Ace Attorney Review
In 2005, the first “Ace Attorney” game reached Western audiences on the Nintendo DS. Despite Capcom’s hesitation to release it globally, it was a success. The visual novel franchise grew beyond simple courtroom drama into a phenomenon.
The story centers on new defense attorney Phoenix Wright and his countless wrongfully accused clients. As he navigates a cast of wacky and often suspicious characters, it becomes clear that the combination of complicated murders and unique personalities has given the franchise its staying power. Of those, the second-most popular character is undoubtedly the main rival, prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.
The son of honest defense attorney Gregory Edgeworth, Miles Edgeworth is taken in by prosecutor Manfred von Karma after his father’s murder. Under von Karma, he becomes a prosecutor and inherits a need for perfection. That urge goes beyond simply winning as it leads to the falsification of evidence to serve a “perfect victory.” Only after Phoenix, a childhood friend of Miles, uncovers the truth of Gregory’s murder does von Karma, the true criminal, end up behind bars.
It is after this revelation that the first “Ace Attorney Investigations” game takes place. Centered around Miles Edgeworth instead of Phoenix Wright, it tests his relationship to a job now tainted by the man who shaped him. Why follow his adoptive father into prosecution when his father did whatever it took to win for “justice”? What should he be focusing on if not the “perfect victory” he was trained to seek?
As Miles Edgeworth investigates a smuggling ring that is behind a string of murders that always occur — coincidentally or purposefully — where he is, he finds himself in the position Phoenix Wright is often in. By defending the wrongfully accused, we see Phoenix’s impact on him. While in the past, he would maintain that the accused is always guilty, we now see him switch his focus to strictly finding the truth of a crime scene with deduction and logic, represented by actual game mechanics.
I actually feel that the most improvement between the spin-off and main line games is the gameplay. While the main line games are rather standard visual novels, with static environments to explore and lots of text to get through, it diverges from the standard format with its evidence gathering and court sections. However, these sections are largely separate from each other. The act of gathering evidence is separate from pointing out contradictions in a testimony. This is because of how the story is structured. Most of the evidence will come from the crime scene and a defense attorney will only interact with witnesses on the witness stand. The separate settings necessitate a separation in the gameplay.
In “Ace Attorney Investigations,” cases take place solely at a crime scene right after the crime, with witnesses, suspects, and evidence all in one place, mostly untouched from the state that the criminal left it. This allows for seamless transitions between the different elements. It also solves the biggest issue I had with the original Ace Attorney games.
In the mainline games, the original investigation method was to present a static background and have the player simply click on objects of interest. However, it became easy to miss evidence to collect as interactables and the background are outlined the same. These sections were presented through Phoenix’s eyes, a first person point of view. Investigations adopts a third person point of view where the player controls a miniature Miles Edgeworth. Here, the evidence is easier to identify from the background. The investigation process is streamlined to also have Miles easily take note of any glaring pieces of contradiction or mystery as part of his Logic function, taking care of another gripe I had with the mainline games.
I always felt like the original games had to be done with one case per sitting. Otherwise, I would forget important details and be unable to follow the absurd logic sometimes needed to progress. This would ultimately result in lots of save-scumming as I tested every possible piece of evidence until something worked. I found myself being able to take breaks and come back to cases in “Investigations” easily as the Logic mechanic would keep track of ideas floating around in Miles’ head. It would then be up to me, the player, to connect them, naturally enhancing my own understanding of the case. Additionally, the addition of an investigation partner not only provided a good dynamic between characters, but also served a great purpose game wise as their commentary would help point out if you needed to investigate the setting further or interview suspects about specific points. In general, I felt myself hitting a wall much less often than a traditional “Ace Attorney” game.
Beyond the gameplay, I enjoyed the characters more. Just as Phoenix Wright had Miles Edgeworth as a rival, this game introduces Interpol agents Shi-Long Lang and his assistant Shih-na. Most rivals in the mainline games have some obvious sin or are cartoonishly evil. Shi-Long opposes Edgeworth at first, but sides with him once he realizes that Edgeworth will stand for the truth and not interfere as previous prosecutors have. It emphasizes his role as a rival and not just an obstacle or villain. It makes him a likeable and compelling character, which is something I can say for all of the characters introduced in this game.
Kay Faraday, somewhat of a Robin to Edgeworth’s Batman, brings a fun lively energy for Miles to bounce off of and provides one of the coolest investigation features in the game. Gumshoe, a returning detective from the mainline games, is goofy and pure-hearted as always, but doesn’t feel like the bumbling buffoon he usually is. Franziska Von Karma, Edgeworth’s hot-headed adopted younger sister, also makes a reappearance which made me like her a lot more as a character, especially during the fourth case.
