game review | ace attorney series
Here I am with my very first game review! Yay! And it will be about the Ace Attorney series.
Heh. Okay. Let's see how this plays out.
Those are some pretty long names for just four games.
I was Googling some top 25 lists of games for DS and the series just seem to pop out every now and then in different lists from different websites, so I downloaded all of them off Romulation. At first, I wasn't into the game as much as I thought I would be, I was all weirded out because I thought it would be boring. I mean, law? Courtroom stuff? Uh... okay. I was playing it on my R4 and I had a bunch of games in there too, and I would just *stare* into the games and just scrolling through them, not knowing what to play next, so obviously, I was distracted with other games most of the time. I just could never seem to get over that habit. I did tinker around with the first one for a bit and got around the second case, and then moved on to a different game (level of distractedness: 10), and then, a few months later, when news of the latest one for the 3DS came out, Dual Destinies, my coworker mentioned that it was a good one, but I wouldn't be able to relate if I didn't play the first ones. Huh. Okay. I was in that get-every-3DS-game-I-could-get-my-hands-on-even-though-I-don't-have-a-lot-of-time phase, so I thought to myself that I have to play the older games first before I buy this. So then I was set. I was ready to tackle this. Again.
I know that the series have been around for quite some time, since I think 2006 ish? No, 2005. I think even earlier for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) version. It just goes to show that I am not very well-informed in terms of what new games are coming out, so here I am, blogging about these series a good nine years later.
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| Let's get it on, Wright! |
I know that the series have been around for quite some time, since I think 2006 ish? No, 2005. I think even earlier for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) version. It just goes to show that I am not very well-informed in terms of what new games are coming out, so here I am, blogging about these series a good nine years later.
In the Ace Attorney series, you play as new defense lawyer (or, in game terms, "green horn") Phoenix Wright. It takes place in 2016, somewhere in the future. I haven't played any game like it. I mean, it's about law and court stuff... you know, boring, adult things. I don't think that it would have as much appeal to kids unlike Mario Kart or Pokemon. There are no secret levels, warping, hidden items (although you do have to look for hidden things when examining), no infinite lives, no scores.
I guess you could categorize it as role-playing? I mean, you do play the role of an attorney, so I guess that's a yes. Throughout the cases of the games, you get a quick clip of how the victim was murdered (or what happened, generally). Sometimes you see the murderer, sometimes you don't. And then you will get a phone call of some sort or will be forced to take the case due to some circumstances, like Maya. They accuse the innocent ones who were at the wrong place at the wrong time, and it's your job to get them a not guilty verdict by unmasking the real murderer, or it will be a game over. Simple enough. You talk to different characters throughout the game to get clues and to get a bigger picture, examine evidence, move to different places involved, present evidence, object, etc. It's dialogue-based, and you need to actually *think* of some things and rationalize even the most absurd solutions and checking things out at different angles. Most of the cases are murder cases (I think there was only one that was a theft one). They even have this feature on the DS where you can yell 'Objection!' into the microphone to get Phoenix to object. I've only done that a couple times tho since I mostly played it during my breaks and downtime at work (slacker!) and during the commute. I didn't want to sound like an idiot talking to my handheld gaming system.
What really captured me was that, the characters are just so lovable and... I dunno, not too out of this world? Believable? Relateable? I don't know how many attorneys you can relate to. Like, I just love Feenie (Phoenix) and how he blunders most of the time, and Detective Gumshoe who blunders even more. They are my two favorite characters in the series, and I guess you could add Pearls in there and the cute Missile! The dog was only there for a short bit but... aaah!
And I totally have a crush on the pixels of Diego Armando and just literally feel all pitter-patter and can't help but laugh when his music comes on.
I swear, I fell in love with the characters. How can you not? Seriously? Some of them are so over the top and ridiculous, but I somehow can see them in real life! The graphics are not the best, it is a DS game after all, so you can't really expect much. The names they give them are even weird, like April May, Glen Elg, and Luke Atmey (Zvarri! Seriously). There was even one that I swear to god looks like Chris when he smiles.
Not to mention, some of the dialogues are HILARIOUS and just love, love, love, love the judge. Oh god, one time he mentioned something like "Don't talk to me as if I live in a nursing home" or something. I literally laughed out loud on that. Oh, jeez. I know that not everybody can relate to the dialogues or see the humour factor. Sometimes I go awww when something happens to Gumshoe (he's so maltreated). The characters have grown on me. I can't help it. There was even a time when Maya was all about burgers and because of her I was craving burgers myself!
