The average course correction goes something like this:
"Oh you're here!"
Gregson greets the up and coming lawyer, Ryonosuke, his transgender Japanese assistant, a german ace detective, and said detective's adopted doctor-daughter-mother-roommate-child.
"This is the most horrifying murder I've ever seen in my entire life... The victim, poor guy... he was smashed over the head with a blunt object and then pummelled until he approached this sorry state..."
Gregson points toward a bloody mush at the corner of the room. Brains and guts are splattered all over the floor.
"I've never been more disgusted in my entire life."
Gregson follows up this statement by stuffing his face with 30 servings of fried fish.
The 12 year old is still at the crime scene for some reason.
A suspicious figure is seen being interrogated.
"Ah, that's Call Preete, feel free to question him" the officer says.
Herlock takes one glance at the man, and turns around to speak to naruhodo
"We got our guy"
"What? How?"
"Elementary, my dear naruhodo. You see, the man right before you VERY CLEARLY commited a dastardly crime!"
Call Preete jolts, and beads of sweat form on his forehead.
"The crime being... THAT OF POOR TASTE IN LITERATURE!!!"
Mr Preete's expression of fear is quickly replaced by confusion.
"As you can see... The evidence of this is CLEARLY SHOWN on THIS VERY TABLE!!"
Herlock points to a mahogany desk, covered in important documents that seem relevant to the case.
Call pulls his mustache, and it snaps back onto his face, the recoil of which throws him backwards, sending his body careening through multiple brick walls.
Herlock approaches the table, and knocks everything off it. Underneath the clearly useless resources, a magazine.
"As you can see, this table has a CRAPPY MAGAZINE on it. One that RIVALS the publication that my adventures are shown in!"
Herlock chuckles confidently, and Susato's eyes sparkle.
"You've done it again Mr Sholmes!" She exclaims.
Her head snaps toward the accused.
"That's a big fucking deal buster. Grounds for the DEATH penalty."
Naruhodo shakes his head, and prepares to correct the injudicious himbo.
"You see Herlock, you missed out on this key detail."
Naruhodo walks toward Call, and stares intently at his hands. They're completely covered in blood.
Ryonosyke spins around, and his gaze travels towards the unrecognisable fleshy mush of mincemeat in the room.
"Using my powers of observation.... I think this guy might have touched the victim..."
He then approaches the aforementioned wooden desk.
The young lawyer turns 15° to the left of what Herlock was originally looking at, revealing a giant 700 page book covered in blood that just prior was not visible at all from any other angle. The book is also covered in Call's fingerprints, with his name and signature on a receipt sticking out of it.
Ryonnosuke chortles.
"Looks like we caught this guy... read handed...."
Herlock starts violently flailing his arms everywhere.
"Ah yes. I actually thought this the WHOLE TIME. Thank you naruhodo."
Sholmes and Ryonnosuke then start dancing on the crime scene. A job well done.
Call Preete shivers and starts bawling.
"I-I DIDNT DO IT I PROMISE!!!"
"Ok I believe you" Naruhodo replies.
"Oh ok thanks"
Van zieks is also there, and is seen screaming
"I FUCKING HATE JAPANESE PEOPLE!!!!" At the top of his lungs in a drunken stupor.
He smashes a bottle of wine on a nearby Chinese man's head, instantly killing him.
--
Everything I liked about the original trilogy is here in spades. The iconic ost, insane breakdowns, and an interconnected story that seamlessly weaves together the overarching mystery of the two games. And though some of the characters are slightly less iconic than the original, it makes up for it with strong writing and thoroughly engaging mysteries that kept me engrossed in the story throughout it's 70 hour runtime.
I have been listening to "the great turnabout" for months after I completed this game. I have never had more fun playing a visual novel than in the final case of resolve.
"Oh you're here!"
Gregson greets the up and coming lawyer, Ryonosuke, his transgender Japanese assistant, a german ace detective, and said detective's adopted doctor-daughter-mother-roommate-child.
"This is the most horrifying murder I've ever seen in my entire life... The victim, poor guy... he was smashed over the head with a blunt object and then pummelled until he approached this sorry state..."
Gregson points toward a bloody mush at the corner of the room. Brains and guts are splattered all over the floor.
