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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice |OT| Khura'in, not Kurain

Javier

Member
so even tho i kinda shat on Case 4, I have to say it does have good parts. I liked some of the factoids in the case and it has some of my fave tracks in the game including a few from AA5 that sounds slightly remixed. Anyway, not all bad but it should've been DLC or an earlier case.
I kinda wonder if
Case 4 was originally written to be Case 1. Nahyuta feels rather forced in this case, as if the role was written with Payne in mind. It even feels shorter than Case 1 itself.
 

LiK

Member
The only one that kind of bugged me in case 3 was when
you had to click on the vision of the flame blowing in the wind rather than the word "wind". I knew that's what the inconsistency was so I was less willing to retry once I got it wrong at first
.

i got that one first try. my issue was with the
Acolyte murder where you had to click on Heavy in the first statement. I kept clicking it on all the other statements first.

I kinda wonder if
Case 4 was originally written to be Case 1. Nahyuta feels rather forced in this case, as if the role was written with Payne in mind. It even feels shorter than Case 1 itself.

yea, that's what it felt like. altho i'm guessing
Athena being a starter character woul;d be weird and her gameplay witht he Mood Matrix would be hard for new players to grasp. Altho the new Seance stuff wasn't that easy to figure out either.
I agree that maybe it should've been a starter case or a much earlier one.

but after the greatness of Case 3, Case 4 was such a drag. took me two evenings to want to get through it.such a departure from the main story arc.
 

Morts

Member
Finished Case 3, that was really great. Trial Day 2 had a lot of moments though where I was ahead of the game. It's always weird when Phoenix thinks he's screwed while I have the next 3-4 moves plotted out in my head.
 

Jeffrey

Member
still kinda sad that AA4 hobo badass confident phoenix was kinda retconned.

Dude really shouldn't be 'shocked face' or 'sweating face' this much these days every time someone questions his bluff or asks about evidence.
 

LiK

Member
still kinda sad that AA4 hobo badass confident phoenix was kinda retconned.

Dude really shouldn't be 'shocked face' or 'sweating face' this much these days every time someone questions his bluff or asks about evidence.

that's one issue i have with AA5 and AA6. kinda wish Phoenix was a bit more mature in court.
 
Phoenix really shouldn't be main stage anymore.

should just be a mentor.
It makes sense for him to be on the main stage is its to help Maya, but I agree. It took me forever to get over the whole sweating bullets thing in Duel Destinies, and it's the worst part about the post-Apollo games.
 

LiK

Member
Phoenix really shouldn't be main stage anymore.

should just be a mentor.

That's the problem. They tried with AA4 and it bombed hard in the West. The only reason we got AA5 and AA6 localized is because of Phoenix being brought back as a main, imo.
 

Totakeke

Member
The only one that kind of bugged me in case 3 was when
you had to click on the vision of the flame blowing in the wind rather than the word "wind". I knew that's what the inconsistency was so I was less willing to retry once I got it wrong at first. All the ones in the second seance are super easy, Maya basically tells you the answer for the ice thing
.

There's another way to get it wrong.
I pointed to the flame rather than to the lantern with the flame, it didn't work.
 

Gestahl

Member
That's the problem. They tried with AA4

They didn't though, Phoenix pantses Apollo and shoves him in a locker for most of 4-1 and 4-4, factor in Klavier's swirlies and the mediocre quality of the cases and it's no wonder the game almost tanked the franchise
 

Genio88

Member
Just finished it, it was pretty good, i enjoyed it better than AA5, though not as much as the original trilogy on DS, but perhaps it's also cause i played those a few years ago when i was younger and new to this kind experiences
 

LiK

Member
They didn't though, Phoenix pantses Apollo and shoves him in a locker for most of 4-1 and 4-4, factor in Klavier's swirlies and the mediocre quality of the cases and it's no wonder the game almost tanked the franchise

Takumi really didn't wanna have Phoenix in it from what i read and he tried his hardest to focus on new characters. The shitty cases and new characters didn't help either. Def a game made by committee. Altho I really do love Trucy.
 
