Info
Genres: Adventure, visual novel
Developers: Capcom
Platforms: Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, Microsoft Windows, iOS
Platform of origin: Game Boy Advance
Year of inception: 2001
First release: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: October 12, 2001
Latest release: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Spirit of Justice: June 9, 2016
Spoiler: Characters and Settings
The protagonist of the first three games is the defense attorney Phoenix Wright, who is assisted by the spirit medium Maya Fey; in the third game, Phoenix's mentor Mia Fey is also a playable character. In the fourth game, the protagonist is the defense attorney Apollo Justice; in the fifth, Phoenix, Apollo and the new defense attorney Athena Cykes are all protagonists; and in the sixth, Phoenix and Apollo are the protagonists. The spin-off Dai Gyakuten Saiban is set in England near the end of the 19th century, and follows Phoenix's ancestor Ryūnosuke Naruhodō.
Phoenix's childhood friend Miles Edgeworth, who is the protagonist of the Ace Attorney Investigations games, is a recurring rival prosecutor character; in addition to him, each new game in the series introduces a new rival: Franziska von Karma is introduced in the second game, Godot in the third, Klavier Gavin in the fourth, Simon Blackquill in the fifth, and Nahyuta Sahdmadhi in the sixth. The prosecutor characters are portrayed as powerful and arrogant characters of high social status, who favor convictions over finding the truth, and who care about keeping perfect-win records in court. Similarly to real Japanese prosecutors, the prosecutors in the series often directly oversee investigations, issuing orders to the police. Japanese attitudes towards the police force are reflected in the series, with the police being represented by incompetent characters such as Dick Gumshoe, Maggey Byrde and Mike Meekins. In the world of Ace Attorney, trials only last three days, and usually end with a "guilty" verdict. The outcomes of cases are decided by a judge, based on evidence provided by the defense attorney and the prosecutor.
Spoiler: Gameplay
The Ace Attorney games are visual novel adventure games in which the player controls defense attorneys and defends their clients in several different episodes. The gameplay is split into two types of sections: investigations and courtroom trials. During the investigations, the player searches the environments, gathering information and evidence, and talks to characters such as their client, witnesses, and the police. Once enough evidence has been collected, the game moves on to a courtroom trial section.
In the courtroom trials, the player aims to get their client declared "not guilty". To do so, they cross-examine witnesses, and aim to find lies and inconsistencies in the testimonies. They are able to go back and forth between the different statements in the testimony, and can press the witness for more details on a statement. When the player finds an inconsistency, they can present a piece of evidence that contradicts the statement. The player is penalized if they present incorrect evidence: in the first game, a number of exclamation marks is shown, with one disappearing after each mistake the player makes; in later games, a health bar that represents the judge's patience is used instead. If all exclamation marks are lost, or the health bar reaches zero, the player loses the game and their client is declared guilty.
Several Ace Attorney games introduce new gameplay mechanics to the series. Justice for All introduces "psyche-locks", which are shown over a witness when the player asks them about a topic they do not want to discuss; using a magatama, the player can start breaking the psyche-locks by showing the witness evidence or character profiles that proves they are hiding something. The number of psyche-locks depends on how deep the secret is; when all locks are broken, the topic becomes available, giving the player access to new information. Apollo Justice introduces the "perceive" system, where the player looks for motions or actions made by witnesses that show nervousness, similar to a tell in poker.
Dual Destinies introduces the "mood matrix", through which the player can gauge the emotions of a witness, such as tones of anger when mentioning certain topics; if the player notices a contradictory emotional response during testimony, they can point out the discrepancy and press the witness for more information. Dual Destinies also introduces "revisualization", where the player reviews vital facts and forms links between evidence to reach new conclusions. Spirit of Justice introduces "divination séances", in which the player is shown the memories of victims moments before their deaths, and must find contradictions in the victim's five senses to determine what has happened.[58] Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney introduces simultaneous cross-examinations of multiple witnesses, with the player being able to see and hear reactions from the different witnesses to the testimony and using this to find contradictions. Dai Gyakuten Saiban introduces "joint reasoning", where the player finds out the truth by pointing out when their investigative partner Sherlock Holmes takes his reasoning "further than the truth".
The Ace Attorney Investigations spin-off series splits the gameplay into investigation phases and rebuttal phases, the latter of which is similar to the courtroom trials of the main series. During the investigation phases, the player searches for evidence and talks to witnesses and suspects. Things the player character notices in the environment are saved as thoughts; the player can use the "logic" system to connect two such thoughts to gain access to new information. At some points, the player can create hologram reproductions of the crime scene, through which they can discover new information that would otherwise be hidden. Ace Attorney Investigations 2 introduces "logic chess", where the player interrogates witnesses in a timed sequence that is visualized as a game of chess, with the player aiming to destroy the other character's chess pieces. To do this, they need to build up their advantage in the discussion by alternating between speaking and listening, and then choose to go on the offensive.
Spoiler: Games
2001: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
2002: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Justice for All
2004: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations
2007: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
2009: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
2011: Ace Attorney Investigations 2
2012: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
2013: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Dual Destinies
2015: Dai Gyakuten Saiban: Naruhodō Ryūnosuke no Bōken
2016: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Spirit of Justice
Trailer:
So have you played any of the games? Is there any good? Which game is the best? Tell us what you think 