Justice for All is widely agreed on to be the weakest of the Ace Attorney trilogy, for reasons I can understand. It only contains four cases out of the typical five, for one. The first case being a tutorial and the third, infamously, being brought down by the pedophile love triangle plotline. For all of that though, it still introduces incredibly important developments for the series; premiering Fransizka and finishing with the much revered Farewell, my Turnabout
As a child this was easily the least influential game for me, I absolutely could not STAND Fransizka and none of the cases stood out to me much. Now though, I definitely feel more positive about it. I still dont have much attraction for the 1st and 3rd cases but I'm pretty impressed by the overall implications the events in this game have over the rest of the series. In a way, some of it feels partly like a set up for T&T, especially the happenings with Morgan and Pearl. But heres where we start getting smarter and more thoroughly crafted cases, psyche locks also being an intresting way to interact with and progress characters outside of court. As a kid I think I preferred Maya, but honestly Pearl is very endearing and a delight to have as an assistant. Her being more "mature" than her cousin despite her age introduces a lot of funny situations and also reinforces my belief that 9 year old girls are the greatest force on the planet. Mimi Miney and Acro are two of my favorite killers in the trilogy, and I thought Mimi's situation in the 2nd case specifically was very cleverly thought out.
Unfortunately this game (all of the trilogy, really) has some bad habits which annoyed me in JFA particularly. One is just straight up showing you who the killer is- if not in the opening cutscene then just at a random point throughout the case. The other is withholding all developement until you present a random item/profile to a character- despite the fact that you may have already discussed said item with said character 2 or 3 times but you havent ACTUALLY unlocked the conversation topic for it until you show them. And it is very easy go forget what you should be showing whom as theres no way to keep track of dialouge, so that can be a tad frustrating.
Farewell, my Turnabout is a huge bombshell in terms of the logic of the series and opens up a lot of questions that it is still answering. Mainly, what it means to be a defense lawyer and what the search for truth actually looks like, if the law can even uphold that standard, and how to make the right decision within that confinement. Watching Phoenix grow throughout the game from being an anxious rookie to a genuine attorney is important, but it's really only evident through the developments in this case as his and Miles' relationship is reestablished. Miles himself has grown into the character we more or less remember him as, and in a world where prosecutors hate your guts, it is very refreshing to watch a dynamic where the two work together and mesh with each other so easily. Because of the game's length, Fransizka tended to be sidelined a great deal of the time (being the only prosecutor to not even have her own theme), but she did get her moments throughout case 4 that made my heart hurt a little. Especially the post credits scene which had me tearing up a bit at the end, it is a huge shame we dont really see more of her throughout JFA and T&T because I adore her and she should be treated better.
Overall I'm kind of just happy to finally be playing T&T now, and while I wouldnt risk it all dying on the hill of defending JFA- it IS still a very good and important game to the Ace Attorney series regardless of how much you may want to hang Trilo upsidedown by his feet and force feed him milk till he pukes.
umm, like... how do I close out a review? I kind of, like, forgot. Sorry.
As a child this was easily the least influential game for me, I absolutely could not STAND Fransizka and none of the cases stood out to me much. Now though, I definitely feel more positive about it. I still dont have much attraction for the 1st and 3rd cases but I'm pretty impressed by the overall implications the events in this game have over the rest of the series. In a way, some of it feels partly like a set up for T&T, especially the happenings with Morgan and Pearl. But heres where we start getting smarter and more thoroughly crafted cases, psyche locks also being an intresting way to interact with and progress characters outside of court. As a kid I think I preferred Maya, but honestly Pearl is very endearing and a delight to have as an assistant. Her being more "mature" than her cousin despite her age introduces a lot of funny situations and also reinforces my belief that 9 year old girls are the greatest force on the planet. Mimi Miney and Acro are two of my favorite killers in the trilogy, and I thought Mimi's situation in the 2nd case specifically was very cleverly thought out.
Unfortunately this game (all of the trilogy, really) has some bad habits which annoyed me in JFA particularly. One is just straight up showing you who the killer is- if not in the opening cutscene then just at a random point throughout the case. The other is withholding all developement until you present a random item/profile to a character- despite the fact that you may have already discussed said item with said character 2 or 3 times but you havent ACTUALLY unlocked the conversation topic for it until you show them. And it is very easy go forget what you should be showing whom as theres no way to keep track of dialouge, so that can be a tad frustrating.
Farewell, my Turnabout is a huge bombshell in terms of the logic of the series and opens up a lot of questions that it is still answering. Mainly, what it means to be a defense lawyer and what the search for truth actually looks like, if the law can even uphold that standard, and how to make the right decision within that confinement. Watching Phoenix grow throughout the game from being an anxious rookie to a genuine attorney is important, but it's really only evident through the developments in this case as his and Miles' relationship is reestablished. Miles himself has grown into the character we more or less remember him as, and in a world where prosecutors hate your guts, it is very refreshing to watch a dynamic where the two work together and mesh with each other so easily. Because of the game's length, Fransizka tended to be sidelined a great deal of the time (being the only prosecutor to not even have her own theme), but she did get her moments throughout case 4 that made my heart hurt a little. Especially the post credits scene which had me tearing up a bit at the end, it is a huge shame we dont really see more of her throughout JFA and T&T because I adore her and she should be treated better.
Overall I'm kind of just happy to finally be playing T&T now, and while I wouldnt risk it all dying on the hill of defending JFA- it IS still a very good and important game to the Ace Attorney series regardless of how much you may want to hang Trilo upsidedown by his feet and force feed him milk till he pukes.
umm, like... how do I close out a review? I kind of, like, forgot. Sorry.
