"Quickly becoming one of the best new series in video games."

Phoenix Wright Justice for All (PWJfA) provides something different, an experience that no game before it has given, and I think this is the reason why it has quickly assembled a die hard fan base in both Japan and America. It appeals most to the people who want something different, or just anyone who is a mystery fan. Anyone can point a gun and shoot in games like Halo, so there's something very endearing about using your head, weeding through lies in testimony, and presenting that crucial piece of evidence to try to get your client the not guilty verdict. Fans of the first game have no reason to not buy this one (for a decent $30 price tag it's a bargain, and if it sells out like the first one has, you may be able to make a pretty penny on E-bay with it someday).

The game isn't for everyone, and will probably never have the mass appeal that action oriented games have, but it's to be expected. Any players who can't stand reading through massive amounts of text should stay away, as that is practically the entire bulk of the game. Also, people who hate the anime look will for sure be turned off by the art style. However if your okay with both of these things, then this may be a game you'll enjoy as much as thousands of others have.

GRAPHICS: 7/10

Not much has changed from the first game in terms of graphics. Story book cut out characters with a handful of animations, most are used over from the first game, and backgrounds are nothing but still drawings. At the beginning of each case there are small cutscenes highlighting important aspects of the case, and these are actually pretty cool, if not very short.

SOUND: 8/10

Quite a bit of new music has been added, though there is some of the original music tact on. Most is forgettable, but just like before, the court room music is awesome, and changes according to the drama unfolding. Though you can mostly turn the volume off and not miss anything, I always found my self turning it up during the court sections, smiling as I caught peoples lies and the music quickly changes accordingly. The rest of the sound effects are mostly just the beeps and bloops of cycling through the menu's.

CONTROL: 7/10

There isn't that much to control of course. You cycle through menu's as you talk, examine, move, and present evidence. You can used the d-pad and face buttons to scroll through menu's, or you can use the stylus and touch screen which is once again my preferred way of playing as it just feels very natural with the point and click stylings of the game.

GAMEPLAY: 8/10

The newest gameplay feature in the game is something called "Psyche-Locks." As you talk to people and potential witnesses sometimes they may be lying to cover up something. At these moments actual locks and chains form over the person that only you can see using a special item you recieve during the game. At this point you have to present evidence to try to open the locks on the witness. This is a very strange addition, and if it was hard for some people to swallow the idea of the wacky court system used in this world, than these people may just give up on the series all together after seeing this feature. Indeed it's hard to swallow, but it's mostly just a gameplay feature to more easily show the player what to do next. These moment are kind of fun, but unlike in court, you may not have the evidence you need to get through the process, which can be sort of frustrating as sometimes what the person says is kind of vague, or you have to remember something the person said in a previous conversation. The reason this is so frustrating is the fact that the "life bar" they give you for the psyche-locks is the same bar you use in court. So when you present the wrong piece of evidence whatever you lose off the bar during these sections will be gone when you go to court. The bar does refill by 50% with each successful unlock however, but it's still annoying when you can't miss any locks, in fear of having to start the process all over again.

Like I stated earlier, the "5 strikes" bar used in the first game has been replaced with and actual "life bar" style, so each segment of testimony, and evidence presentation is judged on it's own merits on how important the moment is. Sometimes with a full bar you can miss ten times and keep going, while at others if you present the wrong piece of evidence you'll lose a third of the bar. I like this idea better than the 5 strikes way, and hope they keep the same idea in the next game.

The only other change in gameplay is that you can now present people profiles as evidence, which can almost double the amount of evidence you have in some cases, thus making it much harder to guess your way through the game.

It's strange that when every category is graded individualy it make the game seem only okay, but words on this page can't fully explain why this game is so fun. I like using my head, which is something other games could used more of. The game features some of the most memorable characters in recent memory, Lunar 2 is one of the only other games I can think of that can beat it, and by the time the last case rolls around you'll have a huge grin on your face, seeing all these characters coming together.

The only thing that's missing from this game is a fifth case like the first one had. For the American audiences we got a cool fifth case that used the capabilities of the touch screen. For some it felt tacked on, but it was a good case none-the-less, and was given the same great writing that the other cases had. At this point it dosen't look like the third game will have a similar case either (The game is called a Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations, and has a rumored release date of September 25th), but there is already a fourth game in Japan that is made for the DS, and that game may use the full power of the touch screen.

Any fans of the first game, pick it up. If you can't find the first game, or just want to jump in the series, this is about as good of a place to start as any. You may be missing some backstory, but it's not impossible to play through the game without it; they tried to make this game a seperate from the first as possilbe. Now all that's left for fans to do is wait patiently for the arrival of the next in the series, which will hopefully be just as fun and creative as the first two.

Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 8/10
Control: 7/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/24/07