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Why The Ace Attorney Trilogy Is a Masterpiece

200K views · Sep 29, 2023 · Gaming

J's Reviews

299K subscribers

Comments · 422

@GeneralBolas · 2 years ago
What I find so interesting about Rise from the Ashes as a case is that, while it is set between games, you can really tell that the writers for it were way more experienced at writing cases. You can do this just by comparing it to the other cases in the first game. It's not that those cases were bad or anything, but over the years of writing the trilogy, you can really tell that they honed their craft. Rise from the Ashes is the first 3-day trial that actually feels like it needs to be a 3-day trial. After the first game, the writers didn't make any other three-day trials. This is because the 3rd investigation day tended to be rather perfunctory. By that point, you know who the killer is and probably have a good idea of how to prove it, so the only thing you're doing is filling in a few blanks. RftA avoids this problem cleverly. Because it's not 1 3-day trial; it's three one-day trials. The first trial is the trial of what happened in the parking lot. The second day is what happened in the evidence room. And the third day is what really happened in SL-9. It's extremely clever and engaging, as you're frequently investigating new areas and crime scenes. But ultimately, the game ties them all together at the end. You can also tell that the writers of RftA struggled a bit with not having the Magatama as a mechanic. As a game design tool, Magatama interactions were used to structure your discussions and investigations. When you found someone with a lock that couldn't be broken, the game was able to prompt you as to where you might need to investigate further. This replaced some of the fetch quests in the first game, and it was a very welcome mechanic. But RftA didn't have that mechanic. So the third investigation day involves a lot of lengthy conversations and exposition dumps that are important and essential, but they don't involve much interaction. It's just people talking at you until they run out of dialog. It works, but it feels... off. And you can really tell the developers wanted that final conversation with Lana to be a Magatama thing very badly.
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@paperluigi6132 · 3 years ago
Even Capcom themselves were surprised that this series took off in the West. They had to make like four more shipments worth of copies for the first one. I think the reason why AA and Danganronpa proved popular is that, unlike most visual novels, they have actual gameplay elements to them.
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@runningoncylinders3829 · 3 years ago
They also absolutely nail every finale case in the trilogy. And even if you take AA 1 as having a pair of them, they are both great.
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@zennistrad · 3 years ago
I first played through the original trilogy when my dad (a lawyer) was terminally ill with cancer. Even though it's not directly related to the game itself, I'll always hold very fond memories of it just because it reminds me so much of him.
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@MakeHerSquirtle · 3 years ago (edited)
This series is what really got me into visual novels. I wouldn’t have found games like ghost trick or danganronpa back in 2012 if it wasn’t for Ace attorney. I love this series to death and it is to this day super special to me Edit: also yes I’d absolutely love more ace attorney content
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@xplayfan21 · 2 years ago
1 more point for the HD version is that they have the quality of life feature of having the magnifying glass have a check mark after you check the location that was added in the 5th game That's a great quality of life feature in my opinion at the other point towards the version
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@cinny1313 · 2 years ago
Fun fact: Phoenix's class trial backstory is based on Takumi's own experience from his childhood
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@Nickk7878-v8t · 3 years ago
I know this is a lot to ask, but if Ace Attorney returns, I really hope that it sorta strays away from the entire story of the first 6 games and starts anew. Furthermore, I want it to be created with a trilogy already planned out, that way events from the first game can be more cleverly foreshadowing the events of the subsequent games. Maybe themes and symbols can carry over. I dunno. Just an idea
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@ahmetswag · 3 years ago
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POUT5RmGK2Q&t=445">7:25</a> just so you know, every game after apollo justice handles moving between areas exactly as you described
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@aSUGAaddiction · 2 years ago
Godot's theme is my absolute favorite music in the whole series. This may be why T&T is my favorite game.
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@TheOtherDiscord · 3 years ago (edited)
You mentioned that you haven't played Chronicles early in the video but I honestly think that game is just as investing and impactful as the trilogy, possibly even better. If you're ever thinking of trying that game in the future, I definitely recommend it. I'd love to see you do a video on it if you ever decide to make one
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@Oxdeiim · 3 years ago
HE DID ITTTTTT
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