I’ve long been aware of the Ace Attorney games but was never an avid Nintendo handheld fan prior to the Nintendo Switch. They’re games that have piqued my curiosity more but due to being available on very specific platforms, I couldn’t play them. Now, Capcom has released the first three games in the series on non-Nintendo platforms/smartphones for the first time with a release on Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.
If you’ve missed out on these games before, now’s the time to jump in. These are some of the most charming and enjoyable mystery games on the market and they’re incredibly digestible.
Taking cues from procedural cop shows, Ace Attorney splits its cases into individual episodes which typically all open by showing you the murder/crime in question. You see what happens and sometimes, you even know the culprit of the crime… but just because you as a player know that, doesn’t mean you can just convict them.
You have to actively prove it with hard evidence that you gather during your investigation. That could include physical evidence, statements from witnesses and suspects, or even prying damming statements out of people in the courtroom via testimonies.
I was expecting a bit more freedom/branching narrative options but quickly realized it’s all quite linear, sometimes to a fault. Obviously, that’s the game’s vision and it’d be silly to knock it for doing exactly what it set out to do but where it becomes a problem is when the player is able to figure things out before the game is ready for you.
Say you find a piece of evidence and are able to work out in your head exactly how it could be used to nail the suspect. Well, you have to wait for the exact moment when the game is ready for you to reveal that. This can lead to you waiting for a while and can leave the “Aha!” revelation feeling ultimately unsatisfying.
Pacing is important, you don’t want the player to have an open/shut case but that also means crafting a tightly-knit mystery that isn’t too predictable. That said, this only happened a couple of times and there were many other cases that had plenty of wild twists and turns.
There are also times where it’s not entirely clear what you’re supposed to do, more often than not within the court scenes. You’ll be replaying a testimony over and over, unsure of if you’re supposed to press the person on the stand or make some very loose connection to a piece of evidence.
That’s not to say every time you’re stuck it’s a loose connection, sometimes the piece of evidence just isn’t super obvious and that’s good, it makes you feel smarter. Other times, you’ll feel like you’re reaching and the game can feel unfair and grind the momentum of a case to a halt.
Is Ace Attorney an accurate depiction of the situations at hand? Absolutely not, it’s incredibly theatrical and unrealistic but that’s a large part of its charm. If it wasn’t for its tone and great character, the linearity/predictability may be far more of a problem.
These visual novels showcase whacky things such as a suspect ripping off his toupe and throwing it at you in frustration, a very well-endowed and seductive witness hilariously switching on the fly from sweet and sexy to sadistic and psychotic, and much more. It’s very dumb but in ways that had me gripping my sides in laughter.
The Verdict:
If you’ve long heard of the Ace Attorney franchise but haven’t had the chance to play it or are seeking engaging mysteries led by great characters, this collection is perfect. While there are some flaws with structure and writing at times, it’s largely a very captivating and enjoyable experience that cements the series as one of gaming’s finest ongoing franchises.
