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.
Want to switch?
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.
Want to switch?
3 Comments
Takashi Miike directed a live-action movie of Phoenix Wright and it's golden. And no reading required!
But yeah, fun game, too.
But yeah, fun game, too.
Probably will give it a watch after I go through the trilogy and the Great Ace Attorney games. Sounds pretty interesting considering the game itself.
ExAndOh
2 years ago