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[Frolow]

I posted this in the spoiler topic, but I figured it would spark more discussion here.
Beat the game last night. Some thoughts:

-Presentation wise, the game was phenomenal. I was skeptical of the transition to 3D but I'm glad they did since the 3D models are simply stellar. The animated backgrounds provided a nice, lively sense to the investigations. And the soundtrack was simply amazing, easily my favorite OST of the whole series.

-Gameplay. I felt like it was rather lacking in this one compared to the older titles. Not being able to investigate every area was a plain step backwards, along with not having a health bar outside of Court. And while I liked how they used both Apollo's Bracelet and Wright's Magatama, I thought they hardly used them at all. The Magatama in particular was great in the old games since it forced you to keep track of your evidence and keep taps on Witnesses that needed further evidence to break their locks. It added some much needed depth to the investigations and having that entire element removed hurt the game as a whole. Along the same lines, not being able to inspect evidence in 3D was disappointing as well since the removal was completely unnecessary as it just reduced the amount of depth from the gameplay in the end.

-The Cases. Next to T&T, this easily had most amount of solid cases for a single game.

Spoiler

Case 1 was a fantastic way to reintroduce Wright and is probably my favorite case of the whole game. Case 2 I thought was the weakest of the bunch, as outside of L'Belle I thought it was pretty bland. Case 3 was very solid overall with Athena finally getting some time to shine and it was nice to see some actual affects of "The Dark Age of the Law" on the world. Cases 4 and 5 really should have been one big final case. Regardless, the premise of having a Space-themed case was fairly interesting although it did seem a bit random. And of course, the twists in all the cases were mindblowning and I wouldn't have expected less from an Ace Attorney game.

In the end, AA1/2/3/4's final cases top it for me, but it's still a extremely solid case all around.

-Returning Characters. Honestly, I felt like a lot of them were shoehorned and had little relevance to the plot.

Spoiler

Klavier in Case 3 was great, but I thought that he had appeared outside of that Case, perhaps helping out in Case 5 or something.

Trucy really didn't have any importance to to plot, she just felt kinda "there."

Spoiler

Even having her as a hostage didn't really mean anything. They could have followed along the exact same plotline with any other person being held hostage replacing her. Edgeworth was the only returning character I thought they did well. Him turning up to be the Chief Prosecutor was great and he actually had a role in the overall plot unlike Klavier and Trucy. I'll reserve judgment on Pearls since I think she has a role in the DLC Case.

Spoiler

-The Phantom. Let me say that it was an amazing twist that completely came out of the left field. Having the main detective of the game be the main villain was a great decision by the writers and something that I doubt anyone saw coming at all. My main complaint with him was that it never felt like had a masterplan like Von Karma, Kristoph, Gant, and Dahlia did before. And he certainly didn't command any of the power like the previous villains had. As for him getting shot at the end, it's a a very obvious plot pint that will need to be resolved in AA6 and it'll be interesting to see where they run with it.

-The voices. This is going to seem like a minor nitpicking, but I absolutely hated the most of the voicework. Wright sounded too young,

Spoiler

Edgeworth and Klavier sounded way too different from their original "Objection!" sound effects,

and Apollo's voice was so-so.

-I didn't like how barely any of the plot-lines from AJ were mentioned. I understand that it's been 5 years since AJ came out and how they wanted this to be a jumping-on point for new fans, but they

Spoiler

should have at least mentioned the Jurist System and tied that up. Even a line saying that it never took off would have sufficed. Though I get not mentioning Apollo and Trucy's relationship since they can easily save that for a later game.

My overall opinion? A very solid entry in the series. It lacked a lot of the depth that the original games had, but it easily made up for that in it's cases and presentation.

AA3>AA1>AA5>AJ>AAI=AA2.

 

[The Bankslammer]

Obviously Phoenix has an ulterior motive.

it'll be a game of truth or dare they'll never forget

 

[yami4ct]

Alright, have been taking this one slow because life is getting in the way/pokemon. Here's my thoughts so far. I'm up to Trail 1 of Case 3.