"I've never been more disgusted in my entire life."
Gregson follows up this statement by stuffing his face with 30 servings of fried fish.
The 12 year old is still at the crime scene for some reason.
A suspicious figure is seen being interrogated.
"Ah, that's Call Preete, feel free to question him" the officer says.
Herlock takes one glance at the man, and turns around to speak to naruhodo
"We got our guy"
"What? How?"
"Elementary, my dear naruhodo. You see, the man right before you VERY CLEARLY commited a dastardly crime!"
Call Preete jolts, and beads of sweat form on his forehead.
"The crime being... THAT OF POOR TASTE IN LITERATURE!!!"
Mr Preete's expression of fear is quickly replaced by confusion.
"As you can see... The evidence of this is CLEARLY SHOWN on THIS VERY TABLE!!"
Herlock points to a mahogany desk, covered in important documents that seem relevant to the case.
Call pulls his mustache, and it snaps back onto his face, the recoil of which throws him backwards, sending his body careening through multiple brick walls.
Herlock approaches the table, and knocks everything off it. Underneath the clearly useless resources, a magazine.
"As you can see, this table has a CRAPPY MAGAZINE on it. One that RIVALS the publication that my adventures are shown in!"
Herlock chuckles confidently, and Susato's eyes sparkle.
"You've done it again Mr Sholmes!" She exclaims.
Her head snaps toward the accused.
"That's a big fucking deal buster. Grounds for the DEATH penalty."
Naruhodo shakes his head, and prepares to correct the injudicious himbo.
"You see Herlock, you missed out on this key detail."
Naruhodo walks toward Call, and stares intently at his hands. They're completely covered in blood.
Ryonosyke spins around, and his gaze travels towards the unrecognisable fleshy mush of mincemeat in the room.
"Using my powers of observation.... I think this guy might have touched the victim..."
He then approaches the aforementioned wooden desk.
The young lawyer turns 15° to the left of what Herlock was originally looking at, revealing a giant 700 page book covered in blood that just prior was not visible at all from any other angle. The book is also covered in Call's fingerprints, with his name and signature on a receipt sticking out of it.
Ryonnosuke chortles.
"Looks like we caught this guy... read handed...."
Herlock starts violently flailing his arms everywhere.
"Ah yes. I actually thought this the WHOLE TIME. Thank you naruhodo."
Sholmes and Ryonnosuke then start dancing on the crime scene. A job well done.
Call Preete shivers and starts bawling.
"I-I DIDNT DO IT I PROMISE!!!"
"Ok I believe you" Naruhodo replies.
"Oh ok thanks"
Van zieks is also there, and is seen screaming
"I FUCKING HATE JAPANESE PEOPLE!!!!" At the top of his lungs in a drunken stupor.
He smashes a bottle of wine on a nearby Chinese man's head, instantly killing him.
--
Everything I liked about the original trilogy is here in spades. The iconic ost, insane breakdowns, and an interconnected story that seamlessly weaves together the overarching mystery of the two games. And though some of the characters are slightly less iconic than the original, it makes up for it with strong writing and thoroughly engaging mysteries that kept me engrossed in the story throughout it's 70 hour runtime.
I have been listening to "the great turnabout" for months after I completed this game. I have never had more fun playing a visual novel than in the final case of resolve.
Herlock Sholmes
couldnt get all the way through it
These Ace Attorney games really have it all. The story and particularly the ending is fantastic, the writing is strong from start to finish, the characters are uniquely designed and are as charming as ever and the music... chef's kiss. What I especially liked about it is how those different characters are integrated into this historic Victorian-era setting, which made the world much more believable in a natural way. As many have pointed out already, the pacing is probably the biggest weakness of these games. Everything just takes a bit longer than it should, and that is further amplified by most cases leaving a lot of loose ends that are left for the finale. The payoff is definitely there, as the ending is probably one of the greatest endings in all of video games, but the way to get there is very rocky. I kind of miss the character's already.
Probably the best Ace Attorney game. It definitely shows that for both included games the entire plot was planned beforehand which leads to the overall story feeling as connected and well thought out like no other entries in the franchise. It also addresses a bunch of nitpicks and issues with previous titles, leading to also the smoothest gameplay loop in the series. Overall a fantastic Puzzle/Visual Novel game, even though the amount of dialogue can get a bit excessive at times.
