“Well Mr. Wright, would you care to explain how the witness could been at the crime scene during this time?”
Answering this question will be tricky to handle, the only way through was guarded the whole time and I can’t see another way he could get to that mountain. Let’s look at my options: “He climbed up”, “He snuck in through the gate”, and “He fell from the sky.” Well climbing up seems like the most plausible….oh no he has a pretty airtight alibi on why that’s not possible. Okay, let’s see if he just snuck in through the gate, maybe I was just missing something -- nope. No way he could get through there either. I must be approaching this the wrong way, just need to figure out how. Maybe I’ll try “He fell from the sky” just for the hell of it and see if I can figure out….oh wait. I have evidence that fits in with this claim. I think this guy really did fall from the sky.
Yep, Spirit of Justice is an Ace Attorney game alright. Capcom’s strange, yet strangely compelling series returns for the player to once again assume the role of a lawyer. Not a lawyer who beats up bad guys or has super powers. A lawyer who gathers evidence to prove his client’s innocence by using it to point out contradictions in court. From there, it’s pointing out why the witness brought up a contradiction and what it means about the case until the truth is revealed at the very end.
While this sounds dull and mundane, it is actually a very engaging experience. Witnesses break down in fun, over the top ways with each contradiction, to the point where some suffer from mental breakdowns. New entries also bring about their own gameplay element such as observing body language to point out what in a statement a character has lied about. These gameplay elements are added to stories which allow its characters to evolve in plots which explore new themes and ideas.
Well, every character except Phoenix Wright that is. Which is not a bad thing by any means, he had four games dedicated to defining his character and at this point is fine now being the mentor to his employees Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes. Really, Phoenix’s name should not be in the title as Apollo is the real star of the show. The game lures fans in thinking that the focus will be on Phoenix’s revival with his former assistant Maya Fey. He receives the most playtime, by far the most development, and even finishes the game yelling, “Objection!” a role usually reserved for Phoenix.
As someone who has always seen Apollo as the weakest of the playable characters in the franchise, I can safely say Spirit of Justice completely changed my mind on him. The game smartly lets you play an entire case as him unknowing how important he is to the plot so you can get a feel for who he is in and out of the court. You see his morality, his logic, and his hilariously dry wit in action before a twist is revealed halfway through the game, which initially is only a minor detail, but over time makes him central to the plot at hand.
The game even offers Apollo a perfect rival with Prosecutor Nahyuta Sahdmadhi. While not my personal favorite rival in the series, he is nonetheless a great addition to the series, rarely losing his cool and fairly often finding some kind of hole in his opponent’s defense. He’s never afraid to tell anyone how he really feels either, as he offers hilarious one liners mocking the player characters with absurd metaphors and describing the torture that awaits criminals. While I do wish his motivation was as complex as some past Ace Attorney prosecutors, he’s everything a character in the series should be: Intimidating, cunning, and hilarious.
In fact, this is probably the funniest game in the entire franchise. The series has always told plenty of great jokes with a good number of running gags, yet the new game takes advantage of the 3DS’ new capabilities far more than past titles to allow its more fluid animation to provide a good source of visual humor. The old characters also bring some of their funniest material to the table alongside plenty of new great characters such as the goofy rebel Datz and egocentric buffoon Paul Atishon, whom may or may not be influenced by Donald Trump.
True to Ace Attorney form, Spirit of Justice does not throw goofiness into its plot simply to be funny, but revels in it to make a point. These goofy characters make the absurdity of the fictional nation Khura'in where half the game takes place seem plausible. Here, rather than host a trial, the princess of the land does a ceremony to see the victim’s last moments before death, which the verdict is based on. Any defense attorney who fails to prove this client meanwhile, is sentenced to the same punishment (more often than not, execution).
This is not only for plot either, as analyzing the video go point out contradictions creates a challenging yet fun new approach to the series. It’s hardly perfect, however, as the game combines watching a murder play out with a testimony, which can get too convoluted at times. There are instances where I knew that something is wrong with the testimony or vision, yet could not piece it fit in with the other side. I would try random pieces of testimony or point to random parts, which could get annoying. However, these instances were few and while I feel this is the most challenging game in the franchise, it stays fair throughout most of the game.
The first case presents the new culture very well, showing how it has created a hostile guilty until proven innocent mentality and brandishes lawyers as being just as evil as criminals for giving people the benefit of the doubt. It shows beyond any doubt how broken their law system is. Then the second case happens. The game slaps the player in the face by giving a case in America whom a network executive decides to bury to get the public on his side. People judge her before a verdict is declared and even take shots at Apollo for defending her. It draws parallels to ask the question of how much better we truly are, despite what our law says. It shows how a simple newscast can make people want to destroy
My only wish is that Spirit of Justice spent more time exploring this idea. Rather, its third and fifth acts dedicated to the Khura’in justice system, which are excellently done, but the fourth case is kind of just filler. It offers decent fanservice while giving Athena her own case, whose role in this game is pretty minor compared to Phoenix and Apollo. I wish there was another case paralleling the US legal system with Khura’in rather than just a random case about noodles. It’s still very fun, just a bit of wasted potential.
What really matters anyway is the final act. An Ace Attorney final case always makes or breaks the game and this is no exception. The amount of twists thrown at the player is absolutely ludicrous, yet all of them feel natural and integral to the plot. Despite how many plot points feel like shoddy writing at first glance, they eventually lead to perfectly logical explanations to why everything played out this particular way. Well, logical in the confines of the game’s logic at least.
Ace Attorney 6 surprised me. I expected nothing more than a serviceable entry in the franchise, but ended with one of the most satisfying games I have played in years.
Spirit of Justice offers three pieces of DLC: Phoenix Wright: Asinine Attorney priced at $3.99, Apollo Justice: Asinine Attorney priced at $3.99, and an extra episode "Turnabout Time Traveler" priced at $5.99. The first piece is incredibly short at under a half an hour, but more than makes up for it with how hilarious it is. I won't spoil what makes it so funny, but it does justify its price. Apollo's episode, however, does not hold up to the same scrutiny. It's hardly longer and not nearly as funny as the first game while only offering a little bit of fanservice.
"Turnabout Time Traveler" is recommended for huge AA fans only. The game draws on a lot of fanservice bringing back many old characters, but is a little too predictable. It's still funny and has great character moments, but without the usual strong mystery it feels a bit lacking.
Side By Side - DLC