They didn't though, Phoenix pantses Apollo and shoves him in a locker for most of 4-1 and 4-4, factor in Klavier's swirlies and the mediocre quality of the cases and it's no wonder the game almost tanked the franchise

While AA4 had issues, it sold very well (slightly under 250,000 units in the first week) since it was the first new AA game after little over three years. Fan feedback and perhaps resistance from Takumi prompted Capcom to reevaluate the direction to take the series and to change team members.
 

Gestahl

Member
While AA4 had issues, it sold very well (slightly under 250,000 units in the first week) since it was the first new AA game after little over three years. Fan feedback and perhaps resistance from Takumi prompted Capcom to reevaluate the direction to take the series and to change team members.

I knew what it sold. The fan feedback is what I was getting at.
 
There was never any threat of the series "tanking" though. Tanking implies that Capcom would drop Ace Attorney entirely like they have with many of their other franchises.
 

Gestahl

Member
Fine, it put the mainline series in a six year coma and crippled AAI sales potential almost as much as it being a spinoff did, my apologies for using the word "tanked"
 

Jeffrey

Member
They've been really pulling on the nostalgia the last few games. I'm only ch3, so im not sure how everything turns out, but if gumshoe isn't in this, he clearly will be in AA7, maybe oldbag too and larry...

and then what? Will they attempt another 'apollo justice'? Or finally give athena the time to shine for reals?
 

rekameohs

Banned
The ending of Phoenix Wright: Asinine Attorney was hilarious! Caught me off guard. It's still probably not worth the $4 unless you really want to support the devs since it's so short, but it made me laugh. It is certainly not canon though!

Now, back to the main game. In the middle of case 3 - taking it real slow. It's been good; case 1 didn't do much for me, but I'm liking the intrigue with the Khura'in story a lot more than I was expecting based on the previews.
 

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
They've been really pulling on the nostalgia the last few games. I'm only ch3, so im not sure how everything turns out, but if gumshoe isn't in this, he clearly will be in AA7, maybe oldbag too and larry...

and then what? Will they attempt another 'apollo justice'? Or finally give athena the time to shine for reals?

The only thing I want to see shinning in regards to Athena is her Tombstone. She's a complete drag on the franchise. While I don't think she's a terrible character, of the main the cast she is the weakest link by far and needs to go because things are way too crowded.

I'm a good way through Case 5 now and the thing that really sticks out to me about this game and DD to a lesser degree is how fractured the series is with 3 attorneys. I always liked Apollo so I would be fine with having him take the reigns completely, it's cool if Phoenix bows out for the most part and maybe shows up for a case in a game, but I won't complain if they keep him on fulltime either. Either way they need to focus on one for the sake of gameplay.

As fun as these games are still and the stories they tell the gameplay has suffered a good deal on the 3DS titles. The over reliance and focus on the court room hurts things a lot for me. Fewer days means fewer investigation periods, which means less actual talking to NPCs outside cross examinations, which means using character abilities less often and other investigation tools.

Using Phoenix's Psyche-Locks twice or Apollo's Perceive ability like 3 times or Ema's dusting for fingerprints and luminol twice is not good gameplay. Look at past games where Phoenix would use his Psyche-locks like 5+ times in one case alone. It was a major gameplay feature. Plus all the other case specific puzzles. Athena's therapy sessions are probably one of my least favorite mechanics and yet it's used the most so far. And it's really not all that different from the Divination Seance, which is more interesting.
 

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
Mood Matrix > Perceive pls.

Perceive is a nice change of pace from the normal gameplay and introduces an interesting and sometimes amusing look at the NPCs and their great animations. Mood Matrix is just a minor tweak to the Cross Examination system that is already a massive part of the game, it's redundant.

If they used Perceive more they could actually scale the difficulty. But only using it a couple times in the game you can't make it difficult or more challenging because the player doesn't have enough time with it. It's a waste.

