I got the Ace Attorney 3 in the mail and beat it like all the other ones insanely fast because of the addictive gameplay and the amazing storytelling. Here are my thoughts on the trilogy and the three games that make it.
What is the worst game in the trilogy?
After playing the 3 games in the series, the one that I could look back on with confidence and say that the Ace Attorney 2: Justice for All is the worst one. While I admit that the storytelling improves quite a bit and the cases overall have more twists and turns, it is disjointed. I look at the game and each case really has no connection with each other and it makes the second game feel more episodic and with less cohesion. The game also has a distinction of having the worst cast of the Phoenix Wright games, with most of the new cast being forgettable. It also stands that it does have the worst soundtrack in the series with some exceptions. With that said, it has Case 4, which is one of the best cases ever.
What is the best game in the trilogy?
My statement is almost predictable in what I think is the best in the trilogy, it is without a doubt Ace Attorney 3: Trials and Tribulations. The game smashes the second game into pieces and stampedes over the original game. The storytelling is an evolution of the second game and it is a huge improvement. The opening sequence doesn't do a "phoenix wright" anymore and presents the killer, instead showing more about the event which leads to more questions than answers. The original game was great because it presents a bunch of court cases, with the audience being pleasantly suprized with the connection between Case 2 and 3. The third game steps it up 10 notches because 3 out of the 5 cases have to do with each other, with much stronger ties with the previous game. The game feels far less episodic and more like a coherent VERY EPIC storyline. The cast of characters is easily the best in a Phoenix Wright game, the new characters aren't forgettable, very likable and have personality to spare. If you don't know who Viola, Iris, Dahlia, Mask DeMasque, and Bikini you will know when you play the game. It also has case 4 and case 5, which is fanservice heaven, I don't mean "fanservice" in panty shots, but fanservice in terms of characters, events and storytelling. The music is also easily the best in the series by a long shot. The game is also known because it has what is easily the most evil villain to ever grace a Phoenix Wright game, the only way they could beat this is if they put someone even more twisted in the next trilogy.
What would be the best case?
The most intense case in the game Franchise is Case 4 from Ace Attorney 2: Justice for All. From the beginning to the end it was as intense as watching a space shuttle launch or a roller coaster going at 120 mph. It is the most intense one, but not the best one. The best one is without a doubt Case 5 from Ace Attorney 3: Trials and Tribulations. Case 5 has the strongest storytelling and some of the best character development in the series. It answers all the unanswered plot holes from the frist two games, and it is fanservice galore with the best of the best in the cast helping Phoenix Wright go through the saga. In Japan the title is appropriately known as "Magnificent Turnabout" but the english title is poorly named "Bridge to Turnabout" hopefully this gets fixed in the USA edition, since they are allegedly fixing many problems with spelling. The case also features what is the MOST EVIL character to ever grace the saga. It also gives a huge sense of closure with the storyline and gives you a warm a fuzzy feeling.
Other Thoughts
Phoenix Wright
- The Easiest game in the franchise and has one of the stronger soundtracks in the franchise.
- It was also the shortest when you don't count case 5.
- Edgeworth was the main character of development in the game
Ace Attorney: Justice for All
- Worst game in the franchise, felt more episodic.
- Worst soundtrack in the franchise
- Worse cast of characters.
- Much harder than Phoenix Wright.
- The main point of character development is the Fey Family
Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations
- Easily the best in the franchise, the tight knit storytelling also makes it the most epic.
- It is the hardest game in the franchise
- Ironically, it is the only Ace Attorney game I ever played where case 2 and 3 are harder than the last two cases.
- It also uses the Psyche locks a lot more naturally and it flows more than the second game
- It has the best cast of characters and villains
- The main point of character development is Mia, Phoenix, and the Fey Family
- It is also the longest of the Phoenix Wright games.
I love her character design by Kosuke Fujishima, the guy who made Oh My Goddess.
In the game she was tought to be soldier, repressing her feminine side. Leaving a cool exterior that doesn't show what she really feels.
The most important part is that she is a really likable character in my eyes. She is calm and comes off a really cold, which changes through the adventure. In the story the characters always talk about her ample....bust line and she generally hates it which makes he even better in my eyes. Tear also is my personal favorite because she exudes sexiness and doesn't wear slutty clothes to show it; which is the opposite from the standard female character in a videogame.
Jun Takuechi argues that the Japanese Companies are slow to adapt to the growing market, that they don't try to make enough games that appeal to a global market. He states that the Western companies borrowed and improved many mechanics and even surpassed the Japanese. If that wasn't enough, the Japanese Companies are waning in influence because less and less Japanese games are selling very well. He then says that the Japanese can't compete if American studios if they make games aimed for the Japanese Market.
He should be very well alarmed because this generation is the first time a company like EA studios is making games that appeal to the Japanese. The EA Japanese studios are making Wii games like the Sims Wii, especially for the Japanese market. They are also making games like Sim City, which has a loyal fanbase in Japan. If these Japan only products sell well, you can see many Western Companies start opening divisions in Japan just to develop games for the Japanese market. They don't need to worry about profit in Europe and the USA because they dominate those markets the same say the Japanese had for over 3 generations.
There are lots of parallels with the growth of the Japanese Car in America and the world. America made the car popular, they made the car mainstrean. We looked at the Japanese small cars and laughed at them. Then they came into the market with a focus on reliability and started to take back the industry. It was enhanced with the oil shortages in the 1970's. The American Car industry ignored the Japanese and relied on it's loyal buyers to keep them afloat. Now we see that Toyota is on the verge of becoming the number 1 car company on the planet, ending the 50 year dominance of General Motors.
What lessons can be learned?
The Japanese Gaming industry is focusing on making less games that appeal to a worldwide audience. That is a fact because every year they are selling less and less in the Western Markets. In the same time, in the Western Markets the Western Companies are domiating and getting more and more marketshare. There are many people who argue that the Japanese instead of learning and adopting the Western Game Studios are running away to the Japanese market. This has become apparent with the Release of Tales of the Abyss. Sure it sold 700,000 in Japan, but the best selling tales game was Tales of Symphonia that was released on the Cube. They completely ignore this market and then just release it on the PS2 getting abyssmal sales of 28,000 copies. If they had a more global view, they would have ported it to the Gamecube for the Western Markets. That shows the insular view they are starting to adopt.
While Nintendo is making huge inroads in markets that forsaken them just 2 short years ago, they seem to be the ONLY developer who is making huge strides. SquareEnix has done pretty good but they continue to lose the massive market they once had thanks to games like FF7. It seems every generation that they do less experimenting and they in turn get smaller and smaller markets.
What is funny is that American Companies do have the ability to make Japan-centric games. All they can do is to hire a bunch of Japanese people, add an anime artist, and incorporate western gameplay to make for a high selling game.
The encroaching American Companies can take over the entire gaming world, but first they need to learn a thing from history and try to learn the ins and outs of the Japanese Market. It seems that the ever increasing isolationist beliefs of these companies make Japan ripe for the picking. It is starting to sound like the 1960's all over again.
