I'm lawyer so I have to start this review saying that's not how a court works and you'll never see a lawyer on the field looking for clues.

I know the game doesn't try to be realistc but I think they lost a really good chance to be more real. I'm not a huge fan of paranormal part on the plot. They should have focus on a lawyer trying to start his carrear in a very import trial.

The game is also to long and we lost a lot of time on the field looking for clues. The fun part is the trial and we have to wait a lot to get to this point.

The trial is very fun but you save the game often, unless you don't see a problem to play again 30 minutes of something that you already did.

I was expecting to really see consequences if I fail. My client should go to the jail if I wasn't good enough. They lost a good chance to do that.

The good parts are amazing but there are something that made me fell bored on the gameplay.

I'm not the biggest visual novel fan, but this game is really good. The beginning case is a great tutorial that does a good job of explaining how to play the game and introducing its unique cast of characters. All of the other cases have interesting stories and plenty of twists and turns that will keep you guessing on who is guilty. The highlights of the game for me were the Steel Samurai case as it was a fun, goofy case that is a contrast to the more serious ones and Edgeworth's case as it had me constantly wondering who the culprit was and how I could prove Edgeworth's innocence. Rise from the Ashes was also a solid case, but I felt like it lasted a bit too long. In conclusion, this is a fantastic first entry to the series and game in general. Definitely need to play the rest of the games in the series.

despite being a pretty big vn fan, ace attorney was a series i hadn't planned on getting into initially because i never found the premise of the games all too interesting and my only knowledge of it came from occasionally playing attorney online with a few friends. however given that two people who mean a lot to me in my life had previously recommended it to me, i figured it was high time to give the series a shot and despite not expecting much, i'm very pleased to say i'm glad i did ! what i've found was not only a compelling legal drama but also just an overall well crafted and often rewarding vn experience that i think will stick with me for quite a while and has only made me all the more excited to check more of the series out !

from its first case, ace attorney had such a great energy to its presentation and case premise that just drew me in pretty quickly. i always love when games contextualize their tutorials to fit within the game they're presented in and the tutorial here is great example of characterization for our main character phoenix and helps to ease in the player as well. the first case is phoenix's first as a defense attorney so it only makes sense here that someone would have to be there to help him figure things out as well as YOU the player ! it's tiny little details like this here that are largely the strength of this vn as a whole, from the way it recontextualizes the presentation of evidence in court and outside of court as a meaningful way to more properly immerse the player in the world of ace attorney and place you directly at the forefront of crucial gameplay decisions during the trials just makes for a continuously engaging experience !

the gameplay here, all things considered, is pretty simple but its that accessibility that makes the game all the more carried by the strength of its writing. the gameplay might be a little too straightforward in its presentation but maybe that's okay ! the real meat of this experience are the cases themselves after all with each premise being pretty well written and engrossing as a whole as each mystery while obvious at times still remains captivating. often at times in a mystery when i find out who the killer was i often at times either feel less engaged given the main intrigue of most of these mysteries largely centering on the identity of the perpetrator but ace attorney does a great job of making not only the " whodunit " of the cases interesting as well but the " whydunit " and " howdunit " all the more enticing given the enjoyable writing behind most of it. finding out how they did it and what connects them to the crime committed form the puzzle element of this particular vn and i feel the game does a great job of gradually amplifying difficulty given the gameplay loop being entirely based on spotting contradictions and connecting the dots with evidence. the game also does a great job at rewarding the player for thinking outside the box and making you feel smart for finding contradictions as most puzzle solutions never really feel too obtuse. the cases here for the most part are really consistent quality wise in being really enjoyable and even if one case in particular overstays its welcome towards the end ( looking at YOU turnabout samurai ) the writing here is simply too charming to be completely miffed with what is overall still a really enjoyable case as well. sure the gameplay loop is repetitive due to its simplicity but ace attorney does such a satisfying job of making all these elements click that the overall experience is what i can only describe as a series of " aha ! " moments back to back.

with that in mind, i'd also like to add that the soundtrack in this game goes ABSOLUTELY HARD !!!!!! oh my god are there a ton of tracks in here that i could gush about for hours but for the sake of this review already being pretty long i'll save you the music analysis and just say that the soundtrack does a great job at amplifying the intensity of some moments really well. needless to say, it gets pretty hype at times and even though the same tracks are all used pretty often their impact isn't really lost with the repetition and often amplify the enjoyment of certain moments because of what they symbolize within the experience. i don't think there's a single time where i didn't smile hearing " objection " play and rightfully so ! each of the tracks presented within are equally catchy in their own right and their repetition only adds on to the charm !

