E3 2013: Hands-On ‘Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Dual Destinies’

As most fans of the Ace Attorney series probably know, the last few years have been a turbulent ride for everyone’s favorite spikey haired defense lawyer. Fans were divided over the handling over the last major entry in the franchise, Apollo Justice. Two Edgeworth spinoffs would see releases, but due to poor sales of the first, the second never saw a release outside of Japan. When Dual Destinies was confirmed for the States, it was announced that it was coming as digital only, a first for the series since it debuted here on the DS in 2004. Needless to say, while it’s great that it didn’t pull and Edgeworth and not come out at all, many would be defense attorney’s would rather have the option of a physical copy. While Phoenix and crew may have hit hard times as of late, my biggest fear was that shifting focus back to the original protagonist would completely ignore the plot lines started in Apollo Justice. After some hands on time in the courtroom however, it’s safe to say these fears were put to rest with the defense.

WARNING: Minor Case 1 spoilers may follow!

The demo starts off much darker than previous Ace Attorney titles, (which is hard to do when murder is the norm for each case.) During a previous trial, a bomb went off in the middle of the court room. Apollo was the acting attorney and was injured during the blast. Now, a young girl who was in the room when the blast went off is being accused of the crime, and with Apollo’s injuries keeping him out of action, it’s up to Phoenix Wright to stand up for their client and come out of retirement to stand in Apollo’s place.

While Phoenix may have a reputation as a legendary defense attorney, years being away from the bench has left him a little rusty. His ability to bluff his way through a trial however, is alive and well. The court sections play just like they have since the second game. In order to spot contradictions in witness testimony, players must compare their statements to the evidence and confront them when caught in a lie. If there aren’t any errors in their statements, witnesses can be pressed for more information on each statement, potentially giving us an opening that might not have originally been there. But think carefully… Each mistake costs a certain amount of “health” so to speak, and once that bar is gone, the judge will throw your case out and declare your client guilty. You don’t want to live with that on your conscience, do you?

But as we’ve learned in some of the more recent games, sometimes witnesses are too calculating to be cracked. What’s one to do when there aren’t any contradictions in any statements? That’s where Athena Cykes comes in, the hotheaded best friend of the defendant, rookie attorney and Phoenix’s newest assistant. Athena comes equipped with a new Mood Matrix, which highlights each statement and shows you what emotions the witnesses are feeling when they say them. If for example, the person is feeling happy while discussing a ceiling collapsing on then, you know they’re either screwed in the head, or there’s more to the story that they’re telling. Combined with Phoenix’s Psyche Locks and Apollo’s Perceive ability, this power of psychology is a welcomed addition to this crazy world that gamers have fallen in love with.

Other than the game play, the new 3D animations look fantastic in motion. The writing is in top form, making me laugh out loud multiple times, (and getting strange stares from the people sitting around me in the process.) I’m happy to see that Apollo isn’t being replaced, and instead is standing side by side with Phoenix as dual protagonists. As a side note, I just have to mention how much I love these E3 demos. Like Ghost Trick before it, this game had exclusive dialogue reminding me I’m playing a demo, (“I hope you can win in 10 minutes Mr. Wright. This is just a demo after all.”) Many old and new faces are promising to show up, and if the time I had with the demo is any indication, whether its digital or not, Ace Attorney fans can start getting excited over this newest game giving us another day in court.

Dual Destinies will be heading for a 3DS eShop near you in September.