videogameblog

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations

"Everyone on the planet is an accomplice to something. In this case, it's murder."

When I was around 10 years old I went to my local game store with my dad and asked for something along the lines of 'A detective game for the DSi where you gather clues at the crime scene and then prosectute the criminal in court'. I'm sure I must have, somehow, seen gameplay of one of the Phoenix Wright games at some point and was attempting to describe that. Instead of giving me a Phoenix Wright game, the staff member I asked gave me a copy of 'Cate West: The Vanishing Files' (which SUCKS. it looked like this). I think if I had instead been given a copy of Ace Attorney that day, It would have been my favorite game of all time. It probably still would be. I really love this series, but whenever I play them all I can think about is how much more I would have loved them when I was younger. I probably would have never finished any of them though, and the ends of these games are always the best.

Trials and Tribulations is the final game in the original AA series directed by Shu Takumi, marking the end of the 'first trilogy' in my mind. I think it's a shame this game isn't the last one they ever made with the original cast of characters, as it seems to act as a fitting conclusion to all of their character arcs. It's crazy how much more depth this game has than the first one; it really shows how far the series has developed if you compare case 1-4 with 3-5. Case 1-4 has you facing off against a scooby-doo-level villain, Manfred Von Karma. (thanks for reading!! heres a steam key for Disco Elysium: 9W5E7-MN65M-W3DNY . DM me if u claim this!!) He's just evil for the sake of it. By 3-5, you're attempting to prosecute Godot, a man who only killed in order to save Phoenix's best friend, Maya. His motives lie in denial and redemption, with him ultimately confessing that his actions were nothing more than a self-centered act of projection. Usually, confetti falls and the crowd cheers when a case is completed. No confetti falls when Godot is prosecuted. It's a bittersweet end, and calls into question the place of Phoenix's morals in regards to the Justice System. It would have been easy for this series to remain nothing more than a rinse-and-repeat mystery game with no depth, and I'm glad that isn't the case.

The writers and translation team did a great job here, this game is hilarious. Godot is always so over-the-top, Phoenix will present some seemingly solid evidence only for it to get shot down by an extensive coffee analogy. Virtually every returning character is in this game too. I think I would struggle to pick a favorite character from this franchise. If I made a tier list then 90% of them would be in S. They're all extremely unique and likable in their own ways.

One main critique I see of PW:T&T is it's lack of gameplay development in comparison to the first two games. Since PW:AA, the only new gameplay mechanic to be introduced was the Magnamata in PW:JFA which allows you to see if a character is lying. I don't really see the lack of gameplay evolution as an issue as it's clear the focus was instead on refining and improving the systems they had in place. In the first game, investigation sequences felt like searching for a set of triggers to advance. In T&T I would look forward to these segments, as they feel significantly less bare-bones here. They truly perfected the investigation/court gameplay formula with this one, allowing them to be more experimental with their writing, which is also at it's best here.

This is probably also my favorite video game soundtrack of all time? Every track is so good. "Objection!" "Telling the Truth" and "Pressing Persuit - Cornered" are all so good they would distract me from the gameplay. Godot's theme is also great - it captures both his mysterious allure and his sorrow at the same time - A common theme for all the tracks here. They all have an undertone of sadness to them, pairing well with the themes present.

Turnabout Memories

This is probably the best 'tutorial' case out of the 3 games - it provides some good backstory for Mia and Phoenix, and acts as a great introduction for Delilah. My favorite gimmick with PW cases is having no idea how they're gonna spin it to make the suspect, who seems to have been caught red-handed, actually be innocent. It's even better when they manage to do this without an investigation sequence, they feel alot more punchy. Glad theres only a few of these shorter cases throughout though, I prefer the variation invesigation provides. Playing as Mia was also refreshing and this is the case where that guy says 'My hemorrhoids are doing the harlem shake' so points for that too.

The Stolen Turnabout

This case is great - I really liked investigating something other than a murder for once. Alot of standout characters here, Ron DeLite and Luke Atmey are both really fun. Twists are great, but I had to follow a tutorial for some of the cross-examinations because they were so hard. This is the only case I had to check a tutorial for too :( .

Recipe for Turnabout

My least favorite. It's very forgettable, I don't care about any of the characters. The twists here feel more frustrating than anything, It's less of a turnabout and more of a 'trying to explain something that's extremely obvious'. I had put it together by the end of the first court segment (They virtually show you a picture of who's guilty) so it was frustrating to have to wait to present certain evidence. There's also a comic relief gay stereotype character. Lots of weenies though, probably like more than 100 on screen at one point.

Turnabout Beginnings

A great example of the typical PW form being deviated from, as the accused commits suicide in the courtroom, cutting the case short. As the games go on the cases try to provide variation by having Maya or Edgeworth be the accused, having the killer be the prosecution etc. I think this case provides a significantly more impactful variation of the typical formula in the way it disrupts the typical flow of gameplay. Sure, sometimes you're restricted to a specific area for certain investigations but theres never any narrative reasoning for this. Pairing a narrative event with a change in the gameplay like this makes it feel significantly more impactful and unexpected. One of the most memorable cases in the series. It's nice to see Mia's first case, and finally get some information on the identity of the mysterious Godot. Also acts as a great prelude to the best case in any of the games, which is

Bridge to the Turnabout

Easily my favorite case in any of the games. It's a true crescendo, bringing together characters and plot elements from a wide variety of previous cases. It's extremely satisfying to see everything come together here. One of the only cases that seems unapproachable at the start, with so much going on that it takes five (!!) court sessions to come to a conclusion. The true nature of the crime remains illusive until the very end, and the twist reveal is probably also my favorite from any case. Questions from the first game resurface and are finally answered, theres like 5 twists, Larry is in it, Edgeworth and Franziska go head-to-head in the courtroom and so much other fun stuff happens in this one that it's easily the best. Also has a surprising amount of depth narratively, which is what I mentioned earlier. Part of me wishes this was the final game in the series and they never made another one, but maybe my opinion will change once i play the 4th game.

9/10 if i played this as a kid i probably would have played resident evil 10 years earlier too. i hate that employee that gave me a copy of cate west