Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a novel visual adventure video game developed by Capcom. It was originally released for Game Boy Advance in 2001 in Japan, and has since been ported to various platforms. The Nintendo DS version, titled Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten in Japan, was released in 2005 in Japan and North America, and in 2006 in Europe, and includes an English option. This game is the first entry in the Ace Attorney series , and has received several sequels and spin-offs.
The following story is Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney who tries to get his client declared "innocent". Among other characters is the Phoenix boss, Mia Fey; his assistant and Mia's sister, Maya; and prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. Players control Phoenix through two types of sections: investigation and trial court trials. During the investigation, they collected information and evidence, and during the trial, they cross-examined witnesses and answered questions from judges, prosecutors, and witnesses. The story is divided into five cases, the fifth being introduced in the Nintendo DS version to take advantage of gameplay elements using the touchscreen handheld and not available in the original Game Boy Advance version.
Game development is handled by a seven-person team for ten months. It was directed and written by Shu Takumi, and was originally planned to be a Game Boy Color game about private detectives. The game is designed to be simple, because Takumi wants it pretty easy even for her mother to play. While the original version of the game takes place in Japan, localization is set in the United States; this becomes a problem when localizing the next game, where the Japanese setting is clearer.
The game is largely received positively by critics, who appreciate its premises, writings, characters and presentations. The game has been commercially successful both in Japan and internationally, with the North American release selling higher than expectations and being hard to find in stores soon after its release. Other game-based media have been created: manga series aired in 2006; a film adaptation of the game, titled Ace Attorney , airing in 2012; and an anime series adaptation began airing in 2016.
Video Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Gameplay
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a visual novel adventure game where players take on the role of Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney, and try to defend their clients in five cases. These cases are played in a certain order; after completing the case, the player can play it back in any order. Each case begins with an opening cinematic showing murder; Shortly afterwards, the player was given the task of defending the main suspect of the case. Gameplay is divided into two types of parts: investigation and trial trial space.
During an investigation, which usually occurs before or between experiment sessions, players gather information and evidence by speaking with characters such as clients, witnesses, and police. Players can move around the cursor to check things in the environment. Using the menus, players can move to different locations, check evidence, and provide evidence to other characters; by showing certain pieces of evidence to some witnesses, players can gain access to new information. In the case of the fifth game, made for the DS version and used in all subsequent releases, the player can check the proofs closer, rotate to view them from all sides and zoom in or out using touchscreen controls; they can also move the cursor to investigate certain parts of the evidence. The fifth case also features a forensic test that players can use at the scene to find clues: players can spray luminol by tapping the area they want to check on the touch screen, allowing players to see invisible blood stains; and they can touch the touch screen to apply aluminum dust powder to look for fingerprints. After applying it, they can blow into the microphone to open the mold. After the players gather enough evidence, the investigation ends.
In trial courtrooms, players aim to prove their client's innocence. To do so, they cross-check witnesses; during this cross-examination, the player aims to find lies and inconsistencies in the testimony of witnesses. They can go back and forth between different statements in testimony, and can suppress witnesses for more details about a statement. When players find inconsistencies, they can present evidence contrary to the statement. In the Nintendo DS version, players can choose to press and present using vocal commands, and in the Wii version, players have the option to present evidence by swinging the Wii Remote. At certain points, players must answer questions from judges, witnesses, or prosecutors through multiple choice choices, or by presenting evidence supporting the Phoenix claims. On the screen, a number of exclamation marks are displayed; if the player presents the wrong evidence, one of the exclamation points disappears. If all disappears, the client is found guilty and the player must restart. When players solve cases, they unlock new ones to play.
