gaming Ace Attorney series (Phoenix Wright)

[Katana 298]

The newest game in the Ace Attorney series, "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies" is here today on the Nintendo eShop for 3DS! (Sadly, not in brick-and-mortar stores)

To celebrate, I decided to make a thread about the series. I don't think I've been nearly as much of a fanatic of other series nearly as much as I have been for Phoenix Wright.

 

For those unaware, the game is largely a "visual novel" style, in which you admittedly have little to no control over the basic direction of the story. You play as a defense attorney attempting to clear your client of wrongful charge. Some things you can generally assert from each case:

-Someone was murdered

-The REAL killer attempted to frame your client, or the prosecution did a horrible job of picking a perpetrator.

-The real killer will take the stand as a witness and lie about their lack of involvement with the crime, or say things to blame the defendant.

-The judge will not grant you a "Not Guilty" verdict until you have proved the identity of the real killer beyond any possible doubt. (Yeah, it's a bit unfair against you)

 

The core of the game takes place in "Testimony", in which a witness makes a series of statements that you can scroll back and forth over. You can "Press" a statement to have Phoenix ask further questions about it.

 

If you think you've found a contradiction in the evidence, then you pick the contradicting statement, select a piece of evidence, and then tap the Present button to hear the game's most signature line.

 

The series has been known for its over-the-top plot twists, and genuinely unique characters; as a rule, it seems like every character has at the very least, some very unusual character-quirk to them, and some sort of alliteration or joke to their name, to help you remember each of them.

 

Each game has between 4 or 5 cases. The first tends to be a shorter, courtroom-only case to get you the hang of things. But each game normally leaves its mark with its final case. This is the case where plot twists are piled up wherever they can; in some cases going so ridiculous as to nearly double the length of the game all on its own.

 

If you have an iOS device, the earlier games in the series are available there; even letting you play the first case at no charge! For all its fame, I have a hard time finding people to talk about the series with, so I'm always begging people to give it a try. Be prepared for lots of reading and dialogue - but as long as you're aware of that and okay with it, the game can present a lot of fun and really involve you in each of the cases.

[The Ponyville Critic 304]

I believe there might already be a thread, most likely created by Marco, everyone knows he's obsessed with it, anyway, I'm not too sure about the whole emotion system in the new game, it's a bit of a simple concept for a Pheonix Wright game.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

I've beaten all the AA games, and I've wrote a few fanfics for it with some success.

 

I'm not nearly as into as I used to be, though. Regardless, it's a great series.

[Demonic Soulz 483]

I played the demo to the new one and it was fun I played Trials and Tribulations and still have it and still confused about the last question Franzesika(dont know how to spell her name) asks you and almost all the cases have plot twists

[The Ponyville Critic 304]

Yeah, Trials and Tribulations was my favorite one out of the bunch, It was the first one I had ever bought, so that may contribute to it, but it's still an amazing game regardless.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

Yeahh. T&T was the best. Godot was just so fricken' cool, and at the end of case 5...oh lord

 

I still listen to the music from the series, too. It's got a great soundtrack. DD has some great songs too, but I probably won't ever get around to actually playing it. I don't have a DS, and I refuse to bootleg it. It's just immoral, man. I'll probably end up watching a playthrough, though.

[Fubz 300]

I've never actually played any AA games but I've seen gameplay of it. Despite having no commentary over the viseo, the game in itself was really interesting to watch. I could've watched the full game although I had to stop myself as I wanted to play it without spoiling the plot.

The music's really nice as well as the visuals I must say~

[SrFrog 927]

I've meant to play some of those games, but I'm still not a hundred percent sold on the whole thing. Actually, I did play that Harvey Birdman spin-off on the PS2 a couple of years back.

 

 

 

Man that show was funny...

[Lunatic Cake 1,618]

I played only one Ace Attorney game and I must say I loved it, it was not that challenging though, yet I think the other parts might've been better

[Cyan Blue 946]

This game series gives me nightmares for some reason, the sound track scares me. (Yes, I have problems  )

 

But the game itself is awesome.

 

 

 

EVERYONE CHECK OUT THE TURNABOUT STORM PHOENIX WRIGHT VIDEOS! THEY ARE AMAZING!

