I
suppose "immersion" is one of those things the 3DS was going for with its 3Dness and
all.
But even then, most games don't get it.
They're still very much "games," and I recognize them as such, and most of my emotion is determined
by whether or not I'm winning.
The Ace Attorney series, on the other hand... that's different.
Capcom have crafted a line of adventures that grab you by the throat and don't stop squeezing.
They're the most lighthearted depictions of grisly murders I've ever seen, kinda like
Monk without the OCD but with the absurdity cranked up in compensation.
And they went away for a long period of time, teasing us with re-releases of the same cases
we've cracked before on our Wiis and iPhones and whatnot.
But now... now the Wright Anything Agency is open once more.
Court is in session, the honorable Mills Lane presiding.
Let's get it on.
What we've presented today, your honor, is in line with previous entries in the series:
A compilation of cases spread out over a period of months, each functioning as a separate
incident but contributing to an overarching narrative.
They detail the inner workings of the party of the first part, heretofore known as the
"Wright Anything Agency," formerly the "Wright & Co.
Law Offices" but now offering talent booking services and a specialty in stage magic.
The party of the... oh, sod it.
YOU'RE A LAWYER, one of several, actually, from renowned Dr. Doom-slayer Phoenix Wright
all the way down to newcomer to the firm Athena Cykes, who is not only a bar-certified lawyer
in her own right but can also fulfill the "moderately deranged sidekick" role that's
become a staple of this series.
You talk to people, investigate crime scenes, point, click, and most importantly reason
your clients out of a number of sticky situations in a twisted mockery of jurisprudence that
makes for lousy societal control but a smashing video game.
You might even have to delve into their emotions by analysing vocal fluctuations which indicate
jargon jargon babble more hoops to jump through because Maya's not around to show you the
psyche-locks and Apollo can't use his magical polygraph bracelet because there's a hawk
pecking his head.
Problem is, it's a very linear game.
Which is great for telling a story - and don't get me wrong, the story's about 85% of why
you're here in the first place - but if you're clever, you're probably going to find yourself
thinking at least one step ahead of the game at most junctures.
And this might result in your being exceedingly frustrated when you can't just shout "IT WAS
USED AS A BLUDGEON, YOU DIMWITS" into the microphone - though there is microphone support
as has been a hallmark of the series.
For your crime of overclocking your brain, you take penalties that lead to a guilty verdict...
but then you can just continue, so why bother.
Maybe it's a pride thing.
But as I've mentioned before, you're not playing this for pride, you're playing for the story.
And the soundtrack, which is intensely awesome.
Oh, and it's all in 3D.
Considering that you're sitting in a courtroom for most of the time, that's not such a big
deal...
but this use of models rather than sprites allows for a significant boost to the graphics,
and most notably to the animation quality.
That would've been enough, but then they had to go and add fully-animated cutscenes to
the equation, making it look even better.
And THAT would've been enough, but Capcom decided to go all-out and include support
for DLC content and updatable costume packs, so you can be classic-Phoenix if you want.
Personally, I think the vest works for him.
Dual Destinies has the usual flaws of a Phoenix Wright game (plus I think they got the Mega
Man Battle Network 4 team to proofread and it shows), but manages to overcome them by
being thoroughly engaging and, yes, even immersive.
I guess you just can't keep a good man down.
Or a lawyer, for that matter.