i'd also like to take this time to address the localization which i can only sum up as some of the best i've seen for a series in a while if not one of the best i've ever seen. as someone involved with translation i'd like to think i'm pretty well versed in the nuances and difficulties that come with localizing media it's really great to see such a respectful treatment that still manages to keep all the charm and humor of the series intact. the name changes are pretty similar in vein with the original japanese script as i played this cross referencing both and the way the jokes are preserved are pretty neat with a lot of the puns and jokes being equally as witty and funny in both versions i like to think the integrity of the game's original script is pretty well maintained here. also as someone who appreciates a good dad joke once in a while, it's pretty easy for me to say i'm a big fan of the humor in this as a whole and i found myself laughing pretty often due to the absurdity of the situations the game presented alongside the numerous quote worthy quips from its eccentric ensemble of characters.

anyways, did i like phoenix wright ace attorney ? nope, not at all. i couldn't do that much of a disservice to this game to simply quantify my feelings as just a simple emotion such as " liking it " because i LOVED it ! it's simple yet enticing and that's one of my favorite aspects of it. to think i put it off initially because of its outward appearance is something i deeply regret given how much fun i had with this title and how it's probably one of my favorite experiences i had so far this year and it's safe to to say i hope to make up for it with binging the rest of the series. despite having only played one game so far i think i'll be looking forward to seeing phoenix again time and time again. if i had to describe how the series has affected me since in " eight words or less " i'd simply say " ace attorney has saddled me with ... unnecessary feelings." i reckon that edgeworth guy would know a thing or two about them as well ;) stepladder / 10

So, a preface before we begin here: I had never played a visual novel or even text-based adventure game before Ace Attorney. I was very much turned off by the idea of sifting through hundreds if not thousands of lines of text for tens of hours. However, through a combination of being naturally interested in the premise, hearing good things about the series, having one of my favourite Youtubers also play through it at the time and a bundle of it and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, I bit the bullet one day in the middle of August last year and grabbed it. And you know what? It was one of the best decisions of my entire life.

Firstly, before ANYTHING ELSE, we have to talk about the characters because holy mother of Mia are they fantastic. Maya is absolutely precious and goes through a very satisfying arc that is actually shown off to you as you progress rather than implied off screen like many other games would do, Larry is an absolute idiot (but the lovable kind of idiot you know?) who, despite it, is still very compassionate for the people he cares about, Edgeworth is probably the most interesting character I've ever seen in a video game, having layers of his character peeled back through every case he's in, culminating in the absolute brilliance that is Case 4 and even bloody Phoenix is one of the most determined, likable and even at points hysterical protagonists I've ever had the pleasure of playing as. Every character is great though and that's in no small part to the wonderful animation on display.

For being (when you break them down) simple static images, each and every character is full of life and charm. From the delightfully cartoonish courtroom expressions of Phoenix and Edgeworth, to the bonkers mannerisms of some of the witnesses to the wonderfully illustrated progression in thought of the villains from cocky confidence to snivelling sweating, it's absolutely fantastic stuff. It just goes to show that just because you don't have a big budget, doesn't mean you have to skimp out on animation quality (an addage that the rest of the games in this series follow to a tee).

Something that I personally look for in games that can either make or break my enjoyment of them is the music. If music in a game is good, it can vastly improve my experience and leave lasting memories that come flooding back whenever I listen to it again. So what is the music like in Ace Attorney? It's not good: it's absolutely phenomenal. The music is finely crafted to come in at just the perfect time to give the scene it's applied to the perfect amount of either humour, tension or even heartbreak. And listing out every song I like would just be listing out the entire damn OST at that point but my favourites definitely include Maya Fey's Theme, Cornered 2001, Steel Samurai and Investigation ~ Core 2001.