-Case 1 was a bit bland. Haven't ever really like any PW intro cases besides 3 and maybe 4, though, so that's to be expected. Uninteresting villain, obvious outcome and not really that interesting twist wise. Not the weakest intro, but not fantastic either.
-Given the anti-hype for Case 2, I went in with low expectations. Ended up really enjoying it. Twists were obvious, but still fun. Liked all the characters involved and the settings were neat to look at. The

Spoiler

masked wrestler

twist was fantastic as well. Nowhere close to Circus levels of crap it was made out to be.
-First part of Case 3 has been fantastic.

Spoiler

Juniper

has been great and I love the setup. Prosecutor kid is really annoying, though. Loved the return of

Spoiler

Klavier

. Not sure I feel about box girl. That model seems a bit too goofy, even for PW.

More general thoughts
-Athena is alright. She's probably the worst secondary, but that's just because Mia and Trucy are so much fun. Her Mood Matrix stuff can be pretty cool, but they take it a bit too far with the "Extreme Emotions masking reality" stuff. No feeling one way or the other on Widget. The hints at her backstory seem cool so far.
-The opinion shift the community has made on Apollo is hilarious. Everyone seemed to detest him when AA4 came out, but now he's got quite the fan base. While I liked him in AA4, they really made him his own character in 5. He's so much fun. His lines have probably been my favorite so far.
-With as much hype around the return of Phoenix himself there was this type, surprisingly little of him so far. What's there has been great. He's got a more assured, mature personality now. Really like it.
-Love Blackquill. His "Silence" objection and general animation scheme are great. Not enough info to really judge him as a character, though.
-Music and presentation are amazing.

 

[Artemisia]

But trucy is trash

Athena is the first side kick that has a legitimate reason to tag along.

 

[NotLiquid]

Athena is alright. She's probably the worst secondary

 

[Tizoc]

Could someone post or link to a GIF of Athena

Spoiler

stroking her hair with a silly/sleepy look on her face?

 

[yami4ct]

But trucy is trash

I really like Trucy. She has personality. Athena so far is just generically loud. Only thing interesting about her so far is the hints at her backstory and Mood mechanic.

 

[Frolow]

But trucy is trash

 

[Artemisia]

Come to think of it, I don't even know why we are discussing Athena in comparison to Maya, Kay, Trucy, etc. Athena is a protagonist in the story just as much as Phoenix and Apollo are. You play as her in the third case, even.

 

[Shouta]

Not done with Case 3 yet but holy shit it's twisty and turny. I ended up saying "What the hell is going on" like the characters did a few times.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

But trucy is trash

I knew I liked you.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Spoiler

Seems like the group right now excludes Phoenix himself, as I think I've probably even seen more of Trucy than I have of Wright for the past two cases. Yeah, we don't want another AA4, but that is not necessarily the only outcome.

Yeah, you should probably finish the game. Each of them are equally present and important in the events of the story, which is what I like about it.

 

[yami4ct]

Come to think of it, I don't even know why we are discussing Athena in comparison to Maya, Kay, Trucy, etc. Athena is a protagonist in the story just as much as Phoenix and Apollo are. You play as her in the third case, even.

I'll premise this with the fact I'm not that far into Case 3, which is definitely her case, but she feels like a secondary even in this case so far. Everyone else is controlling this investigation with her getting little input. She's mostly just getting pointed in the right direction/following orders. That will probably change during/after the first trial day.

If we compare her to Apollo and Phoenix, though, she's far last place in terms of mains. Both Apollo and Phoenix have loads more personality than her.

 

[Artemisia]

I'll premise this with the fact I'm not that far into Case 3, which is definitely her case, but she feels like a secondary even in this case so far. Everyone else is controlling this investigation with her getting little input. She's mostly just getting pointed in the right direction/following orders. That will probably change during/after the first trial day.

It definitely does change, you'll see. I don't want to say much more to spoil your experience. 👀

 

[Fey]

But trucy is trash

Athena is the first side kick that has a legitimate reason to tag along.

Preach sis. Never liked Trucy.

Thank god she's barely in this.

 

[Omikaru]

I think I've worked out case 5. Ohhhhh shit. Shiiiiiiiiit. I somewhat don't want to carry on down this line. It's crazy!

This game is so fantastic, seriously.

 

[Frolow]

I think I've worked out case 5. Ohhhhh shit. Shiiiiiiiiit. I somewhat don't want to carry on down this line. It's crazy!

This game is so fantastic, seriously.

What's your theory?

 

[Artemisia]

Omgggggggg

Case 5 trial 1

Spoiler

Doing mood matrix on Simon

 

[Omikaru]

What's your theory?

