Phoenix Wright
I find Phoenix Wright guilty. Guilty of awesomeness in the first degree!
by Wootini
The Nintendo DS's touch screen promised lots of new gameplay concepts, but aside from some unique titles like Nintendogs, not so much with the originality. But then along comes a title like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and you have to give the little handleld some credit. It doesn't use the touch screen that well, and it's nothing more than a gimmicky adventure game, but Phoenix Wright gets extra points for charm and entertainment value by not taking itself too seriously. Or very seriously at all...
As the titular Phoenix Wright, you play a young lawyer who seems to head into his first case knowing absolutely nothing about the law. Not an auspicious beginning, but you've got an assistant who holds your hand throughout, so it's not like it's actually hard or anything. Plus, some of the details of local law are also explained, though whether these details are Japanese or completely made up, I've got no clue. Since it follows the generic adventure game style, it's basically click on the right things to advance the storyline, and if you get stuck, just click on everything. Or in the case of the DS, tap. The cases grow more and more complex as you proceed through the 5 levels, but there aren't too many "huh?" moments that will leave you completely lost as to what to do next.
Where Phoenix Wright goes... um, right, is in the wild Japanese style of art and silly characters. This game is ridiculously funny at times, with the overdramatic hyper-weird cartoonness of it all. I mean, come on — speed lines during the objections in court? Awesome! The characters are all well-drawn and detailed, although animation is almost embarassingly limited. The music is repetitive, and being the DS, mostly generic electronic bleeps and bloops imitating melodies, but at times, I gotta admit it's almost borderline catchy. Seriously.
The thing is, at its core, this is still just an adventure game. You're going to be tapping the big arrow on the bottom screen while reading box after box of dialogue text. There is a lot of reading here. First, you talk to people about the case. Then you investigate locations, using the stylus to check out specific items and possibly add them to your pile of evidence. Once you've gone through all of that, you head to court where you must find your client innocent without screwing up too much and pissing off the judge. But if you do, it's no big whoop to load up your previous save and try again since the game lets you save at any time, a useful trick when you're about ready to be thrown out of court and aren't sure which piece of evidence to present. And again, following the rules of traditional adventure games, the plot won't progress until you've had all the conversations you're supposed to and collected all the evidence you'll need in court.
While Phoenix Wright is hella fun, chock full of weird characters and outrageously over-the-top murder trials, I'm actually more excited for the sequel. See, after the first four cases (don't worry — each one takes a while, so while the game is short, it's not that short), you unlock a bonus case that almost feels at times like a level the designers created after deciding this title would appear on the DS instead of the GBA. Now you can use forensic tools and examine the evidence in 360 degrees turning it with the stylus. It feels much more elaborate than what came before, and bodes well for a follow-up.
It's not a title for everyone, but the DS is quickly turning into a home for unique, quirky titles that are a lot of fun to play (as opposed to the PSP, which is in danger of quickly turning into a paperweight that plays movies), and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a terrific addition to the line-up. It's a surprising amount of fun, if you like texty adventure games. And bizarre Japanese humor. And anime art. And courtroom drama. Okay, so it's niche. But it's still fun!
