Phoenix is all set to come back this year in Ace Attorney:Duel Destinies which is great because the whole Hobo Phoenix affair was kind of weird. Speaking of Hobo Phoenix,there was a multi-year gap between Trials and Tribulation(T&T) and being a genius hobo. What was Phoenix doing that time...heck if I know. However thanks to Investigations we know a little bit about what Edgeworth was doing so let's talk about that.
Investigations is a sub series fro the
Ace Attorney series featuring Miles Edgeworth and the more likable
members of the Prosecutor’s office plus with new characters thrown
in. The cases all revolve around a smuggling ring and a murder case
know as KG-8. The game manages to shake up the stranded Phoenix
formula with some heavier adventure game elements and different
character dynamics. So lets talk about some Edgeworth goodness.
When I said a “little bit” in the
intro up there I really meant little,the whole game takes places over
the course of a few days(barring a flashback case), a month after
T&T. The story is a solid and tight with some nice twists along
the way. The cases are all pretty standard for an Ace Attorney game
which is fine as they all are still pretty creative. However as a
solid as the story is,it still feels a little like high class fan
fiction. One would think the smuggling ring would have been able to
stop Edgeworth before he nabs their leader. Also the last case drags
on longer than need be,filled with so many big damn hero moments that
it gets tiresome. Still satisfying when you do take down the
ringleader due to his awesome freakout. it also takes too long to get to
said case with everything else just feels like biding time.
All the characters are really great
from returning characters like Gumshoe to new ones like Agent Lang He
works as a great rival to Edgeworth with some decent development that
elevates him from jerk to a great guy. Shame he's only in two cases
with a cameo in a third. The other major new ally is Kay Faraday,who
is not Maya. She's a thief not a medium and has a dead dad instead of
a disappeared mum. Joking aside I actually do like her even if her
and Edgeworth relationship is akin to Phoenix/Maya with less romantic
overtones. Gumshoe gets special mention as his own brand of weirdness
plays well with Edgeworth's seriousness. Edgeworth is what holds this
game together with a much cooler head than Phoenix and takes the
stick in the mud tendency up to eleven. He is fun to play as and it's
always funny to see him defend his screw ups as something he meant to
do.There are also quite a few cameos from minor characters such as
Lotta Hart and Winston Payne and call backs to previous cases in the
main series.
Game play remains mostly unchanged from
the previous games with a couple of new twists. Little Thief which is
a weird little mechanic that let's you recreate crime scenes,mostly
used to extend investigation segments.While Logic is sort of like
combing items in an adventure game but instead of items it's lines of
thought. It usually revealing a new idea or updating some evidence.
You rarely have that many to connect and brings up a minor problem
with the game,it's difficulty or lack their of. It's a very easy game
with every contradictions being glaringly obvious. It's like your
case 1-1 of the original game extended to hell and back. Mind you the
games have never been that hard but they at least tried to challenge
you. There are a couple of hard sections but more due to moon logic
and misinformation than actual difficulty. That's all I can say,so
let's move on to something else.
The art here is on par with Apollo
Justice having come out after that game with addition of actual
character models as opposed to just portraits and it is really weird
at first. The models do look nice and add a nice touch. The music is
probably some of the strongest in a series with already stellar
soundtracks. Lying Coldly is one of the best tracks and up their
Cornered in terms of songs to get you pumped up.
So is Investigations worth of your
time:Yes. Though if you are new to the franchise then you'll probably
be lost with all the cameo's and references but be able to follow the
main story just fine.
It's a great game either way and well
worth seeking out for any fan of the franchise. Also if you buy it
maybe it'll help get the second game localized and maybe I'll lactate
live birds.
Till next time:Stay Positive
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