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Phoenix
Wright: Ace Attorney Review (Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakutan)
Written by WillBillVista on
April 14, 2007
(Note: To Phoenix Wright fans and veterans;
there are quite a few jokes and references to the series in this review so even
you already know all about the game, go ahead and read this review anyways)
INTRODUCTION
Before I start, there is one thing I must
stress more than any other fact I ever pressured on before: this game is not
for everyone. Phoenix Wright in my opinion is quite simply the best game
released for Nintendo DS and perhaps will always will be, but it may not be the
same thing for your case. Right off the bat, you might have noticed my writing
style is drastically different from usual, as my writing style is usually
limited to only third or second points of views. However this time around, to
show how this game will appeal to many but not all, I must change my style.
This is to show that this is all MY OPINION and may not or may not reflect what
you think. It will become very clear within this review that Phoenix Wright Ace
Attorney falls directly into the center of the dubious “Love it or Hate it”
types of games. I don’t see how anyone could possibly disagree.
JUDGE: Court is now is session for the
judgment of Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten
Edgey: The prosecution is ready your
honor
Wright: The defense is ready as well
Judge: Prosecutor, your opening
statement please?
Edgey: Today, Gyakuten Saiben Yomigaeru
Gyakuten, AKA Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, will be judged and given a verdict on a 10
point scale. The prosecution wishes to prove the flaws in game and show that it
just might not be completely worth the person reading this review’s time
Wright: (but it isn’t a bad game! How it
is that he didn’t like the remake of an already spectacular classic!?)
Judge: Very well, you may call your
first reviewer
Edgey: The prosecution will call “me” to
the stand.
Wright: (What the hell is this? A court
of flaw? Is this even allowed?!!?!!)
Judge: Your…Yourself? Intriguing! Take
the stand!
TESTIMONY: Well it all started with the
TGS 2005 promotional video when I was forced to go out and buy Yomigaeru
Gyakuten. However I soon realized it was nothing more than a mere rehash and I
wasted my money. It is the same exact game! Besides, the touch screen
functionality wasn’t that great.
Mr. Edgeworth, your statement is clearly
a contradiction! The DS contains an EXTRA trial that takes advantage of the DS
features. And what do you mean the touch-screen functionality wasn’t that
great? It is certainly better than buttons. Let’s take a look at your DS shall
we? Look! The Touch screen is broken and isn’t functioning!
GACK! OBJECTION! THAT
WAS….objectionable…..
Wright: Well if you can’t think of
anything to object about, perhaps an “expert” on the game should give you the
whole scoop on the title.
GAMEPLAY
I hate to treat something that
seems opinionated like fact but it is true; the touch screen adds a lot of
functionality to Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney. To understand this whole concept,
it is necessary to know that Phoenix Wright is actually an enhanced remake of a
GBA game from Japan called Gyakuten
Saiben, or in English that is Comeback Courtroom. However the name
isn’t significant here, what is significant are the enhancements to the
original title from 2001.
The whole idea of this concept
as you can clearly see is that it is a courtroom game. You play as Phoenix
Wright, a rookie Defense Attorney who lacks only experience. As the player, you
must solve the game’s five trials and become an Ace Attorney. It sounds like a
very odd idea for a game. I personally didn’t know what the heck it was
supposed to be when I first heard of it. It just didn’t seem like an effective
game idea to me, but that proved to be very wrong when I actually played it.
The game’s two main varieties
of gameplay revolve around two main aspects of the game: the investigation and
trial. Before a trial begins, it is necessary to investigate the crime scene
and talk to witnesses or other people involved with the case. Investigating is
done through “Point and Click” styled play. You are given 4 options: Present,
Talk, Move, and Examine. The “Present” function allows you to show people at
the scenes evidence. They might recognize something and you can get valuable
information out of them. “Talk” should be obvious as it allows you to talk to
any people if they are present. Examining the scenes allows you to move and
point a cursor with the touch screen (though it can be done with the D-pad).
The “move” function is one of
my ONLY gripes that affect the entire game. The concept is that a list
of locations and scenes to move to while investigating. However the problem is
that it feels too much like a chore to constantly move around. Oh well, It is
better than a map screen since everything is clear and moving a cursor isn’t
necessary. The issue can be overlooked with the pros to the investigation part.
