WaruiReview: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney (Wii Port)

[Jango]

Intro:
A port of a port of a port. No seriously, what the hell. Either way I'm going to review it as if the game is brand new.

Gameplay:
It plays a little like a modified visual novel. In the courtroom cases, you are presented with witness testimonies and you have to press them for information, and then present evidence for a contradictory statement. Get it right, you advance the story. Get it wrong, and most of the time you'll get penalized. This game does not feature the health bar so you can get five errors per trial before you suck dick for crack. Fortunately, after the first day, you get all your lost errors back, so as long as you can survive the first day of the trial, you can still make up for it later on.

Investigation only occurs after the first case, and to me, these are the weakest part of the game. Basically you stumble around hoping to trigger certain events, and if you don't do things in the right order, it won't happen. This is important as it's the only way to get evidence on your own.

I think however, the most damning part of the whole experience is that, while you could probably be deductive at first, a lot of the game later on becomes trial and error. Sometimes you'll have to agree with the prosecution, other times you have to full on argue with them. Sometimes you won't get penalized for presenting the wrong evidence, other times you'll get penalized simply for pressing the wrong statement. It just feels too haphazard at times.

Oh yeah and for your tacked on Wii controls, you can shake the Wiimote when highlighting evidence to go into an OBJECTION.

Graphics:
Blown up GBA/DS sprites with a looping logo pattern that scrolls like the default MUGEN screenpack lol. What really sucks is when you're required to look for evidence in a picture and the game decides to go into DS mode for no reason whatsoever and forces you to squint while you're highlighting the area. What's on the top screen? Typically it's just a grayed out pic of Phoenix Wright scratching his chin.

Sound:

Nuff said

Rehash Value:
To what? First game in the series, bitch!

Plot:
You play Phoenix Wright (or Ryuuichi Naruhodou for you weeaboo), a rookie Defense Attorney who has to protect the wrongfully accused against the Japanese court system, and ultimately uncover who the actual murderers are. Spoiler: They're always one of the witnesses.

Difficulty:
The first case is insultingly easy. The second case is a little harder. After that, the third and fourth cases are progressively harder and often require you to answer "wrongly" in order to make the story progress.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Final Thoughts:
This is one of those instances where the storyline actually makes the game worthwhile, instead of the other way around.

[Jesuszilla]

.... Steel Samurai? Seriously?


Fuck that theme, fuck that case, it was long-winded and boring as hell. Only CAPCOM would know how to make a murder THAT FUCKING BORING. The tracks in the courtroom were much better, anyway.


And the cases take place in America in the US versions.



This game isn't as bad with the evidence as T&T. Dear God, some of that shit literally made no sense whatso-fucking-ever. You NEED a guide to get through that shit.

[UHMEEEEBA]

Adventure Game logic might help.

Once you've used hypnotized a monkey to use it as a wrench you learn to expect really stupid puzzle answers.

And yes you actually do that in the second Monkey Island.

[Jango]

.... Steel Samurai? Seriously?


Fuck that theme, fuck that case, it was long-winded and boring as hell. Only CAPCOM would know how to make a murder THAT FUCKING BORING. The tracks in the courtroom were much better, anyway.

The vocal rock cover is pretty cool though. But yeah, the courtroom theme for the OBJECTION is pretty cool and reminds me a lot of NINJA DANCE PARTY.

And the cases take place in America in the US versions.

True, but the legal system is based on the pre-2009 Japanese court system (judge acts as the jury, defense is heavily disadvantaged, very few Not Guilty verdicts, etc etc). I just mentioned that because a lot of American critics were complaining that the court system is inaccurate, when in fact it was very accurate to the pre-jurist system.

This game isn't as bad with the evidence as T&T. Dear God, some of that shit literally made no sense whatso-fucking-ever. You NEED a guide to get through that shit.

Hell I'm playing through Justice For All and I'm starting to like it less than the first game.