""You're lying dammit! And I can prove it!""

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was a game that combined courtroom drama with quirkiness. Needless to say, the game was a success and that's why it has spawned several more games. In Japan, the series is known as Gyakuten Saiben. Justice for All is the direct sequel to Phoenix Wright. It takes place one year later.

The first case of this game is a tutorial case much like the first case in the original. This means that it is possible for someone who hasn't played the original to get this. However, that is really not recommended. You will have missed out on some major plot points and you won't fully be able to comprehend the entirety of the situation. So if you have not played the original, get that first. Seriously. In the courtroom, your job is to prove the defendant innocent. To do this, you must show the evidence you have gathered when it is necessary to present it and you need to question the witnesses and in doing so reveal the lies in their testimonies. I suppose it would be good to mention that information about the people you encounter and the evidence you collect are all stored in the Court Record which can pretty much be accessed at all times. When you are cross-examining a witness, there are two things you can do. First, you can press the witness. When you do this, they'll be forced to elaborate which will often allow for changes in their testimony. Pressing in a very important aspect because once you've found an inconsistency in the witness's testimony, you can present evidence via court record to put them on the defensive. If you present wrong evidence though, you will lose life on your health-bar by the judge. If all of your health run out, it's Game Over for you. Really, it's more of the same. The same being awesomeness of course.

Favorite characters like Phoenix, Edgeworth, Maya as well as other minor characters all return in this game. Of course, this game also has many new characters and clients. Most of these characters are quirky and amusing. As far as characters in comparison to the original, I actually felt like thr first had a slightly better cast but the good thing about this game is some of the best characters from the original appear in this game as well.

Investigation work is back in this game but it was actually a little more interesting and interactive this time around. Admittedly, the investigation work can get slightly boring and tedious at times and it's a fact that it isn't nearly as good as the actual courtroom drama. Before the actual trial, you need to do detective work. In many areas you will be able to examine the scene with the control pad. If the examine panel appears, you can… well, examine it. Sometimes it will be invaluable evidence or other times it will be pointless commentary. Talking with people is also a very important aspect. By talking with various people you will learn about a wide variety of things that will more often than not be useful for the upcoming trial. Keep in mind that you will sometimes need to present evidence from your court record to a certain person to get them to talk. Justice for All also features a new aspect, the “Psych-Lock” feature. With this, you will know when a person is hiding something and you will then have to present evidence to break these psych-locks.

The soundtrack is different in this game. Overall, it is not as good as the original but the cornered music and the Inform the Truth are improved over that in the original so it isn't all bad. I was upset with what they changed at first but then I didn't end up minding a whole lot. Graphically, this game does have an anime-ish tone to it which I personally didn't mind. I can't see the games quirkiness working any other way. Each person has different facial expressions and it's always amusing to see them change when they're in trouble.

This game has no bonus case like the previous game did. That means that this game is shorter than the first which was already a flaw of the first. So I was very disappointed with only four cases. However, the game redeemed itself because Case 4 of this game is better than any game in the original. This game really is the same as the original. This is good though. If you liked the original, then you will undoubtedly like this.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/07