Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: - Who Knew Court Could Be So Exciting

When the DS was first released I was expecting a lot of new kinds of games to be output onto the platform. One of the more oddball releases was a port of a GBA game that had never made it out of Japan. Did I mention that this particular game happens to be a story driven lawyer simulation? That's a difficult idea to swallow for most anyone, and it wasn't until only recently that I picked it up. Does Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney deliver the goods? Read on to find out.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

You the player are given the role of Phoenix Wright, who is known as "Nick" by his friends. Despite what the title of the game clearly states, you are no ace. You begin the game as a rookie defense attorney working on his first case. Thankfully your mentor, Mia Fey, is along for the ride to teach you the ins and outs of defending your clients. Even in the darkest hour, Phoenix Wright always believes in his clients; even when they won't believe in themselves.

The game takes place over five cases. In each of these you will defend a single client in the face of a not so bright judge, and many an abrasive prosecutor. Each of these cases involves a murder having taken place, and it's up to you to prove each of clients innocent. Sound easy enough?

There are two separate modes of gameplay. The first takes place outside of the courtroom. This usually has you investigating crime scenes, gathering evidence, and speaking with those involved. Though you will probably spend most of your time in these segments, they aren't the meat of the experience.

The next of these modes has you fighting in court for your client. You are given two main options during each trial; you can either press a witness during testimony or present evidence which contradicts what they have said. This will often lead to new testimony and through these tactics you will follow a winding path which will eventually prove the defendant innocent.

Trials are easily the more entertaining branch of gameplay. Gathering evidence is fine but it can drag on and on at times. T'were it not for such masterful writing and fun characters these segments would be completely unfun.

Most of these cases will take place over the course of three days. On average they consist of three trials, and three investigative sequences. There are exceptions (the first and last cases) but this is what you'll be stuck with for the most part.

To help you keep track of evidence and characters you are given access to a Court Record at all times. This allows you to review what has already been proven and it lets you double check evidence to make sure of it's pertinence. This is a useful tool and a very welcome feature.

Courtroom segments are surprisingly action packed. It may sound a little weird, using such a term to describe a trial, but there's a ton going on. The camera swirls around the courtroom as both the defense and prosecution object and interject, and at times things move at a very fast pace. The overly dramatic camera, music, and writing all blend together to create a very fun and exciting atmosphere.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney isn't without it's problems though. First of all, despite the kind of game this is, the story is terribly linear. Each piece of evidence has a set purpose, and though other evidence may seem to fit at times, it surprisingly doesn't. What makes this especially frustrating is that you can only make so many mistakes in a trial before your client is declared guilty, and once that happens, you are forced to try again from the beginning.

What's more is that there is only one way for each trial to go. You can't approach a subject from any different angle because there's only one set outcome. This takes a lot of potential away from the experience, and also renders this game as more of a story than a simulation.

Story is a very key element here. Each case is surprisingly interesting with a rollercoaster ride of drama and more plot twists than you can bang a gavel at. The writing is absolutely splendid, and paints each of the colorful characters in a very fun way. There was a lot of love put into developing the story in this game, and the localization is top notch. This is easily Phoenix Wright's greatest strength, and what ultimately makes it such an entertaining ride.

Graphically the game is a Gameboy Advance game. That's not a bad thing, but it would have been nice to have everything in a higher resolution. The characters are all drawn in typical anime style, but because they feature only a set number of expressions and gestures the animation can be repetitive. Backgrounds, both in and out of court are a bit blurry, but I imagine this was intended to make evidence and characters stand out better. The most visually impressive parts of the game are the sequences that show the murders actually happening. Overall it's a decent looking game but they really should have stepped it up a notch.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney features a surprisingly catchy soundtrack. During the investigative sequences the music ranges from 'okay' to 'not so great', but the courtroom themes are a different story. The different trial themes are quite catchy, and many of them rely on fast synth beats making for something that sounds like it belongs in a fighting game. The sound effects are decent, but the real joy is in the voice samples as the characters shout "Objection!" or "Take That!".

Controls are decent, but not truly optimized for the touch screen. You can't get by in the game using the buttons exclusively, but using the touch screen often feels awkward. This is a problem that should have been worked out much better. If you opt to rely most on the buttons you will need to take advantage of the DS' microphone to literally shout out your objections, provided you aren't too shy to do so in public or wherever you're playing. Overall the controls could use a lot more tweaking, here's to hoping Phoenix Wright 3 turns out better in this regard.

Final Recommendation
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a surprisingly fun and clever game that will test your memory and ability to apply data. Though it has numerous shortcomings, these are nowhere near enough to take away any of the fun. This is easily one of the best games out on the Nintendo DS, and I'm disappointed that it took me so long to try it out.