Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth | |
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Platforms | Nintendo DS |
Genre | Procedural point and click |
Score | 6 |
Buy from Amazon |
This game was a long time coming, but the true evolution of the Ace Attorney series has arrived with Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth.
After four games of playing as a defense attorney, we finally
experience what it's like to play as a prosecutor, particularly fan
favorite Miles Edgeworth. Miles has been a staple of the series but
mostly as an antagonist turned sort-of-friend, but now we get to take
direct control of him in a series of cases surrounding a smuggling ring
and a great thief.
I've played all the previous games in the series and reviewed the last two on this site, Trials and Tribulations and Apollo Justice.
While the games themselves are really long and haven't really evolved
gameplay wise over the last five years, I'm still continually drawn to
them year in and year out. They just have this great charm to them
that not only stems from great original writing, but also the best
translations in the business. A ton of effort goes into these games'
stories and characters, and it shows.
So here's my review of
Miles Edgeworth, in what could be the last game in the Ace Attorney
series since the team has apparently moved on to a new game called
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. I truly hope we see more from the
Phoenix Wright universe one day though.
Scores
Gameplay: 6
Well,
if you've played any of the previous games in the series, you pretty
much know what to expect: lots of dialogue and some point and
clicking. This is all well and good because the game is more about the
story it wants to tell than anything, but we finally get some much
needed upgrades to the gameplay engine. Yes, you can now directly
control your character and walk them around the scenes of the crime.
This is a very cool (and obvious) feature that really makes you feel
like you're a part of the world. No more menu after menu of you
telling the game you want to "Examine" or "Talk", now if you want to
talk to someone you walk up to them and press the A button. Seamless,
nice, and should have been around years ago.
This new freedom
actually seems to come with a price though, the game feels much more
linear now (if that was even possible). At least in the previous
iterations of the series there were some cases that required you to
explore and investigate multiple areas, piecing together various
clues. Now in Investigations, you're limited to just one area at a
time, and for most of the game, just one screen. Find all the clues on
that one screen, talk to everyone, and boom, the game moves on. I'm
not sure if this is better or worse, it really depends on if you like
to just progress the story or be challenged in putting things together
and lots of guessing. I suppose I'm actually in the first group, and
enjoyed the speedier rhythm of the game.
Miles Edgeworth's
gimmick is that he can use logic to piece together his thoughts. It's
relatively simple: after collecting what you think are two related
ideas, just select and "connect" them together. If you're successful,
the story progresses and maybe another thought is revealed. It makes a
lot of sense considering the genre and characters, but it is just kind
of... boring. The game's other gimmick is this simulator that allows
our heroes to recreate crime scenes, almost like a holodeck out of Star Trek.
It's severely underused though in my opinion, I can only think of three
times in the entire game where it's brought out. Weird.
Fun Factor: 4
If
you're a fan of the series, then you'll love Miles Edgeworth, otherwise
there will just be cameo after cameo of characters and most of it won't
make any sense. Sure, the game can stand alone, but unless you're
familiar with the characters' backstories, you won't enjoy it nearly as
much as someone else who has played them all. Plus, these games aren't
really that much "fun". They have their moments, of course, but
they're too far away from each other to keep the momentum going.
Graphics and Sound: 9
With
the addition of actual character sprites on the field, Investigations
actually feels more like a real video game than just an interactive
novel. It's cool seeing all the main characters standing around,
interacting, and generally just being an actual presence. The
character sprites are again top notch and the animations are
incredible. It's worth breaking down an opponent just to see their
ultimate shocked reaction. The series' excellent soundtrack returns
with music for every intense situation the story can offer up.
Story: 7
I
don't play a lot of games for their story, but the Ace Attorney series
is one of them. I'm continually drawn to the characters and
situations, zany and unbelievable as they are. The best part of Miles
Edgeworth is that almost none of it takes place in the courtroom. If
there's one thing I'm totally sick of in the series, it's that you can
spend hours and hours of reading dialogue in the courtroom with no
change in scenery. It can be incredibly boring and monotonous.
Investigations places all the battle of wits and logic out on the
field, and mixes in lots of examining and investigations in between.
This breaks up the rhythm a ton and kept me intrigued as I never knew
what was coming up next.
The game's story is presented rather
uniquely for the series, most of the cases take place in something like
a three day span, but their order is all mixed up. The context of the
mixed up order makes total sense in the game though, as the writers
reveal what they want you to know when they want you to know it.
There's also the requisite flashback case that is essential in filling
in all the backstories necessary to complete the story arc.
Like
the last game in the series, Apollo Justice, there are a ton of cameos
and returning characters. Unfortunately, there's absolutely no sign of
Phoenix Wright himself, who isn't even named anywhere in the game, just
referenced as "that guy". I found this really disappointing that they
couldn't even find one line of dialogue somewhere to update us about
his situation. No Phoenix also means no Maya, Pearl, Trucy, or
Apollo. Basically the entire last game was kicked to the curb and
forgotten, at least in terms of Miles Edgeworth. The other usual cast
of characters is around though, and some of them are as obnoxious as
ever (Wendy Oldbag!).
Overall, the story is pretty godo, but it's
lacking in any real character development. Even the new character who
"hates prosecutors" still admits to openly hating them in the
epilogue. Okay... was there any advancement in characterization at
all? Huge missed opportunity that could have put this game in a realm
of its own.
Overall: 6
Like the last few games in the
series, if you're a fan of Ace Attorney, this is a must-play, otherwise
you will not miss anything by skipping it. Probably worth checking out
Ghost Trick when that comes out later this year if you're intrigued by
the premise though, or start over with the first Phoenix Wright game.
You're guaranteed over 100 hours of courtroom drama if you start there.