Although the idea of a law simulator sounded cool enough, I was kind of skeptical about how one would actually play. Fortunately, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney plays fantastically due to the fact that it's not actually a law simulation at all. Sure, you do your lawyer thang in the courtroom for most of the adventure, but the laws of the courtroom are only followed in a loose sense as the game is not built on a foundation of the ins and outs of courtroom procedure. Rather, the game focused on suspenseful storytelling and character development. So while the courtroom sections do have rules and procedures, the cases are not used as a way to help you understand law. They are there to tell a story and a damn good one at that, which is fortunate because the click and point adventure gameplay is inextricably linked with the story in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Without the story, which comes in the form of the game's four cases, the gameplay wouldn't exist.
In my estimation, character development is almost always a key factor of a good story and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney has this in spades. Like any good character-driven story, characters don't exist just because the cases require them. Instead, with the exception of the ones that are case-specific, these characters become a part of your life story and some of them have incredibly endearing personalities. Maya, Phoenix's sidekick, is odd and zany in the most cute and lovable way; Detective Gumshoe is a genuinely good guy even if he doesn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed; Miles Edgeworth, the cold lead prosecutor, has a deep connection to Phoenix Wright that you wouldn't necessarily expect when you first meet him, etc. Furthermore, the developers actually manage to make the characters grow, so that by the end of the game, most of the characters have a different outlook. Phoenix grows as a defense lawyer and discovers something about his own motivations in perusing the profession, and Maya wrestles with the self-confidence issues she carries beneath her cheerful off kilter personality.
In addition to the main character, there are plenty of entertaining and colorful side characters. Like the side characters in a Shakespeare play, these characters are minor but key to the experience. Some of them are integral to the events of the game's four cases, but others are simply there because they flesh out the game's world, making it a funner and more believable place to inhabit.
The stories are incredibly suspenseful (you'll want to keep playing until you reach the end of the satisfyingly long cases), and they throw you several surprises along the way, but what of the gameplay? As I said before, the gameplay is inextricably linked with the story. Your task is to defend your client by spotting contradictions in the witness testimony and exploiting them. You do this by finding something in the court record---a collection of all the evidence in any given case---that doesn't jive with what a witness said. Then you press a button to object to the shaky line of testimony and present the conflicting piece of evidence. Sometimes this will appear to give you the upper hand, but then might fall flat as the prosecutor thinks up a new way to thwart you, and sometimes it will turn the case on its head in your favor, which is incredibly exciting and personally gets me pumped. Almost always, winning a not guilty verdict for your client is dependent upon pinning the crime onto the real perpetrator. I find that this gives the game a strong sense of urgency and conflict. Not only are you defending your client, but you are also trying to serve justice to a criminal that might get away if you don't play your cards right. Adding to the tension is a life meter of sorts. If you present the wrong evidence, you get a penalty, and if you get five penalties, you lose the case and have to start over at your last save point. Fortunately, you can save at any point in the game, making this rather painless if you save at opportune times.
Inevitably, this can lead to trial and error if you don't want to think your options through, and in come cases, it leads to trial and error even if you are thinking carefully about the evidence. However, I found that most of the time, you can spot the contradiction if you closely examine the evidence and testimony and don't just sift through it impatiently. And while it is true that the contradiction is sometimes buried deep within the testimony, the testimony itself is never sermon-like, and finding a contradiction in a line of dialogue that is not obviously suspicious can be a fun challenge.
That being said, I should mention that the game sometimes makes logical leaps that will have you scratching your head. This doesn't happen too often and the cases are constructed well for the most part, but the game is not always logical and that can lead to occasional bouts of frustration. Despite this, the cases are tense, suspenseful, and make you feel quite badass when everything is coming together, especially if you are dealing with a smart or combative witness. In fact, some of the witnesses are tougher than the prosecution and it is always tons of fun going head to head with these kind of witnesses.
In addition to the courtroom showdowns, there are investigative portions in which you go out and gather clues and interrogate people by pointing and clicking your way through still environments. I found that these portions were a bit less compelling that the courtroom sections since they are not as edge-of-your-seat suspenseful and can be a bit tedious at times (sometimes you'll get stuck if you overlook a not so obvious clue), but they do have their own kind of suspense and they always play a crucial role in setting up your next day in court and deepening the story. While a case might look a certain way in court, that could all change in investigation as more layers are added to the story.
Most of all, the investigation sections make for a nice change of pace and most of the endearing character interactions happen in these segments of the game. So, in a subtle way, investigation, while not quite as fun as the courtroom portions, are more important in fleshing out the story. Not to mention that most of the game's impressively on target humor happens in investigation, though the courtroom segments have plenty of funny moments as well.
Presentation is not as important in this game as it might be in others, but it still deserves a mention. I played the Wiiware version, so the graphics looked slightly stretched, but still quite attractive due to the strong art design. You won't see any grandiose paintings in this game, but the backgrounds are vibrant and the sprites are bursting with personality. They are very reminiscent of anime characters, but I think you'll like their design even if you are not into anime at all, given that it uses a more classic anime style instead of the generic cutesy style of many JRPGs on the market.
The game's soundtrack also has plenty of personality, with each music track complimenting the story event it is tied to. When you're just chilling in Phoenix's office with Maya, the music is upbeat and relaxing. When the tension is ratcheting up in the courtroom, the music becomes tense and exhilarating. However, one shouldn't go into the game expecting orchestrated music or sophisticated sound effects. The sound effects get the job done, but music is still MIDI and relies more on catchy melodies than super high sound quality to make an impression.
While the game is quite long, and could take up to twenty hours to complete, there is not much replay value after you finish the game since you all ready know what happens and what evidence to present. It can seem like a missed opportunity that the story doesn't branch out into alternate paths, but the cases are so well constructed that it doesn't matter. You will be thoroughly entertained by the one path the game offers you.
And that is what matters most in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: entertainment. Though the game doesn't have flashy graphics or non-stop action, it will keep you entertained in the same way that a book or film does, by making you care about the characters and what will happen next.
GAMEPLAY: 4.5/5
DESIGN: 4/5
STORY: 5/5
VISUALS: 4/5
PLAYABILITY: 4.5/5
VALUE: 3.5/5