Ace Attorney

[talonmalon333]

The Ace Attorney series is one that I have wanted to make a thread for, for a very long time. I've talked a bit about it from time to time. However, it seems that Spark and I are the only fans of it. I decided to finally just go ahead with this thread anyway in the hopes that it can get some discussion, and because talks of a new one has helped put the series on my mind. Remember that I've wanted to make this thread for a while, and thus that long wait has caused me to have a lot I want to say about it waiting to spill. Here goes.

Ace Attorney is one of those franchises where there aren't any duds. First, you have the original Phoenix Wright trilogy. All three games are excellent, each with things about them to love. Then you have Apollo Justice, which isn't as good, but is very solid. Then, you have Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, which takes the series in a different direction, and recently we finally got a true Phoenix Wright game again subtitled "Dual Destinies". I haven't played Investigations or Dual Destinies yet, but I plan to do that in the near future, and I hear both are quite good. I'd be surprised if they ever manage to top the trilogy, though.

We've had discussions on this forum about video game writing. In fact, just recently, a few of us mentioned how poor some game's stories can be. Even with better written games, like Zelda, the story is good but nothing amazing, and not the selling point. However, with Ace Attorney, if you love the games it's probably because you love the story, because the games make you want to see what happens next or figure out its questions and see the next twist. And I think a large part of that is the tone the games go for. These games are absolutely silly. Just look at pictures of courtroom scenes. The characters look like they are going to actually fight each other. There's a semblance of realism to it because these games follow cases involving killings and courtrooms and whatnot, but how those things are presented is delightfully over the top. And really, the games never try to pretend they are actually realistic. Even though the games are accurate to Japanese courtoom proceedings, much of what happens in these cases could never happen in real life. Or has anyone ever seen a judge getting whipped or told to "shut up" while trying to bring court to an end?

That brings me to the next point. These games are hilarious. Some of the funniest video games I've ever played. It's all in the characters. Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey, the two leads of the series, together are one of my all time favorite video game teams. The way these two work off of each other is comedic gold. Maya comes off as an airhead but eventually you get the sense that she's doing it on purpose. She knows it's her shtick and so she runs with it perfectly. Then you have Detective Gumshoe, the one who's actually not so bright. Even Edgeworth has plenty of cold, dry humor. And don't even get me started on the Judge. He's one of the funniest characters in the series. Really, there are so many funny characters. And at the center of it is Wright himself, who's constantly astounded by the absurdity of what he faces in cases, but occasionally, is the source of it himself. Overall, I'd struggle to think of a game franchise with a cast of characters I like more than Ace Attorney's.

So, as I said, the series has a lighthearted and fun tone to it. But there are moments where it gets dark or serious. And you know, it pulls off those moments just as well as the funny moments. Playing the Phoenix Wright games can send you through a lot of emotions. Each games has four or five different cases. Those cases are usually stand alone, but certain plot elements and characters carry across to other games and games. At the end of each game, you can always expect the finally case to be the standout, but there really aren't any cases in the series that I dislike. This is also one of the only franchises where I care enough about the characters to want to follow them specifically across multiple games, to see what happens to them and how they grow.

Also, the music in these games is always awesome. Always.

There you go. It'd be cool if more people played these games. They are essentially point and click adventure games. You can play them on the Nintendo DS, and they were also released on the original Wii and 3DS virtual shops. To be honest, Ace Attorney is probably my personal favorite Capcom franchise overall and, looking at them currently, it's one of the only things they have left.

[Foggle]

I've been thinking of picking these games up for a long time now. I love what I've seen of the humorous dialogue and quirky storytelling. I'll try to get around to them soon; maybe next time I'm in the mood to play a game for its writing.

[talonmalon333]

I've been thinking of picking these games up for a long time now. I love what I've seen of the humorous dialogue and quirky storytelling. I'll try to get around to them soon; maybe next time I'm in the mood to play a game for its writing.

Awesome! When I played the original Phoenix Wright trilogy games, I played them back to back, and it was really awesome to experience them that way. It also felt natural because of how they are so similar and how they all progress from each other.

[Peanutbutter]

I could have sworn that I'd mentioned here that I'm a fan of the Phoenix Wright series.


