Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Nintendo DS

There is a wonderful review of Phoenix Wright already up on Amazon, so I don't feel the need to go so in-depth with my explanation. I just want to cover some things I think about this amazing game, and give you a second opinion of sorts.American's don't seem to normally fare well with text-based games. There's just something about having to sit and read and select choices that has the average american teenager running for the hills.As such, I was amazed when I heard this game was coming to the States. There are dozens (if not hundreds) of this genre in Japan, but the US hasn't seen many of them. Yet, with the oddities of the DS and the growing interest in obscure Japan-only games among a certain cross-section of the gaming demographic (see Katamari Damashii, Wario Ware, Feel the Magic, or even such things as DDR or Para Para Paradise [okay, that last one not so much, but I'm a big fan]), publishers seem willing to take the risk a bit more than they would.And so we have a slew of strange text-based games. There's Sprung that came on release (a very, very simple point and click text game, but actually it hardly counts, seeing as it's from a Canadian developer), and then the puzzle/text adventure Trace Memory (which I enjoyed, too), and now Phoenix Wright. While the others were fun, Phoenix blows them out of the water with one thing: style.I'm not just talking about the anime-inspired art. No, I'm talking of the energy of the scenes and the stories, the various characters and charicatures you meet through wonderful dialogue, the forcefulness of the flow of the courtroom scenes, and just the overall feeling of giddiness underneath the suits of Phoenix and Edgeworth.The plots here aren't groundbreaking, but they're of similar quality to your average Law and Order or CSI, and personally I think they're a lot cleverer, as they know they're melodramatic and revel in it with a cheesiness and sly humor that those shows with their self-imposed seriousness lack.Yes, like all text-games it's fairly linear (though that's sometimes hard to tell), and the exploration/investigation parts where you visit scenes and talk to witnesses/suspects can drag a bit, but it's a text-game, and these are typical drawbacks. But when in the courtroom, Phoenix Wright pops with energy and power, turning legal proceedings into battles of wills with the prosecution (the wonderful Miles Edgeworth, who I want to see more of if there's a sequel) and the witnesses (a certain witness in Chapter 3 is memorable, a hilarious female that floors even Edgeworth).These courtroom battles are over the top, with effects that seem more in keeping with a samurai duel than a trial, but it works in a way that is surprising and entertaining. For a text adventure, Phoenix Wright has more energy and excitement than any cookie-cutter action game out there.And it's lengthy, too. The first case is short and quick, and leaves you wondering whether or not this game will be disappointingly short in the end (the one drawback to Trace Memory, though one wonders if these are even the same genre). Yet, each chapter gets longer and longer, until they become multi-day cases with witnesses and investigations stretching on as new facts unfold in the courtroom. Trust me, length isn't an issue, though you might end up beating it quickly just because you play it that much.Phoenix Wright is a remake of an original game of three for GBA in Japan, and hopefully this game will prove to Capcom that there's a market for these things in America now, and all us English-speaking peoples can have a chance to experience more Wright. C'mon, give it a playthrough. It's worth picking up, and so long as you don't mind reading, and like entertainingment, and aren't put off by the idea of playing a lawyer in a courtroom melodrama, you'll love it.If you've never played a game like this, this is the title to try. It's better than any I've ever experienced, and I can't recommend it highly enough as one of the best games on DS, period.

This game has to be my favorite game on the DS, and this is after playing my runner ups like: The world End with you, Kingdom hearts, Mario, Kirby, and Pokemon White.) The game's characters, simple plot and feeling si waht makes me love the game, I think of it as a type of Medal gear solid 4, in the sense that it is heavily story based and a large amount of the game is talking with interactions. The game makes you feeling for jsut about every character presented, it blends dark and gritty with laugh out loud funny. Their are some problems with the game though, for example there is only 1 way to solve every case, you can't really go about doing it your way, you must present the exact piece of evidence at the exact time, you can't really take you own approach, however the game gets really difficult after the first case, so oyu do have to think for youself, you can actualy lose a case and be forced to start over form the begining of the trial, you lose a case mainly by objecitng with the wrong evidence and using up all 5 of your exclamation marks (Im guessing these stand for credibility) you defendant will be found guilty and you will have the choice to start over.Another thing about this game that might drive some away is the length, the game only has 5 chapters, however each chapter is pretty lenghy and you will be doing a bit of backtracking and detective work, questioning the characters is very fun and presenting them things will sometimes trigger funny or helpful sequences. The game took me over 1 week and a half to beat even with only 5 chapters. You can also activate your DS,DSi, or 3DS's mic feature and yell "Objection!" or "Hold it!" into the mic in order to present your evidence or press the witness, a neat little addition that I dont use much but still find it pretty cool. The last drawback is the replay value, once you beat the game you dont ahve much reason to play ita gian besides reliving the story. Finally the are no save slots, so no sharing the game unless you already beat it, you have the ability to save your progress and quit the game mid chapter at certain points, but when you bott the game back up your only options are "New game" or "Continue"Despite this the game remains a favorite of mine simply because of the way the story is presented, the simple yet addicting gameplay, and the joy of feeling smart after solving a case or putting the mystery together yourself, it may be jsut be but after playing this I had a sudden urge to want to be involved in law.