Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

"Guilty of satisfaction, not guilty of boredom"

If I were to give Phoenix Wright a genre, I'd call it a wacky handheld anime lawyer adventure game. Now that's quite a mouthful, but isn't it an intriguing mouthful? Still, I think it's probably safe to say that the land of wacky handheld anime lawyer adventures consists of one series alone: Phoenix Wright. And it's worth checking out.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is the DS remake of a 2001 Game Boy Advance game, starring the titular defense attorney in a sequence of murder trials. The GBA game consisted of only four trials, while the DS remake adds a fifth case that is unrelated to the storyline of the first four but takes advantage of the DS's unique hardware capabilities. All five cases are very well-designed and entertaining, each featuring a memorable cast of characters, compelling whodunit mystery elements, and tons of courtroom drama.

Each of the cases plays out similarly to, for lack of a better comparison, a really good episode of a crime drama like Law and Order. Actually, it's probably closer to Perry Mason than Law and Order, as Nick (the name that Phoenix's friends call him) does a lot of his own investigating and lawyering rather than one or the other. Phoenix investigates crime scenes, interviews suspects and witnesses, collects evidence, and then uses that evidence in trial as he cross-examines the same witnesses and suspects.

The bulk of the gameplay when in the investigation phases involves traveling between different locales in a first-person perspective, pointing and clicking on different parts of the scenery to examine items (in the style of many classic adventure games), and having conversations with each room's occupants. Also in the style of many classic adventure games, discovering facts through investigation and speaking to the available characters will prompt the ability to find more evidence and speak to more characters. After all of the necessary events have taken place, Nick goes to court and the action really starts.

In court, the gameplay is very different. Gone is the ability to examine the surroundings for evidence. Instead, the game goes through a scripted sequence that leads to a cross-examination. In these cross-examinations, the witness or suspect speaks a testimony, and Nick has the option to press the witness to elaborate elements of their testimony (HOLD IT!) or to announce a contradiction found in the witness's testimony (OBJECTION!). Getting used to pressing the witnesses on everything and go through the evidence in the court record searching for contradictions is key to winning cases. Occasionally, the judge or the prosecuting attorney will demand that Nick back up one of his claims, and this usually means answering a direct question relevant to the case (“So, Mr. Wright, exactly where did the murder take place?”) or presenting evidence to reinforce a point (TAKE THAT!). You navigate through most of the trial by selecting choices with either the control pad or your stylus, but you also have the option of selecting the DS microphone to vocalize your actions; hence all of the capitalized interjections in parentheses earlier in this paragraph.

And speaking of DS features, it's quite possible to play the first four cases of the game without even pressing any buttons or without even touching the stylus – most of the “real-time action” takes place on the top screen, but the specific scene examinations, court record lists, and basic decisions take place on the bottom screen. I personally feel that using the stylus to handle everything feels just right (I would have said “intuitive” there, but that is the all-time most overused word in every game review ever written). You can use the buttons if you really want to (it is a port of a GBA game, after all), but it isn't at all necessary. The last case introduces a new method of examining evidence that takes advantage of the DS hardware quite nicely, though.

But yes, back to courtroom procedures. While the investigation sequences are all essentially “so where am I supposed to go next?” situations, the courtroom sequences can get tricky. You have to press on their questions without doing so TOO much, or you'll get penalized for badgering the witness. If you answer a directed question incorrectly, you might get penalized or lose the verdict. If you present incorrect or mismatched evidence, you'll get penalized. After five penalties in a single trial day, you lose the verdict. Thankfully, the logical connections that you need to make to win the verdict are there, even if they don't always make sense at first. Also, for tougher situations, your assistant will shed some light on the case for you (there would be spoilers if I elaborated that statement, though….).

Overall, the trials are what make the game so fun. Watching the clueless judge, your determined prosecuting opponent, and the wacky witnesses in action is quite hilarious. Your opponent and your witnesses will visibly flinch as if struck by a blow when they are contradicted, and I have to say that after winning the fourth case, the murderer has one of the most satisfying “death scenes” of all time. The murderer doesn't “die”, per se, but if you just play the game and you'll see exactly what I mean. The degree of difficulty involved in these trials can get surprisingly high, and it gets increasingly trickier with each case. Still, the only case on which I lost the trial and had to restart was the final one, and if you make sure to press everything and pore over each piece of evidence, you can make all of the necessary connections; they just won't always seem obvious at first.

Even though the courtroom drama might seem real, there is a lot of suspension of disbelief involved in these trials. Each trial is required to last no more than three days, there are no juries to be found anywhere, and there doesn't seem to be anything resembling an appeals process (that last point makes even less sense when Nick has a case in an appeals court in one of the game's sequels). Also, it is apparently perfectly legal to have a lawyer investigate a suspect's residence unsupervised and without a warrant and “borrow” items to be submitted for evidence without said suspect's permission. Still, this isn't a courtroom simulation game; it's a wacky anime lawyer adventure game. They're allowed to break some rules.

And yes, the characters. They're awesome. From Nick's great sense of humor and over-the-top confidence crises to Redd White's hilarious butchering of the English language to Larry Butz's goofiness, there are a lot of characters to love and hate here. The dialogue in this game is so well-written that I've already replayed two cases in particular multiple times just to find out what kind of hijinks saying wrong answers would create. The storyline can get dark and serious on occasion (they're all murder trials, remember?), but the amusing characters can serve to lighten the mood. All in all, the storyline and characters blend extremely well and do a lot to add to the appeal of the game.

The art and visual stylings of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney are not particularly stunning, even for a handheld, but they are quite effective. It's essentially an anime game, both in character designs and scenery, but the style doesn't detract from the game at all. In fact, the disjointed animation and detailed character images are generally quite appealing and effective, particularly when they perform dramatic gestures during court scenes.

The music is sort of less impressive than the visuals, with the same eight or nine pieces punctuating each setting and character, with virtually all of the songs involved being reused often. The songs are definitely catchy, if not particularly atmospheric or impressive. Still, the audio aspect of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is noticeably weaker than the game's visual and narrative components. Still, with writing this good and a game this fun, is the music really all that important?

In conclusion, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a damn fun game that's worth every cent. The characters are fun, the gameplay is fresh, and the court scenes can get quite dramatic. I'd never think that I'd enjoy a lawyer game this much, but all the pieces are in place for a very enjoyable series. My biggest problem with the game itself is definitely the fact that it's only five cases long, which totals to maybe a dozen hours of gameplay, but each case is cleverly designed and very fun to go through. My verdict: guilty of satisfaction, not guilty of boredom, guilty of requiring multiple sequels.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/25/08

Game Release: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (US, 10/12/05)