Anyway, what Talon said sums up a lot of what's great about the series. The worst Phoenix Wright game is Apollo Justice, which is only good at worst. That says something about how great this series is. The crossover with Professor Layton was good too. What I really like in the series is how well they display every character's flaw in the series. Everybody has a noticeable quirk, or habit, or recognizable trait of some sort. Even the one-shot characters are memorable in some way. Like that crazy patient pretending to be a doctor. Or how about the first villain of Justice for All, Wellington?

[talonmalon333]

Or how about the first villain of Justice for All, Wellington?

Is that the rich kid? He was pretty fun. I will say, though, that was probably my least favorite case in the four games. That's not to say it was bad. But I do think it was kind of a bare bone prologue case. I feel like it wasn't until the third game that they figured out how to write short cases that could be just as compelling as the long, investigation-based cases.

[talonmalon333]

I feel like naming my top five favorite cases in the Phoenix Wright trilogy. I'll be using spoiler tags since these will all be filled with spoilers.

Spoiler

5. Episode 4: Turnabout Beginnings (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations)

One of the shortest cases in the series (the shortest excluding the three game's prologue cases, actually), Turnabout Beginnings gets across a lot in a short period of time. Following Mia on her first case is great, as is the fact that it's also Edgeworth's. But the main thing that sells this case is the ending, when your defendant kills himself on the stand, having realized that his love, Dahlia Hawthorne, the true culprit of the case, never cared about him and was only using him. The series has its dark moments, but nothing on the level of that. It's brutally tragic and creates the only case in the series that ends in utter disaster. Neither the defense nor the prosecutor wins. Everyone loses, and everyone is destroyed. Except for Dahlia, who leaves the courtroom with a smile. As for this character... I had already been a fan of her. She was a great Ace Attorney character who used the series style to its fullest, with an over the top sweet and charming appearance (she literally has butterflies following her) and an equally sweet personality to conceal the fact that she's a criminal. I'd already felt this way... but it was this case where she fully clicked for me. Seeing her essentially push someone into killing themself is the most evil crime crime in the entire series without a doubt, cementing her as Ace Attorney's most evil, despicable killer.  Ultimately, she does get brought to justice in Mia's second case, Turnabout Memories, but the impact of her actions in this case still ring. And that's why it's on the list.

4. Episode 4: Farewell, My Turnabout (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All

I love all three games in the trilogy. But if I had to pick a weakest of the three, I wouldn't have too much trouble naming Justice for All. However, the game's final case absolutely ranks among the series best. It starts off engaging enough. A murder happens, and then Maya is kidnapped by an assassin, who promises to kill her if Wright doesn't get his client off the hook. However, as the investigation goes on, a twist happens that elevates this case to the top. Your client is the killer. He admits it. So we face one of the biggest moral dilemmas the series has ever known. Defend him and rescue Maya, while in the process letting a killer walk free and having an innocent person take the fall in his place? Or get a guilty verdict and let Maya die? It's honestly a very tough decision to make, and neither Wright, nor you the player, can easily make a choice. The case reaches its emotional peak when Wright finds a letter from Maya, who tells him to make sure he gets that guilty verdict and not to worry about her. It's a very sad moment, but her bravery is incredible. Ultimately, Wright and Edgeworth's plan to dodge that bullet creates one of the most intense court sessions in the series, where they basically have to do whatever they can to drag out the session as long as they can in order to buy Gumshoe time to find Maya's whereabouts. The way the case ends is immensely satisfying, where you manage to rescue Maya and get a guilty verdict by turning the assassin against your client. This is a case that does a good job telling one of the series main themes: it's not about winning or losing in court, it's about getting justice.

