• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Ace Attorney Community Thread - MUNCHMUNCHMUNCHMUNCHMUNCH

wVOOs.jpg


*Rules*
  • All things Ace Attorney are open for discussion here, but don't forget that new news gets a new thread.
  • Although everyone viewing this thread has probably played all of the games in the series, there are still people who have not. Therefore, please keep potential plot-breaking spoilers to a minimum, and in general err on the side of caution when thinking about posting a spoiler.
  • Fanart/works are more than welcome, but must also follow GAF's ToS. In short, keep it PG, folks.

SsZsw.jpg


GUzxR.png

The game that started it all! You take control of rookie defense lawyer Phoenix Wright as he and his spirit medium-in-training partner Maya Fey work through four cases, one of which includes defending Phoenix himself! You also get to meet Miles Edgeworth, a savage criminal prosecutor who is rumored to do whatever it takes to get a "guilty" verdict, and Dick Gumshoe, a bumbling yet well-meaning detective. The DS release also introduces a special 5th case where you get introduced to Ema Skye for the first time, as well as using the features of the DS to inspect evidence in 3D to find things that people may have missed.

N3fWp.jpg

This sequel, widely considered to be the "weakest" of the AA series, is still an incredible piece of work. You once again take control of Phoenix Wright across four cases as he works to defend his clients. Along the way, you get introduced to Maya Fey's niece, Pearl Fey. Phoenix has a new adversary this time around: a cruel, whip-weilding prosecutor by the name of Franziska von Karma who bears a serious grudge against Phoenix.

JFA also introduces a new gameplay element called "Psyche Locks." While interrogating people outside of the courtroom, you may notice that several locks appear to surround them. These are Psyche Locks, and they present themselves when it appears that the person is lying about something. It is up to Phoenix to present evidence, be it people or objects, to shatter these locks and get the person to confess what they are hiding.

ZHzQ9.jpg

The explosive third game in the series! Not only are you in control of Phoenix in this game, but you also take a trip back in time to his mentor Mia Fey's rookie days as a defense attorney. You also get to meet the mysterious coffee-chugging prosecutor known as "Godot," a man who has a major vendetta against Phoenix. Many of the characters from the previous games make an appearance to help or hinder Phoenix as you make your way to the unbelievable finale!

8aWE8.jpg

The 4th game in the Ace Attorney series, and also the first to introduce a brand-new defense attorney. Phoenix Wright is no longer the attorney you control, due to losing his attorney's badge in a past case. Meet instead Apollo Justice, the new rookie in town. Occaisionally getting help from Phoenix himself, Apollo and his sidekick Trucy will work through five cases. Along the way, the circumstances behind Phoenix's mysterious final case will reveal themselves, bringing to light new revelations that reveal more of Phoenix's character.

The game gets rid of Psyche Locks, and introduces a new mechanic called the "Percieve System." It can be used to look for motions or actions made by witnesses that show nervousness, similar to a tell in poker. The move even comes with the catchphrase, "Gotcha!" You also can use the DS' stylus to rotate and flip individual pieces of evidence to see if anything has been overlooked after finding them. Fans of the first game will recognize this feature well, and everyone who plays will have to constantly utilize this new tool.

rLR4t.jpg

The very first spinoff in the series, featuring third-person point-n-click-style gameplay and starring everyone's favourite prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth. After returning home from a long stay in Europe, Edgeworth finds himself caught up in a mysterious smuggling ring with a dark and violent past. To make matters worse, he's constantly being hounded by the ice-cold, proverb-spouting Interpol agent Shi-Long Lang. Even with the help of the trust Detective Dick Gumshoe and self-proclaimed "Great Thief" Kay Faraday, will Edgeworth be able to crack the smuggling ring and solve a string of murders along the way? This game is also notable for introducing the unqiue "Logic" mechanic (replacing Psyche Locks from the Phoenix Wright trilogy), which allows you to string together related objects and thoughts to form conclusions and evidence, and for having one of the most persistently annoying villains in all of video games.

wd6SE.jpg

In this exciting (and import-only) sequel to Ace Attorney Investigations, Edgeworth is among the targets of young judge Hakari Mikagami's Prosecutor Purge, a program designed to replace recalcitrant and amateurish prosecutors with ones more worthy of their lofty status. Miles must also deal with his inner turmoil regarding which path he was destined to take: that of the skilled, ruthless prosecutor, or the noble, truth-seeking defense attorney. A new addition to the series' mechanics is the Logic Chess system, in which the titular chess provides a visual metaphor for Edgeworth's mental and verbal duel with his opponents. The game also marks the return of fan-favourite characters Shelly deKiller and Ema Skye.

