 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Action/Adventure Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Reviewed By: Dale Kulas |
When I initially heard the concept for the very first attorney/crime solving Phoenix Wright game on the DS, I felt like I was one of the few
people genuinely excited for its release. I am a fan of television crime dramas such as CSI and The Shield, and even though I never
wanted to go through the plethora of paperwork of being a real attorney, I was always fascinated with the field, and had some fond
memories of a Business Law class years back in high school. After hearing about “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney” for the DS and having
the ability to search for clues to solve cases and possess control of raising objections in a courtroom, it sounded like my ultimate niche
game.
Phoenix Wright is a rookie attorney, fresh out of law school. He struggles, and manages to win his first case with the help of his mentor,
Mia Fey. After the first case, a shocking set of circumstances occur that lands Phoenix in charge of his defense office. Throughout Ace
Attorney's five cases, players meet the colorful cast of characters that add so much to the bulk of Ace Attorney's story. Characters such
as Detective Gumshoe and rival prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, among others may pose as Phoenix's enemies early on, but the more
that is learned about each character's background, the more Phoenix's relationship changes with them, for better or worse. Most
importantly, for a game as heavily dialogue based as Ace Attorney, the writing stays fresh and interesting until the very end, a surprising
feat considering the length of the game.
The first case is a pleasantly disguised one hour tutorial. It does a flawless job of introducing the controls and how to search for clues,
cross-examine witnesses, present evidence and most importantly, raise objections. Ace Attorney was originally released in Japan as a
GBA game, but the folks at Capcom made a smooth transition to the DS so the entire game could be controlled via the touch screen
(though if preferred, a traditional control option is still available). The menus used to cycle through evidence, characters, and search for
clues work spot on with the DS, though there isn't any extraordinary use for the touch screen until reaching the final case, which was
designed exclusively for the DS.
Each case more or less plays out the same. A cut scene introduces the crime and characters involved in the case, and then Phoenix
meets his defendant and spends the day searching crime scenes for vital clues imperative to his case. Court follows, where the
prosecutor will examine a witness, and then Phoenix will cross-examine, trying his best to exploit holes and find contradictions in
testimonies via presenting evidence at pivotal moments in the testimony. If Phoenix presents the wrong piece of evidence, he will get
penalized, and after so many penalties it's game over (though an extremely convenient save anywhere option provides plenty of room for
trial and error).
Players repeat this process for all five cases, and while it may sound like a painfully boring "wash, rinse, repeat" process, it's not…..for
the most part. Usually so much time is spent conversing with characters, finding clues, solving puzzles, and in the courtroom that it
provides a diverse mix of activities without any overstaying their welcome. The pacing towards the end is what nearly breaks Ace
Attorney. After the initial tutorial case, the next three cases are around three to four hours in length each. With the fourth lasting a little
longer as the original final act for the GBA game. Going into fifth bonus case, the play time tripled as the final case took approximately
12 hours to complete for a grand total of around 25 hours of play. That's a great value, but after getting conditioned to the case length in
the first four cases, about halfway through I kept finding myself wanting the case to be done with. If it wasn't for the aforementioned
terrific writing and new touch screen implementation in the final case, it would have been exponentially troubling to rough out those last
several hours of play.
Since Ace Attorney is a port of a GBA game, don't be surprised going in the visuals are far from showcasing the DS's potential. The art
style mostly consists of static character images, with minor hand and facial gestures to coincide with their dialogue. This took a while to
adjust to, and most of the animations do get repetitive early on. One would think Capcom could have added some "exclusive" DS
character animations for a little more variety, but the limited amount of quirky animations that are here do a lot to help establish each
character's unique personality.
The first thing that comes to mind aurally about Ace Attorney is "objection!" That popular court term is one of the few lines of voiced
dialogue sprinkled throughout Ace Attorney. Even though that line is heard past the triple digits for the duration of Ace Attorney,
something about it never got repetitive. On the other hand, some of the background tracks did however. Each character has their own
theme song that plays when they're on the witness stand or being questioned. Now a lot of these themes really help define the
characters that Phoenix helps throughout the game, but with some of the more recurring characters I was dying to hear something fresh
and different by the final case.
