If you’ve never played an Ace Attorney game before, a good way of describing it would be to draw parallels with TV shows. It’s a nice blend of Law and Order with CSI with a touch of character drama that you might find on a show like Lost or Heroes. You play as a budding young defense attorney who will not only have to stand his ground in a courtroom, but will also have to do a little detective work in investigating crime scenes and questioning witnesses. Each game in the series is divided up into seemingly separate cases (usually 4-5) at first, but by the end you’ll notice that many of the characters and events are connected with each other in a larger way.
Despite a protagonist and character cast change, Apollo Justice doesn’t stray too far from the formula established by previous games in the series. It does, however, provide a natural evolution of the investigative portions in the game by incorporating DS touch controls. Fans of the franchise will definitely want to pick this one up. It’s also a great jumping on point for newcomers who like to read courtroom/crime investigation dramas.
One could argue that Apollo Justice is less of a “game” and more of an interactive novel – and he would have a valid point. You don’t really need great hand-eye coordination or traditional gaming skills in order to enjoy the game. Attention to detail and some common sense and logic will go a long way here. As I alluded to earlier, the game is basically divided into two archetypes, courtroom and investigation. Courtroom sequences basically consist of cross-examining witnesses. A witness will give his or her testimony and it’ll be up to you to figure out where/if they are lying and present evidence to refute them. A real courtroom simulation, it ain’t. However, it’s still loads of fun.
The investigation sequences are where you’ll obtain a fair amount of said evidence by either talking to people or by examining different locations for clues. Further giving credence to the interactive novel theory is the fact that there is only one right path to take in the game. In other words, you only have certain conversation choices and the game won’t let you proceed further if you haven’t accumulated all the evidence you need to progress.
Apollo Justice’s biggest strengths come from its plot exposition and its character dialog/design. You’ll never know all there is about your defendant or crime at the outset of a case. As you investigate and proceed through the trial, you’ll peel back more and more layers until you start piecing together what really happened. It’s very satisfying and makes you feel like one smart cookie.
The characters you meet are generally very colorful and memorable. They tend to be giant caricatures of certain professions such as a police officer, or a rock star, or a painter and they are all brought to life with a great anime-style animations. One character, a magician, reminded me exactly of Phil Ken Sebben from Harvey Birdman – I could almost hear Steven Colbert going “ha-HA!” in my head.
Capcom’s localization team deserves credit for its internet-savvy translations as well. One character’s name is “Olga Orly,” her last name an obvious nod to the famous O RLY owl. The aforementioned magician also has a line where he exclaims, “ALAKAZOOOOOOOOOOOMG!” I dare you to not crack a smile when you see that.
The new gameplay mechanics designed for the DS are a welcome addition. You’ll dust for fingerprints by blowing on the DS microphone, do handwriting analysis, test for chemical poison traces, and other forensic tasks. It’s much like the bonus case for the original Phoenix Wright game on DS. Not especially revolutionary, but the tasks make sense within the context of the game and the DS’s capabilities.
As a big fan of the previous three Ace Attorney games, I was surprised by the sudden protagonist switch, but accepted it as a necessary evolution for the series. However, after finishing the game, I was a bit disappointed with the way it was handled. Without spoiling the details, it felt as if the duo of Apollo and Trucy were carbon copies of Phoenix and Maya. Other than the graphics on the screen, there wasn’t much that set them apart from their predecessors. For all intents and purposes I could have been playing as Phoenix and Maya and wouldn’t have noticed the difference. If Capcom wants to take the series in a new direction it should have done so in a more significant way.
Nevertheless, I still had a great time playing Apollo Justice. It still has all of the elements that made the previous Ace Attorney games entertaining, while also advancing the overall storyline. It’s a great game to play in bed as you’re trying to fall asleep since it’s pretty much an interactive novel. (I loved how I can turn off the lights BEFORE I climb into bed and still play the game since the screen provides its own light.)
If you love courtroom/detective dramas, reading, and you own a DS you’d do well by yourself in grabbing Apollo Justice Ace Attorney. The series shift is a perfect time to jump in as the story is all self-contained. Although you may gleam a little more about the characters involved if you’ve played the previous titles, it’s not necessary. It actually might be better as you won’t have any expectations or preconceptions to overcome like I did.
Play the Apollo Justice Flash Demo [ace-attorney.com]
