Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

"If you don't have this game... OBJECTION!"

PROS: Excellent, hilarious storyline; well-developed characters; better gameplay than one would expect; long and enjoyable

CONS: There'd be an OBJECTION if there were any.

The name is Wright. Phoenix Wright.

Well, that isn't my name. It's the name of a defense attorney. Phoenix just graduated from law school, and needs YOUR help to prove his clients innocent. This is the future- 2017, and there's a new quick-trial system in effect. Why? Because there is. That's all. Juries are absent here because of this- guilty clients will go to a higher court to have a trial by jury. Of course, the system resembles the Japanese court system more so than the American one, but it's pretty easy to get the gist of the concepts.

Now, this game shines with its storyline. It's story-based, so it damn well should. The first case is basically a tutorial where you (Phoenix) need to defend your longtime friend Larry Butz in his murder trial. He apparently killed his girlfriend. Of course, you know he didn't do it. You're a defense attorney. Your job is to prove him innocent. You need to use the evidence available in the “Court Record” to present at crucial times in witness testimony. If you present the wrong evidence, you get penalized by the judge. Five strikes and your client is declared guilty regardless of any developments in the trial. There is usually only one place to do this in each testimony, and the evidence builds up as the trial continues- the prosecutor likes to present things to help get the client guilty. A prosecutor's job here is to prove the client guilty by any means necessary, even if they have to lie and cheat to do it. Therefore, the prosecutor is a sort of a bad guy in the courtroom, but they don't always come across like that.

As I said, the first case is simply a tutorial. The cases afterward change the game up. You have to investigate the crime scene- and other areas- yourself to gather evidence to find out who the real killer is, whether it is your client or not. You have to try to incriminate someone else in order to prove your own client innocent. A lot of the evidence is also used to get people to talk. Each of the game's five cases has witnesses and other characters, some of which hardly fit into the story, but they still contribute something. Most of these characters are memorable and enjoyable to… uh… read. There's no voice acting because most DS games don't have that, and with a game heavily reliant on text, Capcom would have to trim the cases in this game down to three or four, which would hurt the game's score. Now, some of the characters you'll meet include a somewhat bumbling detective, Dick Gumshoe; your foxy boss, Mia Fey; Mia's perky sister, Maya; a few prosecutors; the judge; a crazy photographer; and several others. Several of them are very memorable, especially the villains. Most of them are really strong characters with really evil plots… for a lawyer simulator, anyway. You don't know who it is as the start of any given case, and the game is full of surprises that you won't see coming at all. This alone makes it worthwhile. Also, the game has all kinds of jokes and puns littered throughout it- even several of the character's names are hilarious alone. This helps contribute to the already excellent storyline, and the game would likely falter without its sense of humor.

The controls of this game are solid. You have two options- touch screen or buttons. Both flow nicely and are self-explanatory. The DS's microphone and other capabilities are also used. You can hold the Y button to turn on the microphone to yell “OBJECTION!” and “HOLD IT!” yourself, making it feel more like you're Phoenix. The recognition can be iffy at times, but it usually will work. Also, in the very long case 5, there are a few extras. You can examine hidden fingerprints and spray Luminol to locate blood. This is what makes case 5 different than the other four – an extended investigation, which the game needs by that point even though the previous cases win on plot alone. Case 5 alone takes 10 hours or so to beat, which is incredible. The rest of the game comes in at about 15 more hours, which is nice. Of course, some of that is from hunting for critical pieces of evidence that you may have missed. GameFAQs exists for a reason, but you won't need to consult FAQs all the time. Playing the game without help is entertaining on its own. That's part of the fun of it, but FAQs are always a good backup plan.

Now, you're likely wondering about replay value. There isn't a lot of immediate replay because you already know what happens. Give it a couple months and you'll enjoy it through again because you won't remember every single detail. The cross-examinations of the witnesses have the numbers of a flock of Spearow, so it's nearly impossible to remember every single one of them. Each case is fun in its own way, especially with the personalities of the characters in each case. Few appear in multiple cases other than Phoenix, Mia, Maya, and a certain prosecutor with a hell of a history, but it's still worthwhile to play through the entire game just to see what kind of wild characters you'll meet next.

Overall, this game rocks. Even though it really isn't all that much of a game- the investigations and cross-examinations, plus some questions that may cause problems, are basically all there is. However, the game doesn't become repetitive and the story alone makes it a must-own for the DS. If you don't have this game… OBJECTION!. Easy 9 out of 10.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/07