And I haven't even gotten to the gameplay yet which, like literally everything else, is great. You play in 2 phases: Investigation and Trial. Investigation is all about exploring the surrounding crime scene, gleaming new clues and talking with witnesses or people related to the crime at hand. Trial then takes the action to the courtroom where you listen to witness testimony, press their statements, find contradictions whilst all the while dealing with whatever BS Edgeworth (and a certain other someone) throws at you during it. Whilst from a description they may seem a bit boring, the environments you'll be navigating in the Investigation segments (even if just through clicking inputs) are varied and detailed, making it the right amount of obvious so that you'll be inquisitively scouring each and every scene for either clues, evidence or even just little pieces of inner monologue from Phoenix. And then when it comes to the trials, it gives you everything you need to take down your witnesses' statements, you just need to know how the pieces fit together. Sometimes the answer is immediately obvious just from the first run-through alone and other times it requires some thorough pressing to get where you need to be but when the dialogue during said examinations is as good as it is, you'll be wanting to press every single statement just to hear it. It may occasionally require you to think crazy (heh) in order to to solve some puzzles but compared to other games in the series, this one is much more lenient being the first and all.

All of this, combined with the brilliant DLC case, Rise from the Ashes, included with the DS release (and all subsequent releases), should be more than sufficient evidence to show that this game, to me at least, is an utter masterpiece for taking the limitations it was made under and delivering an experience like nothing else because of it. This is one of my all time favourite games ever made and I doubt there'll be many objections to that statement once you play it for yourself.

Sometimes, revisiting the first game in a series that you've played in full can flip your perspective on how you feel about it. I revisited Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney rather quickly after completing the entire Ace Attorney series, which wrapped up in The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve. I wanted to see if all my journey through this series would make me think differently about the one that started it all. But I'm glad to say, even after seeing everything this series had to offer, this game is still absolutely amazing.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, to me, is a timeless game. 21 years after it's initial release, it still feels as relevant and memorable as ever. Even after NINE more games releasing, this first entry still stands strong in terms of writing, gameplay, and presentation.
Presentation
Talk about a charmingly wonderful game in terms of looks. The way characters are animated takes advantage of the importance of key frames in character animation. The environments and still images for cutscenes are simple, but appealing. There's a certain nostalgic look to this game, it's hard to explain. The strong, but simple art style gives this title such a large appeal in my opinion.
Music
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is very humble and simple when it comes to the soundtrack, but that isn't a bad thing. Most tunes are rather short, but extremely catchy to compensate. It's a soundtrack I could go back to anyday, it' so charming and lovable.
Gameplay
While later games would add more mechanics to aid in your search of the truth, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is down to the basics of series gameplay. You can press witnesses and present evidence during witness testimonies, and in some cases, present or answer a question when asked on the spot during an intense moment in a trial. Investigations are simple too, you can examine environments and talk to people related to the crime to gather more information for your case. Coming to the trial with all the evidence you gathered and making use of it never gets old. I love just presenting the (w)right thing and making the witness tick. While it's very basic compared to later entries, it still encapsulates what makes these games fun.
Characters
I love these characters. I love Phoenix, I love Maya, I love Edgeworth, I love Gumshoe, I love Ema, I love almost everyone in this cast. Of course I hate the villains, but that's the point! These characters just feel engaging and deep, and the way they are written is so charming.
Conclusion
I love Ace Attorney. Even nearly 2 years after I've gotten into this series, I have never gotten tired of it. My first review on this site wayyy back in like, March 2021 was actually of this game. I kinda cringe looking back at that review, it felt very stale and lacked personality in my opinion. I wanted to write this review just to show my love for this game and series in general. So I felt making this my 100th review would be appropriate, especially when my last review was on The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve. Ace Attorney really helped me during a rough time in my life, as cliche as that sounds, but I do feel it has made me improve as a person. Revisiting this game has made me love it even more, and without a doubt, Ace Attorney is my favorite video game series of all time. That's not even a contest.

going back to the very first ace attorney (well, the ds post/remake - which is the one i'll be reviewing here) was a really enjoyable time. i debated which version of the game i'd like to play, but considering the japanese text as i understand it is every bit as wordplay heavy as the english localization, and my japanese is a lot more literal at this stage of my education, i decided to stick with the familiar localized script this time around.

the localization, i'll admit, is kind of a mixed bag. i'll have to go back and play this in japanese eventually but overall the writing felt very... kiddish? ace attorney sort of feels like an 80s shounen jump gag manga at times, where yes, you do want to see phoenix succeed, but the plot's reliance on gags and "WOAH SO CRAZY" ass-pulls makes most victories feel a little unsatisfying? i mean you could really argue that a good half of the cases here aren't really won by phoenix attaining any skills as a lawyer - he doesn't really have an arc, as some have said - and it feels like his sudden bouts of competence come out of nowhere. that is, when mcguffins don't override the character-driven narrative.

