Nintendo DS is great for these different types of games, which would
normally not get any attention in a console, Phoenix Wright: Ace
Attorney is one of those games, it's a very good game if given a
chance, and its quality may only be overlooked by someone who really
dislikes extremely plot-driven games.
One of the most memorable things about this kind of games, are the
characters, they have a special depth and transpire a stronger
personality than the ones found in other games, you suddenly feel very
connected to them, and when the game ends, it's almost hard to let them
go. In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney you're gonna find lots of this kind
of character, they all do their job to make the game unforgettable.
The gameplay is very limited, and that's the part that scares away many
players, you never actually control any character, you just examine
environments, all formed from one of two still images, collect
evidences from them, speak to people in these places and make them
questions to collect information to be used in court. You also collect
various items throughout the investigation which are needed to be used
in key situations in or out the court.
So prepare to use your brain, because, even not hard, some things can
be a little tricky and often play with common sense to be solved, it's
likely you'll be entertained for hours and hours trying to figure out
the challenges.
The cases are very well thought, with lots of unexpected twists, you
have one day for collecting evidences, and one at the court, with
revelations and new testimonies from witnesses in court, you have the
lead to start your investigation the next day, the latter cases all
have three days of each, court job and investigation.
Another DS feature used is the microphone, you can pretty much never
say anything, but if you urge to make the playthrough a little more
realistic, you can use the mic to yell things like "Hold It!", "Take
That" and "Objection!" in determined situations for more interaction,
if you don't feel like screaming all the time at your DS, you can
simply press the button in the touch screen which will do the job just
fine with no voice involved. The only voices found in the game are the
ones required for you to say, even though you're not forced to actually
use the mic, the character voice is triggered anyway to say just the
few usual attorney's classic lines, but they certainly make the
difference; also, the musics played are actually very good, varying
with the actual pace of the situation.
With all this you get a very story-driven game, and it doesn't get a
lot more story-driven than this, all the aspects required to make a
game like this enjoyable are present, if anyone thinks this type of
game could be at least remotely interesting, then this game definitely
deserves a try.