Case 5 spoilers, obviously:

Spoiler

I'm 60% sure it's Fulbright who is the killer. Still cross-examining Apollo, though.

He supplied the evidence to implicate Athena, he has also been keeping an eye on Blackquill to make sure he didn't learn too much. He was also super suspicious in case 4, giving is clues and evidence to lead us down a very specific path. It has to be him.

Edit: Hooooooooly shit. I was right!

 

[Artemisia]

Case 5

Spoiler

I need to know who Simon is covering for and why. It's going to be big. I'm perched.

 

[Shouta]

Trucy rocks. You guys are just haters.

 

[KnightBuster]

Phoenix sounds too young for being in his mid 30s.

It's bad when I think Phoenix sounds YOUNGER than Apollo. I mean... when they're in court together I sometimes mix up their Objection sounds.

 

[Omikaru]

Yup, Trucy is awesome. Shame her role is diminished in AA5. But then again, you can't cling onto these things too much. I'd prefer the series to go forward than linger on the past/fanservice character returns.

 

[demidar]

Trucy is a good supporting non-lawyer character.

It's bad when I think Phoenix sounds YOUNGER than Apollo. I mean... when they're in court together I sometimes mix up their Objection sounds.

Yeah, that happened to me a lot.

Actually I think Apollo sounds mostly fine, Nick needs to sound older or more refined.

 

[Moonlight]

Oh fuck, just found out Robin's dark secret. D-Y-I-N-G.

Case 3 is blowing me the fuck away.

Trucy rocks. You guys are just haters.

This.

 

[yami4ct]

It's bad when I think Phoenix sounds YOUNGER than Apollo. I mean... when they're in court together I sometimes mix up their Objection sounds.

Yeah. Phoenix's current voice would be fine for PW 1-3 era Phoenix, but doesn't fit well for his older self. I think Apollo's voice is perfect for the current way his character is being presented.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

AA4 is the worst AA by far.

Worst partner.

Worst prosecutor.

Worst cases.

Apollo is a great character though, especially now with AA5. (I'm still on Case 2)

And the spoilers in here. God let me leave this thread real quick.

 

[CorvoSol]

Spoiler

Godot's theme? Where was that?

It plays very, very briefly in the background while

Spoiler

Edgeworth is in his office drinking tea.

I swear to god I'm watching clone Ryouga play AA5. My exact reactions from back in July. Hahahahaha.

Wavelengths man. Wavelengths.

I knew I liked you.

You like Klavier but not Trucy? Can't my brain around this.

 

[yami4ct]

AA4 is the worst AA by far.

Worst partner.

Worst prosecutor.

Worst cases.

Apollo is a great character though, especially now with AA5. (I'm still on Case 2)

And the spoilers in here. God let me leave this thread real quick.

AA2 exists, so AA4 can't be the worst. Nothing in AA4 comes close to the lowest of the low that AA2 has. AA2 has one good case and a couple that are the series' worst. AA4 doesn't have particularly high highs, but the lows aren't near as low.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

AA2 exists, so AA4 can't be the worst. Nothing in AA4 comes close to the lowest of the low that AA2 has. AA2 has one good case and a couple that are the series' worst. AA4 doesn't have particularly high highs, but the lows aren't near as low.

Agreed.

 

[Nosgoroth]

So has Capcom announced AA6 yet?

They're going to reuse this engine, right?

AA2 exists, so AA4 can't be the worst. Nothing in AA4 comes close to the lowest of the low that AA2 has. AA2 has one good case and a couple that are the series' worst. AA4 doesn't have particularly high highs, but the lows aren't near as low.

Then again AA2 has 2-4, which is, for some (me included), the highest high of the series. It's a difficult matter.

 

[KnightBuster]

AA2 exists, so AA4 can't be the worst. Nothing in AA4 comes close to the lowest of the low that AA2 has. AA2 has one good case and a couple that are the series' worst. AA4 doesn't have particularly high highs, but the lows aren't near as low.

I don't know. I enjoy playing 2-2 and 2-4. 2-1 and 2-3 can go die in a fire though, yeah.

 

[yami4ct]

So has Capcom announced AA6 yet?

They're going to reuse this engine, right?



Then again AA2 has 2-4, which is, for some (me included), the highest high of the series. It's a difficult matter.