3. Episode 4: Turnabout Goodbyes (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)

Turnabout Goodbyes was intended as the final case of the original Phoenix Wright. And it serves that purpose perfectly. Not only is it a fantastic case, but it also gives a lot of backstory tying up many of the whole game's lose ends. Edgeworth is accused of murder and Wright has to defend him. That is already a very interesting idea for a story. In it, Wright faces Edgeworth's mentor, the terrible Manfred von Karma, who pushes Wright to his absolute limits. Ultimately, you learn that he's behind everything in this case, both its past era crimes and its present, and to expose him, you must utilize some of the most wonderfully Ace Attorney tactics you could possibly think of. For example, with no where left to turn, Wright cross examines a parrot. He literally cross examines a parrot. And it doesn't just end in total failure. It actually helps his case. Later, to prove von Karma has a bullet in him, Wright must use a metal detector on him. How delightfully absurd is that? This case also works as a finale because it shows how Wright and Edgeworth got to be where they are, and both tie back to von Karma. After all, it was von Karma who trained and inspired Edgeworth to be a prosecutor, which in turn let to Wright deciding to become a defense attorney, making von Karma not only the one who got Edgeworth to where he is now, but also indirectly did the same for Wright. There's some great character development here from not only Wright and Edgeworth, but also Maya. This ultimately leads to a very bittersweet goodbye between Wright and Maya at the very end, which, despite its simplicity, is actually one of the series' most emotional moments. Overall, if this had been the game's last case, it would have been a perfect ending.

2. Episode 5: Rise from the Ashes (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)

Fun fact: The Phoenix Wright trilogy was designed for the GBA and released that way in Japan. It wasn't until years later when it was released in the rest of the world on the Nintendo DS. When this happened, the first game was given a new bonus case which utilized the system's capabilities. And somehow, it was arguably an even better final case than the game's original finale. The new DS gameplay additions work very well, especially a part where you watch a video and have to find important details in it. The main theme of the case is police corruption, reflected by the fact that the culprit is the police chief. It's a pretty heavy concept but the game tackles it perfectly. It also serves as a bridge of sorts linking Edgeworth's story arc of this game with the next. Speaking of Edgeworth, he and Wright have a great role together in this case. Instead of simply being opponents, they basically end this case by teaming up spending the whole court session being awesome together. This case is very long and is filled with twists, along with a wackier cast than any we had seen yet up to this point (one of the characters is seriously a cowboy). The final court session of this case is one of the best and most intense and best in the series, with Wright and Edgeworth going up against the police chief and doing everything in their power to expose him. It's a thrilling conclusion to the first game in the series.

1. Episode 5: Bridge to the Turnabout (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations)

There was never any question for me as to what I would pick as my favorite. This is the final case of what is unquestionably my favorite Phoenix Wright game. It's also the final case of the entire trilogy, and it serves as the perfect closure to the series. It brings back just about every main character in the series and it wraps up everything nicely by tying it all back to the history of the Fey family and bring their story arc to an end. One of the central mysteries, which is that the sweet girl Iris looks identical to Dahlia Hawthorne, is a perfect way to get you invested immediately. Is she Dahlia? And, if so, has she changed? Or is she putting on another facade? Or maybe, it's not even her after all. It's a fantastic mystery that helps push you through to the end, just knowing that the answers will come. Ultimately, the final confrontation between Wright and Dahlia is my personal favorite segment of the entire series, and that's saying something. There is so much emotional there, so much utter hatred, and you want nothing more than to finally defeat her for good. It ultimately ends with an exorcism. This sounds like an utterly ridiculous idea. But after playing through three Phoenix Wright games, and all the silliness you experience, by the time you get to the end of the trilogy you're able to just say "An exorcism? Sure, why not?". But the greatness doesn't just end in Dahlia's defeat. Afterward, Wright must expose Godot as the real killer, who killed in order to save Maya's life. It's a great part because Godot challenges Wright to do it on his own, and the end is basically the point where Wright's character development comes full circle, where he proves himself as the ace attorney that he is. I can't say enough good about this case, nor can I imagine a more perfect way to bring the trilogy to an end.

[close]

[Spark Of Spirit]

Similar games worth trying out: Hotel Dusk: Room 215, 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, and Trace Memory are all worth your time to play through.

Or how about the first villain of Justice for All, Wellington?

Is that the rich kid? He was pretty fun. I will say, though, that was probably my least favorite case in the four games. That's not to say it was bad. But I do think it was kind of a bare bone prologue case. I feel like it wasn't until the third game that they figured out how to write short cases that could be just as compelling as the long, investigation-based cases.

You hated that worse than the circus one? That had to be the single dumbest case in the entire series especially when they were explaining how the victim was killed. My eyes couldn't roll further back in my head if I tried. Then there were the ultra annoying cross-examinations. Ugh.

