Ace Attorney Review

Towards the end of last year, two friends of mine recommended I play the first three games in the collection of games from the Ace Attorney franchise. It was on sale for only fifteen dollars on the Nintendo Switch Eshop, so I saw no harm in buying it. In the years leading up to the moment I finally played Ace Attorney Trilogy, I had heard nothing but amazing things regarding the collection of games. For a trilogy of games that was almost two decades old, it had a surprisingly large and active fanbase. When my friends finally convinced me to play the games. I expected to at least enjoy myself; however, I never imagined that the experience would turn out to be as special and memorable as it was.

Ace Attorney is centered around Phoenix Wright, a gifted, rookie defense attorney who typically ends up being tasked with those (usually) wrongly accused in murder trials. Along with his assistant Maya Fey, Phoenix Wright meets many unique and vibrant characters as he furthers his career. These characters range from opposing prosecutors, his clients, and many different lovable witnesses and side characters that you end up getting to know extremely well. For a set of almost 20-year-old games without voice acting, the game does a fantastic job of bringing the many different characters present in the different cases that Phoenix takes on to life. This is typically done through a combination of the expressive mannerisms that the game uses to depict its characters and the music, which does a better job of setting the tone and mood of a game than any game I’ve personally played before. It can make you feel sorrow one moment, and get you excited and amped for a key moment in the courtroom the next. Even now when I occasionally go back and listen to some of the songs, I find myself getting chills, as I’m reminded of the many unforgettable moments that the game provides.

There are 14 cases in total within the trilogy, which averages to about either five or four in each game. Generally, each case is its own story for the most part, as you end up meeting a whole new cast of characters and getting to know different settings and environments; however, there are a couple of recurring themes, characters and plot points that may span a couple cases. This balance that the cases strike between being unique while still creating a sense of continuity in the world allows for the game to keep things both fresh and interesting at the same time. It makes the game still give you the feeling that it’s world is connected in a way, all the while introducing you to all these different themes and characters. It’s this balance that I believe is a reason that I was as hooked as I was to this game. I was able to grow a deeper attachment to the main characters while still being able to constantly tackle new murder mysteries. It’s honestly a balance that I rarely see not only in gaming, but also just in media in general. 

The gameplay of Ace Attorney is split up into two main segments, Investigations, and the courtroom. During investigations, you go around different locals that relate to the crime scene in order to collect evidence. It is typically here where you encounter the different characters that end up making this game as special as it is. For example, during a case involving the murder of a TV star, you actually spend most of your time investigating the massive set of the show, which is eerily vacant due to it being the scene of where the murder took place. Usually, you’ll end up asking them different questions pertaining to their knowledge of the cases, and by doing so, you’ll begin to accumulate evidence in the court record. The court record contains evidence that you will end up using to prove your points in court, which I’ll go into later. I touched on this before, but during the investigations is especially when the effects of the game's music are put on full display. As I stated previously, this game is a remake of an almost 20-year-old visual novel, meaning that the raw graphical capability of the environments and places you encounter is extremely limited. It is through the music where this game effectively sets the tone and mood for these investigations. During some points of the investigations, I legitimately felt nervous or uneasy traversing through different areas to collect evidence, and I think the fact that something as simple of a visual novel has the ability to induce such feelings of suspense is very impressive. 

After all of your evidence is collected, you go to court, which is where a lot of the “action” happens. It is here where you are tasked with cross-examining witnesses brought in by the prosecution. Your goal is essentially to press things that don’t line up in one way or another; it could be a statement the witnesses make that contradict the evidence that you obtained while investigating that’s listed within the court record, or it could be them slipping up and saying something they shouldn’t know. This entire process can at times be fairly over-dramatic, as it would be very difficult to make a game about court cases interesting without at least a little bit of flair. As you end up grilling witnesses further and further, the music begins to ramp up, tensions rise, and stakes increase, but all the while retaining the same delightful and amusing charm that the game prides itself upon. The back and forths between Phoenix, the prosecutor, the judge, and the different witnesses keep everything vibrant and fresh; there really isn’t a dull moment whatsoever.  Finding contradictions and unraveling the truth behind these murder mysteries is nothing short of thrilling and satisfying. I was constantly on-edge, and there were so many times where my heart was beating out of my chest. For the fact that these parts of this game take place in a courtroom, they do a surprisingly amazing job at bringing the space to life, and keeping everything fast-paced and exciting. 

Again, even though the concept of the game is fairly simple and might seem a bit boring to some, the game really is something special, and the game is paced in such a way that you’re always on your toes, and always itching to find out what’s going to happen next. I obviously don’t want to spoil some of the main plot points in the game, but some of the twists and turns caught me completely off guard, which is rare with all of the different shows that I watch and games that I play. I understand that to some, it still may be a bit of a hard sell, but I promise that this game really is something special, and something that is entirely unlike most games that you’ll end up ever playing. Even now, seven months after I beat the game, I still find myself constantly thinking back to just how many memorable moments the game has. I love everything about it, and I miss being able to just sit down and immerse myself within this colorful world for hours on end. Please, do yourself a favor and play these games. Everybody who’s in some way a fan of visual novels or just storytelling in general deserves to have the wonderful experience of playing these games for the first time.

By Kailen Hicks