A61mh.jpg


The series' music is simply superb. For space reasons, you can find most of the soundtracks on Youtube to listen to. Some of those playlists are:

Ace Attorney
Justice For All
Trials and Tribulations
Apollo Justice
Investigations
Investigations 2

byhQm.jpg


While the movie is based off of Ace Attorney 1, there are some slight differences between the events of the movie and those of the first game.
  • Phoenix Wright is not involved in the events of Turnabout Samurai, and Edgeworth is shown in a very brief scene confronting Dee Vasquez about her guilt
  • Phoenix's first case is very different, with the defendant, killer and victim being the only holdovers (the circumstances, venue and judge are all different)
  • The evidence that Mia stores in The Thinker (and was later murdered because of) is a bullet placing von Karma at the scene of the DL-6 incident rather than papers incriminating Redd White for blackmail.
  • The entire character of Redd White is completely different, resembling a washed-up Beatles reject instead of a posh, shiny businessman. He also works as a small-time investigative journalist instead of running an information company, and is rather quiet and reserved (his splendiforous vocabulary is entirely absent). He is also murdered in prison by one of von Karma's thugs.
  • April May, Bellboy and Marvin Grossberg are entirely absent.
  • The DL-6 incident takes place in the court's evidence room (in which Gregory Edgeworth is tampering with evidence to find proof of von Karma's forgery) rather than an elevator.
  • Yanni Yogi is played more sympathetically, and only attacks Gregory when he sees the attorney tampering with the evidence. More of his life post-insanity plea is also seen, which includes hurtful slurs being graffitied all over his house. The suicide of his significant other (Polly) is also shown on-screen (or rather the aftermath).
  • Miles' supposed shooting of his father was done in broad daylight rather than in the dark, which only adds to his guilt.
  • Every villain's breakdown is different. For example: instead of wailing like a banshee and bashing his head off of the wall, von Karma goes on a prolonged rant during which he physically deteriorates until he is forced to use a cane to walk.
  • The events of Rise from the Ashes are not shown.

- Special thanks to ScraftyDevil + BlackJace for helping out.
 

Aeana

Member
I just want to say that Maya sucks. I'm willing to accept the repercussions.

Also, Ace Attorney Investigations - Ema Skye where is it
 

cjkeats

Member
Also, I'll take this front page opportunity to make sure everyone looks up the Magical Trick Society cover(or arrangement?) album of the Ace Attorney soundtrack. A taste
 

Oichi

I'm like a Hadouken, down-right Fierce!
One of my favorite series :D

Shameless self-boasting: I was the voice for Klavier Gavin in AA4 :D
 

cloudyy

Member
I'm missing Justice for all and Investigations, hard to find and pricey copies :(
How are the Wii ports? Are they a good alternative if you can't find the DS games?
 
I'm missing Justice for all and Investigations, hard to find and pricey copies :(
How are the Wii ports? Are they a good alternative if you can't find the DS games?

I'd say so, they play fine though taking from the DS setup has a few odd moments when both screens have to come into play.
Plus you can point to object, motion control at its finest.
 

Vamphuntr

Member
Ema Skye is one of the least qualified people to be doing investigations.


It's just too bad they've made her worse in AA4. I liked her so much more than Maya in AA1 but they had to make her incompetent in AA4 because the main detective is always useless in the series. It doesn't help that she's grumpy because she failed her forensics exam and that she's stuck with a lame prosecutor either.

She's not in AAI probably because she's not back from studying abroad by then? In AA4 it's implied she came back recently and that she's angry about how Phoenix is no longer a lawyer.
 
One of my favorite series.

I'm still saddened by us not getting Investigations 2, but at least we're getting the next mainline game.

Also, Team Franziska for life.
 
I'm missing Justice for all and Investigations, hard to find and pricey copies :(
How are the Wii ports? Are they a good alternative if you can't find the DS games?

Yeah, they're definitely good alternatives. Which is good, considering how hard JFA is to come by for a reasonable price, new or otherwise.
 

Aeana

Member
It's just too bad they've made her worse in AA4. I liked her so much more than Maya in AA1 but they had to make her incompetent in AA4 because the main detective is always useless in the series. It doesn't help that she's grumpy because she failed her forensics exam and that she's stuck with a lame prosecutor either.

She's not in AAI probably because she's not back from studying abroad by then? In AA4 it's implied she came back recently and that she's angry about how Phoenix is no longer a lawyer.

Huh? She's in AAI.
AAI was actually supposed to be about her, but then they switched it to Edgeworth. :(
 

Ath

Member
I just finished replaying all of the Ace Attorney games (the ones released in English that is, seeing that Edgeworth 2 cover art is painful). Still absolutely brilliant. Apollo Justice was a lot better than I remembered it to be in particular, the overarching theme about the limitations of the judiciary system is very strong, even if I didn't like the cases quite as much.

The third game is my favourite overall since I thought every case was strong, but Justice for All's final case is my favourite individual case of the series (with Rise from the Ashes a close second). Investigations was a breath of fresh air with it's tweaked gameplay and I really like it too! I think Ace Attorney 5 is in good hands with the Investigations team, hoping for a Layton v Wright localisation announcement sooner rather than later!


*ka-tonk*

(She Snackoo'd me.)
 
Top Bottom