Although it's not one of the most well known of games, we've always been huge fans of the crime solving, courtroom drama of the Phoenix Wright series here at Outcyders. Sadly, though, the series seems to have been somewhat dormant in Europe and the US in recent years, with both the last game in the franchise (the Edgeworth-fronted spin-off Ace Attorney Investigations 2) and the crossover-of-the-century Layton vs Ace Attorney both (so far) having not seen a release outside of Japan. So when Ace Attorney 5 was announced a few days ago, we were preparing ourselves for the worst. Would this be yet another lawyer simulator that we'd never be able to play? Clearly, Capcom themselves could sense the tension in the air, as they quickly confirmed that Ace Attorney 5 would be coming to these fair shores. As of yet, details are fairly thin on the ground, but just the fact that we're going to get it eventually is enough to have us bouncing off the walls with excitement.
Those glorious 3D courtroom walls. We can't wait.
Taking place a year after the events of Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney 5 sees Phoenix Wright back in the driving seat after training up the titular lawyer of the previous game, and now he's back with a vengeance.
Or at least a rather snazzy new waistcoat.
Much like the previous games, the latest instalment mixes point and click style exploration with a sprinkling of interrogation, as you explore crime scenes, find clues and interview witnesses to amass an unbeatable library of evidence, ready for the trial - much like last year's NCIS 3D. The trials themselves see you cross-examining a series of witnesses in the courtroom, pressing their statements to gain more information and producing evidence to contradict their claims when they lie. In the first case, Phoenix is defending a young girl of a nervous disposition who's charged with bombing the courthouse, when this screen pops up:
Your guess is as good as ours here, unfortunately.
Speculation time! There's two things the faces in the picture above could be symbolising. The first would be a way of choosing how best to press the witness. Press her too hard and she'll have a panic attack, which won't give you any helpful information, and may even result in her saying things to harm your defence. Or, what we think is more likely, some kind of reaction to whatever the witness has just said from the members of the Jury. At the end of Apollo Justice, the Courts are about to reintroduce the Jurist system, where six members of the public oversee the trial and have a deciding say on the fate of the defendant. This could potentially replace the "lives" system in the older games, where you were given five strikes, with every wrong decision losing you a strike and getting you precariously closer to the guilty verdict.
Unfortunately, we won't know for sure how the game's going to turn out until we see some actual gameplay footage, but we won't have to wait too long for it. Capcom are planning to show Ace Attorney 5 off at the Tokyo Game Show later this month, so be sure to check back afterwards for more Phoenix Wright news!
