The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
Released: July 26, 2021
Game Length: 75 Hours
Grade: C
Introduction
A Long Game: I am an avid Phoenix Wright fan. So when I found out that they were re-releasing the originally Japanese-exclusive spin-off series onto Steam back in April, I was pretty thrilled. I started the game back in August. Let that sink in for a moment. I started the game back in August 2021. What first started as a couple of hour play sessions gradually decreased into 15-minute episodes. The original trilogy took only 65 hours between three self-contained games that merely used elements within the same universe. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is designed for you to play both games in order to fully understand what truly happened within the story. So although you do complete a few strange quests in the first couple Acts, the answers to their unusual resolutions aren't directly given to you until the last couple Acts in the second game. There are plenty of hints and events that foreshadow what you finally discover in the final case, but to spend that much time getting there can be exhausting.
Problems
A Long Talk: There are many problems in this game, but there is one that is going to stand-out much more than the other ones: People talk too much. The cases you or your friend solve are fun in their own right, but they need to get to the point faster. There are many times I'm sitting here wanting to present evidence to the court that will blow wide-open the case and instead, people are arguing whether or not such a thing exists. I have it right here! Let me show you! But no, I gotta' sit around for 10 minutes while they argue whether or not it is possible to drink tea cold (I'm not making this up). They have to debate whether or not someone else might have the thing in their pocket (This also happens). The witness has to spend a few minutes telling me how much of an idiot I am before I show him the bloody hand print he left behind on the murder weapon (I might have stretched the truth a little on this one). I recall one time the protagonist rambled on, "I have a thing that contradicts your statement... it is right here... totally going to solve everything... it is a thing I found while investigating... and my friend pointed out that it could totally do something like that... which makes me a great lawyer..." Please just give me the prompt to present it!
Messy Mechanics: Every Phoenix Wright game offers some new system to engage the player. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth allowed you physically walk around the environment while allowing you to interact with objects on the Nintendo 3DS. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies utilized a "Mood Matrix" to read people's emotions. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles borrows the ability to interview multiple witnesses and members of the Jury at once from Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright. However, there is a new mechanic: Dance of Deduction. Sherlock Holmes is presented as the eccentric man we all know, but for some reason he is a complete idiot when it comes to making deductions. So, you literally have to play along to his ridiculous "song and dance" twice (once overall and then each phrase as you come to them) before you can correct him. "I deduce the man is singing!" despite the fact his lips aren't moving (actually happens). Every time this event crossed my path, I wanted to throw the keyboard across the room. It was so embarrassing to watch.
A Messy Story: The original Phoenix Wright follows a somewhat cartoon setting. You know who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, but you need to prove this in a court of law. This game throws that out the window. People who might be innocent are guilty. Those you thought dead will come back to life. People who obey the law are probably corrupt. Those you think are telling the truth are really lying. There is a ton of espionage, deceit, and cruelty prevalent to almost everyone you meet. As I mentioned above, there are some odd resolutions made in the course of your investigations early in the game. The reasons behind these unusual circumstances is so the main plot can take place at the end. One specific case led you to believe your client murdered someone, only to be told three hours later that the victim was actually still alive. These points are supposed to elicit some shock and awe from the player. Instead of surprising me, I grew disgusted and despondent. It told me that the game could do whatever it wanted. You have no idea how many times I expected someone to tell me that the evidence I presented in court was somehow replaced with a fake when I wasn't looking.