Nitpicks aside, “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney” shaped up to be an all around great game for the DS. Its unique concept and game play
turned out to be the perfect fit for the DS. Capcom initially printed a low run of Ace Attorney expecting disappointing sales, however due
to the shocking success and demand of Ace Attorney Capcom rushed out more shipments to retailers. In the three years since the
release of it in America, Ace Attorney has already spawned three sequels. If you're late to the party like me and want to find out what
you're missing out on, then definitely pick up Ace Attorney.
people genuinely excited for its release. I am a fan of television crime dramas such as CSI and The Shield, and even though I never
wanted to go through the plethora of paperwork of being a real attorney, I was always fascinated with the field, and had some fond
memories of a Business Law class years back in high school. After hearing about “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney” for the DS and having
the ability to search for clues to solve cases and possess control of raising objections in a courtroom, it sounded like my ultimate niche
game.
Phoenix Wright is a rookie attorney, fresh out of law school. He struggles, and manages to win his first case with the help of his mentor,
Mia Fey. After the first case, a shocking set of circumstances occur that lands Phoenix in charge of his defense office. Throughout Ace
Attorney's five cases, players meet the colorful cast of characters that add so much to the bulk of Ace Attorney's story. Characters such
as Detective Gumshoe and rival prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, among others may pose as Phoenix's enemies early on, but the more
that is learned about each character's background, the more Phoenix's relationship changes with them, for better or worse. Most
importantly, for a game as heavily dialogue based as Ace Attorney, the writing stays fresh and interesting until the very end, a surprising
feat considering the length of the game.
The first case is a pleasantly disguised one hour tutorial. It does a flawless job of introducing the controls and how to search for clues,
cross-examine witnesses, present evidence and most importantly, raise objections. Ace Attorney was originally released in Japan as a
GBA game, but the folks at Capcom made a smooth transition to the DS so the entire game could be controlled via the touch screen
(though if preferred, a traditional control option is still available). The menus used to cycle through evidence, characters, and search for
clues work spot on with the DS, though there isn't any extraordinary use for the touch screen until reaching the final case, which was
designed exclusively for the DS.
Each case more or less plays out the same. A cut scene introduces the crime and characters involved in the case, and then Phoenix
meets his defendant and spends the day searching crime scenes for vital clues imperative to his case. Court follows, where the
prosecutor will examine a witness, and then Phoenix will cross-examine, trying his best to exploit holes and find contradictions in
testimonies via presenting evidence at pivotal moments in the testimony. If Phoenix presents the wrong piece of evidence, he will get
penalized, and after so many penalties it's game over (though an extremely convenient save anywhere option provides plenty of room for
trial and error).
Players repeat this process for all five cases, and while it may sound like a painfully boring "wash, rinse, repeat" process, it's not…..for
the most part. Usually so much time is spent conversing with characters, finding clues, solving puzzles, and in the courtroom that it
provides a diverse mix of activities without any overstaying their welcome. The pacing towards the end is what nearly breaks Ace
Attorney. After the initial tutorial case, the next three cases are around three to four hours in length each. With the fourth lasting a little
longer as the original final act for the GBA game. Going into fifth bonus case, the play time tripled as the final case took approximately
12 hours to complete for a grand total of around 25 hours of play. That's a great value, but after getting conditioned to the case length in
the first four cases, about halfway through I kept finding myself wanting the case to be done with. If it wasn't for the aforementioned
terrific writing and new touch screen implementation in the final case, it would have been exponentially troubling to rough out those last
several hours of play.
Since Ace Attorney is a port of a GBA game, don't be surprised going in the visuals are far from showcasing the DS's potential. The art
style mostly consists of static character images, with minor hand and facial gestures to coincide with their dialogue. This took a while to
adjust to, and most of the animations do get repetitive early on. One would think Capcom could have added some "exclusive" DS
character animations for a little more variety, but the limited amount of quirky animations that are here do a lot to help establish each
character's unique personality.
The first thing that comes to mind aurally about Ace Attorney is "objection!" That popular court term is one of the few lines of voiced
dialogue sprinkled throughout Ace Attorney. Even though that line is heard past the triple digits for the duration of Ace Attorney,
something about it never got repetitive. On the other hand, some of the background tracks did however. Each character has their own
theme song that plays when they're on the witness stand or being questioned. Now a lot of these themes really help define the
characters that Phoenix helps throughout the game, but with some of the more recurring characters I was dying to hear something fresh
and different by the final case.
Nitpicks aside, “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney” shaped up to be an all around great game for the DS. Its unique concept and game play
turned out to be the perfect fit for the DS. Capcom initially printed a low run of Ace Attorney expecting disappointing sales, however due
to the shocking success and demand of Ace Attorney Capcom rushed out more shipments to retailers. In the three years since the
release of it in America, Ace Attorney has already spawned three sequels. If you're late to the party like me and want to find out what
you're missing out on, then definitely pick up Ace Attorney.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