Same goes for the Psyche-locks. The original trilogy used them a lot which let them have varying difficulties and they provided an engaging and interesting change of pace to normal conversations and cross examinations. Challenging NPCs and having to disprove their statements with multiple quick fire back and forths using evidence was great. There was a lot of drama to it and while not really fast paced it felt like it compared to the normal dialogue and exchanges. Mood Matrix doesn't have that. It deliberately slows down the already slow cross examination so you focus even more on it.
 

MrBadger

Member
Using Phoenix's Psyche-Locks twice or Apollo's Perceive ability like 3 times or Ema's dusting for fingerprints and luminol twice is not good gameplay. Look at past games where Phoenix would use his Psyche-locks like 5+ times in one case alone. It was a major gameplay feature. Plus all the other case specific puzzles. Athena's therapy sessions are probably one of my least favorite mechanics and yet it's used the most so far. And it's really not all that different from the Divination Seance, which is more interesting.

The Psyche Locks in the last few games have been entirely pointless honestly. When you get to them, you have all the relevant evidence and you can solve them right away. In the older games, a psyche lock appearing was usually a sign that you weren't ready to hear something, and you had to go around, research more and get more evidence before you could break it. AA4's last case
was all about travelling to different locales, gathering evidence and breaking every psyche lock.

I don't mind the therapy sessions. They're just a different take on testimony, but I find them inoffensive. And I think they were used well in AA6. Perceive is fine the way it is in 5 and 6, but in 4 it was a bit tedious.
 
perceive still totally feels like busywork to me in 6. stare at one hand, wait for text to cycle around, stare at the other hand, wait for text to cycle around, stare at their head...

there's just not really any thought involved. i can appreciate it as a change of pace, but i find it boring
 
perceive still totally feels like busywork to me in 6. stare at one hand, wait for text to cycle around, stare at the other hand, wait for text to cycle around, stare at their head...

there's just not really any thought involved. i can appreciate it as a change of pace, but i find it boring
It worked pretty well in 4 which had the poker theme I think.
 

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
The Psyche Locks in the last few games have been entirely pointless honestly. When you get to them, you have all the relevant evidence and you can solve them right away. In the older games, a psyche lock appearing was usually a sign that you weren't ready to hear something, and you had to go around, research more and get more evidence before you could break it. AA4's last case
was all about travelling to different locales, gathering evidence and breaking every psyche lock.

I don't mind the therapy sessions. They're just a different take on testimony, but I find them inoffensive. And I think they were used well in AA6. Perceive is fine the way it is in 5 and 6, but in 4 it was a bit tedious.

I mean they are all fine when you get down to it, but greatly rely on how and when they're used. My biggest issue really is that you can't support all three in a single game. There just isn't enough game to really flesh them out as well as they should and build cases around their use when every case you're a different attorney. You don't get a clear progression and familiarization. And that also hurts things from a narrative perspective as well. I like AA5 and 6 a lot, but there are clear short comings compared to the original trilogy and even AA4 as a result of this too many cooks situation.
 

LiK

Member
Perceive was a good gimmick but having it associated with his bracelet was kinda pointless. Just have Apollo have the skill to do it.

It's the same for Athena's Mood Matrix. She can hear emotions but they use some device to display it which is also unneccessary.
 

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
Perceive was a good gimmick but having it associated with his bracelet was kinda pointless. Just have Apollo have the skill to do it.

It's the same for Athena's Mood Matrix. She can hear emotions but they use some device to display it which is also unneccessary.

Agreed, though I'll say at least the bracelet is rather innocuous and a nice looking accessory with sentimental value, while the Mood Matrix and Widget are really tacky and cheap looking.
 

Groof

Junior Member
Don't want an answer to this but in case 5...

Having Phoenix defending that silly politician has to because his hands are forced. I can't see it any other way.

Also having Phoenix running around in the Furio Tigre outfit is constantly amusing to me. I love it.
 

gardfish

Member
So I'm on the day 2 investigation of case 5.
Well, I THOUGHT Inga was going to be the obvious case 5 villain, but I guess not, lol. Which...really just shifts the "obvious case 5 villain" suspicion over to Ga'ran, since I'm pretty sure she's the only remaining recurring character who could feasibly even be the villain--really doubt they're going to introduce a brand new character as the killer this far into the story. Guessing one of her royal guardsmen was the one who killed Inga under her command--they would've been able to blend in once the rest of them stormed the tomb very easily.
 
