This review contains spoilers
For personal reference more than anything else. Have done the spoiler warning just in case though.
First time doing a full playthrough.
To start off with I wrote something for each case after I played it and its slightly chronological so I'll have that first and then discuss anything else afterwards.
Case 1: The Lost Turnabout.
An alright case that had a neat concept regarding Phoenix having amnesia. Some funny lines here and there. Maggey was a likeable character and Wellington was pretty fun as well even if his dialogue was a little repetitive. A couple of solutions I didn't really like (knowing the baseball glove would go on the non-dominant hand (it was made pretty clear by the game though) and realising that the antagonist had Phoenix's phone).
Case 2: Reunion and Turnabout.
A good case that despite being kind of obvious (which wasn't helped by the game practically giving away the answers early on) was quite interesting. The characters are decent here, it was nice seeing Lotta again, I really liked Ini and Pearl was kind of funny. I wasn't quite as interested in Morgan or the doctor though. Franziska was also entertaining and I'm excited to see her in more trials, although her calling everyone foolish got kind of old after a while. Gameplay wise though I really wasn't having a good time, a lot of the answers in the trials didn't make a whole lot of sense to me and most of the time I had no idea what the game wanted from me. Psyche-Locks seemed like an interesting idea but I found them kind of annoying as all it did was make the already kinda tedious investigation sections even more tedious.
Case 3: Turnabout Big Top.
I don't think that this is a particularly great case in all honesty and just kind of disliked it despite it getting better in the second half. The majority of characters suck with the only remotely decent one being Acro but even then he's only just sort of interesting. The love triangle between Regina, Max and Trilo/Ben was just uncomfortable and gross. The resolution is kind of stupid as well I think, with how exactly the 'flying figure' was created. In terms of gameplay though I actually had a better time with this case compared to the last, the logic made more sense to me and I even enjoyed playing most of this case except for the trial on the first day. Psyche-Locks aren't really growing on me but they were more tolerable in this case.
Something I've noticed though with the last case and this one is how little actual investigating it feels like I'm doing, I'm not really a fan of the investigation sections but I understand why they're there. It seems though that I'm just not really finding clues and instead just talking to people in the hopes that they come out with something relevant to the plot which wasn't really happening in the first half of this case as the love triangle which is explored then, doesn't actually matter in the grand scheme of things and it was only on the second day when the incident with Léon was discussed that we actually got something important.
I also felt there was an issue with the investigation sections withholding something because I wasn't supposed to get to it yet and it feeling kind of bad. The first is when you explore the Ringmaster's room on the first day and look at his tailcoat, Maya notices a bit of paper sticking out of a pocket and mentions it to Phoenix just for him to say something about how they shouldn't just take things, just for it to turn out that you need to wait an in-game day and talk to Max first so that you know its actually relevant before you can pick it up. The second is after talking to Regina about the incident with Léon, where I tried to present this incident to Acro just for him to come out with some placeholder text about how he doesn't leave his room so he has no idea what's going on outside of it. Only to then do Moe's Psyche-Lock where he asks who you think got bitten by Léon and me to immediately rule out Acro because of what he said, just for him to actually be the correct answer. I know the trials have the issue where the player will probably know something before it gets discussed but that makes some sense as the characters just aren't up to the same speed but in both of these situations it just felt poorly thought out.
Case 4: Farewell, My Turnabout.
This was a pretty good case and easily my favourite in the game. The story was really interesting and the characters are all great here, with the new ones like Adrian and Shelly being really good, the returning ones all being fun and the main characters getting solid characterization. Phoenix's inner struggle choosing between doing what is right and saving Maya, Edgeworth showing that he is truly doing things for the right purposes now and Franziska learning that she doesn't have to be perfect to be a good prosecutor, this chapter even sold me even more on Pearl who was entertaining throughout. Going back to the story I do slightly hope though that we end up defending another guilty character later on in the series as I feel like the concept wasn't used to its full potential here.
Gameplay wise was mostly good as the investigations had a nice flow to them (that and it actually feeling like I was investigating this time around) and Psyche-Locks were mostly decent, although I find it kind of annoying having to go back and redo all of one if health gets fully depleted. The biggest problem for me here though were the trials, the first one with Oldbag I enjoyed but after that I wasn't as keen. The second and fourth trials were just kind of there and not as fun to play although I quite liked the second one's impact on Adrian as a character. The third one though was just really boring, having to prolong a trial despite knowing that the defendant is guilty seemed really cool to start with but it just didn't work, there wasn't much flow and it felt pointless doing it. It may be because I knew Maya is in the later games but even if I didn't I don't think I would've entertained the idea that the game would actually kill her off (at least like this) and it was obvious that the game wouldn't let Engarde get away with his crimes, so where I was probably supposed to feel tension or something, I couldn't.
Now as for the rest of the game, I initially wasn't sure about the music but in the end it kind of grew on me and there were like two or three tracks I really liked. The Psyche-Locks were fine in the end but I think I just would have preferred if they weren't in the game or handled differently as they just feel like the normal trial gameplay without having to choose which sentence to present evidence to.