Maps Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Plot
Phoenix Wright, a newly appointed defense attorney at Fey and Co. law firm, agreed to represent his best friend Larry Butz, who was accused of murdering his girlfriend, Cindy Stone. With the help of his boss and mentor, Mia Fey, he proves that Frank Sahwit, the witness of the prosecutor's star, is the real killer. Shortly afterwards, Mia was killed in her office, and her younger sister Maya was arrested after police found her name on a note left by Mia. Phoenix took his case, facing Miles Edgeworth, the equally talented prosecutor. Phoenix managed to identify Redd White, a professional blackmailer, as a real killer, only to find himself accused of murder. Representing himself, he confronts White in court and gets justice for Mia. His reputation was established, Phoenix took another case, this time defending Will Powers, the lead actor on a children's TV show, countering allegations that he killed his co-star Jack Hammer. In a strange change, it was revealed that Dee Vasquez, the show's producer, committed murder in self-defense after Hammer tried to kill him and frame Powers for his death.
On Christmas Eve, Edgeworth was arrested for the murder of lawyer Robert Hammond. He initially refused Phoenix's help, but eventually gave up. Manfred von Karma, Edgeworth's mentor, has been appointed as a special prosecutor. After Phoenix learned that another man, Yanni Yogi, shot Hammond, he found that Karma gave him a gun. Years earlier, Edgeworth's father, Gregory, convinced a judge to punish Karma for his mistake, ruining his immaculate record. Unable to face a defect in his inheritance, Karma kills Gregory in cold blood, leaving Miles to believe he is responsible. Phoenix explained that Edgeworth motivated him to become a lawyer; when the young Phoenix accused of stealing money, the crime that caused Larry to be the culprit, Edgeworth persuaded his teacher not to punish him. After the murder of his father, however, Edgeworth, motivated by the hatred of criminals, decided to become a disciple of Karma instead. After Karma suffered a nuisance in court and admitted cover-up, Edgeworth was released. However, Edgeworth decided to rethink whether he should resume his previous duties. Meanwhile, Maya, who has acted as Phoenix's assistant, announces that she will return to her home village to complete her training as a spirit medium.
In the fifth and final case added to the DS and subsequent releases, Phoenix, now running Fey's firm as Wright and Co., was hired by teenager Ema Skye to defend his sister Lana, head of the prosecutor's office, in the case of detective body Bruce Goodman, found in the trunk of Edgeworth's car. Together with Ema, Phoenix traces the origins of the murder to an incident two years earlier, in which a serial killer allegedly killed Edgeworth's predecessor while trying to escape from custody. Damon Gant, a senior police captain, is tricked into admitting that he traps Ema for the murder to manipulate Lana to do his bidding. Although Lana is released from murder charges, she agrees to resign from her post to face judgment for protecting Gant. With Ema sent to Europe to continue training as a forensic investigator, Phoenix hopes to continue his career defending the innocent.
Development
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was developed by a team of seven people, and it took ten months to make it. The film is directed by Shu Takumi and produced by Atsushi Inaba, with music by Masakazu Sugimori, character design by Kumiko Suekane, and art by Tatsuro Iwamoto. In 2000, after Takumi finished his work at Dino Crisis 2, his boss at the time, Shinji Mikami, gave him six months to make whatever type of game he wanted. Takumi initially joins Capcom who wants to create a mystery and adventure game, and feels that this is a great opportunity for him to make his mark as a creator.
At first, the game is planned to be released for Game Boy Color, but after the development team is shown the screen and the Game Boy Advance Mega Man Battle Network , Takumi feels that Game Boy The advance will be perfect for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney . The game is designed to be simple, because Takumi wants it pretty easy even for her mother to play. Because it's less common when using professional voice actors, game sound clips are provided by the development team: each staff member records every required sample for the game, and then is best used. Takumi uses the privilege as a director to portray himself as Phoenix, however, while Edgeworth is voiced by Iwamoto, and von Karma by Sugimori.