I personally enjoy
investigating and examining the areas but there is a little thing I have to (though
hate to) nitpick about. The areas however are completely static and not very
interactive. However considering this was originally a GBA game; it would be
hard to not make it static.
The extra trial that
specifically designed for this remake makes up for this issue with Nintendo DS
functionality. For example, you get to check fingerprints with Power and blow
into the DS microphone to get the dust off; then you select someone to compare
prints to. Pieces of evidence are 3D rendered in this case as well, and can be
examined from all sides. The little bits and pieces of DS Functionality go
further, but I don’t want to spoil them all for you. Having a spare case that
takes advantage of the DS’s capabilities was more than a smart idea; it even
played part in the even BETTER part of the game: The Trials.
Once the investigation ends,
you will be brought into the trial portion of the game. Don’t worry though; you
can’t stop the investigation until you find ALL of the evidence. The trials are
absolutely dramatic, intriguing, and even funny. The back of the box wasn’t
lying; these are some of the most bizarre trials ever conceived. Not even
CSI or Law and Order can hold a cake up to the insanity and charm of
the trials.
There is something I don’t
think I have stressed, and this goes back to the “not for everyone” statement. This
game has a LOT of
reading. There is not a second of voice acting in
the game (unless you could count screaming “objection!” into the microphone
voice acting). This is all text, and if you hate reading, you will detest this
game. Then again, if you have read this far into this text-heavy review, you
probably can manage a graphic-based text review.
There however is more that
divides the game between the categories known as “love it or hate it”: Logic.
What is important to remember is that you play as a Defense Attorney and not a
Prosecutor (you didn’t forget that detail did you?). The job of this type of
Attorney is to Cross-Examine a Witness’s testimony and point out CONTRADICTIONS!
That “mini-comic” at the beginning of the review (as I like to call it) was a
parody of the game (I love it, so what do sarcastic people naturally do? =P)
You listen to a witness; press them for more information, figure out lies and
contradiction in their testimonies from the evidence, and then “OBJECT!” to
their testimony, all in over-the top anime style (yes I am a damn nerd, stop
looking at me). One minor addition to the game is voice functionality: You can
yell statements like Objection, Hold It! (do this during Cross Examination of a
Testimony to get more information from a witness by questioning) and Take That!
(This is how you will be presenting evidence to the judge) This might not sound
interesting in theory but the sharp writing keeps it from becoming boring. That
would bring the game to its biggest strength (yet biggest flaw for some people.
I’ll talk about that later)
GAMEPLAY: 9.8/10
Judge: So, there is more to this game
than you thought Prosecutor.
Edgey: But….but….how am I supposed to
get far with a defective DS and playing a game that is the same thing?!
Wright: Mr. Edgeworth let me take you
back to a previous testimony from the TGS 2005 promotional trailer. You clearly
stated “I have Gyakuten Saiben and play it frequently.” So that means….
…..You don’t get tired of doing the same
stuff over and over again! After all….the one who gets into that game’s story
will surly be sucked into the game. The defense requests that Mr. Vista gets
back to the stand and tells the court about the story.
Vista:
Hold on, I’m on the slopes. I don’t want to go swimming, especially not with
Damon Gant! He asked me to go swimming but I ditched him and I’m……
AHHHHHHH!!!!!! My freaking leg! Uh oh! Daman Gant just spotted me. Wait, I
can’t go swimming now Gant! See you later!
Well I’m glad I got away, hope he didn’t
notice I clearly wasn’t injured…OH! Yeah, about the review; I will kindly
testify again your honor.
STORY
The real reason I recommend
this game is because it is different from most games. While graphic-text based
games have existed for years, the presentation values of this particular title
are through the roof. This is simply the best story ever told in a videogame
ever; or maybe I should say best stories? Recall that there are five different
trials in the game. Each trial has a different premise and plot to it so in
that sense; the game is more like a series of episodes in something such as a
Manga or Graphic Novel Series. In fact, I would go as far to say the entire
game is an interactive series of Murder Mystery stories. The whole game is like
a good book with individual murder stories: just one of them is enough to keep
you hooked due to the sharp writing.
