Ever wanted to be a defense attorney, but didn't have the money to go to law school? Phoenix Wright: AA is the answer.
The gameplay in PW:AA mainly consists of 3 phases: First, you’ll see a cut scene showing you the basic pretense of the case and who may or may not be the murderer. Secondly, you go investigate the crime scene, interview/interrogate witnesses, collect evidence and learn useful information. Finally, you go to the courtroom, cross-examine witnesses, point out contradictions, present evidence and (hopefully) win the case. While this may sound monotonous, it’s not. The character interactions are so rich, that you’ll want to explore every environment, talk to every witness, and collect every piece of evidence. It gets to the point where, sure you can present the wrong piece of evidence and still win the case, but you don’t want to because you’re afraid you’ll disappoint the judge. Few games that I know of can make you care so much for its characters. The game also makes good use of the DS’s touch screen such as pointing out contradictions in a photograph, examining evidence in a 3d viewer, or spraying luminol to find blood. It also uses the microphone for things such as shouting Objection! during the trial instead of just pressing a button. Overall, the gameplay in PW:AA is one of its strongest points and works well with its story to create an immersive atmosphere. The graphics in PW:AA have a distinct almost anime-like style. The characters are very sharp looking and have very sudden changes in their appearance in some situations. The 3d evidence looks ok, more like traditional 3d DS graphics than PW:AA’s style. One thing you may notice about PW is that there is very little animation. While I’m not saying there is no animation (there’s quite a bit), for most of the game the characters are represented as stills with some occasional animation here and there. But that doesn’t take away from the how good the graphics look in the first place. Everything from the environments to the characters has a lot of detail and looks like a lot of care was put into them. Overall, PW:AA is a very colorful, detailed game.
The sound in PW:AA is not one of its strong points nor is it a weak point. Music wise you’ll have different music depending on the environment you’re in. In the courtroom, it all depends on situations. If something funny just happened, then light music will be playing. But if a tense situation just occurred, then fast paced music will play. The characters themselves aren’t voice acted, except for in the courtroom where your and the prosecutions Objection!’s and Hold It!’s are voiced by each character.
Value wise, think of Phoenix Wright:AA as a good, long novel. It will take you some time to finish and you’ll enjoy every second of it. But once you finish it you won’t immediately want to replay it, maybe not even for a year or more. But like a good book, every once and awhile you’ll decide to pick it up and experience it again.
Overall, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a great game and an excellent addition to anyone’s DS collection. Even if you’re not a big fan of text driven games, and you just want a game with a good story that will immerse you, Phoenix Wright: AA may be what you need. I recommend this game to anyone who owns a DS. Try it, you won’t be sorry.