Peak ace attorney.

On more in depth things I would say, it def has the best soundtrack out of any ace attorney games, fully orchestrated, also the art style has now been improved to an almost perfection and it has the best looking 3d models you will ever see on a 3ds model, the backgrounds also look amazing, im so happy for this because other games of the sort like layton did not translate ever to 3d well, and while dual destinies looked awesome this is a massive improvement on the art department, also props to the animation department, the characters animations are some of the best i've seen in a while, very expressive and full of life, cant wait until we get a port to consoles or pc and replay it in HD.

Now for the story, as much as i always have loved ace attorney (my favourite videogame series) my main gripe has been how some cases have always been dragged on for HOURS when they didnt need to, as example, in the original triology the last chapters would consist of multiple trials and investigation secuences, therefore streching a case to a point where it could stress some people, me included sometimes, even if the trial ending was satisfactory, so, you see, this game doesn't do that, it wastes no time, tells you an amazing story doesn't drag on for multiple days, it's just the perfect pacing.

So all of this said, i will now head on to play it's sequel, and discover all final secrets of naruhodou, thanks for reading!

Blitzed through the fan translation in a single week. Shu Takumi's passion for justice and his disgust with unfair systems shines so bright in these cases. It really exemplified my problem with modern Ace Attorney: the games became more about solving complicated mysteries rather than understanding why those mysteries occurred or the way horrible people can subvert justice for their own ends. I don't want to fully claim this is only Takumi's doing, but the games under his direction clearly demonstrate a greater interest in who these crimes affect than just the crime itself. Its the Umineko philosophy: the mystery genre is nothing without the heart.

The character work really shines in this. Ryunosuke is a great protagonist, rising to overwhelming odds that are designed to keep him down. Susato is a wonderful assistant. She feels like a real person instead of a collection of gimmicks. The tertiary characters are more cartoonish, but they're still likable and endearing. The team clearly did plenty of research into the time period to understand the weird prejudices and biases of the time, but also the more minute details to understand the clues that help build a solid mystery. And it doesn't spell out answers until you've already presented them, letting you feel like a genius ahead of the curb.

The biggest knock against this game is that it was clearly made with sequels in mind and it sounds like the sequel, realizing that the odds are against it, works more to provide answers. I'm so ecstatic to get to the next part of this adventure and see the pieces come together.

It doesn't surprise me to hear that this game had a mixed reception when it first came out in Japan in 2015, because I most certainly did not vibe with it as much as a lot of people did and do. The 6 years of waiting undoubtedly did not help.

I'll start off by saying that the presentation is excellent. The series' transition to 3D was incredible, but this game truly takes it to the next level. The animations are better than ever, and the Dance of Deduction sequences are beautiful to look at. The game’s cast is also fantastic, and I’d go as far as to say this is probably the best AA ensemble we’ve had yet. The music’s also incredible, but it’s Ace Attorney, so what else is new?

Due to some genuinely interesting design decisions that were made, all of the cases in this game, imo, suffer from severe pacing issues, in addition to some of the mysteries just not being all that interesting. The first and second cases are decent but go on for far too long, the third case is solid but doesn’t reach the heights of some of the other cases in the franchise, the fourth case is an absolute bore and the fifth case is interesting, but not interesting enough for it to go on as long as it did. Again, none of them are outright bad (There aren’t any Turnabout Big Tops or Turnabout Serenades here), their pacing is just really, really off.

I’m not going to jump into GAA2 immediately (the thought of playing two Ace Attorney games back to back sounds exhausting), but I’ve heard it pretty much fixes all the issues in this one and is one of the best games in the franchise, so I’m looking forward to it.

case 1: fun!
case 2: am in love w sherlock
case 3: really fun!!
case 4: god's mistake
case 5: investigation fun! i thought the trial was meh until the last fourth of it and just lost it

I'd had this bad boy on hold for a really long time. I'm a huge Ace Attorney fan, so I'd been waiting for a long time to finally get to it. It was DEFINITELY worth the wait.

This is one of the best Ace Attorney games. It's got the best gameplay mechanics in the series, it masterfully uses its historical setting and curates a whole new cast of characters that are just as colourful as any other Ace Attorney games. It's a real triumph, and no Ace Attorney fan should sleep on it. It's the best game in the series not called Apollo Justice. Don't miss out!