still, the cast is largely pretty likable. i find edgeworth and von karma especially enjoyable, if largely shallow characters. i don't think ace attorney is saying anything particularly powerful in this entry, nor do i think the writing is entirely up to snuff yet, but it definitely knows characters. the animations, the comedic timing, it's all good stuff. again, might be the localization talking, but i kinda wish this game hadn't pushed so hard to be quirky and all-ages goofy at times, given the subject matter, though?

the gameplay loop of ace attorney is decent. that is to say: there's the largely redundant investigation sequences - which border on archaically boring and non-atmospheric at their worst, but offer some pretty good interactions at their best. but it's the TRIALS where ace attorney shines. i assume this is where the series will really build and flourish in the future, because i love this style of interrogation and cross-examination present here. some of the solutions are a little bullshit or hyper-specific - having to use the same piece of evidence multiple times in a row sometimes feels like obtuse writing - but largely those "aha" moments make the experience satisfying.

pacing is an issue, but i think that's far more a fault of the ds remake. i actually enjoyed the turnabout samurai case a decent amount, and while it is "filler" by some definition i think at the very least it doesn't overstay its welcome. where you run into problems is adding a clearly patched-on epilogue that's longer than the entire game that comes before it. rise from the ashes - again, considering my notes about lack of emotional attachment to the story thanks to its inconsistent tone and grip on its own identity and focus - while one of the better cases here comes off largely unnecessary - potentially even acting as a "filler" arc for a story that's already concluded. despite focusing on characters, one in particular, in retrospect, it never actually feels grounded in what arc the original ace attorney sets up. i mean, if it was hard to stay attached to these characters or invested in the overarching plot already... this doesn't help. i know ema's an important character down the line, but i almost wish this extra case had been like a dsi download title or something, because it kind of has no place narratively within the structure of this first game itself.

still, in spite of these issues, i really enjoyed my time with ace attorney - certainly enough to want to get to later entries and purchase the great ace attorney duology mid-playthrough. i imagine my issues with localization will really cool down as the series progresses, and i think when the overarching plot of ace attorney as a whole kicks in, maybe this first arc will appear a lot more worthwhile and relevant than it does as a self-contained narrative. definitely a damn solid entry-level adv game, but with a lot of visual novels under my belt in my time, upon return i am left expecting a deal more.

its good but i didn't finish the christmas case--i just watched the takashi miike movie and got basically spoiled on what happens. the movie sincerely fucking rips though so watch that if you played this?

anyways sorry to be a little semantics bitch, i dont literally think everybody means it this way, but calling games like this and danganronpa "visual novels" often feels like they have this implicit denial of their use of interactive space because they "have lots of words instead of any gameplay", and the way expressions of interactivity get taken for granted like that bugs me. maybe this comes off as splitting hairs like getting upset over "walking sims" in 2021, but the cultural barrier in how narrative games are understood, that in japan this is absolutely an adventure game while in the west it by and large is taken as not counting somehow, makes this more frustrating to me. its less about using the correct label for me than it is more about understanding games for what they are doing rather than what they seemingly aren't doing. watch this bc he talks abt the historical context of this better than i can https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wOtv-J7tOI

So I finally got around to this! It's really good! The cases themselves usually weren't super investing (that being the 1st and 3rd) but were all put well together and everything else makes up for it. First of all, the characters are fantastic. Maya is adorable and Edgeworth has a very wonderful arc throughout the whole thing and is an incredibly well done character. I love his arc throughout and by the end he was definitely my favorite. The artstyle and no voice acting wasnt really something i was fond of at first but its really charming and I grew to like it a lot. it helps add to a lot of the humour and wackyness that takes place. The music is also very good, not exactly something I'll listen to in the car or anything but Pursuit Cornered when you find a contradiction in a testimony really gets that blood pumping. Other then that, my complaints are minimal. I played this as a part of the Trilogy, and knowing it is a GBA game its not a big deal but I feel like it could of benefited greatly from a text log and auto advance. You can hold down A for text to advance but thats kinda against the whole point, I cant eat cereal one handed im not an animal. Anyways, my only other problem is a slightly larger one that ultimately doesnt really change my opinion all that much, that being the new DLC case added from the DS version that now serves as the final case. First of all, its a very well done case. Not a favorite but its very good nonetheless. Lana and Ema are two really good characters and Ema is equally as adorable and fun to have around as Maya, but it just kinda feels unnecessary. I will say it gives more development to Edgeworth which is wonderful and only further cemented him as my favorite. However, its a set up for Apollo Justice, the fourth game in the series and considering how wonderfully the game wraps up with the fourth case, the placement cant help but feel a little odd. I think if it was labeled as such a bonus instead of the real final case things would feel a bit smoother, but even then its still a good case (if a little long) and doesnt hurt the quality of the game at all. Overall, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a wonderful first entry to a series I can't wait to play more of. It really makes you feel like an attorney, lol.