2-4 is great, though nowhere close to best in the series for me. Even with its greatness it can barely outweigh the crap that it is 2-2 let alone the utter disaster that is 2-3. It's too bad, because I like Franziska a lot as a villain.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

You like Klavier but not Trucy? Can't my brain around this.

Klavier is a rock god. What is there to hate?

 

[Frolow]

So has Capcom announced AA6 yet?

They're going to reuse this engine, right?

Nothing yet, but with how they ended AA5 there's almost certainly going to be another game.

 

[NotLiquid]

I'm not even in the first trial of Case 5 yet but I already have a hunch about who the culprit is. I hope I'm wrong and that it isn't as obvious as I think it is.

 

[demidar]

So has Capcom announced AA6 yet?

They're going to reuse this engine, right?

They might as well. Didn't the game do well in Japan? The jury's still out (hur hur) for how it does in the west, but the cost of creating the engine is paid so an AA6 should be lower in cost.

They could also keep releasing DLC cases to tide people over.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

Nothing yet, but with how they ended AA5 there's almost certainly going to be another game.

Spoiler

Maybe this time we'll actually see Maya...

 

[yami4ct]

Nothing yet, but with how they ended AA5 there's almost certainly going to be another game.

Whether we get that game or not is a different story.........

Spoiler

Eh, I have little doubt Capcom will keep putting out the mainline AA stuff at the very least on the eShop.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Nothing yet, but with how they ended AA5 there's almost certainly going to be another game.

I heavily doubt that AA6 will continue with AA5's ending, at least directly. END SPOILERS:

Spoiler

The case of the phantom is completely done with, is what I believe.

What makes me think a next game is a certainty is its great performance in Japan. They'll at least get an AA6. An announcement next year wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Nosgoroth]

They might as well. Didn't the game do well in Japan? The jury's still out (hur hur) for how it does in the west, but the cost of creating the engine is paid so an AA6 should be lower in cost.

They could also keep releasing DLC cases to tide people over.

Nah, you can't create a multi-case spanning arc with DLC. Or, well, you could, but you might as well release it as a whole game.

 

[Ath]

Phew, I just finished the game. Wow. I'm still reeling from the final case. I still need some time to gather myself, but I thought it was terrific. I really think it's up there with Trials and Tribulations, and I loved the way the story came together at the end.

 

[CorvoSol]

Klavier is a rock god. What is there to hate?

Trucy is a wizard and perfect daughter. What is there to hate?

 

[DaBoss]

While Case 3's culprit's actions was clear in the middle of Investigation 2 (though I suspected the culprit the moment I met him/her), the road to get there was pretty crazy.

 

[Artemisia]

It's not going to take more than two years if there is an AA6, right?

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Nah, you can't create a multi-case spanning arc with DLC. Or, well, you could, but you might as well release it as a whole game.

I don't see why it has to be a whole arc. I'm just fine with stand-alone cases that don't involve an encompassing, large narrative.

Someone suggested DLC where you play as CASE 3:

Spoiler

Hugh, the prosecutor is Robin and the judge is Juniper

. DLC would provide a neat opportunity to create "unimportant" cases like that.

 

[The Bankslammer]

at least we have AAvPL to look forward to, right???

...right?

Spoiler

for whatever reason i just can't get excited about it

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

Trucy is a wizard and perfect daughter. What is there to hate?

She keeps stealing my shit and throwing it into her magic panties.

 

[Frolow]

at least we have AAvPL to look forward to, right???

...right?

Spoiler

for whatever reason i just can't get excited about it

And the AAI2 fan translation. It should be finished sometime next year on their current pace.

 

[Nosgoroth]

I don't see why it has to be a whole arc. I'm just fine with stand-alone cases that don't involve an encompassing, large narrative.

Someone suggested DLC where you play as

Spoiler

Hugh, the prosecutor is Robin and the judge is Juniper

. DLC would provide a neat opportunity to create "unimportant" cases like that.

Spoiler that, some people haven't completed Case 3.

Spoiler

Obvious as the culprit is from the start, it's better not to discount Hugh and Robin as culprits completely.

Anyway, yes, some cases like that would be good, but I was saying that I hope Capcom doesn't intend to just release DLC like that and forgo an AA6. I want my big arcs and final cases tying everything together.