Phoenix Wright created a very special place in my gaming heart. It’s one of those series that I keep replaying, even though I know it like the back of my hand. So far I had this feeling with only two other game franchises.. One of them is Borderlands (which I started replaying again, so I’m up to speed on the lore before BL3), the other being Dragon Age. See the difference? Phoenix Wright is a Visual Novel x Detective game, Borderlands a looter-shooter & Dragon Age one of the best RPGs out there. What makes Phoenix Wright so good? Let’s dive in!

So, what’s this Phoenix Wright game about?

The first time I played Phoenix Wright was on my old grey Nintendo DS. I heard about the game from friends and wanted to try it. I liked anime and manga, but never really clicked with a Visual Novel before. Well, Phoenix Wright changed my mind, and for the better. Enter the world of Japanese courtrooms and become the best defense attorney they have ever seen! You learn everything you need to know in the courtroom during your very first case. Straight out of law school, rocking the blue suit and spikey hairstyle, Phoenix promised to get his best friend Larry Butz acquitted of murder. Because, when something smells, it’s usually the Butz. The people you end up defending are usually people who were in the wrong place, at the wrong time. In order to keep them out of jail, you have to identify the true culprit and then—to quote Wright—”put the pressure on until they squeal”. First, you listen to a witness’s testimony, then pick it apart statement by statement during the cross-examination. Your weapons of choice? HOLD IT, to put some pressure on a witness’ statement and OBJECTION, if the witness is straight up lying. But if you present the wrong piece of evidence.. you will get hit by the hammer of justice (in the literal sense).

Remaster-torney Trilogy:

The Ace Attorney Trilogy is the latest remaster in the series of the game. What started as a game on the original Game Boy Advance, was then ported to the DS (and later 3DS). I quadruple dipped on this series and own them along almost all the platforms they are released on. Why? Don’t ask me, it’s the same with Pokémon. I just end up buying them (or reviewing them on PC). The port we played for PC features the first three games in the series, which also form the main base on the series storyline. It really is advised to play through all fourteen episodes (three games), since many of the characters that are introduced in the first one make a return appearance.

Repeat-Offender?

So, does this mean that Phoenix Wright is the same game, over and over again? No, not at all. The first game really learns you the ropes of the Japanese legal system. American has its jury system in which a jury will hand down a verdict on the suspect (in correlation with judges etc.). In the Netherlands (where I’m from), we have a judge who resided over the faith of the suspect, while lawyers from both sides make their case. In Japan, there is a similar setting. A judge is residing in the middle, lawyers on both sides with the defendant in the middle facing the judge and the lawyers. Once you figure this out, the game gets much more depth. It gives a certain dynamic to the game since both sides literally battle each other (with words). The last case of the first game even adds forensic science into the mix, which worked better on the handheld versions of the game.

To break down the games a little bit more:

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Game 1:

1. The First Turnabout (はじめての逆転 Hajimete no Gyakuten): In his first case as a defense attorney, Phoenix Wright, with the help of his mentor Mia Fey, defends Wright’s childhood friend Larry Butz after he is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend.
2. Turnabout Sisters (逆転姉妹 Gyakuten Shimai): Mia Fey is murdered and her younger sister, Maya, is accused of the crime. Wright must clear her name while facing the infamous Miles Edgeworth in court.
3. Turnabout Samurai (逆転のトノサマン Gyakuten no Tonosaman): Wright and Maya defend Will Powers, the star of a hit kids’ T.V. show, on the charge of murdering the actor who played the villain. – Hands down one of my favorite episodes game-wide. It has the coolest soundtrack, which was my ringtone for most of the high school.
4. Turnabout Goodbyes (逆転、そしてサヨナラ Gyakuten, Soshite Sayonara): Edgeworth is accused of murder and Wright finds himself defending him against the legendary prosecutor Manfred von Karma and investigating the DL-6 Incident.
5. Rise from the Ashes (蘇る逆転 Yomigaeru Gyakuten): Chief Prosecutor Lana Skye is accused of killing police detective Bruce Goodman. Although claiming to have done it, Wright agrees to take on her case nonetheless after being asked by Lana’s younger sister Ema. Was added in the DS remake and features forensic investigation techniques that use the touchscreen and microphone exclusively.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All – Game 2:

1. The Lost Turnabout: Just before entering the court to defend police officer Maggey Byrde on the charge of murdering her boyfriend Dustin Prince, Phoenix Wright is struck on the head and contracts amnesia. Despite having no memory of who he is or how to do his job, Wright must battle his amnesia to acquit Byrde.
2. Reunion, and Turnabout*: Maya Fey is once again accused of murder, with the victim this time being a doctor who was with her in a sealed room in her home village while attempting to channel a former colleague of his. Wright again defends her, only to face Franziska von Karma, the whip-wielding daughter of Manfred von Karma, at the prosecutor’s bench. While investigating Kurain Village, Wright learns more about the family of his assistant and meets Maya’s little cousin Pearl Fey for the first time.
3. Turnabout Big Top: Wright defends Max Galactica, a flamboyant magician accused of murdering the ringmaster of the circus where he works.
4. Farewell, My Turnabout: As a television star is found murdered, Wright discovers that Maya has been kidnapped. The defense attorney finds his morality tested as an anonymous caller demands that he get the prime suspect a complete acquittal, or else…

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations – Game 3:

• Turnabout Memories – Five years before the events of the rest of the game (with the exception of Turnabout Beginnings), a young college art student named Phoenix Wright is accused of murdering a pharmacy student called Doug Swallow at Ivy University. Still struggling with an undisclosed traumatic incident that occurred during her first trial a year before, rookie defense attorney Mia Fey takes on Wright’s case, with Marvin Grossberg as her co-counsel, in what is only her second ever court trial. However, Fey soon meets a witness that she seems to already know during the trial…
• The Stolen Turnabout – When the Fey clan’s Sacred Urn is suddenly stolen by the famous master thief Mask☆DeMasque during a Kurain Village exhibition at the Lordly Tailor department store, Wright soon finds himself defending the prime suspect: a quiet and nervous young man called Ron DeLite. Prosecuting the case is a strange masked prosecutor called Godot, who for some reason appears to have a personal grudge against Wright. However, the case soon escalates when KB Security CEO Kane Bullard is found dead and DeLite was the last one to see him alive.
• Recipe for Turnabout – A furious Detective Dick Gumshoe confronts Wright after his shoddy defense work leads Maggey Byrde to be found guilty of murder. However, Wright has never worked or heard of the case, leading them to the conclusion that someone has been impersonating him. After managing to secure a retrial for Byrde’s case, Wright pursues the truth behind the incident to bring his imposter to justice.
• Turnabout Beginnings* – In a flashback to Mia Fey’s first ever case, which was mentioned briefly in Turnabout Memories, Fey takes on the case of escaped convict Terry Fawles, who is accused of murdering police officer Valerie Hawthorne. Facing her at the prosecutor’s bench is Miles Edgeworth, for which this is also his first court trial.
• Bridge to the Turnabout: Wright, Maya Fey, and Pearl Fey take a trip to Hazakura Temple, a location with strong ties to the Fey clan. However, events soon spiral out of control, with Maya going missing, Wright falling from a bridge into a raging river far below while trying to reach her, and the children’s author Elise Deauxnim found dead on the temple grounds. After assistance from an unexpected ally, Wright pursues the truth of a case that is tied into the very heart of the Fey clan.

Objection!

The last of the trilogy is probably the hardest to swallow. It’s a good Phoenix Wright game since it covers lots of plot holes and creates a little more backbone for the other two games. But, it consists of a lot of flashbacks and can become a little hard due to the backtracking involved. Like I said before, the games are good but you will need to invest a little bit of time into each and every case to get the most out of it. Even though the games are a little dated by now, the power of the Ace Attorney series is the amount of wordplay. Almost every case there is some kind of name that makes fun of the case at hand, or reveals a clue about the real culprit.

So if you are looking for one of the best Visual Novels out there, ported to a system near you-you should really consider giving the Ace Attorney series a go. And if not for the series itself, please play it for its soundtrack (or the manga/anime for that matter) I’m going back to yelling OBJECTION at my screen.. with this time my cat looking weird at me, instead of my parents.

8.5/10

Tested on PC (Steam).