Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom, THQ (Australia)
Director(s)	Takeshi Yamazaki
Producer(s)	Motohide Eshiro
Artist(s)	Tatsuro Iwamoto
Composer(s)	Noriyuki Iwadare Yasuko Yamada
Series	Ace Attorney
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	JP May 28, 2009 NA February 16, 2010[1] AUS February 18, 2010 EU February 19, 2010
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ACB: PG CERO: B ESRB: T PEGI: 12+

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, known in Japan as Gyakuten Kenji (逆転検事^?, lit. "Turnabout Prosecutor"), is an adventure video game for the Nintendo DS handheld game console by Capcom. It is the fifth game in the Ace Attorney series, and an interquel set between Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. The game was released in Japan on May 28, 2009, February 16, 2010 in the United States, February 18, 2010 in Australia and in Europe February 19, 2010. A sequel, Gyakuten Kenji 2, was announced in Famitsu on September 8, 2010^[2] and was released on February 3, 2011.^[3]

Gameplay

This game is a standard "point and click" adventure, with the player controlling Edgeworth's movements and what he interacts with. For each case, the goal is to collect evidence to determine who the perpetrator is, how the crime was committed and their motive. This is presented as a combination of a third-person view showing the characters at the crime scene and through animated close-up images of the characters, annotated by text dialog. In some cases, still images are used to highlight dramatic scenes.

The gameplay is very similar to the other Ace Attorney games, with investigation phases and rebuttal phases, which take the place of the previous cross-examination phases. In each of the five cases, the game alternates between these two phases until the case is resolved; the player generally has the option to save the game between each set of Investigation/Rebuttal phases, although, as in previous titles, the player may also save at almost any point in the game. The player is given a meter, similar in function to a health bar, that tracks how close Edgeworth is to discovering the truth of what happened; making mistakes in the Logic, Deduction, or Rebuttal sections can lead to losing some fraction of that bar. Should all of the bar be lost, Edgeworth will have completely lost track of the truth, and the case will be considered over in a bad ending (such as the arrest of an innocent person); the player will then have to restart from their last save. After completing an Investigation phase, the player will be given some of the truth meter back.

Investigation

Investigation consists of collecting evidence from the crime scene, examining it and then examining the crime scene itself. Evidence and profiles are filed in the Organizer, and information on the crime scene is then examined by using "logic".

During the investigation players can either use the stylus on the touch screen or use the D-Pad for movement and controlling Edgeworth. When near an object, the player can check the object further; in certain cases, this may present the opportunity to "deduce" a contradiction between the object and collected evidence. Otherwise, checking objects can lead to additional evidence or pieces of "Logic". The player can also talk to a non-playable character when near one, finding more information about the scene, and asking specific questions that may lead to further inquiries, evidence, or logic pieces.

After Edgeworth becomes associated with Kay Faraday, the player will have access at times to the "Little Thief", a device capable of creating a hologram of the crime scene, allowing the player to explore the events of a crime as it happened in detail.

A core investigation element in Ace Attorney Investigations' gameplay is "Logic". This mode consists of examining and linking important factors or curious clues found in various crime scenes in order to answer any questions which appear during investigations. At any time during Investigation, the player can attempt to connect two pieces of logic to either form a new piece of evidence or a new piece of Logic. Making an incorrect connection will cost some of the player's truth meter.

Rebuttals

Rebuttals are similar to cross-examinations in the Ace Attorney series. Rebuttals are confrontations between characters that consist of either discussing the results of an investigation, or giving testimony. These confrontations may lead to new information being revealed, or even a confession from the murderer.^[4] Like cross-examinations, the player can press the witness for more information or present evidence that contradicts their logic. Mistakes made when presenting evidence causes damage to the truth meter.

Plot

See also: List of Ace Attorney characters

Similar to previous Ace Attorney games, there are five cases in the game, and to unlock a new case, the previous case needs to be solved. Chronologically, the game appears to take place after Trials and Tribulations and before Apollo Justice. The five cases are presented out of chronological order in the game, though each describe a series of common events connected to an international smuggling ring and the Great Thief Yatagarasu that seeks to expose the smuggling ring by "stealing the truth" and revealing the evidence to the public.

