the visual novel genre, as a whole, just… wasn’t really a thing over in the west before 2005. sure, there were a couple of smaller-scale games that came along throughout the 90s, but the american equivalent of a VN was old point-and-click games; alone in the dark, myst, that kind of thing. after those fell out of favor with the public, RPGs took over as the primary storytelling game genre. japan’s biggest story-based western releases were less twilight syndrome and more final fantasy.

phoenix wright: ace attorney changed that. drastically, i’d say.

its localization in 2005 ushered in a wave of visual novels never seen before. trace memory, hotel dusk, the professor layton games, and 999 all released within the next 5 years, to varying levels of success. and while these games are all appealing in their own right, ace attorney opened the door to their popularity outside of japan. how did this extremely japanese lawyer game open up a new genre of games to non-japanese audiences?

two reasons: it was released by capcom, and it was very good.

first one’s obvious: capcom is a large company, with a large budget for marketing. the push for this game in north america was larger than any other VN had ever seen. plus, when your game is an interesting, emotional, tense experience with likable characters who face genuine growth throughout the game, word of mouth helps spread the good word as well.

being a court drama, the game’s split into two major segments: investigations and trials. investigations aren’t anything special; run around the crime scene and various other locations, collect evidence, and talk to anybody around the area. it’s all rather one-note, but it’s not atrocious or anything. the conversations with witnesses, various members of the police force, the prosecution, and other members of interest help make the world feel full, and each location you visit is a nice peek into the city surrounding the courtrooms.

the trials, though, are the obvious highlight of the game. those same witnesses you just talked to are now thrust up onto the stand, and you must comb their testimony looking for contradictions. new arguments may pop up out of nowhere, just based on someone telling a lie. your evidence is your lifeline, connecting what they say to the proof you’ve gathered. they’re very tense moments, as your entire understanding of a case may shatter with each new witness that comes up.

phoenix himself ebbs and flows with the waves of the case; he’s a rather unexperienced rookie, often nervous and tense due to a lack of experience while in the courtroom. outside of it, when the stakes remain low, he’s a snarky yet fun guy. he cares deeply about those he holds close, but often remains closed off himself. he’s the perfect main character; someone with enough personality to not feel like a self-insert, allowing for interesting story beats, but also likable and friendly.

his relationship with maya fey, his trusty assistant, is the backbone of this game. she’s much more bubbly, often joking with phoenix and generally lightening the mood. her joy spreads through phoenix, so when she’s happy, he tends to be as well. their relationship is close, connected through tragedy, and her openness with phoenix is the opposite of phoenix’s relation with the rival prosecutor, miles edgeworth. he’s genuinely intimidating, he feels imposing whenever he shows up. he’s willing to hide evidence, all to force phoenix to play his game. but it’s clear he’s unhappy; casual conversations with the man are non-existent, and his evolution into a “demon prosecutor” was not up to him. he’s a deeply conflicted man, and his progression through the game is excellent.

of course, there’s some other fun repeating characters. gumshoe is a silly detective. he’s not always the smartest, but his intentions are always good. mia fey is phoenix’s ever-knowing mentor, a mature expert with lots of experience under her belt.

both these characters and the cases of the game play into the overarching themes: family ties, and courtroom corruption. edgeworth is the face of the corrupt courts, and gumshoe often fights against his will by helping phoenix with evidence. maya and mia are both spirit mediums, who are looking to form their own future against the grain of their family’s wishes. every case exacerbates these themes further, placing each character in a position to face their problems head-on. even when the mystery itself isn’t great, how the characters interact during each case is always well-done.

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even the first case, a bonafide tutorial where the killer is known from the start, plays into that theming. your client, larry, is a bumbling fool, but he did really care for his girlfriend, the victim, no matter how shallow those feelings may have been.

then mia is killed. your mentor dies, and you lay defending her younger sister. maya’s distraught, obviously, and even while phoenix is still comprehending what happened, he still feels the drive to save maya. he knows that losing her sister is damn hard, and fights tooth and nail to find the truth, even against a corrupt, government-controlling blackmailer, with a still uptight prosecutor on his side.

after that tragedy, they take a trip to hollywood. a place that should be jolly, but that’s now been the sight of two murders. the only reason a second one happened is that the first was held over the head of the perpetrator for half a decade, and as you hand edgeworth his second loss, these facts lay heavy on his mind. his mindset begins to change, into one closer to phoenix’s; he wants to fight for the truth.

… and before he can think too much, he’s arrested for murder. you learn his and phoenix’s history as childhood friends, then that he’s been trained by an abusive adoptive parent for the better part of two decades. that adoptive parent is your opponent in court, one manfred von karma: an overbearing, manipulative, aggressive aristocrat whose 40 year winning streak came at the cost of edgeworth’s father. miles’s actions begin to make more sense, and you begin to understand why he was so unwilling to reconnect with phoenix.

it all ends with the murder of a detective, at the hands of the chief of police, assisted by a blackmailed chief prosecutor. at this point, any semblance of normalcy that edgeworth has had is now completely toppled. his life fell apart… and he still fought for the right verdict, a complete 180 from his initially “demonic” ways.

the character development is what truly sells these cases. no character comes out unchanged. phoenix starts as a rookie, but by the end, his tactics are more firm. he’s more confident, even if his skills aren’t super polished yet. edgeworth’s entire life is flipped on its head, and his character changes from evil to helpful. maya’s self-doubt after the death of her sister is a consistent undertone through the entire game, until her departure after the fourth case to improve her skills as a medium. her want to feel less useless pushed her to improve herself.

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the story as a whole is quite good throughout. there are some ups and downs - the third case specifically isn’t a terribly fun mystery, and there are some characters i’m not a huge fan of - but as a whole, the narrative being conveyed is very well done.

the largest thing holding the game back is its pacing; at points, the game slows to a halt. it’s especially noticeable in the final 3 cases of the game, all of which span over 3 days. evidence ends up being spread thin between each court day, making some moments feel a lot less impactful than they could’ve been, as well as adding lots of unnecessary transition time.

bar the pacing issues, some unfortunately written characters, and a rather boring investigation system, the first ace attorney outing is extremely fun. filled to the brim with great emotional highs, fun and developed characters, and wonderful overarching theming, this game is an excellent introduction to a burgeoning series of games.