Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

"A great game but a few things hold it back."

Phoenix Wright appealed to me on the John Grisham level but it seemed like it would be a neat but short game. I was wrong on a few levels. It plays more like a CSI / Law & Order crossover which was neat at first but by the third case I was sick of it and wish on one level it was just CSI but then on another level I wished that it was Law & Order. It felt like the game wasn't sure of what it truly wanted and the game uses a very loose legal system. Read on for the details!

Phoenix Wright is a fresh out of school lawyer and has been hired to work at a firm. It's his first case and the only reason he got it was because he's friends with his client. The story is simple at first but what I liked is that I never knew where the plot was going. Each new case threw something new into the characters and provided a different type of case entirely. Because the game is 85% dialog the plot is very important and the plot is good. Witty dialog and the game even uses "Elite" talk during one case. Amusing on many levels but there was one problem I had. The judge is way too easily swayed and there seems to be a bit too many plausible cross examinations. Over all though, the plot is very good and keeps you guessing, for the most part.

The graphics in the game are very Anime like. All backgrounds are still while characters move once in awhile, facial expressions change ect. It's very bright and colorful; one problem I had was noticing small things during the crime scene investigations. Some things just aren't all that detailed. Characters look great and I love some of the expressions they make. Very nice all around, besides my minor complaints.

The sound effects in the game are a mixed bag. Music is good and fits the game well; there just isn't enough music to keep you from getting sick of it in the games 15+ hours of play. The sound effects are decent. Not a lot are used but the sound of a gun or the typing of a typewriter when text is appearing on screen all sound nice. Voice acting is very little. Some characters yell "hold it"; "objection” and one other but I don't remember what it is. A friend of mine made the complaint that the music sounded like something we hear in Spencer's, which is a place he hates the music of, so maybe some people will hate this music.

Since this game is a DS title you'd expect a lot of stylus use. Well, you can use it for everything in the game. The bottom screen allows you to select options, spots on the background sect. You can also sue the normal buttons but I found using the stylus was easier. The game also allows you to shout "objection" and "hold it" instead of pressing the button on the bottom screen. Hold Y when it shows on the screen and shout aloud your comment. Nice feature but it's an odd thing to do in public. Also, it seems to be off sometimes but if you just yell the first few letters (like say the first half of the first word) it should recognize what you're doing without a problem.

My biggest problem with the game is its game play but let's not jump ahead and let's explain how the game works. The game is split up into 5 cases. They are all kind of interlocked with characters, items and what not. The game plays like a point and click adventure, which is a great type of game for the DS. The first case is fairly simple and straight forward. Also, the first case is the only normal trial case. Rest of the cases has you going from place to place looking for clues and new people to talk to and that's my complaint with the game but we aren't there yet.

There are 5 cases. Case 1 is, like I said before, a simple trial. Cases 2-4 are a lot like an episode hybrid of C.S.I and Law & Order. The 5th Case is like 2-4 but contains two new touch screen options. Finger print dust. Rub on the screen and then blow into the mic to blow the dust off to get a finger print. The other is a spray used to find blood. Nice features but too bad it wasn't implemented into the previous cases which are what the first game in the series, from what I hear at least, I could be wrong. Oh and case 5 is an all new never before seen case.

Okay, the trials play out simple. You hear a testimony and you need to find holes in. You can ask a question after each comment or you can show a piece of evidence. It's very simple to get the hang of but you only get 5 mistakes per day (most cases last 3 days; it's a new law in the future...). Then they will change their testimony to fit what you just found, repeat and wash until something happens. It's cool at first but by the 3rd case it's a bit tiresome because some change their stories 5 times!

Alright, the last 4 cases have crime scene investigations which make no sense since you're a lawyer. You go from place to place. You can look around the area, spot items, pick them up ect. You also meet new and old characters who help along the story. The problem with this is that you need to activate people in a certain order for the game to move on and sometimes you need a specific item to activate the appearance of a person. It wouldn't be too big of a problem if you could freely move. Let's use case 4 as an example. Say you're at the boat shop. Now you know you have to go to the law office but to go there you need to go back to the beach, back to the park entrance and then to the law office. It's just very tedious. Now imagine doing this for 3 hours per case, sometimes longer. It gets old quickly.

The game has no replay value. You beat the five cases and that's it. It doesn't give you a score, or time or anything. This really drags the game down a whole point because sure the game is long but there is no reason to play again. I think a scoring system would have expanded the life of the title but as it is I don't see myself replaying this game again. Maybe in a couple of years but not any sooner.

The thing for me is that I have played the C.S.I. games for the PC (they are also on XBOX...). If you were to replace the courtroom with the interrogation room then you'd have the exact same game. Yes, this series is older than C.S.I (it's been out for a while in Japan) the C.S.I game has you feeling like you're solving the case. Phoenix Wright, the character, seems to solve everything way before you can and it almost doesn't feel fair. The twists in the plot really can come from nowhere, like in case 4 which left me a number of times just wondering what I just solved because I had no clue.

Don't get me wrong, Phoenix Wright is a fantastic game. However, you need to play it like a case a month in real life. That way it will last because there is no replay value. Also, like I just said, it feels cheap that the characters have solved it and it has left you wondering what is going on until Phoenix pulls it out of the guy on the stand. Good game but the minor flaws do bring it down a smidge. Also, the crime scene parts feel out of place in a lawyer game.

Story - 10/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 7/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 0/10

Final Score - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/05