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[jsnlxndrlv]

I may have enough stuff on my plate already, but that didn't stop me from buying the hell out of this today.

It feels kind of silly to start a new thread just because I wanted to post two images and two sentences in the hope that somebody else is playing or wants to talk about it, but Kazz closed the "babble about a game you're [about to start] playing" thread, so this sort of exploratory poking doesn't really have anywhere else to go.

[Miss Cat Ears]

So, I'm not big on games with an excess of story, but people have been telling me for years to pick up this series.  I imagine it's all talk.  Am I wrong in assuming they're pretty text-heavy games?

[TA]

They are text adventures.  If not for the occasional point-and-click clue hunts they'd be visual novels.

[Catloaf]

They are text adventures.  If not for the occasional point-and-click clue hunts they'd be visual novels.

Except instead of porn, you get your client off the hook and at the same time convict someone else, because apparently they all take place in a country where the legal system is really fucked up.

EDIT: where someone must be found accountable for a crime at every trial.

[TA]

ie Japan.

[Kayma]

Yes yes a thousand times yes. I'm going to pick this game up after work tomorrow and play until I can't feel feelings anymore.

[jsnlxndrlv]

So, I'm not big on games with an excess of story, but people have been telling me for years to pick up this series.  I imagine it's all talk.  Am I wrong in assuming they're pretty text-heavy games?

They're very text-heavy. The basic mechanic of the game is "cross examination": a witness presents testimony—a narrative of the crime which contains some sort of inconsistency. By questioning vague points and presenting contradictory evidence, you force the witness to correct errors (intentional or otherwise) which eventually arrives at the truth. So at the most basic level, you're looking at some very close reading and logical interpretation of dialogue.

The games' real merit comes from the characters, though. Despite being cheesy, pandering, and occasionally insufferable, I care about these characters and want to know what else happens.

It helps that the absurdity is leavened with danger. Every case somehow involves a murder, the guilty party is usually executed, and many of the cases involve people important to the protagonists. Even when it's obvious that your client isn't going to be found guilty—only a few really important characters have died over the course of the series—finding out how and why your client wound up in this situation can be pretty gripping.

If you hate stories, then yeah, this series probably isn't for you. But I didn't expect to like these stories nearly as much as I do.

[Doom]

How to get hooked on Phoenix Wright:

Pick up one of the games and play the first case.

[Frocto]

Except for the second one

[Detonator]

It feels kind of silly to start a new thread just because I wanted to post two images and two sentences in the hope that somebody else is playing or wants to talk about it, but Kazz closed the "babble about a game you're [about to start] playing" thread, so this sort of exploratory poking doesn't really have anywhere else to go.

This makes me feel 1000% good about Kazz closing the thread because I know I would have to be digging through that awful thread for a messy threadsplit in a few days if you had put it there.

People should not ever feel silly about posting a new thread about a brand new game.

[Bongo Bill]

I wonder if I should get this. Skipped Ace Attorney 4 due to accounts suggesting the storyline was dominated by dumb coincidences and a conspiracy whose main purpose of which was to switch out the interesting characters with boring ones.

[Kayma]

I wonder if I should get this. Skipped Ace Attorney 4 due to accounts suggesting the storyline was dominated by dumb coincidences and a conspiracy whose main purpose of which was to switch out the interesting characters with boring ones.

Yeah, ok, agreed. Trucy and Klavier make up for it, though. Believe it.

[McDohl]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYcAHyvFg3E

Ladies and Gentlemen, the prosecutor for Ace Attorney 4.

[jsnlxndrlv]

I wonder if I should get this. Skipped Ace Attorney 4 due to accounts suggesting the storyline was dominated by dumb coincidences and a conspiracy whose main purpose of which was to switch out the interesting characters with boring ones.

The fourth game is kind of bad, but I feel like that assessment is an unfair reduction: Apollo Justice is about promoting Phoenix from the chessboard Knight to King: no longer getting pinned and revealing surprise checkmates in the thick of the action, he's stuck in the back ranks, hidden behind his pawns, trying to avoid trading too many pieces without getting put into check, again. The whole game's depressing because you're saddled with all these unfamiliar characters and slightly-crappy game mechanics, but the ghost of Phoenix Past is still sitting around playing cards and becoming an alcoholic.

Then the fourth case happens, and the game justifies its existence.

Criticisms I can stand behind: too much "find the hot-spot"; too little description of environments. What's more frustrating is the shoddy hitboxing in a couple scenes that makes investigation a chore. Apollo's special ability is hard to use and too limited in its application; it's kind of like Link refusing to even equip the hookshot until you're standing in front of a pit that has a hookshot target on the other side. And the game's final villain doesn't make any sense and is badly characterized; what's frustrating is that it's really easy to think of ways that his behavior might make sense, but you shouldn't need to do the game's job for it.

Anyway! I should actually go play the new game, so I'm going to do that now!

EDIT: I might actually like Klavier better than Edgeworth. Not sure if he stands up to Godot, though.

[Lady Duke]

Well, the fourth game is just pure trash.  I'm sorry--I played one or two cases and hated every second of it.  The first three games are just magical in how great they are though.  I highly recommend them, because they are funny, have good music and good art, and are just thoroughly enjoyable to play.

[Detonator]

AA4 is an immensely polarizing game.  It's not perfect, but I don't regret playing it either.  If you're all right with taking the game on its own, separate from the original trilogy, then go ahead and play it.  Otherwise, you should probably avoid it as it may taint your experience with some of the characters,

[Burrito Al Pastor]

I liked Apollo Justice just fine. I'm curious about how Edgeworth's game is going to interface into it in the timeline, though.

[Frocto]

The first three games are just magical in how great they are though.  I highly recommend them, because they are funny, have good music and good art, and are just thoroughly enjoyable to play.

The second Phoenix Wright game, barring case 2-4, is one of the worst videogames ever made. I actually tell people to skip it.

OBJECTIFIED

[Torgo]

The second Phoenix Wright game, barring case 2-4, is one of the worst videogames ever made. I actually tell people to skip it.

OBJECTIFIED

I would argue that 2-4 makes the whole thing worth it, but then, I pretty much liked JFA except for the circus case. So, so awful, and deserving of every bit of hate it gets.

[Esperath]

Start at 0m35s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xclhyE5lXkM#t=0m35s