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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

 
 
semioticrobotic
01:25 / 11.09.06
I just had to see what it was all about.

In Phoenix Wright, players assume the role of the title charatcer, a defense lawyer fresh out of law school. The object of the game is to win trials by invoking the proper evidence at the right points in witness' testimonies in order to point out inconsistencies in their narratives and discredit them. Players collect evidence through some pre-trial interviews and investiagations, and "press" witnesses during their testimonies in order to ascertain the right moments to invoke this evidence.

Invoking the evidence is the most fun, of course, because this part of the game is voice-activated. When a player notices an inconsitency in witness testimony, ze should hold the Y button and shout "Objection!"

[External image]

This stops the dialogue and presents evidence. However, if no inconsistency can be found, Phoenix loses favor with the judge. If this happens too often, Phoenix loses the case.

The videogame is extensively narrative-driven (with some mighty fine writing, I might add), so button mashers might start yawning. But it's exceedingly fun to read witness testimony with a fine-toothed comb and strategically put together a defense of a client. The game is divided into "Chapters," each of which appears to lead into the next (I haven't beaten it yet).

This game from Capcom seemed to be everywhere I looked -- except store shelves. Since it's release in the States, the game has been cobbled up quicker than Capcom expected. The beginning of September saw the game's fifth run hit stores. The best synopsis of this activity is from the Wikipedia:

This game was very hard to find in stores shortly after its release because of a shortage due to unexpectedly high demand. Capcom eventually decided to ship more units to stores in March 2006. They later issued a new shipment in June 2006, which sold out in a week's time. An August 2006 shipment was announced and, as of this writing, copies from this shipment can still be found in stores.

And IGN provides this brief history of the franchise:

Known as Gyakuten Saiban DS: Yomigaeru Gyakuten in Japan Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for Nintendo DS game is the first game in the Japanese series making its debut in the United States for the dual-screen handheld (based on part 3 from the GBA edition).

If you have the cash and won't feel too guilty about the huge amounts of your time this game will consume, I suggest picking it up.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
13:03 / 11.09.06
Not usually a Nintendo person, but I'm a big fan of games that do something different, especially if they're fun. That sounds mental, to be honest. Especially the shouting "OBJECTION!" part. I could maybe get into that.
 
 
Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!
15:25 / 11.09.06
Not usually a Nintendo person, but I'm a big fan of games that do something different, especially if they're fun.

Stoatie you make head hurt, that's practically an oxymoron!
 
 
nedrichards is confused
15:49 / 11.09.06
it's super, super good. exactly the kind of game people complain doesn't get made any more. well, now it does. an interactive story of the highest order.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
15:58 / 11.09.06
Stoatie you make head hurt, that's practically an oxymoron!

Yeah, I know. It's what I do, unfortunately.
 
 
Spatula Clarke
16:31 / 11.09.06
I got a lot out of this, but it has a couple of problems. The first is that bits of evidence won't appear out of the pre-scripted order, so you can be left wandering around at times. Not a big issue, but it seems to be more of a frequent occurence in this game than others of the same genre.

The other is similar - in a couple of the cases you can see the solution before the writers expected you to. A bit frustrating to find yourself knowing what you want to say in order to close the case, but trying to figure out which dialogue options will get you there. Reverse engineering the solution - second-guessing the designers. And if you get it wrong right at the end, the save system means that you've got to go through all the motions again in order to get to the place you stuffed it up.

Full of character, though. Capcom have got another of the earlier GBA games in the series being translated across to the DS for release soon, it's been such a success.

While we're on a DS point 'n' click adventure game trip: Another Code/Trace Memory. Recommended it before now in the 'What videogames' thread, but thought I'd chuck another pimp in for it here, seeing as it does a similar thing. Lovely story and puzzles that make the most imaginative use of the DS to date.
 
 
semioticrobotic
00:32 / 12.09.06
While we're on a DS point 'n' click adventure game trip: Another Code/Trace Memory. Recommended it before now in the 'What videogames' thread, but thought I'd chuck another pimp in for it here, seeing as it does a similar thing. Lovely story and puzzles that make the most imaginative use of the DS to date.

What timing you have. That is the game I just finished before my forray into Phoenix. You're right, Randy: Trace Memory deserves all the pimpage it can muster. A powerful story that practically made me gasp at the final twist, coupled with some really outside-the-box DS maneuvers make that one a winner.

Thanks for the heads-up regarding some of the more frustrating Phoenix Wright moments. I'm sure I'll be hitting them soon enough.
 
 
Sylvia
04:40 / 04.12.06
I just started playing it a week ago and I'm on the last "bonus" chapter right now. I lent it AND the DS to a friend so he could try it out. He'd better burn through it as fast as I did because I already regret not having it in my little hands.

I'm basically seconding everyone else's comments. Fun game with a surprisingly strong narrative. I particularily like when Phoenix's inner dialogue complains that everyone he meets is either weird or insane because he is generally correct.

I also dug SPOILEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERS -
























How Edgeworth's faking evidence came back to bite him on the ass in the last episode. A lot of other stories would just shrug it off as "corrupt legal system, he's an antagonist, what can you do" and forget about it but here, it really costs him. (I haven't finished the last episode yet, mind you, but it's pretty clear there's departmental friction over his methods) Horray for actual consequences!






































OK End of spoilers

Love the character design as well. Everyone's eye-catching, in one way or another, and as the characters that pop up are what you're looking at 80% of the time that's a good thing.

If you obsessively hone in on extras for anything you like, as I do, this page has some translated official manga. It's pretty adorable (Look under Media)

I can't wait until Phoenix Wright: Justice For All is released over here.

As for Trace Memory, that was an interesting and in parts quite creative use of the DS's physical design. Weird as it sounds I can't help but wish Nintendo would put out a horror title with similar gameplay though. I'm really jonesing for portable horror-adventure that I can play on a small, intimately-close screen while huddled in my bed. I know the PSP is going to get a Silent Hill game but A) I don't have the PSP and B) I have no idea when it'll be released and C) I sort of know what the deal with SH is, already, a fresh franchise would be nice.
 
 
wicker woman
06:59 / 18.02.08
Bumping this to note that I finally picked up a DS, and this game along with it. To be honest, I was hoping for a previously played copy of the New Super Mario Bros. game, but alas, it was not to be found. That, combined with having heard nothing but good about the Phoenix Wright games, led to my grabbing it up.

I would second (third? Fourth? eh...) all good things that have been said so far, and only add a small complaint. The game does get a bit Maniac Mansion at times, in that I've found myself constantly clicking through various pieces of evidence to present, only to finally hit on it and go "Huh? That was it??"

For instance, during the 2nd trial (will try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible), when the witness starts talking about having seen the victim dodge the first blow and then run off to the right, it seemed pretty obvious to me that the floor plans, showing how limited the view of the office was, should've been sufficient to screw up her testimony, or at least advance the story to where Edgeworth would offer up his latest bit of deus ex machina.

But still, really, really good game. Phoenix getting smacked in the face with the wig was great...
 
 
Terrance
05:18 / 20.02.08
IGN just reviewed Appolo Justice: Ace Attorney, the latest in the series. It's been around in Japan for quite a while now, but the English version is finally out. IGN's given it 8.3/10. Not bad.

Article here.