i sincerely can't stress enough how much this game disappointed me. i only ever heard praise about this game from others, just to learn that they were mainly talking about AAI2. in the 4th case, it was so painfully obvious who the culprit was from the very beginning that it became infuriating to try and finish the case. so i didn't.

other complaints:
- the logic system is either too easy or way too hard; usually too easy, though, and genuine common sense.
- as someone who played AA1-AA4 with little to no walkthroughs, i had to have a walkthrough open for this game. not because i didn't know what to do, but because the evidence presenting system was flawed in terms of matching the evidence with the piece of dialogue said. i found myself needing a walkthrough even if i knew the exact piece of evidence needed, due to the evidence for some reason matching up with a completely unrelated piece of testimony instead.
- case 3. i was beyond frustrated when i found out who the culprit was, just for miles to act like a fool for 20 extra minutes of gameplay for him to FINALLY realize who it was. this usually isn't an issue with other cases in the AA franchise that are similar, but with this case, it was so painfully obvious that the developers just needed filler for some unknown reason.

despite these issues, there are some pros that contribute to my 2 stars:
+ any type of extended miles edgeworth content is a win for me.
+ kay faraday!!!
+ the art style and gameplay outside of testimonies and logic are genuinely very unique and fun.
+ case 2 was a genuine delight, and i love the continued portrayal of miles' PTSD symptoms. as someone who also has severe PTSD, it's greatly appreciated and i have to give capcom credit for this.

overall, i am just beyond disappointed with this game, and i don't think i'll ever finish it. i went through and watched a playthrough for the final episode, and i'll eventually come around to AAI2, but for now i need to really take in how upsetting this game was for me.