It might sound strange that somebody would make a game out of the concept of a courtroom drama. After all, when was the last time you squealed with excitement when you found out you had to sit through jury duty? Leave it to the Japanese and their anime to come up with a game pitting two attorneys against each other in a battle to stop an innocent from going to the slammer. Apparently, they know how to follow through with a quality and fun title as well. While there are some flaws that keep Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney from being perfect, an engaging story, witty comedy and great detective elements make this game easy to recommend to almost anyone. If the courtroom was anything like this in real life, I don't think anyone would object to jury duty.

The game follows Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney out to make a name for himself by, well, defending the innocent. The premise of the game is fairly straightforward, and if you've ever played one of those Japanese dating games, this may seem somewhat familiar. However, instead of getting slapped by women for going there, you work to uncover and present evidence to help your client. In fact, Phoenix Wright is more of a detective caper than it is about lawyers. The game does a great job keeping you thinking on your feet, and each piece of evidence you present adds another piece to the giant, convoluted puzzle. Evidence comes both in the form of the obvious to things that have almost nothing to do with the case at hand (but you know it'll come into play somewhere because it's a video game).

PWAA is more challenging than it may first appear. The first chapter is a pretty simple ‘you're given the pieces, now put them together' deal, but as the game progresses, things become much more for the mind to take on. Further chapters introduce the detective elements, and cases will become longer and longer as the game progresses. One of the things you will probably learn about this game is that it runs on a trial-and-error system. While it is possible to go through the game perfectly, much of the evidence in the later chapters is so vaguely relevant to the case that you will probably have a hard time figuring out when to use it. While this provides a great deal of drama for the story, it also hurts the game because you will eventually figure out what evidence to use through process of elimination. There is a very good chance you'll end up finding the right piece of evidence by simply trying everything in your bag until the game accepts something.

Probably the best thing about PWAA is the story that comes with it. The game manages to incorporate every twist and turn you could imagine, and paints the suspects you defend as immediately guilty. It's amazing, though, what one defense attorney can do to completely prove his client's innocence. Granted, most of the story is pretty farfetched-not even the Michael Jackson trial was this insane-but it still makes for great entertainment. Phoenix and the cast are featured in the ever-popular anime form, and it's something that really helps the storyline even more. If there is one critique about the anime presentation, it's that Phoenix will eventually run out of animations and he'll just keep slamming the table and pointing his finger. Luckily, the dialogue is spot-on and feeds the game's sense of humor and drama even more, keeping things fresh in the process.

There are some problems, however, to be found in the game. While the initial storyline is brilliantly dramatic and witty, PWAA is pretty much a one-time playing experience. To its credit, the game itself takes a while to complete all the chapters. That is mostly due to the fact that each chapter progresses in length, and most of the length comes from continuous backtracking, which can easily grate on the nerves. But since you'll know the story once you play through it initially, there isn't much replay value to the game. At the same time, PWAA feels more like a Game Boy Advance game than a Nintendo DS game, which makes sense seeing as how it is a remake of the first Phoenix Wright (GBA) game released in Japan (by the way, there are two more over there, with a fourth on the horizon). Because of this, the remake doesn't really utilize the touch screen, microphone or any other features the DS brings to the table. Well, that's not entirely true, as a fifth chapter not available in the original game uses the microphone and touch screen to uncover evidence, and if you yell ‘Objection!' into the microphone, you can bypass the button press method. Still, there isn't much usage of the DS' features in the game.

Giving PWAA a final verdict is a bit difficult. On one hand, it's a great, entertaining, one-of-a-kind game. However, while the game is well worth a purchase, it is very possible to complete it in a short rental, and since it has little to no replay value, you might not miss it once it goes back to the rental store. So I'll leave it at this: PWAA is a superb game to add to your DS library and is certainly worth the money you put down for it. However, If you are wary as to whether this game is suited for you, or if you feel comfortable completing it in a rental period, I would suggest the rental route. That is, if you can find a copy of the game in the first place.

Feb 22, 2006 | 1 comments
Chris Massey