As for favorites, I like all the games. If you enjoy quirky storytelling and roller-coaster plots, this series is for you.

[talonmalon333]

Similar games worth trying out: Hotel Dusk: Room 215, 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, and Trace Memory are all worth your time to play through.

Or how about the first villain of Justice for All, Wellington?

Is that the rich kid? He was pretty fun. I will say, though, that was probably my least favorite case in the four games. That's not to say it was bad. But I do think it was kind of a bare bone prologue case. I feel like it wasn't until the third game that they figured out how to write short cases that could be just as compelling as the long, investigation-based cases.

You hated that worse than the circus one? That had to be the single dumbest case in the entire series especially when they were explaining how the victim was killed. My eyes couldn't roll further back in my head if I tried. Then there were the ultra annoying cross-examinations. Ugh.

As for favorites, I like all the games. If you enjoy quirky storytelling and roller-coaster plots, this series is for you.

I didn't hate either case. Every case in the series, in my opinion, is at least serviceable.

The circus case was, without a doubt, my least favorite fully fleshed out case of the trilogy (as in, fleshed out in referring to the cases that take place across the span of days and incorporate both court scenes and investigations). However, the location was pretty unique for the series, so that element of it is memorable. It was also the only case in that game where Maya was your assistant. Another thing noteworthy about it was that none of the characters were truly bad. They were all victims of something (though, admittedly, the characters weren't all that memorable beyond that). As for the way that the victim was killed, it was when the acrobat who was in the wheel chair set up some really weird device to injure that circus girl and then ended up killing someone else instead, right? That was certainly strange, but again... this is Ace Attorney. Is it any weirder than someone dying in a restaurant and then the killer reenacting the scene to get a witness in order to accuse an innocent waitress (said killer who, by the way, then went on to put on a terrible Phoenix Wright disguise and acted as him in the court with no one being able to tell it was a clear fake)? The series is absurd. So, by the time I got to the circus case, I was just used to it.

What annoying cross examinations are you referring to?

The rich kid case was fine as a tutorial case. I just think it wasn't as good as the fleshed out cases. Like I mentioned earlier, I think with the first two games the developers didn't yet master creating short cases like this. In the third game, they really got it down.

[talonmalon333]

Actually, the circus case wasn't the only one in the game where Maya was your assistant. She also technically was in the rich kid opening case. But, to be honest, that actually brings me to another issue I took to that case. Even though it was the first case in the game, it took place after the game's second case, which was when Maya and Wright reunited after she left at the end of the first game. To me, this kind of weakened her departure in the first game. That was a really good moment in that game, but suddenly, she's just back, and it's not explained until the second case. And she really doesn't serve a purpose in this case since, even though she is still Wright's assistant, she only appeared once or twice. It would have been better if her appearance here was scrapped and that this was actually the first case of the game, with her return being saved until the her proper first appearance in the second case.

The Ace Attorney series is so well written that, with little things like this, it's only a minor flaw but it just leaves me wondering why it's even there in the first place.

[Spark Of Spirit]

You would get penalized for cross-examining Moe the Clown which made an already irritating character far more annoying.

[Daxdiv]

I hated cross-examining Moe the Clown if only due to the major penalties that went with it. It was like the one of the few cases where pressing the witness, which is a key element I like to do in games if only for the extra dialogue and to get more information, was more of a rage inducing moment and walking into a minefield than anything else. It treated me like I presented the wrong piece of evidence at the wrong statement.

[talonmalon333]

Okay, that was a bad part. And that was indeed an annoying character.

I still can't agree about the victim's death, though.

[talonmalon333]

Has anyone here beaten Ace Attorney Investigations?

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yes, a while back.

Still annoyed Capcom never brought over the sequel.

[talonmalon333]

The game's final case was such a disappointment. The first time in the series I ever felt that way (the circus case might have been weak, but I didn't go into it with expectations, nor was it the finale in its game), too. I don't know why they pushed aside the game's main villain at the end and then replaced her with a character who was barely even a cameo earlier and thus made no impact when their villainous role was revealed, and then to have a dragged out confrontation with said character that would just never end.