Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations

"Phoenix Wright is one lawyer you don't want to mess around with."

Introduction
Gyakuten Saiban 3-or more commonly known as in the States, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations for the Nintendo DS is the third installation in the Ace Attorney series as well as the last featuring Phoenix Wright as the main protagonist. I found this game to be throughly enjoyable and good for some exercise for the noggin-or remains thereof, thanks to video games. Anyways, the game in question allows you to take the role of Phoenix Wright, an attorney. You are capable of exploring crime scenes for useful clues and evidence to spot contradictions in the testimony (the fruits that an interrogation yielded) of witnesses. As for my own personal opinion, I found Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations to be a superb game with flaws that were few and minute.

Story
The first case in the game is decidedly different than the rest of the cases-especially since that this is more like a tutorial to allow you a chance to adjust with the Ace Attorney series's unique gameplay. Another noticeable change is that this is a flashback to Mia Fey's second case where Phoenix gets arrested and tried on charges of murder. When the whole affair gets cleared up, you return to controlling everybody's favorite lawyer.

In the five cases of Trials and Tribulations, each case usually has nothing to do with each other, but there are a few weak links that connect some cases with each other, such as cameos and references. In that statement lies the reason why it helps to play the first two Ace Attorney games to maximize your enjoyment of TaT, even though it's not necessary. Take caution, TaT contains small spoilers for the previous two games, as well.

As is the custom with each new Attorney game, there is a new Prosecutor to point out the loops in your logic. This time, it's the enigmatic coffee aficionado, Godot. To further mystify his identity, he wears an almost gaudy mask that covers his eyes. For whatever reason, he seems to know Phoenix, even though said attorney has no recollection of ever meeting him. Each case in TaT reveals some more of his identity until it all draws up to the grand finale in Case 5.

Translation
The translation from Japanese to English is quite possibly the best I have seen in a game. Since the text is what constitutes the majority of the Ace Attorney games, it is extremely important to find a great translator. Especially since entire cases can ride on seemingly insignificant details. Therefore, the worst thing you can do in a text adventure is find a poor translator that puts in misleading details. Even better are the references to Internet memes and pop culture references that could have you staring soberly at the DS screen one minute then laughing hysterically the next.

And the authors keep up this amazing job for the entirety of the game even though the game is about 20 hours long. This amazing translation has led to some of the most endearing characters I've ever seen in a game. Each character has their own personal quirk that makes them unique and individualistic.

Gameplay
Instead of taking up the sword and undertaking an epic quest, you play the role of a lawyer with evidence in the place of weaponry. That's all there is to it, basically. Hell hath no fury lest a lawyer be enraged, I suppose. Trials and Tribulations (or TaT as I shall be referring to it as of now) features five mysteries for you to solve. As you unwind the intricate nuances of each case, you'll find that some cases are better than others. While this is true, I found each case to be great, nevertheless.

In an ordinary case, the player usually starts off at the crime scene and the areas surrounding it-this is the investigation part of the mystery. While investigating, your task is to find articles that could be used in court to prove your defendant his/her innocence. You are also more than able to speak with suspects. Just like TaT's predecessor, Justice for All, you have a object called a Magatama that enables you to detect the lies of the accused. When the Magatama catches a lie, you will encounter what is called a Psyche-Lock that will not dissipate until you've ground the contradictions into the ground. Quite a useful tool in your arsenal, indeed. Unfortunately, this is my least favorite aspect of TaT, as investigations will have you exploring everywhere just to find the necessary evidence to progress further with the game.

Once you've rounded up enough written testimonies and relevant objects, your fight at court begins. Here, it is your duty as a defense attorney to interrogate the defendant to find the contradictions in their account pertaining to the events of the crime and ultimately find the beginnings of truth. You can ask for more details about segments of witnesses' accounts by using an option called 'Press', that allows you to press the witnesses for more information. This is also a handy feature if you've yet to find a contradiction. Ofttimes, those will lead to another statement that has significant value in your search for contradictions.

What the Attorney series's most popular feature is is arguably the ability to shout out the following command into the DS mic, "Objection!", "Hold it!", "Take That!" whenever you find a contradiction (It's optional, so those curious gamers not interested in this feature may simply disregard it). Just be careful of spittle-you don't want that stuff to mess with your DS.

So the majority of the game will consist of investigating and interrogation. If you disliked the previous Phoenix Wright games, chances are, you'll not like this one as well because the flaws that were present in the games are present, but so are the aspects that made the Ace Attorney series so immersing. In other words, this one is for the newcomers to the series and loyal fans only! This game also utilizes the use of the stylus to present evidence, read dialogue, and the such, if you prefer that option over the buttons.
That is also a godsend to players with poor motor skills that prefer to press the touch screen, as TaT takes full advantage of the capabilities of the DS.

Graphics
Call it laziness on Capcom's part, but everybody that returns has recycled sprites from the previous two games. In other words, there is no visible improvement and the sprite movement of all the characters in this game are as simplistic as ever. As long as I see some familiar faces, my Phoenix Wright fanboyism will be sated. The anime style of the graphics are present even after two games. I'm not complaining, though. The graphics itself are actually quite good and comprehensible, so as long as it remains just that, I won't find a problem that requires enlightenment on the reader's part.

Summary
It doesn't matter if you're simply a lover of mysteries, or some person looking for great titles to play, Trials and Tribulations is more than worthy of your money. The gameplay isn't the most essential part of the game that makes it captivating, but then again, this is a text adventure. Text adventures have little need of gameplay, but what little gameplay TaT has, it is competent. The story is simply fantastic, especially considering how epic the fifth case is. The diversity in the personalities of the characters in this game is worthy of a mention as well.

I would like to reiterate how awesome the translation is for this game, delightfully so. At times, the amount of sprite animations of each character can seem to be rather limited. I found this game to be one of the best DS games I've ever played. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations surpasses it's two predecessors by a small margin. Then again, this is all the opinion of a fan, isn't it?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/24/08

Game Release: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations (US, 10/23/07)