Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All (A Retrospective)

It was really hard to predict whether or not the stateside will get the two Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney sequels that they have in Japan. No one knew if the first game would sell, and for good reasons: it is bizarre both from gameplay and design standpoint. It’s not a typical adrenaline rushy game, and if Grim Fandango’s sales (i.e. abysmal) prove anything, it’s that only a few gamers who would rush out and buy these quirky point-and-clicky games requiring more cerebral approaches to their problems than what the average gamers are used to. Plus - and I say this without intentions of being judgmental - you don’t really need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that many Americans are not into all the anime aesthetics. There’s also this thing about the jarring differences between the legal systems from the game and the real world. In fact, and while this very circumstantial, I once interacted with a woman gamer who also worked for the court of law. Guess what she thought of Phoenix Wright? Absolute baloney, and she couldn’t stand it.

Though I personally enjoyed Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (AA from here on) and think it’s clever, I didn’t think that it required continuation – and I mean this positively. I thought the story didn’t leave loose ends. Well, most of the story anyway, as there was something unresolved with Miles Edgeworth in the fifth case, which I wasn’t willing to consider canon at that time because it wasn’t in the original GBA release and was merely added in NDS to showcase various NDS gimmicks. Anyway, I would’ve been fine with AA being just one and done deal. At least, I thought that’s what I believed in. But then I all but proved irresolute when I found out that there are already 2 more sequels in Japan. Like a bondage freak who salivates at the sound of the cracking of whips, Capcom only needed to announce the sequel, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All, to get me hot and bothered about Phoenix again.

Look, that last sentence was full of awkward innuendos. I would’ve been massively embarrassed gushing all these for another series. So here’s to Capcom: screw you for reducing me into this fanboyish cheerleading yahoo. And by screw I mean curses!

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that AA sold well enough to warrant sequels (or did it really?). Sure am glad I got to play part 2 and 3 though. This post will be about Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All.

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