In general I'm not entirely fond of stuff like the mood matrix and perceive in court since the series follows a strict evidence is everything mantra which doesn't really work when you're character is like "but hang on, my machine tells me you were more sad than I think you should've been in this situation! WHY DAMMIT?!"
Seems like something the typical prosecution of the series would immediately flag as nonsense.

You do get the odd moment where these things work, Perceive I don't mind so much for when you had Alita Tiala's tell give away her neck bruise, definitely works fine for me in investigation segments.
 

Jeffrey

Member
all the old gimmicks is still better than the new thing.

maybe im just an idiot, but i have the hardest time figuring this stuff out, like the beginning of trial 3 day 1 court. Took me countless tries to figure out
the footsteps not getting bigger, even though the game hints at you to look at text size increases
.


They need to bring back the logic chess from AAI2, I enjoyed that.
 
Have people been doing series rankings yet? Is this better than Dual Destinies?
Not that my current thoughts help much here because I'm undecided on what I prefer out of Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice so far but...
AA1>AA3>AA4>AAI2>AA6=AA5>AA2>AAI

Vs Layton can be thrown somewhere in the middle there
 

Jeffrey

Member
i like the cases so far, yet i want to stab the prosecutor in the face with a ceremonial knife.

God I hope he's redeemed later or something because I just can't stand him.

Pretty much all other prosecutors have some sort of quirk and are kinda assholes, but usually are lovable in some way. 3 cases in, and this dude seems to offer none of that.
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
My personal rankings are AA3 > AA1 = AA6 > AA5 > AA4 > AA2 >>> AAI. Playing through AAI2 right now and it seems like it's pretty far up there, though.

AA4 has my single favorite case in the series despite being ranked so low (4-1). That game started SO strongly. 4-4 was some good stuff too, but the witnesses were super annoying.
 

LiK

Member
Dayam, AAI2 is pretty low with you guys. It's pretty much my second fave game in the series. AA1 is the best for life.
 

Totakeke

Member
I don't remember enough of the series now to do a full ranking, but AA6 is undoubtedly best of the second trilogy, but definitely not better than AA1 and AA3. I also remember really liking AAI2 when I finished it but I don't really remember much of it nowadays. I don't think case 5 of AA6 is as good as a climax as the others either.

So maybe...

AA1 > AA3 >>> AAI2 > Layton > AA6 > AA2 > AA4/AA5/AAI1


Edit: I actually like the Seances, yes it's a bit more difficult than the others and sometimes too restrictive, but it feels more organic to evaluate evidence. It's pretty much like evaluating video footage but the different senses makes it easier to target contradictions.

Seances > Perceive = Psyche Locks >>>> Mood Matrix

Mood matrix feels too much like messing with the witness. It's more suitable when dealing with witnesses such as kids, but otherwise it often feels like everyone is in on the ride for no good reason.
 

Jeffrey

Member
its weird ranking the series, i just see it as a whole. Like whenever i do a replay, i just go from 1- the latest.

Makes more sense to rank cases, in which for all its little pacing issues, I still think 1-5 is my favorite. the tag teaming of edgey and phoenix against the police chief. Soo good.
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Oh shoot, I forgot about 1-5. I think that's up there with 4-1 as my fav. It was a real no-nonsense case for the AA universe, with grounded gimmicks like forensics instead of spirit channeling and whatnot. It's the most "real" case in the series and has a very different mood and tone because of that. I wish the series went that route post AA1 instead of going even further into fantasy land.
 

Jeffrey

Member
Oh shoot, I forgot about 1-5. I think that's up there with 4-1 as my fav. It was a real no-nonsense case for the AA universe, with grounded gimmicks like forensics instead of spirit channeling and whatnot. It's the most "real" case in the series and has a very different mood and tone because of that. I wish the series went that route post AA1 instead of going even further into fantasy land.

Probably why I enjoyed the AAI games. Give me some CBS crime procedural with a bit of a japanese flair.
 
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