Trials and Tribulations is the perfect culmination of the Phoenix Wright series.
I'm mostly talking JRPGs, but there are other cases. For instance, I found myself playing Rule of Rose far longer than I should of because I was hooked. However, once in a while, we'll actually get a good game with a good story, and Phoenix Wright is one of those games.
.............
I take that back. Phoenix Wright is a decent game with a FANTASTIC story. In fact, you will be hard pressed to find a more engaging interactive narrative anywhere. The first two PW games were solid, and the stories were very good, but the writers blew those two games away with this iteration in the series.
Ok. You play as Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney. Its your third year as an attorney and things are already heating up. There's a new prosecutor in town by the name of Godot who claims to have risen from hell to do battle with you. You're are constantly reminded about an old girlfriend who tried to kill you.Oh, and you try to cross a burning bridge to save a friend and end up falling forty feet into a raging river. There are more twists and turns than a child's scribble, but none of it is too far fetched that it doesn't make sense, and all of it is compelling stuff. There were times I was shocked, rolling on the floor laughing, and even close to tears throughout this handheld adventure, and never once did it feel forced or awkward. You'll also get to play as Mia Fey, Phoenix's mentor, in flashback scenes that lead up to the final case. (which is flat out AWESOME by the way)
The gameplay isn't anything new or special, but its the best thing for this type of game. For each of the five cases, you'll investigate crime scenes, talk to witnesses, collect evidence, and then do battle in the courtroom. The latter of these consists of hearing testimony, cross examining witnesses, and pointing out contradictions to find the truth and ultimately find your client not guilty. All of this is done with a simple button layout. (You can use the stylus if you want, but there really isn't a point) The first case only takes about half an hour to go through, but the rest of them can take you upwards of five or six, meaning this is a lot of content for you to enjoy.
Graphics and animations are mostly recycled from the first two games, except for the new locales and characters of course, but that's no biggie. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (Although there was one case where *SPOILER* Edgeworth was defending and Franziska was prosecuting. She whipped everyone but him, and the only reason I could think of was that they were too lazy to create an animation for him get whipped*SPOILER*)
Sound effects and music are still top notch and go a long way to add to whatever emotion the game is going for. The crack of Von Karma's whip on Detective Gumshoe still brings laughs, while the sound of Phoenix's hands slamming on his desk bring up the tension a notch or two. And nothing beats OBJECTION!
The only real chink in this game's armor comes from the lack of replayabilty. Even though the story is great, you wouldn't want to have to go through all the motions again once you already know how its going to end. Plus, you'll know all the pieces of evidence to present and all the questions to ask, so any challenge the game has will be nil. Even still, its fun and engaging while it lasts.
If you're the kind of person that loves a game with a good story, then you need Phoenix Wright, because video game stories just don't get much better than this.