At the same time, every trial
in the game is related to each other through some truly bizarre by a well
thought out event called “Trial DL-6.” I won’t give anything away other than
since I don’t want to spoil anything. However this trial is truly a smart way
to link everything together. When you complete the 4th Trial in the
game (which was the last trial in the original GBA version) everything will
become very clear and everything will make clear sense. The only trial that
isn’t linked in the fifth and last trial, titled “Rise from the Ashes.” As I
said, this was specifically added to the DS Remake, so of course adding an
extra trial in no easy task. It isn’t really connected directly by events.
Rather, the story connects it by coincidences. I must stop there, as any more
information would truly be a spoiler. After all, this is the game’s biggest
strength, and to let it unfold within the game is truly something special.
A good story would be nothing
without good characters. Thankfully, the game is overflowing with quirky and
interesting characters. One thing I am a particular fan of is Gag Named
Characters. Just about every character name in the game has some sort of
clever pun to it. Look at names such as “Miles Edgeworth, April May, Marvin
Grossburg, Manfred Von Karma, Wendy Oldbag, or Larry Butz (ROFL! Look closely
at that one!). As you can see, these banes all have some sort of pun to them
that either describes the character or is a clever pun. Though some aren’t
clear the moment you see them, they all are extremely clever and are very
fitting.
The Localization team did a
great job with the translation, as it would be very hard to localize a game
like this. Capcom’s Localization Team pulled off the impossible: Making a game
based around everything possibly Japanese and making it work for the North
American and European releases. A few things have changed to fit such as
characters from the original GBA release in Japan. However they aren’t gigantic enough for the actual story to have a
large impact. That isn’t to say there aren’t some translation problems, because
there are. For one, there are some grammatical errors in the game that are
quite clear. Fortunately, nothing will go down in history on “All Your
Base” proportions. The errors are just normal grammatical errors and don’t
effect the plot. Also, the localization team did have to change some things
that didn’t need to be changed if they had just stuck the game in America. There is clearly Japanese imagery
(and I did spot some Kana in a few locations) in the locales so in some ways
they tried a little too hard to Americanize the game. Nerveless, I have to give
an ovation to the translators for preserving the style of the original Gyakuten
Saiban game.
For a game that is about Murder
trials, you might be surprised at the large amount of comic relief in the game.
This is simply a hilarious game. If you have ever watched an anime, you know
that the characters usually have exaggerated expressions and bizarre character
designs through the show. That would be the case in Phoenix Wright, and the
clever dialogue adds even more to the humor.
The game is very Satirical of
the court system, as it constantly parodies and makes fun of it. For example
the Prosecutor, Edgeworth, can never seem to get his Witnesses to state their
name and occupation without yelling at them, the prosecution and police
department don’t want to give Phoenix their evidence and he is forced to
investigate the scenes of the crimes himself, and the judge can be naïve at
times and often week with flirty female witnesses. The satire never ceases, and
it adds even more to the comic relief of the game.
One important detail I feel
that should be taken into consideration is that the writing makes the game so
good and memorable. Writing will make it or break it for a game that is heavily
text. The game is more than fortunate to have been written so well and
localized just as well. Without the great writing and spectacular stories, this
would have been one of the most boring games in years. But it is instead the
contrary; the plot is thick and well written, the characters are cool, and
perhaps most importantly, it keeps you glued to the game. I didn’t want to put
the game down because everything was so interesting. However keep in mind if
you are looking for something very dramatic, you will be more than
disappointed. Play the game, and enjoy the fabulous story.
STORY: 10/10
Judge: The defense has a valid point;
the story and writing of the game make up a spectacular title
Edgey: Yes your honor…BUT we have a
reviewer who LOVES games such as RPGS, Text Based Games, and novels…yet he
hated the game.
Phoenix:
What!?
Judge: What….what is this? A person whom
enjoys this type of game and hates it?
Edgey: Precisely your honor. Will Mr.
Ted Nickel take the stand? Good, now please state your name and occupation
Nickel: The name is GRAPHSGRIDS101,
Global Moderator at the PC TECH forums
Edgey: REAL NAME AND REAL OCUPATION!