Finished case 1 of the first game which was...kinda underwhelming. But it's still very promising. Not much fond of the protagonist: it feels to me a bad mix of Phoenix and Apollo.
the amazing ace attorney aka taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAA
Overall a very mature Ace Attorney game. It tackles mature themes, it requires mature problem solving, and asks the player to follow the game in a mature manner. It asks for a lot of patience in a somewhat underwhelming first half, but the payoff that the first game builds up towards in the second game is well, well worth it.
This review contains spoilers
i wish this had just been packaged as a single game from the start, because that's what it really is - the first game is basically just a long winded intro to the second and neither works without the other. my impressions of the first game initially were lowered because it failed to match the pace I was expecting for a self contained game, but when treated as a preamble to the masterpiece that is TGAA2 it's all well worth it. so - treating this all as 1 game - the overarching story is easily one of the best in the series and the main cast is incredible - loved how many recurring characters were intertwined in the complex lattice of events, making for so many satisfying reveals toward the end. on the other hand though, particularly in TGAA1, i found the side characters wholly unsatisfactory; i found it difficult to care about many of the witnesses/etc as they were either boring or explicitly detestable (2 was definitely better in this regard). i also really am not a fan of the jury system in the trials. it didn't affect my enjoyment of the game too much, but i just found them a constant nuisance whenever they were at the forefront, especially when interrupting trials for no good reason other than to awkwardly force the plot forward. i also found the jurors to be the most blatant perpetrators of xenophobia/racism across the board. while surely period-accurate, it really doesn't make me want to listen to more of their dialogue when half the time it's some spin on "japanese bad". at least van zieks has some motivations about it (speaking of - awesome prosecutor, but it did take quite a while for me to think of him anywhere above average). it speaks volumes that my favorite trials from a gameplay perspective were the ones with no jurors! but in any case, still was all worth it in the end. (though they never did explain the deal with all the repeat jurors... I kinda expected that to be a major plot point somewhere, but nope?) I definitely do hope we get to see more of this cast in the future, whether it's in britain or japan or some wholly new location - honestly as characters i think ryunosuke and susato are way more interesting than phoenix and maya lol, not to mention sholmes, iris, gina and the like.
i don't know how i'd even begin to rate this as two separate games, but as a complete experience - minor gripes aside - truly fantastic. it's simply a long, slow burn, but with the greatest show of fireworks you've ever seen waiting at the end. 9.7/10
i don't know how i'd even begin to rate this as two separate games, but as a complete experience - minor gripes aside - truly fantastic. it's simply a long, slow burn, but with the greatest show of fireworks you've ever seen waiting at the end. 9.7/10
My favorite ace attorney game, damn do I love these characters and the setting(Steampunk is still the least well explored genre ever, it's everywhere and nowhere at the same time) and I just straight up became a Sherlock Holmes nerd and read most of the books because of it.
Like the re-imagination of the character "Herlock Sholmes" might seem completely detached from the original but trust it really captures the character so much better than your regular "I am really smart and emotions mean nothing to me, look how smart I am" kinda shtick. They honestly nailed it.
And damn the build up to the final case and how everything fits together is phenomenal (even though there's some small potholes and your usual farfetched ace attorney logic) I still love it nonetheless.
Also don't get fooled by the really sloooow pacing of the first game, it gets so much better.
Like the re-imagination of the character "Herlock Sholmes" might seem completely detached from the original but trust it really captures the character so much better than your regular "I am really smart and emotions mean nothing to me, look how smart I am" kinda shtick. They honestly nailed it.
And damn the build up to the final case and how everything fits together is phenomenal (even though there's some small potholes and your usual farfetched ace attorney logic) I still love it nonetheless.
Also don't get fooled by the really sloooow pacing of the first game, it gets so much better.
Barok Van Zieks says some hurtful words to Nipponese people in it
I don't remember much from the first game, so I'll talk more about the second one, which I'm glad I recently went back to to complete. All I gotta say about the first game is that it definitely serves as a great introduction to our cast and I believe the cases in Adventures, while a bit worse paced, are better off being less convoluted and not hinging on perfect coincidences than they were in Resolve. 2-2 and 2-3 come to mind.
