Screenshots :.
Phoenix Wright: And Justice For All!
DS
Matt
25-04-2007
"He looks innocent...?"
"Yeah...I probably would've as well..."
Justice indeed. Justice that, having provided us with one of the most entertaining slices of story-based point-and-click gaming for a whole number of years, Phoenix Wright’s new adventure is arriving on these shores with the amount of interest and excitement that the first game deserved but missed out on. Acting as a continuation from events of Ace Attorney, Justice For All sees Phoenix return along with a cast of oddball characters, with plenty of them also making a repeat appearance.
As with the first game, Justice For All is a DS-optimised port of one of the Japan-only Gyakuten Saiban GBA series and sees the player guiding Phoenix around various crime scenes and helping him pick apart witnesses in court. With a series of 4 separate cases to unravel and some of the most clever and fiendish crime stories devised, keeping a keen eye for vital clues and information is crucial.
Whilst the clue sniffing and witness grilling were fun elements of the first game, probably the strongest arrow in the series’ sheath was the brilliant localisation of the text. Whilst originating from Japan, most of the in-jokes and sneaky references were completely rewritten and all based on western culture. Justice For All thankfully continues the tradition, with some hilarious ‘OMG LOL’ moments hidden in the game for you to unearth. Handy hint: all fans of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air should keep a keen eye on dialogue during chapter 3. Oh, and fans of the A-Team might want to do the same.
In addition to all this, the dialogue between Phoenix and his friends is as wonderfully silly as it ever was. Throughout the four chapters there’s an undercurrent of young Pearl – Maya’s cousin – believing that Phoenix is Maya’s ‘special someone’, resulting in some comically exasperated comments from both. Pretty much everything you click on in each area will draw some sort of amusing quip from one of the characters, and whilst never being sure exactly what they are going to say, you get to know each main character well enough to have an inkling of the kind of thing they are going to say. This in itself is a fine testimony to how well Capcom’s writers have gotten Phoenix, Maya and Pearl to lodge themselves in your brain and be much more than just simple 2D game characters.
Whilst not offering quite as much longevity as the first DS Phoenix Wright game (four episodes in comparison to the five in Ace Attorney), Justice For All will still take about 9 or 10 hours for people to work their way through. In common with its predecessor, the game uses its opening chapter as an introduction to the ins and outs of courtroom technique, although this time the reasons that Phoenix can’t remember anything are cleverly woven into the plotline and the chapter opens up to being a proper case, rather than a short introduction. Each of the following 3 chapters should take even the most sharp-minded of detectives a couple of hours at least to work their way through, and all of them have devilishly complicated cases which unravel beautifully as progression is made.
Complaints? Well, you could still level that the game makes the submission of evidence a little vague at times, meaning an item which could perfectly answer a question or prove a theory is often rejected, leaving you scuffling around looking for something else that might be related. In this respect the game offers little option to the player; in effect, you always need to present exactly the correct piece of evidence or your case is shot down in flames. This leads to another problem; Justice For All employs a new health bar system which depletes when wrong answers are given, meaning if you fail a few times you have to restart from the most recent save point. Perhaps future DS-specific titles – should they arrive – could employ a slightly more branching nature to courtroom proceedings, with evidence shown taking Phoenix and crew down certain routes and allowing him to use other crucial evidence at a later point.
Then again, Phoenix Wright games are in effect interactive storybooks. The rate at which information is revealed and evidence is gathered is always judged superbly and items and stories that seem irrelevant when you are first presented with them suddenly become utterly crucial when a plot twist uncovers something you didn’t previously know about. Despite being a particularly linear title, it is still a hugely rewarding experience when you settle a case and look back on it knowing the exact chain of events that occurred.
Combined with the enjoyable storytelling, this makes Justice For All a superbly addictive experience. The characters, locations and random conversations that have been packed in to the game are every bit as imaginative and memorable as anyone who played the original title could have wished for. Perhaps it lacks a little in the longevity stakes, and at times the evidence submitting feels frustratingly suffocating. For those who are yet to experience the series at all, pocket yourself £60, head down to the local video game store right now and pick them both up. Any objections overruled. Case closed.
As with the first game, Justice For All is a DS-optimised port of one of the Japan-only Gyakuten Saiban GBA series and sees the player guiding Phoenix around various crime scenes and helping him pick apart witnesses in court. With a series of 4 separate cases to unravel and some of the most clever and fiendish crime stories devised, keeping a keen eye for vital clues and information is crucial.
Whilst the clue sniffing and witness grilling were fun elements of the first game, probably the strongest arrow in the series’ sheath was the brilliant localisation of the text. Whilst originating from Japan, most of the in-jokes and sneaky references were completely rewritten and all based on western culture. Justice For All thankfully continues the tradition, with some hilarious ‘OMG LOL’ moments hidden in the game for you to unearth. Handy hint: all fans of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air should keep a keen eye on dialogue during chapter 3. Oh, and fans of the A-Team might want to do the same.
In addition to all this, the dialogue between Phoenix and his friends is as wonderfully silly as it ever was. Throughout the four chapters there’s an undercurrent of young Pearl – Maya’s cousin – believing that Phoenix is Maya’s ‘special someone’, resulting in some comically exasperated comments from both. Pretty much everything you click on in each area will draw some sort of amusing quip from one of the characters, and whilst never being sure exactly what they are going to say, you get to know each main character well enough to have an inkling of the kind of thing they are going to say. This in itself is a fine testimony to how well Capcom’s writers have gotten Phoenix, Maya and Pearl to lodge themselves in your brain and be much more than just simple 2D game characters.
Whilst not offering quite as much longevity as the first DS Phoenix Wright game (four episodes in comparison to the five in Ace Attorney), Justice For All will still take about 9 or 10 hours for people to work their way through. In common with its predecessor, the game uses its opening chapter as an introduction to the ins and outs of courtroom technique, although this time the reasons that Phoenix can’t remember anything are cleverly woven into the plotline and the chapter opens up to being a proper case, rather than a short introduction. Each of the following 3 chapters should take even the most sharp-minded of detectives a couple of hours at least to work their way through, and all of them have devilishly complicated cases which unravel beautifully as progression is made.
Complaints? Well, you could still level that the game makes the submission of evidence a little vague at times, meaning an item which could perfectly answer a question or prove a theory is often rejected, leaving you scuffling around looking for something else that might be related. In this respect the game offers little option to the player; in effect, you always need to present exactly the correct piece of evidence or your case is shot down in flames. This leads to another problem; Justice For All employs a new health bar system which depletes when wrong answers are given, meaning if you fail a few times you have to restart from the most recent save point. Perhaps future DS-specific titles – should they arrive – could employ a slightly more branching nature to courtroom proceedings, with evidence shown taking Phoenix and crew down certain routes and allowing him to use other crucial evidence at a later point.
Then again, Phoenix Wright games are in effect interactive storybooks. The rate at which information is revealed and evidence is gathered is always judged superbly and items and stories that seem irrelevant when you are first presented with them suddenly become utterly crucial when a plot twist uncovers something you didn’t previously know about. Despite being a particularly linear title, it is still a hugely rewarding experience when you settle a case and look back on it knowing the exact chain of events that occurred.
Combined with the enjoyable storytelling, this makes Justice For All a superbly addictive experience. The characters, locations and random conversations that have been packed in to the game are every bit as imaginative and memorable as anyone who played the original title could have wished for. Perhaps it lacks a little in the longevity stakes, and at times the evidence submitting feels frustratingly suffocating. For those who are yet to experience the series at all, pocket yourself £60, head down to the local video game store right now and pick them both up. Any objections overruled. Case closed.
8/10