on the 3DS, I give Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies a 9.5 out of 10. Well, that concludes the Ace Attorney Marathon. Join me next time as I decide to take a look at some games I've been meaning to review for a while. This won't be any particular Marathon or Month of, just a few games that I've been meaning to review for a while and just haven't gotten around to, starting with Super Mario World. See you next time and until then, peace out!
Graphics
9 Sound
10 Addictive
8 Depth
8 Story
9 Difficulty
6
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