Tim reflects on Phoenix Wright series, figuratively yells at younger self

March 19, 2013

By Tim Haight
Follow @TimJH215

When I first read about the Ace Attorney series in a Nintendo Power magazine, I initially tossed it aside as a shallow series from Japan with little depth.  

Sometimes I wish I could slap my past self in the face, but that isn’t the point here.  Instead, I’ll just say one word to the naive child who did not even want to give the games a try:

Phoenix Wright is your seemingly carefree, happy-go-lucky protagonist, who takes up the law profession due to an event from his childhood.  He takes on the gauntlet of prosecutors while defending his clients, who are almost always innocent of the crime in question.  

From the coma-inducing Manfred von Karma to the provocative coffee aficionado Godot, Phoenix faces a wide array of opponents.  

To say this is an accurate representation of America’s criminal justice system would be ludicrous.  If the far-fetched shenanigans that occur in the Ace Attorney courtroom were allowed in real life courtrooms, then our justice system would be screwed.  

There is literally an instance where you cross-examine a parrot.  A PARROT.  I don’t want to spoil why, but it happens.  Trust me.

The beauty of the game comes from its witty dialogue and art style.  

The 2-D animations allows for exaggerations in the character’s emotions and appearances.  Phoenix will sweat in a stressful situation, or his face will contort into a form of immense surprise when backed into a corner. And believe me, this happens a lot.    

Furthermore, the writing and characters create an atmosphere that isn't afraid to make fun of the world around it (one example: a programmer named Glen Elg worked for a computer company called Blue Screens Inc.). 

The two main areas of gameplay are the courtroom and investigation sequences.  

Both of these portions illustrate the humorous writing and excellent art style, though the investigation sequences can be difficult to follow because completing these sequences can be convoluted.  

However, the investigation sequences create interesting dialogues between Phoenix and the characters around him (one prevalent example is the “stepladder debate,” which occurs whenever you examine a stepladder in the environment). This is because you sometimes have to talk to certain characters before you can examine certain areas, which is not made clear all of the time.  

After the first game, the Magatama is added, which adds a new dimension to the investigation sequences by allowing Phoenix to see within the hearts of witnesses and “break their psyche-locks” in order to gain invaluable information for the trial.  

The courtroom sequences are always my favorite part of the games, and they involve presenting the evidence you have gathered in order to expose the lies within the testimonies of various witnesses and unmask the true conspirator of the events of that particular case.   

This is where you experience Phoenix under pressure, and it brings to light personality quirks that are not present in the investigation sequences. In addition to the fact that the courtroom scenes occur from a third person perspective, the investigations are from a first person perspective. 

Despite being a game that is lighthearted and silly, the main characters have a lot of depth to them.  

Miles Edgeworth, the first prosecutor you face, is connected to the childhood event that caused Phoenix to be a lawyer in the first place.  His past also becomes important throughout the events of the first game in the series, and even intertwines with the past of most of the main characters.  

Also, upon meeting your assistant for the first three games in Maya Fey, though masked by her silly personality and bottomless stomach, she proves to be a conflicted adolescent. She ends up bringing to light a number of issues associated with her relation to the Fey clan, a group of spirit mediums. 

Without spoiling the game, summoning spirits of the dead becomes an integral part to the game’s story.  

Even Phoenix himself has depth to him.

His past is chronicled through his thoughts and flashbacks throughout the series, particularly during the third game when you defend him as a young attorney named Mia Fey, who later becomes Phoenix’s mentor.  Her character is also complex, though most of the events that transpire in relation to her are spoiler-heavy.

We are not finished just yet.  

It’s hard, as you can tell, to discuss these games without spoiling portions of the story.  But it would be a shame to merely force feed the pros and cons of the games.  

These are games that you have to experience for yourself.  

Well, obviously you don’t have to, but I think you should.  

Why?  Because it’s a unique experience that you don’t see quite often from other games.  You don’t shoot soldiers, you don’t jump on enemies.  

You use evidence and creative thinking to beat your opponents in battles of wit.  That’s something you don’t see in every game out there.  So, to my past self who thought that this game was shallow and did not have depth:

("Objection!" image from Wallpoper.com)
("Hold it!" image from AceAttorney.Wikia.com)
("Take That!" image from AceAttorney.Wikia.com)
(Title screen image was taken in-game)