Message #339253

[The Truth]

Game being rated: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Graphics: Uses just a few sprites per character, like the previous Ace Attorney games. If you like that style, the art is as good as ever, and the characters are certainly...unique as ever. I laughed out loud when I first saw Spark Brushel's face, and the "tell" of the final villain is...horrifying. In a good way. However, the video segment (Prosecutor Klavier's concert) didn't age that well...though seeing his guitar spontaneously catch fire is still funny.  8/10.

Music: As usual for an Ace Attorney game, the music is awesome. My favorite is "Forgotten Legend", Phoenix's theme. (bit.ly/1k43Wrq) 9/10

Story: This may just have the best story out of the entire series. It's filled with well-written twists, unique characters, and the most hate-able villain the series has ever had, even moreso than Dahlia Hawthorne from the previous game. You'll have to have a good memory though, since everything from the first, third, and final cases turns out to be connected. And it is AMAZING.
11/10.

Gameplay: I missed the Magatama system (until you play as Phoenix at the end) and Apollo's "perceive" ability isn't as good (for example, in one, you have to notice the witness swallow as she says a single word. In another you have to see a witness sweat. It gets annoyingly tricky to spot the tells), but it's all worth it for the final villain's awesomely disturbing tell. The investigation segments are fun and the trials are as great as ever.  9/10


Other: Witness breakdowns are as wonderful as ever. The final villain's breakdown even manages to surpass that of the Phoenix Wright trilogy's main villain (when Phoenix managed to send Dahlia Hawthorne to Hell purely with an awesome speech), and taking that villain down is amazingly satisfying. The other breakdowns are good as well - one witness gets smacked in the face by his own hair, and another somehow manages to levitate a bowl of borscht with pure rage.

And as usual, the dialogue is wonderfully snarky and funny. The Judge, of course, takes the cake with his usual...oddness ("no, your Honor, please don't lick that..."), and the banter between Trucy and Apollo is great.

Final score: 9.5/10