With the release of the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, all but one game in this series is now widely available on every single platform. And for those willing to dust off their Nintendo 3DS to play (the criminally underappreciated) Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, every single currently released game will have been translated into English. I’ve been a fan of this series for far too long, and have really appreciated Capcom’s efforts in bringing the series back. Still, I never would have expected Ace Attorney Investigations would ever make a return. Half of this duology never made it out of Japan for reasons we can only speculate, and after the first game, the series went digital only for most of its entries in the West.
Set during the period between the third and fourth games, everyone’s favorite prosecutor Miles Edgeworth is away from the courtroom and on the streets to uncover the mysteries of ten cases. There are a handful of returning characters to back Miles up, but I’d say he himself steals the show in any scenes he’s in. He’s a very different protagonist than what we’re used to in the series, without being so different he’d alienate fans. He’s serious but surrounded by silly characters so endearing they rub off on him.
I think Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is a fine game, always have. It established an enjoyable spin on the Ace Attorney formula, bringing in a lot more of the point-and-click influences than the mainline series ever did. I remember finding a copy around 2014 in a game store and enjoying it quite a lot up until about the last case which stalled my playthrough for about 7 years. I’d say this is a game worth a play, but I’ve always found it to be less memorable than what came before and after.
Your key gameplay modes are investigating crime scenes and arguing with suspects. Both of these are reminiscent of the two key gameplay types in Phoenix’s games, but Miles spends his time out on the field here. The first-person crime scene investigation is replaced with character sprites, so you’ll control Miles in big maps. Points of interest do let you look at things up close in first-person, and it’ll jump around between the two. Newcomer Kay Faraday even introduces a gizmo that projects holographic data to recreate old crime scenes, adding another layer (literally) to investigating crime scenes. You’ll be able to flip between the past and present versions of them, making it possible to find clues no one else would be able to discover.
Overall the first Edgeworth game is a good time, but spends a bit too much time spinning its wheels as it tries to establish an identity for itself. This is a good spot to mention that both titles in this collection are pretty long, with most cases taking a bit longer on average than your typical Ace Attorney game (I can’t give you an exact time, the game doesn’t track it). Some cases end up really dragging, but at their best, I think they basically just meet the standard the series is known for. I don’t think it’s bad on the whole, but there was a lot of room to grow and edges worthy of polishing.
The sequel, now officially titled Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit, is on a whole different level. The game has been really popular with the few fans who either played the original Japanese release or the fan translation. I’ve often heard people consider this a top-three entry, if not their favorite. I’m glad this collection gave me a chance to play it because I absolutely agree with the praise. The pacing feels better, the story is a lot more interesting, the cast is even better, and it builds on what its predecessor established really well.
The first Edgeworth game set up a lot of the groundwork for this formula, so the sequel can iterate on the gameplay while absolutely improving the writing. Early on Miles comes into a conflict with the Prosecutor’s committee, who are trying to keep him from investigating cases. There’s a lot of good conflict here, with Edgeworth trying to figure out his place in the legal system since his own side seems to be against him at every turn. The second case stands out to me in particular, as Edgeworth joins up with a defense attorney who worked with his father to investigate a case
Fans of the original trilogy know about his father, Gregory Edgeworth, a talented and passionate defense attorney who died tragically during the aftermath of an important case. That actually gets followed up on in this game, in a way that maintains the Ace Attorney silliness while never stepping on. That entire case is fleshed out significantly, and players get a chance to uncover what happened while also getting to play as Gregory. This was a really strong story hook, especially after the first two cases take their time setting up what this game is really about.
There’s plenty more to gush about with the story, and it’s absolutely worth seeing for yourself. While I think the original Edgeworth game is a mixed bag, I’d say this collection is worth playing solely to get to this game. The cases are fun, the locations are interesting, and there’s so much time spent on new characters now that they don’t have to play it safe. Gregory’s old assistant, Eddie Fender, reminds me a lot of Apollo Justice’s take on Phoenix, while still being his own character. On the other side, the prodigy prosecutor Eustace Winner is so annoying that he loops around to be funny. He’s a hilarious foil to Edgeworth, and you can tell he sees a bit of his younger self in him.
The greatest point of praise I can give this entry is that the localization is just outstanding. It reads amazing, feeling right at home among the games it should have released alongside back in the day. The only thing I might have wished they went back and changed would be to re-record the old voice lines because it is a bit obvious which recordings are new and which are old.
The gameplay of the sequel is similar to the first, but there’s a new mechanic called Mind Chess that has Edgeworth use his charisma to break down the barriers of suspects keeping information from him. You’ll be working through different lines of questioning on a timer, needing to observe the reactions from your opponent to decide when to put on the pressure or when to stand back and let them yap too much. You’ll gather clues this way, then use their own words against them to find the truth. It’s a pretty fun extension of the series’ core gameplay, and never really overstays its welcome.
Everything else that comes back feels just a bit less obtuse, while never so streamlined that the mysteries become easy to figure out. I don’t think every case is perfect, but they get pretty close and always have engaging mysteries to solve. Even if you figure out the whodunnit early, there’s some extra layer to complicate things you’ll have to navigate around. You have to fight tooth and nail to make progress in some of these cases, and it feels like a game made for series veterans. There’s a lot less hand-holding, and you jump right into the thick of it immediately.
I mentioned it in my preview, but I think the strongest part of this collection is just how incredible the presentation has been uplifted. With every Ace Attorney collection the remaster team gets better and better, and this is very clear here. All of the art assets have been touched up to work in 16:9 and look fantastic. The character portraits are even better than the glow-up Apollo Justice got with the previous collection too. The newly drawn variants of the field sprites are well-animated and feel right at home. The only part of the visuals that don’t hold up in my opinion is the scaling on the original graphics option. The Nintendo Switch’s screen is small enough to hide most of it, and I honestly don’t even think it’s that big of a deal, but anyone looking for a 1:1 scale for the sprites will likely be disappointed.
This collection offers a fantastic value for fans of the mystery genre, and even more for Ace Attorney games. Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit is one of the best games in this series, and worth playing the first just to get through. I probably won’t be revisiting the first game again, but I can’t stress how good its sequel is. So many presentation and visual improvements have been made to make these two Nintendo DS games feel modern, but they don’t feel lesser than their original versions. This is the definitive way to play these games in my eyes. I have a couple of issues, like how there’s no touch screen support for the Switch version, but outside of that, I think this is a must-play. We’re in a bit of a visual novel/adventure game renaissance right now, with a lot of old franchises coming back or receiving long-overdue localizations. Capcom gave these games the love they deserved, in a year where I’ve been primed to give them all the love I got.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch
Review copy provided by Capcom