The fourth case, "Turnabout Reminiscence" (過ぎ去りし逆転, Sugisarishi Gyakuten^?), describes most of the backstory for the rest of the game. Ten years prior to the game's present, during what became known as the "KG-8 Incident", the Secretariat of the Cohdopian Embassy, Manny Coachen, was accused of the murder of Cece Yew, a witness to the connection of the smuggling ring to the embassy. Lead prosecutor Byrne Faraday, working with his partner Detective Tyrell Badd, attempted to convict Manny Coachen. However, key evidence was stolen from them by the ring and Coachen went free. Calisto Yew, posing as Cece's sister and a defense attorney, accosted Faraday and Badd after the trial. Realizing that the justice system was powerless to convict those above the law, the three formed the Yatagarasu. Three years later, a similar murder at the Cohdopian Embassy occurred; the suspect Mack Rell claimed he was told to perform the murder by Faraday, the prosecutor of the trial, pointing him out as Yatagarasu. A recess was held to replace Faraday with Edgeworth (in his first appearance as prosecutor as well as his first meeting with Dick Gumshoe), but before recess was completed, both Faraday and the suspect were found murdered. Edgeworth discovers that Calisto Yew murdered Faraday with Rell's help, then killed Rell and altered the crime scene to make it seem that they killed each other. When they confront Yew she pulls a gun on them and claims to be the Yatagarasu (excluding mention of her two partners) as well as a minion of the smuggling ring. Faraday's young daughter, Kay, is comforted over her father's death by Edgeworth, Gumshoe, and Badd; she believes that her father was the true Yatagarasu, and vows to catch the fake Yatagarasu some day.

In the game's present, Edgeworth becomes involved with a branch operation of the smuggling ring on his return trip aboard an airliner ("Turnabout Airlines" (逆転エアライン, Gyakuten Earain^?), the game's 2nd case). An Interpol agent investigating the smuggling is murdered during the flight, with first Edgeworth, then a flight attendant, Rhoda Teneiro, becoming the main suspects. Edgeworth meets with his fellow prosecutor, Franziska von Karma, who explains she is working with Interpol to expose the smuggling ring. Edgeworth discovers the real murderer to be another flight attendant, Cammy Meele, who is also working with the smuggling ring. After closing that case, Edgeworth is called by Ernest Amano, head of a powerful business group, whose son Lance has been kidnapped and held at a local amusement park ("The Kidnapped Turnabout" (さらわれる逆転, Sarawareru Gyakuten^?), the 3rd case). Edgeworth is kidnapped himself when attempting to exchange the ransom money, but is helped free by Kay Faraday, now calling herself the true Yatagarasu. The situation is further complicated by the discovery of the murder of Oliver Deacon, who is identified as one of the kidnappers by a released Lance. As Edgeworth seeks to solve the mystery, he is introduced to Interpol agents Shi-Long Lang and his assistant Shih-Na, who believe the Amano Group is involved with the smuggling ring, and are seeking to end it, after the ring's counterfeit money operation ruined the economy of their home country, Zheng Fa. Edgeworth reveals the kidnapping as a ploy by Lance to get money from his father, and had murdered Deacon when he decided to back out of the plan. However, enough evidence is revealed for Lang to bring Ernest Amano in for questioning. This is revealed to be Lang's plan all along, as he believes Amano is involved with the smuggling ring and needed an excuse to arrest him. Upon returning to his office building, Edgeworth finds yet another murder has occurred in his own office ("Turnabout Visitor" (逆転の来訪者, Gyakuten no Raihōsha^?), the 1st case). Edgeworth deduces that a corrupt prosecutor, Jacques Portsman, was working for the smuggling ring and was seeking to steal evidence from the KG-8 Incident in Edgeworth's office, and had killed a detective who was getting too close.

