This is one of my favorite video games, I have played every. single. one! I also played both Investigations games and even played all of them more than 3 times due to how good this series is! Dual Destinies was the first video game I got on my 3DS, In 2014 Ace Attorney Trilogy came out for the 3DS, it includes the first 3 games. Though one thing I didn't know is that even if you don't own a DS or 3DS, you can still enjoy some of the games with your cell phone.
Main series
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2001 Game Boy Advance & 2005 DS)
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney : Justice for All ( 2002 Game Boy Advance & 2007 DS)
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney : Trials and Tribulations ( 2004 Game Boy Advance & 2007 DS)
- Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney ( 2008 DS)
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies ( 2013 3DS)
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice (Released in NA and EU in September 2016)
Side Games
- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth ( 2010 DS)
- Gyakuten Kenji 2 ( 2011 DS Japan only but a fan-made English patch of the game has been developed under the name Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth: Prosecutor's Path.)
- Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ( 2012 & 2014 3DS)
- Dai Gyakuten Saiban: Naruhodō Ryūnosuke no Bōken ( 2015 3DS Japan only but a petition for a western release was created by a western fan.)
Summary
Genre - visual novel / adventure hybrid
Developer - Capcom
Rating - T for teen ex for Dual Destinies which is rated M for mature.
Metascore - Trilogy: 81, Apollo Justice: 78, Dual Destinies: 81, Investigations: 78, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: 79.
User Score - Trilogy: 9.0, Apollo Justice: 8.2, Dual Destinies: 8.3, Investigations: 8.4, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: 8.5
Main series
In the main series you follow a rookie defense attorney named Phoenix Wright (Ryūichi Naruhodō in Japan) he fights for his clients innocence until the bitter end. The setting takes place in a courtroom loosely resembling that of the Japanese legal system, where you use investigative skills, cross-examinations and evidence.
Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
In this side series you get to play as genius prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth (I FUCKING LOVE THIS GUY!!! *screams like a little girl* ^^) with him you collect evidence, use logic and arguments to investigate crime scenes.
How to play
In this game evidence is everything! Which you will use to help get your clients a not guilty verdict. You collect them when you go to crime scenes, certain places, and the courtroom. When you collect evidence that's when they will be stored into your court record/organizer, character profile information is also stored inside it.
At some points you will have to present evidence to prove if a statement someone said is wrong or if you can back up your own claim. Each time you do this you risk getting a penalty, this is a punishment given out when you breaking a rule or present irrelevant evidence. The penalty shows up as a physical form that damages your "health" meter, this is called a Confidence Gauge or the Truth Gauge depending on context. The amount of damage you take depends on the judge, this will come various degrees of severity. Though the level of it all comes down to the seriousness of the attorney's accusation. Once the green gauge hits 0% it's game over and your client is found guilty.
Once you finish hearing the witness testimony you will be given the chance to do a cross-examination, you take this time to question the witness and expose the lies that are in their testimony. Try to compare the witnesses testimony to the evidence you have and expose their contradictions. Once you've found the evidence that contradicts what the person has said, present it and shove it in their face! In the game each time you present evidence Phoenix will yell out either....
or
You can either click the present button which will make phoenix yell those 2 words or you can yell it yourself. There is a mic that allows you to do that in the game. Once you yell it he will say it as well but sometimes it might take a couple of seconds. If you have problems finding any kind of contradiction you can press each statement. Sometimes pressing can help you to uncover new information about the case. Each time you want to press someone either click the press button or yell in the mic...
Once you find enough contradiction to break the persons testimony, you will be one step closer to the truth and proving your clients innocence. If you still don't fully understand the game here's a song that basically sums up the entire game.
Characters
Phoenix wright / Ryuuichi Naruhodou (He's always getting picked on)
Miles Edgeworth / Reiji Mitsurugi (SERIOUSLY THIS GUY IS AWESOME!!!!)
Maya Fey / Mayoi Ayasato (Never enjoyed this character)
Pearl Fey / Harumi Ayasato (Cute but mostly meh)
Apollo Justice / Housuke Odoroki (I haven't enjoyed this character)
Dick Gumshoe / Keisuke Itonokogiri (I didn't like him at first but he becomes better with time)
Mia Fey / Chihiro Ayasato
Judge / Saibancho (He's some what of an airhead but always gives the right verdict)
Franziska von Karma / Mei Karuma (Tough but soft on the inside and I wish I could play as her.)
Kay Faraday / Mikumo Ichijou (Not in main series but in investigations)
(I FUCKING LOVE THIS CHICK! SHE'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!!)
Final Verdict!
Again, I seriously love this series like crazy and after this take I'm going to replay the whole thing again! My boyfriend is the one who introduced me to this series, though he didn't think I would enjoy it too much due to all the reading. I didn't know what to expect when I first started playing this but it peaked my curiosity so I had to give it a try. After completing the first game I was hooked! The level of enjoyment I ended up having while playing it caught my boyfriend off guard. After that I begged him to please send me the rest and any others connected to the series. The second you play this game you can't help but lose yourself in the script due to how well they wrote it. The characters are colorful and you meet a variety of them. Some are badass and others leave you scratching your head and thinking, "damn they're seriously bat shit crazy." Still, no matter what you can't help but love most of them, even with their weirdness.
In other games I've played, I've seen different tutorials, sadly a lot of them tend to not be clear and will make it hard for people to really get into the actual game. With Ace Attorney they do a perfect job when introducing new players to the game. The layout makes it easy to navigate with just needing to point and tap on what you're wanting to click on. During the first chapter, you do feel like a rookie that's on their first trial. Every other trial that follows after that fits together well and you slowly understand, what it truly means to be an ace attorney.
I hope y'all enjoyed my review and please let me know if you wish I could have explained something better. I hope I did a better job on this review than I did with the first one I tried and to end this take I do it Ace Attorney style!
Most Helpful Opinions