The game was originally going to be a detective game, with Phoenix as a private detective who found the body in his client's office and was arrested; as the lawyer assigned to the case was useless, Phoenix took his own defense. A staff member suggested that Phoenix should be a hamster; while this is not the case, this early version of Phoenix has a pet hamster. It was decided from the beginning of development to refer to the game as "Surviban: Attorney Detective Naruhodo-kun", with "surviban" being portmanteau "survival" and Japanese word "saiban" ( >, "trial" or "trial") . Among other names that are considered "Boogie-Woogie Innocence" and "Bingo Bengo", with "bingo" refers to answering correctly and "bengo" ( ?? ) be Japanese for legal representation. At one point, Takumi realizes that finding and unraveling contradictions is not related to detective work, and feels that the main setting of the game should be the courtroom. The game was in danger of being canceled at one point, as two staff members decided to leave the company, but the Takumi and Inaba division leaders got members of the Resident Evil development team to help them part. -time. Write
Takumi feels that the best way to write a mystery with a good climax is to reveal the clues, and then draw them together into one conclusion, and not have many final possibilities. He says that the biggest challenge with it is to make games and stories work together; the goal is to make players feel like they have pushed the story forward on their own, with their own choice, even if the game is linear. While writing the episode, Takumi ranks each after his interests: the first episode is the most important, to ensure that players love the game; the second episode is the second most important, to strengthen the interest of players; and the end is the third most important. In general, each scenario finishes before anything else is done; after this, the characters are designed based on the scenario, and then the customized dialogue Takumi as needed to ensure that it suits the design. At this point, it was also decided what scenes would have a special illustration made for them; Takumi drew a rough sketch of them, and also drew a storyboard for the opening episode, which consisted of a series of detailed images showing what was going on.
In Takumi's early draft, the second episode, "Turnabout Sisters", is the first episode of this game. The development team decided that it did not work as well as something that would ease players into the game, because of its length among other factors. Therefore, Takumi wrote a shorter episode, "The First Turnabout", which was used as the first episode of the game. Takumi wants players to focus on the sensation of "nailing the culprit", especially for the first episode; because of this, the perpetrators of the first episode are shown in the opening of the episode, as this is the most direct way Takumi thinks of doing it. According to Takumi, it is a challenge to write an episode, as, in addition to reducing it, he has to set the world of Ace Attorney and the type of character that players will encounter. The third episode is written for the character of Miles Edgeworth, and the fourth episode theme is "reviving the relationship". In it, Takumi tries to illustrate the strong friendship between Phoenix and Edgeworth; he wondered if that's what people got from him, saying that some people interpret the bond between Phoenix and Edgeworth as "a very passionate bond." Because of these two episodes, Takumi considers Edgeworth as the game's protagonist. The classroom trial in the fourth episode of this game is based on a real event: when Takumi is in second grade, he has found a 5 yen coin and put it in his pocket; his teacher accused him of stealing it from other students, and made him apologize to him.
Takumi spent little time writing backstory for Phoenix before writing a game story, and instead made dialogue and developed the personality of Phoenix as he left. Takumi says that Phoenix is ​​Shu Takumi in everything except the name, with a dialogue similar to what Takumi said in every situation in the game; he attributes this to him as the first author who did not think about characterization development before writing the story. Takumi did not write backstory for Dick Gumshoe; on the contrary, the character and personality of Gumshoe just "falls into place" after Takumi decides that the character will end the sentence with "buddy". Other aspects of the character appear organically when Takumi writes his story; for example, at one point Edgeworth says that he will deduct Gumshoe's salary, which is part of the Gumshoe backstory. Takumi comes with a Mayan couple character because he thinks it would be more fun for players to have another character with them, give them advice, rather than investigate themselves. Initially, he will be a lawyer in training, preparing for the exam.
Takumi finds the first defendant of the game, Larry Butz, to be very difficult to write, and had to rewrite several times to him. Initially, Larry would be the "average Joe" character, who only appeared in the fourth episode of the game, but after being included in the first episode, Suekane and Iwamoto said Takumi to give the character "some perseverance". After this, Takumi writes him as a "barbarous man" who has a habit of telling people that he will kill them. Some of the top brass at Capcom did not like this, so Takumi turned her into a character who regretted her fate in life, saying "I'm going to die!" or that the situation kills him. The culprit of the third episode will initially be a male, until Suekane shows that all the criminals in the game are male. The development team is arguing about what to do with female characters now; some staff members thought it would be strange to have a female character to be a director of an action show, and some wondered what to do with the director's role if she could not fill it. In the end, Takumi changed the character of the playwright to a director, and made the culprit "strong, glamorous, fashionable, and level-headed".
