Ace Attorney Series

[BlueTidalGamer]

Haven't seen many topics on this series so I thought I’d go ahead and make one.

Whats your favourite game in the series, favourite characters, moments, cases, anything. Let us chat about it. Major spoilers I suggest being hidden if possible. Hard to do for games like this I understand.

I myself recently have purchased the 3 games in the Phoenix Wright trilogy on the DS and Miles Edgeworth Investigations. Cost a lot of money but i’m loving this series a lot so far. I’ve finished the first game and now i’m currently on the second game. I like it so far. Episode 2's plot is really good.

Edited January 21, 2012 by BlueEagle21

[Solkia]

I love the AA series, though we probably any see any of the games localized anymore.

Edited January 21, 2012 by Solkia :U

[BlueTidalGamer]

Why did you make that in white text?

Fixed. Made a mistake on that one.

[krazystitch]

The Ace Attorney series is absolutely amazing. I don't think there's ever been a series I've ever played through that has thrown me on so many wild stories with actual feeling towards the characters and so many plot twists. SO MANY PLOT TWISTS.

My favorite case out of every single game though would definitely be the final case in Trials & Tribulations. That one..that one was beyond words for me, it sent chills down my spine more than just a couple of times, the things that happen and what they all lead up to..my mind was blown way too many for me to count. I remember not wanting to put the game down during the case, I just wanted to keep going, find out what was going to happen, it was so intense but so awesome at the same time.

As for my favorite character, it may just have to be Apollo Justice

Yes yes, I know, he ended up replacing Phoenix Wright but, to be perfectly honest, I didn't mind it at all. This guy was just too cool for me to care and it was nice to see a new face around to be able to play as. He was cool, focused, and a couple of my friends have actually told me that he reminds them of me, but..that's something entirely different None the less, I think Apollo was just a very brilliant character and I'm honestly really REALLY hoping they give a sequel to this game, if anything, just to be able to step back into his shoes!

Overall, it's honestly an awesome series with great writing, characters, and everything else. Especially the music. DEAR LORD, THE MUSIC. If you saw the post I made in the thread about your favorite video game soundtracks, you would see that I am a huge fan of these soundtracks, every single one of them is so intense, it captures every moment perfectly and makes you feel like a badass lawyer!

But yes, amazing game series and I recommend anyone to go ahead and check them out, you won't be disappointed! Now that my clusterf*ck of a post on the series is done..AAI 2 should have been localized.

[Ekaje]

Loved these games. The first three were the best, though AAI and AJ were also pretty good in my opinon, but they had some really big flaws that stop them from reaching the first three.

And hey, if anyone is reading this who likes AA, and hasn't played Ghost Trick yet, play it. It was created the same guy as AA, and I thought it was really good.

[MeteorSmash]

Apollo Justice, Trials and Tribulations and the original Phoenix Wright would be my favorites...the best cases in the original game would be firstly the one where Mia dies..I totally didn't see that coming, there's really a sad and tense atmosphere all the way until you resolve the case..I personally like that Mia's ghost appears at the end of the chapter telling Phoenix he has her support all the way...then the extra chapter involving Ema Skye, it's very interesting considering you're facing the head of the police himself, who's in fact manipulating Ema's sister Lana, you uncover all of the pain Lana had to go through and how she was being blackmailed by Damon Gant for years..

Trials and tribulations had more insight into Mia Fey's past and how she met Phoenix which is something that caught my interest instantly, and it ends the series quite nicely...as for Apollo Justice, from the very start you're confused as hell, you see Phoenix unemployed and acused of murder..but the entire game revolves around him and Apollo, and of course Kristoph Gavin...again, I never saw it coming, him leaving the courtroom in handcuffs. Apollo is much like Phoenix was when starting the profession, bluffs, a female assistant and some mysterious power on his side...one thing that did bother me about the game is how Phoenix didn't think before using that forged piece of evidence...it was too obvious it was a trap, I mean they didn't tell him who sent it or anything so why trust it? It's really not like him...

[BlueTidalGamer]

The 4th Episode of the first game is my favorite so far. The character development in that one was fantastic. I really did like the ending of that episode as well.

