Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Have you ever dreamed about becoming a lawyer? Do you enjoy reading? Do you have a special place in your heart for people who randomly point their fingers? Well, if you answered "yes" to any of these questions, does Capcom have a game for you!
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney puts you in the shoes of Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney just starting out on his first cases. You are constantly hounded by your rival, Miles Edgeworth, a hard hitting prosecutor. The game is divided into five separate cases which act as mini stories. They are loosely tied together, but each could be played on its own and be completely understood. You have a helper in each case (which always happens to be a cute female) who gives you clues to help you sort through the testimonies and evidence. This game has a lot of text, so if reading isn't your thing then you might want to skip this game. Thank the heavens, this game has one of the best translations I have ever seen! Each NPC is fully fleshed out and the game does drama and comedy equally well. It really is superb.
The game play is comprised of two modes. There is an investigation mode that lets you go to the crime scenes and interview witnesses and pick up clues (I don't think that would float in real life). The rest of the time is spent in the court room trying to get a NOT GUILTY verdict for your client. Basically the witness gives their testimony, then you are allowed to cross examine them. You can "Press" them to get more information and find "Contradictions" to discredit them. Once you think you have found a "Contradiction" you have to present evidence to support your claim. This can be done by either using the stylus or holding a button and shouting "Objection!" or "Take That!". I felt a little silly yelling at my DS so I just stuck with the stylus.
Anime is the name of the game when it comes to the graphics. The top screen has 2D portraits of whatever NPC you are talking to and each NPC has several animations to correspond to their mood. There is a little bit of 3D rendering for some scenes but the majority of the game is anime style. The music is awesome, several of the tunes are really catchy and can really get you into the uber-drama of the court scenes. The "Objection!" and "Take That!" voice samples are hilarious to hear and never get old.
This was the first fully fleshed out text adventure I have had the pleasure of playing. I wish more games like this would get localized and with the love and care that this one had lavished upon it. This game was pretty long as well, a good 15-20 hours at least. There is nothing special that opens up after you beat it so it has essentially zero replay value. I want to say just give it a rent, but you should buy it on principle so that we can maybe get more games like this here or *gasp* a sequel!
