The first video review I ever published was of the Ace attorney quadrology, so perhaps it's only fitting that my first text review is of the same game series, as it still holds up pretty well and still has an impact on my life to some extent.
I still remember when I first heard of this game. There was a review of this very game in the now defunct swedish magazine Club Nintendo. I still remember how odd I found the whole thing. A game where you play as a lawyer? Can't say I've ever heard of that before. It definitely stood out and I always remembered it somehow, especially the textbuble with "Objection!" written in it and the lawyer's hairstyle.
A year or so later, the game had seem to got quite a reputation on the internet. Curious as I was, I finally decided to check it out. Interestingly, this was but a few weeks before the this game's sequel came out in europe, so it was well-timed on my part.
Buying the game was a bit of a gamble on my part. I had no idea what to expect, exept that it was supposed to be pretty good, as I still remembered the review in Club Nintendo. To be honest, I have always prefered to go into a movie, video game or album knowing absolutely nothing about it exept if it's supposed to be good or not. That way, I don't get too high expectations and let other people influence my opinion (as ironic as it is, comming from a reviewer and all).
So, you ask, how was the game? Honestly, it took a little while to get into as it's very story driven and relies heavily on dialog. That's the point of the game. Fortunately, it's pretty well written (although looking back on it, some characters may seem out-of-character compared to the other games. or maybe it's the other way around), and it was pretty fun to play. Once you have gotten into it, you're REALLY into it.
To be fair, the whole visual novel genre had been out for years, but it hadn't quite found it's market yet - and still hasn't. I can understand that people would rather play something high adrenaline action game like God of war with 2 liter of blood and guts pumping out every second, or innovative and clever platformer like Super Mario Galaxy. It's not often people buy a video game for a good read, although series like Mass effect have proven to be action-packed and filled with well-written dialog. However, most video games are more like movies than books. The characters walk around when they talk, they have voices, they are lip synched to their lines, etc. Phoenix Wright: Ace attorney (hereby condenced as PWAA) only have a character sprite representing the characters and bleeps in various tones that play when text appear in the textbox. In the end, PWAA is more like a book, like it's genre intend it to, and that's something non-experienced gamers can have a hard time to get into.
Fortunately, once you look past its somewhat dated graphics and gameplay, PWAA will be one of the most fun you will ever have in a DS game. The characters are memorable and colorfully designed, the lines are filled with sarcastic and somewhat dark humor but not distracting from the exciting storylines, each case has a perfect balance between quirky humor and dramatic moments. I was honestly quite suprised at how good and well-written the game was. Although not Nobel prize worthy, it's quite enough to get pretty much anyone hooked, myself included.
Like already said, the gameplay and graphics are fairly dated. The graphics are pretty much a character sprite on some background on the upper screen and buttons on the lower. You play the game by clicking around the scenery, looking for evidence to use in court, interview witnesses and exposes lies in court. Point and click was regarded as dated even when Escape from Monkey island was released, and it's still nothing new under the sun. Fortunately, like with Monkey island, the graphical limitations is not distracting enough for people to regard the game as unenjoyable, and is backed up by a very good script and overall story.
Not only that, but this game has a VERY good soundtrack, and I thoroughly recommend checking it out. Keep in mind that the game is a port of a GBA game so the soundtrack isn't in mp3 quiality or anything (the fact that it was originally a GBA game also explains the graphics and game mechanics, since this was pretty impressive back in it's initial release in 2001, just figured I'd point that out). Naturally, the music's impact is lost when heard out of context, but that goes without saying. Feel free to give the soundtrack a second listen once you're done with the game, because you might discover some really good stuff that you might not have thought too much about while playing the game itself.
If you have a DS, you have no excuse not to get this game by the time you finish reading this very sentence. It's also available for Wii and iOS, so you now have two less excuses not to get this masterpiece of a courtroom drama.
Summary: This is a very good game, it's script and soundtrack being it's strongest points. While it's somewhat dated graphic- and gameplaywise, anyone who plays games for its story will find this game a true blast.
Grade: 9.5/10
All images found via Google and are copyrighted by their respective owners.
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