Adventure Gamers - Forums

daniboi - 28 December 2021 06:54 AM

Not trying to be disrespectful here, but I started playing the first in the series now that they’re on Steam and I just thought it a bit silly throughout. I’m not than young anymore, but seeing those 4 and 5 star review made me expect something more interesting. I’ve played the classics and some casual games over the years, I do like the genre but I am feeling a bit underwhelmed by this. Like the bit with a witness having large breasts that sway the court, come on. The mechanics feel repetitive, I don’t know.

Anyway, just wanted to ask if anyone else felt the same way or if I just got bitter with agee. Cheers everyone and have a nice holiday :-)

I love these games. They are very Japanese, so because of that they may seem childish. The humor can also be way over the top at times also. People that love them put up with the warts for the great stories and chararacters.

Haven’t played the games, but I get what you mean from the example you mentioned.

What do you like about the games?

daniboi - 29 December 2021 05:43 AM

Thanks for your thoughtful responses. I’ll give it another try, then.

You’re right Ace have pretty much juvenile content,if you prefer mature content try Disco Elysium.

The large breasts are basically a staple of anime, and - fittingly for a game like Ace Attorney - just as often used for comedy as for fanservice.

All characters in every Ace Attorney game are very over-the-top, with many larger-than-life reactions. For me personally, this just adds to the charm and humour of the games. Plus it makes for a nice counterbalance to the satire on (and parody of) the Japanese legal system as well as to the series’ signature plot twists.

The whole series is very well-written and hilarious, and I don’t really see anything that’s overtly juvenile about it. Quirky and funny, though.

Both the first and third Phoenix Wright games are in my all-time top 20. The first even being one of only 6 adventure games I’ve ever given 5 stars out of 5.

TimovieMan - 29 December 2021 06:11 PM

The large breasts are basically a staple of anime, and - fittingly for a game like Ace Attorney - just as often used for comedy as for fanservice.

All characters in every Ace Attorney game are very over-the-top, with many larger-than-life reactions. For me personally, this just adds to the charm and humour of the games. Plus it makes for a nice counterbalance to the satire on (and parody of) the Japanese legal system as well as to the series’ signature plot twists.

The whole series is very well-written and hilarious, and I don’t really see anything that’s overtly juvenile about it. Quirky and funny, though.

Both the first and third Phoenix Wright games are in my all-time top 20. The first even being one of only 6 adventure games I’ve ever given 5 stars out of 5.

I never noticed huge chests in Ace Attorney, I did look it up in YouTube and people have actually done videos of busty Ace Attorney characters! Personally, I don’t find anything childish about boobies, but that’s me…

Origami - 31 December 2021 12:58 AM

Japanese media tends to have a huge juxtapose between aesthetics + humour and its themes.
It can get pretty dark at times. Also, the series offers some solid murder mysteries if you are fan of the genre.

So true, very funny, yet challenging at the same time. Thank goodness the series is popular and sells well. I want more of them made, day one he buys for me.

The Phoenix Wright games started out as an indictment of the Japanese court system, with every case highlighting things like the police interrogating suspects for hours on end without a lawyer present, the prosecution having special access to the investigation while being able to hide evidence from the defense, and lazy and incompetent judges giving way too much leeway to the prosecution during court. It’s less about whodunit than about the struggle to get justice in a corrupt and lopsided system. The first game in particular highlights how the absurdly high conviction rate (99.9% in real life in 2019!) leads to narcissistic prosecutors more concerned with their winning streak than the truth. Some of the satirical exaggerations are not as absurd to the target audience as they are to people used to better systems.
The series loves its puns and gags too, but when you get deeper into a case the dark truths will engross you enough to stop caring that characters have silly names. In my opinion, the way it’s able to combine successful drama storytelling with an amount of humor that rises above mere comic relief is a mark of genius, but you mileage may vary.

Harald B - 08 January 2022 04:50 AM

The Phoenix Wright games started out as an indictment of the Japanese court system, with every case highlighting things like the police interrogating suspects for hours on end without a lawyer present, the prosecution having special access to the investigation while being able to hide evidence from the defense, and lazy and incompetent judges giving way too much leeway to the prosecution during court. It’s less about whodunit than about the struggle to get justice in a corrupt and lopsided system. The first game in particular highlights how the absurdly high conviction rate (99.9% in real life in 2019!) leads to narcissistic prosecutors more concerned with their winning streak than the truth. Some of the satirical exaggerations are not as absurd to the target audience as they are to people used to better systems.
The series loves its puns and gags too, but when you get deeper into a case the dark truths will engross you enough to stop caring that characters have silly names. In my opinion, the way it’s able to combine successful drama storytelling with an amount of humor that rises above mere comic relief is a mark of genius, but you mileage may vary.

Wow, that’s a really good perspective. I’d still argue daniboi has a point, which maybe has more to do with what is considered comedy and the “proper” way of doing satire. @daniboy: still wonder what you do like about the games. Someone here might be able to suggest a game that’ll blow your mind.

back to @Harald B: I’d contest the idea of being used to better systems. The specific issues might be lost on people unfamiliar with the Japanese justice system, but I’d say the best way of thinking of state justice as working properly is to never experience it at all.

Would you say the series maintained that original concept, did it evolve, drift way or just chose different theme’s to explore?

I’d say that after the initial trilogy the themes shifted a bit and things became more nuanced, but there’s always a sense of an uphill struggle for truth in a corrupt system.
* In Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies you’ve got the “Dark age of the law” arc where disillusioned defense lawyers turn to shady practices themselves with figures like Kristoph Gavin and Aristotle Means able to rise to the top by abandoning all ethics and with substantial suspicion being thrown against Phoenix Wright himself early on.
* In Spirit of Justice the Defense Culpability Act of Khura’in explores what can go wrong if you take anti-lawyer sentiment too far.
* In the Miles Edgeworth spinoffs (especially the untranslated second one) a prosecutor with integrity has to contend with the limitations of the legal system from the other end as well as with corrupt higher-ups plotting to keep him from becoming too influential.
* (The Professor Layton crossover isn’t as readily applicable but has a couple of fascinating with trials where you have to defend against accusations of witchcraft while working in a framework where magic is considered to be real.)
* In The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, we’re in an earlier time where the system isn’t as far gone yet, with the most competent and reasonable judges of the series and with an effort to take perjury seriously. But even now the system can be gamed with fabricated evidence, political interests weigh heavily and agents of the state are willing to see innocent people get convicted to protect government interests.

Thanks! That’s a very succinct explanation and it makes the games sound a lot more interesting than funny argument sims.

A very good analysis of the series, Harald B! I’m generally not a fan of Japanese sort of humour (although I do like a number of anime), but as an adult I find Ace Attorney to be a perfectly tuned and well-written game. There are anime cliches here and there, but at the same time it features complex plots with turns and twists, satire with dark undertones and characters with inner demons. Easily the best-written series I’ve played in recent years.