I got the chance to play Ace Attorney on my desktop earlier this quarter with a group of friends.
For those who are not familiar with the game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a popular adventure game series known for its storytelling, quirky characters, and courtroom drama. The premise of the game revolves around the player assuming the role of Phoenix Wright, a defense attorney, as he gather evidence, interview witnesses, and defend his clients in court. Originally released for the Game Boy Advance, Ace Attorney has since been adapted to various platforms, including Nintendo, iOS, Android, and PC. The series is developed and published by Capcom.
As for first impressions, I thought that the soundtrack and animations felt pretty lively. It is oddly satisfying when you hear Phoenix call out “Objection!”. After watching the assigned video, I felt a deeper appreciation since they were so intentional with their frames given their budget. I also enjoy the overall game loop of the game which involves searching for clues and then resolving the case through the cross examination of the witness. It kept me engaged the entire time which I was surprised about since typically, I am not the biggest fan of narrative games. With most games under this genre, I find myself skipping/skimming through dialogue and cutscenes.
I agree with many points that assigned video points out. I think that Ace Attorney is a good example of a budgeted game done right. Ace Attorney thrives on its clever use of limited resources. The game relies on expressive, stylized scenes that capture and convey the emotions/events in the courtroom. Similarly, the character designs are archetypal, allowing the developers to easily show personalities without explicitly stating it and introducing it. For example, when the prosecutors call Frank to the stand, we can instantly tell that he is suspicious from his sleazy (con man) feel and his grin. This is also emphasized through the characters animation and sound effects. Objections are flourished and feel dynamic. When you are closer to solving the case, the nervous fidgeting of witnesses and their expressions builds up a narrative. These strategic use of sound and visuals is why Ace Attorney is the source of many iconic poses and memes. Additionally the well-timed and exaggerated animations are also visually compelling and serves as an incentive for play.
I think one of the greatest strengths is the ability to blend narrative with gameplay. Rather than the narrative being an element of afterthought it is clear that the game is built around the story. Since you are a defense attorney, the narrative becomes more of a game mechanic and something you have to engage with in order to succeed. This approach makes the story feel less like a forced cutscene and more like a necessary step which I appreciate. This and Ace Attorney’s concise and easy-to-understand narration makes the game a lot more engaging for me. The game avoids lengthy expositions and instead opts for short, clear bursts of text. This keeps the pace brisk and helps you follow along.
Overall, I really enjoyed playing Ace Attorney. I think it has changed my perspective on narrative driven games and I will definitely keep more of an open mind to them for future plays.
It’s great to hear about your experience with Ace Attorney on your desktop! Your detailed insights really highlight what makes the game so special. The way you describe the satisfaction of hearing Phoenix call out “Objection!” and the clever use of limited resources really captures the essence of the game. I agree that the game’s ability to blend narrative with gameplay is one of its strongest points, making the story an integral part of the experience rather than just background noise. Your reflections on the expressive character designs and strategic use of sound and visuals are spot on. Ace Attorney truly excels in creating a compelling, engaging experience that keeps players invested from start to finish. I’m glad to hear that it changed your perspective on narrative-driven games, and I hope you continue to enjoy more titles in this genre!
Hi Phuc!
I enjoyed reading your review, it was super thoughtful and pointed out things that I didn’t notice at first but totally agree with! For example, how satisfying it feels when Phoenix yells, “Objection!”, as well as how engaging the overall game loop is. I am definitely the same with these type of narrative games, where I am usually pressing quickly through the dialogue to get to the action. But Ace Attorney was unique in that the action was the dialogue, which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the scene! I would love to play more narrative games to see if they are the same 🤔
Hi Phuc!
I enjoyed reading your blog post as you pointed out several factors that makes this game great. I loved how you pointed out that the game is wonderful at blending narrative and gameplay as I often get bored of games that separate them (sadly, I’m the type of person who fast skips all the cutscenes in narrative games). You’re right in that I was just playing the game and I got to understand the storyline along the way. The addition of engaging art and short sentences also definitely helped, but after you explicated it the fact that I feel like I have the attention span of a toddler really kicked in since the way that Ace Attorney portrayed their story was the only way I could actually stay engaged was maybe embarrassing on my part…
Anyways, I agree with you that this game has changed my perspective on narration games, and I hope to see more games similar to Ace Attorney in the future. Thanks for your blog post!
See, this post actually got me thinking about the games use of text in particular, and I think you’re completely right. The text moves at a very high default pace, and it’s short lines most of the time rather than long elaborate paragraphs. There’s a bunch of JRPGs where one of my very first actions is to go immediately into the settings menu and change the text speed from “normal” to “fast,” and I never once considered that with this game (I don’t even know if it is a setting)? It’s a rather minor thing, but it works a lot to add to the ‘tension’ and overall frantic pace of a case.