The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve

When I reviewed the first Great Ace Attorney game, I said it had a story to rival the finale games from both mainline trilogies. While that remains true, it pales in comparison to Resolve. While a bit soapy, this game was a roller coaster from start to finish. The twists and revelations often left me flabbergasted, but led into a conclusion that pulled together all the threads from both games, capping off an incredible duology. Now I know for sure that this will be the starting place I recommend for anyone curious about the Ace Attorney franchise. 

Once again playing as Ryunosuke (and Susato, for a chapter), you'll be tackling more court cases and correcting more of Sholmes' investigations. However, there's a greater significance to everything you do in this game, even if it isn't obvious at first. Where most Ace Attorney games have at least one filler case that lacks pertinence to the overarching plot, The Great Ace Attorney 2 maintains its focus from start to finish. Each chapter has some kind of major reveal that builds towards a thrilling conclusion. I may have seen the final twist coming since the first game, but I was floored by the steps Resolve took to get there.

Surprisingly, the gameplay is identical to the previous Great Ace Attorney title, so don't expect any new features. That didn't end up being a problem for me, though. In fact, I didn't even realize it until after I finished the game because the narrative had captivated me. If a third game had continued with the same pattern, it might not have been so impressive, but the foundations were certainly strong enough to carry the duology.

It's now been over seven and a half years since this game first released, and we haven't seen another new game in the franchise since. I'm grateful to have the HD compilations and new localizations that Capcom has been putting out, but now I'm hoping that they're planning something new. The Great Ace Attorney shows that the series' formula works even if you change the setting and characters, so I want to see what else they can do to create a fresh experience. Until then, I'll be recommending these to franchise newcomers, and I thankfully still have a few more Ace Attorney games to play myself.
The game is available for Steam here (as of 2/28/25): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1158850/The_Great_Ace_Attorney_Chronicles/
The game is available for Switch here (as of 2/28/25): https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/the-great-ace-attorney-chronicles-switch/
The game is available for PS4 and PS5 here (as of 2/28/25): https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0102-CUSA18254_00-GAAT12FULLGAME00

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