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

I admit, I was really skeptical when my sister told me a few years back that a game where you play as a lawyer was supposed to be excellent.  I'm really glad I gave it a chance though.

 

I've finished the first three in the series and had begun playing Apollo Justice.  All of them were great, but I think that Justice For All might be my favorite, though Trials and Tribulations gives it a run for its money.

[Megas 27,742]

I still need to finish Apollo Justice...why did my DS have to die on me?

 

I'm also hoping that if Dual Destinies does well enough, they'll consider localizing Ace Attorney Investigations 2

[Demonic Soulz 483]

@,

 

YOU....STOP WHIPPING ME

 

 

Also Miles Edgeworth is best prosecutor...then again the new on in Dual Destines looks interesting I will know when I get it  

[The Ponyville Critic 304]

AA Investigations doesn't appeal to me whatsoever, Dual Destinies looks to be a promising game, though I don't currently have money to buy it. I will get it though.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

I liked AAI, and honestly, I didn't want to give it a shot. The first one isn't as good as the 2nd, though. I haven't even played the 2nd. I just watched DoWolf's translations before they all got taken down. That's how good the 2nd one was.

 

And Dual Destinies does look good, btw. I want it!   But nothing to play it on, so...

[Kamil 315]

I prefer the older games' supernatural quirk (the Magitama I think it was called?) over the weird, completely BS pseudo-science in Apollo Justice and the Sci-Fi thing in the new one (though I've only done the first case so far). The Psyche-locks (and a couple other things) were clearly supernatural, but that's fine; as a gameplay mechanic they kept to the core of "find contradictions, get information" just presented in a way that made you absolutely certain that THIS was the spot you should be focusing on during the slightly directionless investigation segments. Besides that, it never seemed like "nobody else could have possibly done this"; when it got used the person in question was usually pretty clearly hiding something already. The magic lie detector ring was just... look at the picture, then get more info! It didn't make sense when they tried to justify it in a non-supernatural way, and it didn't make sense when your wild declaration of being able to detect lies always worked. The weird emotions thing... Well, it looks a little more in-depth than just getting free information, but at the end of the day you just get extra information without needing to really put much effort into it.

 

The Logic in Investigations was a cool concept, but often connections didn't work the way I expected them to (though that's not exactly that different from normal evidence-based activities) and I was looking forward to seeing how Logic Chess worked... but no, Japan only.

 

Anyways, my favorite game is probably Investigations for having an overarching story between the cases, albeit a fairly tenuous connection between some of them and not a ton in the character-development department. Apollo Justice gets an honorable mention for having the best story, but it has the worst gameplay and most nonsensical explanations for some things. The original three are pretty even; the first one was a little rough around the edges, but the second one smoothed things out and the third didn't do much to improve on it.

[Misty Shadow 7,937]

Oh yeah, I really like these games. I've played the original Phoenix Wright trilogy and Apollo Justice so far. The first three are awesome, and while AJ was pretty cool, I agree that it had some obvious problems that kept it from being as good as the PW games. Apollo's bracelet and the elements of science and erm...magic I guess just weren't as fun as the Magatama and the supernatural elements from the earlier games. I also really didn't like how there was no mention of Mia or Maya, though Phoenix's new self was pretty funny. As for Investigations and Dual Destinies, I would play them if I had my hands on them, but right now I don't, so...until then I guess.

[Outkin 35]

Does anyone have the new game yet? Is the new emotion system more in depth then it was in the demo? I mean seriously...the emotions were way to easy to pick up. If you couldn't get it right you must be an alien or have no common sense. 

[I used to be a stranger 7,994]

I've only ever played the very first one. It was pretty whimsical fun. Oddly enough, what turned me to the series was the Turnabout Storm videos on youtube about Rainbow Dash being framed for murder.

 

Fun had by all.

Edited October 27, 2013 by Blue

[Katana 298]

Does anyone have the new game yet? Is the new emotion system more in depth then it was in the demo? I mean seriously...the emotions were way to easy to pick up. If you couldn't get it right you must be an alien or have no common sense. 

