Dual Destinies also goes to great lengths to localize signage and scrub out overtly Japanese elements-a decision I’m totally on board with in this series’ case, considering that the setting is really more “Lawyerlandia” than anything.
The latter is generally excellent, with intelligent humor and pop-culture references that are clever and subtle enough to not detract from the experience. Of course, a point-and-click courtroom adventure like this essentially comes down to two elements: the storytelling and the writing. Here, the 3D presentation really helps in Dual Destinies, since it’s a lot clearer what you can and can’t interact with when you’re scouring a crime scene for that crucial piece of evidence. The other major portion of Ace Attorney has always focused on the point-and-click investigative segment of the cases. Overall, though, the courtroom drama works quite well I just wish the dialogue did a better overall job of generally illuminating what you need to look for in order to pin down a witness. Even if you run out of chances, you can just restart exactly where you were before, so I don’t really see the reason for its continued existence-it just interrupts the game with an unnecessary restart. The series’ “penalty” mechanic also seems pretty pointless five entries in. Either the answer is obvious-and the game bangs you over the head with it so that you couldn’t possibly miss it, insulting your intelligence-or you need to present every last piece of evidence because the “correct” answer is so unclear. Unfortunately, the same frustration that plagued previous entries returns here-and it’s a case of two extremes. In the courtroom, as always, the action revolves around finding flaws in the witness’ testimony and calling them out on their inconsistencies with evidence or further questioning (in Dual Destinies, thanks to the 3DS’ microphone, you can even yell out the series’ trademark “Objection!” yourself if you really feel the need). Maybe it’s just me, but perhaps it’s not appropriate for a certain witness to get flustered and throw a vase to the ground in response to every one of Phoenix’s hard-hitting queries. The presentation is a big step up from the DS games, with 3D models adding a real sense of depth to the courtroom proceedings-though it does get a little tiresome watching the same handful of animations repeat. He’s got a couple of whippersnappers to assist him on the case, though: the returning Apollo Justice and a newcomer, legal prodigy Athena Cykes. Wright is in his 30s now-which, as everyone surely knows, is long past retirement age in the world of Japanese videogames. But that’s OK, because one thing definitely hasn’t changed-and that’s the series’ resourceful defense attorneys using guts, guile, and every trick in the legal book to consistently beat the odds of Japan’s 99-percent conviction rate.Īnd the venerable Mr. So, after eight years, I finally returned to Ace Attorney to find…lawyers who look more like Pokémon trainers than successful bar-exam takers. While longtime fans might recoil in horror that someone would dare play through Dual Destinies without first completing the four previous entries, the game is definitely enough of its own experience-and keeps the callbacks to a minimum-that players can easily go back to earlier Ace Attorneys generally unspoiled. (Extreme Ace Attorney devotees will need no prodding, of course.)
#DUAL DESTINIES CASES SERIES#
The franchise makes its 3DS debut with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies-with Phoenix himself returning in an apparent (more on that technicality later!) starring role after the 2008 chapter featured plucky neophyte Apollo Justice-so it’s as good a time as any for lapsed fans to get back into the courtroom and for newcomers to give the series a shot.
At one extreme, you’ve got those hardcore fans who instantly fell in love with upstart lawyer protagonist Phoenix Wright at first sight in 2005, clutch their Miles Edgeworth plushies on those cold, lonely nights as they drift off to dreamland, and felt so inspired by the series that they ended up in law school…and $100,000 in debt.Īt the other end, there are those who-like me-played the first game and enjoyed it, but simply couldn’t find the time to get into any of the four follow-ups (or the 2009 side story, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth). People who’ve played Capcom’s Ace Attorney games generally fall into two categories.
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