Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Review
Editor's Note: I wrote this review a long time ago. I think it needs some polish. I still agree with everything I said, however the review itself isn't that well written. I still think I bring out some good points though, so the review can still be helpful to those seeking advise.
While lots of people would think that a game based on the court of the law would be very boring, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a game that is anything but boring. The game could appeal to a group people because it is an adventure game, a genre that some would say has been “dead” for a while now. It is also the first time any game in the series has made its way here to United States. While this may be a remake of the first game for Game Boy Advance, chances are, you have not played that game and this would make a nice introduction to the series, and it is also just a nice change of pace altogether. In this game you play as a Phoenix Wright, a defense attorney, who is just barely getting his career started, which becomes quite evident at the very beginning of the game. He does not appear to know too much of the trade and he seems to have rookie slapped all over him, even in the last case of the game. The entire story of the game is just fantastic thanks to its great cast of funny and engaging characters, the great plot of each of the cases, and all of the many hysterical moments the game will give you. The only time where you will not find yourself smiling while playing the game is when you are stuck with one of the game’s very challenging puzzles.
The gameplay of Phoenix Wright should not be simply overshadowed by the game’s superb storyline; the game is still entertaining when you are not reading text. The very first case is a simple tutorial to how the game works, so not too much could be expected from it. The game basically holds your hand the entire case, which makes it very easy. Do not let that be an initial impression, though; the game proves to get much harder in the next 4 cases, maybe even a little too hard. Before a case you do your investigation; here, you look for clues in each area, and talk with everybody that might know something that could help. You can expect to present lots of evidence to people to get them to tell you information. After a day of investigation, you go to trial with all of the information you have gathered. In court, the prosecutor will call upon a witness. The witness will then give their testimony of the case. Afterwards, you have to cross-examine their testimony, and try to point out a contradiction in the case. This proves more challenging than it sounds; not everything is just going to wave at you and say it is a contradiction. This continues for 3 in-game days until the truth behind each case is finally revealed. The game over system in the game is quite unique. If you present wrong evidence to form a contradiction, or pick a wrong answer when the judge asks you a question you receive a penalty; when you get 5 penalties you lose the case and your client is found guilty. This is what makes the game as hard as it is.
The game does not look too much different from what it looked like on the Game Boy Advance, but that still can't stop you from noticing how great the game looks. The game looks much brighter, crisper, and clearer than it did on the Game Boy hardware. The game's excellent manga style will just leave you in awe, and you can not help but notice how colorful the game is. If there are any complaints, it should only be that the characters could have a few more animations, but even that is forgivable. As for the game's sound, there is not a whole lot to hate. There are a lot of catchy tunes here to like. You can even have the option to say "Objection!" into the microphone. The microphone is not very picky, so if you want to act like Mr. T and being a lawyer at the same time, you can feel free to do so.
If you do not include the first case, the cases are very long. However, this might not become self-evident, as you will feel you blew through all of them so quickly. This is not so much of the game’s fault, as the game is not really that short, but you always feel like they could have added in another case. All five cases in the game should roughly last you about a week. Unfortunately, the game does not offer too much replayibility, but it is nice to look back at the story every once and a while.
If you are looking for something new you really can not go wrong with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. The story alone is enough to warrant a purchase, but it also has very nice and challenging adventure aspects to it that make it much more than a great story. The game will just quite simply leave you with a smile just thinking about. It also stands as one of the best games for the DS, and just quite simply can not be ignored.
