Phoenix Wright (VG) Review
Last time I reviewed a game that was, well, not-so-hot. In comparison, this game burns like the wings of the Firebird. This week's review: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney of the Nintendo DS.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Pheonix Wright follows the story of the titular Phoenix Wright ('Nick' to his friends), as he works his way up the ranks from a rookie defense lawyer to a perfect-record Ace Attorney. Yes, folks, this is the one and only lawyer-sim ever released in the 'States. Actually, 'sim' is kind of the wrong word; this game really has the feel of one of the old (relatively speaking) graphical adventure games of the early nineties. While the majority of the game has you in the courtroom, battling to prove your client innocent, another good portion is spent at the scene of the crime and related areas. You see, in the Phoenix Wright universe, defense lawyers are expected to be private investigators on the side, and dig up clues to show that the people they are defending aren't the real culprits. Kind of an odd set up, but it adds variety to the game, even if the clue finding is pretty easy. (You can't move along in the game if you haven't found the stuff you'll need to make it in court. A good thing, to be sure, but it does lead to some rather blatant hint-dropping at times.)
The real meat of the gameplay, though, takes place in front of the bench. The court system in this world is a little strange, too. Basically, the Prosecutor has most of the power in court: he calls all the witnesses, and makes all the arguments. It's your job, then, as the defense attorney, to shoot him down. This obviously wouldn't fly in the real world, but it does make the gameplay a lot less cumbersome than it would be otherwise, so it can be forgiven here. At any rate, the main way you win your cases in the game is by tearing holes in any of the prosecutor's witness's testimony. For the most part, you're going on the assumption that your client is innocent, thus it stands to reason that anyone who says that they are guilty is lying; you just have to find a way to prove it.
This leads to my only real complaint with this game: It's a little too linear in its thinking. I don't mean story-wise, I mean in terms of what you can do when. It can get rather irritating when you can see a contradiction in the witness's testimony, and have evidence to prove it, but it's not the contradiction that the game wants you to point out at that time. You can only present the 'wrong' evidence a limited number of times before the judge just gets fed up with you and declares your client guilty, leading to a game over. This really becomes a problem later on in the game when savepoints get farther apart and the cases get more and more complex.
Don't let that little bit of gray cloud scare you off, though, 'cause the rest is all sunshine. This game's really not about the gameplay. I know that seems a little contradictory, but it's true; this game is all about the story, and the characters you meet as it unfolds. The writing in this game is beyond tight. From the laugh-out-loud humor to the nail-biting, down-to-the-wire climaxes, this game has hands down the best writing I've ever seen in a game, and some of the best I've seen anywhere, period. Part of the reason for this is that the translators where given free reign to re-work the original text as they needed. This means that, rather than the sometimes awkward literal translations you get in most games, the entire thing was re-written to make sense to us English speakers, only leaving the underlying plot intact.
As many kudos as I have to give to the translation team for their work, the characters in the game make the story work as much as the writing does. Phoenix, for starters, is one of the most genuinely likeable characters I've seen in a very long time. From his reactions to his insecurities to his devotion to his clients, he's just a really good guy. And the supporting cast, both Phoenix's clients and the various people that he meets over the course of the cases are varied and interesting, although if you have an extreme aversion to puns you might find a few of their names a shade aggravating. Even the characters we're not supposed to like all work perfectly in the story.
This game really isn't for those who like a lot of action in their entertainment. Courtroom drama makes for a gripping read, but it's hardly Quake. Those that just want a good, solid story, though, could do far, far worse. 10/11; it's not quite perfect, but it's darn well close enough.
The real meat of the gameplay, though, takes place in front of the bench. The court system in this world is a little strange, too. Basically, the Prosecutor has most of the power in court: he calls all the witnesses, and makes all the arguments. It's your job, then, as the defense attorney, to shoot him down. This obviously wouldn't fly in the real world, but it does make the gameplay a lot less cumbersome than it would be otherwise, so it can be forgiven here. At any rate, the main way you win your cases in the game is by tearing holes in any of the prosecutor's witness's testimony. For the most part, you're going on the assumption that your client is innocent, thus it stands to reason that anyone who says that they are guilty is lying; you just have to find a way to prove it.
This leads to my only real complaint with this game: It's a little too linear in its thinking. I don't mean story-wise, I mean in terms of what you can do when. It can get rather irritating when you can see a contradiction in the witness's testimony, and have evidence to prove it, but it's not the contradiction that the game wants you to point out at that time. You can only present the 'wrong' evidence a limited number of times before the judge just gets fed up with you and declares your client guilty, leading to a game over. This really becomes a problem later on in the game when savepoints get farther apart and the cases get more and more complex.
Don't let that little bit of gray cloud scare you off, though, 'cause the rest is all sunshine. This game's really not about the gameplay. I know that seems a little contradictory, but it's true; this game is all about the story, and the characters you meet as it unfolds. The writing in this game is beyond tight. From the laugh-out-loud humor to the nail-biting, down-to-the-wire climaxes, this game has hands down the best writing I've ever seen in a game, and some of the best I've seen anywhere, period. Part of the reason for this is that the translators where given free reign to re-work the original text as they needed. This means that, rather than the sometimes awkward literal translations you get in most games, the entire thing was re-written to make sense to us English speakers, only leaving the underlying plot intact.
As many kudos as I have to give to the translation team for their work, the characters in the game make the story work as much as the writing does. Phoenix, for starters, is one of the most genuinely likeable characters I've seen in a very long time. From his reactions to his insecurities to his devotion to his clients, he's just a really good guy. And the supporting cast, both Phoenix's clients and the various people that he meets over the course of the cases are varied and interesting, although if you have an extreme aversion to puns you might find a few of their names a shade aggravating. Even the characters we're not supposed to like all work perfectly in the story.
This game really isn't for those who like a lot of action in their entertainment. Courtroom drama makes for a gripping read, but it's hardly Quake. Those that just want a good, solid story, though, could do far, far worse. 10/11; it's not quite perfect, but it's darn well close enough.
Final Score:
10/11
Award:
Best. Villians. Ever.
10/11
Award:
Best. Villians. Ever.
Move over, Kefka. Step aside, Shai'tan. In fact, all you so called 'bad guys' can just move it on out, 'cause there's a new set of villians in town, and they own all your pansy behinds. That's right, Phoenix Wright has the absolute best villains in any work of entertainment, ever. From the love-to-hate-'em to the omigosh-why-did-you-have-be-a-bad-guy-I-liked-you, Phoenix's antagonists run the gamut, and there are none better.
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Well, that's two video-game reviews done. Time to move on to something else, yes? I'm thinking a movie next time, maybe a T.V. series. We'll have to see. Please look forward to it!
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Well, that's two video-game reviews done. Time to move on to something else, yes? I'm thinking a movie next time, maybe a T.V. series. We'll have to see. Please look forward to it!
posted by Mr. the Tiger at 10:33
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