Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: Xbox One (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Switch, PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $39.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
The Ace Attorney games have seen a great resurgence over the last five years as nearly every game in the franchise has been re-released by Capcom throughout this time period. We’ve seen the Phoenix Write: Ace Attorney Trilogy tell the original story of Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy continue this story alongside a slew of new characters, and even the release of a story far earlier in history with The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles.
After all these releases fans wondered if a certain other spin-off would be given the same treatment and Capcom has finally delivered that in the form of the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection. Bringing Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and, for the first time ever officially in English, Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit together with improved graphics, how does this set of games focusing on Miles Edgeworth and a different playstyle hold up?
Story
Set between the events that happen in Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney both games in this collection follow not our familiar Phoenix Wright nor his eventual protege, but instead Miles Edgeworth and his work alongside the wonderfully inept Detective Gumshoe and, eventually the inclusion of an insistent assistant “thief” by the name of Kay Faraday. Each game in this collection focuses on telling its own tale spread across its various cases though it is worth noting that knowledge of at least what happened in the original Ace Attorney Trilogy will certainly help fans enjoy the game more thanks to how many characters return to both get fleshed out a bit as they are given more screen time or to annoy fans thanks to how troublesome they were in the original trilogy.
Perhaps one of the most interesting elements involving Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is the way that each of the cases that players solve as Miles Edgeworth eventually culminate and come together to tell a drastically more challenging and elaborate final case that works to deliver a solid and satisfying conclusion, even if the main villain is something of a surprise. The odd thing about the story in this first game however is that it is told almost entirely out of order, with each case taking place along different spans of time, with the very first case that players solve actually being relatively near the end of the actual plot. This can make things a bit confusing but thankfully, as mentioned before, the final case ties everything up in such a satisfying manner that players will easily be able to keep track of everything.
It also helps that we get to see Miles Edgeworth as more than a prosecutor and see his internal thoughts as he interacts with a wide array of characters both new and old in entirely new situations. Along these same lines, as mentioned before, Miles’ usual teamwork with Gumshoe or his reluctantly accepted assistant Faraday make for some wonderful scenes that would seem out of character for Edgeworth if not for the developments that players get to experience throughout the story.
The second game in the collection, Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit, is even better in this regard. Shockingly taking place almost immediately after the events of the first game (Edgeworth has an extremely busy month here) the characters that serve as overarching antagonists and troublemakers that Edgeworth has to deal with alongside his allies are even better this time around and in fact features some moments that are right up there with the best from the main franchise. While we won’t go into detail about what these events are, let’s just say that the various twists and revelations are incredibly well-written, making the second game even more enjoyable than the first. Combine this with even more interactions with characters from the main franchise that get even more time in the spotlight here and the delight of seeing Edgeworth and Gumshoe in a different light alongside the always entertaining Faraday and players are in for a real treat here. It’s just a shame that it took this long for fans to actually be able to enjoy it in the West.
Gameplay
The most interesting aspects of the games in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is that they are not only set entirely outside of the courtroom and players don’t have to deal with the various court room shenanigans, they are now more like point and click adventures instead. Rather than trying to absolve someone of a crime Edgeworth is instead tasked with investigating a crime scene and surrounding area in order to find out who the real culprit actually is. This is done by gathering clues by searching through each location, talking with others or interviewing them, investigating the body most of the time, and also making use of two new mechanics, one introduced in the first game and a second introduced in the second one.
Interviewing a possible culprit or witness works in similar fashion to the Ace Attorney series, just outside of the courtroom. Players will listen to a statement made by the character they are talking to and can press them for more information on each line or present evidence that they are lying with a nice and loud “Objection!” The investigations on scenes are also more detailed as players can find specific locations that can be examined close up and often find that something isn’t quite right. and “deduce” that something is wrong by using a piece of evidence to point out that something in the crime scene is amiss or doesn’t match the evidence on hand, given an updated or new form of evidence that can be used later. Finally, perhaps the more interesting mechanic to investigate is the “logic” ability that allows Edgeworth to use his smarts to put two pieces of information together to create a new thought that either unlocks additional interactions or develops a piece of evidence to be more useful.
Alongside these more standard investigation tactics the first game in the collection introduces the “Little Thief” item that creates a holographic reproduction of the crime. As Edgeworth uncovers more information the hologram will update accordingly allowing players to get closer to the truth. It is nice to note that both games feature solid quality of life features here such as showing when players have seen everything possible in an up close investigation as well as the standard investigations as well, bumping players along to the next step without leaving them wondering where to go or what to do next. It is a bit more limiting in this regard as players cannot freely return or explore places like they can in Ace Attorney, but this isn’t much of an issue.
The second title, while still making use of all the aforementioned mechanics including Little Thief, also sees Edgeworth having to sometimes deal with witnesses or suspects that simply don’t want to talk or reveal what they know. This triggers Mind Chess which takes place in the form of a conversation where Edgeworth has to eliminate his target’s chess pieces in order to get them to open up. Players will need to choose when to stay silent and let their target go on a tangent and then give them a push to try to go on the attack. Making a mistake here resets the player’s progress quite a bit and while this wouldn’t be too much of an issue, every Mind Chess battle is a timed affair which is quite annoying eventually. This mechanic tends to be more troublesome than not, especially when compared to the numerous other gimmick gameplay elements from other Ace Attorney entries.
Outside of the two games players will find a wealth of extra content in the form of being able to enjoy the game’s soundtrack outside of specific scenes, view concept art and various other items from development and more. Some of this content unlocks as players complete chapters but it is worth noting this should probably be looked at after players have beat the game or at least most of it as it has the potential to spoil certain events as some content is automatically unlocked.
Audio & Visuals
Both games in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection have been given a loving HD treatment here and this is evident both with the character models and their over-the-top expressions and animations as well as the character sprites that explore each crime scene that are also highly varied. Since players will move around crime scenes, Edgeworth and numerous other characters will move around and be on screen at once with their own sprites that look brilliant. That being said, if players want some nostalgia they can choose to revert to the classic sprites but unfortunately this can only be done at the main menu and not on the fly during gameplay.
As usual both games feature no real voice work outside of characters shouting Objection! and other signature phrases from the game but that is just fine as these sound effects remain as crisp and clear as fans will remember. The soundtrack is exceptional here as well, with most crime scenes featuring their own unique song and some of the background music even changing when players are cornering their target.
Overall
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection closes out the complete set of Ace Attorney remasters outside of a certain crossover and does so in wonderful fashion here. Not only are fans able to see a different side of Edgeworth as well as countless other returning characters, the new storylines and characters are just as sharp as any mainline entry. Combine this with the enjoyable investigation mechanics that, with the exception of Mind Chess, all work great. Combine this with a slew of bonus concept art and other things to look at as well as the lovingly handled graphical upgrade and any fan of the Ace Attorney series should find this collection a great way to experience the beloved franchise once more with its own take on investigations.
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