Nintendo DS version
The fifth episode of this game, "Rise from the Ashes", is not included in the original version of the game; it was made four years later, as part of the Nintendo DS version of the game. The fifth episode was produced by Minae Matsukawa, under the supervision of Inaba and Mikami. The new piece of music for "Rise from the Ashes" was composed by Naoto Tanaka. While writing the episode, Takumi wants it to be related to Edgeworth's loss in the second game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, so he thinks about what would be the most damaging thing to Edgeworth's soul. He decides corruption and treason from within the prosecutor's office, despite the seriousness of the topic. Jake Marshall's character was created in parallel with Godot, in analogy between Skye's brother and Fey's sister. The idea to include the use of the Nintendo DS system microphone comes from Capcom America's staff members; Japanese staff do not like the idea of ​​adding unnecessary features, but Takumi thinks it's important to make American viewers happy, so it's included as an optional feature.
Release
The original version of the game was released for Game Boy Advance in Japan on October 12, 2001. The Nintendo DS port, entitled Gyakuten Saiban: Yomigaeru Gyakuten ( ??? ????? , "Turnabout Trial: Revived Turnabout") , was released in Japan on September 15, 2005, and includes new episodes and English language selections; English choice is a selling point in Japan, with the hope that Japanese people learning English will play the game. The North American and European releases followed on October 11, 2005, and March 31, 2006, respectively. The PC Port of the Game Boy Advance version, developed by a company called Daletto, was released in Japan in episodic format, beginning on March 18, 2008. Yomigaeru Gyakuten was later released on Wii via WiiWare in Japan on December 15, 2009, in North America on January 11, 2010, and in Europe on January 15, 2010. The fifth episode was released separately on WiiWare, on March 16, 2010, in Japan, in May 2010 in Europe, and on May 24, 2010, in North America. The iOS version Yomigaeru Gyakuten was released in Japan on December 21, 2009, and in the West on May 24, 2010.
The high-definition version of Ace Attorney's first three games, Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright Trilogy HD, was released for iOS and Android in Japan on February 7, 2012, and for iOS in the West on May 30, 2013. Another collection of the first three games, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy, was released for Nintendo 3DS in Japan on April 17, 2014, in North America on December 9, 2014, and in Europe at 11 December 2014.
Localization
The localization of the game was handed over to a company called Bowne Global, and was handled by writer Alexander O. Smith, who was not familiar with Ace Attorney series before doing it, and editor Steve Anderson. While the Japanese version of the game takes place in Japan, the localized version is set in the United States. Usually they will let the arrangement be unclear while adapting cultural differences that are not understood by the target audience, but since one episode involves a time zone, they must determine where the match takes place, and choose the United States without thinking much about me t. This becomes a problem in the future, where the Japanese setting is clearer. All voice roles in localized versions of the game are handled by the localization staff; Takumi wants to do English voice for Phoenix, but is handled by Ben Judd.
Smith faced some problems with the use of word games; in the Japanese version, each character has a name that depends on the Japanese word game. While Smith and Anderson have a lot of freedom when it comes to localizing the names of minor characters, they should discuss the names of key actors with Capcom. Smith came up with a list of first and last names for Phoenix, with the first suggestion being "Roger Wright"; "Phoenix" is also on the list, but further down. Smith feels that "Wright" should be a family name of the characters, because the surname Phoenix in the Japanese version - "Naruhod?", Meaning "I see" or "I understand" - is used many times in the game text as a joke. The reason for the suggested first name "Roger" is alliteration, and "Roger" is a good source of jokes. A staff member of the development team, thinking that "Roger Wright" is too similar to "Roger Rabbit". Among the other suggested names are "Pierce", "Xavier", "Marcus", and "Zane". In the end, "Phoenix" was chosen because it sounded very heroic.
