Back in caveman times, before the internet, video games were very basic in scope.
You had things like Pong and Space Invaders. Simple little time-sinks that you played on an arcade cabinet while you waited for your turn to bowl.
As the technology evolved, so did the gameplay. Stuff like Donkey Kong and PAC-man started hitting arcades.
Around 1980 the Gaming industry crashed and crashed HARD. It looked like it all had just been a fad.
In 1984 everything changed.
This happened for two reasons, the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Amiga. I've talked enough about Nintendo in previous reviews, so let's focus on the home computer.
PC gaming has always been considered more... PROPER than console gaming . PC : gaming : : opera : theatre, and there is a good reason for that. In was on home computers that people started to think that maybe these "video games" could have a STORY to them.
So eventually, around the late 80's early 90's we got Point-n-Click adventure games.
These were almost visual interactive novels. The way these games worked was that you looked around, found knickknacks, rubbed the knickknacks on objects, showed objects to people, and prayed to God above that something that you just did would move the story forward.
I kid around, but I really like this setup. It makes me think. Sure it makes me think in the bizarre monkey logic of an insane hobo, but still...
"Hmm, my wallet is under the couch and I can't reach it. I had better get my pet rat to go under the couch and get it for me and then coax him out with a granola bar! What do you mean, 'Move the couch'?" (That's real. You have to do that in an ACTUAL video game.)
Why do I bring this up? Well the Ace Attorney franchise is a modern day series of Point-n-Clicks for the Nintendo DS.
And it is only behind Pokémon when it comes to my favorite game series.
I thought about writing a retrospective, but there is no way in HELL I'm going to spoil the story, and I'd almost have to for a lot of the retrospective to make sense. Also the basic premise is really simple.
You are Phoenix Wright, budding hotshot defense attorney. In each game there are four cases, oftentimes connected in some way, that lead to a final big climax. Usually the revelation of some kind of conspiracy.
It's the near future, and I mean NEAR future. The first game takes place around 2015.
Many changes have been made to the American justice system..... within the next twelve months, in order to "expedite" criminal proceedings.
1) All criminal trials begin a DAY after the crime, and are only allowed to last three days before a verdict MUST be reached.
2) Juries have been eliminated. All verdicts fall to an elected Judge.
3) The burden of proof has now been placed on the defense.
4) If a case is not closed within eighteen years, all evidence, records, and investigations of said case are thrown out, and are never allowed to be opened again.
......
And we did this because.... f$&k due process, Miranda rights, and the IV, V, and VI amendments?
It's no secret, even in-game, that this criminal justice system is eight kinds of cocked up. The big victory at the end of game four is juries.
But I'm talking about game two now!
Phoenix is helped along by Maya Fey, the sister of his former mentor.
Maya can also channel spirits of the dead.
Hang on! Don't bail yet! It actually works well with the rest of the aesthetic (mostly).
Maya can only successfully channel the spirit of her departed sister Mia, Phoenix's former mentor, and a fantastic attorney in her own right. Whenever she tries to contact anyone else things get messy.....
And then they get stupid.....
And then the end of game three happens....
And then I need an aspirin.
Whatever! The point is that it doesn't come up often enough to be obnoxious. Mia Fey is 31 flavors of awesome and it's a kick when she shows up, and since Maya's a novice she can't contact the victims so no plotholes are created.
There is of course, one other supernatural element to the games. The Magatama.
The Magatama is a magical doohickey that can tell when people are telling lies, or keeping secrets. It visualizes this to its holder by showing the subject covered in giant locks and chains. Break the locks, they spill the beans.
This DOES create a plothole, since Phoenix never uses it during a cross examination.
You see, there are two parts to every case. The first part is investigation. Phoenix runs around looking for "evidence" (aforementioned adventure game knickknacks) talking to witnesses about the murder, getting information, and using the magatama to reveal people's secrets.
The SECOND part is the trial. This is where Phoenix becomes Perry fecking Mason and uses the information and evidence he's collected to point out lies and inconsistencies in witness' testimony, and finally point out the real murderer.
I don't much like the investigation sequences, as they tend to fall into the adventure game trap of finding something, then rubbing it on everything and everyone else in order to sort out what the hell you're doing. It gets very tedious, VERY fast. I often get lost. This is where I get stuck more often than not.
The game REALLY shines during the trial segments. If you're paying very careful attention you should be able to get your answers pretty quickly. And by GOD is it satisfying to nail a murderer to the wall. The entire game is designed in a very anime-esque art style. So truly epic things happen when you catch people on lies.
One guy explodes.
The thing is though, the gameplay doesn't matter.
Yes, this is ME saying this.
This is one of the cases where you're in it ENTIRELY for the story.
And the story for the second game in this series makes it one of my favorite games of all time.
This game is a perfect example of how a good narrative can be well delivered through this medium. The characters are likable, the mystery is good, the pacing is PERFECT, and the comedy is hilarious.
First thing of note: There is no conspiracy going on this time. The overarching plot is strictly personal to Phoenix, and what justice means to him.
What's going on is that the DA from the last game, Miles Edgeworth, (a man so badass ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" starts playing whenever he waltzes in the room) has gone missing, seemingly having committed suicide. (Spoilers: He's fine, journey of self-discovery thing, faked his own death.)
This has turned Phoenix Wright bitter on the subject of prosecutors, thinking that all they ever want to do is send innocent people to jail, to hell with justice.
When Edgeworth does finally make an appearance, he tells Phoenix that he had the same thought about him, finding people innocent and damn justice, and to stop being a douchebag.
Edgeworth tells him that they both have a role to play. Justice relies on both of them uncovering the truth. That is the purpose of a courtroom.
And the solution to the last case.....
Okay, no way in HELL am I spoiling it here. Suffice it to say it's one of my favorite solutions to any mystery on the planet, and the most well executed twist I've ever seen in anything.
Let's leave it at they do the same kind of thing Agatha Christie's Murder of Roger Ackroyd did to you, but in a way that gets you so pissed off at the perpetrator you feel no guilt in getting his ass KILLED at the end of the game. It's brilliant.
The title for this installment is Justice for All, and while that could've been just a bad joke, they actually make you think about what that MEANS. It's a fantastic game, a fantastic mystery, and even a fantastic message. It's simply fantastic.
And if this review hasn't convinced you to try this series out (and my favorite shows list hasn't convinced you to check out My Little Pony), YouTube "Turnabout Storm."
It's one of the very few pieces of fanfiction that's worth anyone's time, and it will make it so that you are a fan of both series.
Okay! Awesome! I feel really good. Last post was my favorite game series, today was one of my all time favorite games! All right, let's keep it going!
NEXT REVIEW: DEAD ISLAND
.......
Why do I suddenly feel like screaming?
.………
OBJECTION!
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