"Just(ice) about as intricate as games get (for all)"

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All is quite a complex game. The basic gameplay consists of first hearing about a crime, then collecting evidence around the scene, then going to trial to help your defendant get his or her "Not Guilty" verdict, sometimes repeating the evidence-collection phase and a second day in court. It sounds simple enough, and the first case is rather simple, but by the time you reach the fourth and final case, the complexity has increased exponentially, and much more thought is required to complete the case.

The graphics are quite detailed, with nice large character sprites that sometimes take up the full height of the screen and have animations that last a few seconds, such as the third case's defendant throwing cards all over the screen. Back when the game was first released on the GBA in Japan, these graphics filled up the cart rather quickly. Despite that, every character has a good assortment of animations... even some new ones for returning characters from the first game. Evidence and character profiles are also very detailed, from buttons on a cellphone to properly lighting a character's hair to match her sprites.

The music is not the same music from the first game. However, it still manages to work with the feel of the game, which is quite an achievement, as JFA's mood can vary from circus-style happy to anger-producing shock... or even the despair of imminent defeat. Of particular note, there's a great theme that plays when the prosecutor shows up unexpectedly that captures the feeling of triumph they are probably feeling. And the witness testimony music has become a very mysterious theme, great for veiling the truth behind.

The cast of characters ranges the entire spectrum once again. There's Phoenix Wright, your character, the headstrong defense attorney with his partner Maya Fey, the slightly klutzy spirit medium with an affinity for trouble. Opposing him is Franziska von Karma, a teenage German prosecuting prodigy who has never lost a case with an affinity for whipping anybody she dislikes. Bumbling Detective Gumshoe returns, not that competent, but always willing to lend a hand, and Franziska's favorite whipping boy. And the new characters' names are as punny as the rest - Dustin Prince is a police officer, Lawrence "Moe" Curls is a very stoogey clown, Morgan Fey is Maya's aunt and the mother of a new friend, Pearl Fey. Pearl "fills in" for Maya whenever Maya's gotten herself into trouble, and her youthful exuberance and pure naivete is refreshing.

Gameplay is really as simple as it comes. The upper screen is reserved for the action, and the lower screen always has buttons on it that you can touch. Maybe Detective Gumshoe is holding back on some evidence? If you can "Present" something to him, he just might relent and give it over. Or you want him to "Talk" about something, but it's not a dialogue choice? Hand him the right evidence or character profile, and he might choose to talk about it too. However, starting in the second case, some people hesitate to talk about the most important elements of the case. That's when a new mechanic comes in - Maya's Magatama. Show it to someone who's hiding something, and you'll see just how badly they want it hidden (on a scale of one to five Psyche-Locks). Now it's time for you to put the puzzle together on your own... show them things on Phoenix's prompts, and you'll eventually break a lock because you figured out what really happened. Break all of their locks, and their secret's out. They'll talk. But make a mistake, and the second new mechanic comes in - Phoenix now has a "life bar". When it runs out, the current Magatama interrogation ends, forcing you to start over with no room for error. The game cannot end outside of the courtroom, so you do have infinite chances. Shatter all of someone's locks, and the life bar refills by 50% of its total... quite, quite handy because your life bar carries over into the courtroom. Mistakes in court can cost you just a small sliver... or 100% of the bar, depending on how crucial the mistake was - choose the wrong thing when the Judge says you have one chance, you lose. The life bar also only resets at the end of the case, so little mistakes can really add up.

Interestingly, case #4 has two endings... TWO ways to finish the game. And one of those endings also branches into several variants depending on just which options you choose after one absolutely crucial point. It doesn't add much to the replay value, as you can save anytime and reload that save until you get to another phase of a case (same or different), but it's nice that the ending hinges on the player's choices at the most critical juncture of the case. The game's still a fairly recent release, so I suggest going out and buying it! If you haven't played the first one, I would suggest finding it as well - it's gone through a record number of "printings" due to word-of-mouth popularity.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/07