[Nemain]

I wonder who could possibly be my fave AA character...

The AA series is a huge favourite of mine. It's well written, witty, and some of the plot twists are stupendous. I only recently got into it upon the suggestion of a friend, but I've gone on to buy and complete all 5 localised games. The only thing I regret is not playing them in order (I started with JFA), as case 1-4 lost all its surprise element. I can see how that one would make a first-time player go "what the actual hell" at the screen.

I think the weak link in the series for me was Apollo Justice. While all the games were excellent and I really enjoyed this one as well, I never really gelled with the characters in the same way as the other games. 4-1's twist seemed premature when it happened and I kinda saw it coming (but it made sense later on). 4-3 wasn't very exciting and hearing Lamiroir's song over and over and over again drove me mad. Just as well

made up for that one, eh?

My favourite case has to be 3-5. I know it has been said already, but nothing, NOTHING prepared me for the way that case was going. Not only did...

... Dahlia come back from the dead, but we find out it was Misty Fey that died, and that Godot was the real murderer. It was epic twist after twist and none were sensational They all made sense. It was also a very rare case of a game that had a genuinely despicable, believable and downright nasty female antagonist - Even when you though you'd got rid of her, she still manages to make your life hell from beyond the grave!

Other highlights of the series include Edgeworth's dialogue in AAI. The "OBJECTION! GO AWAY!" line in 5-5 had me laughing out loud at the screen. Poor Larry! I also really enjoyed case 3-2 as it was something different. The way that...

... Luke Atmey planned out the double jeopardy clause and planned to be charged with theft in order to get off of the more serious charge of murder? Very clever indeed. It was disappointing the way he just gave up both times once you pressed him though, and also how it could really have been no-one else but him... It feels like a lot of potential that case had was wasted, as much as I enjoyed it (one of the best breakdowns in the game!).

Oh yeah, and the end of case 2-4. That was excellently done too. Worth bearing with the somewhat boring circus case to get to that one.

The AAI series is quite the departure from the traditional 4, but I thoroughly enjoyed playing through it. The dialogue just keeps getting better as the series goes on, even if the story was a little weak. 5-5 didn't half drag towards the end but when you finally manage to crack the bad guy, it's totally worth it. Very disappointed AAI2 is not going to be translated into English officially... Here's hoping it makes it onto a virtual console release of some sort even if a physical cartridge is not localised.

EDIT: Also, please tell me I was not the only one that...

... tried to point out Luke's nose as the reason he could not be Mask DeMasque. This comic about sums it up...

[-Mark-]

Turnabout Goodbyes (Case 1-4) is by far the absolute highlight of the series for me. The first Ace Attorney is definitely my favourite; not to say the others that follow are bad, but the first one seems like the most self-contained and complete experience (and has the overall best plot, in my opinion). The ones that follow feel like they're just tacking on more and more that, whilst it stands perfectly well on its own, feels convoluted and somewhat unnecessary.

The fact that the sequels expand so heavily on the supernatural elements of spirit channeling annoys me a little, because not only is it rather ridiculous at times, but it cheapens the one time it happened in the first game. What at the time felt like an epic and miraculous save becomes commonplace, and something bizzare and supernatural becomes inexplicably widely-accepted.

My biggest gripe with the series (this goes for all of them sadly, even my beloved original) would be how absolutely stupid some of the logic can be; even if you can think up a perfectly feasible and possible solution, no matter how solid your line of thinking might be, the game shoots you down. It'll only accept the answer it wants, which at times can be downright vague and frustrating. I remember when playing through them at how much I'd wish for some sort of hint system; because let's face it, at the end of the day you place Ace Attorney games for the plots above all else; indeed, they're really little more than visual novels with slightly more interaction. So there's really nothing more mood-destroying than reaching a crucial point in the plot, then getting hopelessly and infuriatingly stuck due to some piece of stupid, twisted logic that the game throws at you. By the time you finally solve it, you're so pissed off that it's spoilt the experience a bit. I really think that, if the series continues, they need to develop a hint system that, upon repeated failure, should practically hand the answer to you in order to advance the story without interrupting the pacing too drastically.