The first case or two, a lot of them are pretty easy; plus, they spend a lot of time tutorializing various ways in which the mood matrix testimonies can vary. For instance, when one of someone's emotions overwhelms all other thoughts, and you need to pinpoint, visually, the cause of it in their testimony.

 

From there though, it definitely got tougher on occasion for me. There are even some spots where you need to pick out particular phrases where you would *expect* one emotion, but it's not present at all. Since it's all a new system, and player opinions on emotions may be a bit subjective, they often don't penalize you for incorrect answers. If I'm honest, penalties were never really the best game mechanic in the series, so I don't mind.

 

As for Apollo's bracelet; the twist in mechanics is kind of welcome - in some cases, it's easy on its own, but for some characters their "twitch" can be in places you wouldn't expect. Beyond that though, you still often need to present evidence to drag someone's thoughts out, so it's really not all that different from the magatama.

 

I've really been enjoying the "Thought Route" moments; normally occurring moments before you pin the killer, your player attorney takes a moment inside their head to try to make one last leap in logic by asking themselves a series of questions. ie "If he was using his alibi to feign his innocence...then *when was the body moved*? [before the event / during the event / after the event]". It also has the most damn-amazing track for it. (YouTube video of the track in question inside the spoiler)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C5r2fVAfQ0

 

[AnonBrony 1,468]

As you can see by my Avatar pic. I am a fan of the series. I really want to play Dual Destinies though. But for some dang reason my 3DS will not connect to the Internet. There's nothing wrong with my Internet either its the 3DS. It can't connect to any access point. So sadly because of this I cannot access the Nintendo E-shop to download the game.

 

 

I liked AAI, and honestly, I didn't want to give it a shot. The first one isn't as good as the 2nd, though. I haven't even played the 2nd. I just watched DoWolf's translations before they all got taken down. That's how good the 2nd one was.   And Dual Destinies does look good, btw. I want it!   But nothing to play it on, so...

 

 

His translations were never taken down. They are still all on Youtube on his channel. But I do have to agree with you in that AAI2 was really good. By far one of my favorites in the series. But nothing can triumph over T&T. However the last case in that game is one of my favorites and the main villain is also one of favorites as well.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

As you can see by my Avatar pic. I am a fan of the series. I really want to play Dual Destinies though. But for some dang reason my 3DS will not connect to the Internet. There's nothing wrong with my Internet either its the 3DS. It can't connect to any access point. So sadly because of this I cannot access the Nintendo E-shop to download the game.

 

 

 

 

 

His translations were never taken down. They are still all on Youtube on his channel. But I do have to agree with you in that AAI2 was really good. By far one of my favorites in the series. But nothing can triumph over T&T. However the last case in that game is one of my favorites and the main villain is also one of favorites as well.

Well, doy, T&T is the best thing to ever happen in gaming. It was like, a masterpiece of a painting.

 

But, as for DoWolf...really?! I haven't been able to find them anywhere, dude! I've looked and looked, but I just gave up.

[AnonBrony 1,468]

 

 

But, as for DoWolf...really?! I haven't been able to find them anywhere, dude! I've looked and looked, but I just gave up.

 

Linkage - http://www.youtube.com/user/dowolf/videos

 

You are welcome.

 

Here is the link to his channel on Youtube. I don't know how you could not have found him again. All you had to do was type "Dowolf" on Youtube...

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

Linkage - http://www.youtube.com/user/dowolf/videos

 

You are welcome.

 

Here is the link to his channel on Youtube. I don't know how you could not have found him again. All you had to do was type "Dowolf" on Youtube...

Nice Gif

 

And yeahh, I did. I dunno, I just could never find them. All that came up was Megaman's untranslated videos. I just assumed they were taken down.

[SomariFeyWright 776]

 

W-WAIT WHAT

 

A topic on Ace Attorney... and I've yet to speak in it?! This simply won't do!

 

I love the entire franchise: Everything about it. I love the challenge, I love the story, I love the characters, I love the gameplay, I love the humor, I love the bittersweet, I LOVE IT ALL. Not to mention Maya's my waifu, and Trucy's somewhere under her, so that's something.

 

Don't have a favorite game, have yet to get Dual Destinies, and I'm it's all-time biggest fan, no contest.

 

... I suppose that's all. For now...