Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Perry Mason for the DS generation....

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It is no secret that the Japanese, in the eyes of the world beyond, are regarded as extreme when it comes to entertainment. One would simply have to watch a single episode of Takeshi's Castle to witness the 'crazy and wacky' stunts the TV show's contestants have to go through in order to please the thirsts of their nation. Whether the contestants are attempting to run across a rope bridge whilst having footballs shot at them or racing down a rocky slope in a giant tea cup, it is all rather...odd.

For decades this different approach to entertainment has been the sky high barrier that has separated the Japanese and western worlds from one another. The games industry is no exception. Every month we flick through magazines to see the latest "crazy" game, arcade or peripheral that has been created by one Japanese company or another. However, to the disappointment of perhaps a small dedicated mass, these creations rarely - if ever - make their way to western shores.

Since the NES, there have been certain Japanese titles that have never seen a western release and if you were to ask someone from the west about a certain Japanese title, they would not have even heard of it. But change is occurring. The DS is paving the way for this change and the Revolution will be soon to follow in its venturous footsteps. "How?" I hear you ask. The barrier between East and West is beginning to break. Phoenix Wright has cried out his 'objection!' and with a mass of other Japanese originating games such as Electroplankton, Trauma Centre: Under the Knife and Prof. Kawashima's Brain Training: How old is your brain? he is bringing justice to the industry...

One of the most awe inspiring aspects of Japanese developers is not only do they offer gamers new and original games to play but also innovative and intriguing new ways of playing them. The Nintendo DS console is evidence of this statement alone but Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is undeniable as a prime example of such stupendous creativity. Capcom is an extremely well established company, with many high achieving games to their name, and have strengthened their reputation further with this latest title. They have utilised every single one of the DS's most valuable features and in doing so have created an extremely enjoyable and immersive experience.

You play from a first person perspective as fresh young attorney Phoenix Wright. Through him you will solve five cases, all of which are riddled with confusing and contradicting testimonies, hard to find and examinable evidence and plenty of weird and eccentric characters. In order to solve these cases you will have to use two different methods: Investigating, and arguing your case in court.

Do not be fooled by the exaggerated objections! or the anime expressions, the colourful pixel art or the humorous dialogue into thinking that this will be a simple, childish and just an amusing game with no taxing or complicated puzzles. That would be a grave mistake. Never in any game - titles such as the Broken Sword series might come close and the recent CSI games on PC and Xbox - have I ever had to think so much. If it was not for my many years experience of frequently watching Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, Colombo and pretty much any other day time television murder mystery program you can think of, then I would not have had much of a clue of what to do at times. However, fear not, it is not an impossible game. It is simply a challenging one, a type of game that has not been released in a long time.

Each case will start with a short sequence showing you the murder but sometimes only parts of it ,or some of those involved, will be revealed. Your job, as Phoenix Wright, is to piece it all together and make sense of the clouded mystery you have been presented with. To do this, you will have to go through the two phases mention above, the first of which is investigation. There are several ways to investigate a case, all of which are vital in their own way and key to the case you are working on. Each one will need to support the other, otherwise your case will not hold. From your attorney offices you will need to "move" to the crime scene. You are able to move around to places at will but you will have to discover new evidence or ask people certain questions to unlock new areas. When you arrive on the scene, you will have to give it a comb over to find clues and make sense of what has occurred. To do this, you simply choose the "examine" option. When you do this, the scene of the crime (in the form of a gorgeous 2D background) will move down from the top screen onto the bottom touch screen. This is where the features of the DS first come into play. Using your stylus and a target pointer you can place it over certain items or areas of the crime scene and choose to "examine" it. Doing so will sometimes give you nothing but a description of the item you are targeting but if you select what you examine with care, then it will reveal useful information or a vital piece of evidence. Once you have gathered this evidence, be it the murder weapon or a clue you might have a hunch on, it will be stored within your "Court Record" that is accessible at any time. Inside the Court Record each collected piece of evidence will have a short description and some of them will also allow you to "check" them. This works in a similar way to items in the Resident Evil series, where you will sometimes discover new information if you look at a piece of evidence more closely. Once you have surveyed the scene of the crime and collected all vital evidence, the next step is interrogating each of the witnesses present. Now, just because you have a shiny attorney badge does not mean that everyone will blurt out everything they know to you, you are not a cop, and even if you were people would still hide things from you - although Detective Gumshoe, who is the cop of the game, does get his hands on vital witnesses, information and evidence before you do. Most of the time, whether it is to do with the case or not, people will always have something to hide. The only way you can get information out of them is by selecting a set of pre-made questions available on the bottom screen. Sometimes, by presenting witnesses with certain items and evidence, it will trigger an outburst or make another question available to ask them. However, once all things are done and dusted, when you think you have collected all of the evidence you need or have spoken to all of the witnesses you can find, prepare to be pleasantly surprised. Some of the court cases do not simply last a single day and when you think you might have everything you need to win the case, the prosecution will turn your argument upside down within a matter of moments, shattering all of your evidence, cross-examinations of witnesses' testimonies and all hopes of getting your defendant found not guilty. This will usually occur when a big problem happens in court or large holes are found in the case. When this happens you will need to return to the scene of the crime and discover new clues and interrogate new witnesses with the revelation from the court proceedings the day before.

During the investigation phase is where all of the hard work will take place, where you will need to search high and low and exhaust every witness with question after question. However, it is during the court phase where you will reap the fruits of your labour and where the excitement kicks off. Never have I had such strong feelings of raging anger, shocking surprise, ecstatic excitement and gut wrenching nervousness than I have when playing this part Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. It is because you do not simply play as Phoenix Wright, you are him! When he cannot find clues at a crime scene, you become disappointed and down, when a witness withholds information from him, you become frustrated and anxious. However, it is in the courtroom where all of your heart strings are plucked. When Phoenix stands up for the defence, it is you the court, judge and prosecution are looking at, you who will take the fall for saying something stupid, jump for joy when you get something right or sweat with nerves when you are running out of evidence.