That said, I do think the series is starting to decline (despite Apollo Justice being my second favourite of the series due to its sheer cleverness). It's a difficult franchise to continue, really; it's painfully obvious that they've milked the primary trilogy to death; what with retcon and tacking on plot point after plot point, the core Phoenix Wright universe is bloated to bursting point, and the Ace Attorney Investigations games aren't helping.

Apollo Justice was a breath of fresh air, for the most part, and, whilst he made for an interesting addition (especially since Apollo Justice was the second game I played in the series), it might have been better if Phoenix were left out completely; have a totally new cast and setting to freshen things up a little, rather than keep trying to get stories out of characters who are already starting to buckle at the seams. It did annoy me that, despite Phoenix's inclusion, all other characters from the main trilogy weren't so much as even acknowledged.

Personally, I would have liked if they'd carried on with the Apollo Justice series, myself. As I said, it felt a lot fresher with a new cast of characters, but at the same time it was relatively self-contained, too. I don't know. To be honest, a big part of me thinks that, as much as I like the series, they need to quit while they're ahead.

TL:DR;

• Ace Attorney series is great but needs to know when to quit

• Gameplay can be stupidly frustrating with ridiculous logic at times, needs a hint system

• Turnabout Goodbyes (1-4) is my favourite case

I must say, this remix is the single greatest piece of music from the series, in my opinion;

Oh, also, stepladders.

Edited January 22, 2012 by -Mark-

[Sami]

In regards to games getting localized, I think Layton vs. Ace Attorney will give the series the kick it needs. Hopefully the idiot executives at Crapcom actually act on any success that game has.

I mean, Layton's a fairly popular series in the states, isn't it?

[Carbo]

I remember when playing through them at how much I'd wish for some sort of hint system; because let's face it, at the end of the day you place Ace Attorney games for the plots above all else; indeed, they're really little more than visual novels with slightly more interaction. So there's really nothing more mood-destroying than reaching a crucial point in the plot, then getting hopelessly and infuriatingly stuck due to some piece of stupid, twisted logic that the game throws at you. By the time you finally solve it, you're so pissed off that it's spoilt the experience a bit. I really think that, if the series continues, they need to develop a hint system that, upon repeated failure, should practically hand the answer to you in order to advance the story without interrupting the pacing too drastically.

I dunno. If you ask me, there's nothing more satisfying than being able to find a contradiction within a testimony on your own. That's part of what makes AA so great; if they removed all of the interaction and puzzle solving it wouldn't even be half of what it was. It's through your interactions and deductions that you manage to progress the story, giving you a feel of responsibility and control to an extent, even though they're linear. I never felt the game needed a hint system, it only needed to be a tad more descriptive. Ace Attorney Investigations remedies a lot of that because of Edgeworth's inner monologue doing a lot of the work for you. It's not really as open as Layton, you're always on the edge here and the investigator in you needs to be perceptive of most details. That's not to say there aren't pants-on-head retarded moments, specifically in the second game where the last case requires a lot of messing around with the statement pressing and dialogue trees.

It's a difficult franchise to continue, really; it's painfully obvious that they've milked the primary trilogy to death; what with retcon and tacking on plot point after plot point, the core Phoenix Wright universe is bloated to bursting point, and the Ace Attorney Investigations games aren't helping.

The way I see it, Investigations is probably as free as the Ace Attorney series will get at this point. I don't see it doing much harm for the series since it's a spin-off series focusing on the future of Miles Edgeworth, and since he isn't timelocked having not appeared in Apollo Justice, there's a ton of leeway for him to maneuver without much ramifications to the plot.

As far as I understand, people who've played AAI2 pretty much echoed that; some calling it one of the best games in the series so far. I honestly haven't seen much retconning done in this series, if at all.

Anyway my favorite case in the game is a throw-up between Case 1-5 and Case 2-4. They constantly kept you on the edge with insane twists, had perhaps the best villains and constantly kept evolving the characters and their morals.