Ace Attorney (series)

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Ace Attorney (逆転裁判, Gyakuten Saiban^?, lit. Turnabout Trial or Comeback Courtroom), also known as the Phoenix Wright, is a series of adventure/visual novel games in which players assume the role of new defense attorney, Phoenix Wright.

The first three installments of the series were released on the Game Boy Advance platform, and only in Japan. Since then, the first two were re-released in an enhanced format for the Nintendo DS, and it is these versions which are being released in the USA and Europe. The Japanese releases of these versions feature both English and Japanese. As of yet there are no plans to re-release the third game - instead there is a new installment in development which will be exclusive to the DS. Capcom has stated that additional releases in the USA and Europe depend on sales of the first two, and that if additional games are released, the third would be released before the fourth in the USA and Europe.^[1]

A manga of the video game series is currently being made in Japan.^[2]

Contents 1 Games in the series 1.1 Game Boy Advance 1.2 Nintendo DS 1.3 See also 2 Gameplay 2.1 Investigation segments 2.2 Cross examination segments 2.3 Location 2.4 Court Proceedings 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Games in the series

[edit] Game Boy Advance

• Gyakuten Saiban
• Gyakuten Saiban 2
• Gyakuten Saiban 3

[edit] Nintendo DS

• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Remake of Gyakuten Saiban)
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All (Remake of Gyakuten Saiban 2)
• Gyakuten Saiban 4

[edit] See also

• List of Ace Attorney characters

[edit] Gameplay

The gameplay of the series is broken up into two specific segment styles, which alternate within each episode.

[edit] Investigation segments

Each episode (with the exception of the first case of each game) usually begins with an investigation. During these segments the player must talk to witnesses and search crime scenes in order to gather information and evidence for the trial.

[edit] Cross examination segments

In these segments, the player must press witnesses in the courtroom for information and use evidence to point out contradictions in faulty testimonies to prove the player's client's innocence. Producing incorrect evidence leads to a penalty, and if too many mistakes are made, the player loses the case and must start over.

[edit] Location

The exact location of the courthouse where the game is supposed to take place is not mentioned specifically. It is mentioned though, in the American version of the game, that the game takes place in California, in or somewhere near Los Angeles. The game implies that Phoenix Wright's law firm is very close to, or at least within short driving distance, to some big name movie studios.

In the Japanese version of the game, Naruhodou lives somewhere in Japan. (which is more likely, seeing as there are several locations you wouldn't quickly find in America, like Kurain Village)

[edit] Court Proceedings

Although the localization of English-language release of the game moved from Japan to the American court system, the laws and court practices are remain different from American courts - it still models a Japanese court, despite some rather large differences. The judge sits by himself at the head of the court. The witness stand is not a seat next to the judge, but a podium across the room from the judge. The prosecution and the defense do not sit at tables next to each other facing the judge, and do not have the freedom of walking around. They each stay at their tables, the most that they do banging the table with their fists or pointing at each other. They cannot do anything else other than talk and stay at their own table unless they get permission from the judge. Also, in American courts, the defendant has the right to choose whether they want to be tried by a judge or a jury. In Phoenix Wright, all of the cases are tried by a judge. The gallery is also all limited to the top gallery as no seats are shown on the ground level in the courtroom. Also, it appears that perjury doesn't exist in the Ace Attorney world, as some witnesses that lied could be seen the next day(Lotta Hart, for one)

In the era that they present in the game, entire trials may not take longer than 3 days. The reason given in the game, is that the courts were being overwhelmed with cases and they decided to limit the duration of each case to 3 days. The game also says that there is a statute of limitations on how long a case is open, which is brought into question in the game. The statute of limitations is 15 years after the case was brought into court. After that, the case is closed for good.

The game is set in the near future, and the explanation given for the change in the legal system is to speed up trials. It is implied that all trials in Phoenix Wright are preliminary trials, as a guilty verdict means the case will automatically be passed on to a higher court, but a verdict of "Not Guilty" will result in all charges being dropped.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website of the Series (Japanese)
• Court Records - Phoenix Wright fansite, with information spanning all games in the series.
• Ryuker.com - Gyakuten Saiban (Phoenix Wright) Hōtei Figure Collection photo review of figures made by Ensky.

v • d • e Ace Attorney video games

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney • Justice for All • Gyakuten Saiban 3 • Gyakuten Saiban 4