A problem for me as I went through the game is feeling my patience with it running out at times, I know that the game is Japanese and is somewhat representing how the court system works over in Japan (even if the game is set in America) but the Judge was constantly getting on my last fucking nerve. He is too stupid and I felt a sense of catharsis whenever a character would just ignore whatever inane shit came from his mouth, I actually kind of like the character but having to basically drill something into his head or explain the most basic things to him is unbelievably annoying. The whole section in 2-3 where it takes a whole half of a trial to establish that just because Person A is wearing Person B's clothes, that does not automatically make them Person B was genuinely infuriating, it made a little more sense when the witness changed from Trilo/Ben to Moe as at the very least he saw the face shape but even that didn't feel like enough to say with 100% certainty that the person was Max.
The other reason for my lack of patience was when the game did not bring anything new to the table, had a lot of repetition or had me press through every statement in a testimony and then press on something a second time to make progress. I think I've come to the slight realisation that while I am perfectly fine with playing Visual Novels I really do need them to be interesting most of the time as repeatedly tapping a button to get through a wall of text that just isn't worth reading is boring as shit and kind of irritates me. I don't mind the cases having slower pacing but I need there to be a valid reason for it and not just to elongate a case for no real reason.
As I didn't write anything for the first game on here I'd like to state my opinion on some things that were still present in this game just so I can talk how I felt in regards to them. I know this is a GBA game but I don't really like that completely losing all of my health in a trial sends me back to the main menu where I have to go from my last save, after running into an issue because of this with the last game I made sure to save constantly but I wish that there were checkpoints for the the start of each testimony or something as it is not fun having to go redo everything again. I also feel like the lack of voice acting isn't something I'm all too keen on, it does feel nice being able to go at my own pace when reading but there were multiple times that felt like missed opportunities when I felt that some dialogue or a particular moment would be enhanced with being able to hear the characters. Even if it worked like Danganronpa (this is more in relation to this being a remaster as I know that this game predates Danganronpa by a fair few years, I feel like optional voice acting could've been something they added to this re-release) and was only in the trials I wouldn't have minded as that's where I felt it could use it most.
Overall I liked the game, there were multiple pros and cons and when I got annoyed or harboured a dislike for the game I really felt it and I severely doubt I'll play this game again, but the good aspects were really strong at times and I was mostly having a decent enough time and was kept interested so I'd say the experience was more positive than negative.
First time doing a full playthrough.
To start off with I wrote something for each case after I played it and its slightly chronological so I'll have that first and then discuss anything else afterwards.
Case 1: The Lost Turnabout.
An alright case that had a neat concept regarding Phoenix having amnesia. Some funny lines here and there. Maggey was a likeable character and Wellington was pretty fun as well even if his dialogue was a little repetitive. A couple of solutions I didn't really like (knowing the baseball glove would go on the non-dominant hand (it was made pretty clear by the game though) and realising that the antagonist had Phoenix's phone).
Case 2: Reunion and Turnabout.
A good case that despite being kind of obvious (which wasn't helped by the game practically giving away the answers early on) was quite interesting. The characters are decent here, it was nice seeing Lotta again, I really liked Ini and Pearl was kind of funny. I wasn't quite as interested in Morgan or the doctor though. Franziska was also entertaining and I'm excited to see her in more trials, although her calling everyone foolish got kind of old after a while. Gameplay wise though I really wasn't having a good time, a lot of the answers in the trials didn't make a whole lot of sense to me and most of the time I had no idea what the game wanted from me. Psyche-Locks seemed like an interesting idea but I found them kind of annoying as all it did was make the already kinda tedious investigation sections even more tedious.
Case 3: Turnabout Big Top.
I don't think that this is a particularly great case in all honesty and just kind of disliked it despite it getting better in the second half. The majority of characters suck with the only remotely decent one being Acro but even then he's only just sort of interesting. The love triangle between Regina, Max and Trilo/Ben was just uncomfortable and gross. The resolution is kind of stupid as well I think, with how exactly the 'flying figure' was created. In terms of gameplay though I actually had a better time with this case compared to the last, the logic made more sense to me and I even enjoyed playing most of this case except for the trial on the first day. Psyche-Locks aren't really growing on me but they were more tolerable in this case.
Something I've noticed though with the last case and this one is how little actual investigating it feels like I'm doing, I'm not really a fan of the investigation sections but I understand why they're there. It seems though that I'm just not really finding clues and instead just talking to people in the hopes that they come out with something relevant to the plot which wasn't really happening in the first half of this case as the love triangle which is explored then, doesn't actually matter in the grand scheme of things and it was only on the second day when the incident with Léon was discussed that we actually got something important.