I had originally finished GAA1 in 2019 with the Scarlet Study translation and felt good enough about the game to give it a 4, but playing the sequel with those two years of distance made me reexamine the feelings on that game a little to bring the score down a peg. Mind you it's still a fresh feeling Ace Attorney title and (S)herlock is the most joyous interpretations of the eccentric detective, but with the overarching mystery and emotional payoff hinging this hard on the resolution in the second game, GAA1 just didn't leave an impact on its own. I put a great trust on GAA2 to pull it through though.

This was worth the wait, Great Ace Attorney Adventures offers an adventure unlike anything I have seen yet in this series offering an unparalleled overarching story for this series with a gorgeous backdrop of late 1800s London. Shu Takumi proved with this game he can do writing on par with his work in the Ace Attorney Trilogy, by branching out from Phoenix Wright, to create a completely new but endearing cast of characters. The cast of characters in this game might be the most consistent in this series up to this point, not quite reaching the heights of characters such as Godot or Edgeworth, but no one in this game really stood out to me as annoying or a waste, and all of the main cast are excellently executed, with Herlock being a highlight for me with his over the top goofy antics. The gameplay mechanics are also a definitive step up from anything we have seen up to this point, with the new cross-examination mechanics along with deducing the facts with Herlock, its all incredibly engaging. One thing you have to keep in mind with this game is that you are getting half a story, unlike any other ace attorney, and you will have to play the sequel to get a lot of the answers you will understandably have on your mind, but looking past that this game gave me a remarkable story that doesn't hold back with its more mature themes for the sake of comedy, while still balancing the two well, not giving you whiplash like in previous games. I'm very excited to see where the sequel takes me on this journey.

Might be experiencing a bit of hype backlash but, I thought this game was just okay. To start with what I liked, I think there’s some really interesting ideas touched upon, many have already spoken about the depictions of anti-Japanese racism within the game but what’s more interesting is how the writing wrestles to come to terms with the rampant racism that was prevalent in this era of detective fiction that it takes so heavy inspiration from. We all have our problematic muses, and GAA is keenly aware of how romanticized the stories it looks up to are in hindsight.

Case 3 is also pretty incredible, featuring a jaw-dropping twist that calls into question one of the basic assumptions made in the series in a way that only works with Ryunosuke as the protagonist, and not Phoenix. Still, the potential fallout doesn’t quite feel fully capitalized on, leaving what could have been a truly transformative moment for Ryunosuke into a mere bump in the road.

What I end up finding myself sorely disappointed in, is the actual cases themselves. Outside of case 3, the cases featured in this game are incredibly simple and straightforward, with the writing holding your hand and all but telling you what you need to look at every step of the way. It’s the easiest game in the series, and the cases often feel incredibly drawn out. Case 5, in particular, is my least favorite final case in the entire series for how anticlimactic it is.

I’m well aware that this is meant to lead into GAA2, and from what I’ve played of 2 so far, it’s been everything I wanted 1 to be. Still, the potential for interesting explorations of ideas, and the likability of the main cast, can’t fully save the game from the dullness of the episodic cases. Not bad, but man did I feel disappointed.

Has some of the best gameplay systems in the series and a good number of great cases. The only case I'd really consider mid is the 1st one, the rest are all great.

The presentation, music, characters, and writing are all fantastic, and the game introduces the Jury system and the Pursuit system, which are both great additions to the series an completely change the way you approach the cases. Investigations are also a little bit more fun with the Dance of Deduction, even if they are still lacking compared to the court cases.

I also love the cast of characters. I feel like mainline AA has been getting a bit stale with Apollo having three backstories, and returning characters not always growing due to them trying not to spoil earlier games.
Naruhodo, Sholmes, Susato, and Prosecutor Van Zieks are all very fun characters and a breath of fresh air for the series in general.

The only main criticism I have of this game is that it has the tendency to drag its feet. This is kind of an issue the entire series has though. Much like Trials and Tribulations and Apollo Justice though, I don't find it to be as much of a problem compared to some of the other Ace Attorney entries. It mostly effects case 1 and case 5. I didn't have an issue with the pacing and length of the others.

Overall though, this is a great start and I look forward to playing through Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve next, which I hear is even better than the first one.