Is there a more iconic word in video gaming? Well, probably, yeah. Is there a more iconic written word in video gaming? Nothing springs to mind, so let's run with it.
Would you imagine a courtroom to be a place to base an entire series of games around? Could a lawyer really be that likeable? You wouldn't think there's much of an entertaining game to be found here, but Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is more than happy to prove otherwise.
From digging through the case files to find a contradiction, to the over the top characters doing anything to get off the hook, Ace Attorney tells the tale of Phoenix Wright, rookie defence lawyer, as he pokes holes wherever they need to be poked. Assuming you were paying attention to the story.
Button up your shirt and tighten your ties. The court is in session.
Fun Times
I've never played a Phoenix Wright title, so starting with a Nintendo DS remake of the first, originally released on the Game Boy Advance, seems like a great idea - especially when it's in English now.
Mostly still images show us a crime that has just taken place, and a suspect forming a plan to pin it on an innocent man. Should we have this kind of meta-knowledge of our first case? Is it an introduction full of lies? I'm interested to find out.
This is Mia Someone or other, our boss. She's right, we're Wright, but the reason we're taking this case is because of this guy:
This is Larry Butz, our schoolmate from long ago. We're in this line of work because of him, apparently, though we don't quite know why. He's a bumbling idiot, but good at heart. He's also on trial for murder, and we're going to clear his name - what with someone else clearly doing the job in the introduction...
We've not seen much take place, but the dialogue and artwork are already grabbing my attention. Just enough well-written words to keep the pace up, clear character portraits that convey emotions when needed - and some rather cartoony looks too.
It's ridiculous, it's Japanese, but it's not in your face. It's stylish, and I like it. Let's get to the courtroom and find out what this game is all about.
Upon seeing our nerves, the Judge decides that we need to be tested to find out if we're even fit to defend Larry, issuing some multiple-choice questions about the case to get us ready. Knowing the victim's name is quite important and for that, we need to dive into our case notes to double-check the facts.
Evidence and character profiles are found here, where we learn just the briefest of things about each, but what is said is vital. Cindy's Autopsy Report probably means she's called Cindy.
Whoa, Larry, chill. You're not helping the case - your case. As you can see, we aced the Judge's pop quiz and are deemed fit to defend this... emotional man. Ace Attorney is a visual novel adventure, though there's not a whole lot of adventure on display. You are very much taken through a story - a great story, for sure - and tasked with interacting in the right way at the right time.
One such moment gives you the choice of letting Larry dig himself deeper, but the clear choice is to interject and get on with the matter at hand. We don't need to know how Cindy lived, only who killed her.
In each of these shots, there's just the hint of animation. Some blinking, some sweat drips, little more. In other games, I might complain - probably have, let's face it. Here, I'm not bothered. The style just sells everything I need to know, and the text works with it. This is readable. This is well written. This flows from one speaker to the next. I'm hooked.
I've not much to do other than click 'next' at the end of each sentence, I'll stress that point, but I do want to click 'next' whenever it is available.
Eventually, though, we get to the meat of Ace Attorney. The Witness Testimony. Time to hear their account of events, and the chance to pick holes in it, feeling incredibly smart - or unbelievably stupid, I guess - while you're doing it.
Now, I know he looks innocent, but he is also definitely the same man we saw killing Cindy at the start of this episode. All we need to do is dig through his testimony and find its faults, and we can, at last, get into some light gameplay as we investigate the claims one by one.
The dual-screen nature of the DS works wonders for this section, as you flick through your case notes, read up on the evidence and call out the inaccuracies. The autopsy disagrees with the witness on the time of death. Why is that?
Oh, Mr Sahwit, you're not doing too well with all this evidence, are you? And yet we've still not done enough to convince the judge, even with that dramatic yell of 'Objection!'
Oh, we've got him. Get out of this one, Mr Sahwit. Could you tell the court how a statuette of 'The Thinker' - that we all know to be the murder weapon - is actually a clock?
Ah.
At this point, it looks like our case is in tatters, for some absurd reason. I mean, clearly, we know Mr Sahwit did it, but that's not enough. Ace Attorney wants us to prove it. This is how the law is supposed to work, of course. We need to look at what we have and piece together events as they actually happened. We need to question everything. We've already made an impression. A little bit more poking and the case is ours.
This. Is. Fantastic. And laughably, it's not even enough to close the case. I had to do even more to convince the court that Larry had nothing to do with Cindy's murder. I hadn't done a whole lot of gaming, but I was thoroughly entertained with Ace Attorney.
And so, my fir- oh. Yes, well, the end of an episode was a fitting place to call it, just under an hour into Ace Attorney. I've no idea how many episodes there are, but I'm eager to find out. We've got to learn the story of how Phoenix came to be a lawyer, we've got to impress our boss some more, we've got to put more criminals behind bars, and if it is as casual and as entertaining as what I've seen so far, I think I'm going to be in for a good time.
Final Word
I would have an even better time if I wasn't emulating Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and could sit in a comfy chair and soak it all in because it is that kind of casual game. It is a visual novel. It'll task you with paying attention so that you can make progress through it, but it's engaging. Who doesn't want to solve crimes, especially away from the blood-soaked crime scene?
With excellent writing that keeps you focused, and over the top characters to keep you entertained, Phoenix Wright absolutely needs to be played. Is there a lot of gameplay? No, not much. I hope it'll get more complex as the cases go on, but I'm really not too fussed about that. The fact that the story is engaging is more than enough for me.
It's not exactly challenging if there isn't much gameplay, so give it an episode and see how you fare with the characters and story. If it's not obvious, I'm going to be giving this one a few more episodes, and maybe a sequel or two. I hope I'm not speaking too soon...
Fun Facts
Phoenix may have been known as Roger until it was pointed out that Roger Wright sounded a little too close to Roger Rabbit.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, developed by Capcom Production Studio 4, first released in 2001.
Version played: Nintendo DS, 2005, via emulation.