More of the more of the same. No, that's not a typo. Lucky that it's part of a compelling saga.
Having played the first two games in the series, I was looking forward to this one. It started slowly despite some unusual twists - perhaps because I was expecting too much, and perhaps because I had just split up with my girlfriend. Perhaps I was disappointed at the similarities, but more on that later.
However, like a fine wine, it grows on you. The various plot twists and turns combined to make another PW game that I had to take everywhere. It was very long going, and as usual, the last case was an epic in itself. I can't see how other reviewers finished it in 10-20 hours - although I didn't log my time, I must have spent at least 25-30 hours on it. (I do refuse to use walkthroughs except in exceptional circumstances - I did twice in this game.)
The game offers more quirky characters to "interact" with, ranging from cool to annoying, to somewhat unsettling. It develops old favourites, funny lively dialogue, and above all, that great feeling of making progress and seeing the next part of the plot unfold.
I docked AJFA half a mark for lack of innovation, and I see no reason not to do the same here. Apart from improved music, the development is pretty lazy, with the same flaws as the previous two games.
Part of this is graphical, as even a little tarting up would have been nice. The exact same court graphics, menu graphics etc? Come on, they could have done better. But the gameplay niggles grate more - for example, why aren't there options for font size and automatic text scrolling?
Each frame has enough text for an adult to read in a split-second and it's pointlessly RSI-inducing. Dialogue can be sped up on a second viewing, but why only on the second? Not everyone playing this is a child, Capcom. In such a text-heavy game, it makes no sense to make the task of reading text such a slog.
There is also the ongoing issue of knowing what is going on, but the game not knowing what is meant when an item is presented. Although frustrating, I don't really see how they can get around this for this type of game, and it didn't make me stop playing.
As with AJFA, the typos in the English translation are unforgivable. I know there's a lot of text in the game, but if I can spot them, why can't the entire translation team? Perhaps Capcom should employ me to proof-read.
It's hard to say much more without spoilers, but let's just say that if you have played and enjoyed the first two installments, you should really be playing this. Not because it offers anything new, but because you wouldn't read just two-thirds of a good book.
In conclusion, the saga has offered great drama and fun, and even though I didn't shed a tear during the end credits, there were moments on the way when I was moved. It was only then that I realised how well I "knew" the characters, which is no mean feat for a bunch of 0s and 1s.