I just finished the first game of this duology yesterday, and I thought I'd put my thoughts on it down here.
Overall, the game is mechanically solid, with the jury being a welcome change from PW games; it allows for more drama, and having non-lawyers provide their opinions can be insightful (and, true to the series, quite funny too). Sholmes' Logic and Reasoning Spectacular sequences are also laughably bizarre and entertaining, while also providing vital clues.
The investigation sections also don't last as long as in PW games, so getting to the trial sections (the real juicy parts) doesn't feel like an utter slog - Capcom should've added Chapter Selection into the original trilogy and AJ: AA, honestly, and being able to jump right to the trial segments in PW: DD and SoJ is amazing.
Case 4 being about an assault, not a murder, is a definite change from the rest of the AA series, too, and Case 3's purposefully-unsatisfying ending is a nice shock, especially since it's the first British case in the game.
And lastly, I do love Sholmes' characterisation and how Naruhodo undergoes actual character growth, first being a timid newbie before being refined into a proper, experienced defense attorney. No other DA has really shown this as much as him; not Apollo, not Athena, not Phoenix - so it's a welcome blast of fresh air.
However, I do have to take issue with Case 4 (The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro) - not only is it a boring drag of a case, with nothing linking it to the other four cases in this first game (apart from increasing Naruhodo's character growth), but the constant abuse Joan throws at her husband - and how Juror No. 5 repeatedly mentions his own wife throwing knives at him - just is not funny at all. Why was this sexist abuse approved? I may never know what the writing team was thinking here. The defendant, Soseki, is also annoyingly jarring with his repetitive and bizarre animations and alliterations; he could have totally been toned down a bit.
Case 5's Juror No. 5 (the old, female communications officer) also introduces herself with "female-centric future awaits" at the start of the trial, which also bugs me - why female-centric? Why not, oh I dunno, EGALITARIAN? Why focus solely on women? An utterly repulsive start to a four-part trial (the longest in the game).
On a different note, the idea that a ten-year-old girl has a medical degree and is an accomplished author just stretches the realm of "suspension of disbelief" too far. Iris Wilson should've been more childlike, for sure, without the degree and just starting to write. Oh, and Gregson fawning all over a damn child when he's a full-grown detective is just weird. Not to mention Naruhodo bringing said ten-year-old girl into the courtroom as a capable assistant, when Phoenix didn't even do that with Pearl (unless she channelled Mia), who wasn't that much younger than Iris here.
There is something to be said of being a bit ahead when living with Sholmes, but Iris takes this way too far.
In short, the first game in The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a solid and mostly-enjoyable game; I'll probably get my thoughts on the second game down whenever I finish it.
Overall, the game is mechanically solid, with the jury being a welcome change from PW games; it allows for more drama, and having non-lawyers provide their opinions can be insightful (and, true to the series, quite funny too). Sholmes' Logic and Reasoning Spectacular sequences are also laughably bizarre and entertaining, while also providing vital clues.
The investigation sections also don't last as long as in PW games, so getting to the trial sections (the real juicy parts) doesn't feel like an utter slog - Capcom should've added Chapter Selection into the original trilogy and AJ: AA, honestly, and being able to jump right to the trial segments in PW: DD and SoJ is amazing.
Case 4 being about an assault, not a murder, is a definite change from the rest of the AA series, too, and Case 3's purposefully-unsatisfying ending is a nice shock, especially since it's the first British case in the game.
And lastly, I do love Sholmes' characterisation and how Naruhodo undergoes actual character growth, first being a timid newbie before being refined into a proper, experienced defense attorney. No other DA has really shown this as much as him; not Apollo, not Athena, not Phoenix - so it's a welcome blast of fresh air.
However, I do have to take issue with Case 4 (The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro) - not only is it a boring drag of a case, with nothing linking it to the other four cases in this first game (apart from increasing Naruhodo's character growth), but the constant abuse Joan throws at her husband - and how Juror No. 5 repeatedly mentions his own wife throwing knives at him - just is not funny at all. Why was this sexist abuse approved? I may never know what the writing team was thinking here. The defendant, Soseki, is also annoyingly jarring with his repetitive and bizarre animations and alliterations; he could have totally been toned down a bit.
Case 5's Juror No. 5 (the old, female communications officer) also introduces herself with "female-centric future awaits" at the start of the trial, which also bugs me - why female-centric? Why not, oh I dunno, EGALITARIAN? Why focus solely on women? An utterly repulsive start to a four-part trial (the longest in the game).
On a different note, the idea that a ten-year-old girl has a medical degree and is an accomplished author just stretches the realm of "suspension of disbelief" too far. Iris Wilson should've been more childlike, for sure, without the degree and just starting to write. Oh, and Gregson fawning all over a damn child when he's a full-grown detective is just weird. Not to mention Naruhodo bringing said ten-year-old girl into the courtroom as a capable assistant, when Phoenix didn't even do that with Pearl (unless she channelled Mia), who wasn't that much younger than Iris here.
There is something to be said of being a bit ahead when living with Sholmes, but Iris takes this way too far.
In short, the first game in The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a solid and mostly-enjoyable game; I'll probably get my thoughts on the second game down whenever I finish it.
