Objection? Ace Attorney Dual Destines Review

Here we go, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destines review.

Here is where I’m supposed to review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. But I won’t. Why? Because I had fun with the game. It’s the same goofy, fun humor I expect from the series. It’s the same colorful animations and artstyle. It’s the same upbeat and fitting music. All with updated animations, newer stories with a continuation on puzzles. And most of the puzzles aren’t following stupid adventure-game-logic like previous installments did. And the plot, for as insane as it can get, was incredibly compelling and only got more so as you get close to the conclusion. In short, it’s about everything I could ask for an Ace Attorney game. 

But that’s just it. That’s all it could be for the series it’s encapsulated in with the developer that continues to retread the same concept without any real expansion on the premise. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Ace Attorney, but this article would be insanely short if I just stopped with my liking of it because there isn’t much to talk about without possibly spoiling some elements of the game. More importantly, I just don’t want to throw a game praise when I know it could be better. As much as I loved games like Metroid Prime and Walking Dead, I don’t ever let them escape without some level of scrutiny for improvement. And, indeed, Mr. Wright will not escape my sharp words either.

Let’s start with the basic concept of the game. It’s courtroom battles in which you have two sides fighting over the verdict of the “defendant”. During the games, most cases allow you to search scenes for evidence, question suspects and witnesses, and use a variety of abilities (usually from your partners) to help deduce if the defending party is guilty (they usually aren’t because that’s how this game goes) ranging from high-tech to mystical. And, for the most part, that all works just fine. But I feel like this is only a small sampling of what we could expect should the courtroom battle genre explore in popularity and other people compete to make the genre more diverse and offer more things to do… which is what I’m proposing happens. 

For starters, I’m annoyed that you have to always “win” the case. Why? Because the story demands it and the puzzles demand you solve their one and only one solution. But the problem becomes that if you fuck up enough you get a “game over” screen essentially booting you back to your last save. And while that’s not necessarily a bad deal, that’s not how it should work. If I fail to win a case, my guy should be locked away for my incompetence. Yes, that isn’t fun, but that’s life and we don’t always win. Plus it would allow for variety to the story, good endings and bad endings.

Take this a step farther, let’s assume that in my hypothetical revamp of the game we get paid for cases we do. The less cases you perform successfully, the more money you get. You have to make a minimum amount per month to pay for rent of your law firm, and the rest is spending money. Spending money for what? Why, a large variety of things, which will now be listed below along with detailed descriptions of new mechanics and ideas I think should be implemented: 

#1 – Investigators: Why is it that only the prosecution gets to have investigators (aside from the fact they work with the police directly)? Surely we could outsource out law firm to have Private Detectives or even detectives within the police as well. I ask because I know lawyers don’t do ALL the legwork for a case, that’s the point of detectives. And, with that, you could have level-up systems or skill tress for detectives to improve how they can find certain clues or use interrogation techniques. And the money can be paid for upgrading them or adding a new one to your roster. 

#2 – Lawyers: In Dual Destinies, you play as three attorneys, Phoenix, Athena, and Apollo. All great characters. With the in game money earned, you can then decide who you can afford to place in which case. Certain lawyers (and, yes, introduce more) have a better relationship with the judge, others can provide arguments better, and others may even take or use bribes to get what they want (they don’t all have to be ethical, but that makes them riskier to getting success too). And you can still utilize the special abilities the characters have for various aspects (Phoenix’s magnatama, Athena’s psych-profiling, and Apollo’s truth-seeking bracelet). Various combinations of skills and abilities will cost you (the player) more to use during certain cases. 

#3 – Bribes and Illicit Activities: There were many mentions of the “dark age of law” throughout the game. And I feel like if you have certain lawyers on a case, you should have the option to bribe the judge, falsify evidence, and other questionable methods to get the results you want. HOWEVER this should expose players, making it very possible for them to get caught and go to jail themselves, forcing them to lose the case. Consider it the high risk, high reward strategy for those who want to bend the rules. You could even make it so the more often they use this method the less likely it’ll be successful, making end-game cases impossible to “cheat” through. 

