TAKE THAT! A game that's an invigorating breath of fresh air amidst a mass of stale genres, if at least for one play

User Rating: 8.6 | Gyakuten Saiban: Yomigaeru Gyakuten (Limited Edition) DS
Japan has a notorious history of coming up with the oddest niche games, most of which have never seen a stateside release. But every once in a while, one of those games just happens to see the light of day in English; and that day for lawyer sim Gyakuten Saiban, otherwise famously known as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, has arrived. But how does one simulate the trials of a lawyer, exactly? Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney forgoes the drudgery of professional schooling and places players immediately in the shoes of Phoenix Wright, a fledgling (albeit awkward) lawyer on the rise. Fresh out of law school, he’s the protégé of star defense attorney Mia Fey, who happens to be his mentor and boss. She’s savvy, and he’s not—which works perfectly as she takes both Phoenix and the player under her wing through the first introductory case in which the basic moves of the courtroom process are taught. Phoenix’s first task is to vindicate his friend Larry Butz of alleged murder—a daunting yet simple feat that eventually goes off without a hitch. But as soon as the first trial’s training wheels are off, Phoenix is thrown into a world of seemingly impossible cases and a host of intimidating antagonists and prosecutors where every bit of small evidence is the key to a greater truth, and where the slightest slip of tongue could mean a complete turn around victory.

Gameplay in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney hearkens back to the style of point-and-click genre games like Monkey Island and Konami cult-classic Snatcher. The content is broken up into five separate cases, or chapters, and their respective trials that usually span three days. Each case usually opens up with a cinematic consisting of sequential, painted still frames which sets up the crime and characters that follow suit; a low-tech yet gorgeous mechanic used often in the game. The game then enters the main mode of interaction where Phoenix switches between two phases of the case. The first phase is investigatory, which takes place before and in between trials. In it, Phoenix and his assistant Maya Fey (Mia Fey’s little sister, their firm’s secretary and Phoenix’s spunky sidekick) traverse the city gathering important clues to aid them in the trial. Navigation is driven through a menu-style interface akin to Japanese dating sims like Tokimeki Memorial where you are given several options per screen to either inquire potential witnesses, move around to another location, or stay and investigate the scene. Empirical evidence is everything in a trial, so visiting crime scenes and obtaining tangible objects is just as essential to Phoenix’s success as getting information out of people. This is accomplished easily and intuitively by the DS’s touch screen; if anything is amiss, simply enter inspect mode and point and click. If it’s a key item a dialogue is brought up where Phoenix and Maya talk about its potential relevance to the case at stake, foreshadowing its significance. The item is then catalogued in Phoenix’s portfolio for use as evidence in the trial to come, as well as any tidbits of information gathered by witnesses in the form of written testimonies and files accessible through the main menu.

When all the “events” of the investigation are fulfilled (triggered by talking to all the necessary witnesses and gaining key evidence), the game immediately shifts to the second phase of the case—the trial, and the meat and bones of the gameplay. In a sense, the trial moves in reverse because the cinematics of the case already clue you in as to who the real perpetrator is. However, you have to prove your client’s innocence nonetheless and coax the true villain into confessing. It’s handled quite similarly to a real trial, though streamlined for convenience and simplicity’s sake. The prosecutor presents a witness that testifies in court in a dialogue that repeats in a text window over and over. It’s Phoenix and the player’s main task to find the discrepancy in that dialogue between the witness’s account and whatever information Phoenix has ascertained. At a particular junction of the witness’s testimony where the discrepancy is present, pressing the X button (or holding Y while shouting “Objection!” into the DS’s microphone, if you are so inclined) causes Phoenix to object to the testimony. If your hunch is correct, Phoenix begins to explain himself to the courtroom; if it’s a shot in the dark, the judge questions your reasoning and a point is docked from your credibility score. Guess incorrectly all five times in a trial and the judge immediately stops the trial declaring your client guilty, so making educated deductions based on information and evidence is vital.

As right as Phoenix’s hunches may be, they’re inconsequential unless you can prove them with hard facts. This is where all of the clues you’ve picked up come into play. Phoenix’s portfolio is brought up with all of the key evidence found during the investigatory phase, and it’s simply a case of matching up the discrepancy and the evidence with a press of the X button (guessing wrong here again, however, docks points still). Proving your word breaks down the witness’s testimony and psyche, causing him or her to recant his initial statement and make up a new one. Repeating this process slowly reveals the falsehood or incompetence of the witness’s credibility to the courtroom, leading to Phoenix and his client’s victory. It sounds simple, but the actual courtroom process is trickier than it seems. The actual complexity of the cases along with the many twists and turns in the game’s scenarios that will keep even the most attentive players on their feet.

The game’s visuals are a total divergence from the polygonal graphics present in most titles today, instead sporting the completely hand-drawn sprite style Capcom is famous for. The result is an incredible cast full of colorful personalities and designs that mesh well with the game’s cartoony vibe and quirky sense of humor. It’s all quite anime-themed, down to the over-the-top dramatic gestures of both legal teams and speed line-laden action backgrounds. Flashbacks and important events in the game are brought to life by CG illustrations similar to the ones in GBA title Metroid Fusion. Simple, but effective. If anything, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney may even be coined as an interactive manga or anime in its unique presentation.

But what anime would be complete without a cool accompanying soundtrack? As far the game goes, it’s never on short supply of awesome tracks that suit the mood of the moment nicely. Aside from having an overall great suite of background music and character themes impressively done on the DS’s limited audio hardware, the game’s audible shining point lies in the platitude of pulse-pounding tracks present in the trials. The music dynamically shifts according to the action present in the courtroom, providing a nice bit of ambience to complement the current mood of the scene. At one moment, the tempo could sift down to a coolly calculated pace to match picking the right bit of crucial evidence. At another moment, the pace could pick up to a hurdling, rhythmic frenzy with Phoenix pointing at his rival prosecutor with impunity upon finding the breaking point in the testimony. The sound effects are also well played, with abstract onomatopoeia-like audio cues signaling emotions and reactions (a piercing sound, followed by Phoenix mouthing off in shocked flabbergast is a common one). It’s an effect that suits the game’s anime style well, and a nice substitution in place of voice-acting in a game as dialogue-rich as this.

A new addition in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney not present in the previous GBA titles is a bonus fifth case made specially with the DS’s hardware functionality in mind. Goodies like spritzing crime scenes with blood stain-revealing agents, fingerprinting clues by dabbing the touch screen and blowing into the microphone port, and examining items in Phoenix’s portfolio in 3D by clicking and dragging the stylus are elements that add greatly to the rich gameplay experience already provided by the game. And coincidentally, the bonus case happens to be the longest, so players are in for a treat during the last lengthy stretch of the game.

Although immersive with a visual novel kind of flair, the text-heavy reliance of the game’s menus and the linearity of the trials’s gameplay are some of the game’s few shortcomings. RPG veterans need not worry, but everyone else may feel anxious waiting around for something to happen. The trials are virtually impossible to lose (choosing to pull back from an argument only elicits contempt from Maya), and once you memorize the sequence of actions to take the game could very much feel like a case of Dragon’s Lair on a second playthrough. This results in almost zero replayability, although the first run through of the game is enough to make most an instant fan.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a fun romp for anyone that’s ever wanted to get a taste of courtroom action and even for those who don’t. In its totality it’s a thing rarely seen these days: fresh gameplay and a risky departure from the norm. Capcom took an initial gamble with its limited release in 2005, but has since then pressed more copies for release in stores due to overwhelming demand by the public. And if that isn’t indication enough, your honor, then I don’t know what is. I rest my case.