Nancymeter = 93/100

The Ace Attorney series was something I always wanted to get into for the longest time as someone that has played Visual Novels for awhile now at this point in time of my life. I really was only interested in it mainly due to its meme status it has on modern culture and how ridiculous it seems. Well I'm glad to tell you that the first entry did not disappoint in its absurd nature.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is the first game of later on what would be a trilogy of games that mainly follows our protagonist Phoenix Wright. He is an upcoming Defense Attorney who has no prior experience before the story so we both (the protagonist and we as a self-inserted player) are introduced to the courtroom. You are accompanied with your mentor, Mia Fey who is there seemingly to guide you through your first official trial. The opposing side, the Prosecution Lawyer Winston Payne, is trying to have your defendant accused guilty of murder. You use the evidence that the game gives you and YOU need to figure out how to defend that your defendant is innocent by using context clues and finding contradictions in the witness testimony. This is where the puzzle needs to be solved with the Point-and-Click elements that is laid out for you. The first trial is more or less a tutorial but gives insight on what to do and what is to become later on.

There are 5 episodic chapters that seamlessly flow into one another to tell an overarching story. Something is lurking behind the scenes whether it being evidence that isn't always in your face, but found through bluffs to get the witness to "cough-up" their lies. The Investigations and Trials get progressively longer to unravel each case because of the nuance that goes behind it. As you could probably expect, the Investigations "mode", you could say, is where you find your decisive evidence for the actual trial for the following day or days after and this can go back and forth depending on the amount of evidence that is revealed.

I would like to think that this is a murder mystery more than anything, considering all of the cases that are presented to you are murder cases. But this is also an Adventure, which is what is tagged for this games genre. The comedic flair is there sporadically, but it isn't really what I saw from the memes I'm familiar with. The series gets more goofy as you go on, but this is just the introduction so I can see how this is more serious than what I initially expected. Although my expectations were skewed, the game is still ridiculous, but I was unsure of what since I wanted to go in blind.

Mia Fey, the person accompanying you during the first trial, is apart of the Fey clan which is a family of spirit mediums. Not much longer after the first chapter/episode is over you are introduced to Mia's little sister, Maya. Who is also a spirit medium... in training. This review will not contain spoilers so I will just say that Maya is seen more frequently from episode 2 moving forward. Mia still shows up through Maya's 'channeling' but nonetheless is replaced with her little sister, your assistant. As you could probably expect, this is used throughout the game which is just absurd in a courtroom setting, yet is very helpful when used.

The Prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth is what I would say who is the main reason what made me love the game. With him antagonizing you through every trial, minus a few, you REALLY had to think wisely of what to say and present because he will try to find a guilty verdict somehow. With that and his compelling backstory, you have a game full of twists and turns while simultaneously being an episodic thriller with high stakes and careers/lives on the line.

I've come to like the recurring characters mostly but the rest that are introduced are one-off characters that are used as plot devices. While I wouldn't consider this as a bad thing, it does show that there is a lack of a memorable cast. This is just a minor personal issue of mine, but this game is only one of many so I won't say much on the matter.

My main issue revolves around episode 5, Rise from the Ashes. Following the emotion filled and revealing closure of what is episode 4, the game went to end credits and then all of the sudden the game was like "sike bitch you thought this was over, here is a bonus chapter." Which I was kind of confused on this decision by Capcom on why they would do this. It was more or less a slap in the face and just ignoring everything that happened prior by continuing something that doesn't have much relevance from the rest of the game. And the characters that are introduced are insufferable to say the least. Ema Skye in particular is just annoying and has no common sense whatsoever. She is supposed to "replace" Maya for this chapter, but she is just a nuisance while Maya was at least funny when she was being problematic. I unfortunately cannot pretend this chapter simply does not exist when it takes up a good portion of the entire games runtime. Which was painfully boring and was not needed to be dragged out that much. I could go on and on about this, but I would be revealing too much.

