Ace Attorney Retrospective - Phoenix Wright

In 2001, a game designer at Capcom named Shu Takumi created a trilogy of virtual novels for the Game Boy Advance about courts of law. Its huge sucess in Japan prompted Capcom to remake it for the DS, and this time localize it for the west. The remakes were ported to mobile devices, PCs in Japan, WiiWare and are set to rerelease on mobile devices as HD remakes. The first game I will be reviewing is the DS version of the first game:

The Story:

I won't go into any detail about the story since pretty much anything I say will be a spoiler. You're Phoenix Wright, a young defense attorney who is just now starting his career. The story is great. It has an over the top tone, hilarious dialogue and tons of memorable characters. The trial scenes are always intense and keep you glued to the screen. The cases you will be working on are full of twists and turns, so it's incredibly easy to remain engaged. There are a lot of inconsistencies and huge leaps away from logic that will annoy some people, but the insane nature of the series clearly means we're not supposed to take it completely seriously.

8.5/10


The Gameplay:

The gameplay mostly consists of nothing more than browsing through menus. You present evidence, investigate crime scenes and question people as dictated by the story. The fifth case, which is new to this remake, makes great use of the DS's mic and touch screen for some variety.

The game doesn't require much interactivity, but it does a good enough job of immersing the player in the world of the game.

7/10


The Music:

The music was composed by Masakazu Sugimori and it does a great job at giving the game atmosphere and enhancing the story.

8/10


The Graphics:

This series uses 2D sprites and backgrounds to create an anime movie feel. Character animations are very detailed and give them a lot of personality. Character design is probably what people might remember the most besides the story, as most characters have very weird designs that help make them very memorable.

10/10


Overall, Phoenix Wright is a game that was clearly made to prioritize story, which works because the story is so great. It's a great game that everyone should try.

Final Grade: 8.4/10


See you next review ;)