Review: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All (NDS)

The first Phoenix Wright was one of those unexpected highlights on the DS - how could a courtroom drama game be entertaining, after all? You played as a defence attorney in what felt like an evolution of the point and click genre - something that is otherwise sadly dying out - and Gamestyle had to admire what Capcom had achieved in regards to creating a compelling narrative with a strong sense of humour. As soon as the sequel hit Japanese stores, we quickly hit the import button... a decision we don't regret.

What sets Phoenix Wright 2 apart from any other game is the wonderful sense of humour and charming characters that you encounter. A slight undercurrent of pop culture references can be found with our 'hero' uttering such lines as "yoinks, it‘s the alien" in Scooby Doo style, and the obscure "excuuuuusee me princess" made famous by the unintentionally hilarious Zelda cartoon. The characters are what make the game: where else would you encounter a ventriloquist who only talks through his abusive dummy or the ever cool-under-pressure prosecutor Edgeworth? Admittedly some of these, including the latter, are rehashed from the original, but we don't mind when they were incredibly good to begin with.

While the basis of the game is the same as the original - investigating a murder and then trying to prove your client innocent - there is something new that has been added to the investigation procedure. Using Maya's Magatama, you can expose the secrets that people are hiding by breaking a number of 'psyche locks' that wrap around the person's heart. It adds a lot more depth to just pointing at stuff in the hope of triggering a conversation, because the investigation procedure can lead to much head scratching if you haven't shown the right item to the right person.

The courtroom drama is where the real great moments in the game happen. As each witness takes to the stand, you have to uncover the lies and break their testimony apart one statement at a time; but you always have the prosecutor trying to stop you at all costs. In this sequel, the prosecutor you will encounter most often is Franziska Von Karma; armed with a whip, she strikes anyone that opposes her, often leading to humorous consequences. After all, making the player laugh is what the game does best. The process of revealing the lies is the same as its predecessor with your Court Record being the main source of your information and evidence. Presenting items during a section of a person's testimony is the way to reveal contradictions, but mess up too often (as represented by an energy bar which reduces with each mistake) and it's game over. The amount of energy you lose varies; during some crucial moments, you only have one chance to get it right or you'll get booted back to the main menu. Thankfully the quick save feature makes a return.

Although Phoenix Wright 2 is very much more of the same, this is the odd instance when that's enough. As the strength of the game comes from its scenarios, scripts and puzzles, nothing fundamental needed altering here. Some animations and scenery are completely reused, which can be attributed to laziness, but luckily the fun of the original remains. What makes this a bargain is the budget price it has been released at in Japan (due to being a re-release of the Japan-only GBA edition), and with a full English language option, you really don't have an excuse for not importing. Chances are slim for a similarly budgeted release on our shores.

The appeal of Phoenix Wright and its sequel is best explained as that of a good crime novel, with its pick up and play nature and the clever narrative. This is more involving, however; many people read books while trying to sleep, but Phoenix Wright 2 only sent Gamestyle to sleep because we stayed up for hours trying to solve the cases. It's the most laid back and addictive game we've ever played, where simple five minute blasts turn into hour-long sessions. Although only four cases make up the game, they each rack up around a couple of hours and the final case will occupy you for nearly four. With a gripping story of mystery and intrigue, Gamestyle wholeheartedly recommends this game to all fans of the point and click adventure genre. With a Phoenix Wright 3 and 4 still to come, we suspect our lawyer days aren't quite over yet.

Rating: 8 / 10

Words by Adam Gulliver