The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles to be ushered in July 27th

Written by Jack Allin — April 21, 2021 at 12:08

If you've ever wondered how Phoenix Wright got to be such a great lawyer (besides lots of practice through trial and error), it turns out it was all in the genes! We'll soon be able to see that for ourselves when we step into the shoes of his Victorian-era ancestor in the upcoming The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles.

The newly dubbed and bundled English release of The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures and The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve, both of which were previously available only in Japan, sees players assume the late 19th century role of Ryunosuke Naruhodo as he "works to sleuth out the truth in witnesses' testimonies and clear his clients' names in court." With him is an all-new "zany cast of over-the-top characters," including Susato Mikotoba, the faithful judicial assistant; Kazuma Asogi, fellow lawyer and Ryunosuke's best friend; and Iris Wilson, the "precocious doctor and literary young lady." Opposing him this time is the feared prosecutor Barok van Zieks, known as "The Grim Reaper of the Old Bailey." The most notable new addition, however, is a quirky local detective named Herlock Sholmes, who proves to be integral in helping you "unravel the mysteries behind ten thrilling cases."

Presented in the familiar anime-inspired art style, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles will have much in common with its predecessors. Players will need to investigate crime scenes firsthand in order to gather clues, carefully examine evidence, and speak with persons of interest. Once you've built your case, you'll end up in court to defend your client, where you'll use the evidence you've acquired to expose inconsistencies in testimony. Unique to the series, however, are two particular gameplay mechanics. The first is the "Dance of Deduction," in which you'll team up with Sholmes to "identify mistakes in the detective's overboard logic and uncover new facts," while the second occurs in the courtroom, where "Summation Examinations" allow you to point out discrepancies in the findings of the jury of six. 

As if two games' worth of investigation and wacky courtroom drama isn't enough, a number of extras will be included as well, which were originally released in Japan as bonus DLC. Among them are eight "slice-of-life" mini-episodes, three alternate costumes, art and music galleries, creator comments, two "Special Trial" videos and another thirteen video clips from "Ryunosuke Naruhodo’s Seven Days of Sin." For the first time ever, there's also an "auto-advancing story mode" if you'd rather just sit back and watch events unfold with all the work done on your behalf (though where's the fun in that?). 

Having waited several years already for these games to be localized into English, fortunately there's not much longer to go, as The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is due to launched on PC, PS4 and Switch on July 27th.