Game Review: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Game: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: 31st March 2006

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a visual novel which follows rookie defence attorney Phoenix Wright through his first five cases. Originally released as a Game Boy Advance title in Japan, Phoenix Wright: Attorney on the DS features an extra case in addition to the four from the Japanese version, as well as adding touch screen and microphone functionality. Although it's fairly easy to tell that the original game wasn't designed to use all of the DS's functions to their full potential, the final case makes far more use of the device's capabilities.

As the game is a visual novel I won't be looking too deeply into the details of the cases featured, as this would potentially spoil parts of the game for those who haven't played it. Each case begins with a defendant who seems to be almost certainly guilty of a crime and you're then tasked with collecting evidence relating to the crime and cross-examining witnesses to prove your client's innocence. The cases featured get more complex and last longer as the player continues through the game.

Of course the trial system has been somewhat simplified for use in the game; set a little way in the future, trials in Japan now have a limit of 3 days before a verdict must be reached, to prevent lengthy court proceedings from clogging the justice system. At times this can mean that events are a little harder to believe and that you'll need incontrovertible evidence to get your client off the hook but since the game basically provides you with it, it's not really a problem.

Most trials run for their full three day length and gameplay alternates between sections where you're collecting evidence and information on the case, and courtroom sections where you use the evidence you've collected to disprove testimonies made by witnesses. Controls for both parts are simple and mostly touchscreen based; when collecting evidence players can examine their current location, move between locations, talk to characters who happen to be at their current location and present evidence to them. When in court players scroll through the current testimony and can either press the witness on their statements or present evidence to show contradictions.

The timeline of events for each case slowly unravels as the trials progress and at times you'll feel more like a detective than a defence attorney. A lot of the time it's unclear what exactly has happened with regards to the crime until the case is almost over, but all plot twists are plausible and generally well written. There are some intertwining plotlines in the first four cases which form the original game's overarching story, as well as a hugely complex final bonus case which stands alone in terms of story.

One of the game's best features is its eccentric cast of characters; lawyers, witnesses, defendants and even minor characters all have interesting ways of expressing themselves and really bring the game alive. Watching a witness's demeanour change from calm to disbelief in court brings a sense of achievement in your own deductive skills despite the game's fairly linear progression.

The controls translate well from the Game Boy Advance original game to the DS; there's a choice between using the buttons and the touch screen most of the time, and while its easy to see how the controls were mapped on the original version, some things do feel easier with the touch screen function. As the final case was a DS extra, there's a lot more use of the touchscreen to rotate pieces of evidence, uncover fingerprints and undertake other forensic tests, as well as more use of the microphone which was previously only used as an alternate way to declare an objection or press witnesses.

Although there was no graphical update from the Game Boy Advance game, Ace Attorney still manages to look impressive with stylised visuals and detailed character models. Musically the game uses certain themes for specific parts of each case, but it's generally enjoyable and suitable for the situation. The only real criticisms I can find with the game are small aspects like attempting to navigate between locations in complex cases.

Overall as with most visual novels, Phoenix Wright emphasises story over most other gaming elements but manages to pull its complex and twisting cases off well. Only the most seasoned of visual novel haters could find a reason not to play this.

Rating: 84/100
Grade: B