Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney review

It's a well known fact that many games released in Japan never make it across the seas - and one of these games is Gyakuten Saiban. Originally released for the Gameboy Advance in 2001, it has already spawned two sequels, and now UK gamers will finally be able to get to grips with the courtroom drama (when it's released in March), complete with the new title, 'Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney'.Essentially a remake of the original Gyakuten Saiban, you take on the role of Phoenix Wright, a rookie defence attorney who must prove the innocence of various wonderful characters. For each trial, Phoenix must lead his own investigation into the events leading up to the character's arrest, and prove who is the real perpetrator behind each crime. You'll start by investigating the crime scene itself and talking to the witnesses - essentially Phoenix Wright is a point-and-click text adventure and examining the surroundings is done with DS' stylus. Talking to witnesses is also a crucial element to the pre-court investigations, and is just a case of choosing what to say and presenting them with your findings in the hope of extracting some useful information from them. After the investigation, it's onto the main point of the game: proving your defendant's innocence in court.The courtroom drama is by far the best part of Phoenix Wright. The story has more twists and turns than your everyday soap opera and the script is ludicrously funny. In the court, your witness will give you his testimony and then you must point out the contradictions that proves something is wrong. This is done by simply pressing the "Hold It" button at the top of the screen once a piece of dialogue has been spoken (you can even hold Y and speak "objection" into the microphone, for extra authenticity!). Evidence included in your court record can also be presented to help prove the truth behind each witness, but mess up and you lose points with the judge. Make a mistake five times then it's game over as your defendant is charged with being guilty - not the highlight of realism, obviously, but just as tense nonetheless.One problem that could be levelled at the game is its slow-burning nature. Reading text is the primary activity here and, were it not for the script and characters being so glorious, this might have been a problem for even the most avid fans of the genre. Characters range from the incompetent Detective Gumshoe to the unfriendly rival Edgeworth; each given a script that not only caused Gamestyle to crack a smile, but actually laugh out loud. Surely nobody could resist rolling on the floor in laughter at the '1337-talking' movie director ("OMFG, NOOB, ROFL", etc.), for example.It's the animation given to each character that really makes Phoenix Wright's visuals stand out amongst other games. Quizzing a defendant in court (and eventually proving they know more than they're telling) causes them to sweat and even repeatedly smack the desk. These animations may only be provided in 2D anime styled cut outs, but they are some of the best around, providing plenty of laughs.As this is merely a port of a GBA game, you'd be forgiven for thinking the DS' capabilities aren't used to their fullest, and to an extent that may be true. Four out of the five trials only use the touch screen as a menu system and don't really use the handheld in the way that Nintendo envisioned. However, the fifth story (which is brand new) uses a number of the DS features in a much more elaborate way. Without spoiling the story you'll need the touch screen to examine each item thoroughly and even use the DS' microphone to search for fingerprints and blood trails. Despite there only being five trials for you to play through, this doesn't mean Phoenix Wright is a short game; trials manage to take over an hour to complete (luckily a quick save function included). It's just a shame that the game is relatively easy with only the final part managing to test the grey matter in regards to what to do next. The linear structure and slow progression may put some people off, as it requires an awful lot of patience to persevere with, however it's well worth the effort.These minor faults haven't ruined Gamestyle's enjoyment of this intriguing title. Phoenix Wright is a breath of fresh air; the interesting story, ludicrous characters and a unique style of game are enough to wrap the player up in its world. A sequel is already planned for next year, and Gamestyle looks forward to settling into the courtroom drama once again.