Ace attorney investigations: Miles Edgeworth (2010) DS

This review is protected by Fair use.

In order to fully understand this review, it's highly recommended that you play all Ace attorney games first. 

2010 must have been a busy year in gaming for me. Evidence of this (no reference to this game intended) is that I never bought this spin-off of one of my favorite video game series of all time. Sadly, I still haven't bought this game yet. Luckily, I had a friend who bought it during a visit to America (this is why I use the NTSC-cover instead of the PAL version like I usually do), so I finally decided to give this game a shot.

Needless to say, I am going to find a brand-new copy of this game as soon as I get the money to afford it, because Capcom deserves their money for this game.

Like with all games in the Ace attorney series, it's very to talk about this game without spoiling the story. Ace attorney investigations (hereby abbreviated as AAI) is VERY rich in its story, and I wouldn't want to spoil it for any of you. I will say, though, that there are a lot of references to the previous installments as well as the usual pop culture references and internet references. Sometimes combined, like the stupid-yet-brilliant combination of a Devil may cry and a 300 reference in a single line in Trials and tribulations. References are regarded as one of the lowest forms of humor, only leading to "It's funny because it exists, right?" or the likes. At least that's what I have been told. Honestly, if it's clever enough or is well-timed, I don't mind references. Especially if it's a game series that pays tribute to itself, so to say. That's exactly what AAI does. Is it fanservice? Sure, but it's fanservice I, for one, enjoy a lot, especially since it was a few years since I played a new Ace attorney game.

To talk about the plot without giving too much away, I must say that most of the new characters are actually pretty interesting. They are still as cartoonish as ever; odd personalities with character design and even names to fit them, but usually with deep secrets and intriguing backstories to make them more real and a whole lot of fun to interact with. I do admit that now that I am older and have a slightly higher IQ, I did see a lot of the twists and reveals before they were even announced, most notably in the final case. However, there were a lot of times where the game actually did suprise me, usually in the regards of the real culprits or details in the investigations. Unfortunately, the story is not perfect. There are a few lame lines that aren't funny or add to the story, they sometimes even explain the jokes. All of the longer Ace attorney cases so far take usually take place within a few days' period. All cases in AAI are solved during one in-game day. This makes the cases seem longer than they actually are, and that it's dragging its knees a few times. I suppose the implication is that Edgeworth is so vastly superior to Wright that he can solve the cases within a few hours while Wright needs a few days. Jokes aside, all of the cases are still pretty darn good, especially the final case.

There are a few changes to the gameplay this time around, as exampled above. You walk around a small map this time around and investigate various object by walking up next to them and press Examine, instead of being limited to "clicking" on the background imagine and press examine. There is also two new systems: Logic and Deduce. During the events in the game, Edgeworth will note various objects or events and add them to his Logic. For example, he may note that there is pain on the floor, and later note that there is a can of paint in a different room (I'm making this scenario up, I am not taking it from the game or anything). You can the press the Logic button to connect his thoughts to come to a conclution, often leading to further evidence or questions to ask witnesses. You Deduce by examining crime scenes and examine something in the scene that doesn't add up with a piece of evidence you possess. For example, you may examine a murder victim and clearly see he has been shot, although the supposed murder weapon is a knife. You then point to the bullet wound, press Deduce, and present the knife to further debate as to why this contradiction came to be. You then figure out that the dead body was tampered with after death, enabling you to ask the person who found the body why the knife was supposed to be the weapon. Once again, this is just an example. The new systems aren't groundbreaking, but it's nice to be able to walk around in the world of Ace attorney and interact with the environment better than ever, and the systems feels like a breath of fresh air in this otherwise not so gameplay-developed series. They seem odd at first with the experienced Ace attorney player (like you SHOULD be in order to even understand 50% of the events that transpire in this game), but they'll most likely get into it before the first case is over.

The controls are decent. There's not much to say in this category other than I've only had problems facing the correct thing I wish to examine sometimes, but have no complains otherwise. Why did I bring this up, then? Because the controls are somewhat different from before. You walk around, either by poking the mini-map with your stylus or use the d-pad. You can examine things when the game lets you as well as talk to people by pressing A or Examine/Talk. You can also push the Parter button, or Y, to speak with your current partner about the case at hand. You don't NEED to do so in order to finish the game or anything, but it sometimes gives you clues as to what to examine or do next, although it's mostly used for humor an some slight backstory. A funny thing that I noted is that the Court record is not the Organizer. This does makes sense since you're mostly just investigating stuff, the game even make fun of the name change, but it's something I found kind of funny at first.

The Ace attorney series has always been backed up with really good music to perfectly set the mood in its various scenes. Fortunately, the series have not lost its touch in this regard. I dare say that this soundtrack is the best in the series next to the first and third installment. It mostly consist of the usual orchestrated (as far as DS quality goes, anyway) and some rock and jazz elements thrown into the mix. As always, no recommendations in particular to avoid people judging the game by just a few song. Most songs are pretty solid, though nothing to add in video game music history. Although that doesn't mean that I won't add them to my PS3's playlist.

There is one major problem with this game: The sequel. So far, Gyakuten kenji 2 (Ace attorney investigations 2) have NOT been anounced for a release outside of Japan. This is most likely due to to the low sales this series have suffered. There are some polls and movements to bring the game overseas, but I have no hope for an international release. If you are interested in doing what little you can to actually bring the sequel to your nearby game store, feel free to check out the links at the bottom of this article. While my hopes are low, I do hope the next installment in this spin off series will be released outside Japan in the future, and I encourage you to try to make a difference at least.

As usual, this game is not spectacular in its graphics and gameplay, although it is an improvement over the other installments in these aspects, the story is still as sharp as ever, and music that is among the best in the series. So if you are an Ace attorney fan, why haven't you bought this game yet? Although I'm not the one to talk.

Summary: Lang Zi says: "All fans of Ace attorney will be thrilled by this game, its story and music is top notch, and wll leave them wanting more; So hurry and localize the sequel already!"

Grade: 8/10

Online petition for Gyakuten kenji 2's localization 

Operation Objection Facebook page and forum

All images found via Google and are copyrighted by their respective owners.