enmatthew
Having played the rest of the games in the Ace Attorney franchise, I was excited to finally start the pair of Investigations games. After starting, I couldn't shake a feeling of deja vu and by the end I was convinced I must've actually played my original DS copy before and just forgotten.
That aside, the game was a lot of fun. It delivers on the appeal of Ace Attorney games where you can solve some interesting mysteries while meeting some zany characters, but with a nice enough twist that you're not doing it in a courtroom. It really offers the game something unique from the rest of the series and gives it its own pacing. My main complain would be the early cases are too easy and the final case is a slog. It literally is just too long, since the actual scene and circumstance of the crime are clever.
That aside, the game was a lot of fun. It delivers on the appeal of Ace Attorney games where you can solve some interesting mysteries while meeting some zany characters, but with a nice enough twist that you're not doing it in a courtroom. It really offers the game something unique from the rest of the series and gives it its own pacing. My main complain would be the early cases are too easy and the final case is a slog. It literally is just too long, since the actual scene and circumstance of the crime are clever.
I never bothered finishing Remake so it might be my own fault. And never played the original for that matter. I can’t get into the combat. The cast of characters are amazing, the minigames overwhelm but delight more often than not, and the story genuinely has hooks in me. But I can’t enjoy roughly 50% of the game. Combat doesn’t feel good and the open world clutter can be ignored but never fades away.
2022
I thought I’d stick with playing the shikaku puzzles for a full year but have finally found myself waning after 110 puzzles. The regular and weekly “hoops” are generally relaxing and just engaging enough.
2023
For a run based game with multiple characters, the runs themselves often end up feeling very similar. The drip feed of story is well done and does help differentiate the game. And I do actually enjoy the mix of card gameplay with ship tactics, it just feels a bit thin quicker than I would have hoped.
Quickly felt like I was playing an all timer. The biggest criticism might be length, with the best upgrades feeling like they come late, though that’d be nitpicking. It never felt like it over stayed its welcome and I was compelled to keep playing to see the story through and also just because it never stopped being fun.
Huge respect to Ubisoft Montpellier. A revisit of Rayman Legends is overdue, as is finally playing Beyond Good & Evil.
Huge respect to Ubisoft Montpellier. A revisit of Rayman Legends is overdue, as is finally playing Beyond Good & Evil.
Peaks too early but the mystery is still compelling enough to give the game some momentum. The game does a lot with a little visually and the 2D art with panning camera angles, and simple film grain filter, make it stand out and have a filmic, j-horror on VHS vibe.
2024
I'm still working through Elheim and torn between taking a break to come back to the game with renewed energy (but risk never coming back), or power through to the end now.
At the start, I was enjoying tweaking formations and now it's generally untouched or something I dread since I find a lot of that interface bothersome. Just swapping units and/or equipment can be a pain. Programming unit behavior is a real standout and I wish the rest of the formation interface felt as exceptional.
I was originally smitten with the overworld map too and thought it was a neat layer on top of the interesting combat. After two completed regions it's a slog.
It all feels a bit shallow, and not that much more depth than the combat in 13 Sentinels. Just occasionally upgrade units equipment, tweak their programming to handle new skills, and then in combat just run units into each other and generally one shot enemies. And the story isn't a draw for me. With the games addictiveness, it ends up feeling like a good mobile game. One I don't want to put down but end up not feeling that great about dumping 30 hours into.
At the start, I was enjoying tweaking formations and now it's generally untouched or something I dread since I find a lot of that interface bothersome. Just swapping units and/or equipment can be a pain. Programming unit behavior is a real standout and I wish the rest of the formation interface felt as exceptional.
I was originally smitten with the overworld map too and thought it was a neat layer on top of the interesting combat. After two completed regions it's a slog.
It all feels a bit shallow, and not that much more depth than the combat in 13 Sentinels. Just occasionally upgrade units equipment, tweak their programming to handle new skills, and then in combat just run units into each other and generally one shot enemies. And the story isn't a draw for me. With the games addictiveness, it ends up feeling like a good mobile game. One I don't want to put down but end up not feeling that great about dumping 30 hours into.
2022
By the end I was narratively on board but the game is breaking at the seams. Bad camera and generally ugly visuals. I’d definitely be up to see more on more powerful hardware. This game just pushed past the limit of what should’ve been done on Switch.
Favourite bit is Viola’s victory animation. 🤘
Favourite bit is Viola’s victory animation. 🤘
While this game knows exactly what it is, what it is sucks.
2019
A pinball video game hasn’t grabbed me like this since Pokemon Pinball or Space Cadet. Great aesthetics and chunky, crunchy game feel. I’ve never had a tilt function feel so good.
I got 42M high score early and was always trying to beat it. I never did… I’ll keep returning occasionally in the hopes of doing so.
I got 42M high score early and was always trying to beat it. I never did… I’ll keep returning occasionally in the hopes of doing so.
2024
I’m a fan of the roguelike genre but it’s not that often that I find a game that truly makes me want to do “just one more run”. Balatro clears that hurdle. But after unlocking the different decks and then trying to increase difficulty, I hit a wall. The number of runs that go nowhere increased and the tedium started to wear me down.
I’ll still return for the occasional run. I admire the game for its simplicity and slick presentation.
I’ll still return for the occasional run. I admire the game for its simplicity and slick presentation.
A well made remake that often feels like a loving tribute to the originals. There’s tons of care put into the presentation. I love the COs animations; WayForward accomplished a lot with a little in that respect.
After finishing the first ending of AW1, and getting two thirds through the second campaign, I’m finding myself unexcited to keep playing. The missions of Black Hole Rising are generally improvements over the original, they just get too long and can feel like a grind.
I may return and either persevere or tweak the difficulty but I currently feel like I had my fun with the game.
After finishing the first ending of AW1, and getting two thirds through the second campaign, I’m finding myself unexcited to keep playing. The missions of Black Hole Rising are generally improvements over the original, they just get too long and can feel like a grind.
I may return and either persevere or tweak the difficulty but I currently feel like I had my fun with the game.
Complexity of puzzles became overwhelming in the last few cases. The interface isn’t well adapted to the Switch either.
2018
“Humorous” cutscenes that whiff more than hit (while dragging on), graphics that don’t use 3D and have a strangely ugly look like they were scaled strangely, and a greatest hits that feels like it doesn’t actually bring together the series’ best. I wish they’d tried something more ambitious for the 3DS. I found Get It Together to be a much more interesting twist on the formula.
All that said, I’m glad they did bring together some micro games from all the previous games on a system that can do mash, tilt, and touch. There is value in that.
All that said, I’m glad they did bring together some micro games from all the previous games on a system that can do mash, tilt, and touch. There is value in that.
I’ve wanted to play this series for over a decade, so it’s natural it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. While the presentation of this remake is nice, the story and mechanics are puddle deep. It seems like it’d be geared towards fans of half century old YA mysteries like Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew but a grown adult will find this mystery uninteresting and the characters almost cartoonishly inhumanlike. The tilt controls in the 2nd half were so bad, I thought I’d encountered a game ending bug until I managed to proceed somehow.
If anyone is still curious, I’d suggest trying Hotel Dusk: Room 215 instead.
If anyone is still curious, I’d suggest trying Hotel Dusk: Room 215 instead.