Charming visual novel that makes my heartbeat go crazy in a way no other game does
Gameplay/Mechanics l 7,5/10
Pointing out contradictions and objecting to the witness bullshit is really fun,the game is not that interesting mechanicaly or that hard but the whole tension that is in the courtroom make even more satisfying catch witnesses lying
Exploration can be a bit tiring sometimes but is generally fine.
Story:Characters/Writing/Lore l 8-8,5/10
Really good,i like the characters,it has fun writing,each case has its own depth and lore,the main cast consistently get depth added along the game not making them stale,and its just entertaining
Sound l 9/10
Its not the music that makes sound in this game so special,it is its usage of the music and sound effects.
The game knows when to stop the music and when to resume it,it does this on perfect timings to make things more intense
It also does this with the use of sound effects,they make every move feel more powerfull,for example the sound effect of the attorney's throwing their hands to their desk,or another example is von karma finger snap.
It all sounds crisp and makes thing more intense
Graphics/Aesthetics l 7,5-8/10
The graphics/aesthetics are decent but what i want to talk about is the camera use in the courtroom,since it moves not instantly (most of the time) it either manually moves to the person talking or quickly switchs between the people in the courtroom,and it all adds to the charm of the game.
Lenght of the game/Content l 8/10
The game keeps it pretty short and focused until case 5 that is almost as big as the whole 4 other cases.I think the game does a good job of cutting the cases before they get stale but also gives them enough time to make characters,lore and a plot that is satisfying,and overall add a little depth to its world and main characters.
I want to take a minute to rank the cases of the game from worst to best:
4:The First Turnabout
its not bad at all at its job,its a tutorial case and shows you how intense and fun the courtroom can be,but lacks in depht and exploration,its a good starting point but you wont remember it.
3:Turnabout Sisters tied with Turnabout Samurai
They are tied because they are both pretty good but arent like great,if i have to give the edge to one of them i give to sisters.
The strong points of turnabout sisters is how many things it introduces and how well it does them,it introduces exploration and multiple characters including Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe,and it does all of this well,but its low point is its main villain and the last trial its a little weak.
Turnabout Samurai on the other hand i think is a better case overall,the exploration is better and the trials are more interesting,but it does basically nothing to add more depth to the main cast,since all of its character depth goes to the case specific characters,you can skip this case and the story of the game goes mostly unchanged.
2:Turnabout Goodbyes
The conclusion for the gba version and it is amazing,way better than first three.
On this case you get,an amazing villain,good exploration,character depth on the main cast,the trials are intense and fun,it is tight and it is great,there is really not a lot to hate on here is just great
1:Rise From The Ashes
I know this is unpopular because a lot of people hate this case,but i think is the best case in the game and let me explain you why.
This case is by a lanslide the most lenghty in the game,and i think its is biggest strenght,it is really long but it doesnt waste a minute of that time,and due to its lenght you are presented a lot of new characters and all of them have depth to them,even dead people like joe darke and marshall brother have depth to them,and i like all of the new characters,and the villain is pretty good.
But they didnt forget the old characters, Edgeworth for example has a lot of depth added here,Dick also has a lot of screen time,and so are the other old characters.
It also presents a lot of gimmicks that i really like and add variety to the gameplay loop,inspect items,view videos,solve overly precise jar puzzles,i really love the variety here.
My biggest complain comes from the first trial,Ms Starr trial,it just kind of annoying,like you know what contradictions she says but since she says a lot of the same things is hard to know where you have to object.
But as for the other like,5 or 6 trials,they are great,they are mostly not annoying,they are intense and fun
Another thing i wanted to talk about was the case ending that serves well as both a case ending and a proper ending to the game (even though i liked Turnabout Goodbyes ending) you get most characters thoughts and emotions after the trial ending and it feels satisfying.
