The "Retro Game Reviews" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney is back! 'Who?' you may be asking, since it's been a fair while since the blue-suited attorney put in an appearance. But now he's back, and he's not nearly as smug and annoying as he was in the last game where he took a back seat through the whole of the game. He's accompanied by Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes, fellow attorneys who are also pretty likeable characters.
Despite the name, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, to give the game it's full title, is not a legal simulator by any means. It's more of an adventure game, interspersed with courtroom sections that are ridiculous and convoluted. If you thought Jonathan Creek was daft, you've seen nothing yet. Throw in a bunch of larger than life characters and you've got something that comes across like an episode of Law and Order written by a deranged clown.
Yet despite all this, the Phoenix Wright series is actually brilliant somehow. And Dual Destinies may be the best in the series. It eschews the 2D graphics in favour of new 3D models, which look absolutely superb, assuming you're actually playing it in the 3DS proper 3D mode, in which case they look like cardboard cutouts.
There's also less object hunting than there was in previous games, where'd you have to search various areas of the screen waiting for an appropriate trigger. Instead, you wander around various locations, talking to characters. There are certain locations you have to search for clues, but these areas are clearly marked.
Then there's the courtroom battles, usually about a murder, which are the highlight of the game. You typically get to hear witness talk - via text, the game doesn't have full speech - then pick holes in the arguments using logic or pieces of evidence. This game also throws in a new 'emotion watching' system which lets you show an opponent is lying by measuring their emotions. It's used sparingly and actually works quite well. And while the first two cases in the game - there are five in total - tell you who the murderer is - the rest keep you guessing.
Dual Destinies may not be for everyone, but if you're a fan of the series it's a must by. If you're not, try the demo first - since this is a digital release only, you can't rent it. The game's surprisingly replayable too, since you can jump to any of the sections in the courtroom battles. Well worth checking out.
Score - 8 out of 10:
Pros:
The graphics are excellent.
It's great fun to play.
There are some real twists in the storyline.
Cons:
The wandering around bits aren't quite as much fun as the courtroom battles bits.
Despite the name, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, to give the game it's full title, is not a legal simulator by any means. It's more of an adventure game, interspersed with courtroom sections that are ridiculous and convoluted. If you thought Jonathan Creek was daft, you've seen nothing yet. Throw in a bunch of larger than life characters and you've got something that comes across like an episode of Law and Order written by a deranged clown.
Yet despite all this, the Phoenix Wright series is actually brilliant somehow. And Dual Destinies may be the best in the series. It eschews the 2D graphics in favour of new 3D models, which look absolutely superb, assuming you're actually playing it in the 3DS proper 3D mode, in which case they look like cardboard cutouts.
There's also less object hunting than there was in previous games, where'd you have to search various areas of the screen waiting for an appropriate trigger. Instead, you wander around various locations, talking to characters. There are certain locations you have to search for clues, but these areas are clearly marked.
Then there's the courtroom battles, usually about a murder, which are the highlight of the game. You typically get to hear witness talk - via text, the game doesn't have full speech - then pick holes in the arguments using logic or pieces of evidence. This game also throws in a new 'emotion watching' system which lets you show an opponent is lying by measuring their emotions. It's used sparingly and actually works quite well. And while the first two cases in the game - there are five in total - tell you who the murderer is - the rest keep you guessing.
Dual Destinies may not be for everyone, but if you're a fan of the series it's a must by. If you're not, try the demo first - since this is a digital release only, you can't rent it. The game's surprisingly replayable too, since you can jump to any of the sections in the courtroom battles. Well worth checking out.
Score - 8 out of 10:
Pros:
The graphics are excellent.
It's great fun to play.
There are some real twists in the storyline.
Cons:
The wandering around bits aren't quite as much fun as the courtroom battles bits.
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney is back! 'Who?' you may be asking, since it's been a fair while since the blue-suited attorney put in an appearance. But now he's back, and he's not nearly as smug and annoying as he was in the last game where he took a back seat through the whole of the game. He's accompanied by Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes, fellow attorneys who are also pretty likeable characters.
Despite the name, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, to give the game it's full title, is not a legal simulator by any means. It's more of an adventure game, interspersed with courtroom sections that are ridiculous and convoluted. If you thought Jonathan Creek was daft, you've seen nothing yet. Throw in a bunch of larger than life characters and you've got something that comes across like an episode of Law and Order written by a deranged clown.
Yet despite all this, the Phoenix Wright series is actually brilliant somehow. And Dual Destinies may be the best in the series. It eschews the 2D graphics in favour of new 3D models, which look absolutely superb, assuming you're actually playing it in the 3DS proper 3D mode, in which case they look like cardboard cutouts.
There's also less object hunting than there was in previous games, where'd you have to search various areas of the screen waiting for an appropriate trigger. Instead, you wander around various locations, talking to characters. There are certain locations you have to search for clues, but these areas are clearly marked.
Then there's the courtroom battles, usually about a murder, which are the highlight of the game. You typically get to hear witness talk - via text, the game doesn't have full speech - then pick holes in the arguments using logic or pieces of evidence. This game also throws in a new 'emotion watching' system which lets you show an opponent is lying by measuring their emotions. It's used sparingly and actually works quite well. And while the first two cases in the game - there are five in total - tell you who the murderer is - the rest keep you guessing.
Dual Destinies may not be for everyone, but if you're a fan of the series it's a must by. If you're not, try the demo first - since this is a digital release only, you can't rent it. The game's surprisingly replayable too, since you can jump to any of the sections in the courtroom battles. Well worth checking out.
Score - 8 out of 10:
Pros:
The graphics are excellent.
It's great fun to play.
There are some real twists in the storyline.
Cons:
The wandering around bits aren't quite as much fun as the courtroom battles bits.
Despite the name, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, to give the game it's full title, is not a legal simulator by any means. It's more of an adventure game, interspersed with courtroom sections that are ridiculous and convoluted. If you thought Jonathan Creek was daft, you've seen nothing yet. Throw in a bunch of larger than life characters and you've got something that comes across like an episode of Law and Order written by a deranged clown.
Yet despite all this, the Phoenix Wright series is actually brilliant somehow. And Dual Destinies may be the best in the series. It eschews the 2D graphics in favour of new 3D models, which look absolutely superb, assuming you're actually playing it in the 3DS proper 3D mode, in which case they look like cardboard cutouts.
There's also less object hunting than there was in previous games, where'd you have to search various areas of the screen waiting for an appropriate trigger. Instead, you wander around various locations, talking to characters. There are certain locations you have to search for clues, but these areas are clearly marked.
Then there's the courtroom battles, usually about a murder, which are the highlight of the game. You typically get to hear witness talk - via text, the game doesn't have full speech - then pick holes in the arguments using logic or pieces of evidence. This game also throws in a new 'emotion watching' system which lets you show an opponent is lying by measuring their emotions. It's used sparingly and actually works quite well. And while the first two cases in the game - there are five in total - tell you who the murderer is - the rest keep you guessing.
Dual Destinies may not be for everyone, but if you're a fan of the series it's a must by. If you're not, try the demo first - since this is a digital release only, you can't rent it. The game's surprisingly replayable too, since you can jump to any of the sections in the courtroom battles. Well worth checking out.
Score - 8 out of 10:
Pros:
The graphics are excellent.
It's great fun to play.
There are some real twists in the storyline.
Cons:
The wandering around bits aren't quite as much fun as the courtroom battles bits.