#4 – Agency Maintenance: As boring as it might sound, a RTS-like mini game in which you manage your Agency’s resources (food, power, water, etc) could add another level of depth to a game. It forces you to then meet a certain level of income every week/month in order to keep the agency running. This way the only ways to “game over” are losing your agency due to lack of funds OR losing a story-based mission.

Beyond what money could be spent on, I’d also like to see other changes, such as… 

#5 – Prosecuting: I want to play as a prosecutor. I don’t see why we can’t go after people and make them guilty to boot. And we have two Miles Edgeworth games… Sorry, ONE game here in the west because apparently we’re not good enough to deserve the second game in the series in all its greatness. But, in all seriousness, the option to play on either side (one side during the whole case, but switching in between cases) would be enjoy able because that gives us more options. Hell, it’d be great to then replay cases and try to get the guilty verdict on some people. :D 

#6 – Smaller, Non-Story cases: Certainly more than four or five defendants come to the Wright Agency for help. Certainly there are smaller claims cases or issues in which Phoenix and the gang could help with. Why not have us do those not only to gain some extra income, but to give us a variety of things to do. Lawyers come in all flavors (all tasting like death and despair) allowing them to do more than just defend people for murder chargers. What about helping them fulfill obligations with certain documents like deciding where all the items on a “Last Will In testament” will go? Maybe you get people coming in to argue small moving violations? Maybe you’ll just get pulled into simpler arguments that only take a little bit of time. All these low-profile cases will pay WAY less but they give you something else to do in between big story missions. And I always felt variety would be nice. 

#7 – Multiplayer: I’m hesitant to suggest this because I feel multiplayer is like a poison to good games and a death knell to most shit games. But considering how well Nintendo has pulled off local-multiplayer games, I feel there’s room for an ATTEMPT at this. Simply put, I’d like to see it where you could face off attorney vs. prosecutor with a friend to determine the fate of the defendant using whatever tactics and trickery you have to get the victory. I imagine it’d be slower paced than the main game, but I think fans of the series would appreciate the opportunity to one-up colleagues in the virtual court of law. I know I kind of want to despite my dislike of multiplayer.

Yes, I’m asking for a lot, but why is that an issue? I ask a lot of the games I enjoy because I want to see them grow into better games. Asking them to never change gets us stagnation. And stagnation leaves us with boredom and a desire for something else. I love myself Left 4 Dead, but I can’t just play Left 4 Dead. That‘s why I like games like DayZ or TellTale’s Walking Dead or even Deadlight because they’re all zombie games, but they all approach zombies differently. That’s what I’m asking for here. I love the court-room battle genre for games and I’d love to see MORE of that. But I want to see new approaches and concepts being brought to the brand. 

But before I conclude with that, let’s get a few more things out of the way about Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. Athena Cykes, started off rather annoying and felt very much like she’d just be a trope sidekick female character, but she ends up becoming far more complex in a very pleasing way and I feel she was a stand out in the game and perhaps in female game characters of 2013. Simon Blackquil was substantially less impressive due to his personality being rather one-dimensional, but his background was what kept me interested in him throughout the game. Then again, when you have to compete with the glory that is Miles Edgeworth, yes, you will look inferior in all regards. 

The final new character added to this game and a surprise treat was Bobby Fulbright, the detective. When he was first introduced I was horribly disappointed we weren’t going to pal around with Detective Gumshoe once again because I had grown to like him throughout the course of Justice for All. But Fulbright ended up quirkier, goofier, and (at the same time) absolutely perfect for this game. Yes, he’s no Gumshoe and I still miss him, but Fulbright is a worthy successor. I can say, without hyperbole, that most anyone who plays the game will be surprised by how interesting Fulbright can be by the end of the game… no doubt.

Well, that’s my “review” for Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. It’s an excellent game in an otherwise interesting and unique series. If you’re new to the franchise, this is a game you could probably jump into without too much qualm (and it might be more forgiving to new players too). If you’re returning for more Phoenix action, you’ve come to the right game. This might not be the “best” one but it’s certainly worth the money I spent on it and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it just as much. That’s all for now, see ya next time!