This leads me to gush about the cases as a whole. “Ace Attorney” games have always had their cases somehow connect into one big storyline, but “Investigations” accomplishes this in a much neater fashion. The first case takes place in Edgeworth’s office with a murder and some stolen case files. Already, this sets up some intrigue for the overarching plot: what were the case files and why were they stolen? It also naturally entangles Edgeworth into the story, whereas Phoenix would normally stumble into a major scheme. At the scene, we find the calling card of the great thief Yatagarasu who’s known to steal evidence from corrupt companies, leading into our second case.
The second case has one of the most fun settings I’ve seen: an airplane. It starts with Edgeworth being framed for murder and having to prove his innocence before they land. The enclosed setting ensures that the real culprit must still be around and the time limit of the plane flight gives a sense of urgency. The victim? An Interpol agent. As Edgeworth investigates, he uncovers a smuggling scheme being supported by one of the flight attendants and uncovered by the victim. He proves that Cammy Meele, a play on chamomile given that she’s always sleepy, is the true murderer and framed him in a rush to cover up her crime. This introduces the smuggling ring that is at the center of this game. The case ends with Edgeworth getting a call from the wealthy businessman Ernest Amano.
This call ties into the third case concerning the kidnapping of Ernest’s son, Lance Amano. It devolves into this complicated plot concerning Lance’s girlfriend, her father who she didn’t know was her father, and the case of a smuggling ring within the Amano company 10 years ago. Several dramatic twists all with the ridiculous backdrop of an amusement park truly encompass the appeal of “Ace Attorney.” It also introduces one of my favorite characters Kay Faraday.
Kay claims to be the great Yatagarasu and introduces Little Thief, a tool used to reconstruct crime scenes at certain points in time. This mechanic allows you to more easily find discrepancies between witness accounts and actual events, in the same way that the original mainline games might expect. It allows the player to visualize how witness testimonies affect the scene. Using this tool, Edgeworth is able to solve the mystery. With the resolution of the kidnapping case, Lance and Ernest Amano are arrested with Lang calling for deeper investigation into the smuggling case of 10 years ago.
Speaking of 10 years ago, it is actually revealed that Gumshoe, Edgeworth, and Kay were actually all connected to this case. The game’s fourth case takes place at this time, revealing how they all met and how they relate to the case. Kay is actually the daughter of the now deceased Yatagarasu who was investigating Amano’s smuggling ring. Gumshoe and Edgeworth are so close as Edgeworth literally saves him from being arrested for murder. The crime itself is also the most interesting as it seems to be a simultaneous murder between the prosecutor, who is Kay’s father, and the defendant. However, it is eventually revealed that Cece Yew, the defense attorney of the case who often breaks into fits of laughter, actually killed both of the victims in an attempt to cover up her involvement in the smuggling ring. Yet once this information is revealed, she flees never to be seen again as the case ends.
With the set up all done, the final case brings down the smuggling ring that the KG-8 case failed to end. The location is a cleverly designed embassy where the building is identically built between the two countries’ sides. As you are only allowed to investigate one side at a time, this provides some interesting contradictions to discover. There’s also some complicated setup involving a zipline and some ceiling fans. This case is the perfect end to the story. You discover who’s behind the smuggling ring, reveal Lang’s partner Shih-na to be Cece Yew, and in a tense showdown with an ambassador to prove his guilt before he can escape with diplomatic immunity. No loose ends are left, and Edgeworth proves to himself and Lang that he is a prosecutor in search of the truth and nothing more.
“Ace Attorney Investigations” simply provides a cleaner and more connected story than a mainline game while offering more immersion. Every case revolves in some way around the smuggling ring at the center of the overarching plot. Phoenix Wright does not give this experience, maybe to match the messier and more fumbling attitude of the main character.
Though it may seem counterintuitive to consider it more immersive given the difference in game perspectives, the physical act of being able to move Miles around and really inspect a scene gives a more in-depth experience than simply clicking around. It changes up the gameplay while maintaining the best part of the original games: the cross-examinations, a showcase of logical deduction and character charm. I cannot emphasize enough how much I prefer it over any mainline games.
Still, the “Investigations” spin-offs were never as popular as the mainline series. It’s a shame that they weren’t, but it was unfortunately a case of bad timing. Localization is a heavy and time-consuming process, especially for a series as text and pun heavy as “Ace Attorney.” By the time that “Ace Attorney Investigations” came out in 2009, the series was seeing a decline in sales, even in Japan. It was with this context that the second spin-off game was not published in the West. It is a shame because the second game introduces a new mechanic that is great and improves on the first. However, both were eventually brought to modern consoles in a Nintendo Switch port that I would encourage readers to buy. If you like mystery-solving, deduction-style games or love a cast of goofy, endearing characters, you’ll like “Ace Attorney Investigations.”