an avarage joe reviewer: -
This will be… a slog of a review. But it has to be. It has been hard. The conclusion is difficult. The game is unconventional. The reasons… follow.
As an overview, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney is an adventure game based on court proceedings. Phoenix Wright is the main character (mysteriously also known as ‘Nick’); an up-and-coming defence attourney. He must use his wits and his friends in order to get to the bottom of every case presented before him, and find his defendant ‘NOT GUILTY.’ So then, on to business. The prosecution calls ProfessorLesser to the stand. Professor… please testify.
Very well. These, your Honour, are the simple, conclusive facts:
1) There are only 5 cases. No more, no less. And for the most part, they are about as difficult and involved as reading a book.
2) You do not play Phoenix Wright. Consistently, that is. As a player, you are forced, without warning or reason, through a variety of perspectives, in every case being thoroughly confusing and tooth-gnashingly frustrating. The practical upshot of this is that the game never credits you for your own skills of deduction, nor gives you any influence on the proceedings at hand. It detracts from the experience a great deal, and will put a good many of you readers off.
3) Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney is not a game. The analogy in point 1) is relevant – this ‘game’ is in fact a book. Events will happen linearly, whether you want them to or not. It is even extremely difficult to fail – though you are given 5 ‘penalties’ in court, you will either know instantly what to do, or have no idea, relying on quicksave trial-and-error to proceed. Which leads me onto the next point…
4) Though it is near-impossible to fail, this does not mean the game is easy – it mostly is, but at times, it is punishingly hard. It doesn’t matter, you’ll either work it out eventually by chance, or give up. A significant flaw, though. Often you will find yourself having no clue how you are meant to prove something in court, as the cases are so convoluted there can be no human way to know. Other times, out of court, there is no indication whatsoever of how to proceed.
5) The game is never clear whether it wants you to work things out for yourself or not. One thing is clear, however. When it does want you to, it’s impossible. When it doesn’t want you to (preferring instead to deliver this part of the case as narrative – see point 2), you’ve already done it, and feel robbed of credit.
6) You have to quit the game to save. You have to leave subsets of locations to return to a hub, then onto separate locations. You have to navigate an awful lot of menus to perform simple actions.
7) The graphics are largely static, and what few animations there are are simply repeated for each character. The bright colours involved considerably undermine the underlying seriousness and horror of each murder trial.
8) In all but the last case, there is absolutely no need for this game to be on the DS.
9) The first case is incredibly short, and the third case incredibly tiresome.
The prosecution rests, your Honour.
It seems a flawless testimony to me. Yes, the facts of this matter are quite clear. The game shows remorseless error in several departments, and fails to address obvious flaws, minor though they may be. This forum therefore finds Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney to be a…
4/10
Phoenix Wright:
OBJECTION!!!
Your Honour, the defence requests to exercise his right to cross-examine the gamer! Firstly, the prosecution’s summary of the game is pitifully dismissive! The game is played out in a series of chapters for each episode, or case. What these episodes essentially add up to is the oscillation between investigation and trial. During investigation, the player will delve into the heart of the crime, discovering witnesses, evidence, and entertaining skits.
During trial, the prosecution will call witnesses to testify. Phoenix will then proceed with his cross-examination, during which he can press the witness to elaborate on their points (and place them under stress), or present evidence to point out contradictions in the witness’ testimony. This is a fuller and more accurate summary of the game. So then…
Members of the forum… this is what Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney is all about:
The Prosecution claimed:
There are only 5 cases. No more, no less. And for the most part, they are about as difficult and involved as reading a book.
HOLD IT!
Your Honour, the issue here is quality, not quantity! Although, now you mention it… these episodes can last a great length of time! There may be only 5 episodes, but they last a good while long indeed. You will certainly feel like you’ve played through your money’s worth by the end of it. And as for ‘difficulty’, well… I will address this later. As for involvement… (hmm, the argue seems pretty airtight. I’d better steer away from this or it’ll damage my case…) ah, er… I mean, moving on!
The Prosecution claimed:
You do not play Phoenix Wright. Consistently, that is. As a player, you are forced, without warning or reason, through a variety of perspectives, in every case being thoroughly confusing and tooth-gnashingly frustrating. The practical upshot of this is that the game never credits you for your own skills of deduction, nor gives you any influence on the proceedings at hand. It detracts from the experience a great deal, and will put a good many of you readers off.
HOLD IT!