Since the game dialogue consists of many word games and misunderstandings, Smith will analyze the scene before writing it: he will see what the scene wants to achieve, and where the beats are in it. Once he has the scene structure in his head, he will write it; sometimes he can take advantage of genuine Japanese dialogue, but most of the time he has to come up with new ideas of his own. At some point, the English word game is inspired by the Japanese word game. At some point, it's not possible to do wordplay in the same place as in the Japanese version, so Smith will change the scene structure a bit. At another point, Smith comes up with a joke or a funny line, and changes the scene to make a joke. About half of the jokes are rewritten based on the characters in the scene, rather than the Japanese joke translation.
Reception
Most versions of the games have received "favorable general reviews" according to Metacritic review reviewers, with aggregate scores ranging from 70s to 80s out of 100; an exception is the Wii version, which holds an overall score of 67/100, which shows "mixed or average review".
Famitsu praised the idea of ​​game-making based around experiments, which they found innovative, and found it joyful and fun to unravel the lies of witnesses. Thomas Bowskill at Nintendo Life says that the game has changed his idea of ​​what can make great games, and calls it a masterpiece. Carrie Gouskos in GameSpot says that this game revitalizes the genre of adventure games. Michael Cole at Nintendo World Report says that game design and interface will make it a good choice for non-gamers as well. Bowskill called the investigation a tedious and boring part, but said they were outnumbered by feelings of achievement from resolving the case. Craig Harris at IGN feels that the main problem with the game is its linearity, and how the puzzle is simple because of how the player can stop the witness's testimony all the time. Cole also feels that his game is very linear, and that it is unclear how to proceed at certain points. He says that, because of the story-driven way it is, the game has a low replay value; he still feels that players may want to repeat it after a few years.
Bowskill appreciates the 2D presentation of the investigation, saying that they are well suited to the game and it may be difficult to find clues if 3D graphics have been used instead. Gouskos appreciated the presentation of this game, calling it "unique and remarkable"; He said that music and sound effects work well with dramas, and that cross-examination charts, showing two opposing lawyers along with the sound effects of a drawn sword, provide an atmosphere similar to a fighting game. Harris also likens the style of fighting games. Gouskos says that graphics, though simple, work well to show the mood and personality of each character. Harris said that the visuals were well drawn and that the soundtrack was "made well", but felt that the animated characters were very limited. Cole says that graphics, though dated, have "visual talent". He appreciates the opening cinematic for the cases, which he thinks are both stylish and ambiguous, and the character animation, which he calls "priceless". Nadia Oxford at USgamer says that Ace Attorney's early games, despite the loud "sounds" of the Game Boy Advance version, have spawned some of the most iconic music themes in the video game; he recorded "Detective Coming From Wild West" - Jake Marshall's theme - as a very good song.
Bowskill finds the mood of the game to be funny, and says that the game never gets stale; it connects this with the diversity of game characters. Gouskos calls the game characters cohesive, over-the-top, and unique. Harris calls the story interesting and well written, citing characters, situations, and dialogues. Cole was impressed by their mystery and their resolution, calling them "novel, unexpected and sensible". He also cherishes the character development bow through the game, which he feels gives pacing and makes a cohesive case. He calls English localization "top-notch", and appreciates his humor.