The final case of the game, "Turnabout Ablaze" (燃え上がる逆転, Moeagaru Gyakuten^?), takes places a few days later at the former embassy of Cohdopia; in years prior, civil tension in the country of Cohdopia forced the country to split in two, into the nations of Allebahst and Babahl, sharing the same embassy building. On a night that the two nations were secretly planning on announcing their reunification as a single country at the embassy, the fake Yatagarasu appeared, along with a fire on the Babahl half of the embassy and a double murder in the respective offices of Allebahst and Babahl embassies; one of the victims is found to be Manny Coachen, the Secretariat for Babahl and still a prime suspect in the smuggling ring. Shih-Na is revealed to be Calisto Yew, undercover with Interpol. She insists that she did not murder Coachen and is later to be revealed to only be an accessory to the crime. As she is taken away, she reveals she is not Cece's sister; Calisto Yew is another one of her aliases as an agent from the smuggling ring, and her membership in Yatagarasu was ordered by the Ring's leader. Further investigation by Edgeworth, using the illegal evidence obtained by Badd years ago, eventually pins Allebahst's (and former Cohdopia's) Ambassador Quercus Alba as the ringmaster of the smuggling ring from the start, planning and committing the murders and covering the tracks of the smuggling ring, including the introduction of counterfeit money into Zheng Fa. Alba, Amano, and others are convicted of their crimes, while Edgeworth and his newfound friends recommit to their vows to defend the truth.

Development

The game began development under the name "NEW Gyakuten NOT Saiban", reflecting that while it would involve similar characters, the gameplay would be different from the other games in the Ace Attorney series, or that the game's title would include "Gyakuten", but "Kenji" instead of "Saiban".^[5] According to producer Motohide Eshiro, the game was originally to feature Ema Skye as the main character, but based on fan feedback, they chose to use the more popular Miles Edgeworth as the lead character.^[6]

The game is directed by Tsuyoshi Yamazaki, who directed the porting of the GBA Phoenix Wright games to the Nintendo DS. The gameplay differs greatly from the previous Ace Attorney games as the game involves investigations rather than courtroom battles. A demo of the game was first made available at the Tokyo Game Show, where it received the most attention of any portable game at the show, based on a Famitsu survey of 55 companies that were present.^[7]

The developers stated that they have taken care to capture the animations correctly, for example making sure that Edgeworth's running animations were "graceful, while exerting effort".^[8]

Despite the title Ace Attorney, the game does not feature a defense attorney as the protagonist, but rather a recurring character of the series, Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.

A sequel, Gyakuten Kenji 2, was revealed in September 2010 by Famitsu; the sequel still features Miles Edgeworth and the logic system, but other new gameplay details, if any, are not yet known.^[9] The game will include a case that returns to Gourd Lake, a setting used in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney which Edgeworth was the main suspect.^[10] A demo of the game was available at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show.

Merchandise

A limited edition version of the game was released in Japan containing:

• A "Gyakuten Meets Orchestra 2008" re-wrote pamphlet
• Character illustrations and portraits.
• A DS cartridge case. (a box, not an additional episode)
• A "Melodies of Gyakuten Kenji" soundtrack.
• "Memories of Gyakuten" Promotional Trailers DVD.

There was also a limited edition Nintendo DSi themed for Gyakuten Kenji.^[11]

Music

The Gyakuten Kenji Original Soundtrack was released on June 24, 2009 and it is split into two discs. Composed by both Noriyuki Iwadare and Yasuko Yamada, the cover was designed by Tatsuro Iwamoto, the game's designer and art director. It is the only game in the series to have a two disc soundtrack.

Another music disc, Gyakuten Kenji Orchestra Mini Album was released with the limited edition and featured orchestral soundtracks based on music from the game as well as the previous games in the Ace Attorney franchise.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	79%[12]
Metacritic	78/100[13]
Review scores
Publication	Score
Eurogamer	8/10[14]
GameSpot	8/10[15]
GameZone	7.5/10[16]
IGN	7.6/10[17]
Nintendo World Report	8.5/10[18]

Ace Attorney Investigations sold 172,000 units in the week of its release in Japan,^[19] and 42,000 the following week.^[20] In both cases, the game was the second best selling DS title in Japan, trailing Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

The game received generally positive reviews from critics. Nintendo World Report gave the game a 8.5 out of 10 and said "Ace Attorney Investigations is quite possibly the best entry in the series, as it changes up the tried-and-true formula enough to keep it fresh, while retaining the style and witty dialogue of the previous titles." They gave high praise for the game music and art style, but complained about controlling Edgeworth with the touch screen.^[18][21] EuroGamer gave the game a 8 out of 10, praising the choice of Edgeworth as the main character as well as the new characters, saying "For all that's new, it's still faithfully an Ace Attorney game."^[14]