Not at all! The defence asks the prosecution… what reason is there for the player to control a character?! While what the prosecution has said is true, it is irrelevant to this case! It is merely a mechanic of the game that the player is expected to shift perspectives in order to make the most of the experience. For the most part, it is expected that the player lets the story unfold before him/her, as cases and trials progress. The player’s input is to occasionally guide Phoenix’s hand, asking the right questions here, providing the correct evidence there, and ultimately allowing the proceedings to, ah, er… proceed!
The Prosecution claimed:
Though it is near-impossible to fail, this does not mean the game is easy – it mostly is, but at times, it is punishingly hard. It doesn’t matter, you’ll either work it out eventually by chance, or give up. A significant flaw, though. Often you will find yourself having no clue how you are meant to prove something in court, as the cases are so convoluted there can be no human way to know. Other times, out of court, there is no indication whatsoever of how to proceed.
HOLD IT!
Your Honour, recall the prosecution’s opening statement… “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney is an adventure game…”! Steep difficulty spikes are inherent of the genre! They provide the need for cerebral input – for the mental probing of the gamer to needle his way deeper into the case. A chance to reflect on facts and gain an understanding of the scenario as it stands. More than anything, it provides the feeling of satisfaction once overcome, and that is the issue here. That is what challenge is all about.
The Prosecution claimed:
You have to quit the game to save. You have to leave subsets of locations to return to a hub, then onto separate locations. You have to navigate an awful lot of menus to perform simple actions.
HOLD IT!
These are trivial claims, your Honour! Every gamer worth his salt knows that such things are forgivable should the game provide an experience of worth such to compensate the inconvenience! Furthermore, saving the game is possible in 98% of any instance throughout the game, so no need for save points. Saving is done quickly, even considering the time taken to re-enter the game proper. The labyrinth of locations is more a simple branched corridor, and is only evident in 3 out of the 5 cases. The menus are quickly and efficiently navigated using the stylus.
The Prosecution claimed:
The graphics are largely static, and what few animations there are are simply repeated for each character. The bright colours involved considerably undermine the underlying seriousness and horror of each murder trial.
… …OBJECTION!!!
Your Honour, the prosecution’s claims here are horrendously inaccurate! Such… such sheer blasphemy is unforgivable! Unforgivable! The graphics used in this game are of the kind most functional that I have ever seen! More than that, they are bright, detailed, pleasing to the eye and handled with an exceptional degree of emphatic direction! Everything does exactly what it needs to, when it needs to. And as for the repetitive animations – they are the cherry on the icing on the cake. They are the epitome of expressive body language, conveying in perhaps 5 frames what most authors would struggle to convey in a paragraph! This click of a hand, the slamming of a desk, the wide-eyed disbelief, the bending-double in recoil, the overstated outburst of anger… and all done in that loving, animé fashion that so many of us gamers know so well. Make no mistake… if anything, graphics are Phoenix’s strongest department.
The Prosecution claimed:
In all but the last case, there is absolutely no need for this game to be on the DS.
HOLD IT!
Your Honour… the prosecution is clearly a PSP fanboy!. To overlook the simple importance of being able to select an option by touching it, to examine a scene by sweeping over it… and the shouting. Oh, for the shouting. With the stylus and the mic, the game feels so much more… current. In situ, as it were. The DS makes this game the experience it is.
The Prosecution claimed:
The first case is incredibly short, and the third case incredibly tiresome.
OBJECTION!!!
This is clearly… a matter of taste! Of course the first case is short, it’s a bleedin’ tutorial, and it does its job well! For my part, it’s true, the third case was the one to reveal the game’s ugly flaws. But… the fourth case is exceptional. Truly a cut above. Touching to the last, it is a story so perfect, yet so understated, that it may just well last with you forever.
In addition, your Honour, the defence has this to add: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney is gold. Those of you who’ve looked ahead to my score will now be confused, but regardless of score, there is no changing the fact that this game is gold. It certainly has flaws, but these are inherent, and are just to be borne like an ugly scar. Live with it. The rest of the game is fantastic.
The episode I have tried to portray above touches on the proceedings in a court trial… but comes nowhere close to the emotions that fly, the exhilaration as you begin to tip the scale, or the actual scripting itself, which is superb, and perfectly complemented by the graphics, characters and animations. All of this is in turn complemented by the frankly amazing score, the likes of which I can’t say has ever been better suited to a game. Just play it and find out for yourself. Music can’t be described in prose anyway.
You will come away from this game having had some of it rub off on your personality. I think I have shown this recently around the forums with my overly-critical edge and an unwillingness to cease shouting ‘Objection!’ I hope, in this lengthy drama of a review, I have come some way to doing the game… justice.
9/10
…
TAKE THAT!
( A talented guy from eurogmer.net forums)