Saving Data~
The Phoenix Wright series prides itself with storytelling that takes place in and around the crime scenes and court of law during each case. Much like games like Trauma Center or visual novels, the game uses a very Japanese presentation, that being a simplistic character over a background 2D style with a text overlay. The game's story will take precedence over the graphics, as the lawyer Phoenix Wright you will be taking mostly innocent victims of circumstance and protecting them from certain death at the hands of... an airhead judge?
However because of the translation from Japanese to English it's hard to tell if the game was designed for children to play because of the facepalm worthy (read: ugh) jokes and character names, or if it were designed for adults because of its sheer length and focus on making the player think through the crime to present evidence and find the truth. Occasionally a genuinely funny joke will come through, and a character name will be appropriately translated to really lend to the overall creativity of the game. So it balances itself to be a very all-ages inclusive presentation aside from the topic of murder that is the centerpiece of the game.
Unlike the original Phoenix Wright on the DS, there is no bonus chapter that actually uses the DS to its full capacity. So you can't explore your evidence in a 3D view to see what's under it and so forth. Neither will there be any videos to explore frame by frame for contradictions. Instead the only features added are the ability to present profiles of the people you've met, and the ability to see if people are hiding secrets by use of Maya's Magatama. By presenting evidence while Maya's Magatama is in use you can reveal secrets that are important to your case.
Unfortunately, because of Maya's Magatama's use of the ever-present meter that indicates how many chances you get to present evidence, in-case you present the wrong evidence (and you will, a lot, often to the death of your client unless you're using a strategy guide) you have even less chances to work with if you mess up this time around. So what does that amount to? Saving, and lots of it. The game has to suspend itself when it saves, so you'll often put a break in the action just to save so you can try out pieces of evidence without being hassled. While being an all-ages game, Phoenix Wright does have a heck of a difficulty, but aside from all that it's pretty satisfying to play through and complete.
I'd say it's a good game.