Speaking of the cast, I do not share the sentiment of others who say that it's annoying or you can't be attached to any character. The only problem I have with the cast is that they stagnate a bit. Not much is done with Iris or for some reason in the last few cases Susato keeps calling herself worthless and all that. No one even lifts her up lmao
Another thing is that the main villain was pretty much predictable. It doesn't have the surprise of the mainline Ace Attorney games (minus Apollo Justice), but that's alright.
The message of the game was still delivered effectively and it's an interesting look into the racist and dark history of the oh so great British Empire from the view of the Japanese. Although they should've definitely talked a bit about how her majesty was actually a terrible person too. Holmes was definitely a character they could've done that through.
Anyway, the last case of the second game was a good conclusion, even if not all of the mysteries have been entirely solved and it still leaves a bit to be desired for me personally.
The gameplay in general was a change of refreshing and repetitive, depending on the case. The final deduction dance is what I hope for, if we ever get DGS3. I don't see DGS3 really happening, though. We could get something similar for AA7, I hope. Just imagining Phoenix, Apollo or Athena doing them is fun. Maybe even Trucy or Klavier. What I always hope from the Ace Attorney games is that we get more characters to play as in certain sections and also that maybe once in a while our defendant is actually guilty.
Well, I've still got the Escapades and dev notes to go through for now
Speaking of the cast, I do not share the sentiment of others who say that it's annoying or you can't be attached to any character. The only problem I have with the cast is that they stagnate a bit. Not much is done with Iris or for some reason in the last few cases Susato keeps calling herself worthless and all that. No one even lifts her up lmao
Another thing is that the main villain was pretty much predictable. It doesn't have the surprise of the mainline Ace Attorney games (minus Apollo Justice), but that's alright.
The message of the game was still delivered effectively and it's an interesting look into the racist and dark history of the oh so great British Empire from the view of the Japanese. Although they should've definitely talked a bit about how her majesty was actually a terrible person too. Holmes was definitely a character they could've done that through.
Anyway, the last case of the second game was a good conclusion, even if not all of the mysteries have been entirely solved and it still leaves a bit to be desired for me personally.
The gameplay in general was a change of refreshing and repetitive, depending on the case. The final deduction dance is what I hope for, if we ever get DGS3. I don't see DGS3 really happening, though. We could get something similar for AA7, I hope. Just imagining Phoenix, Apollo or Athena doing them is fun. Maybe even Trucy or Klavier. What I always hope from the Ace Attorney games is that we get more characters to play as in certain sections and also that maybe once in a while our defendant is actually guilty.
Well, I've still got the Escapades and dev notes to go through for now
this is one of the greatest stories ever told in a video game (and the logic puzzles are cool, too!)
Tl;Dr: The first game is good, albeit a bit uneven. The second game is amazing but needs a playthrough of the first to make it that much more complete.
1: A huge breath of fresh air after experiencing the sub par efforts of AA5 and AA6. Admittingly, some of the parts of this game's story tend to drag on, however, the payoff in the end felt very rewarding. It serves as a great setup for the next game.
2: You'd be very dumb to skip out on this game along with the first one if you are even remotely an Ace Attorney fan. It has some of the best written characters in the franchise and it isn't as gimmick plagued compared to the later games in the mainline Ace Attorney series. Episodes 4 and 5 in this game rank among the best episodes I've ever played in the entire franchise, although it has a deus ex machina in the end that kind of soiled my appreciation for this game. Despite that, dare I say I've enjoyed this game more than the first Ace Attorney game overall, which is my favorite game mostly thanks to Case 4 and Rise From The Ashes.
That's all I have to say about this duology. Go play it.
1: A huge breath of fresh air after experiencing the sub par efforts of AA5 and AA6. Admittingly, some of the parts of this game's story tend to drag on, however, the payoff in the end felt very rewarding. It serves as a great setup for the next game.
2: You'd be very dumb to skip out on this game along with the first one if you are even remotely an Ace Attorney fan. It has some of the best written characters in the franchise and it isn't as gimmick plagued compared to the later games in the mainline Ace Attorney series. Episodes 4 and 5 in this game rank among the best episodes I've ever played in the entire franchise, although it has a deus ex machina in the end that kind of soiled my appreciation for this game. Despite that, dare I say I've enjoyed this game more than the first Ace Attorney game overall, which is my favorite game mostly thanks to Case 4 and Rise From The Ashes.
