"Fun and engaging, but don't expect a classic"

Being a law student as well as an old point-and-click adventure junkie, I knew I had to give the Ace Attorney series a try. And, seeing as how I couldn't find the first game anywhere, I settled for this one: Justice For All (JFA). First off, let me just come out and say it: It's SO nice to finally see text-based point-and-click adventures being cranked out again! It's a genre that I've been sad to see fade away over the years, so their triumphant return is encouraging. Unfortunately, while JFA draws the nostalgia card, and quite effectively at that, it has enough flaws to keep this game from being any better than just "very good." That, however, should NOT stop you from picking this game up. While it may not be perfect, it's a great addition to anyone who has an adventure-loving bone in their body!

Story: 8/10
First off, let me say this: the characters in this game are great! We've got our main protagonist, Phoenix Wright, who is absolutely delightful and charming as a criminal defence lawyer could possibly be. He has a great heart, and you really get a feel for how he operates by the time the game is through. There is his assistant, Maya, who is your typical, quirky, Japanese "crazy girl," but never to the point of being overly annoying. There's her little cousin, Pearl, who is absolutely adorable. There's the main prosecutor, Franziska von Karma, whose over-the-top antics and whip-happy attitude are absolutely hilarious. The judge, well, really shouldn't be one, to be quite frank, but it's still amusing to see him persuaded by the most absurd of arguments. I could go on and on. The point is, that this game has managed to do something pretty amazing with mostly just text and stills of characters.

Characters aside, the main story of the game is driven by the cases. There are four in total. This may not sound like much, but all but the first are quite long. To say the least, the cases are a mixed bag. The first one was fairly eye-rollingly inane, with an extremely contrived "Phoenix has amnesia" plot-line, but I guess I should give it credit for being a good introduction to the game's mechanics. Personally, I would have preferred a "tutorial" mode and then four full, real cases, as it would have lengthened the game a bit and added to the story, but oh well.

Now, I enjoy an over-the-top courtroom drama as much as the next guy, but the events of some of these cases is just ridiculous. I won't give away the story too much, but one of the cases (in fact, most of the game, sporadically) involves "spirit channelling," where a spirit "medium" takes on the shape of a deceased person. Personally I thought this was really silly and didn't care for it. But it does give rise to the "Psyche-Lock," one of the game's more interesting features (described below in the Gameplay section).

Luckily, the story of the game is masterfully told, and is really engaging. The localization is (mostly) great, and you can really get a sense for how the characters might sound. There are more typos present than the translators would probably care to admit. I don't mind it the odd time, but seeing errors like "dependant" kind of makes me cringe.

Story-wise, the game picks up where the first game left off. You certainly do not have to have played the first one to understand the story of this one (I didn't), but I bet it would help. Although, as I said, I haven't played the first one, it looks like there has been a good deal of "archetype-recycling" going on here. I mean, come on... the main prosecutor of the game (ie, your main "enemy") is the daughter of the main prosecutor from the first game. Your assistant, Maya, is the sister of the assistant from the first game, (get this...) Mia! Forgivable, but kind of lazy and silly.

Overall, this game is very story-heavy. Aside from a handful of EXTREMELY improbably events, as well as some aspects of the characters I didn't care for, the story of this game is great.

Graphics: 9/10
The graphics in this game are great! The characters are expertly drawn, and it really feels like you're playing a Japanese anime, or something. I really love the "dramatic" effects used. A little means a lot with these graphics, and it's really amazing how a few still frames, as well as a frame of animation or two, can really go a long way.

They really only lose a point here because the animation leaves a bit to be desired at times, and also because of some recycling from the previous game (or so I've heard).

Music and Sound Effects: 9/10
I love the music in this game! Though not exactly what I would call memorable, each piece has been selected to fit the mood perfectly. It ranges from upbeat and exciting, to calm and ambient. Kudos to the composer (whoever you are), you did a fantastic job here!

The sound effects, again, fit the game well. I especially liked the sound of von Karma's whip. The voice acting is minimal, but existent, and I really loved the way Phoenix shouted out "Objection!", "Take that!" and "Hold it!" Those are truly classic catch-phrases, and it really adds a lot to the game's presentation.

