"You Deserve Justice!....Again"

Many gamers, myself included, were left dumbfounded with the release of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Reading has been a hobby for my entire life, as have been video games; what better way to combine them with an incredible, exciting, text-based game? Phoenix Wright fit the bill, and enthralled gamers with its intriguing plot, point-and-click game play, and cast of unforgettable characters.

What more could I have asked for than a sequel? Justice for All retains many of the qualities of the original Ace Attorney that made it so lovable, while at the same time implementing great new cases and a few unique game play mechanics. Like the original Ace Attorney, you take on the role of defense lawyer Phoenix Wright. The game offers four cases, each longer, crazier, and more exciting than the previous. As you work through the game, you've got to take up your client's case and prove them innocent in a court of law.

The basic game play mechanic in Justice for All is nearly identical to that of the original Ace Attorney. The game is essentially divided up into two parts: investigating crime scenes, and actually going to court. The investigation aspect of the game will be familiar to anybody who's ever played a point-and-click computer game. You move around from area to area, inspecting your surroundings and finding clues. You will also have the opportunity to question people involved with the case, by asking them questions and presenting them with key pieces of evidence.

The big problem with this aspect of the game is that the investigative process is very linear -- and as a result, it suffers from the problems that such games often contain. The worst part is that this part of the game is far too linear. There is a very specific “formula” for exactly what you need to do and in what order you need to do it. If you stray from this predetermined path, you'll very quickly get stuck and have no idea what you're supposed to do next. Under certain circumstances, I suppose this would be fine, but the issue is that there are a few times when the next course of action just isn't logical. In these situations, you're really reduced to just walking randomly around and arbitrarily presenting items to people, and hoping that it triggers something. Needless to say, this can get immeasurably annoying.

That's not to say that the entire investigative process is boring or annoying, though. In fact, for the most part, this part of the game is fun and especially rewarding when you figure something out. It also implements a new game play mechanic that wasn't present in the original Ace Attorney: they're called Psyche Locks. Based off the idea that everybody has something to hide, there's an item in the game that allows you to see locks on a person's soul, encasing their innermost secrets. You should be able to guess, by now, that those secrets hugely impact the outcome of the court case, and so you need to do your best to unlock those secrets. How? Well, you'll be led through a stream-of-conscious theory, and you've essentially got to provide proof to back up the statements. With each decisive statement you prove, a lock shatters. Some secrets are more important than others, and as a result, the amount of locks varies greatly from person to person.

The courtroom parts of the game do a great job of balancing any slightly annoying aspects of the investigation aspect of the title. These scenes play out in a straightforward way, but they're still immensely exciting. The prosecution will bring witnesses to the stand who hope to prove your client guilty. You, as the defense attorney, must debunk any accusations (most of which are completely false, by the way) made against your client. Once a witness has testified, you have the opportunity to cross-examine him or her. You can press statements they made, in an attempt to gain more information about what they said or reveal a deep-rooted flaw. And if you see a contradiction, you must object to a statement and present a piece of evidence that proves your objection. It's incredibly exciting when you finally crack a tough witness, and the feeling of satisfaction is huge when you present a piece of evidence to take advantage of the slightest of contradictions.

While it is a lot of fun, even the courtroom scenes of Justice for All suffer from a few problems. First off is the fact that it can sometimes be annoying that even once you've clearly proven your client guilty, you're not yet off the hook. Instead, you've actually got to identify the guilty party and then prove that he or she is the perpetrator of the crime! Needless to say, this can get really frustrating, especially when you're client is innocent beyond a shadow of a doubt, yet you're forced to continue. Another problem is that the presentation of evidence is sometimes a bit flawed. For example, you may be able to figure out exactly what happened. Yet, you might not have the correct evidence to present, or it may be difficult to figure out exactly when to present the piece of evidence that proves your point. Still, though, these flaws are pretty minor, and don't detract hugely from the overall gaming experience.

The cases in the game (four in total) rival those of the original Ace Attorney. Unfortunately, Justice for All does sport one less case than the first game, which detracts significantly from the time you'll put into this game. Still, though, the cases are equally epic, and the last one in particular will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end, with an unprecedented and utterly shocking plot twist. One unfortunate issue is that there's no real arcing plot. In the first game, each of the cases were vaguely connected, and that connection was finally brought to light in the final turnabout. Sadly, though, no such feature is present in Justice for All. Instead, each case is completely independent and unrelated to the other three cases. They're still very fun and very well-written, with some phenomenal new characters, but it would have been even better had their been some sort of huge story arc.

The graphics are a bit of a set-back in Justice for All, solely because they're recycled images from the first game. Character renders are identical, and the animations are all the same, with the exception of a few new additions. It's a pity that improvements haven't been made, but it's also important to realize that the graphics aren't an incredibly important aspect of this game. And while they suffer a bit in terms of originality, they don't really hurt the game, aside from occasionally reminding you that you've already played a game very similar to this.

The music, on the other hand, is fantastic. While it's not quite as good as the original's, it's still very well-done and does a wonderful job of truly immersing you in this wacky world of Phoenix Wright's. The tunes are catchy and cheerful (for the most part), and are genuinely fun to listen to. How many games have music that you can say that about? And in addition, each character's theme is brilliant in portraying what that character is really like. It's a feat that doesn't come around very often, and the team behind the music for this game deserves a huge pat on the back for a job very well done.

One of the biggest problems of this game is, interestingly, often one of it's most overlooked aspects. You see, the game is disappointingly easy. Admittedly, the type of difficulty in this game certainly isn't typical for most video games. You'll be challenged not by tough boss battles or difficult strategic fights, but rather by thinking through convoluted stories filled with inaccuracies and lies. And yes, a lot of the game is actually quite difficult. However, this difficulty is completely compromised by the save feature. See, you can save anywhere in the game. Anywhere. So, simply saving every few minuets ensures that you'll never once take a single strike (you have a maximum of five strikes -- a strike is received when you make an incorrect objection or fail to procure important evidence at a crucial moment). While it's sad to see this game's difficulty go completely down the game, it's also a blessing of sorts. If the save feature wasn't the way it was, I can only imagine how incredibly frustrating it would be to have to play the same case over and over again just to get past one tough part.

Justice for All offers a decently long gaming experience, though it's not as long as its predecessor. If you've got some idea what you're doing, you can probably get through the game in 12 hours or less. The cases start out quite short and easy, but the last two, in particular, are tough and take quite a while to beat. If you're new to Phoenix Wright games, though, you'll likely spend a good bit longer with this game, just because it'll take a while to figure out exactly how to really be “good” at Ace Attorney.

Overall, Justice for All is a very solid text-based adventure for the Nintendo DS. The different cases are excellent, and the writing is phenomenal. The characters are excellently done, and they're well-complemented by the game's fantastic music. The graphics could have done with a facelift, but it doesn't really negatively affect the game that much. In fact, the only reason that Justice for All isn't a perfect (or near-perfect) game is just that it doesn't do much to improve upon from the original. It essentially takes what was great about the first Ace Attorney, add one significant feature (Psyche Locks), and call it a new game. It's a great title, and if you loved the first one, then Justice for All is definitely a must-buy.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/05/07

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