I also felt there was an issue with the investigation sections withholding something because I wasn't supposed to get to it yet and it feeling kind of bad. The first is when you explore the Ringmaster's room on the first day and look at his tailcoat, Maya notices a bit of paper sticking out of a pocket and mentions it to Phoenix just for him to say something about how they shouldn't just take things, just for it to turn out that you need to wait an in-game day and talk to Max first so that you know its actually relevant before you can pick it up. The second is after talking to Regina about the incident with Léon, where I tried to present this incident to Acro just for him to come out with some placeholder text about how he doesn't leave his room so he has no idea what's going on outside of it. Only to then do Moe's Psyche-Lock where he asks who you think got bitten by Léon and me to immediately rule out Acro because of what he said, just for him to actually be the correct answer. I know the trials have the issue where the player will probably know something before it gets discussed but that makes some sense as the characters just aren't up to the same speed but in both of these situations it just felt poorly thought out.
Case 4: Farewell, My Turnabout.
This was a pretty good case and easily my favourite in the game. The story was really interesting and the characters are all great here, with the new ones like Adrian and Shelly being really good, the returning ones all being fun and the main characters getting solid characterization. Phoenix's inner struggle choosing between doing what is right and saving Maya, Edgeworth showing that he is truly doing things for the right purposes now and Franziska learning that she doesn't have to be perfect to be a good prosecutor, this chapter even sold me even more on Pearl who was entertaining throughout. Going back to the story I do slightly hope though that we end up defending another guilty character later on in the series as I feel like the concept wasn't used to its full potential here.
Gameplay wise was mostly good as the investigations had a nice flow to them (that and it actually feeling like I was investigating this time around) and Psyche-Locks were mostly decent, although I find it kind of annoying having to go back and redo all of one if health gets fully depleted. The biggest problem for me here though were the trials, the first one with Oldbag I enjoyed but after that I wasn't as keen. The second and fourth trials were just kind of there and not as fun to play although I quite liked the second one's impact on Adrian as a character. The third one though was just really boring, having to prolong a trial despite knowing that the defendant is guilty seemed really cool to start with but it just didn't work, there wasn't much flow and it felt pointless doing it. It may be because I knew Maya is in the later games but even if I didn't I don't think I would've entertained the idea that the game would actually kill her off (at least like this) and it was obvious that the game wouldn't let Engarde get away with his crimes, so where I was probably supposed to feel tension or something, I couldn't.
Now as for the rest of the game, I initially wasn't sure about the music but in the end it kind of grew on me and there were like two or three tracks I really liked. The Psyche-Locks were fine in the end but I think I just would have preferred if they weren't in the game or handled differently as they just feel like the normal trial gameplay without having to choose which sentence to present evidence to.
A problem for me as I went through the game is feeling my patience with it running out at times, I know that the game is Japanese and is somewhat representing how the court system works over in Japan (even if the game is set in America) but the Judge was constantly getting on my last fucking nerve. He is too stupid and I felt a sense of catharsis whenever a character would just ignore whatever inane shit came from his mouth, I actually kind of like the character but having to basically drill something into his head or explain the most basic things to him is unbelievably annoying. The whole section in 2-3 where it takes a whole half of a trial to establish that just because Person A is wearing Person B's clothes, that does not automatically make them Person B was genuinely infuriating, it made a little more sense when the witness changed from Trilo/Ben to Moe as at the very least he saw the face shape but even that didn't feel like enough to say with 100% certainty that the person was Max.
The other reason for my lack of patience was when the game did not bring anything new to the table, had a lot of repetition or had me press through every statement in a testimony and then press on something a second time to make progress. I think I've come to the slight realisation that while I am perfectly fine with playing Visual Novels I really do need them to be interesting most of the time as repeatedly tapping a button to get through a wall of text that just isn't worth reading is boring as shit and kind of irritates me. I don't mind the cases having slower pacing but I need there to be a valid reason for it and not just to elongate a case for no real reason.
As I didn't write anything for the first game on here I'd like to state my opinion on some things that were still present in this game just so I can talk how I felt in regards to them. I know this is a GBA game but I don't really like that completely losing all of my health in a trial sends me back to the main menu where I have to go from my last save, after running into an issue because of this with the last game I made sure to save constantly but I wish that there were checkpoints for the the start of each testimony or something as it is not fun having to go redo everything again. I also feel like the lack of voice acting isn't something I'm all too keen on, it does feel nice being able to go at my own pace when reading but there were multiple times that felt like missed opportunities when I felt that some dialogue or a particular moment would be enhanced with being able to hear the characters. Even if it worked like Danganronpa (this is more in relation to this being a remaster as I know that this game predates Danganronpa by a fair few years, I feel like optional voice acting could've been something they added to this re-release) and was only in the trials I wouldn't have minded as that's where I felt it could use it most.
Overall I liked the game, there were multiple pros and cons and when I got annoyed or harboured a dislike for the game I really felt it and I severely doubt I'll play this game again, but the good aspects were really strong at times and I was mostly having a decent enough time and was kept interested so I'd say the experience was more positive than negative.