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Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney: Reviews

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Game Score: 9/10

If you don't mind a good bit of reading in your video games, then Phoenix Wright definitely delivers, featuring gameplay similar to that of old-school text games as well as an engaging storyline. The game is split into two different modes: first the detective work, and afterward the trial itself. In the former, your objective is to move through various areas, all the while inspecting the environment as well as questioning people. As you progress, you learn more about the crime that took place and eventually reach the trial. The trial consists of witnesses submitting testimonies and Phoenix Wright (you) looking for flaws or inconsistencies in those testimonies through both logic and use of court evidence. This remake for the Nintendo DS also includes a special episode where you can do nifty DS-specific things with the touch-screen and microphone.

Accompanying the drama are the anime-style graphics. Because this game was originally for the Gameboy Advance, the visuals might seem a little dated on the DS, but are perfect for what Phoenix Wright is: a text adventure game. Since you are reading most of the time anyway, it makes sense to minimize on unnecessary animations and use mostly still frames (whether this is ultimately good or bad is up to you). That said, everything is very colorful and detailed, making every moment of this game nice to look at.

The sound is mostly in the same boat as the graphics. While Phoenix Wright sports some very catchy tunes, the quality of the music is brought down by both the game's GBA origins and the DS's sound system. The sound effects, however, matched the graphic style very well. I found it to be a perfect adaptation to drawn manga, with each effect playing at a certain frame similarly to effects being written in the background of manga panel. Of course better quality sound and music would be nice (as I feel is the case with every DS game), but it works decently as it is.

Gameplay is where the game begins to shine, giving you the opportunity to be the detective/lawyer you've always wanted to be. While the gameplay is not especially complex, I found it extremely entertaining to be actively trying to find clues and solve the mystery. The testimony review was also interesting; unlike the detective work, where you are moving about and looking for evidence, the testimonies provide a catalyst for you to sit down and begin processing what information you know into a sequence of events. What made it exciting was that most of the solutions I came up with matched what the game expected you to think of, making the process very satisfying.

And how does the game know what you're going to think? Through awesome storytelling, that's how! This is easily the best part of the game: the storyline and how it unfolds. If you have ever seen a mystery movie or show, then you know about how the solution always seems too coincidental or convoluted. This is not the case with Phoenix Wright. Because the story progresses slowly, the player can guess the solution before it is given. The solution is always quite clever, and you will be surprised at how different your first impression of the case is from what really happened.

As you might have guessed, there is very little replayability; once you figure out the solution, you're pretty much done. This should warrant a "rental only" rating on the game, but even without the length, I found Phoenix Wright to be a worthy addition to my library, much like how you might secretly collect old tapes of Murder, She Wrote or Matlock.

With all things considered, Phoenix Wright is an awesome game with a few forgivable flaws. Buy it if you like murder mysteries or if you want to show your friend "this crazy Japanese lawyer game that I found!"