At first glance, Ace Attorney Investigations took the Ace Attorney series in a completely new direction, and arguably one that they perhaps should have revisited more often. Removing the courtroom and most visual novel elements, and then delivering what is essentially a point and click style adventure was met with some trepidation when they released on the Nintendo DS over ten years ago.
Thankfully, both games oozed the Ace Attorney humour and style and were beloved games in the series. Now, with the release of the Ace Attorney Investigations collection, we now get the second game officially translated in English for the very first time. Not only does this release ooze care and love to Miles Edgeworth and the Investigations series, but it is also a fitting end to Capcom’s remasters of the Ace Attorney series.
As far as the games themselves, they depart from the usual defence attorney style of gameplay. There is no courtroom, and no first-person perspectives. We are no longer looking for reasons why someone could not have committed murder and there are no more bizarre courtroom dramas. Instead, as Miles Edgeworth, you explore the world in a third-person perspective. Moving around the world using the control stick and clicking the button on things or people that may be of interest to the current case.
That is not to say these games are a total departure from the Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice series. As Miles sports an organiser that works in much of the same way as the other Ace Attorney games. This organiser keeps notes on anything that may be pertinent to Miles’ investigation and can be accessed in times where he needs to point out contradictions or present evidence to someone.
There are also moments where you perform Rebuttals. These are similar to cross-examinations in the past; however, these take part outside of the courtroom. Miles often demands testimonies from those around him in pursuit of the truth. He then gets an opportunity to present evidence to rebut what is being said and dig deeper into what actually happened.
The other ability that Miles has in these games is utilising logic to connect his ideas together and form a new clue. Miles may have noticed that there are two bullet holes in a crime scene, and later on finds a gun with only one bullet out of the chamber. By using the logic system, you can combine these two ideas so Miles then deduces that a second gun must have been present. It is quite clever and makes a nice addition to Ace Attorney in general.
The narrative of both games is the usual zaniness you would expect from Ace Attorney. Every character you come across feels expertly written and has a personality of their own. The interactions between these characters are also well done and it is often fun to see certain people interact within the Ace Attorney world, just to see how they react to each other.
You even get to see a somewhat softer side of Miles Edgeworth as he attempts to get help from people in each of his investigations and has to show some vulnerability in order to gain the information he needs. I like that they explored this side of the Ace Attorney world, and I hope that Capcom visit even more characters in future iterations. The great thing about this spinoff collection is that you do not need prior knowledge of the Phoenix Wright or Apollo Justice series to get up to speed on what’s happening.
It would not be Ace Attorney if the games did not have a number of cameos involved. Fan favourites like Wendy Oldbag and Larry Butz make appearances. There is also a rather amusing appearance by Winston Payne where he is not referenced by name simply because Miles has no idea who he is.
Similarly to how the Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice games would have you lose ‘health’ from submitting the wrong evidence, or choosing the wrong option in a courtroom, Miles loses health from making a variety of mistakes as well. Mentioned earlier, presenting the wrong evidence during a rebuttal lessens your health. Connecting two incorrect clues together when deducing logic also makes you lose health. Once the green bar is empty, that is it, it is time to restart the case from the last save point.
This can come across as frustrating sometimes because occasionally you will come to a different conclusion to what the game wants you to come to, and you get penalised for it. Despite this, there is never really a moment where the game follows an illogical route, it is just that sometimes something might actually have two logical solutions, but the script writers had not thought of the other possibility.
Speaking of the script, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the newly made translation for the second game is wonderful. The translation team have done a remarkable job of keeping the spirit of Ace Attorney alive throughout the entire game, as well as giving those punny tongue-in-cheek names to the new characters introduced to the game. It is absolutely great stuff.
The game also includes a Story Mode, which we have seen in previous Ace Attorney remasters. In this, the game plays by itself, solving all of the Rebuttals and Investigations without any input. This mode can be turned on and off at a whim, which can come in handy when your health is at a critical point. The caveat behind this is that you cannot unlock anything while it is in story mode.
Other aspects of the collection include nice additions such as artworks and concept art from the original games, a complete soundtrack (both orchestral and original), and a character viewer that allows you to see basically every sprite used in the game as you meet different characters. It is very thorough and feels like a complete collection.
Overall, Ace Attorney Investigations Collection comes highly recommended. If you have not tried these games on the Nintendo DS, I wholeheartedly ask that you give this a try. Now that all of the games in the Ace Attorney series are available on the Nintendo Switch, my sincere hope is that Capcom look to the future and begin to make new games in the series.
Rating: 4.5/5
Starting this week.