This review contains spoilers
Going through case by case
2-1
Really shitty rehash of the original opening case with a dumb excuse for why everything is getting re-explained. The killer is dumb though I do enjoy Maggey. I'd be willing to bump the case up a point for her but she shows up later on and does just as well if not better. 1/5
2-2
One of my sleeper favorite cases actually. I very openly am not a huge fan of Maya (though Pearl is adorable and a great secondary assistant for the game) but any time they use spirit channeling and it's implications in the mystery is some of my favorite stuff. I like the killer sort of ambiently, she's not my favorite by any regard but she does what she needs to, with the real star antagonist being Morgan who I love. Unfortunately, a bit overshadowed by a later case involving spirit channeling and Morgan Fey...
Oh yeah Franziska shows up here and she's good 4/5
2-3
Yeah it's turnabout big top, I don't know what else to tell ya...
I hate Moe less than the average person and I actually think the killer's motivation and final reveal is pretty neat but that's about where it stops for me. Max is a middling defendant who gets in the way far too often, and Ben Woodman is a strong contender for my least favorite character in the series. I'm a fan of fun dumb murders but the execution that defies the laws of physics reaches way too far over the line in the name of a concept that isn't fun in the first place. Also hate that there's a really prominent plot point of a love triangle between a 21 year old, a 31 year old, and a fucking 16 year old.
That's all I can really say for this, especially when every complaint of this case has already been made somewhere online. 2/5
2-4
Ooh boy this is the biggun. If you play Justice for all, play it for this case because it is phenomenal and absolutely worth the slog of 2-1 and 2-3. Franziska being smacked out of an opportunity to have the final case for this game irks me a a bit but her final conversation with Edgeworth makes up for it in my mind and I really like how she ends up here. I love the habit of bringing back a few old characters who make sense for the scenario, though this mainly extends to Will powers since Wendy exists more or less as the amazing human obstacle without her fun dynamic with Edgeworth for the time we had it in 1-3. Adrian Andrews is such a good character who has been put through the ringer so much and it hurts every time you have to try and corner her.
Speaking of which, this case is great at constantly keeping you on your toes with Phoenix needing to walk the tightrope of figuring out the truth while keeping Maya safe. It's part of what makes Matt Engarde such a great despicable killer. Ultimately, a phenomenal ending to a somewhat middling entry to the series. 5/5
Overall, Justice for all is absolutely worth your time if only for that final case, but that's not to say it's without merit. The second case is also great and some of the new additions like Psyche locks give the investigations more depth that they sorely needed.
2-1
Really shitty rehash of the original opening case with a dumb excuse for why everything is getting re-explained. The killer is dumb though I do enjoy Maggey. I'd be willing to bump the case up a point for her but she shows up later on and does just as well if not better. 1/5
2-2
One of my sleeper favorite cases actually. I very openly am not a huge fan of Maya (though Pearl is adorable and a great secondary assistant for the game) but any time they use spirit channeling and it's implications in the mystery is some of my favorite stuff. I like the killer sort of ambiently, she's not my favorite by any regard but she does what she needs to, with the real star antagonist being Morgan who I love. Unfortunately, a bit overshadowed by a later case involving spirit channeling and Morgan Fey...
Oh yeah Franziska shows up here and she's good 4/5
2-3
Yeah it's turnabout big top, I don't know what else to tell ya...
I hate Moe less than the average person and I actually think the killer's motivation and final reveal is pretty neat but that's about where it stops for me. Max is a middling defendant who gets in the way far too often, and Ben Woodman is a strong contender for my least favorite character in the series. I'm a fan of fun dumb murders but the execution that defies the laws of physics reaches way too far over the line in the name of a concept that isn't fun in the first place. Also hate that there's a really prominent plot point of a love triangle between a 21 year old, a 31 year old, and a fucking 16 year old.
That's all I can really say for this, especially when every complaint of this case has already been made somewhere online. 2/5
2-4
Ooh boy this is the biggun. If you play Justice for all, play it for this case because it is phenomenal and absolutely worth the slog of 2-1 and 2-3. Franziska being smacked out of an opportunity to have the final case for this game irks me a a bit but her final conversation with Edgeworth makes up for it in my mind and I really like how she ends up here. I love the habit of bringing back a few old characters who make sense for the scenario, though this mainly extends to Will powers since Wendy exists more or less as the amazing human obstacle without her fun dynamic with Edgeworth for the time we had it in 1-3. Adrian Andrews is such a good character who has been put through the ringer so much and it hurts every time you have to try and corner her.
Speaking of which, this case is great at constantly keeping you on your toes with Phoenix needing to walk the tightrope of figuring out the truth while keeping Maya safe. It's part of what makes Matt Engarde such a great despicable killer. Ultimately, a phenomenal ending to a somewhat middling entry to the series. 5/5
Overall, Justice for all is absolutely worth your time if only for that final case, but that's not to say it's without merit. The second case is also great and some of the new additions like Psyche locks give the investigations more depth that they sorely needed.
Originally played this in high school but have since replayed multiple times. The final case is easily my favorite in the series, to the point where I call this my second favorite game in the series, but the other cases can be a bit ehh. There are also a few very obtuse leaps in logic that can kill the momentum.
A sequel done greatly. PW:AA 1 set the stage for the story of this one and JFA ran with it. I agree with the general consensus that case 4 of this game is the best of all, but I really love all 3 others in this game, as well!
similar to the first game in score if u include RftA but it does feel far less cohesive and consistent, sometimes seeming as if they just crammed a few random cases to fill in a second game while they were working on Trials & Tribulations
net win still tho
net win still tho