GameZone's Steven Hopper gave the game a 7.5/10, saying "Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth gets props for changing up the setting and providing a new protagonist for the franchise. However, the gameplay is pretty standard for the Ace Attorney series, and brings with it the same flaws from other entries."^[16]

References

1. ^ "Ace Attorney Investigations to Release in February: News from". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3175283. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
2. ^ "Ace Attorney Investigations: Post Announcement : Trial Minutes". Forums.court-records.net. http://forums.court-records.net/trial-minutes/ace-attorney-investigations-post-annoucement-t15030.html. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
3. ^ http://www.capcom.co.jp/gyakutenkenji/2/goods.html
4. ^ "Court-Records' News Page". Court Records. 2008-09-19. http://www.court-records.net/News.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-24. 
5. ^ Akira EX (2008-04-07). "This Week's Famitsu: Gyakuten Not-Saiban: Gyakuten Kenji/Perfect Prosecutor". Play.tm. http://play.tm/wire/click/1835962. Retrieved 2008-05-04. 
6. ^ Spensor (2009-08-13). "Originally, Ace Attorney Investigations Didn’t Star Edgeworth". Siliconera. http://www.siliconera.com/2009/08/13/originally-ace-attorney-investigations-didnt-star-edgeworth/. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
7. ^ Grifford, Kevin (2008-10-29). "Post-TGS: Capcom "Wins" The Show". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3171000. Retrieved 2008-10-29. 
8. ^ Greenhough, Chris (2008-04-28). "Gyakuten Kenji devs vaguely discuss their game". DS Fanboy. http://www.dsfanboy.com/2008/04/29/gyakuten-kenji-devs-vaguely-discuss-their-game/. Retrieved 2008-05-04. 
9. ^ Spensor (2010-09-07). "Eureka! Ace Attorney Investigations 2 Announced". Siliconera. http://www.siliconera.com/2010/09/07/eureka-ace-attorney-investigations-2-announced/. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
10. ^ Gifford, Kevin (2010-09-08). "Miles Edgeworth Rides Again". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/news/miles-edgeworth-rides. Retrieved 2010-09-08. 
11. ^ Haywald, Justin (2009-04-02). "Limited Edition Ace Attorney DSi Coming to Japan". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3173566. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
12. ^ "Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth for DS - GameRankings". GameRankings. 2010-02-16. http://www.gamerankings.com/ds/945812-ace-attorney-investigations-miles-edgeworth/index.html. Retrieved 2011-07-10. 
13. ^ "Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth at Metacritic". Metacritic. 2010-02-16. http://www.metacritic.com/game/ds/ace-attorney-investigations-miles-edgeworth. Retrieved 2011-07-10. 
14. ^ ^{a b} John Walker (2010-02-15). "Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth Review - Page 2 | DS". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ace-attorney-investigations-miles-edgeworth-review?page=2. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
15. ^ "Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth Review, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth DS Review - GameSpot.com". GameSpot. 2010-02-17. http://uk.gamespot.com/ds/adventure/gyakutenkenji/review.html. Retrieved 2011-07-10. 
16. ^ ^{a b} "Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth Review - Nintendo DS". Nds.gamezone.com. http://nds.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r38031.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
17. ^ "Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth Review - Nintendo DS Review at IGN". IGN. 2010-02-16. http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/106/1069401p1.html. Retrieved 2011-07-10. 
18. ^ ^{a b} "DS Review: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth". Nintendo World Report. 2010-02-16. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=21168&page=2. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
19. ^ Jenkins, David (06-04-2009). "Kingdom Hearts and Ace Attorney boost Japanese chart". Games Industry.biz. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/kingdom-hearts-and-ace-attorney-boost-japanese-chart. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
20. ^ Graft, Kris (2009-06-11). "Japanese Charts: Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Leads For Second Week". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=24002. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
21. ^ "DS Review: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth". Nintendo World Report. 2010-02-16. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=21168. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 

External links

• Official website — English
• Official website — Japanese