From the start to the end of episode 4, the game manages to tell a compelling overarching narrative, while also being engaging by its defense attorney and prosecutor dynamic. There aren't many faults to the game, despite the existence of episode 5, and is a visual novel that everyone should experience. Visual Novels are known for its pacing issues, but this one is different. It is one story that doesn't slow down, until justice is served. It made LAW fun. While it may be unrealistic in a lot of aspects, it however doesn't change what it offers as a story and as an actual game. I say objection to the contrary and you will too.

Feel like I did my general writing on the Ace Attorney series a disservice by coming forward to it with a more utilitarian analysis that didn't really work beyond the surface level. It's something I want to rectify as I'm making my way through the recently released Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, it's just been hard to find the right words especially since it's not like my general feelings have really changed over time.

I guess to reiterate, it's still the charming first step that is certainly and rightly timeless to where it spawned a host of memes to become a cultural hallmark but I think the general critique and understanding of the game is more thread-bare than it deserves. And ultimately will be my point, is certainly because what is being dealt with here is just as thread-bare and only barely punching above its weight.

AA1 is largely based around prestige, with its characters introduced primarily with their reputation on their sleeves before slowly or quickly breaking that down in front of you. Edgeworth is the only character here who really goes through an arc, and his entire conflict is about what that prestige really means for him in his pursuit of the truth. He's afraid to even consider the history and his past and is more willing to throw himself as the guilty party as his reputation is already under shame, while an extremely comical caricature of "Most Esteemed Prosecutor" villainously runs with it.

This is at its best in 1-3, which I still feel is the best case of the story, where throughout the story it dissects iconography of celebrity culture and prestige. It plays up characters longing for a more heartwarming past now stuck in contracts that ultimately motivate their lives against each other, playing a darker game of blackmail behind the curtain of an otherwise childish and classic samurai cartoon. And then that story leads to a twist that doesn't vindicate either side, leaving the hateful nature of celebrity life bare and offering nothing to fix it in a perfect manner.

But that's the most profuse praise about AA1 you're going to hear from me. Because ultimately the story leads these themes on disgusting threads I call the characters and mystery. The first two cases play up the prestige on the deaths of 'defenseless' women, playing right into the 'beauty but with an evil side' in case 2 that is just utterly rancid. The general mystery is just so hamfisted in its presentation, to where it's best not to follow it because it happens three times where in a final trial you'll turn around a shred of evidence to reveal something totally unestablished that makes them breakdown instantly. The act of playing AA1 is worse, with investigations being tiring and disgusting tirades due to how the triggers work as well as Phoenix's general approach to questions. The pacing is awful as well as some of the general prose, to where 1-5's inclusion, while offering a genuinely good character story at last, is rendered just as obnoxious. If there's one thing I wish was ended here was having to see the same footage 5 times for very little new details.

Were it not for the wonderful coding between Phoenix and Edgeworth I would scorched earth the whole cast. Von Karma takes the prestige point to too much of an extreme for me with the constant gutteral GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY, and almost all the witnesses are really deeply poisonous people that I think are worthy of much more scorn than they get. I've read a couple things that play with this, arguing the point of AA1 lies in its toxic portrayals of stereotypes but I find that just outright ridiculous. There is so little to grasp on in terms of likeable people to ride the themes with, to where when that prestige is written home in the best manner in my favorite case here, I still had an npc face.

Overall it's not exactly a foundational step as much as it is a faceplant that people found as a charming joke before the series picked itself off the floor and ran much further. Awful to just replay for those reasons, but I won't deny what it DOES get right.

