If you’re looking for more of what you liked from the first game, you’ll find it here; no more, and sadly a little less.
Just as in the first game, you’ll play as Phoenix Wright, a young defence attorney who must solve a series of increasingly bizarre and challenging murder cases. However, don’t expect to get bogged down in legal matters or anything like that; the game’s manual clearly tells you that the legal system in Justice for All was designed especially for this game. This means you’ll be treated to a simplified and dramatized version of what you’d expect to see in the courtroom, where you can constantly harass witnesses without penalty and where prosecutors can assault the judge with leather whips.
Oddly enough, this exaggerated anime approach to courtroom drama works well for Justice for All, just as it did in the first game. After a short opening vignette that outlines the facts and stakes of the case, you’ll begin investigating by visiting key locations, chatting with witnesses, and searching for strange evidence that will help you reach a ‘not guilty’ verdict. This is done mostly by interacting with quirky, well-drawn and well-written characters, all of whom have plenty of secrets that will help you in your case. One of the few additions to Justice for All is the Magatama, a mystical device you can use to tell if people are lying. If they are, you’ll see a sum of ‘psyche-locks’ appear, and you’ll need the proper evidence to break these locks and have the person tell you the truth. The Magatama is a neat addition, but since each character you encounter is crucial to the case, it doesn’t really do you many favours in terms of keeping you on track, since you’ll need to progress in a strictly linear fashion anyway.
After collecting evidence, it’s off to the courtroom sections, where you’ll listen to witness testimony, look it over for flaws, then present evidence to poke holes in their account of the crime. You’ll mostly just be able to press witnesses on every statement they make – and sometimes you’ll have to, since the legal connections the game makes can be way too vague or make odd leaps in logic. The game occasionally tightens the leash on how reckless you can be in the courtroom, but generally you’re afforded lots of extra chances.
You’ll eventually begin making mistakes, though, and when you do, the judge will penalize you. Essentially, this means a segment of a ‘health bar’ will be taken away. If this bar gets to zero, it’s game over for Phoenix, who will potentially need to replay a large chunk of the case. Sometimes, a mistake is simply a misstep in your understanding of the case; however, just as often, it’s because of the aforementioned fuzzy connections between your evidence and the case at hand. The final two cases, in particular, seem particularly apt at creating obscure twists that you probably wouldn’t catch other than by simply throwing out evidence and taking penalties until something sticks. Because of this, the final few cases can drag on for over an hour longer than they should. This was one of the most egregious problems with the first game, and it’s rather annoying that it persists here.
Thankfully, the development of the cases and the fascinating characters within them picks up some, but not all, of the slack from the gameplay. Phoenix and his assistant, Maya, have a great chemistry that’s full of charm and a good number of laughs. Even the villains piece in superbly with the rest of the cast, chiming in with sharp dialogue that rarely becomes too long-winded. Considering this is a text-driven game, that feat is particularly impressive, despite the occasional typographical errors that pop up in such great dialogue.
In spite of the game’s shortcomings, chances are you’ll really enjoy the crazy, off-the-wall cases Phoenix will be tackling this time, including the peculiar murder of a circus ringmaster and a spirit channelling gone awry. Overall, the cases aren’t quite as good as they were in the first game – particularly the opening case, which really drags its feet on the road to becoming interesting compared with the first game’s cases. Luckily, the game’s somewhat slow start pulls through quickly, and soon you’ll be in the thick of some genuinely intriguing and often exciting predicaments. The game’s final case, in particular, throws the plot for a hell of a loop, tying in characters and plot points from both games and really making the final hours of the game resonate with danger and immediacy. It’s also the most daring case, dealing with themes like attempted suicide. In all, it’s probably the most well-designed case in either two Phoenix Wright games.
Indeed, Justice for All makes good on giving you more of what you loved from the original release; but it stumbles on the follow-through by being content to simply give you more instead of building upon the basic evidence gathering and courtroom scenes. Aside from an extremely brief puzzle in the game’s final case, there’s no mandatory or particularly inspired touch-screen support, which is disappointing. It’s also a bit shorter than the first game, weighing in at four cases instead of five.
Phoenix Wright and all of his friends and foes still look great in Justice for All, as the game uses its large, crisply drawn and vibrantly coloured sprites to expressively tell its story. Each character has a good amount of key poses and unique facial movements to lend them tons of personality, and they go a long way in making the cases feel immersive. The characters brand new to Justice for All look just as good and fit in with the existing cast wonderfully. Audio is more or less the same as it was in the first game as well, with the same memorable themes and sound effects used sparingly but effectively throughout. There’s no voice acting in the game, but the characters will shout with short sound clips like “Objection!” or “Take that!” Or better yet, you can use the game’s mic support to shout those things yourself. Taken together, the audiovisuals in Justice for All make a great fit for the DS, although it’s disappointing so many locations and characters look identical to how they appeared in Phoenix’s first outing.
Phoenix Wright: Justice for All may not be quite as interesting or as fresh as the first game was, but it’s by all means a solid choice for people looking for more off-the-wall investigations, complete with a good story and a truly outstanding cast of characters. Unfortunately, the cases don’t stand out as much as they did in the first game, and this sequel does little (if anything) to address the flaws of its precursor. If more Phoenix is exactly what you want, however, it’s hard to go wrong with Justice for All.