Who made it?
Capcom once again takes the reins on this one. It might have a slightly different visual style, but this is classic Ace Attorney through and through.
What’s the premise?
Jim: Well, it’s an Ace Attorney game. There’s murder (with brilliant cutscenes, we might add), investigation, interrogation, and a final courtroom showdown that is all about the big plot twists, last-minute discoveries, and rounding out character arcs. It’s once again more on the visual novel side of things, but that doesn’t detract from an ace story full of juicy twists and brilliantly-written characters.
Kate: After the events of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, in which we skipped forwards seven years and rescued Phoenix from having his attorney badge unfairly stripped from him, we find ourselves back in court with an older, wiser spiky-haired lawyer, and his new sidekicks, Apollo, Trucy, and series newcomer, Athena.
The new gimmick for this game is Athena Cykes’ “Mood Matrix”, which allows you to sense emotions (but only when necessary for the plot), but what makes this game stand out is its dark and tragic story. You thought the Ace Attorney games were heartbreaking before? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Why should I play it?
Jim: Because it will soon be gone forever, that’s why!
Fans of the Ace Attorney series will no doubt have already snatched this one up on release back in 2013, but those who were late to the party might not know about the franchise’s leap to the 3DS and we can’t just sit idly by and watch that happen.
Most of the other titles in the series are available in physical form (not all, and we may well return to the Ace Attorney as the countdown continues in the coming weeks), so it would be a shame to see collections left incomplete by the absence of the 3DS eShop entries.
Kate: If you’re an Ace Attorney fan, a visual novel fan, a stories-with-great-twists fan, or someone who likes character-driven games, then you really can’t go wrong with this game. Even if you haven’t caught up on the AA series, you should download this one ASAP, since we don’t know when/if Capcom will ever revive it on console It’s also the first 3D Ace Attorney game, and they did a great job with the transition to a new dimension.
Oh, and there’s a DLC case where you have to defend an orca that’s been accused of murder! It’s very cute, and well worth the extra cost.
How much is it?
$29.99USD / £19.99 / €24,99. For a full-length game with many hours of drama to be had, this isn’t a price to scoff at. Sure, it might be on the pricier end of the 3DS eShop scale, but by today’s standards, we’d say that this is very reasonable indeed.
The DLC is an extra $5.99USD / £3.99 / €4.99.
We’ll be back soon with another 3DS or Wii U eShop recommendation as part of this ‘Countdown’ series. Let us know below if you’ve already got this in your collection and share your thoughts.
