Sitting in court for hours on end has never been more fun
Storyline – 5/5
This game consists of five different cases. They are not really interlinked, though there are brief flashbacks to and mentions of prior cases along the way. Overall, it's more like five separate stories. But each story is incredible. Between all the clues collected from examining rooms, questioning characters, and witness testimonies, each miniplot is juicy with many unexpected twists and turns.
Characters – 5/5
The character diversity in this game is incredible. I have no words for it, but I'll try to give some anyway. I started laughing when I saw the name "Oldbag" in the Samurai case. And I thought that was hilarious…until I met Sal Manella. Oh my god…I was DYING when I met him. "Hey, do j00 do a lot of 'cosplay,' coz that costume r0x0rz!… *drool*" Wow, I'm such a nerd, because this guy really struck home for me. But anyway, from the sexily-calm Mia to the ever-aloof "Diva" (Dee Vasquez), each new character in this game never failed to impress me. I burst out laughing when von Karma started banging his head over and over against the courtroom wall, and Edgeworth's "WHOOOOOOOP" incidents had me in tears. Talk about great characters in other games, but you haven't seen anything yet until you've played this one.
Graphics – 4/5
I can't blame Capcom for not having seamless graphics, since the first four episodes are ported directly from a GBA version, so it's not too bad. You can almost immediately see the graphics change when you get to the 5th episode, with the whole "inspection" aspect of court evidence and all. So even though the animation is a little rough, you get used to it after a while.
Soundtrack – 5/5
Beautiful. The soundtrack in this game fits the whole play style incredibly well. Each song they pick for each situation fits the mood of the scene perfectly, from the creepy music at unexpected turns and anticipatory music during testimonies to the upbeat, thumping track when you're onto something in court. There's not a huge selection of music in the game, but I actually don't have a problem with that at all, because each track used is always perfect for the occasion. Besides, some of these songs are just so catchy and fun to listen to!
Overall:
I don't really have anything negative to say about this game. It really is one of those games that you cannot put down. Time flies by incredibly fast when you're playing it, too. I wish the text speed was a little faster, but, overall, it is a thoroughly engaging and beautifully-designed game. I especially loved the reference to that Chinese story about the shield and the halberd to make the shield based on contradictions. That was brilliant! My mom used to tell me that story (along with various other Chinese proverb stories) all the time. Congratulations to Capcom on a job well done!