A Linear Story: Although the game gives you the illusion of choice when deciding upon what type of evidence to present or deciding on what to say, there were numerous examples where my anger blazed to how precise and technical the game got when allowing me to engage its content. The evidence that you require to make any progress tends to only appear when cross-examining a particular statement. The witness, the prosecutor, or even the jury will conveniently hand you something in the middle of trial that is required to counter a contradictory statement. There are times when you are walking around where a special event will not occur until you examine a particular item in the background. If you ever want to see how the game is meant to be played, turn on Story Mode setting. I watched one time during a heated debate where my character didn't "realize the truth of the matter" until cross-examining every single statement from the witness. Only then you were able to present something from the Court Record. Since the game utilizes the system to speak with multiple witnesses at once, sometimes you just have to keep pressing the witness until one of the other ones freak out. I think perhaps the biggest crime was trying to select an item in court or during one of Sherlock Holme's deductions and fail because I didn't "re-examine" the item with some new information I recently obtained. For example, I knew by looking at a photograph that it was the item being looked at, but I had to click on the person in the photograph before it counted. Another instance I clicked on all three options - books, candle, and empty bottle - before finding out that I had to "identify" the books sitting on the floor to turn them into... "familiar books" before the game accepted my answer. Sometimes, I really hate this game.
Oddball Characters: Seeing every character you come across perform some crazy theatrics anytime they speak is all part of the course in a Phoenix Wright game. But there was something that was bothering me very early the game. Like some sort of bad fan fiction (I should speak since I'm writing this on a site full of them), you get to stay with Herlock Sholmes. As I mentioned above, his caricature is a giant mess from his dumb deductions to his giant mood swings. What is sinfully worse is the fact that the person that plays the role of Dr. John Wilson is a 10 year-old girl, with pink hair, that wrote out all the popular books of Sherlock Holmes, who developed advanced technologies and chemical reagents to help with your investigation, and a bunch of other ridiculous notions you hear about during your travels. I demand to know who invited the anime writer! You also have the one who references his own lines as William Shamspeare and Barok van Zieks looking and acting like Dracula from a Castlevania game. The other thing I don't approve of is how "coincidentally" the members of the jury are somehow known to you one way or another. The sequel portion of the game does redeem itself by adding random characters, but the implications are still apparent.
Controls
The Modes: There are three different modes you can choose to play the game: Normal, Auto, or Story. Normal is for those who are used to clicking through every single statement in a visual novel. Auto automatically clicks for you, even if there is another witness you need to interview. If you don't care about achievements, the third option allows you to sit back and watch the game skip over everything that is unnecessary while performing every action for you... kind of like if you wanted to watch 60 hours of a Youtube playlist without buying the game. However, these features are a bit quirky. Auto-play can be turned off at any time, but it can only be turned on after the text concludes. If you click on something you've already click on before, there is no way to speed the text up while in this mode. The problem with story mode is blatantly obvious - you don't interact with anything that isn't required to make progress and you don't have conversations with people unless it is necessary for the plot.
Lack of Options: For a visual novel built on a reputable game series, there is surprisingly a lot of things absent. I can overlook the fact that there are no personalized colors or shift in tone for the characters. But would it be too much to ask for a volume meter? Why must I select a sub-menu option to change scenes instead of simply clicking on a door in the background. Can we make the magnifying glass be functional somehow or enhance a piece of evidence more? Why am I not able to use the arrow keys on the keyboard when trying to change dialogue choices? Pressing the escape button does not direct you to main menu, but instead advances the next line of text. Is there anyway we could distinguish the idea of looking through your Court Record without "presenting" the items in a cross-examination? At least the game gives you the option to switch out three of the character's outfits in the second half of the game. I also did quite enjoy the little blurbs that unlock in the first half of the game.
Summary
Review: For lovers of the Phoenix Wright series, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles includes all of the little things that make watching the story unfold great. There is a long list of wacky characters, crazy twists in the story, and cases that you will want to solve. Unfortunately, what distinguishes the game from the main series hinders it the most. The way the main part of the story drags on for hours at a time, how the game requires specific things to be highlighted or identified to make any sort of progress, and the ridiculousness of how the plot evolves by turning the characters you meet against you does not make your experience any more fun or exciting in the least. I do not recommend anyone getting this game. However, it still might be worth your time to watch a playthrough instead.
3-22-2022