(This game was played through the recent 2019 "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy" collection)
Ace Attorney is probably the winner when it comes to a franchise that instantly captivated me, and now has become one of my favorite series of all time.
The game is designed where finding contradictions as well as new evidence from the crime scenes are events where fun are to be had. The witty and timeless dialogue never gets old either. The characters aren't the deepest thing in the world here, but they are improved upon tremendously in future entries, overall having a super memorable and fun cast.
Case 1 of this game is (in my opinion) an extremely easy opening case, especially compared to later entries. A little too easy, perhaps, as it makes the second case feel like a difficulty spike. However, the case is good enough at giving you a feel for how the courtroom gameplay is.
The Second case is much harder then the first one, however it is able to still be fair and not too difficult. This case also introduces us to Maya and Edgeworth, two extremely pivotal characters to the overall narrative. For a second case this one is solid.
Case 3 falls under an unfortunate growing pain of the series, where the third case is overall the most filler and uninteresting case in it's respective title. This isn't a bad case per se, but probably the second weakest in the game.
Case 4 wraps up the main story in a nice bow, finishing up some character development and delivering a satisfying end to this chapter of the series. Definitely the second best case this title has to offer.
With the first English release of Gyakuten Saiban (or Ace Attorney as we all know it), an additional fifth case was added, to show off the DS's new features. This case in my opinion is the strongest one this game has, and is able to have a great entirely new narrative without being several chapters long. Most fans argue that this case is too long, and I have to disagree. This case feels like a nice final challenge to players of the first four cases, and has an extremely nice and satisfying end to it when you finally put the case to rest. For sure one of my favorite cases in the whole franchise.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a phenomenal first entry in the series, and I can say that this is the perfect starting point for the series. If you are a fan of the visual novel genre, please give this one a shot. 4.5/5

Objection!

It's hard to go around the gaming space without hearing the iconic "Objection!" line or seen a picture of the phrase stylized in game at least once in your life. Gyakuten Saiban or how the western world knows it, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney actually originated as a GBA title exclusive to Japan until 2005 with a re-release for the Nintendo DS was released for the west at the time. Managing to completely take over the "lawyer video game" genre despite in really being a visual novel with investigative elements, the first entry sets up characters with cases that are never what they are at face value.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a game you can't find anywhere. The premise is that you're an up and coming defense attorney ready to make a name for yourself as you tackle cases that most normal defense attorneys wouldn't go through the trouble of doing. The stories vary from case to case but most of them are great here including the first case being a good way to settle in the player to the mechanics and the thought process of playing this game like how Phoenix Wright is also settling in with you as it's his first case as well. The characters are unique as well having their own quirks and charm whenever you see them in a new case with relationships with you developing across the cases. The biggest strength this game has is the ability to balance the intense seriousness of murder trials and the goofiness of how the characters are despite the circumstances. Despite the game only using sprites or animated pictures as the representation of the characters, the game does an excellent job of giving each character their own unique way of expressing themselves that manages to come off as humorous. This is also illustrated in the sound effects and soundtrack as well. Sound effects and the music whenever someone is surprised or shocked really immerse you in the story and drama that's unfolding in the courtroom, pondering sound effects come when the game gives you a question that makes you want to find the answer of immediately. The game consists of 2 gameplay phases: Investigations and Trials. In Investigations, you'll be out and about the world trying to find out what exactly happened and gather evidence in hopes of finding the truth of what really happened in the case and to your defendant. Trials is where it all comes to together as you use all the information and evidence you found to prove your defendant innocent and find out the truth of what really happened.

All cases are not created equally sadly. Some are more intense and personal and some of the cases while great in their own right don't have as many personal stakes as some of the other trials will have compared to it. I also wish to talk about Case 5 as well. While Case 5 is a great case, it's way longer than any other case and doesn't really belong in the first game from a gameplay perspective. I felt like Case 4 tied everything really well and while I enjoyed Case 5 after I completed it, it was sort of a jarring experience. Brand new gameplay elements are introduced into Case 5 and while I think the mechanics are cool, it just stands out even more from the rest of the cases as the length of the case itself probably takes half of the game runtime compared to the 4 original cases combined. Not to mention an abundance of evidence compared to the original 4 makes this one a more trial and error experience instead of finding the absolute one that contradicts and prove your claims. Despite my complaints, I wish to reiterate that Case 5 is a great case but with how it's structured completely different compared to the original game, it could've been a standalone experience instead of meshed into the original experience.

I usually have trouble paying attention to games that require a lot of reading and my initial curiosity for the series stems from seeing the setting for Great Ace Attorney Chronicles and finding myself fascinated on how the game will pan out but I wanted to play the original trilogy before diving into that game. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a charming yet serious game that isn't afraid to make outrageous jokes to break the tension at times. Nothing is more iconic when a revelation comes out and a certain character gets their salary cut again.

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