Wii, iOS and Nintendo 3DS versions
Spencer McIlvaine on Nintendo Life is disappointed with how the Wii version has only one use for motion control, and how low-resolution versions of handheld games are used. And Whitehead at Eurogamer also thinks that motion control is just a small addition, and is disappointed by how little effort Capcom has put into port compared to LucasArts remake of The Secret of Monkey Island. Craig Harris at IGN calls it "very lazy", hoping it includes enhancing sharper art and text. The way Ellison in Eurogamer calls the Trilogy HD port "indifferent", says that animation is slow at times, that high definition graphics take away from the pixel art charm in earlier versions, and that there is a delay after the button is pressed.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is better received. Bob Mackey in the USGamer appreciated how most of the games were untouched, while getting small improvements, such as the ability to read text at the player's own pace rather than waiting to "slowly [crawl] on screen". He said that the game's graphics improvement was hit or lost, with certain characters, including Phoenix and Edgeworth, looking great, while the initially deficient element, such as the judge's beard, was "slightly skewed". Thomas Whitehead at Nintendo Life says that Capcom has done a "solid job" with ports, and appreciates the 3D stereoscopic effects and game fidelity to the original; he, however, feels that the lack of an orchestra soundtrack similar to that in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies is a small disappointment. Geoff Thew at Hardcore Gamer calls the updated art beautiful, and notes that it has no animation-related issues similar to Trilogy HD on iOS. He appreciated the 3D effect, which he said worked well all the time, but said that the window frame in the detention center was not given on its own layer; He said that it was not a big deal, but it was annoying because players often visited the area. He also commented on the lack of a remastered soundtrack, calling it a disappointment.
Accolades
Eurogamer ranked this game as the 18th best video game of 2005. Destructoid named this game the 48th best video game of the 2000s, citing gameplay and courtroom characters, calling it "one of the most unique and surprising games" in this decade. They feel that the third game in the series has the best story, but thinks it is too dependent on the story event in the previous Ace Attorney game; in the meantime, they found Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney to be fresh and have a challenging case, making it the best in the series. Game Informer named it the 178th best video game of all time in 2009. Adventure Gamer named it the 29th best adventure game of all time in 2011, citing its story, character and creative game. In 2015, GamesRadar named it the 55th best video game of all time, citing music, stories and look, calling it "The Masterpiece of Shu Takumi".
Sales
The Game Boy Advance version is the 163th best-selling video game of the year in Japan in 2001, with 62,169 copies sold. Another 37,143 copies were sold in Japan in 2003, from the re-release of the Game Boy Advance price-budget, making it the best-selling 277 game of the year in Japan. The Nintendo DS version is the 127th best-selling game of the year in Japan in 2005, with 101,902 copies sold, 133th in 2006, with 113,000 copies, 122 in 2007, with 141,681 copies, 139 in 2008, with 96,146 copies , 244 in 2009, with 47,081 copies, 557 in 2010, with 12,586 copies sold, and 650 in 2011, with 9,460 copies sold.
Demand for Nintendo DS version releases from North America is higher than expected, which led to the game being hard to find in stores soon after its release; the third print was sold out in about a week. In February 2007, 100,000 copies were shipped in North America, of which Capcom vice president of marketing found surprising. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is the 139th best-selling game of the year in Japan in 2014, with 46,819 copies sold.
Legacy
After game releases, sequels, spin-offs, and crossovers have been created. The second and third games in the series, Justice for All and Trials and Tribulations were released in 2002 and 2004. Fourth game, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney >, featuring the new protagonist Apollo Justice, released in 2007. The fifth game, Dual Destinies, was released in 2013, and the sixth game Spirit of Justice was released on in 2016. Two spin-offs starring Miles Edgeworth, Ace Attorney Investigations and Ace Attorney Investigations 2, were released in 2009 and 2011, and one featuring the Ancestors of Phoenix Ry ? Nosuke Naruhod, Dai Gyakuten Saiban , released in 2015. A crossover with Professor Layton series, titled Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney , released in 2012.
A game-based manga, written by Kenji Kuroda and drawn by Kazuo Maekawa, premiered in 2006 at Bessatsu Young Magazine. It is released in North America by Kodansha in five volumes from June 2011 to July 2012. The third and fourth volume of the second two ranked 2 on The New York Times Manga Best Seller Lists for one week every year 2011 and 2012, each. A live action adaptation action film, titled Ace Attorney , premiered in Japanese cinema on February 11, 2012. It was produced in Toei Company, and directed by Takashi Miike. An anime series adaptation based on the first original trilogy in April 2016.
Note
References
External links
- Official website
- "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney". The Visual Novel database
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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