After years of courtroom drama with Phoenix Wright, CAPCOM has shifted the spotlight to the talented prosecutor Miles Edgeworth in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection (AAIC). Miles is the popular villain-turned-protagonist from the original Ace Attorney series with OG defense attorney Phoenix Wright.
Today, this much-anticipated collection finally lands in Australia, offering fans a chance to revisit — or perhaps experience for the first time — both Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (AAI1) and its sequel, Prosecutor’s Gambit (AAI2).
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For those who are new to the Ace Attorney series, it’s an investigative courtroom adventure video game. Each game typically features five episodes / cases, starting with a mystery that the player must solve through investigating crime scenes, evidence, and interrogating witnesses. The culmination of each episode usually ends in court, or a scenario very much like one! In the previous iterations of the games on the Nintendo DS, players were encouraged to shout “OBJECTION” loudly into the microphone for an interactive experience. Pretty much the highlight of the game.
I wrote a preview of AAIC last month, which contains the English version of AAI2 – originally released in 2011! Given it’s been ages since I played an Ace Attorney game, I was keen as beans to see what CAPCOM cooked up. It was bittersweet to not have Phoenix, Maya, or Apollo around, but at least we have the familiar face of Milesarino, Detective Gumshoe, and other recognisable characters (looking at you, Wendy Oldbag).
So what’s happening with Miles?
AAI2 continues Miles’ adventures outside the courtroom, continuing to “turnabout” investigations following the name of the game. Fun fact: all episodes in the Ace Attorney series contain the word turnabout as the series is called Gyakuten Saiban in Japanese, translating to Turnabout Trial – because you have to turnabout your thinking.
Both games are great character development for Miles, who reveals a softer side through his monologues and his strong sense of justice which echo Phoenix’s. Miles becomes a beloved character throughout the series which ultimately spawned these spinoff games. We see him rattled, adopt a sidekick in Kay Faraday, and learn to embrace Detective Gumshoe despite his incompetence. We learn a lot about Miles over AAI2’s five episodes, which lends to the game’s plot.
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Main differences compared to previous games
It’s been a hot minute since I played an Ace Attorney game, but AAIC follows the same style as previous games. The main difference is not being in court, but certain characters certainly make you feel like you are back there! Besides the Mind Chess mechanic, the only other new feature is being able to examine crime scene recreations, courtesy of one of the characters, Kay Faraday.
Mind Chess feels like dialogue with a timer and isn’t that challenging or tricky. The main tip here is to read quickly or use Autoplay to speed things up. You also don’t have the luxury of exploring different areas, which I liked because it added to the mystery. However, I do appreciate the game being more linear without this feature.
Characters are just as kooky as ever. In AAI2 you’re introduced to new characters judge Verity Gavelle and Prosecutor Eustace Winner as your new opponents. Ace Attorney sure does love their punny names. I’ve noticed that there’s also usually well-endowed female characters throughout the games, like flight attendant Cammy Meele from AAI1.
Another thing I noticed while playing AAI2 was just how LONG it was. I don’t remember feeling like I was slogging through the games previously but I really felt it with AAI2. While overall the game was still enjoyable, there definitely could’ve been less fat-chewing, particularly in the earlier episodes (although the last episode is the longest).
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Should I buy Ace Attorney Investigations Collection?
I’m happy to see another Ace Attorney game in the franchise, and as a longtime fan I will continue to play each instalment. Given it’s the only way to play AAI2 right now, I’d say go for it. On the other hand, I would’ve loved to have less useless dialogue and a more interesting new mechanic than Mind Chess in both games. Crime scene recreation is cool though, and unique to the games in AAIC.
Overall, I did feel quite worn out while playing AAI2, mainly due to its length, despite it having a better overall storyline than AAI1. The characters, although sometimes are too silly, are still endearing in their own way, and learning more about Miles was the main hook that kept me coming back for more.
You can buy Ace Attorney Investigations Collection now on the Nintendo eShop, Big W, Amazon Australia, and JB Hi-Fi.
Quest Daily scores Ace Attorney Investigations Collection:
7/10
A copy of Ace Attorney Investigations Collection was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this review.