Gameplay: 7/10
The basic premise of this game is that: (a) a murder occurs, (b) you choose to represent the accused, whom you "truly" believe to be innocent, (c) you investigate and find clues, and (d) you defend the accused in court.

In order to do the investigation, you basically have to go around the scene of the crime, talk to people, gather clues, etc. etc. It's fun, but it can really drag on sometimes. One of the main challenges is getting information out of people. A lot of the time, you have to either present a piece of evidence to them to get their opinion on it, or present the profile of a person whom you have met (and thus have a profile of) and get their opinion on them.

One of the more interesting features of the investigation phase is the "Psyche-Lock." Basically, you end up getting this object from one of your main spirit medium friends, Maya, that lets you see when a person is withholding information by showing a picture of a lock. You have to unlock this secret by presenting the right pieces of evidence or profiles to the person. This is often interesting and adds to the challenge, but sometimes it's totally ridiculous. Why would your CLIENT, of all people, withhold crucial information from his LAWYER who is trying to prove his INNOCENCE? It's pretty eye-rolling at times.

The court is, interestingly enough, NOT the place where you spend the most amount of time. I guess this makes sense, but it's unfortunate, as court is definitely the most exciting and interesting part of the game. For the most part, you need to cross-examine witnesses in order to expose contradictions, lies, etc. This is a lot of fun and can actually be exhilarating at times.

You have a green meter, and every time you make a mistake, you get "penalized," and you lose some "life" off this meter. When it runs out, it's Game Over for you, and your client is declared guilty. I thought this was kind of silly, as it disrupts the flow of the story. Sometimes, you will have risen TONNES of doubt as to whether the accused is guilty, and then you make a mistake, and BANG, guilty verdict. I think it would have been more realistic if Phoenix got disbarred or something on Game Over. Not to mention funnier.

What I found somewhat insulting (though I won't dwell on it), is the unrealistic justice system of this game. Basically, suspects are guilty until proven innocent. For game mechanic purposes, it makes sense, but the game could have done a better job hiding it. There's actually one sequence in the game where the judge is torn and can't decide, so he asks you to "plead" someone guilty or not guilty, and based on your answer alone, that will be the verdict.

The text scrolls painfully slowly in this game, folks. Sure, you can skip and fast-forward through each passage AFTER you've read it once, I found it really annoying. A simple option to increase the speed would have done the trick, as well as just letting the player fast-forward whenever they want to!

Play Control: 7/10
Pretty solid, overall. You can use the touch screen or the regular keys, and there are no problems response-wise. You can also use the microphone at times. But, even though the game may tell you to shout "Take that!" or "Hold it!" as well as "Objection!", a weird bug in the game makes it that it only seems to recognize "Objection!" in any of the cases. In other words, no matter what the game tells you to yell, only "Objection!" works.

Challenge and Fun Factor: 9/10
This game is a lot of fun to play, really. And boy, is it addictive. I found myself glued to it for hours on end. The game isn't exactly "hard," but you do have to think occasionally. It's pretty satisfying once you figure out the last crucial detail of the case, or when you make a stride forward with your defence in court.

Also, the game's humour and inside jokes are a huge bonus. I loved the references! Especially when Phoenix says "Well, excuuuuse me, princess!" Things like these are always welcome in games and really add to the charm and fun factor.

Replay Value: 6/10
Well, unfortunately, the game is pretty weak in this department. Once you've beaten the game, that's it, really. Luckily, if you replay it, you can fast-forward whenever you want, but that should have been allowed the FIRST time through, in my opinion. But heck, I could possibly see myself playing through it again, just to have the story told to me again.

Final score (not an average): 7/10
This game is a lot of fun, and I definitely recommend it. It's budget-priced these days, so it should be dirt cheap. This game has many, many redeeming qualities. It's charming, the story is good, the graphics are good, the gameplay is solid and addictive... Just don't expect a timeless classic.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/06/08

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