Happy new year, minna-san!
Nearly one year after I wrote a preview for the first Ace Attorney Investigations, I have finally finished the actual game. Forgive me, I had to do so many other updates and play so many other games before I could reach this one. Anyhoo, scroll further down to get to the review.
GENRE: Digital Novel, Mystery, Strategy, Role-Playing
PLATFORM: Nintendo DS
CREDITS: 2010 Capcom Co., Ltd. Screenshots courtesy of Amazon.com.
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Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth takes the Ace Attorney series from the courtroom to the crime scene, leaving the legal battle behind while bringing the action to various crime scenes. This time around, the player takes on the role of famed prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, a memorable rival of charismatic legal eagle Phoenix Wright. Edgeworth actively investigates crime scenes in order to pursue the truth behind each case. By solving the challenging puzzles presented him, Edgeworth will work with the police to bring criminals to justice. Users will be able to directly control the character avatar’s movement on the scene with the arrow key or touch screen and investigate the crime scenes freely. If, during the course of an investigation, users find contradictions, they will be able to obtain new information by presenting decisive evidence. In some cases, users will identify clues and conduct examinations of material witnesses. On these occasions, users will have to uncover the truth behind the crimes using collected information, the evidence, and logic.
PREVIEW >>> by skysenshi (01.05.2010) I was supposed to do a review on Gokusen manga, but I accidentally stumbled upon this DS game on Amazon.com. Those of you who've read my Phoenix Wright reviews would know that I am absolutely in love with the Ace Attorney series. While I wasn't too happy with the characters in Apollo Justice, I'm glad that Miles Edgeworth, who was part of the original Phoenix Wright cast, is back. This is definitely a new reason for me to get re-acquainted with my Nintendo DS!
The following features are listed in Amazon.com:
- New action game component that allows for exploration of crime scenes using either D-Pad inputs of the DS/DSi stylus to uncover clues.
- Crime-solving adventure for Nintendo DS and DSi starring Miles Edgeworth, the popular rival of attorney Phoenix Wright.
- Gameplay moves out of the courtroom and onto the crime scene and features several unique cases to solve with over 15 hours of gameplay.
- New technique, such as "Logic" mode assists you in uncovering the crime.
- Unique dialog trees and interrogation techniques let you question witnesses to discover the truth.
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth will be released in February 2010. You can read more of this game's features here.
Looking forward to more of Miles Edgeworth. >>> by skysenshi (12.31.2010) A few years ago, news broke out that the next Ace Attorney installation will star rising scientist Emma Skye as the lead. Apparently, fans all over the world begged for the star to be Miles Edgeworth instead. I think CAPCOM made the right decision, because I don't have any affinity with Emma Skye at all. I missed Phoenix Wright, the original Ace Attorney, who was (quite tragically) succeeded by Apollo Justice. I had also stated in my Apollo Justice review that I wanted to see Prosecutor Edgeworth again.
Though Apollo Justice was by no means a bad game -- the gameplay elements were superb -- I think it wasn't worthy of Phoenix Wright. My sister even went so far as to state that it should never have been added to the storyline at all. Raise your hand if you want a retcon! Yay!
Bring Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix's most noteworthy opponent (and the only one I can remember besides Franziska von Karma and Godot), and you're assured of a most interesting ride. See, the difference between Phoenix and Miles is that the former is known for just accidentally tumbling into the facts while the latter has always been methodical and organized. You can actually feel the difference. I remember that Phoenix's logic is all over the place and I usually solve stuff through sheer guess work. Often, I've already deduced what happened and whodunit, but I've had to go through a wild goose chase to get there.
With Miles, you can clearly see where his logic leads. Very organized indeed. I don't particularly know what changed as logic isn't a tangible thing, but I definitely felt Miles's cocky confidence. Of course, he can make mistakes but he always keeps in character. I may have to congratulate the game scriptwriter for this feat.
The characters remain unchanged, but there are certain points during the game that will take you back in time. I just had to capture the images of the younger Miles and Franziska. They are just so cute!
As for the gameplay -- except for the evidence, arguments and rebuttals -- this is a huge improvement from Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice. There are no courtroom dramas, but there are a lot of on site investigations. Miles, at least, has the authority to go to crime scenes and examine the evidence, unlike Phoenix and Apollo who sometimes make me cringe as they keep touching things they shouldn't touch.
The gameplay here becomes RPG-esque. You can control Miles and any of his assistants as he walks around, examines objects and talks to people. This makes the game a lot more interactive than what we had gotten used to. Of course, I miss the courtroom and the scientific tools that let you blow on the mic and scrub with the stylus, but I'm pretty happy that Miles can actually move from one place to another.
These new gameplay elements actually make Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations longer than the previous Ace Attorneys. I couldn't finish this in one sitting, especially since the last case stretched longer than I cared to play. (Too many people persistently butting in; things already got annoying). Don't think the pacing drags, though. The dragging part occurred only during that very last chapter of the last case. The rest of the cases are actually well developed. In fact, I was afraid everything would end on the fourth case since Phoenix Wright usually tackles four cases per game.
Seeing all these -- and the fact that my beloved characters are back -- makes me really excited about the second Miles Edgeworth game. I heard its Japanese debut will be on February 2011, which means I will have to wait a wee bit longer before I get my hands on the English version.
PLAYER STATUS:
DIFFICULTY: Easy
COMPLETION TIME: 40-50 hours
HIGHEST LEVEL ACHIEVED: N.A.
RATINGS: Gameplay 10; Battle N.A.; Story 10; Visuals 10; Characters 10; Sounds 9; Replay Value 9
Visual novels are proof that video games can tell story just as well as other more traditional media, and the thing I always liked about the Ace Attorney series is that they were a visual novel that got quite a bit of mainstream appeal in the United States.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I didn't like about them is they felt too linear in the grand scheme of things. Though programming a multi-route game can be difficult, so I'm not too upset about it. :3
As long as the story isn't as boring as Xenosaga, visual novels are ok with me. I like the interactivity of the last Ace Attorney game (Apollo Justice). I wish all visual novels would be like that.
ReplyDeleteI normally like games for their mechanics, but Xenosaga didn't even have fun mechanics to abuse and break.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I find intriguing about visual novels, there's not much for me to break, so I have to give a damn about the story since there's so much more of it. :3
And Xenosaga had a bleh story anyway. It's a shame because it had a lot of Nietzsche principles in it. It's a case of badly applied theoretical framework.
ReplyDelete@Aaron
ReplyDeleteI just finished playing the game...apparently, this is no longer just a visual novel anymore. You actually get to move Miles around. Heh.