Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

The Good
In the near future, a new court system has been brought about. People are guilty until proven innocent, the trial begins the day after the crime, and a verdict must be reached within three days of trial. Not an easy time to be a defense attorney. Playing as rookie attorney Phoenix, you'll investigate various murders and defend your client in court. Within each case you'll go back and forth between the two modes, with more segments of each in the later longer cases.

Investigations involve traveling between the available areas, asking questions of the people there, and investigating the areas for evidence or other clues. As you gain new knowledge, new possibilities open until you gather all that's necessary to proceed to the trial phase.

The trial is the real center of drama. After the prosecution introduces a witness and they present their testimony, you get to cross-examine the witness. At any time you can press them for more details. Your main goal is to find inconsistencies between their testimony and the facts (or their previous testimony), which Phoenix can then present with a righteous "OBJECTION!" If you're wrong, a mark is counted against you; too many and your client will be found Guilty. If you're right, the witness will try to correct their story, and the cross-examination will continue. Eventually you'll either get your client found Not Guilty, or at least introduce enough question that the judge will allow more investigation to occur.

Controls are pretty simple. Ace Attorney was originally a GBA game, so everything can still be controlled with the d-pad and buttons, but you can also do everything very conveniently with the stylus (my preferred method). You can even hold a button to use the microphone in court, shouting "Hold it!" to press a witness or "Objection!" to present a contradiction. Unless you're by yourself and want to wear out your voice you probably won't bother, but it's a fun novelty.

The exception to this DS rule is the last case, which was specifically added to the DS version. In this case they'll take greater advantage of the touch screen and advanced graphics capabilities by letting you dust for prints with a stylus and blow the dust away with the microphone, and twist 3D objects around with the stylus. It's also the longest case in the game, giving the game as a whole a pretty significant length.

The gameplay mechanics seem pretty simple, and they are. Luckily they're used on top of fun stories, characters, and just plain writing, which is what you'll leave the game remembering. From the names (Detective Dick Gumshoe and Ms. Oldbag for instance) to comments made by your assistant during your investigations, to the inept comments made by the judge, to even the varied styles used (one witness speaks in 1337) reading this title will leave you entertained--which is a good thing, since you'll be doing it most of the time. I actually found myself laughing out loud occasionally. You'll get attached to the characters, and assisting in their triumphs (or stopping a murderer) makes you feel pretty great.

Another bonus about the good story-telling and simple gameplay is that this is a good game for people who aren't into very complicated games. When it comes to handheld game systems my mom primarily likes to play puzzle, card, or board games, but as a bit of a nut for CSI, Law & Order, and murder mystery novels, I thought she might get a kick out of Phoenix Wright. I was right. She got stuck a few times and called on me to assist, but she never felt over her head.

The Bad
If you demand a lot of interaction, this game might not be for you; it's very much on rails. You'll investigate and learn certain things in a certain order, until you've completed the game's objectives and move to the trial. At the trial you'll have to press the right statements and present the right piece of evidence at the right time. It may sometimes seem as if more than one piece is applicable, but it's only expecting one. You can at any time save the game to prevent losing progress and having to restart from the beginning of that day's trial, but repeatedly guessing can get pretty old if you're not sure what to do.

Other than seeing the story again, there's little to be gained by replaying this game. You're not going to find any new side areas you missed the first time around, or find an even better piece of evidence to use in trial. The most you can hope to gain is to investigate something you didn't see the first time around and get another funny comment from your assistant, or catch some other stray bit of text you'd previously missed. At least when replaying a case, though, you'll be able to scroll through the text much more quickly.

Though I earlier praised the game's writing and localization, there is one aspect I don't like. The Japanese version of the game was set in Japan, but in the English version it says it takes place in the USA. Considering the game contains things like nearby movie studios specializing in samurai shows and pre-packaged sushi meals, it rings false every time the text suggests they're in California.

As I mentioned earlier, the game was originally for GBA. Most of it hasn't been very changed, so the graphics and sound are under DS par. The designs aren't bad, but you'll notice some dithering and wish a few more colors were used. The music works, but you might wish for better samples.

Warning that there's only one save per game card. After beating a case you can jump to the beginning of it at any time, but don't expect to let someone else start their adventure while you're still in the middle of yours.

The Bottom Line
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is like an interactive comic. As someone who enjoys interactive and non-interactive entertainment, I don't mind a blurring of the lines if it's done well, and I believe it is here, though it's easy to get stuck and frustrated.