NOW!
Nickel: My name is Ted Nickel; I’m a PC
technician and PC repairman.
Edgey: The prosecution requests that you
testify to what you hate about Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten.
Nickel: I heard about the game and
decided a good lengthy adventure game would be worth my time for my Nintendo
DS. However when I played it, I found out to my horror the game sucked!
Everything was horribly dated. The Music, Graphics, and even some of the
gameplay all have clearly aged.
Judge: The Cross Examination may begin
Nickel: Nickel: I heard about the game
and decided a good lengthy adventure game would be worth my time for my
Nintendo DS.
Phoenix:
Where did hear it was a lengthy adventure game?
Nickel: Gamespot of course, I trust them
to get their review scores right
Nickel: However when I played it, I
found out to my horror the game sucked! Everything was horribly dated.
Phoenix:
Dated?
Nickel: Yes, dated!
Nickel: The Music, Graphics, and even
some of the gameplay all have clearly aged. They haven’t even been given a
touch up from the original GBA version of Gyakuten Saiban!
Phoenix:
Mr. Nickel, your statement directly contradicts this summery of the game. Take
a look at this:
It clearly states here two crucial
contradictions: (1) the music has been updated and sounds much cleaner and more
modern than the original Gyakuten Saiban soundtrack. (2) The DS version of the
game includes a brand new trial that contains 3D modeled evidence, cel-shaded
characters, and new DS specific features that take advantage of the touch
screen and microphone. Explain this Mr. Nickel
Hobody! Uh oh! Ummm….ugggg…..heh heh. Oh
fine! I haven’t even played the game. I just judged the game based on its
cover. I lied to court because I thought I would get some friends if I
testified in court
Edgey: (What?! This can’t be happening!)
Phoenix:
(Like it would help you at all?)
Judge: I’m sorry Mr. Nickel but I’m
afraid you will have to be removed from the court for Perjury. What does the
Defense’s reviewer have to say about the technical matters of the game?
Vista: It
is simple your honor, the graphics and sound my not be the best from a
technical standpoint but they are far from terrible.
This game may not have the best
graphics or sound on Nintendo DS but they indeed at to the game. The graphics
consist of animated Manga styled characters against static backgrounds. The
whole style reminded me of an Anime, and if you are a fan of the style (like
me) you will love the visuals in the game. Even if you don’t like the style, I
can say that the reader of this review will most likely like the exaggerated
character designs and animations at least. They are completely over the top!
Mr. Nickel lied about the
music! It not only fits the scene but it was indeed updated on the Nintendo DS
Version of the game. Just listed to the GBA soundtrack for “Gyakuten Saiban,”
and now listed to the soundtrack for Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten. As you
can clearly listen, the tracks in the GBA version are scratchier and could have
easily been rendered on a Famicom/NES. But the DS version has cleaned up the
musical score! What really makes the score cool is that is dynamic. Depending
on the situation, the music will change and it adds a lot of dynamic feeling
and atmosphere to the game. Besides, how could you NOT like yelling objection
into the microphone and hearing Phoenix’s voice come out screaming on-screen?
Phoenix: Heh
heh
Vista: Don’t look
at me like the phoenix, just because your objection is cool, doesn’t mean your
hair is good.
Phoenix:
Damn!
Vista: I will tell
you that I personally liked the style and the music in the game. That is why I
am giving the sound a 10 and the graphics a 9. I will admit that some of the
backgrounds are ugly….BUT THEY DO NOT EFFECT THE ACTUAL GAME! Whatever happened
to the Gameplay over Graphics philosophy? And considering this game is text
based, Graphics should be excluded from
(Edgey: Who the hell are the lawyers in
this courtroom here?!)
(Phoenix: Has Mr. Vista been taking overdoses of hyperactivity pills?)
Judge: The defense has a point. Clearly
this is an excellent remake in every way. And as we all know from the original
game, it is one of the best and most fun Gameboy Advance games of all time. The
verdict has been reached. This court hereby declares the score for Gyakuten
Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten
9.6 OUT OF 10 (Buy this game!)
The court is
adjourned
Review written by WillBillXP (Vista Yoshi-XP)
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