Saccharine, endearing and endlessly surprising. That kind of thing is par for Shu Takumi but this game really doubles down on what works about Ace Attorney and finds room for a great deal more sustained character work and sentimentality than the Ace Attorney games typically go for. The structure of the game leaves the first two cases feeling a bit too much like tutorials, and as a result the exciting parts of the game feel pretty backloaded, but when they kick in the game hits its stride.

There is a concerted (and applaudable!) attempt here to reckon with English racism and xenophobia but its simplicity and ham-handedness maybe starts to strain the limits of credulity towards the end, and the absence of any similar scrutiny towards the Empire of Japan left me wanting the game to deliver a more comprehensive politic, particularly as the latter part of the game leans hard into international intrigue and global relations. Clearly Takumi had these things firmly in mind, so here’s hoping that’s in the second one!

I sorta mourn this translation only coming on modern platforms, as this game is absolutely gorgeous and I wish it were possible to see these assets on that lovely 3DS display, but that’s obviously not the game’s fault. I’d say this ranks third among the Gyakutens Saiban, after 1) Apollo Justice and 2) Ace Attorney.