Shu Takumi's greatest work, and the absolute highest peak of Ace Attorney as a franchise.

I could spend many hours talking about how incredible this game is, how perfectly it ends this duology, and how it continues building upon what the first game started. Every character has their big moment, even side characters feel like they have just a little more depth than what came before.

I find it hard to recall a time, particularly in recent memory, when I've walked away so utterly satisfied by a story and piece of art as I was with TGAA2. My only possible gripes are the same nitpicks I had with the first game regarding presentation, and the fact that this game does so many cool fucking things, and then only does them once. It has so many ideas that could've even warranted a third entry, but it doesn't seem like that was on the cards, so they opted to just go all out with this one.

And the end result is something just so uniquely special. This is what Ace Attorney felt like to me as a kid. And as an adult, finally playing this for the first time, I can see The Great Ace Attorney for what it really is - a piece of art that's just so warm and full of heart.

Seems this one bothered some people due to its "spoiler toggle". Can't say I'm one of them. Nirvana Initiative is by no means a perfect sequel. But like the first game, AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative takes you on a wild ride of playing detective, with an utterly unhinged plot twist waiting for you at the end. And good god, does it makes me happy, just as the first game did.

I've grown to love Ryuki and Tama, and more Aiba content is fine by me. I do think Mizuki is a little one-note in this game, but a certain twist makes up for that.

I've heard some people claim character assassination for Date, but frankly, seeing his relationship with Ryuki, I can't help but disagree. He's still Kaname Date. And he's a surprisingly good mentor. Sure, they might go harder with a few of the gags, but that doesn't really bother me. That's just AITSF being more AITSF.

Honestly, this game is a lot of "AITSF being more AITSF" its more over the top, it's more batshit, and even if this isn't so much a sequel to Kaname Date's story solving the New Cyclops Serial Killings as much as it is the story of another case handled by ABIS, I truly do love it. It's authentically AI: The Somnium Files.

I adore this series' aesthetic, and this game more than keeps it intact, if not improving upon it slightly. Solving Somniums is fun as always, and there's even some new mechanics that drastically improve the experience.

There's only a few things that really bothered me. First, I'm baffled by the lack of post-credit scenes to tie up alternate routes. The first game basically had these after every route - with only a couple of exceptions where it made sense. They helped tie up those stories and highlight the lingering questions that would be solved in other routes. Here they're completely absent. Sometimes alternate routes just end. It feels weird - and it makes them feel like an afterthought (which they might be, considering the linearity of the flowchart this time). Besides that, too little Ikume Shrine. Shrine is the best track in the OST and I'll die on that hill. The scenes taking place at that shrine in the first game are so memorable to me. Give me more Ikume Shrine.

AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initative is not the first game. It never could be. But the fact that it made me feel similar amounts of joy as that game did is more than enough for me to feel confident calling this a damn good sequel.