Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

 
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a murder-mystery visual novel. The game's linear structure may leave some people frustrated, but, I found that the combination of intriguing mysteries and over-the-top characters was enough to keep me happily engaged the whole way through. The game did a great job of making me feel like I was the one making smart deductions and groundbreaking discoveries, even though they were all inevitable pieces of the main story, and I definitely consider that smart game design. I didn't find the whole game to be perfect, and the final episode suffers from a serious lack of cohesion, but that was far from enough to sour a game this good.

Playing as an amateur defense attorney who seems to think he's also a detective, you are tasked with trying to protect your innocent clients from conviction, despite insurmountable odds. The only way this is possible is by finding every little contradiction in witness testimonies while in court, and interrogating the heck out of a comedic cast of characters while seeking new evidence in the field. What really stood out to me was how the whole game felt like a TV show. Each of the first four episodes were distinctly separate from one another, while still being unified under a story arc that felt serious and important. A fifth and final episode was added for the DS re-release, but it doesn't connect to the major story arc of the rest of the game, and it replaces a few staple characters, making it feel rather disconnected from the rest of the game. Fortunately, it still ends up being a lot of fun to play in its own right. In terms of gameplay, Ace Attorney stays pretty simple the whole way through. The two phases, trial and investigation, are structured slightly differently, but both boil down to asking the right questions and finding evidence to support your client's innocence. I occasionally found myself stuck when I was expected to use an obscure piece of evidence in a way I never would have considered, but otherwise it made me feel pretty smart to deduce how all of the pieces fit together.

My entire experience with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was truly fantastic. I found that the characters were generally fun to interact with, the stories were engaging, and success always felt super rewarding. There were moments where I felt stuck, which were very frustrating, but as soon as I got past them, I was rolling again like nothing happened. This game was structured perfectly for me to play in my limited downtime, allowing me to experience it in bite-sized pieces without any consequence. Because of all that, I recommend this game to anyone who's a fan of a good story. If you tend to skip dialogue, this game isn't for you, but maybe you should rethink that approach just so you can enjoy sweet justice?

The game is available for Steam here (as of 2/8/21): https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/Phoenix_Wright_Ace_Attorney_Trilogy/
The game is available for 3DS here (as of 2/8/21): https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-trilogy-3ds/
The game is available for Switch here (as of 2/8/21): https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-trilogy-switch/
The game is available for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S here (as of 2/8/21): https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-trilogy/c4r4rb3sb1nn
The game is available for PS4 and PS5 here (as of 2/8/21): https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0102-CUSA11513_00-AAT123FULLGAME00
The game is available for iOS here (as of 2/8/21): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ace-attorney-trilogy-hd/id365681816

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