I'm a huge fan of Ace Attorney, so if this game was just Ace Attorney with birds (and so many taxonomy puns to sate a nerd like me), that would be good enough for me. Fortunately, by the end of the first case, this game pretty clearly tells you that it is not just Ace Attorney with birds, and it's going to put its own spin on things. Unlike Ace Attorney, there's no game over. The game works with your failures, and your decisions have real consequences. If this feature wasn't present, the game's time mechanic where it is entirely possible to get to the trial without getting all the evidence you need would be extremely frustrating, but it doesn't bother me very much seeing as the game will continue in some form no matter what.

I thought going in that the decision to set the game in 19th century France was just another gimmick to go with the bird one, but no, the entire plot of the game hinges on it. I enjoyed this very much. DGS had some historical context in it, but this game takes it to another level.

One thing that disappoints me, however, is the art. It looks lovely, but it's just public domain art by J.J. Grandville. I really wish they went with using his works as inspiration for original artwork. That would make the instances where they do have to use original artwork stick out less, they wouldn't have to contend with as many awkward poses, and there could potentially be room for more expression. However, the soundtrack of public domain classical music was the perfect fit for this game. It was lovely and sorted the game nicely.

I'd recommend this game to Ace Attorney fans, but bear in mind you're getting a different experience. The trials are very easy, but the freedom you have to fuck up during investigations and see the consequences of it makes this quite distinct. Get the game on sale though.