RFTA could be a game on its own really,i just started the ace attorney series but i already see this case as one of the best overall in the entire series
Playability l 3/3
Game works as intended with no bugs
OVERALL
Just what i was hoping ace attorney will be,it has some of the charm of the perfect ghost trick and it is extremely intense and entertaining in the courtroom
8 to 9
Gameplay/Mechanics l 7,5/10
Pointing out contradictions and objecting to the witness bullshit is really fun,the game is not that interesting mechanicaly or that hard but the whole tension that is in the courtroom make even more satisfying catch witnesses lying
Exploration can be a bit tiring sometimes but is generally fine.
Story:Characters/Writing/Lore l 8-8,5/10
Really good,i like the characters,it has fun writing,each case has its own depth and lore,the main cast consistently get depth added along the game not making them stale,and its just entertaining
Sound l 9/10
Its not the music that makes sound in this game so special,it is its usage of the music and sound effects.
The game knows when to stop the music and when to resume it,it does this on perfect timings to make things more intense
It also does this with the use of sound effects,they make every move feel more powerfull,for example the sound effect of the attorney's throwing their hands to their desk,or another example is von karma finger snap.
It all sounds crisp and makes thing more intense
Graphics/Aesthetics l 7,5-8/10
The graphics/aesthetics are decent but what i want to talk about is the camera use in the courtroom,since it moves not instantly (most of the time) it either manually moves to the person talking or quickly switchs between the people in the courtroom,and it all adds to the charm of the game.
Lenght of the game/Content l 8/10
The game keeps it pretty short and focused until case 5 that is almost as big as the whole 4 other cases.I think the game does a good job of cutting the cases before they get stale but also gives them enough time to make characters,lore and a plot that is satisfying,and overall add a little depth to its world and main characters.
I want to take a minute to rank the cases of the game from worst to best:
4:The First Turnabout
its not bad at all at its job,its a tutorial case and shows you how intense and fun the courtroom can be,but lacks in depht and exploration,its a good starting point but you wont remember it.
3:Turnabout Sisters tied with Turnabout Samurai
They are tied because they are both pretty good but arent like great,if i have to give the edge to one of them i give to sisters.
The strong points of turnabout sisters is how many things it introduces and how well it does them,it introduces exploration and multiple characters including Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe,and it does all of this well,but its low point is its main villain and the last trial its a little weak.
Turnabout Samurai on the other hand i think is a better case overall,the exploration is better and the trials are more interesting,but it does basically nothing to add more depth to the main cast,since all of its character depth goes to the case specific characters,you can skip this case and the story of the game goes mostly unchanged.
2:Turnabout Goodbyes
The conclusion for the gba version and it is amazing,way better than first three.
On this case you get,an amazing villain,good exploration,character depth on the main cast,the trials are intense and fun,it is tight and it is great,there is really not a lot to hate on here is just great
1:Rise From The Ashes
I know this is unpopular because a lot of people hate this case,but i think is the best case in the game and let me explain you why.
This case is by a lanslide the most lenghty in the game,and i think its is biggest strenght,it is really long but it doesnt waste a minute of that time,and due to its lenght you are presented a lot of new characters and all of them have depth to them,even dead people like joe darke and marshall brother have depth to them,and i like all of the new characters,and the villain is pretty good.
But they didnt forget the old characters, Edgeworth for example has a lot of depth added here,Dick also has a lot of screen time,and so are the other old characters.
It also presents a lot of gimmicks that i really like and add variety to the gameplay loop,inspect items,view videos,solve overly precise jar puzzles,i really love the variety here.
My biggest complain comes from the first trial,Ms Starr trial,it just kind of annoying,like you know what contradictions she says but since she says a lot of the same things is hard to know where you have to object.
But as for the other like,5 or 6 trials,they are great,they are mostly not annoying,they are intense and fun
Another thing i wanted to talk about was the case ending that serves well as both a case ending and a proper ending to the game (even though i liked Turnabout Goodbyes ending) you get most characters thoughts and emotions after the trial ending and it feels satisfying.
RFTA could be a game on its own really,i just started the ace attorney series but i already see this case as one of the best overall in the entire series
Playability l 3/3
Game works as intended with no bugs
OVERALL
Just what i was hoping ace attorney will be,it has some of the charm of the perfect ghost trick and it is extremely intense and entertaining in the courtroom
8 to 9