"Not as great as the first, but still very good"

Introduction

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was a hit with almost everyone who played it. In the game you controlled Phoenix Wright, a rookie attorney, in his first 5 cases, against enemy prosecutors, to defend those who were actually innocent. The concept sounded boring, but Capcom made a great game. The game didn't take itself seriously, there were amazing twists, the lines were great, and the characters were well-developed. The 2nd game takes over a few months after the first one left off. Unfortunately, it doesn't succeed in living up to the first game in any category. It is, however, still a great game.

Gameplay: 7/10

For those of you who are looking for a game that has lots of action, Phoenix Wright isn't for you. The series is about the story, and the gameplay is clearly a secondary aspect. While investigating for information and evidence that will help you in court(more on that later), you travel to different important areas using menus on the lower screen. Using this menu you can talk to different people who have connections with the case(i.e. the detective), present evidence to them, and get new evidence or information from them. You also must find evidence yourself, by examining areas for things that look important(i.e. a trophy case) for more evidence. All of this is done on the touch screen, while the game's story progresses on the top screen, through text that you control on the bottom screen.

After you finish investigating for that day, you go to court to go against the prosecutor for the case. Witnesses will come and give testimony. You can press them to get more information(or if there's not a clear contradiction). Most of the time, either from the original testimony or after you press them, a witness will have said something that contradicts the evidence. You then go to that statement and present the piece of evidence it contradicts. They will then go through more testimony and more witnesses until the final truth is finally revealed.

The difficulty in this game is fairly high. There is lots of information you need to keep track of, and some stuff won't make any sense until further investigations.

Story: 9/10

This game is clearly built around its story. The characters are well-developed, and all face hardships they have to overcome. Without going into much detail, Phoenix's entire perception on his job as a lawyer is destroyed in magnificent fashion in the last case. There is a moral amibiguity in this game that the first lacked. Its not a clear cut good-guy/bad-guy when it comes to the characters or even the actual murderers. You meet new characters in every case, and all are almost as well-developed as the main characters. However, some of these characters are downright annoying, and while thats realistic, it is annoying for the player. Also, the Justice for All has a lame excuse for the tutorial, which is a disappointment.

Graphics: 6/10

The Phoenix Wright series was originally on the GBA(in Japan only) and you can tell from the graphics. Animations are repeated often, and it has an anime feel to it. The plus side is, the characters are very well designed, and the animations, while few, are great.

Music: 10/10

Justice for All's music doesn't match the first game's, but it still deserves a 10/10. There are many tracks in this game, and most of them are very good. The ones that are merely serviceable are the ones that try to replace the best tracks from the last game. As this game is darker then the first, the music isn't as "fun" as the music in the first, and it adds to the story and emotions that are going on in the game.

Playtime/Replaybility: 8/10

The game is fairly long for a DS game, if you go through it without a walkthrough(other then the really tricky stuff), it should last you a good 15-20 hours. Replaybility goes on a person-to-person basis. Many people have no desire to replay the game because they know what happens, but others(like me) find that its the same as rereading a book, and that if a story is good, it should be enjoyed many times. So depending on the type of reader you are, the game either has high or low replay value.

Buy or Rent

This goes hand in hand with the previous section. If you have time on your hands to finish the game in a week(standard rental fare) and don't think you'd have a desire to replay it, rent it. If you are the type of person who would reread a good book, I'd recommend you buy it.

Conclusion

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All doesn't live up to the standards of the first game, which was a masterpeice, but it is still a good game in its own wright. Horrible puns aside, it is an upper echelon DS game, and one that will be in your DS from the time you put it in until the time you beat the game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/31/07

Game Release: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice for All (US, 01/16/07)