Here's a trailer from the second game:
I've been playing Justice for All a lot these days, I'm currently at the beginning of the third case, out of a total of four. Sadly there is no special fifth case with new gameplay elements this time around, so the game initially feels like a step backwards from the previous entry. That, combined with a few music tracks that are kinda "meh" and some mediocre writing in the first case, troubled me at first. But after one hour in the second case, when the game really starts rolling, oh my. As Maya Fey says, "You will say 'wow'!"
As I said in my first post all way back in September, Phoenix Wright has mastered one thing really rare among games; perfect balance between humor and drama. For every hilarious moment, there's a touching one, for every silly occurrence, there's a genuinely spine-chilling one. It's so well-written, it even puts several TV shows and movies to shame.
Which is why I personally like it so much. It has that elusive quality, a certain "je ne sais quoi" that ye old games of yore had, it's truly entertaining, but in a deep way, not a superficial one. It has characters and stories that will stay with you long after you've finished the games. Personally, after the seeing the quality of the second game, I now consider the Ace Attorney series one of my very favorite ones, up there with Castlevania, Street Fighter, Zelda etc.
Now some people, for example my good friend Tom, would say "But at the heart of it, it's just a traditional point & click adventure"
In response to those,
*slams both his hands on the desk and raises his left index finger towards the people in question*
Good games are more than just the sum of their parts. Sure, the core mechanics of PW's gameplay are based on a point and click system, but both games make significant advancements with regards to visual and audio presentation. Essentially, the trial parts of PW are a fighting game in adventure game format. Hell, Justice for All even has a health meter! And a person (Maggie/Maggy I think) calls for Phoenix to perform his "special move". Which is probably another reason why I like these games so much, given that since I were a teenager, my two favorite gaming genres were adventures and fighting games. So what better than a game that combines both of these genres?
Anyway, don't want to rant more than I have to (again). I have another video and a few more things to say, but I'll do that in a follow-up post.
2 comments:
Interesting... there are words in my mouth but I don't remember saying anything.
:)
I haven't played the Ace Attorney games - the only reason being that I don't have a DS. If I did I would have been well engrossed in them long ago. If they use a simple method of interaction (and point and click is, arguably, the simplest method of digital interaction) that's not an inherently bad thing. The method of interaction has only the slimmest relationship to actual gameplay mechanics - as point and click is, arguably, the simplest method of digital interaction it is still the predominant method of digital interaction in nearly every game you play on your computer.
This is all moot, anyway, because Ace Attorney is more of an interactive work of literature then a traditional game. You've said as much in your post - it's better written then most TV shows - and I would argue that, knowing you, that's the primary reason why you enjoy it over so many other games that feature inarguably better gameplay mechanics.
I think that a product like Ace Attorney is a godsend for the DS because it fits so well with the system and the user base. I also think that it presents a much-needed shift towards intelligence in game stories and I can only hope that this shift is sustained through other genres.
-Tom
Nowhere-fast.net
P.S. Hell, they're all Adventure games, really. Some just have more action then others.
Yeah, I may have misquoted you there somewhat, sorry about that. :}
If you narrow it down, even games like Deus Ex are point & click based, isn't that all you do in that game after all? :)
The thing about the Ace Attorney games, especially case 5 of the original, is that through the DS features, the whole process is more involving than just waving a cursor around your screen. Which is not the most intuitive nor immersing thing you can come across, after all. Immersing is probably the wrong word to use here, but you know what I mean.
It's even better in Cing's games, Trace Memory and Hotel Dusk, since solutions to puzzles are really intuitive. If you want to remove the dust off an old book, for example, you just blow air on your DS instead of waving a cursor all over it.
You're right though. The great writing is indeed the main reason I like the Ace Attorney games so much, I'm a sucker for a good story and charming characters.
I also love your assessment that they're all adventure games, just some are more action-y than others, can I quote you on that? :)
Post a Comment