Man, two games in row where I rather liked the main villain and you didn\'t...
I almost wish you\'d mentioned Ema Skye\'s cameo... but, much as I liked seeing Ema Skye again (especially since in-context this was before Spirit of Justice course-corrected on her appearance in Apollo Justice), I actually rather resented that she was such a purely-fanservice nonentity who\'s only in Case 3 for the cameo.
Also, I disagree that Case 2 did little to establish the plot. In a game whose major antagonist is a murderous smuggling ring, having a smuggler commit a murder is an important \"in.\" The real problem is that, rather than building on that strength, Case 3 went off on its own stupid tangent with villains so completely disconnected from the main thread.
I do think failing to discuss Lang and Shih-na is a more-important failing, though I also found myself ultimately disappointed by Lang\'s slipshod, inconsistent and weird writing, and with Shih-na\'s big reveal coming off as unsatisfying and emotionally empty, since revealing it was all a big lie robs their relationship of its power and makes Lang look like an easily manipulated putz when he is willing to care for her in spite of it.
I think your final summation is apt: not bad, but not living up to its considerable full potential.
...I should really play the fan-translated version of the sequel at some point. I\'ve heard good things. Just never got around to getting the right emulator up and running...
I really wish I could edit that, if only to put spoiler tags in the third paragraph.
Then again, it looks like whatever\'s wrong with the commenting on this site outright deleted some big ones in the fourth.
To clarify, usually, the second case introduces some of the recurring characters and establishes the main plot thread in the game. For example, "Turnabout Sisters" 1)kills off Mia 2) introduces Maya, Edgeworth and Gumshoe, and 3)first brings up DL-6 and the implication that Phoenix and Edgeworth once knew each other. In "Turnabout Airline," while it's the first case that mentions the smuggling ring, you don't find out how it's related to the previous case until much later in the game, and Kay and Lang don't come in until the next case.
You raise some good points about Shih-na and Lang, but that was a bit too specific to include in my review and involved spoilers.
I just finished Case 2 of the sequel, and am enjoying it so far. The cases are overall better, and I like how the story forces Edgeworth to ask himself what being a prosecutor means to him, something he hasn't grappled with since "Farewell, My Turnabout." As such, it makes better use of Edgeworth as a character.
I'm not sure why you can't edit your comments. I have to edit my comment to deal with a bug that inserts a backslash after every apostrophe, one that goes away when I edit it.
Don\'t get it twisted; the game is poorly-structured and scattershot in general for this and many other reasons. I just don\'t feel it\'s fair to say the case doesn\'t set up the rest of the game when it introduces the main antagonists, especially since that makes it one of the few cases that really capitalizes on what\'s supposed to be the game\'s major plot thread and helps the audience actually care about beating these smugglers when smuggling on its own doesn\'t seem like such a huge issue.
Also, one thing it does right is misdirect and introduce Red Herrings, which I think should\'ve been mentioned. It\'s part of why I like that last case more than everyone else; I really bit on the wrong ambassador being the bad guy for the same reason I immediately clocked Damon Gant as the main villain, namely, having a unique set of serious animations, and was pleasantly surprised. And Tyrell Badd\'s whole name and aesthetic had me sure he was gonna be a dirty cop of some stripe.
I have the same problem and used to, but lately I just can\'t. Might be related to whatever deleted spoiler tags, which I\'m still bitter about. Speaking of, if they don\'t show up in this comment then I give up.
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The first game: The Weak Link In The Series
This review is only for the first game. I wish the two games had separate works pages, but c'est la vie.
The Ace Attorney has had its highs and lows, but the first Investigations spinoff is probably the lowest point, since it has the most flaws and the fewest strengths to balance them out.
The story involves Edgeworth returning from abroad and being caught up in a series of murder incidents that, along with one he encountered at the start of his career, all tie into a smuggling conspiracy. The plot is one of the weakest in the series, up there with the almost nonexistent plot of JFA, due to the Contrived Coincidences driving the story and less interesting conflict.
There's more investigation in AAI(which I find less interesting than the trials) compared to the main series, although there will be times when you will be forced to confront an uncooperative witness, someone with a faulty theory about the murder or the culprit, which plays out the same as the cross-examinations.
The game has a new Logic mechanic, in which you connect two related clues to gain a new insight and advance your investigation. Usually, the connections are rather obvious, but it's fun to make the connections on your own and uncover more clues.
AAI's gameplay is rather easy(but I didn't mind, as it was my first AA game). In most games, a mistake costs you at least 20% of your life, but here, most mistakes will only cost you 10%. This isn't entirely bad, but Edgeworth will often give hints as to what you much do taking away some of the challenge.
The cases are probably the weakest in the series- two are bad, two are OK and one is good but not great.
Case 1 works well as a tutorial case, but has a forgettable villain.
Case 2 is a bit of a step up from the first one, especially when it comes to the culprit, but unlike many second cases in the series, doesn't do much to establish the plot.
Case 3 is one of the weakest cases in the series, with a poor villain(a recurring trend here), the murder having little to do with the overall plot(typical for Case #3) and a few other flaws.
Case 4 is the best of a bad lot, since it has good characters, emotional moments and a hilarious part where you cross-examine the judge. That said, it also has flaws, such as a witness with a bad case of Be as Unhelpful as Possible.
Case 5 is far too long, and ends with a lackluster Big Bad, making for a disappointing finale.
AAI is also a bit of a missed opportunity when it comes to Edgeworth, since he doesn't undergo much Character Development here. Case 4 has you play as him in his "Demon Prosecutor" days, but the only way he's different from the present is that he's more arrogant and obsessed with perfection- he goes about the investigation completely fairly. It's a shame that a spinoff focused on Edgeworth doesn't do more with his character.
All in all, AAI isn't a bad game, just one that neither lives up to the rest of the series nor realizes its potential as a spinoff.