Ace Attorney is a fairly long-running murder mystery series, and one I've enjoyed for years. It's had its ups and downs, but this review will look at the franchise in general.
The series takes place in what can only be described as a version of the US with Japanese culture and laws, including Japan's infamously high conviction rate. You play as one of a few different lawyers fighting to defend the wrongfully accused in court
The gameplay generally alternates between investigation phases, in which the player gathers evidence and questions witnesses, and trial phases, in which the player uses evidence to find "contradictions" in the testimony to unravel the truth. The latter is generally more fun than the former, since it isn't always clear when you have enough clues to progress to the next part of an investigation period. Thankfully, later installments have better graphics(which makes it easier to find small pieces of evidence), and more interactivity (e.g. the Magatama, in which you must present evidence to force witnesses to divulge secrets).
With some exceptions, the trials are challenging enough to be fun, but not too difficult. That said, there are a few times when it's unclear what you're supposed to do, the game arbitrarily increases the penalties (I think the first game allowing you five chances is the most fair) or makes things more complex than you need to be (e.g. being penalized or even given a game over for pressing the wrong statement with Moe in Justice for All).
Most of the murder mysteries are relatively well-done, with interesting characters and elaborate backstories that you uncover over time. There are exceptions, though, but I can often find at least a few redeeming qualities in the weaker cases of the series.
The games often have overarching storylines, which generally build up to the climactic last case. For example, the first game focuses around the DL-6 Incident, a tragedy that involves Phoenix's childhood friend Miles Edgeworth. Unfortunately, they don't always do a good job of following up on the plot threads established in previous games; for example, one significant reveal about the title character of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney has yet to be shared with Apollo himself, even after two sequels. For this reason, Apollo Justice feels a bit out of place compared to the rest of the series, especially since Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies seemed to undo some of the changes made in that game.
Speaking of changes, not only do the games sometimes forget plot twists, but they also occasionally add in information to character backstories that had never been so much as hinted at before. Sometimes this works reasonably well, and sometimes it comes off as a retcon.
Despite these flaws, most of these games offer solid experiences for mystery and adventure game fans, so I'd recommend them, especially the first three games.
Overall a fun mystery series.
Ace Attorney is a fairly long-running murder mystery series, and one I've enjoyed for years. It's had its ups and downs, but this review will look at the franchise in general.
The series takes place in what can only be described as a version of the US with Japanese culture and laws, including Japan's infamously high conviction rate. You play as one of a few different lawyers fighting to defend the wrongfully accused in court
The gameplay generally alternates between investigation phases, in which the player gathers evidence and questions witnesses, and trial phases, in which the player uses evidence to find "contradictions" in the testimony to unravel the truth. The latter is generally more fun than the former, since it isn't always clear when you have enough clues to progress to the next part of an investigation period. Thankfully, later installments have better graphics(which makes it easier to find small pieces of evidence), and more interactivity (e.g. the Magatama, in which you must present evidence to force witnesses to divulge secrets).
With some exceptions, the trials are challenging enough to be fun, but not too difficult. That said, there are a few times when it's unclear what you're supposed to do, the game arbitrarily increases the penalties (I think the first game allowing you five chances is the most fair) or makes things more complex than you need to be (e.g. being penalized or even given a game over for pressing the wrong statement with Moe in Justice for All).
Most of the murder mysteries are relatively well-done, with interesting characters and elaborate backstories that you uncover over time. There are exceptions, though, but I can often find at least a few redeeming qualities in the weaker cases of the series.
The games often have overarching storylines, which generally build up to the climactic last case. For example, the first game focuses around the DL-6 Incident, a tragedy that involves Phoenix's childhood friend Miles Edgeworth. Unfortunately, they don't always do a good job of following up on the plot threads established in previous games; for example, one significant reveal about the title character of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney has yet to be shared with Apollo himself, even after two sequels. For this reason, Apollo Justice feels a bit out of place compared to the rest of the series, especially since Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies seemed to undo some of the changes made in that game.
Speaking of changes, not only do the games sometimes forget plot twists, but they also occasionally add in information to character backstories that had never been so much as hinted at before. Sometimes this works reasonably well, and sometimes it comes off as a retcon.
Despite these flaws, most of these games offer solid experiences for mystery and adventure game fans, so I'd recommend them, especially the first three games.