In the beginning of a game, the first cases are usually pretty easy since they give you a little how-to with the controls. The rest of the cases (there's usually about 4-5 in a game), can get a little long and complicated, but still fun of course. I do admit-- I cheated. I honest to goodness looked up a guide to help me through on most of games 1-3. I try to look it up only when I get really stuck. Or not. On the last game, Apollo Justice, I tried to stick it out without having to consult the guide. I only looked some things up a couple times and tried to do everything by myself. Although I wasn't as fond of that one as much as the first three. I found the bracelet thing a little more peculiar than the magatama.
It's not the perfect game. I did see some typos because it was literally translated from the Japanese version after all, and there are qualms about the replayability of it. It's a game where once you know the storyline it becomes too easy. But I know I will replay them again just for the nostalgia factor. Or just for the heck of it.
I guess you could categorize it as role-playing? I mean, you do play the role of an attorney, so I guess that's a yes. Throughout the cases of the games, you get a quick clip of how the victim was murdered (or what happened, generally). Sometimes you see the murderer, sometimes you don't. And then you will get a phone call of some sort or will be forced to take the case due to some circumstances, like Maya. They accuse the innocent ones who were at the wrong place at the wrong time, and it's your job to get them a not guilty verdict by unmasking the real murderer, or it will be a game over. Simple enough. You talk to different characters throughout the game to get clues and to get a bigger picture, examine evidence, move to different places involved, present evidence, object, etc. It's dialogue-based, and you need to actually *think* of some things and rationalize even the most absurd solutions and checking things out at different angles. Most of the cases are murder cases (I think there was only one that was a theft one). They even have this feature on the DS where you can yell 'Objection!' into the microphone to get Phoenix to object. I've only done that a couple times tho since I mostly played it during my breaks and downtime at work (slacker!) and during the commute. I didn't want to sound like an idiot talking to my handheld gaming system.
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| Men that are trapped by the chains of "maybe"... can never reach their dreams! |
And I totally have a crush on the pixels of Diego Armando and just literally feel all pitter-patter and can't help but laugh when his music comes on.
I swear, I fell in love with the characters. How can you not? Seriously? Some of them are so over the top and ridiculous, but I somehow can see them in real life! The graphics are not the best, it is a DS game after all, so you can't really expect much. The names they give them are even weird, like April May, Glen Elg, and Luke Atmey (Zvarri! Seriously). There was even one that I swear to god looks like Chris when he smiles.
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| It's a bad edit but... it's so him. |
Not to mention, some of the dialogues are HILARIOUS and just love, love, love, love the judge. Oh god, one time he mentioned something like "Don't talk to me as if I live in a nursing home" or something. I literally laughed out loud on that. Oh, jeez. I know that not everybody can relate to the dialogues or see the humour factor. Sometimes I go awww when something happens to Gumshoe (he's so maltreated). The characters have grown on me. I can't help it. There was even a time when Maya was all about burgers and because of her I was craving burgers myself!
 |
| Mais Oui! Oui, oui, oui! |
In the beginning of a game, the first cases are usually pretty easy since they give you a little how-to with the controls. The rest of the cases (there's usually about 4-5 in a game), can get a little long and complicated, but still fun of course. I do admit-- I cheated. I honest to goodness looked up a guide to help me through on most of games 1-3. I try to look it up only when I get really stuck. Or not. On the last game, Apollo Justice, I tried to stick it out without having to consult the guide. I only looked some things up a couple times and tried to do everything by myself. Although I wasn't as fond of that one as much as the first three. I found the bracelet thing a little more peculiar than the magatama.
It's not the perfect game. I did see some typos because it was literally translated from the Japanese version after all, and there are qualms about the replayability of it. It's a game where once you know the storyline it becomes too easy. But I know I will replay them again just for the nostalgia factor. Or just for the heck of it.
Bottom line: I love it. I'm glad I played it. I love it so much that I may just name my future son Phoenix and nickname him Feenie. I could not put this down, I had to finish it through and through. And it's also the type of game wherein if you put it down you will kinda get lost if you forgot what happened. I haven't purchased Dual Destinies yet but you bet I will.
Animation: 7/10
Graphics: 8/10
Music: 8/10
Story: 9/10
This is for you if: you like RPGs but want something a little different than the usual killing monsters and leveling up.
Not for you if: you hate dialogues.
Hope you liked this review and maybe I got you to play the game too!
Not for you if: you hate dialogues.
Hope you liked this review and maybe I got you to play the game too!
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