That's all I have to say about this duology. Go play it.
Amazing duology of games, fun cast of characters, amazing music, and a great plot. The only downside is the first game is generally pretty slow at parts but it ramps up the intensity hard in the last couple trials then it goes all out in its sequel
Very fun
Looks like a painting, reads like the best kind of detective story.
The characters have delightful designs and personalities, the narrative is incredibly tight and gripping, and the OST is, dare I say it, one of the best in the series.
Most of the non-basic mechanics are perfectly suited to the game, but the circumstances setting up the summation examinations can really drag out trials and lower engagement. Other than that I personally want nothing more from this game.
Maybe a little less of the period-accurate slurs, though.
The characters have delightful designs and personalities, the narrative is incredibly tight and gripping, and the OST is, dare I say it, one of the best in the series.
Most of the non-basic mechanics are perfectly suited to the game, but the circumstances setting up the summation examinations can really drag out trials and lower engagement. Other than that I personally want nothing more from this game.
Maybe a little less of the period-accurate slurs, though.
took soooo long to get localized but so worth it too I think it's probably the best of ace attorney
It's good
One of the best finale in a Video Game.
Se você gosta de visual novels, é um jogo maravilhoso. Tem uma narrativa muito bem desenvolvida com personagens carismáticos, equilibrando perfeitamente a seriedade e o humor. É uma sequência que respeita os Ace Attorneys originais mesmo trazendo uma proposta e uma história bastante diferentes.
While I originally watched the fan translation, the official localization does an excellent job at keeping the serious overarching themes with the occasional joke or outlandish character mixed in.
Ahoy i thought it would have phoenix but he is not in it. There is a new guy for this one maybe skip them it is not worth it
They always joke about second case syndrome in Ace Attorney games but 2-2 might be the most snoozer case in a while.
I don't know man, coming right off the train ride from the original trilogy, this game really under delivered. Cases really only started to get interesting in the second game, but that is a whole game before I was invested into the characters and story.
Peak gaming
Easily my favourite ace attorney games and that is SAYING something. Never have I missed fictional characters like I have missed the cast of this game
Possibly some of the best games in the Ace Attorney franchise. Despite having an all new cast and setting, it has fantastic story and character writing, with a suitably climatic finale fit for the franchise. As with every Ace Attorney game, there'll be the odd scenario or two where you have no idea how to progress, like when cases get too complex or you forget a minor detail, though this is still significantly better handled than previous AA games. Highly recommended.
Also Herlock Sholmes may be one of the funniest characters to be in an Ace Attorney game.
Also Herlock Sholmes may be one of the funniest characters to be in an Ace Attorney game.
life changing better than the trilogy honestly.. takes a while to get started but the whole game is worth it for everything coming together at the end
This game is pretty damn good!
Its gorgeous, for one. And secondly, it's a good step for the Ace Attorney franchise. It really gave it a fresh coat of paint!
Having this be set in the past means the conveniences of our modern technology isn't there, so it gives solving cases an interesting edge.
The art is really good. I would have to say that I'm disappointed they took a step back from the stylized mocap they used in Spirit of Justice for the 3DS, and with this one they're doing full on mocap..... it's a little disappointing but Capcom relies pretty heavily on mocap (looking at you, Monster Hunter). I feel like the mocap could've done better with some animation styling it. Still, the facial expressions are really great!
I haven't finished this game yet, but I'm really eager to pick it up again.
Its gorgeous, for one. And secondly, it's a good step for the Ace Attorney franchise. It really gave it a fresh coat of paint!
Having this be set in the past means the conveniences of our modern technology isn't there, so it gives solving cases an interesting edge.
The art is really good. I would have to say that I'm disappointed they took a step back from the stylized mocap they used in Spirit of Justice for the 3DS, and with this one they're doing full on mocap..... it's a little disappointing but Capcom relies pretty heavily on mocap (looking at you, Monster Hunter). I feel like the mocap could've done better with some animation styling it. Still, the facial expressions are really great!
I haven't finished this game yet, but I'm really eager to pick it up again.