A fun, enjoyable, and quirky courtroom adventure
In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, you (obviously) play through the eyes of Phoenix Wright, a fresh defense attorney who doesn't have a single case under his belt yet. Of course, the game starts at Phoenix's first case in which he has to take charge of a murder trial in which his friend was accused of being the murderer. While it sounds simple at first, the story really begins to rack up really quickly and gets intense by the second case. You begin to learn about overarching plot elements, new key characters like the prosecution attorney, the detective, and Phoenix's partner, and much more. It's obvious once you play the game that the story is definitely the biggest highlight (which is fitting for an adventure game). Each case is written well with lots of witty, interesting dialogue which keeps you interested and the story is just presented wonderfully.
Adventure games are unique in the way in which gameplay is not necessarily the most important part of the game since the focus is more on story. Of course the gameplay is still a key part of the game overall which is a fact Myst DS proved to us which made it so that even typing in letters with the touch screen was hard and even pointing out items became an issue. Regardless of the fact that gameplay isn't the main focus of its genre, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney stays true to the old text adventure formula. You can examine things, talk to people to gather information and move around. While this seems rather simple, it definitely works.
However, there is much more to the gameplay in this game than the usual exploration. As you may remember, this is a game where you play as a defense attorney and as you might expect, you have to go to court. This is where a whole new side to the game is shown. The gameplay switches perspectives and instead of gathering information, your job is to present the new information and evidence you have received in order to point out lies and contradiction in witnesses' testimonies so that your client can get a "not guilty" verdict. This is where a majority of the intense moments of the game end up happening (the emotional scenes tend to happen in the investigation phase) and it's this part of the game which is undoubtedly the most fun. There's only really one flaw I can think of in this gameplay and that's the fact that the game doesn't use the DS' functionality well. It can be played entirely without using the touch screen (although using the touch screen is a lot easier) but when you consider the fact that this is a port of a GBA game then that fact doesn't seem so bad anymore. I should also point out that this game's 5th case uses the DS touch screen to some degree by allowing you to view your evidence in 3D and rotate it around in order to find clues, which was a nice added touch.
When it comes to graphics, this game makes up for its lack of technical power with its great amounts of style. Let's face it; a port of a GBA game will never be the greatest example to showcase the DS' graphic capabilities. However, the game is still really pleasant to look at regardless of that fact. The character sprites, although a bit grainy, are made really well and are quite colorful. When examining things, the sprites are never too blurry or unclear, you'll always be able to point out really peculiar details which might serve as clues and pieces of evidence which is good. In the end, while the graphics aren't totally detailed and high-quality, they get the job done well.
One of the shining points of this game is its audio. While the game doesn't offer much voice acting (other than Phoenix Wright and the prosecutors' "Objection!" lines), this game really specializes in music and sound effects. The music should be noted as it really brings out the fun in this game. When you point out a contradiction to the court, see the witness who is lying get surprised and nervous with the intense Objection Theme playing in the background, the game gets really exciting. The sound effects are also very solid. They play at the right moments and there are a large variety which helps increase the mood and feel of the game.
In the end, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a shining example of how to make an enjoyable adventure game on a portable system. It has charming characters, a story that never lets up meaning it never gets boring, visuals that are pleasing to the eye, and pretty much everything that makes an adventure game great. As long you don't only play First Person Shooters, I'd definitely recommend Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney as it's a unique and quirky game that will definitely not disappoint you.