Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

OJECTION!

Another game I didn't think about buying and I heard about these game since they came out. Original Game Boy Advance games ported to the DS and now piffed up for 3DS and HD. Basically a point-and-click adventure game centered around a defence attorney protecting the innocent from death row... with the help of a spirit medium and a bumbling police detective. A really fun game with interesting stories and characters that really connects with me (if other feels the same I don't know). I really feel for the characters, even some of the murderers you feel for since sometimes the victims are not some little angel. Since the games are more story driven than anything else I will not spoil anything that tells who the murder is or something like that. Which makes it hard to say anything about the special cases so I'm gonna speak of overall themes. The first game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney overall feels more about the prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. The cases ties in more with him overall and tells his background as he became prosecutor and also his connections to Phoenix Wright. A fun little note is that there is one case that probably comes when it was ported for the DS since it also have moving pictures on a videotape, several pictures where you must press the screen and characters that I guess came in later games. Which is rather noticeable since it isn't mentioned in the other games or even make a cameo compared to most other characters that show up again and again.

I presume the first game sold enough to warrant 2 direct sequels since both games feels like their stories are connected more than the others and was made at the same time. The first sequel, Justice for All is more about Maya Fey (your spirit medium side-kick) and her heritage. Plus they set up a really great arching enemy for the next game, Trails and Tribulations which incidentally is more about Phoenix Wright. And the truth is that when the game ended after almost 70 hours I felt a bit misty eyed. All the characters, the ups and downs in the courtroom and then it was all over. No more Gumshoe, Edgeworth, Pearls and Maya Fey and no more Phoenix Wright, well until he was back again, but for that I need a larger memory card. A funny thing is the localization where it's stated they are American and ergo the games take place in America. Then explain to me how it can be that there are Japanese shrines and temples fricking everywhere I go, not to mention all the Japanese symbols and texts all over the place?

Gameplay mechanics then. Looking for clues and evidence to use in the courtroom to expose contradiction in the testimonies. Nothing wrong for the most part. Sometimes though it's the usual point-and-click sin of having clearly seen clues that you can't pick up until you have a in-game reason to pick it up, even though I as the player can think one or two steps ahead. Of course this also bites me when trying to prove contradictions as I can see the contradiction and have proof, but the game doesn't allow it since I need to follow the game designers logic than how I think. It would work if the penalizing system wasn't made harder after the first game. In the first game every recess restored the penalty bar, but in the second game to restore the bar you have to unlock something called Psyche-lock during the investigation segments of the game, meaning I have to treck through 2-3-4 trails before it was back to 100 % meaning every penalty is hard on you (I think they did that since the first game had penalties for doing the right thing since you were a newbie at it) since they stick for a long time. 

Also, other things I don't like is proving contradictions on a photo cause it isn't always clear how Phoenix Wright thinks (which harkens back that it isn't my logic that solve the case, it's the game designer). Worst part is if you know it is a contradiction, you have the proof, but you must also choose which statement is false, even though it could be another one. Another worst part was the tape in the final case of the first game, where we time and time again went back and forth over the tape showing inconsistencies in the testimonies. You have to play each case in one sitting as well, since you need to keep all information in the head to see if somethings wrong. And this is when I'm shamefully admit that I time from time had some little guiding help from a walkthrough. Yes, I know, but sometimes the logic is a bit over the place and when the game throws instant game overs if you press the wrong statement or penalize you for even trying. I have a hard time going through the same dialogue again, especially if it's the very end of a long trail segment just before recess. Still, took me 70 hours with cheating here and there so it's still a massive game. I can also chalk it up to being more of a story kind of guy and really enjoying it and the suspense of a court room drama.

Final thing, the music is fantastic, the different prosecutor themes of Miles Edgeworth and Franziska Von Karma are the best, and the plot thickens sound bite puts me on edge every time. Most tracks are energetic and  want more and more of it. Even if it's just a 10 second loop. Hmm, need to get my hand on that.